Comparing Persona and Stand Design Philosophies 

Stand: Take a superpower. Now over-design something based on that. Persona: Take a folktale. Now heavily stylize its main character.

One thing about persona's designs is that it takes in the user's thought and belief, Persona 4 is the epitome of this. Soejima said in a interview that when he designed the P4 Personas he didn't rely on how the gods/characters traditionally looked in the myths. He think of how would a Japanese highschooler would think of when they hear the name of these characters. Izanagi is personification of masculinity and Jiraya is just what Yosuke thought is cool

One of the biggest points is that Araki needs to draw these stands individually every time they appear while personas in modern games just need to have concept art and official art, and then once the in-game model is created, it'll be ready to move how the game needs, so far more intricate designs can be created. Not that stands are less detailed, but looking at how varied one part of most personas' designs is compared to stands which flow relatively well with their own parts, it's easy to see the difference.

To me, a stand seems like it could be a sentient alien, capable of consciousness. They also seem to be more abstract in a way. Meanwhile, personas seem more magical. A persona would have to be magical, just based on it's design, regardless of background. Personas are also built in a way that makes them seem like a all-rounder. While stands are built for a purpose or specific usage/power.

I think the difference in Stand and Persona design to me is “A Stand’s design might focus more to its ability, whereas a Persona’s design might focus more on its inspirations.” At least that’s my take

The key difference I always found is Personas (at least party member and default protagonist ones) are pretty much universally humanoid with only really Futaba breaking this rule, meanwhile Stands can be everything from humanoid to a radio tower. Even comparing the humanoid ones, Personas tend to be a little more visually busy than the humanoid Stands. Compare Arsene to Gold Experience and there's a lot more going on with Arsene in terms of stuff on the body. Gold Experience and other humanoid Stands look very "Silver Age comic book hero outfit" looking like they are a person in skintight colourful spandex

There's a funny meme that I can't find right now where it shows Araki using his 'Pattented Stand Power Idea Creator' where he uses a random search on Wikipedia to find a random ability for a stand and I like that idea to bring creativity to the designs of stands as well

When designing fan stands, I lean more into the lyrics of the song itself and aesthetic elements from album and single covers. Killer Queen and Kira have lots of aspects of the lyrics "Gunpowder, gelatine Dynamite with a laser beam Guaranteed to blow your mind" "To avoid complications She never kept the same address In conversation She spoke just like a baroness" "Drop of a hat she's as willing as Playful as a pussycat"

I can't believe they talk about Stands not usually wearing clothes. And Wonder of U wasn't even mention.

I think with persona it comes down to the theme of them. 3 being Greek alot of them look like statues or regal in appearance. 4 being Japanese they all based off of Japanese tropes or characters. 5 being famous thieves they all look sly or mysterious.

For me personally, I think of it like this: Stands look humanoid, while Personas look human. Like for most Personas you could feasibly strip away all the fluff and have a normal person, and while Stands look close to human, they're always off in some way

The main thing that sticks out to me is that stands don’t need to be tied to people. The biggest example I can think of is the stand that is literally an electrical tower from part 4. They are of course usually tied to people, but in my mind it’s almost like spirits that choose users that align with the stand’s qualities (like both Jotaro and SP being buff as shot and stoic). Personas seem more like actual creatures, because you can acquire the shadows and use them as personas, almost like a Pokémon

I feel like comparing Persona and stand is like comparing Pokémon and Digimon. Stands usually have simpler, yet unique looking characteristics based on a niche topic (such as a specific band or the mentallity of a character) whereas Persona is more angular and sharp with visually expressive and agressive designs based on various historical, mythological, or religious figures

Both Persona and Stand offer something different but similar to the table being that are manifestations of certain aspects of the user with Personas being that of the archetypal representation of one's soul while while stands are the pure representation of one's willpower giving way to equally interesting and unique designs. As a huge fan of JoJo and Persona I'm glad more people are looking at both sides with equal respect as opposed to saying one is better than the other.

I feel like something else to keep in mind is the fact that stands, like the rest of Araki's design sensibilities, take a lot from high fashion. There's a kind of abstract, high-fashion-y look to stands that falls in line with the aesthetics of the series as a whole. Personas are designed moreso to look cool in a more conventional sense. Stands are cool in a more abstract, unconventional way.

Well, I think the reason stands became more robotic is because it is meant to emphasize the fact that these are an alien force from a meteorite (In the Stardust Crusaders universe). The reason I feel the Personas became more human is because the modern persona games decided to use a central theme around the persona designs, in Persona 3 it's Greek Mythology, In Persona 4 it's Japanese Mythology and Persona 5 is Modern Fiction/Modern Mythology. If you look at Persona 3 and see "statues" it's because it was meant to be inspired by greek mythology, if you see Persona 4 and see Tokusatsu it's because Tokusatsu is a profoundly japanese thing, if you see Persona 5 and feel like they are very human it's because due to being modern therefore less mistified than old greek myth and japanese mythology/literature. I feel like Persona and JoJo are very much masterclasses in their own type of design, love both series and they are probably the coolest designs out there.

