I have to say, I want to think about my two favorite Persona 4 characters, Rise Kujikawa and Yosuke Hanamura. And I realized something:
Theyāre pretty similar, huh? Both Rise and Yosuke put up a cheerful front because theyāre both well-knownāRise is beloved as a teen idol while Yosuke is hated for being the Junes managerās son, but it leads to the same outcome of them having to hide a lot of themselves. I mean Jiraiya directly calls Yosuke out on it with talking about how sociable Yosuke tries to be.
And Himikoā¦ holy shit, Himiko. Sheās easily the most unnerving Shadow because she represents Riseās sheer terror at what sheāll find if she drops the mask. Is she nothing? Is she just a doll to be played with? Sheās certainly a case of Riseās objectification by the media being internalized, and Riseās dungeon indicates her knowledge of everyone watching her every move. I really want to talk about Riseās dungeon in a post of its own because itās one of my favorites and crowned Rise my favorite character!
This leads to Rise and Yosuke both being isolated from their peers and unable to make friends their age. Itās to the point that Yosuke mentions in his Rank 3 that he doesnāt change his address in hopes that his former friends will talk to him again.
And for Rise, she internalizes the mistreatment she gets. She gets brutally insulted by Himiko. Himiko mocks Riseās desire to find someone she can let down walls around, sexualizing it like Himiko knows the people around her and Riseāher full selfāwould and have done. I couldnāt fit Himikoās whole rant into this screenshot, she literally calls her a slut-shamey insult.
This leads to them latching RIGHT onto Yu Narukami when he befriends them both. They have a friend. A real, genuine friend. Yosuke had one before but she got murdered by the Midnight Channel Killer the day before he faced Jiraiya. Rise openly has a crush, and youād be forgiven for thinking Yosuke has one too via some of his lines. Not to mention his love for Saki because sheā¦ just wasnāt an ass to him over being the Junes managerās son. She was actually pretty great, from what you learn in Yosuke and Naokiās social links. You find that he gets attached to pretty much anyone who tries to see past the whole āJunes managerās sonā thing, just like Rise gets attached to pretty much anyone who tries to see past the whole āRisetteā thing.
Theyāre also both incredibly kindhearted and put others before themself, always. In Riseās later ranks, she talks about a young girl who writes her letters, and who she always looks forward to reading, and how that girlās happiness gave her drive to keep going even as being objectified drained her of her passion.
I mean, that girl was the final push to bring her back into showbiz, as she mentions in her epilogue rank.
And on Yosukeās end, take some of his dungeon dialogue for exampleāin lower ranks of Yukikoās, if you have both him and Yukiko off the team, she talks about part time jobs. Yosuke assumes the innās in a rut and immediately offers financial help.
Iā¦ guess I have a type in favorite characters, huh? Iād have to see them in comparison with my favorite characters of other works, but thatās super interesting that my favorites are so similarā¦
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