The Persona Tarot cards are physical merchandise versions of the original Arcana, which represent various Persona and main characters in the JRPG series. The Arcana are divided into the Major Arcana (22 unique cards) and the Magician Arcana, which is associated with action, initiative, self-confidence, immaturity, manipulation, and power.
The Persona 3 tarot card deck is based on the major arcana cards from traditional tarot decks, but each card is uniquely designed with characters and symbols from the Persona 3 game. These cards are used throughout the game to represent the characters’ personalities and help them on their journey of self-discovery.
In Persona 3 Reload (P3R), players can obtain Major Arcana Cards by defeating full moon bosses or passages in the Monad. To obtain blank tarot cards and make them any arcana at the velvet room with the demon artist, make a demon happy (green) three times.
The Persona tarot deck discussion highlights the intersection of gaming culture and mystical practices, with community members expressing a mix of nostalgia. The 22 Tarot cards in ancient Europe describe the journey of life, starting with the Fool and ending with the Devil.
Collecting Major Arcana cards throughout P3R after completing challenges like Full Moon operations or Monad Passages unlocks a wealth of power. The original Persona 5 and the rest of the base Persona series base their major arcana’s numbering, symbolism, and confidants on the standard Rider Tarot.
You can draw or shuffle the cards endlessly to your heart content, making the Persona Tarot cards an essential tool for divination and cartomancy enthusiasts.
📹 The WORST Persona Arcana
I hate Suemitsu with every fiber of my being and I will express that at every given opportunity #persona #blackman #persona3 …
Why does Persona use tarot?
The Tarot is a significant element in the Persona series, used to define a person’s true self under everyday masks. The concept of Persona is rooted in Jungian imagery and psychotherapy. Tarot cards were used in Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Persona 3 and Persona 4, and as plot devices in Persona 3 and Persona 4. The Major Arcana was used in Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, while the Minor Arcana was used in Persona 3 and Persona 4 Golden for Shuffle Time and as Incense in Persona 3.
The order of the eighth and eleventh arcanas is interchangeable due to the influence of Rider-Waite decks in Tarot. In Persona 1 and 2, they follow the Rider-Waite order, while in Persona 3, they follow the Marseilles order.
Is the Joker a tarot?
The Joker, a card found in most modern French-suited decks, is often compared to “(the) Fool” in Tarot or Tarock decks. Originating in the United States during the Civil War, it was created as a trump card for the game of Euchre. It has since been adopted into many other card games, often acting as a wild card, but may have other functions such as the top trump, skip card, lowest-ranking card, highest-value card, or a card of a different value from the rest of the pack. Wild cards are any card that can be used to represent another card or cards, and they do not need to be a Joker.
How do you know your arcana Persona?
In order to ascertain one’s birth arcana, it is necessary to employ the following formula: (month of birth) + (day of birth) + (first two digits of birth year) + (last two digits of birth year). The resulting two-digit number should then be added to the third digit, resulting in a three-digit number. To illustrate, if one’s birth date is November 1st, 1988, the formula would be: In the case of the month of birth, the number 1 is assigned, as is the number 1 for the day of birth.
How do you make cards in Persona 5?
In Persona 5 Royal, Yusuke’s Confidant abilities have been significantly improved. At rank 1, he can duplicate any Skill Card, regardless of its level. At rank 5, he can create any Skill Card he has duplicated before, including those the protagonist has zero copies of. At rank 7, Yusuke can create or copy a Skill Card on the spot, negating the need to wait. The protagonist can ask Yusuke to create or copy Skill Cards while infiltrating Palaces by talking to him in a Safe Room.
Yusuke will also give back Skill Cards when the protagonist calls the Phantom Thieves to meet up at their hideout. During fusion alarms in the Velvet Room, Personas can create stronger Skill Cards, such as Gun Boost becoming Gun Amp when itemizing White Rider.
What tarot deck does Persona use?
The Persona series uses nontraditional decks such as Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot deck, El Gran Tarot Esoterico, and various incomplete Visconti-Sforza decks. The Jester is an Arcana with an antiquated name, Fool. The Arcanas are numbered 0 in Persona 3 Portable, VIII and XI in Persona and Persona 2, and XI in Persona 4 Golden. The Jester Arcana is only mentioned in Persona 3, FES, Portable, and Reload, and allows the protagonist to seal Nyx away at the cost of their life.
The Minor Arcana consists of four suits with 14 cards each, commonly employing Italo-Spanish suits such as Wands, Cups, Swords, and Pentacles. The Visconti-Sforza deck, where the Faith and Hope Arcana are from, is unnumbered. The Minor Arcana is listed on the bottom of the Confidant list in the menu.
Can I create my own tarot cards?
The tarot card and oracle deck market is experiencing a boom, with the latest research assigning the global market value to be $1292. 22 million, set to rise to $1589. 22 million by the end of 2028. This growth is attributed to the increasing popularity of tarot cards, which are believed to have a deeper meaning and connection to the individual’s purpose. The market is expected to grow significantly, with the number of decks printed and the number of tarot artists working on them increasing.
The market is expected to continue growing, with the market expected to reach $1599. 22 million by the end of 2028. Understanding the reasons behind this popularity is crucial for those interested in creating and designing their own divination cards.
What are Persona cards?
A User Persona Card is a tool used to understand customers and build empathy. User personas are fictional characters that represent various needs, goals, and observed user behavior patterns. They are essential in the agile product development process, particularly during the product discovery phase. Creating user personas is challenging, but it is a crucial part of the planning process. Creating usable and realistic user personas is a key part of the agile process.
Can you get a girlfriend in Persona 5?
In Persona 5 Royal, players can have multiple girlfriends, but it’s not recommended as it can lead to issues later in the story. Breaking up with a girlfriend is not possible in Persona 5 Royal or Persona 5. In New Game +, players can have a different girlfriend, regardless of who their previous girlfriend was. All romance options are reset upon starting New Game +, so players should be cautious before committing to a relationship. It’s important to think carefully before committing to a relationship in Persona 5 Royal.
How do you make a Persona card?
This article provides a step-by-step guide on creating a Persona, a tool used to create insights into a business. The process involves conducting research, segmenting the audience, deciding on the layout, setting demographic information, describing the Persona’s background, defining its goals, defining motivations and frustrations, and adding other ingredients. The guide uses UXPressia’s Personas online tool to create a Persona based on customers or users, and can be used for employee or buyer Personas. This guide is a great opportunity for those new to creating Personas in an easy and fun way.
Is it OK to pull tarot cards for yourself?
Tarot readings can be done by beginners, providing insight into current situations, honoring intuition, and forecasting potential outcomes. To begin, clean the energy of your space by burning herbs, ringing bells or chimes, taking a bath, or using crystals. A Selenite wand is a popular energy refresher that aids clarity.
Sit comfortably and close your eyes, focusing on the protective energy surrounding you. Take deep breaths, think about your question or needing guidance, and keep your mind and heart open to the answers that may come through the cards. Shuffle the deck, focusing on your desired query, and shuffle the cards in front of you. The pattern laid out is called a “spread”, and the meaning of each card in combinations builds up to the overall answer to your query.
Before beginning to shuffle, know which spread you will be working with. As answers come through, it’s important to draw additional cards for further clarity or start with a new question from a different perspective. Tarot readings can be a powerful tool for personal growth and understanding.
What did Carl Jung say about tarot cards?
