Persona 5 Royal My Game of 2020 Part III Chapter 6, Chapter 7, and Chapter 8 (Full Post)

Welcome to part 3 out of 4 of my massive Persona 5 Review. If you're confused about what's going on so far and my thoughts about the first half of this massive game ,maybe, check out the previous two posts for that delicious context. I'll mention this later on in the final post but this massive review was to honor a game which made the awful year of 2020 a little bit better. It's also because of some games coming out this year with one of them coming out early in the year and the other two didn't.   

Chapter 6: Kunikazu Okumara, Greedy Business Man who will do whatever he can to be a success. August 21 to October 11. Fifty Two days. 

So like with the start of Chapter 3, 4, and 5, I usually talk about the Palace Ruler when it comes to their TV Tropes Page. I plan to do this with the next couple of palace rulers as well but there is a little bit of problem. In the last chapter, the Phantom Thieves didn't change the heart of some evil adult but fight against a group of hackers. So in response to this, I decided to go with the summer break Futaba but not the one you're thinking.

I'm talking about Shadow Futaba who does have a separate TV Tropes page so it counts right? So out of the tropes I wanted to talk about, there is only one I really wanted to bring up. This trope is called Four is Death. This may be a weird trope at first but let me explain why I wanted to bring it up. This trope is more popular in East Asian works and I compare it to how we sees the number 13 here in the west. You could also mention the number of beast aka triple 6.

This does work when comparing it to the number 4 in East Asian but I would argue that the number 13 works better since triple 6 works all of the world not just the West. Devils and demons don't focus on corrupting Americans, they focus on corrupting everyone regardless of race or sexual. They ain't picky on that regard. Some examples of this trope in Bleach in the form of Unohana Retsu and Askin Nakk le Vaar. 

If you've only an Anime only watcher, you may be wondering why I mentioned Unohana of all characters and may have no idea who Askin even is. You'll see once the Thousand Year Blood War Arc comes out in 2022 which I'm excited for despite reading/watching Bleach after Naruto and One Piece with Bleach being my second favorite out of the big Three. Unlike Naruto and One Piece, there wasn't an continuation to Bleach like Naruto in the form of Boruto.

You may say that Boruto is its own thing but honestly regardless of how good it becomes, Boruto will always be in the shadow of Naruto which is a Pillar of Shounen alongside Dragon Ball and One Piece. I do consider series like Demon Slayer ,mainly due to how successful it was thanks to how amazing the Anime, game made by the studio that did the Naruto Storm games alongside the Jojo fighting game which is a thing, and Movie looks plus maybe the original manga, and My Hero Academia.

Even though the reason why I consider Demon Slayer to be a Pillar is obvious given how successful it was the past two years, My Hero is a surprise to see. When Season 1 came out, I don't remember too many people talking about. This changed after Season 2 came out and well, it became popular. This may be due to the whole superhero movie craze going on at the time thanks to the MCU but My Hero was a hit here in the West and I call it the success toward Naruto.

Boruto could have been that but well, it didn't really start the best and will always be compared to its father series of Naruto. I do have my fair share of problems with Boruto and Naruto which are petty like my issues with Attack on Titan which will change eventually but lets go back to Bleach. Despite Bleach ending in 2016, I never considered it to be Bleach a Pillar. It didn't really get that popular over here in the west until much later after it ended. 

This is just my opinion on the matter and hopefully, 2022 will be the return for Bleach and it becoming a Pillar of Shounen alongside Dragon Ball, Naruto, and One Piece. One Piece is still on going with Arc 3 of Wano and well, it's easily surpassing the impact Marineford had back in the day. It will be a game changing within in the world of One Piece for sure and makes me wonder. What happened in the world outside of Wano and during Reverie.

We got snippets sure but I'm curious. Some more example of Four is Death are the Elemental Four from Fairy Tail, Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter's Hunter Exam Arc, the dice roll in Goblin Slayer's opening (around 1:11) whose first episode started things off in a rather unique way to put it lightly, Guido Mista from Jojo Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Vento Aureo or Golden Wind, and Naruto's Forest of Death which is the forty-fourth training ground and has forty-fourth gates.

You may wonder why Konohagakure needs that many training gates but whatever. That training ground is where one if not the best arcs in Naruto takes place in so yeah, it's a big deal. I always want to bring up Charon from Pokemon Platinum who may be ignored in the Gen 4 remakes. He's named after the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the deceased across the river Styx that divided the world of the living and the world of the dead. Lets get back to the review.

With Medjed taken down, the Phantom Thieves's next operation is helping Futaba be a proper member of society and not use Joker as a way to hide from society or retreat back into her home. Before that can happen, we see Speedwagon blaming the government for not doing jack about the Phantom Thieves and it seems that Bean Daddy knows him. Sae's Confidant also gets a rank up so yeah. The next criminal is Okumura and well, this one is infamous especially in P5R and something does happened to him.

This is different compared to the others. If you know what happens, yeah. This changes everything and I'll bring it up. Don't worry. In this short period of peace, we get to see more of Futaba's unique personality and it's similar to Yusuke. They both move to a certain beat only they can hear and as this conversation goes on, she's just eating much to the jealously of the others since she isn't for sharing is caring. She's also the founder of Medjed when she was a hacker of justice. 

I really don't know how you can be a hacker for justice but well, she's Alibaba. It makes you wonder what Wakaba's mom was like and the two would be together. What would that be like? Makes you wonder huh. She also joins the Thieves without any hesitation and keeps everything to herself. To have her open us to the thieves, it's time to begin some mandatory hangout time and a possible beach vacation afterwards. 

Futaba doesn't have any say in the matter since we're doing this for her and also because we need to have our Beach Episode. This game doesn't have a hot springs episode since we're saving that for the next game and that will be something I address because it wasn't very good in my opinion. Sae ,in the past, is getting more and more angry with the thieves and her anger is getting close to rivaling Akechi's hate boner for the thieves. 

That's an impressive feature in my book. Before the quest to heal Futaba can begin, we get to see the twins and the Crypt Keeper/Vulture. Still unsure on the name. After getting some "encouragement" from Vulture, we head back to reality. The first day to help Futaba become more sociable involves Makoto and Yusuke. With the help of a unique looking mask and Yusuke messing up the Featherman display, it seems to be working compared to Makoto's elevator level small task or first date talk. 

I mean she talks about the weather and what she eats personally. If that isn't small talk, I don't know what is. I may think that art is subjective but who is the weirdest member of the thieves? For me, it's a tie between Futaba and Yusuke with the latter getting but hurt by Futaba saying that he doesn't know what aesthetics are. I mean his voice gets high and makes me like Yusuke even more. So thanks to the Featherman mess-up, Futaba is slowly leveling up to become a more social person. 

She also has a unique personality which we'll see a lot of moving forward and no, she doesn't get any special benefits like Joker does whenever we rank up Confidants. The next day is with the delightful blonde duo and well, Futaba will be wearing her mask. Also Ryuji gets burned by Ann and Futaba at the same time. It's a double burn. Oh. Dating Ann doesn't change the topic about wedding dress and having a partner by the way. I was sure it wasn't going to change but hey, now I know.

With the help of Bean Daddy, Futaba gets some job experience with the pompous customer getting scared of her. Do notice that Ryuji's lack of care about what's going on is concerning to Morgana. We also get to see more of Futaba and Sojiro's parental relationship by going back to work on Bean Daddy's confidant which had grinded to a halt but got started back up thanks to Futaba. We also get to see some prepping for the beach by getting some swimsuits. 

Even though they're on the first floor of Leblanc, the guys can still hear the conversation since they are really loud. You could hear them through headphones blasting music. I mean you're just asking for the guys to peep on them and thanks to the threat of Makoto's wrath, no one is brave enough to see the girls in their swimsuits. I would say they're cowards but it's Makoto and well, you don't want to mess with the fists of justice as seen in Strikers.

Yep. I'm going to keep mentioning that moment because I got my issues with it but that won't happen until I review Strikers or whenever I feel like it. I mean Morgana could have gone since he has nine lives and well, it would be funny right? We also need to get Yusuke a steady supply of money since well, he has none and don't flirt with Futaba Yusuke or else. If you do, you get in trouble with Bean Daddy and Joker's wrath. Double trouble. 

In time, we finally go to the beach after meeting up with Akechi. We also get a tragic past involving Akechi and how we'll be seeing him more. We also get a fireworks party with the Sakuras and the smoke is hurting poor Mona. Oh no, the poor cat. I feel so bad for him totally. After taking the twin jailers to the aquarium where we learn that aquariums are built by humans to assert dominance and see that the twins loves penguins, we finally head to the beach after so much preparations.

After promising Sojiro that we'll protect Futaba from some guys at the beach, we arrive at the beach and I'll say this. Despite the obligatory fanservice scene involving a mummy Futaba, I like the beach scene in Strikers more. Not just because Gramps is there, it's less crowded to say the least, but this comic as well helped out. The only bad thing is the whole villagers trying to kill the Phantom Thieves thing but well, good with the bad. Spoilers all the way.     

So after lunch where Futaba doesn't break her food traditions, we get Ryuji trying to be concerned for Makoto about her not eating not knowing that girls like to look slim when in a swimsuit or something along those lines. Mona also lacks tact. Ryuji also suggest playing volleyball which is a bad thing for two reasons at least for me. The first thing is the whole Kamoshita thing and well the second thing involves Makoto spiking said ball into your face.