An interesting thing I want to bring to light with a the persona design philosophy is that you can make a distinction between historical figure and literary/ mythological figure. For example, Mitsuru’s initial and ultimate Personas, Penthesilia has a very exaggerated knight aesthetic while Artemisia is just a human in a blue dress with her armor mask and weapon being the only exaggerated parts of her design. This is a pretty obvious detail once you notice it and it helps you learn about who the persona is based on because the more more exaggerated and wild design you can tell it’s a literary/ mythical figure and the “human”* (in big air quotes just look at Captain Kid) the more likely it will be a historical figure.

After reading the interview with Kaneko and Araki, I’m definitely looking forward to watching this video

Speaking of making your own stand, I’ve made my own before. I named it 624, after ‘25 or 6 to 4’ by Chicago, and it was a colony stand that was a bunch of eyes, with beastial claws on the optic nerves. They could attach to someone, and make the person they attach to unable to regain any stamina. So, essentially, you could feel tired, go to sleep for 8 hours, and wake up not feeling any different.

I think the example of Star Platinum, Silver Chariot, and Magician’s Red is still closer to unifying than say Magician’s Red next to Hermit Purple next to Bastet.

I've always seen Hey Ya! as the alternate version of Cheap Trick. Their abilities are identical if you ignore CT's murdering it's host, and that is pretty easily explained by it's original user being a weak person.

I've always felt like personas design wise had the vibes of being hyperabstracted mixes of their characters and original folklore/religious references, while stands feel very connected to their users in a very direct way, while also looking random asf😅

I feel stands can be more hit or miss but are generally more unique looking and Personas look cool but when a Persona design gets fucked up then it looks terrible.

I think it's more of Stands are a user's superpower and an abstract concept(the name, keeping in mind to not take up the whole design) given a somewhat humanoid but still unnatural design, while Personas are a combination of a mythological or literary figure and the user's personality given a not super straightforward design, it usually has a theme to it too They both reflect something related to the user as far as I know

My favorite stand designs have to be Part 8's, I know people have a problem of the less humanoid stands but I just love how weird they look like Fun Fun Fun or Ozon Baby. I watched the video and Mara SUSPICIOUSLY fit the criteria at the end > Doesn't base the design around the source material, for JoJo it's the music, for SMT it's the deity and in this case, Mara's design barely has any design resemblance to its source material > Takes a concept and exaggerates it out of proportions. Mara is just a dick joke gone out of control with its design > Has some human aspects but is otherwise otherwordly.... Do I have to specify which part of Mara is a human aspect?

Thinking about it, I feel like the big thing with Stands is that they pick one or two aesthetic patterns or motifs, go for weird shapes, but keep it kind of grounded? Like Stands generally don't feel like they're TRYING to be ornate, they just look weird as fuck. With Personas, it feels like they're trying to invoke a specific thing and invoke specific ideas, but then you go to Stands and it's just a couple patterns/items that get focused on and that defines the vibe. Like Personas are character design, but Stands are more Avantgarde fashion, right? I feel like that makes a lot of sense.

I love the way you edit videos Fither it just gives off such a chill vibe.

"Disco-tech Kamen Rider Frog" is the kind of line I watch these videos for

A good rule of thumb that I noticed is that personas tend to have a lot of accessories Captain kidd has a ship, carmen has her little guys with her, stuff like that. Stands don't usually have something to hold or generally have on them unless it's part of the ability like silver chariot's sword Another thing is that stands very often blend robotic and natural features, this was even pointed out by araki himself when talking about some of the part three stands like hanged man

fither forgot to mention foo fighters when talking about cute stands

Stands are much more abstract than Personae, and Personae are more whimsical than Stands Stands are so abstract because they're the purest manifestation of one's soul, and Personae are more whimsical because they're born of the Sea of Human Consciousness

Part 5 stand designs are my favourites overall

Also, I know, third comment, but I love that these videos get visual support with these pictures fading in and out to what is being talked about. Adds a lot!

7:40 we need a JoJo spin-off based on record label company wars! XD

My favorite thing about stands is its unique to every stand user, they're stands usually is heavily inspired from the users personality

I think it also matters that Stands, for the most part, are not overly stylized. They’re thematic, but you get all the details almost immediately. Modern Personas are designed to really pop out when you see them - a living statement and expression. By contrast, lots of Kaneko’s early designs are fairly simpler by comparison, hence why you guys were more uncertain about P1 and 2.