In his concept of “Individuation,” Jung suggests that the Tarot can be utilized as a tool for personal growth and self-development. This is achieved by enabling intuitive knowing in the conscious mind through the accessing of subconscious information.
📹 My Persona 5 Tarot Cards Are Here!!!
I do plan on learning how to read tarot cards, but I’m very stupid so doubt I’ll be able to. However, seeing as I’m stuck indoors …
In defense of Ai Ebihara she does have probably one of the stronger character development SL in the series, depending on what route you take with her, if you decided to deny her early confessions she kinda goes through this self improving journey, and actually start caring for you a lot more, to the point of taking a slap in the face for you (and if u didn’t know, her face is super important to her, probably even more than her own life). It’s sad that this really good moment is exclusive to a different route of her SL so many probably didn’t experienced it
Suemitsu is insanely Insecure and stress-eats. By coping with his brother’s death and the ensuing inferiority complex that eventually came with that, he ends up becoming lost and joining a cult that would seemingly provide him with value and answers for why he has value and that he lived instead of his brother. Its sad and disgustingly relatable to many people, though in different contexts. Poorly coping from past experiences and making bad decisions along your journey is a part of life, and thats the Moon’s role in the Arcana journey. So no Suemitsu isn’t my favorite social link by far, but I think he fits the role of his designated arcana pretty well, but it for sure doesn’t mean you have to like him
I love mishima’s social link just because of how well he was written, i never get people who hate him because hes useless or that hes annoying when thats what he was written to be. I relate to him alot and i think a lot of people relate to him too, a scared kid who just wants to be useful to somebody, anybody. Mishima was the first one i maxed out (because of his exp boosts) and i actually really liked his social link. Using the phan site as a way to pick up girls and try to be popular was sorta relatable to me and the way i used to act. I can get why people dont like him but i hate it when they dont acknowledge his good writing
I’m sorry man hate Mishima for his SL but brother if you’re angry at Mishima for not saying anything about Kamoshida you need to learn about how abuse works my man, you’re blaming the victim, abuse is never just physical abuse, it’s mental abuse too, Kamoshida mentally abused and trapped Mishima homie, also every authority figure near shujin was backing Kamoshida
Mishama has one of the most engaging non party members social links. He starts off trying to redeem himself and with the best of intentions it only after the phantom thieves get bigger and his website becomes the central hub does the power and attention corrupt him. At that point he g ts a taste of not being deemed worthless and he doesn’t know how not to be an ass because he feel like it’s finally his turn to be on top. This is what makes the fact that we don’t have to defeat his shadow only talk to him to make him realize he’s going about it all wrong. I think the reason people hate mishama is because he reminds them of themselves when they were younger
The reason why Kamoshida got away with all his crap for so long is because the authorities were essentially his accomplices. His shadow even said that some of the teachers and parents knew what he was up to, but that they didn’t care as long as he made their kids pass his class. And if students tried to snitch on him, the teachers and parents would shut the kids up and deny everything to the cops. Not to mention that there wasn’t much tangible proof that could have been used to get Kamoshida arrested to begin with, and all the kids were too scared of him and their parents to denounce him anyway. Hence the need to make him confess his crimes himself.
Mishima also gets shat on by everyone, including Joker! Like the dude is a victim of an actual grapist, he’s gonna be a little fucked up. Then when you face his shadow they just go “Grow the fuck up”. The dude does nothing but try his best to look for a friend and is never really given the support or space by anyone to improve. I mean we’re told he does from his own recognition, but recognition isn’t tackling the issue. Rubbed me the wrong way for sure.
Honestly? Bad take imo, feels like a misunderstanding of all three of these Social Links. If you wanna hate on Ai for being insufferable and rude then go ahead, that’s fair, but I still think her link is good. The entire point of Ai’s link is that she spent her life trying to reshape herself in both appearance and attitude to be someone people wouldn’t look down on. Did she succeed in making herself more likable in the process like she wanted? Not really. But I’d still say that’s just cause she was defensive after being bullied earlier on in her life before her dad got rich and she reshaped herself. Her link’s about finding a real, genuine love that also forces her to be genuine. That’s why her link breaks if you chose to romance her early when she’s desperately seeking validation by trying to jump into a relationship with the MC, but doesn’t break if you romance her later when she becomes more open to the idea of being a more genuine version of herself. Even her name is referencing finding a true genuine love. If stories like that aren’t your thing and you don’t like her personality, it’s fine to not like her but I’d still argue her link is good. Hating on Mishima for not reporting Kamoshida is crazy though. Like if it was that easy to report him and have that be the end of it, then what would even be the point of him having a palace in the first place? Like the man got away with escalating the situation with Ryuji to point he broke a kid’s leg and got away with it, how could a simple report from Mishima be enough to put an end to it?
4:40 Wasn’t it a major plot point in Persona 5 that the parents and teachers knew about Kamoshida’s abuse – yet decided to do nothing about it? Mishima makes it clear during the volleyball rally on the 13th that the faculty and parents of the team members know Kamoshida is abusing them, yet keep quiet due to both the positive influence he has on the school’s reputation as well as his position of power within the school. The eternity of the arc itself is mirroring real life instances of school coaches juicing their students with drugs and performance enhancers, and having parents willingly sign off of it for exceedingly similar reasons as shown in game. Moreover, wasn’t Mishima has getting physically abused like the rest of the team? When we meet him he’s covered in bruises and bandages. You gave him a pass for being a teenager and not speaking up, but what about as an abuse victim? An insecure, teenage abuse victim at that? In Japan no less, a country known reinforcing that your elders are always right during to virtue of them being older than you? There’s a reason we don’t say “Senpai” or Kouhai” here in the States after all.
i’m biased to liking the moon, but hear me out- ebihara has a very Cinderella esc arc in the sense of, “it’s the inside that counts” message. but she is the only link to break if you decide to romance her too early (after she tried to khs),,, and it’s why i love her tbh. it brings up the idea that you can’t use love to fix your issues and I never really see that mentioned in media, just the opposite. and yeah, she never uses her insecurity as an excuse for how she acts. it’s just an explanation. she’s still snarky by the end but she’s no longer fake, it’s literally said in her link also Mishima “helping people for the wrong reasons” is LITERALLY the point of his link; it’s called character development. he is a kid that was abused and nonlonger wants to be put in that position, so he tries to gain power through the Thieves. he realizes this by the end and moves on. him not telling anyone about kamoshida is also just another depiction of abuse. no one would listen, the teachers knew and refused to do anything. he would just get hurt more nozomi shit ngl don’t claim him (shinjiro better <3). I think he had mad potential,,, like using food to cope with a dead brother? Relatable. being an asshole cultist with no development? bruh
I actually like Mishima alot. To give him more credit you have to take the Japanese social hierarchy into account. Children, for all intended purposes, are second class citizens in Japanese society. Adults always come first. This is drilled into them from a very young age. You must always respect and obey your elders. You’re only considered an adult in society when you’re 21. That makes it hard for victimized children to come forward when adults are abusing them. Add into the fact other adults around are turning a blind eye and helping to hide the abuse just makes the whole situation seem hopeless to the child. So I don’t blame Mishima at all for what happened. He was just trying to deal with the whole situation the best he could. Yes, he let the whole thing with Phantom Thieves go way to his head but he does actually learn that being like that is not okay by the end of his social link. So I think he’s the best Moon Arcana.
