Do you like the Persona 5 franchise? Do you want to hear some opinions on them and ratings? If so, here are my takes on each Phantom Thief! This will be based entirely on the Persona 5 Vanilla storyline, so I will not be adding Sumire, as they have a separate story in Persona 5 Royal, which I have yet to complete. If you have heard of Persona 5 and wanted to play it or watch the gameplay yourselves, please be cautious when reading this because there are spoilers in here about the storyline! I am also not adding Morgana cause I said so.
7. Makoto Niijima
Makoto Niijima is a straight-A honors student who’s also the head of the student council. She wants to become a lawyer just like her sister, Sae Niijima. Makoto and Sae lost their parents, so they have to take care of themselves in the long run. Makoto is very trustworthy and responsible, so a lot of people, including her school, take advantage of her and use her as a doormat. To her peers, she’s also seen as a girl with special privileges, which isn’t all true; she just wants to be useful and show she can do things on her own. Makoto’s persona trait is Priestess, and her code name is Queen. Makoto has a great story about her life, her personality, and an epic persona awakening, but she still did not catch my eye. Makoto was always my least favorite, but I still enjoy her character.
6. Haru Okumura
Haru Okumura is a shy, kind-hearted girl who loves gardening. Haru is also the daughter of a major food conglomerate CEO for the food chain called “The Big Bang Burger.” Haru is pressured into a setup marriage with an awful guy from another company so they can control her family’s company. Since she’s under pressure from the guy who is terrible to her, she does not want to marry him. She wants to be seen for who she really is and show she’s a strong individual who can make their own decisions because of her awful father (the CEO) controlling her life and creating trust issues and a lack of independence. Haru is such a cute character, and I love her design, but in some way, I feel like they still could have done my girl some justice on her debut. Her father’s palace was the worst one out of them all; it was so overstimulating, but I can’t blame her for that. Haru’s persona trait is Empress, and her code name is Noir. I really like Haru, but again, she didn’t stick with me. I love her story and character because even though she seems shy and weak, when she awakens her persona, she’s shown as one of the strongest, wielding her big axe!
5. Ann Takamaki
Ann Takamki is a student who won’t take any bullcrap and stand for others. Ann Takamaki is a foreign student, being of mixed American and Japanese descent, so she’s often made fun of. She’s also pretty popular around the school due to her modeling job outside of school. Her modeling career is the best for her; she loves it, but her image gets ruined because of awful rumors about her from her peers. Her friend Shiho is the only one there for her. Shiho loves volleyball, but her instructor, Mr. Kamoshida, is secretly hurting his students with “intense training,” and Ann has to do this to stop it. Ann Takamaki’s story is very intense; she’s one of the first conflicts of the game. I can’t talk much about it because it’s really not right. I love Ann Takamaki’s character and how she changes throughout the game; her persona awakening was such an important thing throughout the game, and really shows her strong side. Ann Takamaki’s persona trait is Love, outfit is a catsuit, and her code name is Panther, showing she’s fierce. I really enjoy Ann as a character from design and character traits, so she’s one of the coolest gals!
4. Futaba Sakura
Futaba Sakura is a tech geek who loves to hack but is quite a shut-in. She’s been stuck in her room for ages due to a tragic event in her mother’s passing. Futaba Sakura lost her mother to “suicide” and blames it all on herself, shutting herself from the world, making her very non-social, and her overall mental health dropping to the max. At this point in the game, the phantom thieves are very well-known, so Futaba disguises herself as an old hacker group to threaten the phantom thieves to steal her heart to make her feel better again. Within her palace are memories, but refabricated of her and her mother before the accident, betraying Futaba as “annoying,” a “burden,” or a “regret” to her mother, and to her mother, she was never any of those things. Her mother was a government researcher for the cognitive world, which made her very busy, and she didn’t have much time to play with Futaba, so she wasn’t around much either, which made Futaba have those thoughts even more. Due to Futaba’s whole palace manipulating her real memories and how her mother really thought of her, it affected her in the real world. Futaba’s story is my favorite story out of all the phantom thieves. Her character development was the one that actually made me cry. Throughout the game, after her palace arc, she takes mini baby steps in socializing with people outside her home; all of the phantom thieves helped her and stayed patient with her, too. Her persona trait is Hermit, and her code name is Oracle. Her persona awakening was so great and unique. Futaba is the only one you can’t play as because she has her own little ship to hack support buffs and more during gameplay. Her design fits her character so much as well; it’s so great, I love her so much!
