The Truth About Goro Akechi (Character Analysis in Japanese Context // From Persona 5 to Royal) 

Lady Virgilia, can you do a Kasumi video essay, please? I want to see you have Faith in Kasumi’s journey as well.

Absolutely at some point!

I was curious as to why Akechi and Ren (Joker's name in P5A) shake hands with their LEFT instead of right?

btw, some deleted scenes were found in the files for P5R. One of them features Akechi after the ending, receiving therapy, and planning to return to see Joker

If I were orphan in Japan I would quickly become the ideal model son came from heaven basically onto the earth. When serious I can influence anyone almost always

This just might be the best thing I've ever read

Yeah, I could very easily see that happening when creepo uncle finally defaulted on his loans. Although, I can't really speak about whether Futaba's situation would be viewed the same way considering there are numerous differences.

Sojiro did say that Joker reminded him of himself when he was younger, so I can definitely see that. He probably ended up trying to conform to societal standards at first, maybe to keep Futaba under the radar and to not stand out as much, but after being around Joker a lot more he begins to return back to how he was and also become just as rebellious, even to the point of swearing to keep the Phantom Thieves a secret even when he learns of their identities. He truly is the best foster dad

See. The game is still pretty impactful without some of the niche cultural context. But this? I. I mean. I love coffee dad. Don't get me wrong. But this. Wow. I thought his thing with futabas mother had opened my eyes to his story, why he acts in certain ways. This. Did so. On an exponential level. Damn Sojiro. Or. Sakura-San. You're one awesome mofo

I was playing the game with my mum and she kept saying Joker do something and when Aketchi said that she just laughed out loud

@@TheDracolordianomg that’s so cute 😭

hah i heard that in my head in his voice. Was awesome

A prequel maybe?

Oh I didn't know Akechi was popular in Japan. That's pretty interesting.

I would buy multiple copies of such a game tbh

Atlus DID trademark "P5AG", so maybe that AG stands for "Akechi Goro" and it tells the game's story from his perspective.

Atlus: MORE DLC, MORE DLC, MORE DLC!!!!!!

Yeah, Futaba is a great navigator and still monitors Akechi's status in the third semester despite knowing what he did. I love Haru with all of my heart, but damn did she scare me in the scene where the rest of the Thieves confirm with her and Futaba that I'll be okay to work with Akechi. She wouldn't hesitate to "cut him down" if he betrayed them again. I absolutely think that Haru would've killed him if he tried to betray the group again. Although I would've liked more interaction with the three characters. Neither wanted to forgive or be forgiven, but the dynamic would've been interesting nonetheless.

@JAMS Dream And adding onto Futaba... Akechi may have done the killing blow to Wakaba, but he wasn't the one to do the "killing blow" (i.e. the emotional/mental trauma) to Futaba. Both parties are unforgivable of course, but at least Akechi's making the effort to atone (even if he's not seeking forgiveness), wheras the adults who lied to Futaba never will.

@@izzy1356 I can understand Haru having the bigger reason to bear a grudge towards Akechi, but Futaba? She is just not the type to be doing that, at least, continously, to the point where it consumes her whole life. Not to mention, Akechi did the killing, but we have no idea, how exactly that happened. Considering how manipulative Shido is and how much he emotionally gaslit young Akechi into this role of a hitman, who knows, how he presented Wakaba on a silver platter to him to make him do the killing without even realizing, he killed someone at all. He may have played it up as a game for him to play and he naively bought into it, not understand anything at first. Shido may even keep her death a secret from him, so that he can continue manipulating Akechi into killing more people he doesn't like, without even letting him know, they actually died. But once Goro caught on to what is actually happening... he got consumed by so much guilt and self-hatred, he felt as though, he was far beyond redemption at this point, having killed other fellow human beings, but his delusions about wanting to be a hero still persisted and he uses that as a defence mechanism (Robin Hood is his delusional half), so that he can slightly feel proud of himself for not being an "irredeemable piece of societal trash", feeding into the idea: Nobody will ever forgive or understand his reasoning, because nobody is interested. It just shows how truly evil Shido is, it just gets highlighted the most in such instances. And again, he did the killing, but it wasn't him to write that vindictive note about "Futaba having killed her mother", that was Shido himself. So yeah, Futaba has the LEAST amount of reason to never forgive or understand Akechi.

Fun fact: in the Thieves' Den, those two WILL NOT play a game of Tycoon with him. Go ahead and try, those two won't do it.

abyye same

I would kill for a DLC like that.

a dlc that explores akechi's moment when he first awakens would be dope. like, u get to see more of his interactions with shido n other ppl. u fight only as him. his thoughts and feelings towards the people he faces from then on. maybe see him more as a human, as a kid. like he gets sad every now and then when he's alone, idk im rambling at this point. basically im into it

Oh myy I actually love this theory...?! Since Yaldabaoth basically "gifted" Akechi his powers, it's easy to assume that something as abnormal as Call of Chaos could have just been an add-on from him. But considering that Wakaba was the foremost cog-psi researcher at the time (and must have had some distortion in order for Akechi to kill her shadow), her closing in on some way of utilizing less scrupulous tactics wouldn't be too far of a stretch... Oh and yes I've played the Featherman Seeker game! (Actually, is it just me, or is there wayyy more extra time to 100% P5R compared to the vanilla P5 lol) I can't believe I never put two-and-two together...I can totally see Grey Pigeon symbolizing Akechi. Thanks for enlightening me! Damn...with both of these things in mind...poor Goro. His low luck stat makes even MORE sense now...certainly not everything is tied to fate, thoughhh it sure likes to screw with him a lot. The ship feels are REAL. Thank you for this super thoughtful comment!