It's possible but the girls are going on a banana boat. So one thing I was curious about is that if you were dating either Ann or Makoto at this point, would there be an extra scene involving them? Nope. We just get stuck watching their stuff. Ryuji says that the guys should be treated better because they're currently celebrities right now but well, someone has to watch the stuff while the others have fun. That's just life and don't lump Joker and Yusuke in with Ryuji.

Sure, all guys may be perverts no duh but Yusuke's love is different compared to most guys. Just look at what he spent his money on. Lobsters for pete sake! Also we're dating Ann in this playthrough so her line is weird at least to me. Not for the first two playthroughs but this one is different. Deciding not to stay and watch the stuff because of Ryuji's ego, we're forced to go pick up chicks except for Morgana since cats can't pick up chicks right?

To my knowledge, this alongside another thing is a tradition in Persona games and can't be avoided even if you're dating a girl. It's known as Operation Babe Hunt and wasn't done with the female protagonist in Persona 3 Portable. The video I found only shows the guy but just look up the comment in that video from Duchess of Burgundy who describe how it could have been done. We can't deny the whims of Ryuji and Yusuke so good luck watching the stuff Mona. 

I didn't want to go since well, I'm dating Ann in this playthrough and I had a feeling it wouldn't work out even on my first playthrough. The girls the guys hit on aren't very attractive in my opinion since they are too tan for me and lack a face. That's kinda of an important feature at least for me. Ryuji goes back for round eighty six but he gets his time to shine. This is thanks to the controversial duo of Angel and Julian. 

The boys don't really like them especially Ryuji after we gave him to them two chapters ago. I still don't regret doing that since well, he's probably the reason how Makoto found out about the Phantom Thieves plus this chapter. We also protect Ann and Makoto from two guys doing the exact same thing as us but well, they're not main characters, no faces, and have awful tans. I mean they could be from Jersey Shore with how tan they are. Also sick burn from Makoto by the way. 

Don't try to separate Yusuke and his Lobsters Futaba and Mona. That's a love which can't be undone no matter. By the end of our beach day, we get the important naming of Futaba as Oracle but I would have gone with Goggles. Mainly with how Ryuji says it (2:40) in the Anime but it's also the start of the worst part of Persona 5. We also have Futaba's whole speech about cognitive psience and her mom which are important yes but here's something to note.

That isn't important to me since well, I tend to notice things that others wouldn't. One such thing is how Futaba is a very short girl especially compared to Joker. Her goal is also not to change hearts or help people but to learn what happened to her mom. She also broke into networks of various labs in order to find out what she was looking for since no one would tell her what really happen. A good goal compared to Ryuji's desire for fame. Before we leave the beach, do remember this line from Ryuji. 

Ryuji says this after insulting that Mona is inadequate which he isn't at all. We'll get into why Mona isn't useless later since well, I got something to say about that line of thinking. "Well, she was more useful than you, as a matter of fact. ". One of Ryuji's worst moments for me hands down. They play this off as a typical thing but well, it isn't. I had a feeling about this back in my first playthrough back in the day since well, it's really obvious.    

So like I mentioned in the previous chapter, I'm going to discuss how the next protagonist could date a male in Persona 6 if it's a boy which it probably is. Not saying that I'm a psychic who can see the future but most Persona protagonist are guys with one of them being female. The odds are stacked in the males favorite but hey, it could be like Pokemon where you have the option of being a boy and girl. Most people pick the girl since they have more options to choose from when it comes to customizing.

If the next Persona protagonist is female, this could apply to having her date females. Lets begin shall we? From what I played in Persona 5 and researched about Persona 3 and 4, it's a life simulator where you play as your atypical high school boy. The only difference between your average high school boy and a Persona one is the whole summoning thing. You can also be a super genius and date multiple ladies before they eventually find out. 

Don't date multiple ladies in real life. Before I begin, I should bring up this video by Literal Maverick. It does a much better job about why not having same sex relationship is a bad thing. I think this could be done by having you pick between either being a boy or girl in a similar vein to Pokemon where your character's gender means very little to the overall story. I say this as someone who has seen a playthrough of both male and female characters. 

The only differences I could see is what pronouns they use to describe you and how you dress in later games. So how could this be applied to Persona? It's simple really. Have story events like Operation Babe Hunt made specifically for the protagonist if it's a boy or Operation Stud Hunt for the protagonist if it's a girl. Not the best examples for specific gender events but it could work like this. You could also prevent another Persona Hot Spring Scene by saying no but nah.

That joke is something that will never die out but maybe as a girl, you won't get the beatdown. That wasn't the case in Persona 3 Portable right? Now how does this apply to having the ability to date Ryuji you may be asking? It's very simple. Just give players the option to do this and we'll be good. I mean I'll never do that since me like girls but give others players that choice. You already give them a lot of choices to begin with when it comes to their date so why not have the ability to date the same sex? 

We live in a world where that kind of stuff is normal and shouldn't be frowned upon anymore. If Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy can do this, Persona could totally do this. They did before back in Persona 2: Innocent Sin with the characters Jun Kurosu and Tatsuya Suou as seen with this scene. Little stuff like this is fine with me since again, I had a choice to pick. Rune Factory 5 ,a game coming out at the time of me writing this, is doing same-sex marriage which is amazing. 

I may get the game because of that maybe. Who knows. When Persona 6 does come out and doesn't have same sex relationships, I won't be upset but disappointed. Giving players that choice is something that I'm sure countless players will appreciate even if some of them won't go for it. The players that would go for that should have that choice. So with that rant done and over with, lets go back to the cleverly named SIU Director and his scene involving Medjed. 

He and the rest of the Bald Man Squad seem to be using the Phantom Thieves for their own gain. After getting some more stuff about Mona being useless from Ryuji, we get an amazing line from Mona about Ryuji's mouth. He always find the worst possible things to say even if he doesn't mean any malice behind it maybe. That's what I got from it. I could be horribly wrong about that. We also get the typical finishing summer homework before school starts scene.

I've seen this so many times in school based animes so this is something I don't mind too much. It's a cliché but not a bad one. This comes right after a nightmare involving what Mona could be. Yeah, that stuff involves Mona and sunburns is him trying to talk about his problems but that damn pride of his. I wish we could tell Mona that he isn't useless but well, you can't change the story too much like I mentioned several times already. 

Futaba is totally me about this whole homework scene by the way and we get some more stuff about Kasumi. She also didn't do great at the meet and there is a WHOLE lot of stress put on her for her to succeed. I feel bad for her even though I'm not a athlete. There is also the whole Shujin throwing all of their honor students under the bus if they don't make the school look good. Shujin really does care about its reputation after all. 

Like Futaba said,"They dump all their hopes onto their athletes and if they don't cut the mustard, they're out like the rest of the trash, huh?". I guess Kamoshita turning out to be a piece of shit really made the school panic to save face huh. After another Ryuji demeaning Mona line, we hang out with Sojiro for a bit and learn about how Futaba was treated after her mom's death. It wasn't pretty but the fact that they didn't allow her to bathe really got to me. 

We also see Mona wanted to prove his worth to the team. We also get to have a family lunch with Futaba and Sojiro so yeah. It's going to be worth it since Mona gets to have his fish after singing about it. After a sushi lunch with Futaba almost puking it up and costing a hundred twenty thousand yen or 1095 dollars and 4 cents, Mona is deny sushi once again. Poor talking cat. Seeing Joker arrive home after sushi reminds me of whenever a pet greets you after a long day at work except your pet.

This pet probably doesn't talk and gets denied his sushi. If only we could pay for the meal, Mona would get his sushi hands down. We then go meet Futaba in Akihabara aka Electric Town. This is where we unlock her confidant aka the Hermit which is very fitting for the gremlin. Her ability is super helpful and is easily one of my favorites. Didn't realize this until my second playthrough but hey. My second playthrough has a learning experience. 

We also see the twins and Igor with the clearly sinister man saying that we're going to find out our goal real soon and we get more Personas to use. That's good. On the train ride to school, we learn of a new feature to the Phan-site involving a polling feature. Whoever gets the most votes will get their heart changed. I wonder if this will be important or anything. Nah. I doubt it. After we get back from summer vacation for a month, Shujin gets to go Hawaii. 

Lucky. I wish my high school could do that but then we would have a teacher like Kamoshita running around and that alone isn't worth the trip. I mean I don't know if Kamoshita would go after me since I'm not an volleyball player but just the fear of what would he could do to me is pretty scary. Oh and the whole Shrewd girl's comment about Ann speaking English doesn't work in English. Just wanted to make note of that. That's something common in most animes when translated. 

Fox tried to help out Futaba but well, she could easily get to the train station herself. While Ryuji wants to get another big target, the rest are focused on the Black Mask who has been brought up in half of the palaces we've been too so far. Ryuji also suggest revealing their identities which is a really bad idea for many many reasons aka the police arresting them for their "acts of justice". There is also the allure of being unknown. 

With no info given to Makoto by pry over Sae's shoulder, Futaba suggest getting the information from Sae using her personal laptop instead. Makoto is worried but she eventually gives in. As this is going on, we learn that Eggman was featured in a tabloid magazine and talking to his mysterious benefactor about the Phantom Thieves. I'm thankful we don't see that because well, I don't want to know what they wrote about him. 