Al these persona vs jojo vids are great

One thing I've noticed is that stands tend to be more anatomically/proportionally like humans while personas tend to be more stylized (with exceptions of course). For example, a lot of personas have really small feet or none at all, while a lot of stands have the same basic shape as their users. In other words, stands are things put into a human shape while personas are humans put into a different shape

I think the biggest difference between stand design and persona design, is that Stand designs tend to be like, kinda diagetic. Like, y'know, Magician's red is a phoenix man, flame abilities are a natural takeaway from that design. Gold Experience has life symbology all over it, and i shouldn't even have to touch on king nothing/nut king call/a good chunk of part 8 stands Personas on the other hand, tend to be like, closer to the superhero thing. They're closer to the thing they represent, instead of a certain ability. So like, stand design is generally more Function over fashion, while persona is fashion over function. The fashion in jojo's is mostly in the users anyways lol

i'm gonna take my chance: my stand is known as 『Not Gonna Die』 appearance: a ~6ft humanoid resembling a male, unpainted manikin with a counter on its chest maxing out at 24, and claw/blade-like fingers abilities: "feel invincible"; revives the user takes 1 off the counter for each revive, "back from the dead"; revives a person/some people removing the counter = the number revived. can not use these abilities if the counter reaches 0. the counter restores itself 1 per hour without taking serious damage. can not revive those who have gone through too much decomposition stats: -power: c -speed: b -range: b (can revive anybody in line of sight of the stand and/or the user of the stand) -durability: c -precision: A -developmental potential: D also the evolved form 『Not Gonna Die・Freakshow』 appearance: a ~6ft humanoid resembling a male, unpainted manikin with a busted counter on its chest (the break is in such a way to make the counter look like it says ♾), "wearing" a navy-blue, sleeved, full body cloak, and holding a "rune"-carved harvesting scythe abilities: "feel invincible・Freakshow"; revives the user an ♾-number of times, "back from the dead・Freakshow"; revives a person/all peoples an ♾-number of times. No limit on decomposition, or even if they are in/of this dimension stats: -power: N/A -speed: N/A -range: N/A -durability: N/A -precision: N/A -developmental potential: N/A namesakes: 4 skillet songs i like.

A thing with stands vs persona design i believe is stands have more flexibility with what they can be, where as a persona is supposed to look like their user in a costume or resemble someone in one

The thermometer on the chest could match how Made in Heaven is decked out in speedometers.

Didn't notice this video came out recently- Anyway, very nice!

Don't forget about how stands seem more practical serving a specific purpose in instances like the lock, hermit purple and whatnot

Stardust Crusaders vs S.E.E.S. when?

stands usually wear dress shoes and have weird stand eyes that have vertical lines, stands in part 3 were like evil spirits but later on become more like robotic humanoid dress shoe wearing vertical line having things.

honesly it be neat to see "what would the persona of a jojo character be"

Stands are impersonifications of the soul and the willpower, in theory. Your stand belongs to you and to you only, and it is your soul itself. In theory. But then the question is raised: Why is a soul more powerful than another? Why are some souls unable to manifest as stands? Why do the userless stands exist? who knows Personas are greater archeotypes usually found in mithology that work to represent willpower and the personality of someone. But personas are "external": your soul adopts the form of the Persona while manifesting, and adopting that form brings more power as Personas are separated greater entities. But the persona is not your soul, it is at best your personality and approach to life

Love these videos

One thing I notice when looking at stands and personas is that most stands have a very raw and primal energy to them. Like, they are the visualization of the soul, so their design would reflect on that, whilst personas are exactly what they are, personas. The design of a stand is more reliant on its user’s personality and being, but on the contrary, personas have a bit more artistic freedom while clinging onto the folktale it’s based off of.

Honestly that was a pretty cool. Though I am curious have you guys ever thought of comparing Persona to Examu's Daemon Bride? To be honest its cool to know that Daemon Bride existed before Persona Arena was even thought of.

Got it, Stands: Kamen Rider Eyes, ultraman body Personas: Ultraman head, Kamen Rider body(?)

29:50 Level 20 : learns Dekunda

Cutest stands off the top of my head: California King Bed, Tusk Act 1, Echoes Acts 1 and 2, Heaven's Door, Sex Pistols, Harvest, Silver Chariot when it got de-aged, and Stray Cat.