@@LadyVirgilia No problem! 😊 There is actually a Tumblr post that explains this theory and one of the things they said made it more clear to me that Wabaka must have experimented on Akechi. For instance, the scientist's name in Featherman Seeker is Osagiri. The kanji for Osagiri alludes to the kanji for Wakaba. I also theorize that Akechi was probably a homeless teen for some time before Yaldabaoth gave him persona powers. As you mentioned in the video in regards to child institutions, when children leave the institution, many of them end up in the bottom rung of society and become homeless. Children in Japan usually get out of those childcare institutions between the ages of 15 - 18. Akechi was around 15 when he obtained persona powers and started working for Shido, and 15 is in that range of getting out of those child institutions. Yaldaboath must have seen this miserable homeless teen and decided to chose him. I also remembered seeing a post a long time ago that says that Akechi talks about a 24 hour convenience store that he used to go to, but I can't seem to find that post anymore... :/ 24-hour stores are places that homeless teens usually go to for shelter.

Not necessary for her to have a distortion, just have a shadow. Although, given her research, it wouldn't be unusual to have a place simply because she would know how to create and nurture one. So it is possible she had, in the line of her research, made her own palace to experiment with. With Akechi as her assistant to help her hone techniques

Jacob Freeman Is Wakaba somehow had a self made Palace then if Akechi did kill Wakaba then she would’ve just been dead. Wakaba had a mental shutdown so that means she needed to have a shadow and that shadow would’ve had to die. Wakaba was probably a good person but like Futaba, and Maruki they could both have a palace while still being good people.

Raven Rose yeah not all distorted desires are evil. Wakaba’s distorted desire must have been wanting to complete the cognitive research no matter what

Ryuji also notes that Akiren uses fake glasses when exploring Kichijoji for the first time. so yeah, he doesn't need them at all

To appear weak

I think that's confirmed in general

it’s a bit silly how he wears them in strikers when he doesn’t appear to “need” them in it. perhaps he damaged his eyes by wearing fake glasses to too long, haha

If I recall correctly, Joker wears glasses to make him seem meek and unassuming.

Espera que mierda?

Sometimes the people doing localizations get to have a little fun with double-meanings. I think any kind of definitiveness is the Japanese interpretation, but beyond that, it's just fun to see suggestiveness.

@@tavoreparan8091 honestly those are the best localization experiences. Instead of going overly literal with the source language and losing all the inside jokes, i love when localization injects some of that meaning back with their own interpretations

it sounds a bit like that too in french yeah 💀

@@aaaaaaaafjjdjs I read it as the exact opposite, especially since he outright uses the slang word for murder.