It's probably about Kamoshita but still. If he wants to find info about the Phantom Thieves, here's some advice from little old me. Leave your office and don't rely on your students to do it. Hire a private detective or something. You got the money and I'm sure that hiring a detective wouldn't be too hard for you to do. I know that it would break the story but just do something Eggman. After that scene, you can now explore Akihabara. 

This place includes an Arcade, Maid Cafe, and Retro Game Shop. The Arcade is where a confidant takes place in. The Maid Cafe is helpful in improving Charm, collecting stamps, where this comic takes place in maybe, and has no dragon loli there doing this. The Retro Game Shop is where you can get rewards for playing video games in your room. There is also the machine parts shop where you can get a PC Tool Set.

You may wonder why I bring this up but this is useful for repairing the PC you can get at the second hand shop in Yongen-Jaya. I would recommend getting these items mainly for a certain thing down the road. After purchasing the laptop combo which I'm sure cost lost less than building a PC in real life, we get to see Akechi on our way to school. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Akechi and his hate boner for the Phantom Thieves, I don't actually hate the guy. 

This comes with experience of what will happen later on and also his confidant. He also brings out how the entire staff at Shujin was involved in covering up Kamoshita's well crap and he seems to be angry for the students. He's mainly mad at the adults. Before entering school, we see Haru in front of the school and watering some flowers. Ryuji is there too but my focus is on the girl who is watering the flowers. 

He's also talking about them being the popular Phantom Thieves in front of the faceless trio of girls and Haru. She almost bumping into Ryuji and in this scene, she's called girl with watering can. So many names she has like Tenten. This may be just my nickname but damn it works for me. Just wanted to bring that up and well, expect the cover up thing to be brought up a lot. This cover up will be changing how the school trip is done so welcome to the school trip Haru and Makoto. 

There are some other third years but well, they don't matter to the story. I mean do you really call faceless guy three. So the only Phantom Thieves not going to Hawaii are Futaba, Mona, and Yusuke for obvious reasons. One is from a school, one doesn't go to school, and one is a talking cat. Akechi also shows up on the ranking list mainly due to his comments and Joker dodges some chalk from Japanese Hank Hill. 

Oh and Kasumi will also be going overseas at the same time. Before we can go on the field trip, I decided to pick up one of my strongest Personas Ongyo-Ki and begin working on the Hermit Arcana aka Futaba's confidant. It's mainly due to how she's the newest one I unlock. It does require level 4 kindness in order to start but with max stats, this isn't a problem. I can't remember if this was the case on my first playthrough but I presume it was. 

After the promise list is made, Makoto gets some time with her little sister and this is something I noticed when I was in Kichijoji. In the miniature bar like area, there is a bar called Kanpai Beer and there is a flag there that caught my eye and here's a picture of it in game taken with my phone. From what I could tell, this may be a reference to the Genderfluid flag and this is just something interesting I noticed.  

It isn't important but after noticing that little detail, I decided to play some billiards because why not and there was nothing else I do. I mean I could just spend time with Morgana in the attic but Makoto needs something to calm her down before she gets the data from Sae's laptop. Said lawyer is complying the data and well, she isn't too happy about the whole Phantom Thieves. She even threatened a guy to get some intel. It may have been some harsh questioning but that could be seen as a bad thing.

Lets see if Makoto can get the data that we need and well, she's got this thanks to the power of taking a bath. She may have taken a short one but well, the data was collected so good job Queen. I totally had faith you could do. Being stealthy on the other hand is something we need to work. I hope that Makoto just get the info about the mental shutdowns and nothing else. Some things just need to be keep secret and this wouldn't have happen if she had a VPN maybe. 

Not too sure about that but hey. You've probably seen a lot of VPN ads lately or at least, I have in the past year. So after learning about there being a King Kamehameha who probably knows how to use Goku or Master Roshi's famous move and how Mona doesn't get why people would want a wooden figurine, Makoto gives Futaba the drive and the planning for the Hawaii trip begins. I disagree with Ann on something. Food may be good but seeing a giant turtle would be amazing.

This turtle may be even a ninja or kanji monster. We also learn that Yusuke is also going overseas to LA which to most people is a downgrade compared to Hawaii. It also doesn't suit Yusuke but well, he's pretty open to the idea because LA is where mineral pigments used for Japanese art came from. I could be wrong about that but it's interesting. Oh Ryuji wouldn't be a gangsta but maybe, he could be a gang-star. This has been your obligatory JOJO reference.

You would think I would have mentioned it earlier because of Personas being similar to Stands except not changed due to copyright. I'm also sure we can sneak Mona to Hawaii since most people don't notice him in Joker's bag or desk. It could work damn it. So according to Sae, all of the psychotic breakdown incidents are connected somehow. This amount of info will take Futaba some time in order to properly analyze and well, she requires souvenirs from our trip as payment.

I think we can make that possible no problem and well, Mona is having some personal issues involving his self worth. He wants to be seen as a important member of the team rather than just a cute mascot according to Ann. Something being cute is a subjective thing but well, I think he is cute. We also learn that no one told Ryuji about Makoto joining the field trip. I think this may be a case of where he was sleeping when his teacher told him this or the Shujin teachers aren't the best.

Either opinion would work.  Before hanging out with Futaba, we decided to check up a rumor at the Arcade involving a cheater. This will be important for later. Oh and did you know that gecko symbolize protecting one's home and family? Persona teaches me a lot of things. So on September 5 in game, I'm currently at an impasse on what to do. I currently deciding on taking/completing eight Mementos requests or hanging out with Futaba.

Lets talk about why this is a problem. After 9/6, we're going to busy with story events and have no time to do free time. This is for a big span of time so I wanted to make sure that I make it count. So I decided to do this. Before I talked to Futaba, I made a save point. If things go the way I want it to go, I will go this route. If it doesn't, I'll go down a route involving the temple and then Mementos the next day. So after helping Futaba go back to school with the help of Makoto, we get another Mementos request.

Said request involving helping Sojiro with Futaba's bastard uncle Youji Isshiki who is suing Sojiro just because he's a bastard and wants money. This request stops the confidant ranking of both Futaba and Sojiro so this is important. This is the case with other Confidant request in Mementos. Before that, I decided to check out Kichijoji and found Eggman drinking there. Like with the genderfliud flag, I took this picture with my phone and obviously not the best at it.

This isn't the first time Eggman is drinking about his problems since well, a lot of teachers such as Kawakami go out drinking there. If you want to check out these dates, check out this list. We also see Akechi once again on our way to school. He mentions the ranking where he's popular due to him not liking the Phantom Thieves. His hate boner toward them is strong no matter what. So before heading off to Hawaii, lets take down those nine Mementos requests. 

Or eight. I seem to have forgotten that Futaba's personal request is just her and Joker so that will have to wait until we get back from Hawaii. Eight requests that I've been building up is more important than just one. Mementos also expands thanks to the Phantom Thieves as they become more popular and we get another Morgana moment. So Futaba's abilities as a Phantom Thief work in Mementos and well, they are super helpful.

Such as Mementos Scan which identify everything on a given floor. This is helpful in finding some stamps you're missing or treasure which is more money not spend on Yusuke. I mean you don't have a choice in the matter but if you did, I totally did along with paying off Makoto's debt back during Porky's whole thing. Oh and while I'm doing this, I decided to fight the Reaper and it didn't end up well. I didn't get a game over but well, I was unprepared and it showed.

I waited until near the end of the game of my second playthrough before fighting him for the first time and this was after I made a certain strategy to defeat him. I did this because I wanted to be ready for anything that could happen. Overthinking saves lives after all especially against the Reaper who isn't something you should mess with. Okay. I lied about how many requests I could get down since well, I forgot that one of them couldn't be done at first.

This request can be done after coming in contact with a certain confidant. This confidant is one I managed to get a complete 10 on before in my first playthrough. I've done this exact same thing before in previous playthroughs and you think I would remember this but nope. I did managed to get the bottom of Akzeriyyuth which like most floors of Mementos, I can't pronounce correctly to save my life and would probably offend someone by saying it aloud.

Oh and this unbeatable ,at first, request has you fighting against Ose which can't be touched even with the power of New Game +/Plus. This is due to him being an even bigger cheater than I am but well, this won't last. We have to be the biggest cheater so you can live for now Ose but soon, this will change. We eventually leave Mementos after saying hi to Jose and doing some last minute work in the velvet room before we go to Hawaii.

So before heading off to bed, Morgana is really depressed. The next day has Joker and the rest of the Shujin thieves heading to Hawaii. At the airport which is a location you can only visit in a cutscene, the blond ape is missing and the person on the intercom mentions a flight about Los Angeles. Isn't Yusuke going to LA for his school trip? I wonder what's that all about. Fun fact. In the anime, the group photo that the Shujin thieves take is in Hawaii not in the airport like in the game. 

In both scenes, Futaba hacks our phone so she can see EVERYTHING on Joker's phone through the camera. Another reason why the Harem route is doomed to fail if one of them can see everything you do with your phone's camera. I'm pretty sure that turning off the phone won't stop her from knowing everything. We eventually arrive in Hawaii with Ryuji yelling right in Joker's ear as we descend in the Aloha State. 

