Souyuripilled

A bit of a Soul Eater with this one, but I gave Yosuke some actual design tweaks this time. I also decided to play with some CRT effects with the background to add to atmosphere. Hopefully it’s not too much of an eyestrain.

If anyone cares for the design notes for Yosuke since I haven’t made any reference sheet:

- He has hair clips and rings for the number numeral 13 to represent Death (and a nod to Kotone Shiomi from P3Portable)

- Nails are painted black

- Uniform is largely the same, but with the skull buttons, striped pants, and large shoulder stitching like DTK has

During my latest rewatch, I will note that episode 3 stuck out to me because it reminded me of how P4tA decided to frame the noose in episode 1.

In game, Yosuke is given some plausible deniability when he brings up the topic due to the framing. He's far away, and the camera is low to the ground, with a simple statement of "this chair and rope... That kind of arrangement is never good..."

Inherently, that means little in regards to him, that's a bit of a "no, duh" statement. It is worth noting that death by hanging is a bit of a sticky subject in Japan where it's VERY rare, if never, depicted in a way where you can see the entire person (Ace Attorney, for example only shows the victim's feet). So, it's kind of no surprise that Yosuke's pretty unnerved by it.

Animation, however...

Feels a little unsubtle.

I feel that there's plenty of ways they could have framed this, but they specifically chose to show Yosuke from this perspective. He doesn't speak a word, merely looks up from catching his breath, to stare right at the scarf, then freak out. Only after this does the camera pan out to show Yu also staring intently at it while Chie freaks out about the posters.

From there, I'm taking into consideration that Yosuke and Kanji are basically the only two party members that refuse to wear anything close to the neck, and Kanji teeters that line.

Now, this in of itself can just be personal preference, I don't really jive with things tight on my neck either, but the same can be said of my wrists, but mine come down to health issues more than anything.

But comparatively (excluding Golden costumes because it's clear that those are usually Yu's choice and the party doesn't always like them, and promotional artwork for its dubious status), Yosuke just never wears anything high on his collar. Every other party member has at least one outfit with something that rests around or at the base of their neck. The closest he ever gets is his midwinter/New Year's outfit, but that's just where his shirt collar barely hits his collarbones.

Some examples: Chie's regular jacket, Teddie's Alice costume, Yukiko's scarf for casual winter, Rise's winter Yasogami, Yu's various turtlenecks, and Naoto's casual winter. Kanji skirts around it with his casual winter outfit only having a chain necklace that sits around his collar.

"Ok, but what about his ski outfit and Dancing All Night? He has scarves there, and those are more his choice." True, but, he wears those pretty loose, where they're only resting at the back of his neck, where he clearly doesn't have much issue (given the headphones he wears 80% of his waking life). You can easily get your hand under the front.

When it comes to the Yasogami uniforms, it's really hard to say anything about them because none of these guys wear them properly, but like I said, basically everyone else has shown they don't mind things touching their neck. I can give some leniency to his winter gakuran, because Yosuke's headphone cable goes under his jacket, and if he buttoned it all the way up, he'd squish that right into his neck. But, with his summer outfit and tracksuit, where his headphones aren't an excuse, he still decidedly refuses to even do them up to the collar

"Isn't this all a bit anecdotal?" Yes. Yes it is. The only real reason I even put this much thought into it is because P4 already makes it quite evident that Yosuke has depressive and slightly suicidal issues (or at least non-active self-harm, given he overworks himself and will neglect to eat to the point of losing weight). This person has a good post showing some of the instances of it.

I'd love to say Jiraiya also a plays a part into my theory here, but it's hard to say. P4 Personas are heavily based on what their host wants to be and Jiraiya himself is cloaked in deception and camouflage. Nevermind that he's supposed to be a ninja, stereotypical or not. The scarf is kind of important to that aesthetic, so it's hard to judge Yosuke's aversion to neckwear compared to his Inner Self. For all we know Jiraiya could have something going on, which is why his scarf is so bulky.

During my latest rewatch, I will note that episode 3 stuck out to me because it reminded me of how P4tA decided to frame the noose in episode 1.

In game, Yosuke is given some plausible deniability when he brings up the topic due to the framing. He's far away, and the camera is low to the ground, with a simple statement of "this chair and rope... That kind of arrangement is never good..."

Inherently, that means little in regards to him, that's a bit of a "no, duh" statement. It is worth noting that death by hanging is a bit of a sticky subject in Japan where it's VERY rare, if never, depicted in a way where you can see the entire person (Ace Attorney, for example only shows the victim's feet). So, it's kind of no surprise that Yosuke's pretty unnerved by it.

Animation, however...

Feels a little unsubtle.

I feel that there's plenty of ways they could have framed this, but they specifically chose to show Yosuke from this perspective. He doesn't speak a word, merely looks up from catching his breath, to stare right at the scarf, then freak out. Only after this does the camera pan out to show Yu also staring intently at it while Chie freaks out about the posters.

From there, I'm taking into consideration that Yosuke and Kanji are basically the only two party members that refuse to wear anything close to the neck, and Kanji teeters that line.

Now, this in of itself can just be personal preference, I don't really jive with things tight on my neck either, but the same can be said of my wrists, but mine come down to health issues more than anything.

But comparatively (excluding Golden costumes because it's clear that those are usually Yu's choice and the party doesn't always like them, and promotional artwork for its dubious status), Yosuke just never wears anything high on his collar. Every other party member has at least one outfit with something that rests around or at the base of their neck. The closest he ever gets is his midwinter/New Year's outfit, but that's just where his shirt collar barely hits his collarbones.

Some examples: Chie's regular jacket, Teddie's Alice costume, Yukiko's scarf for casual winter, Rise's winter Yasogami, Yu's various turtlenecks, and Naoto's casual winter. Kanji skirts around it with his casual winter outfit only having a chain necklace that sits around his collar.

"Ok, but what about his ski outfit and Dancing All Night? He has scarves there, and those are more his choice." True, but, he wears those pretty loose, where they're only resting at the back of his neck, where he clearly doesn't have much issue (given the headphones he wears 80% of his waking life). You can easily get your hand under the front.

When it comes to the Yasogami uniforms, it's really hard to say anything about them because none of these guys wear them properly, but like I said, basically everyone else has shown they don't mind things touching their neck. I can give some leniency to his winter gakuran, because Yosuke's headphone cable goes under his jacket, and if he buttoned it all the way up, he'd squish that right into his neck. But, with his summer outfit and tracksuit, where his headphones aren't an excuse, he still decidedly refuses to even do them up to the collar

"Isn't this all a bit anecdotal?" Yes. Yes it is. The only real reason I even put this much thought into it is because P4 already makes it quite evident that Yosuke has depressive and slightly suicidal issues (or at least non-active self-harm, given he overworks himself and will neglect to eat to the point of losing weight). This person has a good post showing some of the instances of it.

I'd love to say Jiraiya also a plays a part into my theory here, but it's hard to say. P4 Personas are heavily based on what their host wants to be and Jiraiya himself is cloaked in deception and camouflage. Nevermind that he's supposed to be a ninja, stereotypical or not. The scarf is kind of important to that aesthetic, so it's hard to judge Yosuke's aversion to neckwear compared to his Inner Self. For all we know Jiraiya could have something going on, which is why his scarf is so bulky.