My condolenses for what you went through, but I’m glad people were there for you, keep beong strong. It is true that media rarely shows victims or other things in great ways. Having a physical disability I’ve become aware od how media paints things. And you’re right about victim blaming, eapecially with make rape victims. I saw one thing once where a person said “guys can’t be raped because they have ti get hard first” and I did a double take because I was like “that’s... easuer than you think...” but getting into Akechi I lost my older brother at 12 from an illness and my girlfriend lost her mother at 18 from suicide. It impacted us greatly, and Akechi likely lost his mother younger than that. The one person in his life got depressed and killed herself and he was thrown into chaos with no support. Akechi is clear that he’s an accident no one wanted. So many people are so quick to claom “he should have gotten help” but victims, especially male victims, are often ignored or know where to turn. I barely suffered any abuse (a bit of verbal abuse/bullying from my stepdad and maybe some stuff about my disability) but even I struggled to know what to say to someone or who to ask. My girlfriend went through a lot more in her life and when we talk about it she agreed. There’s also fear of being ignored or reprecussions from the abuser if you say something. A lot of people are quick to use the term Psychopath or Sociopath to describe Akechi, but I think there’s an issue of representation again. Media portrays psychopathy as a murderous person, but this is not entirely accurate. I don’t have a background in psychology, but I do find the subject interesting. So the things I say are based on what research I’ve done and my instinct as an author to analyze characters. Both those terms though fall under a larger personality disorder called Antisocial Personality Disorder. Which has a lot to do with disregard for others, inflated self-image, lying in the attemt to use others, lack of remorse for actions, and other things. When reading up on it I saw more signs that possibly linked Shido to that disorder, which is significant. Akechi doesn’t have an ego, he PRETENDS to. He does show remorse even if he doesn’t ask for forgiveness and while he lies it is to gain the approval of others. While looking around I saw a disorder called Borderline Personality Disorder which haa symptoms like low self-worth, unstable fluctuating relationships (ASPD talks about shallow relationsgips, but looking at his interactions with Joker it’s not shallow, he only pushes away out of fear) and bursts of rage. Genetica have a great impact on mental health. A person in the exact same situation with different parents may reaxct different. I think this is one thing a lot of people overlook. So if we argue that Shido as ASPD then Akechi, by being Shido’s son, is more at risk of having a personality disorder like BPD. Then his situation has to be taken into account. And the fact that he did get magic powers from a false god who literally singaled him out as an agent of chaos like “hey, you’re hurt and angry, here take this literal chaos and go take revemge”. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with victims is that not only do they silently blame themselves, but often they’re blamed and shames for being victims. Or if they are they’re treated as poor people instead of as they are. His relationship with Joker is thus an extremely important one. Not only that, but he wanted to be accepted and aknowledged even by Shido. Not just another voice that was never heard. He wanted to rise up from being a burden and an accidrntbto someone who mattered. He justifies his kills by saying he is doing what they were. He killed because they were doing bad things. This is a bit muddled with Joker and maybe Wakaba, but I think even that is a part of who he is. Joker got close to him. He values Joker and opens up to him. But he’s also scared Joker will find out how messed up he is. He’s afraid of being abandoned and forgotten and Joker threatens that in multiple ways so he acts out against that. His slow breakdown during his boss fight as he gets more and more desperate untol he finally relents and is confused by the PTs still offering him a hand is something he never say. Failure was never an option until them. Joker gave him the best support he ever had. That’s why in the 3rd semester he doesn’t have to hide a part of himself. Joker and the thieves have seen his worst and weakest, but still aren’t throwing him away so he feels safe. Some hsve also pointed to how his 3rd awakening happens at LeBlanc while the others happen in their rooms (romantically or not) Akechi’s home amd heart are where Joker is because Joker is the support he never had. He even notes if they met earlier things would have been different. Had he had the support of Joker he may not have turned to such extremes, but he didn’t. But now that he does. He doesn’t care for his own life (devaluing himself even as a barganing chip and berating Joker for even thinking his possible death is worth risking the lack of freedom) and he knows he is a messed up person and deserves punishment, but that he chooses that path. He’s lived his life being a puppet to Shido and Yaldeboath, but now he can xhooze even if it means life imprisonment or death. In fact, another thing that is often missrepresented is suicide. People see it as giving up or being too weak, but often the victim sees it as sn escape. A way to choose and a way to escale pain. Akechi is willing to die so he won’t be controlled. Akechi is a victim dealt a bad hand before he was even born and was pushed around. Villifying him only tells victims they don’t matter. Should he have tirned to being the way he is, no, but an issue is the cycle of abuse. A lot of victims become the abusers because it makes them feel strong amd/or no one told them a better way. If you’re a boy and your father hit your mother when you wrre mad you might pick that up if no one helped you learn thst you shouldn’t. Many bullies are that way because they’re jealous someone is “better” than them. Shido admits he manipulated Akechi with praise. Akechi kilks somsone, he gets praise and acknowledgement. So how does he get more? Kill another person. He doesn’t just kill people willy nilly, but it’s a way for him to be seen and accepted. He continues a cycle of abuse because until Joker no one said “there’s a better way” and he couldn’t find help. Another issue is gender. Men are often told to not show emotion and be tough. So him seeking help and breaking down would have seemed “girly and unfit for a guy.” And this wrong. Sorry for that huge rant. I wrote this before watching the video so who knows what will be adressed, but what you said hit home to me in very specific ways. And I hoope through my writing I can help shed light and better portray things like disability, abuse, mental illness and such in ways that help subvert the common tropes and allows those who feel alienated find a place they can belong and that their voices are heard and appreciated.

@@dragonwolftmaer5 That "men can't be raped because they have to get hard first" is not only completely insensitive but also completely biologically inaccurate. The body will respond to stimulation the way it was designed to, that's just how it works. I just thought I'd bring this up because it always annoys me when I see people (on the internet especially) talk as if they are an expert in a subject when it's obvious that they have done little, if any, research.

@@jillreyerma7592 Oh absolutely! It frustrates me when people try to argue their missconceptions as fact. A body can’t determine “good” or “bad” touch. It just knows it’s stimulated. It really doesn’t take a lot to look things up, but people either just take what others say or do a bare minimum of information then claim they know then get angry when someone tries to teach them better. It’s a similar thing with disability or mental illness. I see a lot of people spread and perpetuate stereotypes (the internet and media doesn’t help) I see a lot of people say Akechi is a psychopath or sociopath, and I can see why, but looking into it more I think the symptoms apply more to Shido (actually making Goro more suseptible to mental illness) but I think (based on my admittedly limited understanding of mental disorders) his symptoms seem more akin to Borderline Personality Disorder. But yeah, I agree. So many people have limited to no info and yet want to try to give what they have as fact and even if they are proven wrong by actual scientific fact and try to brush it off rather than learn. And really that argument is simply a way to denean male rape victims especially those who are raped by women for not being “tough enough” which is utter bull.