Joker will remember this and Ryuji is acting like your typical tourist. You know the type. Do note that we don't get to explore that much of Hawaii plus I would want to have someone like Mishima on a trip since I'm the same. Totally spend an unhealthy amount of time looking up stuff before a trip to see what I can do. Haven't don't that recently but hey, I like Mishima. We also don't get to crash with Ryuji since he's part of a different class since it complicates roll call.

After Ann gets some roommates, we get one in the form of Mishima. I rather have him rather than two faceless students. We also get another beach episode on Waikiki so this chapter is totally the beach episode of Persona 5. So prior to this game, the only Diamondhead I knew was from Ben 10 but Persona taught me something. So Mishima mentions the Phan-site's rankings and well, Akechi is getting backlash for not seeing eye with the Phantom Thieves.

Despite me not liking Akechi due to his Phantom Thief hate boner being way too strong for my liking, I do feel bad for the guy since no one deserves to get bullied online for having a differing opinion about a group or fad. The room that Joker and Mishima are staying in looks really nice. The next day shows that despite going to Hawaii, Shujin students can only do so much. Not even us with our 5 million+ yen. Oh and due to Kamoshita, there wasn't any time to come with a plan.

So the reason why Haru and Makoto are here is because of that. We also can't escape the Phantom Thieves influence even overseas. Suddenly, Yusuke appears much to the shock of Ann, Joker, and Makoto. Ryuji gets shocked too. We eventually learn that Yusuke is here due to a terrible storm brewing on the west coast and well, he's joining the gang in Hawaii. So like with the firework festival, Yusuke brings the rain wherever he goes. 

I could be wrong but I think this is a reference to Yusuke's Evolved Persona whom I will be talking about once we get to 10 on his Confidant. So notice how Big Bang Burger is in Hawaii and Okumura Foods aka the company who owns Big Bang Burger. The owner of said company is at the top of the Phan site ranking ,which Ryuji is sure about despite him making a whole lot of mistakes prior, and the boss for this chapter. 

Like with Kamoshita and Smeargle, this is foreshadowing to him being the boss and like with the other ones, he'll have a nickname. All of Okumura Foods's overseas competition has mysteriously pulled out according to a rumor from Makoto. So after Ann and Makoto leave to get sunscreen, we get to explore a little bit of Hawaii. Not much but hey, it's better than nothing I guess. We also get to finally talk with Haru FINALLY. 

It's been over twenty hours since we saw her for the first time back in Chapter 2 of this review and this isn't counting the nickname Tenten I gave her. She's also just delightful and well, Ryuji remembers earlier in the month. Instead of asking her to join our little group, Haru heads off and it's weird how Makoto has never spoke with her. I get that taking to someone who isn't in your class is impossible but she's the student council president.

You would think they would at least have a conversation once but nope. Haru is ignored by Makoto as well despite Haru being a wall flower compared to the trouble makers. Oh and for you Kawakami fan, there is a scene of her in a bikini. I may not be a big fan of her in terms of romancing her due to the age gap but hey. At least, those fans got something and Haru totally broke into her room or Becky left the door open. Either or works.          

We get a scene of Futaba finding something in Sae's files and not telling Morgana about it since she's still working. You could at least give him something Futaba because Morgana is feeling useless right now since well, he's a cat. Cats can't type on the computer as I've learned recently. He only sees himself as a tool to be used to drive around Mementos and nothing else. Don't think like that Morgana since well, you're the team healer.

I may think that your Persona is a little weird but hey, your healing ability is really nice to have. Wish I had when I fought against the Reaper but hey, I went into the fight unprepared. Oh and Morgana is not telling anyone about this. You shouldn't bottle up what you're feeling because eventually, you'll explode onto someone who doesn't deserve your anger. I've done this before and regret it shortly after. We get another rumor about Okumura food and how they exploit their employees.

To me, this is similar to how Kamoshita or Smeargle used the students of Shujin or of the arts to make himself look good. It fits Smeargle better but Kamoshita did it too. Porky really only care about the students' wallets but he also went after adults as well from what I recalled. We also get a suddenly visitor in Ryuji who is only here because of how his roommate brought his girlfriend to their room. Our blond ape felt like the third wheel there so he's sleeping here tonight.

Before we can kick him out or force him to find somewhere else to sleep like the lobby, Ann shows up and this may sound strange. The girl that Ann is staying with went to her boyfriend's room so perhaps the two situations are related in some way. Said girl also took the only key to their room which makes no sense to me. Shouldn't both girls have a key to the room just in case they lost the first key? Is this hotel so cheap that they can make two keys to a room at the very least?

I guess that this is only done to have a reason to have Ann stay with Joker in a room for the night but still. Did she think of talking with the staff, Kawakami, or Makoto before coming here? Yusuke is out of the question due to him being from another school and a male so yeah. Applying hard logic like this to the scene ruins it in my books. We decided on where everyone sleeps thanks to a nearby set of playing cards.     

So Ryuji gets the floor, Ann and Mishima gets the beds, and Joker gets the couch. Mishima is also in the bathroom so that bed is going to waste. Poor Shiho. I mean I get that she couldn't go due to the whole Kamoshita thing but still. It sucks what happened to her and makes me hate Kamoshita even more. So even after almost six months, the blond duo and Joker still need to learn about each other. I mean I did rank 10 both of them plus Joker is dating Ann so yeah. 

This scene makes no sense but hey, we get to learn Ryuji's type aka the girl with the better body. I mean he likes a good personality in a girl but well, Ryuji likes the one with the better looks. Oh and Ann totally got him with that one. Despite Joker dating Ann, she still wants to know his type and a clever dodge leads into the fact that Mishima isn't too smart. You would think with all of the research, he would know not to drink the tap water.

Even Ryuji knows that not what you're supposed to do when you're out of the country. It's been a while since I last left the country but I can't recall if I did that or not. So I decided to look this up and I found this. From what I can tell, it was an error on the developers part since Hawaii is part of the USA but I could be wrong. We also get a scene with the SIU director and his connection to a certain someone who is planning on betraying them. I'm sure things are going to great for this someone. 

So our trip in Hawaii is almost over much to Ryuji's dismay since they didn't do anything different from Japan. They may have done some Hawaii based antics if they had the money or the school had time to plan out activities but nope. They didn't have time since Kamoshita's crimes were brought to light and that's why Haru and Makoto came along with the second years. So Ryuji decides to make a once in a lifetime summer memory with Mishima since well, what happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii. 

I'm pretty sure that saying is for Vegas but hey, that saying could work really anywhere in the world not just Hawaii. I didn't include Joker since well, I'll explain why in just a second and it doesn't have to do with the Phantom Thieves maybe. So here in Hawaii, you have a choice to go on a date with four girls who just happened to be on this trip. Haru isn't one of them due to her not being introduced properly until just a bit later. These dates don't require you to be in a relationship with said girl for two of them.

These two girls are Makoto and Hifumi with the latter being strange at first. Do recall that she goes to the same school as Yusuke so she was bound to show up eventually. These two brainy beauties require at least a Rank 5 or above with them. It can be like a a date with Makoto but that requires Rank 9 or above to make possible. Hifumi may be the same but I'm not sure. On my first two playthroughs, I went with Makoto both times.

I did this because I really like the Tiki Keychain you get from said date. The Honu charm didn't really do it for me so sorry Hifumi. I can't recall if I got that far with Hifumi in my first playthrough or the second playthough but hey, you can see for yourself what's that like. The two girls that require you to be in a relationship are Ann and Kawakami. Since I'm in a relationship with Ann, I'm going with her but lets talk about what you get with Kawakami.

You get an item called the Hawaiian Ring and yes, she gave Joker a ring. Pretty bold statement there teach I'm just saying. This ring works opposite to Hifumi's Honu Charm since the ring evades Bless in Royal while the charm evades Curse. Pretty interesting. You could also hang out with Mishima and Ryuji but remember the last time you hung out with those two aka Maid Watch. I should also mention that hanging out with the bros is like Operation Babe Hunt 2 from what I read online.

So yeah. That's going to be a hard no for me even though Yusuke would have joined us. I rather go hang out with the cute blond girl rather than the bros whom Joker can hang out with back in Japan. Us going to Hawaii happens once a playthrough after all. This is a first for me since well, I never had a chance to do it. Going with Makoto isn't a bad thing but well, a date on the beach is pretty nice. Also calling a girl cute if you're staring at her while dating her may get you off the hook.

This may not happen but hey, it could happen. Oh and don't answer you'll get fat when getting Garlic Shrimp. That is a no shit comment but hey, better safe than you getting kicked in the groin here in Hawaii or attacked in the hot springs. Oh and I don't think you can make everyone like Shrimp through Mementos maybe. Oh and the Menehune Dolls just so happen to look like Joker and Ann. That is just sweet and wholesome.

Don't know why dolls would look like those two but lets get rid of that pesky logic for a moment. Oh and poor Mishima. I know your pain of getting dragged around by Ryuji but hey, I doubt it will happen again for you. Back in Japan, Maruki meets up with Futaba, Morgana, and Sojiro. This is a Persona 5 Royal thing so yeah. Oh and Futaba wants to talk with Maruki because of cognitive psience. He also charmed Sohiro. 

