Ryuji Sakamoto - Blog Posts

Tokyo daylight

goro akechi tries to get normal highschool friend advice from normal highschoolers; leaves with love advice and murder (and boys) on the mind

@troubled-bog-witch I agree with this! What they did under a deadline that had the people they're around in danger—like Haru, Shiho, Yusuke, etc—those were all cases where their use of an alternate world full of danger that they barely understand the effects of is a valid tool to save those lives. But to claim that this is something they can, or rather should use to reform society as a whole is a very impulsive decision. It is worse in Strikers, where they are faced with a completely new form of this world and they immediately jump to using that to reform society too. They don't even think about the potential dangers of Jails, and yet they see their actions as morally sound from the start. This gets worse later when- actually, spoilers for Strikers

It gets revealed that the Jails are maliciously created, and that this isn't actually a resurgence of the Metaverse they knew. This is a tool being used to control people, the very thing people implied the Phantom Thieves could do. The Metaverse always has been exploitable, and this game proves this. In emergencies where people's lives are in danger, when safety is most important, changing hearts is effective. But these kids are in way over their head, and I think they (especially Ren) got extremely lucky in how things ended. Insane responsibility to be placed on Ren by the way, I don't see many people talk about how these teenagers were the final force against the end of the world multiple times.

Hey, so I don't want to be that guy, but when are we going to acknowledge that Akechi was right?

No, I obviously don't mean about the things he was very clearly wrong about. I'm referring to the things he says in interviews about the Phantom Thieves. I hate how many people switch up after playing through his betrayal who previously agreed with his views, because nothing he said is wrong and nothing he did changes that fact. He speaks in the TV Station on the objective facts that he should know about, and with or without the context of his form of justice those facts stay true. It's a fallacy to claim that his form of justice being universally less approved of makes the Phantom Thieves better by comparison, or discredits anything he said. I don't think the Phantom Thieves are evil, or that they should necessarily be imprisoned, but I do think that they are not morally sound. They're kids. Prior to his betrayal I think he served his purpose well, but it's easy to disregard the validity of his words when you find out that he's a murderer. With the knowledge he SHOULD have had (and that many DID have), everything he says is true. And honestly? It still can be true for basically the entire plot of the game. Mishima's confidant tests the thieves in that way. They could have changed the hearts of anyone who's not a persona user, for any personal reason. It's a slippery slope.

I'll use these three options as an example for why he's right:

"They're justice itself" is just subjective and incorrect, because justice as a concept is individualized and given how each Phantom Thief has different reasons for being one it's ridiculous for even them to say. Their first target was before they even formed a group, and Ann was ready to kill Kamoshida. The others were not even going to step in, and they were going to respect her choice either way. All the members are so different, so this is an insane claim to make.

"They're necessary" is wrong because to say they are necessary is pretty disingenuous to all "justice" that has ever happened BEFORE they existed. I don't believe that the Thieves were a necessity per say, and personally I think their actions can only be judged on a case by case basis. Some Mementos targets for example have issues that stem beyond what they have done. Now they have their desires stolen but still have the issue that pushed them to immortality in the first place, plus a shitton of guilty baggage. The Thieves only help with the atonement, but not the push. How many of those people didn't just go right back to their past behaviors? How many of them got worse in other ways? Think about Futaba, she felt so guilty for something she thought she did, she formed a palace to condemn herself to die alone. To claim the Thieves are necessary to reform society implies that their method is the most effective, and I think that's a lot to claim for something they don't understand.

"They do more than the cops" I almost agree with. Legally the police in Japan in this game anyway (yes I'm aware it extends to reality in many ways, but I'm referring to just the game right now) are corrupt and flawed for the most part, but the thing I don't agree with is that this makes the Thieves a better alternative. They're not. For the same reason Yoshizawa says later, the Thieves can only do so much as vigilantes, and to imply that society should rely on these faceless nameless flawed people to fix society is not any better than what they have now. Especially with the method being unknown, potentially unsafe, and easily exploitable. I cannot be the only one who if the Phantom Thieves were real, would be extremely alarmed by the prospect of a group of vigilantes "changing hearts" right? It's so vague, and the pattern is dystopian. At least police methods are familiar

What I'm saying is that they're kids, and it's kind of insane that this game places Akechi as the narrative foil for the Thieves in their message and then makes it so easy to disregard because "he's an assassin so how could he know anything about justice". The Thieves don't either, and Ann was nearly a murderer. If the bar is "don't commit murder when you're infiltrating someone's mind" then it's far too low. I wouldn't trust a group of adults with this power to reform society, even less a group of teenage vigilantes. I'm 19, and I find this odd. And Strikers frames them as even more righteous, and it bugs me even more in that game. At least Royal has the third semester to give a bit more nuance to how big of a responsibility Ren was given, but that's also very frequently misinterpreted.

I love this game, and I love this fandom, and I have thoughts that get weird and ranty. I apologize, but I hope you all found this as interesting as I did.

Headcanoning Persona 5 characters Mariokart mains, because I'm funny and I have way too much time to think about dumb things

Ren mains Shy Guy, usually green because he loves Kakyoin from JJBA. Mute City F-Zero is also his favorite Mariokart 8 track because of this.

Ryuji once said "I bet Ann plays Princess Peach", and Ann was so offended by the assumption that every time she intentionally takes Bowser before Ryuji can, so he has to pick his second favorite (Donkey Kong) instead. She doesn't even dislike Peach necessarily, she just never played Peach and was feeling petty.

Now, technically Ryuji could always just pick Dry Bowser- but unfortunately for him, Makoto always picks Dry Bowser, so he has no choice but to pick Bowser Jr, and he would rather just keep Donkey Kong.

Akechi doesn't really play Mariokart unless he's roped in by the group, so he never really had a main. The others kept throwing out suggestions for him to pick, and he kept shooting them down for various contrived reasons, only giving in because Futaba was the loudest and most obnoxious one shouting "Pick Yoshi". That's the day he became the Yoshi main.

Yusuke mains King Boo, and was extremely baffled and confused when Futaba blurted out "only sluts play King Boo" (Ann couldn't help but laugh at that).

Futaba would only play either Luigi or Waluigi, depending on her mood. Either way, she's a memelord about it.

Haru would be Daisy, because she's iconic and also they're very similar. Makoto pointed it out and Haru has picked Daisy every time ever since.

Morgana always picks Mario, but not just any Mario. Specifically Tanooki Mario. Everyone gave him a look, but he acted like this was perfectly normal behavior. If anyone brings up the resemblance, he will get extremely defensive.

Sumire almost exclusively played Rosalina, until one day she decided to pick Toadette out of nowhere. The group was kind of surprised, and she explained that she thinks it's cute, and never went back.

Zenkichi keeps refusing to play, and only gives in because Sumire is a sweetheart who suggests that he match her and pick Toad. He does, and it's funny as hell.

And finally, Sophia would pick Princess Peach, specifically Cat Peach with the pink car because it matches the colors. Before that she was just going to make a Mii of herself reluctantly, but Ann showed her Cat Peach and her eyes just lit up.

Basically:

Ren: Green Shy Guy

Ryuji: Bowser Donkey Kong

Ann: Bowser

Makoto: Dry Bowser

Akechi: Yoshi

Yusuke: King Boo

Futaba: (Wa)Luigi

Haru: Daisy

Morgana: Tanooki Mario

Sumire: Rosalina Toadette

Zenkichi: Toad

Sophia: Cat Peach