@@dragonwolftmaer5 Oh yeah, I've always thought that Shido fit the psychopathy bill pretty well. Way more than Akechi. Though Akechi does show some of the symptoms, he is not a Psychopath in my personal opinion. Psychopaths are considered to have a very severe form of Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Akechi's matching symptoms certainly aren't that bad. Though, he *may* have ASPD because it has a strong genetic component to it. He could be diagnosed too, since you have to be 18 for an ASPD diagnosis. Another thing concerning ASPD is that both it and BPD are in the same group of disorders (personality) and have been known to coexist in some people. I also agree with your theory on BPD. Though I will also say that I have no formal education in Psychology and nor will I pretend that I know everything about it (unlike some people). But I have done research on the topic on websites made by medical institutions, so I'm fairly confident in the things I do know. I did just check again though to make sure I at least partially know what I'm talking about. BPD is said to carry with it a fear of abandonment to start with, this has quite an obvious connection to Akechi so its probably unnecessary to go into too much depth on this one. But I will say that the fear of abandonment could be on display when he shows a clear hesitation in becoming close with people. He repeatedly shouts that he doesn't need teammates or friends. I kind of interpret this as Akechi being defensive because he fears abandonment and may be afraid that everyone will just leave him in the end because, in his eyes, he is truly worthless (self esteem issues are a part of it as well and it is quite plain that Akechi has them). Secondly, the person can be quite emotionally unstable. Again, quite obvious. They have periods of intense negative emotions such as rage and sorrow, plus they often have long term feelings of emptiness and loneliness as well as sometimes becoming suicidal. These can be seen in Akechi a lot after revealing his true nature (that scene is quite telling in general in my opinion) he appears to bounce between pure, unfettered anger that is displayed as being difficult to control (another sign of BPD) and a sudden melancholy. In addition, Akechi shows a sense of loneliness in the way he talks "I was very particular about my appearance, my grades, my public image, so someone would want me around!" could be used as an example of this, and I will come back to that quote to back up something else in a second. He is also quite empty in general given that his whole life revolves around pleasing people and exacting revenge upon the father that abandoned him then left him and his mother to rot. In talking about people pleasing, we segue into the next part. Here we bring up the quote again: "I was very particular about my appearance, my grades, my public image, *so someone would want me around!*". Another symptom of BPD is a lack of a sense of identity and this sense of who you are *may change significantly depending on who you are with* which does indeed fit Akechi adopting personas (no pun intended but maybe pun intended) in order to please people. BPD affected people also find it hard to build and keep relationships, which Akechi probably did, thus changing his personality to fit what he thought people wanted. This would have contributed to the sense of loneliness and probably brought that hollowed out, empty sensation I mentioned before- like he's not truly himself (which he is not for most of the game). Expanding on this further, as I previously mentioned- Akechi has self esteem issues and a fear of abandonment. As such, he would desire attention. This is why Akechi reacts the way he does when cognitive Akechi says "Don't tell me, were you feeling good about having someone rely on you for once?" It's evident that Akechi likes being praised, both here and when Shido mentions in his pre boss battle speech that he "controlled him by merely offering praise". People with BPD often seek validation, a way to prove that their negative thoughts about themselves are untrue and to boost their self esteem. Akechi does seem to overcompensate when it comes to self esteem, talking about how great his powers and talents are. But, if you listen to the way he says it and his phrasing, it sounds more like he's trying to convince himself than anybody else. Also, paranoia is frequently seen in people with BPD. It could well be paranoia that people could betray you at any time, or that you are utterly convinced of something that you really have no logical basis for. There isn't as much evidence for this one, but he does seem pretty paranoid about what people think of him and clearly cares deeply about it. This fear of abandonment could have also lead to paranoia concerning that as well. There could be more, but this comment is very long as it is and you're probably tired of my rambling by now. Thank you, if you read it all though.