You think Maruki would have recognize Morgana due to him being in Joker's bag all of the time but hey, Maruki must think all black cats look alike. That may sound racist which it is but it's more like it's speciesism as well. So is keeping secrets against the bro code? I mean I don't think it does since well, a gentleman doesn't kiss and tell. So will Yusuke be able to get back to Japan? While looking for some souvenirs for Futaba and Morgana, we see Haru looking for some as well.

Just your normal Haru cameo. I really can't wait until she's important to the plot which is very soon and I wish it could have been earlier. I'll explain what I mean by that later on. While shopping for a gift which we wouldn't buy for ourselves but would like as a gift according to Ryuji, Yusuke finds an hourglass that measures three-minute increments. His gift is surprisingly good due to Futaba liking instant yakisoba.

While looking for a gift for Morgana, Kasumi shows up and tries to surprise us. Jokes on her. Joker already got surprise by Yusuke so her attempt has failed. So she is here because of a training camp for the next meet even though the last one was during the summer. So even when she is overseas, Kasumi doesn't take a break. I think Ryuji meant to say "What doesn't kill makes you stronger" not "what doesn't thrill ya makes ya stronger".

This is normal for Ryuji though. We also get a mention of Kasumi's sister and hopefully, things go well for her as well. Our time in Hawaii was short since we're going back to Japan and Eggman is heading to the police station. Things don't end up well for Eggman since he gets cracked wide open thanks to a truck not paying attention to him. He died just like Futaba's mom and well, lets show Joker getting Hawaiianized.

I'll admit that the game's joke about this is better than the anime but hey, it isn't that bad. We got Sojiro a gift and helped Morgana get leied. So are we getting any of the profits from the Phantom Thief merch? I mean it would blow our secret identity but I'm totally for Phantom Thief Curry. No Copyright Law in the universe is going to stop Sojiro. I'm pretty sure that the Phantom Thief name is public domain so yeah. Make the curry.       

Oh and mention Phantom Thieves enough time is when Akechi shows his face. His hate boner is strong for them after all and before going on a rant about them, he stops. He learned. So after some sleep, we'll go over the data that Futaba AND Morgana discovered. It may have been all Futaba but Morgana was there to help get her refreshments right? That may just be head canon though. So are the Phantom Thieves just ranking is really high right now? 

There is no way it could go down right? I'm not being subtle about this at all. So despite Morgana not being open to sharing his problems, we do get to hear about Yusuke getting pity from the clerk back in Hawaii when he wanted to buy a tiki mask. Good for him. It may be bad for business. So before going to bed, get ready for a week where you won't be able to do pretty much anything during the day or the night.

I'm not joking about this. Do note that this was the case with the previous chapters as well but I'm not going to lie. This stretch of time just feels longer. So before the span of doing nothing but story can begin, we get a scene between Makoto and Sae where Makoto learns about how Eggman got cracked open by a truck. You really think I wouldn't joke about this but well, I don't care for Eggman. Sae says that it was suicide but something is off about it. 

She questions why he was going to the police station if he's trying to kill himself and the fact that he used a taxi to get there. To be honest, it would have been weird if Eggman decided to walk all the way to the police station because he's fat. She also claims that he had a change of heart or was targeting by the Phantom Thieves but that can't be. The majority of the Phantom Thieves were out of the country so the only way this could be possible is if Futaba and Morgana decided to take him out.

That makes absolute not sense since well, Futaba doesn't know him and was focusing on decoding the information she got from Sae's laptop. If you're thinking I forgot to mention Morgana, his reason for not doing it is simple. He was too depressed to do anything beside sulk for the past couple of days. Sae decides to question Makoto for any information about Eggman but that bridge between those two had been burned after taking down Porky. 

After Sae leaves the apartment while leaving the door open, Makoto informs the others about the death of Eggman which I'm sure is was the title of a Sonic comic. Before getting some more development on how Eggman's death impacted the students, Joker and Ryuji meet up with Kasumi with the red head wanting to know about the whole Hawaii trip. So in time, we get another assembly where everyone already knows about Eggman dying. 

We also meet the unnamed vice-principal who compared to Eggman, he looks so normal. I mean he looks more like a businessman than a teacher. Despite Eggman not being the best guy, the students doesn't seem too upset about his death but are more focused on the Phantom Thieves and if they are the ones responsible for it. We also go back to the interrogation room where Sae learns about how the thieves stole the data from her laptop.   

So in the future, Sae wonders why the thieves would target someone from Shujin again and we get a rank up with her. Her confidant is probably the one that makes the least sense to me but hey, we'll get into where it ranks in the future. So something happened to Okumura in the past but what it could be? I think it's time we finally find out and why this chapter is so infamous for the wrong reasons. This is just one of them.

According to Yusuke, people are saying that Eggman killed himself due to how he was exposed by the tabloids for his actions in covering up for Kamoshita. He did do that yes no doubt but the writings of a tabloid aren't exactly the most trustworthy source out there. Even if Eggman died, Kamoshita need to be taken down due to how he did to the students, Shiho, and countless others. I'm not saying that Eggman should have died because of what he did. 

He died because he got in over his head by playing with some powerful people. So after everything that has gone on for the past couple of months, people are believing in the Phantom Thieves rather than the adults since the adults keep getting targeted by the Phantom Thieves. The general public wants the thieves to solve society's problem and not just personal ones. With all of this, the thieves wonder if they're doing the right thing.

While the group wonders if they're doing the right thing, Morgana is all about that data from Sae and Futaba doesn't have the heart to tell them despite Yusuke being confused why he should. So Sae has been looking into the repeated cases of people suddenly collapsing and tried to find something that ties them all together in a neat little bow. Most of it is just theory but there is a common link between all of them. 

This link is Okumura Foods's CEO Kumikazu Okumura or this boss's main threat. He owns Big Bang Burger which I'm well familiar with due to all of those burgers I had to eat in order to gain guts. That still makes no sense by the way. Big Bang Burger only grew in power thanks to scandals and several resignations of their competitors' executives. I'm not the smartest person in the world but even I can see that this is all too suspicious.

All of this evidence is leading the thieves to believe that Okumura is the one causing all of these accidents in order to gain a profit. Okumura has a palace thanks to Futaba and well, Ryuji claims him to be the next target since he's also at the top of the rankings. I thought it was Akechi but nah. Lets go after the burger owner instead of the detective. Even with all of this damming evidence, Yusuke decides that going after Okumura isn't the right move here.

He isn't alone on this since Ann agrees with him. While I may be a fan of both Ann and Yusuke for reasons, I have to agree with them. Everything that is going on right now is intense to say the least. The people really want Okumura's heart to be changed which is a good idea but not right now. Just letting things calm down a bit is the right move even if Ryuji is against that. He claims that they shouldn't just ignore what the people want even though they're nothing more than an angry mob.

They're caught up in the hype of the Phantom Thieves and the hype will eventually die down but going after Okumura won't stop the hype. It'll only makes things worse. So even with the trio of Ann, Ryuji, and Yusuke's opinion known, what about the other four? Joker and Makoto stayed quiet with Futaba saying that they aren't going to agree. That only leaves Morgana who isn't a big fan of the Thieves being so hesitant and calls out Ryuji in particular.

With this simple comment, Morgana and Ryuji begin their usually argument which is done rather well in the anime in my opinion. The whole entire thing was done rather well since well, I actually felt bad for Morgana. Do note that this entire section of the review is all my opinion and in no way should be used as something to really push an agenda. Watch any other Persona reviewer and you'll get a better opinion on a topic involving this series.

Do know that I like Morgana but he isn't my favorite thief. For a while, I didn't like him mainly because of this section of the story which my opinion on it has changed thanks to Father Time. This is due from experience and just thinking about it. Morgana claims that Ryuji is only using the Phantom Thieves name to pick up girls. This isn't entirely false as seen with the beach escapades but it's more about Ryuji's obsession with fame as one of the popular Phantom Thieves. 

At least from what I can tell, Ryuji was seen as nothing more than as a outcast due to him calling out Kamoshita for his shit before it was cool. He eventually got a chance to become popular thanks to the Phantom Thieves. Ryuji then retorts with how Morgana is only doing this to become a human which he calls himself admirable unlike Ryuji who is a carnal blond monkey. The two look to start a fight which I'm totally betting on Morgana winning.

He totally has the speed advantage over Ryuji and the claws of a cat on his side. Ryuji may be bigger but eventually, the cuts will get to him. This fight doesn't happen with Morgana storming off to take down Okumura by himself and I'm sure that this will go well for him. So in this argument, I'm unsure on who to side with. Morgana has been having some clear issues with his role on his team and how he was slowly realizing how he useless he is when compared to the other thieves.

I mean at first, Morgana was seen as the expert on the Metaverse and how to navigate it. He may not know what his purpose in life or who he was prior to meeting Joker in the castle but still, he knew the Metaverse. This changed after Futaba and Makoto joined the team where Futaba was able to discover more about the metaverse than Morgana could do and Makoto was able to make better plans that he could when it comes to raiding palaces.

These plans were probably ignored since I tended to rush right through them in a single day without stopping for breaks. This hasn't changed even during my third playthrough since I'm pretty well versed in this game with me constantly making mistakes that you think I would have learned by now. Morgana is my main healer which is thanks to his Personas' trait/skill Proud Presence which boosted your healing skills so that's super useful in high difficulties or against the Reaper. 

