Max

Ever since finishing Persona 4 and realizing Tohru Adachi and Ryotaro Dojima’s bond runs deeper than it seems, I have wanted to compile a list of details showing how much they care about each other. This post will be a list of these details organized by where they originate from. This list won’t cover everything, so feel free to add additional details/corrections in the comments and reblogs!

Developer Interviews

(these are based off of @adachimoe's translations of Episode 5 of the Persona Stalker Club Q&A, which can be found here: https://www.tumblr.com/adachimoe/722500119322345472/persona-stalker-club-episode-5-i-sees-it-adachi?source=share)

• Adachi’s tie is a gift from Dojima, who gave it to him due to Adachi’s original tie being worn-out.

• Adachi does not smoke, and only carries around his lighter to light Dojima’s cigarettes.

• Adachi initially took a liking to Dojima since he got him sushi when they first met.

Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden

• Dojima regularly buys Adachi dinner and invites him over to his home to eat.

• In the Japanese versions of Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden, Adachi jokingly addresses Dojima in a way similar to how a spouse would when introducing himself to the protagonist and Nanako (source: https://www.tumblr.com/adachimoe/748650656178569216/i-cant-remember-the-context-of-adachi-saying?source=share).

• Adachi and Dojima nod in sync at one point while interrogating Rise.

• Adachi and Dojima are drinking buddies.

• Dojima trusts Adachi enough to allow him to be around Yu and Nanako when drunk while he is upstairs.

• Adachi drives Dojima home and sets him down gently on the couch when he is drunk.

• In Persona 4 Golden, Adachi teasingly references Dojima’s rebellious past during a cutscene on June 8, implying Adachi pays attention when Dojima discusses his past.

• In Rank 6 of his Golden social link, Adachi’s social link menu text states he seems “cheered up by Dojima” after Adachi is rejected by the Nimono Lady for her real son and Dojima appears.

• Adachi looks out for Nanako, which could be interpreted as partially extending from his care for Dojima. During his Social Link, Adachi helps Nanako with her homework, shows her a magic trick, and immediately backpedals whenever he makes her sad. In addition, after Nanako is hospitalized, Adachi tries to convince a doctor to keep her in the hospital since he knows the fog is dangerous. In addition, it is possible that Adachi sent the second threat letter to warn the Investigation Team that Nanako is in danger (though I don’t personally interpret things this way).

• After Dojima brings the protagonist in for interrogation, Adachi defends his actions once he leaves the room, stating he is only acting so tough out of a desire to protect the protagonist.

• Directly following Dojima’s car crash, Adachi can be seen speaking to Dojima with an anger emote over his head right before the Investigation Team arrives, implying Adachi was really worried by Dojima's reckless behavior.

• The first major slip-up Adachi makes regarding the murders occurs right after Dojima gets into a car crash.

• Adachi watches over Dojima for the night after he gets into a car crash and is hospitalized.

• Dojima trusts Adachi to move his wheelchair, which can be seen in one of the November 21st hospital cutscenes.

• When asked by the protagonist if he would tell Dojima that their bond was something he made up in his head, Adachi dodges the question instead of providing an answer.

• After Adachi is outed as the likely culprit of Inaba’s serial killings, Dojima tells the Investigation Team to find Adachi since he needs to “square things away with him.” Notably, Dojima does not seem overly hostile during this scene despite the implications that come with Adachi being the killer.

• Dojima orders a stretcher for Adachi and for him to be “carefully taken into protective custody” after his dungeon section despite knowing that Adachi has almost certainly killed two women.

• On January 31st, Dojima mentions recently attempting to visit Adachi in prison, and this occurs shortly before Adachi's birthday (February 1st).

• Dojima resolves to continue visiting Adachi in prison in the Golden epilogue, and plans on bringing him food in the form of a cheap cabbage.

• Though Adachi is an intensely bitter person (as indicated by his dungeon section) he never expresses hatred or irritation towards Dojima.

• Adachi expresses how much he genuinely enjoyed his time with the Dojima family in his prison letter.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

• Though there is no practical reason to do so, Adachi verbally tears into the detective interrogating him after he insinuates that Dojima may have killed people in the past. Adachi also has a special anger sprite that is used for the first time here, and this is the only sprite of his where the light has completely left his eyes.

• Despite knowing Adachi has killed two people, Dojima grabs a detective by the collar and tells him that Adachi can “settle matters for himself” after the detective threatens to “dispose of” Adachi.

• When the detective interrogating Adachi first mentions Dojima’s name alongside other information, Adachi only seems to process Dojima’s name from the sentence (no thoughts are given here either) and repeats it as a question.

• Adachi unconsciously investigates the school in Hi-No-Kagutsuchi’s world using Dojima’s methods of investigation, and says “look what you’ve done to me, Dojima-san” to himself after realizing this.

• Though Adachi does not acknowledge it, his plan to “follow the rules” of the real world in Ultimax, which involves risking his life to save Inaba, carries the benefit of saving Dojima and Nanako if he succeeds.