@@jillreyerma7592 oh no, I love these kinds of analysis and like to continue them. It’s great fun and I find great interest in discussing with people. Like you I also have limited knowledge, but try to base it on medical sites and varify between them. I have taken a bit of psych, but don’t claim to be an expert. I read in one site that people can exibit symptoms from other disorders so if we go on the notion of him having BPD then j showing a few signs of ASPD is understandable. One big thing for me is that people with ASPD have no care for people and a high self-esteem which Akechi has neither, it’s very opposite. Akechi is very afraid and used to being thrown away. Someone in a comment said that you can’t analyze his “Detective Prince” guise to see Akechi, but you MUST because it is impoerant. He was upset when he didn’t feel like he belonged at LeBlanc because he brought up Sae and Wakaba. He thinks that if the public knew he was a “bastard child” they wouldn’t listen to him. Sae is important too. Say what you will about the anime, but one of the best lines they added to me is when Makoto says “my sister trusted you” and he replies “she trusted me?” The fact she valued him was a shock to him brcause he honestly has no sense of self-worth. Joker is his first friend. Ship them or not he “loves” Joker in onr way or another. He’s the first person he was able to be “him” with and not feel like he would be judged. I think it’s significant his “last words” to Joker were “This is where YOUR justice ends”. That was something they had deep talks about. Akechi is Justice. So saying that he is acknowledgimg the bond meant something. It wasn’t a means to an end and it scared him, but he wanted to be his friend. I think another evidence of his self-esteem is his plan literally hinges on him being a “shame”. Someome who thinks they’re better than otjers wouldn’r make a plan to go “hey you know that woman you fucked... yeah I’m her son so I’m a mistake and that will ruin you”. Yup, it’s why I think the Detective Prince is a PART of him. You can’t make things from nothing. He has that in him as much as his bitter Third Semester anger. He gets angry when they try to talk him down. He wanted attemtion and love he was starved for, but also railed against how fake his fans were. How simply they went between him and the Phantom Thieves. How they were never able to see him for him, hence again: Joker. He structured his life so he could get the acceptanve amd that’s why he gets so mad at Joker. Joker was “criminal trash” and yet he was able to have friends and find acceptance. During Rank 8 in Royal Akechi says “sk you’ve caught up to me here too” of course that’s a hint, but also significant. Joker is catching up to Akechi in the metaverse when Akechi has been at it for 2 years more and it makes him hurt. I think the pun is important even if unintentional because he has TWO. I don’t take Robin Hood as his “lies” as much as his “justice” Robin is a superhero and he uses ray guns. This a direct reference to his past wanting to be a hero of justice. You can see it too when theu first meet up with Sumi he automatically drops back into his polite form of speech even if at this point he’s not that person. Yes, he wants people to accept him. As much as he HATES Shido he really wants him to say how important he is. His shock that the PTs are able to accept him despite killing two of their parents and nearly killing Joker is a shock to him and his third semester coldness to them may be a result of that. He expects Haru and Futaba to hate him and that he’s not a PT. He is jealous Joker has that and he wants to know he’s important and not just trash. Which is why Sae trusting him is a shock. Even if it may have been obvious he didn’t see it. He is extremely focused and projecting onto Joker because of that. I actually think he had two motives in Sae’s palace. Sure it was to catch Joker red-handed, but I think he actually valued Sae and knew she was currupted and knew if she got too close he may have to kill her, and he didn’t want that. I have little basis for this, but I believe it makes sense. Sae is one of the few people he trusts. He felt betrayed that she was twisted. Some people also think his third senester proves how “bad” he is, but he’s ruthless and blunt, yet he is far from heartless to PEOPLE. I’m sure if he felt he HAD to he would, but Akechi takes no joy in ending life. It’s just his “job” (Shadows are different of course) you could argue his smile when shooting Joker, but a lot of people smile or laugh at tough things because it’s a response. Not only that it makes him feel powerful. He feels like he is in control. He’s not a “puppet”. That’s also why he despises the fake reality. He doesn’t want to be “controlled” even if it’s to make him happy. Even if his (worthless in his eyes) life will end he refuses to be forced. I actually noticed too that the fake reality harkens back to his comment about the PT in the beginning that “changing a person’s cognition is fundimentslly wrong”. You could argue that’s him getting support because of his Detective Prince aspect, but add that to Third Semester where he is visibly upset at the idea of changing people and you can tell that isn’t wholy an act. But in that semester Joker has seen his worst so he’s not hiding. He trusts Joker to literally and figuratively have his back because Joker shows him that validation and acceptance. Joker values him. Peopke complain he shows no remorse and I disagree. It’s not that he doesn’t, but that he doesm’t expect forgiveness. He’s not looking to be pitied but to be accepted. Another thing about that and him wanting to kill: if he cared nothing for killing he wouldn’t be so fast to justify. Even to Shido who doesn’t give two flips he says “they were criminals anyway” that’s justification at it’s finest. Someone who didnmt care would have no reservations. I want to also add that I think Joker and Akechi’s bobd is very significant. Joker doesn’t just agree because he’s the detective prince or just shut him up. He’s willing to disagree while maintaining a civil tone and keep up the debate. He is able to have these big chats with Joker and he’s okay to be with him. Joker is perseptive which impresses him. It’s true that Joker and Akechi don’t traditionally help each other in their confidant, but I think Joker does help Akechi. He gives him someone to be open with. He is able to be himself with Joker and it scares him. He regrets not meeting Joker because Joker is the ome person he could really bond with. I think it’s significant in Third Senester that he approaches Joker about the fake reality. He TRUSTS Joker and knows they’re stronger together instead of storming the palace all by himself which before he would have. He values and cares for Joker because Joker helped him learn to trust. And while he violently tore that apart by shooting (cognative) Joker he still found someone to help him and validate him. Joker goves him what he wanted, love and acceptance, for not only his righteous Robin Hood side, but also his harsh blunt Loki side as well. Now I’m rambling, but as I said I think the topic is interesting and I really enjoy talking about it. I love analyzing characters and I think he is very interesting. So I’m not tired of it at all. Really, I love talks like this and love the ability to have and continue them over RU-vid or whatever.

I think it has huge stigma in many asian country as well

it's actually kinda disgusting that these issues exist.