Let's go Mets!

for me the most simple way to put it is: Stands tend to be more segmented and look more robotic, armored, or like they're wearing several pieces of an outfit sewn together, where personas tend to be more smooth, like a super hero suit if i could use characters from something else as examples, i think digimon would be a good choice, Angemon looks like a persona but WarGreymon looks like a stand

Was thinking of Persona MCs for different countries and, without sharing the LORE to make sense of them, my current best are: Mexican: “Centauro” Pancho Villa (Ultimate: Chiron), Ascended Title: Sagittarius) British: Jekyll , with Hyde as 2nd head (Ultimate: Janus, Ascended Title: Gemini)

i feel like personas have really set in stone "materials" to them. like its definitely latex or steel or something, whereas stands are kind of just in that shape, not made of anything in particular unless its important to its design, like silver chariot

Both of them are amazing but i like Personas desing more Smt demons in general basically make me think of their desing instead of their original description, when i think of Odin i only think of Doi Odin and for me Lucifer (The Devil) looks like Helel Meanwhile the stands have a higher variety

32:32 Stand: MasterLock Appears as a KEY XD

1. The stand I've designed to be my personal stand is a humanoid one based on Broly/Star Platinum in appearance, but then I used that as a format to do other things (make it various combinations of colors seen during sunset depending on my mood, star shaped pupils, various birthstones and such associated with me, etc.) 2. Persona 3 has the most amount of cool looking personas, tied with 5 if you include Royal and Strikers. Persona 2 and 3 have the coolest persona designs/concepts IMO

plz tell me the what if will be continued plz!!!

25:23 Hypnos Nah, I am not sleeping anymore…

This video is tailored to me and only me.

To be fair, a bike that has nuclear bombs sounds like a stand from part 8.

30:00 to 32:00 would be a "stand or Persona?" challenge

30:55 stand name [R O C K E T M A N]

Stand's is Different Concept to The soul and the user due to themselves Which isn't the same things as Stands ≠ Soul because it is Power System of Ability due to the User itself and Willpowers itself Persona do needed a User awakening by themselves bringing Out Persona like Being injuries by themselves pops out immediately and Isn't soul aswell just like Jojo Stand's isn't like i said it earlier to myself Both Video Game and Anime/Manga Have the best Power System in their own Verse depends Which i chooses

omg jiraiya

Although I understand and agree with a lot of this but Goku's stand would 100% be just another Goku

A big difference is the proportions. Personas have more exaggerated body types, but stands all have pretty realistic proportions.

Stands always felt more abstract and conceptual than personas. Either abstractly embodying a concept where personas on average have a definite starting idea and abstract out from that original idea with characteristic of the user included.

i heard an interview that araki makes the stand first then makes the character based off the stand afterwards while I believe persona does the opposite when designing

23:37 The Life Coach Stand! XD

From what I can gather, a persona is an artistic representation of things sometimes associated with their user and stands are an abstract visualization of the many concepts that make up a person

Be *b i z z a r e* with them

Kaneko x Araki art piece when?

I'm surprised they didn't mention the suits stands.

On a sliding scale from Pokemon to Jojo, it goes: Pokemon - Yōkai Watch - Digimon - Persona - Jojo No, I will not elaborate

5:45 the Fallen Angel YOHANE?! XD

16:00 that’s a stand 🫵😧

17:13 O M G XD

So, are you not gonna talk about Soul Hackers 2?

the reason why stands today dont do the 1v1 punch fight, is because it became useless, modern stands now rely on stand ability rather than brute strength, somewhat making punchy standa outdated. like compare a battleship that punches so hard, which modern destroyers cant but has more abilities than a battleship can

18:30 HiNoTori Firebird! YES XD

Fafnir from P5R could be a Stand and it's name would be Imagine Dragons (Not that creative but if you've ever listened to Believers, it fits), My favorite Persona, Moloch could work but I can't think of any names for if it was a stand, maybe something based of The Score since I love their music, Jack Frost is literally any happy go lucky Christmas song (Black Frost=This Christmas I'll burn it to the ground)

I think in simplest terms, personas wear fashion, stands ARE Fashion

what about The Sun?

12:40 now I need to a Stand of a Biblical accurate Angel XD

27:20 from the game where you SHOOT YOURSELF I wonder…

8:27 that’s Pearl Jam “But it’s not a Pearl??” JAM “Tomato JAM???” Just SHUT UP until you read this one! XD

cool video

16:00 stand name [LADY GAGA]

Stand design: be weird. Be off putting. Be "wtf was THAT". Literally just go OFF. Persona Design: gala models.

One piece draw in JoJo artstyle done by K164 look amazing

36:33 Goku? “Monkey Smiles”

The reason why vulcanus looks like a stand could be because he looks a bit similar to white snake

Stands are almost never fully clothed

Okay but stands can be called “fire power” and have an ability that freezes things

Stands for the most part feels like they take a concept for the ability or its theme and exaggerate it with some references to the song or the user in it that's how I see it