• When making contact with Adachi for the first time after his arrest, Dojima does not bring up the murders, instead commenting on how Adachi looks like he has “fattened up” since they last saw each other and asking how prison life is going for him. Of note is that Adachi and Dojima’s banter is very positive in this scene, implying that neither side resents the other despite the events of Persona 4’s main story.

• Adachi admits out loud while smiling and trying to hide it that a bond with Dojima “isn’t so bad” at the end of Ultimax, and this appears to be the first time Adachi has ever outright accepted a bond with someone else.

• Adachi brings up Dojima unprompted twice in his thoughts during Episode Adachi.

• Likely unintentional, but Adachi’s design documents for Ultimax depict him with a watch that has a segmented band and a circular face. Dojima wears the same type of watch in Persona 4, and his watch is not visible on his wrist in any of the artwork for Persona 4: Dancing All Night or the Golden epilogue (it also cannot be seen on his model in the epilogue as his wrist is obscured by a drink). This is likely an art oversight, but could also imply Dojima may have given Adachi his watch at some point between the events of Persona 4 Arena (the last time Dojima is shown with his watch) and Ultimax.

Persona 4 the Animation

• Adachi drives after Dojima after Dojima starts chasing Namatame down.

• After Dojima gets in a car crash, Adachi takes off his jacket and covers Dojima with it.

• Following Dojima’s attempt to attack Namatame in the hospital, Adachi briefly drops his facade, clutching one of Dojima’s crutches, stating that “if [he] could, [he] would kill that bastard (referring to Namatame) himself.”

Persona 4 the Golden Animation

• On the day they meet, Dojima brings Adachi over to his house and tells him he is “free to consider [the Dojima residence] [his] own home.”

• Dojima gives Adachi a mug in the anime. It is from a set of family mugs (Souji even notes in one of the Persona 4 drama CDs that the matching mugs imply being a family; link: https://aatash.livejournal.com/360142.html). The implication from this scene is that Dojima is bringing Adachi into his family.

• Before retreating into Magatsu-Inaba out of guilt for what happened to Nanako and Dojima, Adachi brings Dojima mangoes and tucks Nanako in.

• Dojima and Adachi are depicted walking together in a flashback sequence, with each of them holding one of Nanako’s hands before Yu arrives and Nanako runs up to him instead. Of note is that Adachi looks genuinely happy walking with Dojima and Nanako before Yu arrives.

• In this version of Magatsu-Inaba, the Dojima residence and mugs are perfectly intact (in comparison to the rest of the city, which is in ruins), implying the depth of Adachi’s attachment to the Dojima family.

• A major contributing factor towards Adachi committing the murders in this adaptation appears to be his belief that Yu will take his place in the Dojima family away from him, with Dojima’s announcement that Yu will be coming to Inaba directly preceding Adachi’s “downfall” sequence.

• After Yu comes to Inaba, Adachi stands outside of the Dojima residence in the rain, looking sadly at Dojima, Nanako, and Yu happily enjoying each other’s presence with the mugs present. Afterwards, Adachi seems to start crying, though it is left ambiguous whether it is his tears or the rain.

• Dojima invites Adachi to join him and Nanako and see the Investigation Team performing at Junes and the three go to watch them together.

• Adachi blames Yu for getting Nanako and Dojima involved in this adaptation, and the way he phrases things implies (to me, at least) that he may be blaming Yu since acknowledging that Nanako’s kidnapping and Dojima’s accident are largely his fault could emotionally break him.

• There is an extended montage sequence in the anime in which “A Little” plays as Dojima and Adachi are shown spending time together and getting closer. This is the only instance of the track being used, indicating the track exists exclusively to highlight Adachi’s growing attachment to Dojima. In addition, during repeated shots in this sequence, Adachi’s footsteps are shown to start matching the pace of Dojima’s footsteps, further implying they are getting closer.

Persona 4 Manga

• Adachi and Dojima return to the Dojima residence drunk together (instead of just Dojima being drunk) in this adaptation.

• Adachi smiles after hearing that Dojima ordered a stretcher for him in this adaptation.

• Adachi has a sequence during his fight with Souji in his dungeon in which he reflects on the distance between him and the Dojima family and his inability to close that distance.

• During the scene when all of Souji’s social links band together to encourage him to persevere and defeat Izanami, Adachi reassures Nanako that Souji can defeat Izanami since he doesn’t break promises. After this, Dojima says “unlike you?” before continuing to tell Adachi that “things'll be different from now on”, implying that he believes Adachi has the capacity to change for the better and will choose to do so.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Manga

• Dojima giving Adachi a family mug is canon to this version of Ultimax, and Adachi thinks about the family mugs while being interrogated by a detective at the start of the story.

• Adachi carries his jacket on his back in a manner identical to Dojima after the Hi-No-Kagutsuchi fight.

• Dojima sends Adachi a letter before visiting him notifying him of the visit in this adaptation.