I do like all the moon arcana people, but kinda because of the reasons you seem to hate them. I just personally don’t think a character needs to be all that good or even very sympathetic to still be interesting. I try to see these characters’ social links as the beginning of them trying to better themselves, but for now they’re still shitheads and I would hate all of them irl haha.
I hate how mental health and therapy is not a thing in persona and everything is “get over it.” Mishima was abused in so many ways and the game treats him like dirt. Ai went through a lot and Suemitsu but the problem I had with Suemitsu is that you have to suck up with him. It feels like it’s what he wants to hear than being a friend which makes it worse
In Mishima’s defense, at least we actually get to see him grow and develop as a character and a person. Sure he’s cringe, but what high schooler isn’t? At the end of his Social Link, we see him defend one of his childhood bullies and actually earn his respect. When we confront his Shadow in Mementos we don’t even need to fight him. We don’t have to fight to change his heart because he essentially does it to himself. Deep down he’s a good kid, but he ended up misguided due to his wish to be validated and respected. And when the Phantom Thieves actually confront him, that’s his wake up call. That he has been fucking up and needs to be better. All in all I just really sympathize with him as a socially awkward teenager seeking validation and trying to be a good person.
Regarding why the school did nothing about it it’s speculated in game that Kamoshida’s teachings made the volleyball team more successful so to keep that success the school turned a blind eye to his behavior as for Mishima he was bullied and abused by Kamoshida into being his minion and it’s not uncommon to see victims covering up for their abusers (most likely out of fear)
Mishima is curious because the reason he is hated is the reason he is good, he is just a boy full of insecurities as well as being a coward who just wants to do the right thing but loses himself to inflate his ego, all of us we were like this sometime, a loser who doesn’t like himself, all the cringy things is exactly what most people would end up doing as he wants to be part of the cool guys and be a hero but loses to his own selfish pride. close to rank 8 I think, is were the redemption hits for all of us, even though he is like that, when we see him in the metaverse and does nothing while he fix himself, it shows that even though he is all that I said, he is honestly trying, no matter how pathetic he is, he can still grow, as we are shown close to the end where he gathers all his courage to do what he considers to be the right thing, no matter how scared he is (even though we were there to motivate him, were still his actions). as a moon arcana it fits right, someone who does want the good thing, but loses his way bacause of his subconsious,definitely not a good S.Link as progression because it is mostly cringy stuff but as a whole its incredible
Mishima is one of my fav characters for the level of intense pain that is involved with his character and the nuance of his circumstances. Many forget that Mishima is an abuse victim as well; and while se can say he didn’t get it nearly as bad as Shiho and the women, to compare their circumstances and push him aside to favor Shiho, which I’ve seen many do, is not the way to go. He suffers real circumstances, everything in the chapter is very believable, I myself have been through similar circumstances, although online from a person that I admired and was mentoring me and my skills (though in the end he was making us worse tbh). He adopted the worst traits from the dude, a fear I myself have for many of the times I’ve been abused, and I just feel so bad for Mishima. He’s cringe as fuck though.
reporting certain things to the police is kind of harder then you think tho you have to physically go to the police (to which the person pursuing you can see), you have to “prove it without any doubt” (or you’re going to finish in jail yourself in Japan) and you have to convince people to “talk”. All of this is harder then you think, especially if most of the policemen you know are shitty.
I hung out with Nozomi because I heard constant hate about him online, and when I did his social link I found a story about a young impressionable teenager feeling inadequate about himself, thanks to how much society compared the fat kid to his fit, successful, dead, little brother, using eating as a coping mechanism to drown out how much he misses his brother and wants to live up to him, while investing everything he has into being reincarnated into a better body, to hopefully make his brother, and his family, proud. A lot of social links in Persona do this thing where the character brings up something in their earlier ranks as a sort of one-off line and they don’t really elaborate on it (if at all) until the late ranks where it becomes a central part of their arc, (Kanji’s Filial Piety and Shu Nakajima’s Raison D’etre are my favorite examples) Nozomi brings up his cool, successful younger brother multiple times through these one-off lines, so much so that you could consider them not one-off lines, and I figured it was a “persona fans can’t read” moment when I did his link and saw what it was really about. Nozomi wants to make his brother proud, you spending time with him teaches him that it’s never too late to turn your life around, you don’t need some bizarre “new world” cult to become a better person. Nozomi is a very good character.
Mishima fr was one of the better social links in P5, what you on? It felt the most real and relatable how a character that strived to do better may end up getting swayed into the wrong path due to past traumas still gripping at him. Dude was made to be a joke his whole school life and then enter Kamoshida, who abused him weekly or even daily, with confirmation of no teachers or parents caring to put a stop to it. Ofc this guy would end up desperate and lose sight of himself because he was so desperate to have his life changed that he thought fame was what he needed. Not to mention, he was the most unique social link story for being the only one who you directly confront the Shadow of. Unlike all other confidants in the game who can only go through character development because you took care of their problems, Mishima was the ONLY confidant (a non-party one at least) who did it all on his own, without even having his Shadow messed with. That alone proves how much more compelling his writing was.
So I’m guessing I shall be the Nozomi Suemitsu apologist. Before I go on for this tangent, I’ll preface this by saying that I haven’t seen any of the dialogue changes to his story in Reload, and am only going off of the Portable version. And yes, I do prefer Aragaki-senpai in the P3 Moon arcana terms due to generally having more wholesome content and small threads of character building packed into it to make up for the small amount of time the player gets to do it. So I’ll start with the part that I doubt will be read in detail, which is stuff missing from the article to hopefully add more clarification. Nozomi basically took from others and meet the quota of recruits because he’s part of a cult which claims to be aiming for paradise (which is meant to moreso parralel what happens in January, but I’ll leave it out to avoid spoilers), where people who died can come back with bodies of an angel (something Nozomi notes during the S. Link rank where he’s about to get whooped before MC steps in (atleast in the Portable version)). The reason for him not having a palette to speak of in terms of food is because he uses it as something to dull out his other, more negative feelings, which often come out as agression and such. It’s also something to note that he clearly has a sense of inferiority initially when comparing himself to MC, which then get masked with an act of superiority. Now, for some of the things that I actually like about the S. Link, starting with the ending suprisingly (yeah this might have minor spoilers).
The one thing I think Mishima has over the other two Moon S links is that he’s actually involved in the game’s plot and could be considered somewhat of an important character. The phan site is quite a crucial plot point with the Medjed/Okumura arcs, not to mention he’s also the one who gives the PTs a lot of their requests. Probably the highlight of his link is the arc that he has where he finally stands up for somebody who was in trouble in contrast to how he was during Kamoshida’s arc. Something that I learned through my multiple runs of the game is Mishima is one of those ‘always rank up’ confidants which I struggle to find myself disliking since you don’t have to go out of your way to get them maxed out. The hate toward Suemitsu is pretty justified, If they’d ditched the weird cult shit and made it more about him struggling with the loss of his sibling I’d have probably liked him a lot more.