Yeah, Shido was awful, but he could read people like open books. Anybody he’s met have an extremely accurate cognitive being in his palace. If only someone good got the power to understand people so well…

My first and third edits got cut off so here’s my last things Edit: Joker also takes his glasses off during the fireworks festival showing his closeness to his team, and during both endings when he overcomes his hardships. They’re back in P5S cause P5S was like “Nah”. Edit 3: So I wanna bring up some fun facts. Akechi’s one of the few characters to not have “awakened” weapons formed from when he awakened to his Persona, the others being I believe Morgana, Joker’s Gun, and Kasumi (who I assume bought some weapons after her first awakening). The toy weapons he uses are implied to be stuff he dug up from when he was a kid, although when becoming black mask his ray guns now shoot “special bullets” (I take that to mean they kill people) and jagged evil looking swords. Akechi has 3 cut ins, his one with Robin where he looks like a P3/4 cut in because he’s very clean and pristine, the psychotic cut in when he is fighting you showing he’s losing it, and the more egotistical and disgusted cut in in the third semester, showing how much he really doesn’t care for shadows. Probably the biggest showing that Akechi’s prince act isn’t completely fake is taking him to stuff like the cathedral nets mostly the same reaction, just Akechi’s more of a dick about it. It’s not so much prince was fake and more... filtered. Finally on the subject of Akechi’s remorse, while he does feel it pretty clearly (no more what ifs is definitely about Akechi struggling with killing Joker) he doesn’t seem to have it way him down since he ultimately just wants to move forward. He’ll do what he wants, no regrets now after all these years. His turning himself in seems to just be him thinking fairs fair, since Joker fulfilled his promise and all. Oh and one last thing, Akechi does seem to actually like the Phantom Thieves despite thinking they’re kinda naive about how the world works. He thinks them not killing people and that they think people can change is stupid, but the PT themselves as people are good people and he’s thankful for their help, he says as much in some jazz club dialogue.

Wow that's something I had not considered regarding og rank 8! it would make so much sense that the entire confidant is initiated by Akechi. The rank 10 in the Jpn translation adds another layer since it's the only rank up where Joker's thought bubble says "I sense a certain bond with Akechi" instead of "I sense a solid bond with ___" for all his other confidants at max rank. Sort of affirms Joker's halfheartedness towards the relationship. And you're right about the fireworks festival! My bad for forgetting! The thing about Akechi always having Robinhood is a fair point! I've toyed with the idea that it could have even been his initial one, but he was so disillusioned the world that he began to use Loki way more. Though I personally like to abscribe more to the idea that his bond with Joker is responsible for Robin. Helps give his status as a Wild Card more substance imo since it shows how powerful that ability can be, but also how easily squandered as well, since Akechi never bothered getting close to anyone before the MC. Edit: Yes Akechi's jazz club dialogue in the 3rd semester is really cool. I do agree that he respects the PT and appreciates them, but definitely doesn't see them as friends and keeps his distance cuz it's be awkward. But because the geniality of his demeanor is removed now, it literally just comes across as him not giving them the time of day otherwise. I feel like I misspoke when I called it bad blood between him and the PT in the 3rd semester section, since he says himself that he put the feud behind him. I should have clarified that whatever negative sentiment (even though they still have sympathy for him) there may be is from the side of the PT, most likely Futaba and Haru (obviously haha) Thanks for this thoughtful comment! ^^

LadyVirgilia thank you for the amazing video, I love videos that make think. Thank you so much!

Wait but doesn't us seeing akechi at the end of royal show that he didn't die in shido's palace?

@@SINNAMON997 It is unknown. We don't know if Akechi was dead or just in some secret government ICU. Either way, Akechi was unaware of what was happening up until Maruki pulled him to Shibuya.

Wow that's such a neat tidbit about Akechi's facial expression! Thank you for pointing this out. He certainly has regrets when it comes to the crimes he's committed, so I can get behind the speculation that he's turning himself in during this scene. The strange thing is that he's showing up nearly 2 months after Maruki's reality ended though, so it's a mystery as to where he's been in the meantime...but then again, we don't know exactly what happened to him after Shido's Palace anyway......hopefully some sort of follow up to Royal's ending can provide some explanation (please Atlus! lol)

@@LadyVirgilia as in regarding to this, just the other day a group dug up from the game files a non-used scene of Akechi at an unknown place that looks like a bathhouse and from the translation seemed like the one he used to go with his mother when he was little. I really recommend looking it up, as that could be a plausible explanation as to what he's been doing ever since.