He was no longer needed as the metaverse guide any more since by Palace #4, most of the thieves knew what was going on by now. Futaba may have been the rookie at this point but she was smarter than the average Phantom Thief. She also made a better navigator so him storming off makes sense due to us seeing that he was feeling insecure about a lot of things. His role to the team was being threatened, he was unable to remember who he was, and his purpose for a while now.

For a long time, no one told him that he was a member of the team and they aren't the Phantom Thieves without him. He did bottle up all of his feelings and didn't tell Joker about what he was feeling until he eventually exploded. He probably thought this team no longer need him and literally saw him as nothing more than transportation for Mementos. Do you recall when I told you to remember this comment from Ryuji? 

If you need a reminder, it's "Well, she was more useful than you, as a matter of fact. ". We even get a flashback to this moment when Morgana storms off. This comment didn't help Morgana at all so I get why he stormed out and wanted to prove himself to the group. Ryuji doesn't try to stop him at all along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves mainly Joker. Ann does tell Ryuji to stop but well, it doesn't work and Morgana leaves the party. 

The only thing Joker can say to stop his friend is either "What's gotten into you?" or "Calm Down.". The cat leaves with Ryuji saying that he'll come crawling back. Over all, I don't hate this section of the story at all. It has its flaws sure but we at least see Morgana's insecurities instead of it just happening without any prior build up. The build up was there until with Kagura from Naruto. I'm pretty sure that there was no build up to her but this is coming from someone who isn't an expert on Naruto.

So I'm going to say that everyone in the Phantom Thieves mainly Morgana and Ryuji are at fault in this but this entire arc comes at a cost. Haru's development as a character which I'm greatly sadden by and well, we see her as Morgana runs off to fight Okumura. As the Phantom Thieves are falling apart, the duo of Akechi and Sae find out that the public literally gives zero fucks about Eggman but gives all of the fucks to the Phantom Thieves. 

I'm the same but well, Akechi is feeling the same but he won't give up and let the haters get to him. So good on him and Sae since she isn't giving up either. She does believe that the thieves are responsible for the whole mental and psychotic shutdown and breakdowns which isn't the truth at all but they don't know that. Oh and why doesn't Akechi get a chair? I mean he and Sae must have these conversations a lot but why doesn't he get a chair?

He'll get tired of standing eventually and why does that black bag get a chair instead of Akechi? I'm sure it belongs to Sae since Akechi carries around a silver briefcase. Akechi does call Sae out on her attempt at trying to get Sojiro's parental rights removed on a theory. She claims that it's all for the case but you would hurt innocent people in the process. Akechi is worried for Sae's more aggressive tactics but she isn't going to stop even with everyone telling her to calm down. 

Seems familiar doesn't it? She even wants to ignore protocol which the Phantom Thieves do. Akechi isn't a fan of this given his hate boner for them and storms off. We eventually see Morgana and how he really didn't do so good on his own. I mean did this happen with Kamoshita back in the day or what? I mean it was one of him versus an entire place. Joker could probably do a palace by himself but you know the saying. Strength in numbers after all.   

Before Morgana dies, someone comes to his rescue in the form of a girl who screen time should have been much much more than what we were given. I call her Tenten for a reason. The next day, we don't even go out to look for Morgana since they expected him to come back when he's hungry. This isn't exactly the most friendly behavior and well, Ryuji says that they shouldn't be worrying so much since it's only been a day since he left. 

This is why I'm siding with Morgana you blond ape! If my friend or someone I cared about stormed off after a nasty fight, I would go out and look for them. I may be mad at this friend but if I didn't go after them, can I really call myself his friend? I really wished we could go out and look for Morgana but nope. We can't. I really do miss having Morgana in my desk with him making comments and no one seeing him in there somehow. 

It's weird not having his commentary to be and after class, we're heading straight home to meet up with Futaba to wait for Morgana. Said feline isn't heading home since he's attempting another raid on an unknown place with an unknown ally. Oh and all of these shadows sound like robots. Just wanted to mention that because it involve what's going on. So something is going on with Okumura and I bet it has something to do with Morgana and his mysterious ally. 

We're heading off to Okumura foods aka Okumura Palace in order to help him out. So due to us being worried about Morgana, we can't do anything besides go to bed. This is the main reason why I hated Morgana since I really like doing something before going to bed. You pretty much don't have any choice in the matter which is something this game doesn't do often. You get a lot of choice in this game and well, this isn't exactly the best time in the game.

So after school, the gang arrives at Okumura Foods which is much larger than say Futaba's room or the Sakura's house, Shujin Academy, or Smeargle's shack. Its size is nothing compared to Porky's domain but it's still pretty big. Even with all of this evidence against Okumura, we're here for Mona which Ryuji isn't a fan of. That's what I got out of it. Akechi is also there as the thieves enter the palace. I wonder if this is important going forward.

So while this chapter wasn't my favorite at first, this palace is one of my favorites. I'm a sucker for space themes and well, I really like the music. Our first scene of Okumura's palace or as I call it the Death Burger shows robots which is a not so subtle display of the Big Bang Burger logo on them. All of the robots wearing the black suits are pretty much the employees of Okumura Foods who aren't getting treated the best in the slightest. 

One of them shuts down and well, they're getting disposed off. Like before, Oracle says that they are here for MONA not Okumura whose nickname is coming. Spoiler alert for that. It's probably going to be a reference to Star Wars in some shape because when I think Sci-Fi, I think Star Wars. There is also Futurama but well, Star Wars is the main Sci-Fi franchise to me. Ryuji isn't happy about this since he wants to take down Okumura and Mona is second.

We eventually get stopped by a door which makes a really annoying sound if you aren't Okumura. It rivals the Pokemon low health sound. Before we can go look for Mona, a strange masked figure shows up and it's Mona's partner. I wonder who she could be. Perhaps it's the Black Mask who was mentioned before. It isn't that at all but the Beauty Thief whose working alongside Mona! Said cat is trying to sound evil but well, he reminds me of Meowth now that I think about it.       

It's good to see Morgana a okay despite it being only a couple of days since we last saw him. By the way, Morgana isn't the best at coming up with code names. I mean yes. Your partner is beautiful and a thief but that name isn't the best. She's also a Persona user but hey, she goes with it. Good job yo and the tension is pretty much gone at this point. They also land pretty stylish to say the least mainly Beauty Thief not Morgana.

The reason why I say this is because of the hat tilt which is something I'm a sucker for. It's obvious that this is her first day on the job and it shows. She tells Yusuke to take a hint which is fitting for him. She tells Ryuji that he's vulgar and stupid. Again, she isn't wrong. No one is taking this seriously and this beauty thief is no way dangerous but she does do a good pose with Mona by her side. She gets points in that regard. 

Unlike with the thieves, Mona and the Beauty Thief can get past the door. I wonder why? An alarm goes off because of it much to said thief's shock. Like I said, this is her first day. Everyone decides to run away and meets up back at the attic. Ryuji is the only one missing alongside Mona and the Beauty Thief whose identity is unknown. Okumura is pretty popular right now and well, Ryuji is late because they went after him. 

He blames Beauty Thief but Futaba points out that it's a lock that requires a certain type of key. Despite her outfit, she does fit a Persona user in this game. If Morgana was going to betray us, it wouldn't be too hard since it's pretty obvious who the Phantom Thieves are due to their unique appearance. I'm looking at Ann, Futaba, Ryuji, and Yusuke when I'm saying this. Joker and Makoto maybe but brown and black are more common than blond at least in Japan.

So the Beauty Thief looks to be around the gang's age and her hair seems familiar. I wonder if it is someone who I've been constantly mentioned throughout the review even though she hasn't made an official name drop yet. Perhaps it's that one girl from the cover and opening. Nah. It can't be her. Like with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, her identity is super obvious and the thieves will find out who she is. Morgana will return back to us in time.

After being forced to sleep, the next day begins with Okumura Foods being shown as the target to be no matter what. I would go after someone smaller and then build up to him but wow, Okumura isn't the best boss in the world just like how Kamoshita isn't the best gym teacher in the world. The day goes by as the Shujin thieves begin looking up who Beauty Thief could be. Despite Ryuji saying that she isn't an issue, she is given how she and Morgana are one step ahead of them for now.

The investigation begins with Ryuji getting distracted by the ladies of Shujin rather than finding the Beauty Thief. I wish you could give him a good slap to the head but nope. Ann is the same except she's calling out some girls look. I mean so what if she looks like an older man or woman? She's beautiful in her own way. Makoto decides to call it a break since well, they have a lot of female students to go through and most of them are faceless too.

It's like looking for a piece of straw in a pile of needles or finding a really good game in a pile of trash games. Ann eventually finds her and this is when we FINALLY get her name drop. Let me finally introduce you to Haru aka Persona's Tenten and related to Okumura aka how she got past the door's biometric reader. Her fluffy hair is how we found her out and we'll confront her tomorrow or do we? It seems that we meet Haru as she trying to push several bags of I think manure.

This is coming from someone who doesn't know plants but I do know the feeling of pushing something far out of your weight class. Joker decides to help her out because you don't leave a lady alone when she needs help. Before Haru can introduce herself to Joker, Makoto shows up and introduces her. She also cuts straight to why she was in her father's place. Can't give her that huh? Let Haru introduce herself Makoto. The other new characters did so why not her? 