I have 3 reasons for why I like Mishima. 1) You can’t exactly blame him for his actions, the poor guy had went through physical and mental hell when Kamoshida was still at Shujin, and apparently went through bullying hell long before that with the inclusion of those ‘Former Classmate’ characters. It makes sense he just wants his life to become better for himself so he has power, since he must have never been in such a position like it before. Not saying the way he went about it was the right way, far from it, but he at least manages to finish his social link by facing his own problems, and be the only person to conquer his own shadow without the Phantom Thieves assistance. 2) His Growth Rewards are incredibly useful to have. As in Ryuji Growth Rewards level of useful. Having a permanent boost to Exp gained can make grinding in Mementos a breeze, especially with the combination of that and Insta-Kill. 3) The benefits of maxing out his social link are just wholesome. Him being the person to inspire everyone to cheer for the Phantom Thieves amidst the chaos Yaldabaoth created, as well as his incredibly heartwarming attempt to gather signatures in Shibuya to release Joker from prison just solidify Mishima as an ultimate bro.
There’s are some very good points made in the article, and I do also believe that even though they act completely awful and rude for a first impression. The Moon arcana in tarot is generally seen as illusion, complexity, and confusion and more when upright, which most of these three characters do show. Their life typically in general is complex, and can cause a general amount of confusion among others usually in a negative manner. But in truth sometimes the way they act like this is like an “illusion” in part of themselves. Deep down they know what their doing is wrong, but again they have this “world revolves around them perspective” that makes them feel confident in themselves in someway. Which in my opinion as for the reverse part of the moon arcana they given of some sort of deception, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation. At least that’s how I view them in the persona games series. Moon arcana in general just really gives a lot of in depth thinking around these types of characters as they aren’t always what they seem to be and they do try to better themselves giving this huge play on the Moons “illusion”, and “Unconscious” part.
in defense of all the Moon arcana SL’s from Persona 3-5, they all seem to be struggling with some sort of vice to compensate for their ill-interpreted view of the world: mishima is credited (and later obsessed) with something he believes to be great and tries to exploit it for his personal gain (The Phan-Site) after suffering demeaning physical abuse, ai is obsessed with her image and is constantly trying to be prettier in hopes of being accepted by society and avoiding, and suemitsu uses food (ED) and religion to cope with the loss of his brother and his personal inadequacies. I don’t deny the fact that all of these characters are selfish and socially challenged; but in the context of them being children, there is great reason to believe how easily their views of the ‘right’ way to act can stray from a societally acceptable standpoint. Their corrupt morality/judgment and inexcusable behaviors is a fault of youth and a result of their environment it seems. I think the understanding of their psyche through the SL interactions and getting to understand “what made you like this?” is what makes the Moon arcana engaging for me despite the characters not being the ‘best’ or ‘kindest’ people, but i totally understand why people would get annoyed by them too
For the point on Mishima, I hear Japan and a majority of the East is extremely different from how North America is when it comes to authority and social standings and the creator of Persona 5 said that he wanted to showcase that because every single level in the game are based on actual crimes and scandals that really happened in the country. Mishima is just one of many children who likely would have done the same thing, more kids would have done even worse than Mishima, so I would give him some slack. Plus, he was threatened to do most of what he did in the story. As for the other two, I can’t excuse them, especially Nozomi.
I don’t think suemitsu is great person in the slightest especially after he wasn’t sorry for his brothers death but when you live your life in envy and is insecure about it I can see why. However you can’t deny he did have some form of growth. For example before he was eating everything he can just to try to get rid of the pain but he wasn’t enjoying it he was just finding an escape. Once he came to terms with his greed he realized how good the food tastes symbolizing that he has found true happiness and is not drowned in envy.
I have very conflicted feelings about Mishima because on one hand, he’s one of the only well written characters in P5, mainly due to his social link not having a Mementos request tied to it, but GOD do I hate him. Nozomi is also such a disaster, but I actually didn’t mind him as much as I thought I would after going through Reload. And Ai is hot so 🤷♂️
I think the Moon Arcana is very interesting for the reasons that many hate them. They don’t go through gigantic development, but instead each of their links end with them deciding to be better people. This fits their arcana since similar to the tower, the moon is an obstacle in the path towards enlightenment. It is the fear and insecurity that The Sun Arcana seeks to push past from. All three suffer from trauma from their past that cause them to rely on vices. Mishima’s bullying and feelings of worthlessness causes him to rely on the Phan-Site as a source of power he holds over people. A very important part of his link is that the Phantom Thieves don’t change his heart, they force him to have to grow from it and change by himself. Ai’s bullying and her new found wealth and beauty causes her to fall into vanity and wrath. She believes that if she doesn’t hurt others first than others will hurt her. Finally Suemitsu is running away from his conflicting feelings about his brother’s death. While I hate the gross bathroom scenes they actually serve to develop him in a meaningful way as his stomach hurts every time he forced to think about his brother due to the guilt he carries with him. Suemitsu running away from his feeling is represented twicefold in his SL with him seeking food and religion as a way to hide from guilt. At the end of the link, the gift all three give the player shows their desire to grow and continue their journey to enlightenment with Mishima giving the player his script to the documentary of the PT essentially giving up the power he held over the masses with the knowledge of the PT’s secrets.
Uhm…why are you victim blaming Mishima? Also I don’t know your feelings on other characters since this is the only one I’ve seen, but there were two other main characters directly tied to his abuse that also didn’t speak out about it, and ALSO went along with it for a time. Mishima also confessed the truth of those incidents to Joker and Skull. Unless you think this is reason to dislike Ann and Shiho, then at least consistency has been maintained. I’d like to add that if he wasn’t forthcoming with hard evidence when engaging with the police then he would’ve only made the situation worse. You may argue he should’ve attempted to court such a thing, but you can’t even determine whether or not it’s likely he could’ve gotten say, recordings without being spotted. The volleyball team was also silent about this(Less potential evidence.). I want to understand why the issue is Mishima, instead of, you know, Kamoshida?
Part of Persona 5’s central theme is justice, so Mishima fits quite nicely into the arcana. Your take on the confidant makes no sense to me, really – I think a misguided kid who overextends his power over a community he did not create, fueled by the frustration of not being able to speak up in his previous circumstances, literally fit perfectly along the lines of the reversed moon arcana. You talk about him as if he is supposed to be seen in a good light throughout the confidant, when literally him having a shadow in mementos, as well as literally every set of dialogue options are indicative of him being very much wrong-willed. He’s an understandable character, and frankly one that is, imo, better than most confidants in P5 as a whole. He might be annoying as hell sometimes but how does this contribute to the overall point of “the moon arcana is never properly used in Persona games”?
The issue with the Kamoshida incident is Japanese culture. Japanese culture HATES and I mean HATES people who speak out since it’s a collectivist culture. So none of the kids not saying anything is unfortunately very real, and very sad. Please keep that in mind with Mishima and everyone in the school.
Part of the Moon arcana is repressed emotions and the beginning stages of enlightenment. In these three characters’ cases, it would kind of make sense that they would still have a lot of issues by the end. They are just becoming aware of their inner turmoil, but in that awareness, they can develop themselves more completely as they move through life. Side note; these games are so fun to dissect. I love how deep they can be.
The moon from p4 and p5 are extremely good imo. And the moon from p3(regualr p3) is actually rly good. I liked was his character represents, and that he is clearly unlikable, which most sls arent rly. Anyways, hes still the worst one, but i dont think hes the worst sl of the series. There are a couple ones i think are way worse. ALSO, he actually had growth, unlike some other p3 sls. Also also, the p3p female route moon sl is also very good.