3. Akira Ren / Ren Amamiya
The protagonist has so many names, but we’ll call him Ren Amamiya based on the Magami Tensei Wiki .
Ren is a transfer student at Shujin Academy because of his probation. Ren only got on probation due to him being falsely framed for assault. When Ren stepped foot into the school, there were already rumors about what people thought he was going to look like, how he acted, and the whole reason why he was here. To the teachers, they already don’t like him because “he gives a bad name” to the school, but the principal says he wants to keep him to actually make a better image for them, seeming like they can fix him in shape by giving him a second chance there. Despite all the rumors, Ren is actually a quiet, well-mannered student who tries to stand up for himself and other people. His first day of school, he gets an app on his phone, which he can’t delete, so he shrugs it off till he meets Ryuji Sakamoto. Ren and Ryuji end up lost in an alternate version of a school, which is shaped like a castle, has many guards, and the person they have a problem with is “the king.” Ryuji and Ren think it’s all a joke till they get locked up and beaten. Ren sacrifices himself for Ryuji to save him, which awakens his persona. Time to time, Ren will find himself in another dimension in his dream, called the Velvet Room, where he meets Igor. Igor is his so-called “guide” through Ren’s “rehabilitation.” Ren’s story is really important cause we’re playing his memories throughout the game. Ren’s persona is the Fool trait, wielding the power to have multiple personas. Ren goes by Joker as his code name and is the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Ren is a really cool character, and his deep relationship with his pal Ryuji is something I really love about him.
2. Yusuke Kitagawa
Yusuke Kitagawa is a passionate arts honors student at Kosei High School. Yusuke searches for the aesthetic everywhere in his world around him and in people. He was a prize pupil to his teacher/foster parent, Madarame. Madarame was a famous artist who taught many people, like Yusuke, about art, but in reality, he only exploits and steals their art and calls it his own for his money and greed. Ren, Ryuji, and Ann find out about this and try to tell Yusuke anyway they could, but they couldn’t get through to him, Yusuke looked up to him. After Yusuke finds out for himself how Madame really is, he awakens his persona, Fox, and joins the thieves to fight corruption and pursue genuine beauty in art. Yusuke’s persona trait is Emperor, and his outfit is so very unique. His outfit is a fox-like outfit with a fox tail keychain, mask, and whenever you find treasure, his fox tail reacts with how he feels! I really like his design and dialogue. When you have a one-on-one hangout with him, he’s really passionate about what he does, and his naive traits are really silly. His persona awakening has to be the best one out of all of them. I really love it so much!
1. Ryuji Sakamoto
Ryuji Sakamoto is my top favorite out of all of the thieves. I really see myself in him a lot when I play! Ryuji is known for his rebellious delinquent appearance but hides a kind heart and strong sense of justice inside. He was a former track star until the team’s disbandment due to the terrible teacher and his actions. He grew up in a not-so-good household with his father, so he takes care of and supports his struggling mother and tries his best to get a scholarship at Shujin; his delinquent behavior, including his blonde hair and rough language, comes from trauma caused by his teacher and is used as a coping mechanism. When Ryuji and Ren ended up in that castle and his persona awakened from their next visit, he was fueled with the desire to change the corrupted world. Ryuji and Ren became the first two of the Phantom Thieves, and they became the most loyal friends. Ryuji’s persona trait is Chariot, and his code name is Skull, representing his skull mask and his pirate-like outfit. Ryuji Sakamoto is the best, from his dialogue to his abilities. My favorite quote from him was, “Wherever You Decide To Be, That’s Where You Belong.” – Ryuji Sakamoto. He’s so loyal to everyone but so much more to Ren, and I think it’s really cute.