At least, Haru isn't trying to hide the fact about who she is and says the truth about how good Queen looks in her outfit. Smart girl. So Haru decided to become a Phantom Thief and well, she wants to make amends from her father's crime. She also found Morgana outside of the office business and took him in so good job Haru. So despite the company being well sinister and corrupt, Haru wants to change him into a better person. 

This will go well I'm sure but Haru won't work with those who don't know what they want to do. She says that they're not trying to help Morgana but instead doing what the public demands of them. If you think I'm wrong about this, great. You're probably right but this is what I got out of this. Makoto has no rebuttal and Joker says nothing. Haru wants her dad to atone for his crimes and help Mona so lets go Haru. 

Good job Haru since she brings up how they're not focused on Morgana who is a valid member of the team no matter what. We also see Okumura for the first time and well, he doesn't look like a very friendly person. He also brings up how he is NUMBER ONE on the forum of the Phantom Thieves and may be targeted. He says that it's because they're jealous of his success. That may be the case but him sacrificing others to do it isn't the way to go. 

This includes his only daughter who is making her be friendly with the son of a politician. We'll go into more detail about that man and Okumura in time. Do note that Haru will be going by her name and Okumura will be going by the last name. So it seems that Morgana is going into the Mementos and handling requests with Haru so good job cat. You're helping her gain experience and the people at the same time. 

I wonder how many requests they're doing at a time. Probably not the same as me but well, they are helping the people and that's what matters. It's time to begin a stake-out for Haru and Morgana in dear old Mementos. Before they can even attempt at taking down Okumura, they need to find Mona and apologize. ALL OF THEM need to apologize for what they did to Morgana not just Ryuji. He may have been the main culprit but well, all of them are responsible in some shape like I said before.

So as the stakeout goes on, the duo eventually shows up with him calling us out for slacking off. We're here for you Mona so quit being so mean. Oh and Makoto. What's wrong about accepting requests? I'm sure Morgana is looking through them before accepting them. I'm also pretty sure that the Police won't be able to track them down since well, the police aren't the best at finding them. Haru is also not great with machines so well, it makes sense. 

Haru also tells Mona that they're only telling them this because they're worried about the duo so be nice cat. I'll defend you but quit being so catty. He eventually learns that we're here for him and not Okumura but Ryuji fucks it up! God damn it! I really wish there was a punch or dope slap option and aimed right at the blond ape who really needs to think before he speaks. He tries to apologize but well, you brought up both of his insecurities within your apology.

I'm sure if he had Insecurity, it would be going off right now. Futaba says it best and well, I don't feel bad for throwing you under the bus Ryuji. I like Ryuji but man, he really needs to think before he speaks since words hurt more than bullets and swords any day of the week. Haru decides to go with him as he storms off thanks to Ryuji who goes after him not because he's worried about him but because of how long he made him wait. 

So after a game of catching the cat car which has him almost running us over several times, Mona crashes and Ryuji shouldn't be the one trying to talk with him right now. Morgana is being stubborn because of his pride and thanks to a distraction from Haru, the duo escapes. Said duo arrives outside of the Protein Lovers gym. This is where Makoto got kidnapped by the way and well, something bad will happen here. I'm sure of it. 

Haru eventually gets caught by a well dressed man who seems to know her rather well. He's also being rather forceful and Morgana tries to get him off her. It works but Morgana gets hurt in the process. He calls himself useless and ask for help which comes in the form of the Phantom Thieves. They come to help Haru out with this guy and well, who is Ryuji calling their friend? It's Morgana obviously but this isn't obvious given how things have been going on.

This man is apparently Haru's fiancé despite her not showing the affection. He walks away with him remember their faces and well, Okumura is not father of the year award any time soon. While Haru gets some rest, the Phantom Thieves finally make up. Morgana decides to tell them why he broke off mainly due to him feeling useless and how he doesn't want to get them hurt. Haru is having none of that and decides to force Morgana to tell the truth and nothing but.

I really do think that this moment was done rather well in the anime. While in her arms, Haru says that Morgana wanted the others to acknowledge you by becoming stronger. She also says that Morgana loves being here and the blush ,in the anime, sells the moment for me. Ryuji in the anime does this so much better than in game like my god. It was such an improvement compared to the game. Ryuji's voice actor makes this so much better so good job Anime.

Ryuji also apologize unlike in game. Haru says that her being a thief just because of what her father was doing isn't a good reason. She doesn't want to be married to that guy we met earlier. She thought that since a adult made that choice for her, it couldn't be wrong. She isn't going to take this any longer since she can't stand that creep. Mona says that the reason why he wanted to become a human is because he wanted a reason to belong with the thieves which they all do but him. 

He first say this group as only a temporary thing until the memories return. He was making no process on this but this changed. To Morgana, the Phantom Thieves are his family and the only place where he belongs. It's nice to finally let it out huh Morgana? Don't hold back your emotions Mona. Be free and willing to speak your mind. Sojiro also grills us about bringing Haru back to the attic and well, Haru is happy to have a meal with so many people and cat. 

The fluffy hair girl eventually returns back home after exchanging information so welcome to the team Haru. We're glad to have you on our side. Back at the Okumura household, the father tells Haru that she can't do anything of her own free will which includes her friends. She eventually tells the group about how she will be taken to his house against her will on October 11th. I honestly forgot when this happens because I thought it was earlier. 

Haru is also rather weak due to her Persona not being fully awaken. After all of this drama aka almost four hours, we finally get to explore and do whatever we want. I know that I should focus on taking down Okumura but well, I got shit to do like learning about Respect the Aged Day. To put it very simply, it's a day where people honor the elderly. It's a very unique holiday to say the least like Mountain Day. 

I learned about that holiday this year and well, you would think more mountainous places like Colorado would celebrate but no. There are three different events that share the name with one having some colleges in the United States have their classes called with no prior notice and have the student body head up to the mountains or a park. That sounds like something Colorado would do but nope. The second time this happen involves the United Nations.

This happened in 2003 where the holiday was made to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development. If this sounds weird to you, don't worry. I think so too since mountains aren't something that changes dramatically over time like say a town but a mountain? That makes no sense to me. The other method with the second Mountain Day I found out and made any sorta of sense to me was done in 2018. 

It was for mountain minorities who live in mountain environments and the relevance of their cultural heritage, traditions and customs. This makes sense mainly due to it highlighting a group of people who aren't as well known and live in a part of the world that isn't talked about as much. The third and final time is with Japan where it became a public holiday in 2016. For Japan, it's to provide opportunities to get familiar with mountains and blessings from the mountain.     

This method is how I learned about thanks to the Olympics of this year. So thanks. One of these things involving that cheater request in Mementos where we meet the King Shinya Oda. He'll help us take down the cheater but not after we help Sojiro with Futaba's shitty uncle. His shadow takes the form of Girimekhala who I have a unique history with. I took him down with no problem. I tended to spend a lot of time with Maruki since well, he's on a time limit. We also spend time with Akechi in a bathhouse. 

Yep. This is where we spend some time getting to know Akechi and his character other than just his Phantom Thief hate boner. It's a rather interesting story to say the least. I eventually unlock the Showtime between Ann and Yusuke prior to heading into Okumura's palace but well, we aren't going there until we do a couple more things. Yeah. I'm really holding off doing this palace aren't I? I wonder if there is a reason why I'm doing this.

We also help Sojiro out and Futaba calls him her dad. So heartwarming and much better than in the anime. The voice acting really helps since reading text boxes can only do so much for me personally. It may work for you but not me. Oh and Yusuke's sick burn about Ann being physically beautiful but internally beautiful was priceless. I think Ryuji has said the same thing before but I just found it more interesting that he did it. 

So after a week, I finally decided to take on Okumara's palace. The main reason I took so long is so that I can make sure that what my plan is perfect for what I have in store for this palace. I also wanted to boost up a couple of confidant ranks before going on. I also wanted to bring attention to two videos in particular. The first one is How Persona 5's Okumura's Palace was fixed and the second one was How to Beat Okumura in Persona 5 Royal animated. 

Both videos are from Oziach so check him out. Do note that the second video is part of the first so if you want to skip over certain parts of it, go right ahead. The first video mainly talks about the entire chapter so if you want a better explanation on why Morgana felt the way he did, watch that video. He does a much better job explaining why Morgana felt so useless, the fight between Mona and Ryuji, and what the palace means symbolically. 

So I know that I've mentioned this channel before aka the first part. However, I want to mention these specific videos right around this point in the story. This was from the start of writing this review. Do note that the first video is about P5R rather than the original game so take that with a grain of salt. My way of defeating Okumura is very similar to his except with a couple of differences which I'll talk about once we get there. 

After getting past the biometric door with no problem, we learn why no one knew about Haru at school despite HER father being the number one target of the Phantom Thieves. It makes sense. The Phantom Thieves eventually run into Shadow Okumura and here comes the nickname. I was thinking about the nickname for this one for a while since well, I wanted to make a reference to the fact that he's easily a Darth Vader ripoff and runs a burger business.