I feel they enjoy making the moon so…scummy. And tbh I like it too. Nozomi is my fav interpretation of it(not my fav, dude is annoying). They represent illusions with the cult. Ik people think he knew it was a scam but I saw him believing it since his reaction to you saying no genuinely seemed thought “paradise” was true. Plus, theres been cases where people who do believe in it to go and recruit people (I swear him meeting a quota ringed a bell to me but idk). Theres also a possibility he got into it through his parents being in it or a family member. Tbh the scam reminds me of Scientology where u got a pay wall to excess the lore and its just some sci-fi novel. Idk if they ever did imply Nozomi left the cult, but I feel he prob left down the line. I see Nozomi as Mishima if we didn’t meet him before he finished his scumbag arc. Only thing I wanted was a more concrete ending on his opinion of the cult he’s in.
I actually really Liked the Ai social link, though honestly i thought it would be the worst when starting it. But i feel like that fits with the theme of unconscious that the moon represents, honestly shes a way deeper character then a lot of people give her credit for because she gives a bad first impression. I feel like she fits well with persona 4s theme of truth, identity, and media. Maybe its just me but her ark of love (which i feel is so poorly done in a lot of shows and games) makes a lot of sense, especially details like how dating her early in her ark leads you down a toxic relationship because its contractual and not actually what she wants. It really does feel like with context that she puts up a bitchy persona (no pun included) that ends by the end of the social link. Sorry for the long comment i just really like the this link and think its way better than a lot of people think. I also will give smaller details i like about her link if needed. Also all in all i think the devil social links are the worst.
Listen, this might be a weird take. But I find Nozomi more likeable than Kenji (Magician). Like, atleast the guy admits that what he did is unforgivable, but after you max out his S. Link, he actually does good and actually help small restaurant to create delicious dishes. Unlike Kenji, the Magician Arcana that starts off telling you in the 1rst 2 s. Ranks that he has a crush on a Teacher and plans to date with. And after you finish his Arcana, he literally has not developed at all. He is literally a flat character who has a Teacher and Student kink.
I think a great way to make a good Moon Social Link is to tie it to a later-gane party member. When you first meet her, she is constantly getting into trouble. She butts heads with anyone and anything, and is seen as a massive troublemaker. But when you do the Social Link, she reveals that she only does this to get attention. Her parents are so neglectful of her that she internalized the phrase: “Negative attention is better than no attention.” She is actually a very kind and caring person, but it takes the main party to get her to show that side, and give her the positive feedback she craves.
Omg you over here tearing down Mishima like that when you don’t even understand that this is simply Japanese culture. You are expected to grit your teeth and bear it. Don’t cause trouble and don’t stand out. Don’t even stand out in a good way. Like if you get excellent grades you are expected to downplay it like saying oh no, I only got such good grades because my teacher is so good. So if Mishima went to the police, yes the police would have arrested him, but the whole school would have been mad at him and his family would be telling him to tell the police that he made the whole thing up And I am sure you know that the devs are Japanese telling Japanese life. I mean I don’t know any kids who ride the train to school or who would get sued for protecting someone anywhere but japan. Lay off the kid because he is actually the average representation of a Japanese high school student
OBVVVIOUSLY mishima went along with kamoshidas whims cause he wouldve gotten the whip otherwise. and other than that he literally says that everyone who can do something abt it already knows (when you confront him for the first time) so there’d be no point. the only way kamoshida was taken down was by some magical cognitive bullshit so really what could he have done. aside from that though the learning from kamoshida thing was actually an interesting point
I like what Suemitsu represents for me in my immersion of Persona 3. People with red flags you can immediately identify. People you never interact with ever again after. Yeah, I never ranked his ass up after my first interaction with the dude. When I see his invites, I full on imagine myself blocking his cell. Actual shame cause I loved using Sandalphon on my FeMC playthrough. Need it be said that best Moon Arcana is Shinjiro? No, not AT ALL.
I hate Mishima, but I also think another thing to factor in with his relationship with Kamoshida is Japanese culture. In Japanese culture, if Mishima reported Kamoshida, even to the police, it would’ve been turned around on Mishima and he would’ve been branded a liar and pariah. Bear in mind, defamation is an actionable offense in Japan, even when the statements made are true. So not only would Mishima have been kicked out school and become a pariah like Joker, he would’ve also been sued by Kamoshida for defamation. I would not blame any kid for not speaking up in Japan, because the systems make them literally powerless.
I’m glad I watched through during the Mishima section– the main thing about his arc being the “misinterpretation” of what to do with influence, which he got from his abuser. It’s easy to forget that Mishima was ALSO abused, perhaps not in the same way as the female students that we know of, but he was still abused. It’s not uncommon for abuse victims to take on coping mechanisms in their healing that echo their abusers actions. It’s all they might know, after all. So Mishima becomes a bit abusive of his influence, and uses influence as a means of validation. Suemitsu, like many of the P3 social links, was really the beginning of approaching this Arcana, and so a little underbaked. He’s meant to represent the lost and misguided, and I think they stretched it out too long to really examine his brother’s role in his arc. I always saw him as someone desperate for attention and praise, and threw himself into bad situations for validation. He kept his eating and the like up to unhealthy degrees because it was the one thing he had. He ended up with the cult as a means to get external validation. And with all that, he became the president for the Moon arcana to be about how desperation for validation leads people to be misguided and lost, and that seeing beyond the illusion of acceptance helps you see who you truly are and should be. The Moon is one of the most esoteric cards in the traditional Tarot so I get why it’s so hard for them to get down, but when you look at the base of each story, it boils down to people who are shunned by society doing desperate things.
To be an Apologist of the Moon Arcana, you only focused on Persona 3-5. Taking a look at Persona 2 (both versions) despite not having S Links, did have different characters representing different Arcana. Maya (the actual Maya, not the screen name), one of the best characters in the game, is representing the Moon Arcana
If I were to rank the Moon S.Links, Mishima would be S tier (exp share is good and he atleast learns to better himself by the end) Shinji would be A tier (gone but not forgotten, unless you romance him then he’s fine.) Ai would be B tier (atleast she finally yanks her head out of her butt.) C,D, and E tiers are blank so I can put Nozomi lower. Nozomi is F tier (I hate him. He’s lucky the Moon arcana has some good Personas)
I think with 4 the Moon Arcana isnt 100% justified but its someone who went from being as society objectifes her as a pig and disgusting that she works to better herself only for the feel justified in treating others that way because she was treated that way. With the MC coming and setting her straight especially when she realise that beauty and looks isnt everything when you are ugly on the inside she has a good character growth. Putting her on the same spectrum maybe harsh but P4 has alot of amazing Arcanas with good story and character growth. With 3 unless I missed it the cult story doesnt get resolved but he does keep casually mentioning his brother and he is another person who I think shows the worst that could happen to someone in a similar scenario Naoki but unlike the Moon of 3 Hes been dealing with it for years. You watch Naoki deal with his sisters lost and how the town either expects a lot from him as well as pity him. His life forever changed because a sibling died. But unlike Nozomi the MC wasnt there (or anyone) to help them with their struggle and see how bad someone could spiral
Nozomi SL is so bad that to have some fun through his SL my boyfriend had to do an impression of Cartman and it’s just the best thing ever ! Now I love Nozomi (ironically of course) ! But honestly I kinda like Ai’s SL and this is maybe cuz I like tsunderes idk. She’s less annoying than Marie I’m not sorry for saying this !