This is the scene of anyone was wondering ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OZ2QIwZqosQ.html

@@LadyVirgilia From what I inferred from the unused cutscene people found about Akechi, he survived out of Shido's palace. He was wounded from the fight and was too ashamed to show his face to Joker bc of all the messed up stuff he did. Instead of going to a hospital and get attention, he went to the rehab center or caretaker's house who took care of his mom when she was still alive. In his dialogue, he thanks them for taking care of him even tho he came unannounced. He then said that he will repay his debt to them in the future, but first, he has a debt to pay to someone who took care of him in Tokyo and has to leave. So that means, in the course of the 3rd semester, the real Akechi was wounded and left to go to a safe haven / (caretaker's house???), but bc of the fake reality he came back with no wounds and no recollection after he left Shido's palace. Why? His decision to leave bc of his wound would interfere with Joker's wish to see him safe and sound. In the post-credit scene, I think he just got back to Shibuya and would be looking for Joker, with the company of 2 staff who looked after him. ( haha idk its just my take on the topic)

the whole distinction between cognitive and real is in general kinda sketchy for the Persona universe in first place; for example the whole timeline itself post P2 can be considered a cognitive overlay upheld by the willing amnesia of a couple of high schoolers.

If it helps, in one of the deleted cutscenes left on the disk, we see two (most likely placeholder) characters at a rehab center (unique background too) and overhear a “young man” mention how he must change for the sake of his promise and his mother. While this scene is incomplete and lacks voice acting (which some cut scenes do actually have), it makes the most sense for this to be Goro.

Exactly, people tend to oversimplify things and don’t try to understand. Also, as you said, the fact that he understood that he needed therapy is a huge step forward

Nope, he killed innocent people so he was an irredeemable monster.

I really liked that bc it shows how important it could be for the PT to have ties to a detective

That... that... thAt SouNDs LiKe vItaL InFOrmAtIOn Morgana quotes aside, that is a real interesting point. I had already theorized that akechi maybe had a special version of the nav that allowed him to exit shidos palace before getting shot (or after getting shot, but in time to get medical attention) considering he was supposed to be yaldabaoths champion in his twisted game, but the detail of akechi escaping okumuras palace in time when even the phantom thieves only barely made it is a strong point in favour of my theory. Thanks for pointing this out!

@@dededeletethis9940 Or it could just be bad writing lol. I love P5 Royal a lot, but the original P5 has it's missteps in how it juggles its many characters in accordance with the main plot and it's themes. That's especially true with everything from the time of Okumara's palace, to the plot twist of your fake death at the hands of Akechi. Seems like the writers had a hard time getting thier story where they wanted it to go during that stretch so they relied a lot on contrived explanations about not entirely clear events that occur. They try to explain it all through long dialogue and through Futaba / Mona after the twist, but it's definitely a case where the player has to suspend the plausibility of some of the events that take place during those 2-3 months for it to really work. It all "makes sense" if you buy what they tell you, but like, its a lot of deus ex machina to make it work

I was actually thinking about it... There's this fun headcanon I see in many places that dying in the metaverse =/= permanent death. That if you die in the metaverse you actually just get booted out into the real world or something. It explains Ryuji waking up alive after having an explosion blown in his face at the end of Shido's palace, and it might explain what you mentioned now. What I was thinking is that maybe by losing to the PTs and losing his resolve to destroy Shido, Akechi lost the "game". After all, were he to live, he would stop playing the "game" and turn himself in (as seen in Maruki's reality). Since he lost the "game", his life was forfeit, just like when Joker lost. Thus, even though he didn't permanently die in the metaverse, he still lost his life.

@@erachiiii the "metaverse death =/= real death" thing is interesting to think about, but i feel that it's very unlikely due to one simple thing: the tv world. The tv world is most likely just another regional manifestation of the metaverse - the collective subconscious of tokio looks the the tokio subway system because it is so important for everyone there, while the collective subconscious of inaba manifests as a world inside tvs because watching tv is the one universal form of entertainment out there (i guess). And as we know, if you die in the tv, your dead body will be spat back out. So, i feel like the p5 metaverse would operate by similar rules. Ryuji surviving can be explained simply by the fact that he has the most defense of the party, he has survived worse attacks before.

@@dededeletethis9940 yeah that's a good point! The TV world and the metaverse aren't the same but they are similar so it makes sense they would work the same in terms of death. In that case, do you think akechi's dead body was spat out somewhere🤔? ...or maybe he IS alive. Well either way I rlly like both of these headcanons they're rlly cool.

I personally think its poor writing that Akechi just could not be reasoned with despite having identical goals the thieves. Writing him off to die there should have only been some sort of bad negotiation dialogue or bad ending option with Joker getting him to come to his senses and rank 10 confidant making him a member of the team against Shido.

@@donaldduck6831 Well it's not always like that! It's not EXACTLY the same situation, but take Jason Tood for example in the secret of the red hood. Jason had a similar goal as Batman's, to punish criminals, but due to the experience he suffered with the Joker his view of punishment became more twisted, becoming more of a salvage vigilante than a hero. It isn't the best example but I think you get my point; the experiences these characters go through change them in ways that are beyond any kind of saving

@@donaldduck6831 I mean he made himself go literally psychotic hard to reason with anyone when their crazy. But it's clear he's snapped and slowly breaking, everything he's built up is about to come crashing down right after he's spent his entire life to reach that point to kill shido, if the thieves expose shido all that waiting and prep is for nothing, everything he's done to make people love and accept him will just dissapere. I think most people would be hard to reason with there

You have to wonder 🤔 although my friend has a pretty sad headcanon that perhaps his mother wasn’t all that loving to him and he viewed her through a rose-tinted lens as a coping mechanism. If we ever get an Akechi game I hope they explore his mother because I feel like she was a very important of his life and the future decisions he made.