See, Mishima’s social link i liked, because he was really realistic. How he acts isn’t that far from what could happen in real life. If someone isn’t validated enough, they’ll desperately try to find it. Mishima had that rough treatment, along with a few bullies growing up. When he guesses correctly that you are the phantom thieves, he makes the site. Now, it was good he made it, it was litterally what made us aware of some our targets, even palace ones. The thing is, Mishima felt like he was part of the thieves through that site. Mishima has desperately wanted to be validated this entire time, so of course the one thing he has made that became sucessful will become something he will boast about to no ends. He also felt he was doing something good for the world. Thing is, “power” can corrupt people. What Mishima had as power was the ability to “threaten” someone by saying they’ll be targeted by the thieves. He used your name as basicly his own authority, essentially, borrowed power. What stands out is that Mishima didn’t need his heart changed. When we confront his shadow, we don’t battle it, we just leave him be to reconsider the choices he’s making. In the end, Mishima is a person who when he finally felt like he had some semblence of power, he used it in the same way Kamoshida did, which makes it ironic. Still, the fact he didn’t need his heart to be forcefully changed shows he still had a good conscience
For me the worst arcana is EASILY Magician. Kenji is my least favorite social link in 3, he is just a creepy loser. Yosuke is one of my least favorite characters in the series, he is an annoying pervert who always causes trouble and has nothing going on in life besides forcing girls to wear swimsuits and working 9-5’s at his parent’s business. Somehow Morgana is the only character I sort of like out of this batch, and while as a companion he is nice to have he can be really annoying. Moon is my 5th least favorite arcana though so I don’t feel it’s worth fighting for much
Want my take ? The moon confidants are the closest to real difficult relationships, they have flaws, they have issues to work over, you have to be patient if you want to see their good side, and not be petty and deny their efforts when they finally come around. But since a lot of persona fans just want easy wish fullfillement with cool and quirky characters who worship the ground they walk on, they get pisys and avoid these. Ai is a bitch yeah, but she’s just acting the way she thinks popular girls act, she’s not smart and just wanted to be like the popular girls in her previous school, and she fucking lost a ton of weight to achieve so which ain’t nothing. And yeah she grows, just because you can’t relate to her doesn’t mean she doesn’t grow Mishima I mean, yeah he’s cringe, which is realistic, you’ll have people who are not bad objectively but are terribly lame, and yeah it’s rare to see that in a article game for once rather than pretending that everyone can be cool and quirky and have great lines. Suesmitsu is the best exemple of that at leats in reload (since it’s the one you used for the article), I know the original is even harder to appreciate, but it is the same raw idea. he’s someone you’d genuinely wouldn’t want to spend time with, he’s scammed by a cult, he’s annoying, he’s ugly, he’s insecure, but no he does have a refined palate, you can’t just rewrite the story as you please, the game does give hints that he knows his stuff, he just likes quantity as well as quality probably because of stress eating.
I don’t hate Nozomi. Slob for sure, but I enjoyed going to eat food with my boy. But what makes him interesting to me is how he views his brother. His twin brother was more liked and successful, but they were still close. Then his brother dies of food poisoning that easily could’ve killed Nozomi instead. The people on their life see Nozomi as inferior, a failure, and wish he died instead. Due to this, Nozomi has come to hate the memory of his brother and uses food as a solace since eating is the only thing he thinks he’s good at. The cult, and it’s promise of Paradise, is his only hope. A world where he can be happy and not compared to his brother–and if he’s lucky they can be reunited. It’s why he’s so invested in MC. He’s reminded of the bond he once shared with his twin, and Is desperate not to lose that too. Tl;Dr, Nozomi is a slob, but he’s still interesting.
Funny, I love Mishima and Ai. Heck, Ai is one of the very, very few SLinks I like in P4. If we’re talking about the worst arcana, the Tower quickly pops up in my head. I have to make an active effort to even remember who were the characters attached to it, just to realize why I had forgotten in the first place…
I think I’m one of the only people that like Suemitsu, but I get why others hate him. To me, it seems like ever since his brother died no one has ever showed affection or love for him, and since his brother died of food poisoning he just wants to eat himself to death like his brother and use others to get more food since he believes it is impossible for him to make a connection. But when you speak to him and genially spend time with him he is appreciative but also extremely confused why he is even obtaining affection, because he accepted that no one in the world would ever care about him. So by the end after you stand up for him, and he shares what made him the way he is now, it feels like he starts to find direction in his life. It’s not one of the best social links in the series but I personally found it moving
Maya Amano from the persona 2 duoligy is probably the second best interpretation of the Moon arcana (shinji is #1). From the start, she puts up a positive front and gives the illusion of being a positive person. Deep down, she’s scared and left to deal with the trauma from losing her dad and nearly being killed in a fire. Persona 2’s story is like a fever dream but it’s still amazing
I really don’t agree with the Mishima criticism tbh, think about it like this. Mishima is just some random high school kid who has to deal with bullying and has zero self esteem. He along with many others are being abused by a world famous Athlete, even if he told others about what’s going on the people in power already know and wouldn’t do anything because of how beloved he is. There is also the fact I’m pretty sure it’s implied he he abused worse than the other people on the volleyball team- wait, the other people on the volleyball team. Why didn’t any of them say something? Why are you blasting Mishima who likely has less confidence than others for not speaking up? I just don’t really agree with that criticism, it’s sorta like victim blaming to me. Also for the rest of the stuff you criticized him for, I’m pretty sure he’s supposed to be in the wrong? His social link is about him gaining confidence and realizing how he’s been acting is wrong and in the end he does end up changing. Like the Phantom Thieves literally confront him in mementos because he isn’t being a good person. Despite this, I still enjoy your article. I just don’t agree with your criticism of a character I like which is ok. 👍
I mean they do fit the moon arcana they just go through life not knowing how to change who they are or trying to change their life, I understand what you me cause to me they do got some of the lamest social link stories with not much difference from each rank story besides your at a new place but it fits with moon arcana, they don’t even know what to do with their life just as long as it doesn’t get worst thats fine for them i think it’s less feeling bad for them cause their life sucks and more perusal someone who is hanging on to a will to live try living for once not just existing without reason (I think I might be reading into this to much)
I honestly couldn’t see why people hated Suemitsu. P3R seemed to tone down some of the extremes of the original P3 based on clips I’ve seen, so maybe I’m not getting the full picture. In Reload, he was an okay Social Link, not extremely well written, but okay. His growth really wasn’t much, but he did feel set up fine. Most of the conversations with him hint at his insecurities, and the cult thing was the pay off of it. The cult promised grand ideas and promises that someone would be dumb enough to fall for. At the end of it he explained his insecurities to you, felt better, and was ready to continue his life without regrets of the past. I think it would’ve been best if he paid the guy back in the end though and dropped the cult stuff. I don’t remember that being elaborated on well. Maybe that’s elaborated on the last day, I haven’t quite made it there yet. The slob stuff is fine to have an issue with though, I just saw that as trope-y, so I didn’t really have an issue with it. I also thought Mishima’s Confidant had a good story line as well. I have not played P4 yet, so I cannot comment on the girl. SPOILER: Was the cult Suemitsu was in the Cult of Nyx?
I never understood the hate mishima got I thougth that his social link was ok at worst and good at best, I mean, everyone would be infatuated if something like the fantome thieves were to come into their life, heck mishima saved multiple people by telling us who needed help so I never truly understood what was all the hate about
And the sad thing about the Moon Arcana, it has one good Social Link… Just one… and it was Shinjiro Aragaki from Persona 3. It was only available in the Female route in P3 Portable but it was such a good S. Link that it’s not even canon. How do we end up with a fat kid (Nozomi) who’s just plain disgusting as a person, a girl (Ai) who is just a b word, a Reddit user (Mishima) who’s pretty toxic and annoying, to Shinji? It’s unbelievable that the Moon Arcana gets the worst treatment and yet, Shinji being the only good one is pretty lousy as there’s no excuse to make the others good as Shinji. If they make Persona 6, they better do it right when the time comes. Side note: I love Shinjiro. I didn’t care too much about him in the original/FES (The Journey) but in Portable, they made him even better. Not only was the S. Link done extremely well but he’s also a great romance option as well. Definitely one of my favorite characters in P3 with little time you spend with him in the game.
The Moon is one of the only arcana that I consider to represent bad characters, the other being the Tower where it’s more self destructive. Well, I guess I should say more bad people; saying bad characters implies faults in the writing, and that’s not what I’m saying…at least not for Tower. The problem with Moon comes down to what it represents specifically as a social link arcana: an insecure person who papers over the insecurities with hostility. Ai is pretty much the poster kid for that, and shows how difficult that can be to make someone like that likable. I don’t think it’s impossible, though, as Mishima seems like at least a genuine attempt and I respect that; seeing the root of his insecurities firsthand before the link even starts gives you a good idea where he’s coming from and where he’s going astray. Nozomi, though…yeah, no, that guy sucks. The out of the blue rank 10 gives hope that he might turn himself around, and that’s the best thing I can say about him. Well, that, and I do like that his crap cult deal can tie into the late game Nyx cult stuff; he’s still a horrible person for it.
Nozomi is pathetic and helpless, massively insecure and generally clueless, I know those aren’t aspirational traits, but I kinda vibe with it. His one point of pride is the title of Gourment King, which he shares with the player character, because he really feels a kindred nature with him… It’s sweet despite its childishness, I like him because I can see how he is held back by his own shortcomings, which I empathise with. I really hated him when i played P3 a decade ago, but now I just want to see him out grow these issues, so finding a friendship in the MC feels like the best step for him to take, even if it is the only one
I didnt hate Sumitsu that much tbh, i found him intreguing and i wish they went more into the cult aspect, i think they did a good build up but the payoff is ultimately lacking as hes like 1 of the only social links or the only one i even know of that doesnt grow or change in someway for the better. To be frank, i only really liked him slightly bc i enjoyed the voice actors work – without it, frankly, imo I wouldve hated him absolutely, but i still wouldve sympathised even if I couldnt excuse it perse, because he is tragic in his own right, The moon arcanas are like indulgence of the worst self imo,, in some cases you can get over it (Mishima ((still cringe)) and somecases you indulge and indulge (sumitsu) i didnt do ais because i didnt like the idea of asking her on a date so i couldnt be assed
u asked to comment so I will I don’t rlly like the whole social link story but i didn’t really prep myself for insanely engaging story nozomi was just funny I appreciated the early hints to his eating problems but The ending even From a based stand point, even as someone who actually chuckled at his dialogue. yeah it was not very good. anyway sun best social link in the game fight me.
In my opinion Moon arcanas are more often the ones more misunderstood because they represent the characters lost to the illusions the moon offers and present some of the worst aspect of humanity. People are so deep in the hate that they just shut themselves into actually paying attention of the characters problems and ultimate resolution. It’s a shame because if you don’t listen you’re more liable to repeat the same mistake they did.
I don’t think that the moon Arcana is the worst but instead the devil one since it has 2 really bad ones in it. Tanaka is easily the best since he’s a really entertaining asshole who does something good at the end but jest hides it a bit well the doctor in p4 and Ohya in p5 have really bad stories that feel like they aren’t even complete
I saw this stated in a previous comment, that you’re victim blaming Mishima for not speaking up. And I have to agree, I didn’t come to that conclusion on my own but I was thinking about why even if he did speak up, how he as one of the many victims, were all unheard by the school, how the school principal allowed this, and maybe because Japan is a collective society, are more prone to suffer in silence than make a fuss and cause a commotion. Mishima knows that Ryuji stood up for himself and his life was destroyed because of it, even if he could make the difference, that’s a mountain to climb for someone already torn down.
Ai is best girl from persona 4. guess having a not obvious social link makes people hate you,huh… mishima is fine, i get where the hate comes from, but i feel like its mostly people who cant really interpret what they are reading. nozomi is trash no questions asked, but we can pretend he doesnt exist and that shinjiro is the moon social link in P3, which again, is stellar good.
I remember in P4A how Ai is just THE WORST and Yu’s reactions shows how he dreads every moment with her through her arc. Mishima is affectionately called Moon-Moon in our house as a reference to the derpy wolf memes. He’s adorkable and misguided and an abuse victim. He’s also a bit annoying and probably the kind of guy you’d gently distance yourself from after graduating HS. Suemitsu can burn in hell. His so-called redemption at Rank 10 is… look, I don’t like cults. At all. And Japanese cults are some of THE worst (Ohm Shenrikyo and Happy Science to name a few), and Moon Over His Hammy here does not renounce his faith from this cult that may or may not have sacrificed his brother (it was pretty sus imo, and i think he was supposed to be the intended victim, which explains his self destructive behavior). Dude does “turn his life around” like many do by Rank 10, but he’s still just the worst. At least Tanaka (Devil) is like, Saturday Morning Villain evil, and he’s fun. Suemitsu is depressing, disgusting, and is not fully redeemed by the end of his arc, imo.
I finished off Suemitsu’s social link super quickly cuz he was AWFUL. Yes, I know he has a dead brother and I understand that he was/is put down as the “ugly” twin, but instead of rising above that he digs in. Fatphobia is real, I’m fat and have been put down/bullied for it, but it’s no excuse to be a disgusting human being.
Some points about tarot: all the cards are “Arcana”, the 22 “main cards” are the Major Arcana, with the rest being Minor Arcana. Each Major Arcana have 3 “perspectives”: The Man, The Divine and The Mundane (the magician represents a powerful man, God (nothing else, magician is God) or the Power to Create. Also reversed cards don’t change the card’s meaning, reverse means “take the bad aspects of this card and the good aspects of the previous card” (Magician reversed is the bad magician, ambitious, Power hungry, with the good Fool, the oportunity to change, to grow). If you don’t consider the previous cards, reverse magician is the same as up devil. Also I love the Moon Arcana in these games. The moon is “something hidden so well it could be right in front of your eyes and you’d not notice”. Moon confidants are assholes, cruel, cold, but it’s always a mask. If you take the time to look and see how they really are, break their secrets, they are acting this way for a reason. Every moon confidant has a redemption arc, and this is perfect for the Arcana meaning, they are hidding something. It would be Nice to have a villain in the Moon Arcana, a very Nice, very hepful confidant at the start, but that reveals the evil intentions during the S. Link.