@@Allthingsasian I do think his mother did care for him as best as she could. The first piece of evidence being that she was willing to buy toys for him and play with him. Toys are a luxury for those with financial insecurity, and the fact that she played along with Akechi's childish fantasies of being a hero proves that she didn't just buy it to keep him quiet. The second piece of evidence is that she would have Akechi wait in an onsen while she was working. She made sure he waited in a relatively safe place while she attended to clients and would pick him up when she was done.

Makes sense since Akechi lives alone in an apartment that only contains the bare minimum

it's just because he's left handed...

when I handshake people with my right hand it literally means nothing it's just my hand lmao guys don't search meaning where there is none while there's so much subtext otherwise

@@kateyepawtch narratives bring about symbolism everywhere, it’s a part of storytelling. the beauty of it is interpretation, and I think that this interpretation brings an interesting idea into the story

I mean we have an in-game example of foster care being ass with Futaba.

the anime isn't canon lmao

@@robinhoodproductions5102 for certain specific events, sure. But I doubt they would make Akechis backstory not canon in the anime.

What is Mukoyoshi? Edit: The term was better explained in the Haru video.

It's explained in the video.

?

Omg I never saw it that way! Out of everyone there, he’s the only one whose personality is completely different from what they are like normally. He’s not even his detective prince self. He even tries going off to attack Maruki alone while with the PTs, so it would still make sense for him to try it completely alone. I felt so terrible about not choosing the bad ending for so long, but now this makes me feel content. Thanks for this!

Yeah same theory about how different Akechi acts in both endings, it felt that way to me too!

I doubt Maruki would kill Akechi though, if Akechi did try to fight Maruki by himself and obviously lose, Maruki would probably change his cognition so he acts in what Maruki might consider a more healthy manner

its been over a year since i last played his boss fight, but i doubt maruki could change akechis cognition, considering he wasnt even affected at the beginning of the semester. and knowing akechi, he wouldnt stop fighting until he drops dead

I hated him all throughout p5 vanilla but after royal he became my 3rd favorite character

Definitely deserving of that length. I mean, his Confidant in base and Royal is like night and day. And Royal made the buildup to his rivalry with Joker much clearer.

I know this is kind of late to reply to, but... one thing I want to point out is while Akechi did commit the initial act which set the ball rolling, he wasn't the one who wrote or read to her the faked suicide note and blamed her for her own mother's death, nor the source of abuse from her relatives before Sojiro got custody. So yes, Akechi Goro is at fault for commiting the awful deed of killing someone infront of their own kid (if most likely unknowingly for the latter part). But he isn't the sole source of it. (This kind of stuff can be really difficult to put into words I guess, so apologies for any offense given. This was just something I really wanted to say after reading what you said, as I ended up interpreting it putting all the blame on Akechi. was that the right interpretation, especially for reading this at 3am? idk lol)

Your wording on this is pretty polite, so I'll quickly explain my point of view for you. Royal left me feeling that not enough blame was placed on shido for manipulating akechi and not enough on akechi for killing futaba's mother and haru's dad for his own selfish plans of trying to set up shido. And even with the reworking Akechi got in Royal, Futaba still isn't given a chance to hold him accountable for his actions. I do agree that Shido does hold blame for what happened, but overall I felt that Royal didn't do enough to make me feel that Akechi was truly held accountable. Like he only received a 'slap on the wrist' from the phantom thieves and I wonder how they would have all reacted if they knew that Akechi killed futaba's mother along with Haru's dad. I hope this helps you understand my point of view a bit better.

I see, I see! Thanks for sharing. I wonder if it's because that I've been delving into so many fanworks these past few months that I didn't get that feeling as much, as when the situations came up people DID acknowledge it all. From what little I can tell, it seemed like an intentional descision by the writers to avoid non-mission based interaction between certain characters to I guess sort of indicate how important the mission at the time was. I think I understand a bit more now, thank you.

Thanks for bringing this up! I'll get to working on closed captions for my video essays slowly but surely 😊

Thank you for your response. Please take your time when making them. This is an hour long video after all!

I'm not so sure that's really evidence of the Akechi we were with being a fake. If that were the case then the protagonist himself would also be an imposter since once you defeat Maruki the world goes back to him having been taken by the police since Christmas. It just means he was sent back to where he was suppose to be Edit: I just realized this comment is a year old! So sorry for the ping!

Oh mannn you called me out TKN haha! Yeah this video got superrrr long...and I technically had even *more* to say *sweatdrops. I really hope you enjoy your P5R experience TKN! I had a blast myself haha.

That vid and Royal surely did an effect on me. I used to hate the guy for his lack of nuance in the original story. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still shady and suspicious, but, in a way, I have earned his respect now, as a rival to the protagonist, and as an equal. Also, the straight man in a comedy routine.

Just came here to say Royal made Akechi go from my most hated.to my top loved in P5 right beside Yusuke (who is my absolute favorite)