Nah Mishima hate is invalid! Bro considering where the game was made:Japan,Mishima literally had no choice. Japan,as a matter of fact Asia in general is known to 1.have no major repercussions for sexual abuse or abuse crimes and 2. Is built on respect patriarchal elders or die, men be getting away with a lot in Asia. Literally Women and kids are like minorities over there it’s crazy,so unless Mishima had parents with connections or the presidents son himself,or had people willing to back him up(if he wasn’t scared at all) he wouldn’t have been able to do jack and on top of that they would’ve probably kicked him out and ruined his name and the onslaught of bullying,yea no,and that’s why it had to take the phantom thieves to stop the madness because men in power can literally destroy you and your family,with no care in the world and it exists everywhere but it’s really bad in Asia. The blackmail,the coercion,the bribery etc. And that’s literally why P5R exist. You notice all the evil bosses are men who exploit other that are under their tutelage, except for Sae (who just went corrupt,because she felt she couldn’t compete in a male dominated job,so she wanted a promotion really bad)
Mishima’s Moon arcana arc is pretty good though. Yes, he’s an incel. He gets mad with power/clout stemming from abuse from bullying and then Kamoshida. But he changes his own heart without the phantom thieves forcing it on him and earns the respect of the people who once bullied him in the end when he came to their need. It’s one of my top five arcs in P5 with how much is packed into it, plus all his gameplay benefits that are consequentially a must-have. Can’t deny they do better with the Moon arcana every new game, which is easy considering how irredeemable Nozomi is. Kid felt like a troll effort from the writers who thought it would be funny perusal anyone waste 10+ precious days on that fat goblin when anyone could be macking on Yuko or Chihiro.
I actually think there’s a thread/piece of info missing here that laces all of them together and might make them “click” a bit more for you (not LIKE them, per se, but will make things fall into place a bit more) There’s actually one MASSIVE meaning for the Moon tarot card that site left out for some reason, which is weird because this meaning is actually the card’s most important meaning: deception . The Moon, as a card, represents lies, facades, and, most importantly in the case of all these social links, self-deception with regards to your own situation and intentions in life. So the reason that you hate them all, a lack of self-awareness and entitlement they all demonstrate, is, at very least, literally intended by the writers: it’s because that’s their intended character flaw, per their associated Arcana.
I’ll have to disagree with the Mishima part. Yeah he was cringe but wasn’t everyone like that at some point. I enjoyed his growth and learning through the social links but it sucks that 99% of the fandom shits on him. I like that he still has flaws and tries to better himself but still slips up which is human. I honestly wanted him and a few other side characters to become a Phantom Thief compared to Kasumi (she was alright but still wished they would’ve used some scrapped ideas). Also it was mentioned that he TRIED to report Kamobitch but nobody believes him. From day one his life became hell at school, not to mention that he CONSTANTLY got abused by Kamo if mess up anything or didn’t obey. You saw how the Police and teacher acted against Joker and Ryuji whenever they tried to stand up to Kamobitch. Plus without the Phansite, I don’t think the team would’ve figured out most of the corrupted people unless they wanted to blow their cover and get exposed.
These 3 are in my top 10 SLs for sure. It’s all about growth, and they all have interesting stories and show much growth since you meet them. Ai becomes less of an asshole, Nozomi realizes that mediocrity is okay, and even then he realizes he can still excel at something unconventional (and he breaks free from the cult). And Mishima comes to terms with the fact that he’s a side character and he becomes genuinely happy for once.
At beginning i like Suemitsu SL because his VA delivery and lines (JP for me) is amazing but then the games forces us to protect a cult scammer that already scammed multiple people that wont get their money back. The worst part is Suemitsu got off easily scotch free for commiting a crime. That was not redeemable
Suemitsu’s story is a mess because of trying to fit so many things at once, to be precise the scaming thing is the most baffling part of his character that comes out of nowhere; if his story focuses on how he overcomes his insecurities and coping his brother death by finding self-esteem in reviewing gourment food, or something like eating competition, that’s already a well-rounded arc
Im so tired of Suemitsu. Hated him in Portable. And now in Reload. And yeah I know he has an inferiority complex thanks to his brother. But Sue isnt likeable at all. Or redeemable. I swear if his social link was just going to the gym and help him lose weight and his trauma. It would’ve been so much better. Sitting there and eating 20 bowls of high buttery, salty snd cholesterol filled food is going to kill this man 😂
I feel I have to say this but Ai is actually a great character compared to two of the worst in P4, The Soccer Player Daisuke and The Musician Ayane. Ai gets shit on because how different her Platonic route is compared to others. With Ai, she was struggling with fitting in so she created this false self to try to fit in. She started to read fashion, do dieting, and more just to fit in. Ai’s romance route is honestly well written for the time this game came out. Mishima and Suemitsu are nothing compared to Ai in actually being characters.
Apparently, Nozomi makes a lot more sense in his given time period and specifically to a Japanese audience. Take this with a grain of salt, but have you heard about the assassination of Shinzo Abe, former Prime Minister of Japan, and the ensuing clusterfuck of when people started digging up his history with the Unification Church? Cults of personality in Japan are a historical phenomena that are said to give young people focus in life. The Unification Church in particular preys on the weak, vulnerable, and socially frustrated so they can extort money out of them, similar to how the right wing tries to recruit lonely white incels here, in America. This cult that Nozomi was a part of is basically like that. In this way, Nozomi is a victim. He was lost in the wake of his brother’s death and fell prey to an undescribed Cult- possibly an allegory for the Unification Church. I think there was some potential in his character, and it is especially fascinating that even way back in 2007 they were trying to have talks about an issue that wouldn’t become mainstream until Abe’s assassination in 2020. But he was definitely terribly delivered.
You have to remember this is Japan. But the truth is in most countries if a kid says an adult in a position of power did something without proof, the kid is the one getting in trouble. Hating Mishimia for “participating”? Better hate Ann for the same reason and Kawakami for the same reason lol Wild victim blaming take. ….aaaaaand you missed the most important part of the P3 arcana. Not a very good breakdown, is it lol
What I hate about Mishima is his stuck-up attitude. I know I’m being unfair to say this… but both Ann and Mishima are the final trigger that leads to Ann’s friend getting raped. Ann ignored Kamoshida’s calls, which really irritated him, and he ordered Mishima to find Ann’s friend so Kamoshida could molest her instead. Mishima obviously knew what would happen if he called Ann’s friend, but he did so anyway to save his own butt. Fast forward to Kamoshida’s confession, Ann blamed herself so hard that she awakened her Persona. And Mishima? He totally forgot Ann’s friend ever existed, acted like he was part of the Phantom Thieves, and even grew his own shadow which was deemed so worthless that no one even cared to change his heart.
I clicked certain I was going to disagree with this article and I was right. The only difference is that at least you tried to use the argument of the Arcana symbolisms unlike most people who just hate them for not being poor misunderstood paragons of humanity who owe you their god-damned everything. As usual, Suemitsu gets no sympathy and even gets called “worst character with no redeeming qualities” in a series with actual sex offenders and murderers. Its especially egregious when you even bring up Kamoshida in the same article and had the gall to say that (this is me saying your credibility is shot btw). The point of this Arcana is that all of them are their own worst enemy. Something inside of them is not just holding them back, it is actively causing them to delude themselves into a self-destructive spiral of some sort. Everyone has a dark side, and these guys in particular are being eaten alive by theirs. The worst of the lot is by far Suemitsu, in the sense that he’s in such a dark place that gorging himself on food (stress eating) and fully buying into a cult (peer pressured into scamming others) are the only ways he has left to cope with his life. His hangous make it clear, if one stopped looking down their high-and-mighty judgemental nose, that he is actively destroying himself physically with the stress eating and psychologically with the cult, but he is convinced they are helping him because he has nothing left. Self-delusion is part of the Moon. He is the most painfully accurate depiction of the darkest side of the Moon, and despite that he finds it in himself to take you on as his surrogate younger brother despite how awkward he is.