With that in mind, the best name I could come up with is Darth Burger. Not the most clever name compared to Kamoshita, Porky, or Smeargle but it works for me. Porky is also the least difference from the real person due to his skin color being the only real difference prior to the boss fight. Oh and Haru's oh so lovely fiancé shows up. It's like how Kamoshita made Princess Ann, Bunny Shiho, and Mishima appear despite none of them being in the palace prior.

Ann is the only exception to this rule. We also see how Darth really only cares about being at the top and will do whatever he can to be there. So before we can kick the crap out of this fiancé who turns into a robot, Haru's Persona fully awakens and I really like this one. Easily one of my favorite base Personas since well, I can totally see her do the princess laugh while mowing down enemies with her gatling guns under her dress. 

So after taking down this fiancé, we finally get Haru aka Noir. I really like her codename. Lets talk about the fiancé whose name is Sugimura. His name is never revealed during this arc but it's revealed during her confidant. Despite his cognition being well dead and filled with holes, I wanted to talk about his voice actor Phillip Reich. You may not know who this but well, he plays Giorno Giovanna and he's my least favorite JOJO.

Time for a quick rant. While I do like Giorno as a character, I honestly like the group he travels with much more except for Fugo and Narancia. One day, I'll do a full JOJO rant but back to Giorno. He's technically a Brando afterall and his dear old dad is DIO. This is due to said vampire having the body of Johnathan Joestar, Giorno is part of the Brando family and the Joestar family. I personally don't consider his father to be Johnathan but DIO instead since well, he looks to be more DIO than a Joestar.

He did have black hair at one point before he went blonde. It's a weird reason I'm well aware but that's why I don't like him as much. I still think he's a good character. He also plays Yuya Fungami from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable and Mark Twain from Bungo Stray Dogs. So not too long after taking care of Robo-Giorno, we eventually need to obtain a ID from the section chief and that means we need to fight some robots. 

I do recommend taking care of these robots and finding out their weakness. The MDL-WKR aka the smaller blue robots are weak to Fire and Wind while the MDL-AM aka the big lanky red robots are weak to Electricity and Nuclear. This is important to remember so take care of these goons using their weakness in order to handle a certain boss fight later on. It's still a pain in the ass fight but that is my thought from my first playthrough.

We later eventually run into a certain shadow who I always have trouble with. This enemy is the Persona Girimehkala and how I've died to him several times. This is due to him having the ability to taunt one of your characters into a rage like state which forces them to attack it and take damage. One of the tricks to getting past this one is having Yusuke freeze it or inflict a status onto it. I usually go with forgot or sleep since well, I rather not have him attack me.

This one Persona would be the reason why I can never do a one life run or anything along those lines since well, I tend to forgot about that. In time, we find the Section Chief ,aka the MDL-DM, and he has a weakness just like the other robots. His weakness is Bless and Wind. He also mentions how the Chief is weak to Psychokinesis aka Haru's element. Oh and the sound that the doors make during this section is really annoying. 

Our Section Chief is known as the MDL-GM which is weak toward Psychokinesis and Curse. This type of robot was also Robo-Giorno except more ugly. It's mainly the suit on that hulking body. With these robots down, it seems that the best members to fight them are Joker and Mona. One of them may be on the team due to him being the main character and can't be removed from the party but at least, Mona is there due to him being the best to fight against the MDL-DM and MDL-WKR.

As we make our way to the treasure, we meet Mothman and I find something interesting about this one in particular. They have two weird comics dedicated to them. The first one is somewhat cute I guess but the second one. I have questions and well, I doubt they'll be answer any time soon. Oh and we still haven't found anything about how Darth Burger is connected to the mental shutdowns. We eventually reach the factory and well, I can say this.

They aren't making burgers since all of these robots are being overworked and the arm speed will break at any speed. We also see the return of the toilet demon Belphegor and see how Darth isn't a very good boss whatsoever. I mean five seconds for a break and thirty seconds for a lunch. That's pretty much no time at all. If you didn't get it by now, Darth isn't the best boss like how Kamoshita was the worst teacher in the world.

Before we can learn about what Darth is building here, we fight against some yellow plated robots also known as the MDL-CH. They are very much weak to the cold aka ice and the mind aka psychokinesis so another robot whose weak to Haru. At this point, these underpaided and overworked robots are going down. After these yellow robots go to the scrapheap, we see the scrapheap and they're being turned into rocket fuel.

So this palace is powered by the people who get overworked by Darth and after this heart breaking revelations, we get to play out in outer space. I love this puzzle on my first playthrough and to be honest with you, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Nothing will be beat finding that last will seed in Smeargle's palace for me. Oh and I don't think space in this game works like it does in Jimmy Neutron. At the time of writing this, Nickelodeon All Star Brawl has come out and let me say this. 

I like the roster but it's missing some key nicktoons. They got the heavy hitters like Spongebob and the Loud House. I've seen my fair bit of the yellow sponge but the Loud House. I've seen not a lot. I think the premise is interesting at the very least due to the mother having not one but eleven kids. It doesn't rival the amount of kids Big Mom made but for a cartoon show, eleven kids is a lot. A huge number to say the least. 

No one from Jimmy Neutron,  My Life as a Teenage Robot, Rocko's Modern Life, the Fairly Odd Parents, and any live action show from the late 2000s has shown up. I say any live action show because well, iCarly did get a reboot this year and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide was a show I liked. They may add them as DLC but so far, I like seeing Nickeloden Melee. I call it that because mother of the gods, that game reminds me too much of Melee aka my least favorite smash.

I'm just not a competitive guy since I personally believe that Smash is a party game first. I'm the type to play with items since it's fun that way. Without that, Smash loses some charm of it for me. To obtain the final Will Seed, we need to take down the Pagan Savior aka the Melchizedek. Despite having wings, it seems that this angel really can't handle the wind. After seeing how bad Darth treats really everyone around him, we find the treasure and we'll take his treasure in time.

There was no information about the mental collapses. Before we take down Darth Burger, we need to do some last minute prep work. This prep work involves playing some pool in order to raise up Baton Pass for Ann and Haru. At the hotel where we had our first Phantom thief party, we also meet an old college friend of Maruki Shibusawa who recommended that the good doc go into counseling. He also did all the Peer Reviews for him in college so yeah.

He's a good friend of Maruki and getting married soon. He also has some history with the good doctor and I wonder what's going on there. He mentions someone named Rumi and well, she's an important character to Maruki since they dated. Before too long, we eventually send the calling card to Darth Burger and begins that boss fight. You know the one I've been talking about and well, the prep work is all done.

Before sending out the Calling Card, they also mentioned how Haru's Cognitive version didn't appear and we'll see how that goes down. All of the Phantom Thieves are Rank 3 in terms of Baton Pass except for Ann and Futaba. This is due to me wanting to focus on getting Haru all caught up and Futaba isn't a mainline fighter. We got all of the elements covered other than just Joker who could have all of the elements covered if you have all of the elements covered in a Persona. 

The team I'm going with is Joker due to him being the main player character and how you can't remove him at all. He will mainly be the one to take MDL-DM aka the blue lanky robot and MDL-GM aka the chunky green robot. The next member of our team will be Haru. This is mainly due to me like having the newest Phantom Thief to fight the boss of the chapter and also more screen time for her is always a good thing. 

She will be helping Joker take down MDL-GM but also MDL-CH aka the yellow suit robot. We have two party members remaining and two robots whose weakness we don't have covered. The next member I'm going with is Morgana who missed out on Smeargle's fight. He's also the only one who I haven't had in a boss fight since Kamoshita. He wasn't in the Porky Fight and I can't remember if he was there to fight the Sphinx. 

He is also an important character during this part of the story and how he stole Haru's needed screen time. I like Morgana/Mona but he totally stole that screen time. After we take down Darth Burger, we'll talk about how you could give Haru more screen time. It's like how I discuss how you could have both a Female and Male Player character early but more detailed since I've been thinking about this one for a while now. 

So with Morgana as our healer and the one to take down both MDL-WKR and MDL-GM, who is our final thief? I can say this. It won't be Ryuji and Yusuke. This is mainly due to me using Yusuke during the last three boss fights. He needs a break from fighting bosses don't you think. Ryuji is also out not for that reason but due to him not apologizing to Morgana. He could have apologized and I've forgotten that he did but he isn't going.

We have two thieves left and well, it should be obvious who is going in. That would be Ann. I wanted it to be Makoto but nah. She'll get her chance to shine in another boss fight hopefully. So with that in mind, our team can now cover all of the elements thanks to me getting items that can grant other character different elements. Another thing you can do is getting Hifumi's Confidant to Rank 10 so you can unlock the Togo System.

This allows you to switch out Party Members whenever you want rather than just on Joker's turn. I did want to get this for the fight but well, I didn't really need it. I also think playing Billards would have been important due to being the way to increase the Technical Damage but hey, no one is perfect. I don't plan that ahead. A major difference between my strategy and Oziarch's strategy is that you don't need to switch the difficulty level to Merciless. 

He explained why you should do that and it makes complete sense but well, it's not really for me in the slightest. I rather play the game comfortable and making mistakes is something I would do. My party is also slightly different but hey, the reason why he picked those characters makes sense due to the power of elemental weakness. I often call this fight a far more difficult version of Smeargle's boss battle due to it heavily involving the elemental weakness of your opponents. 

A trick to this fight is by fighting all of those robots and finding out their weakness. Do note that you always can use the DLC Personas like Izanagi-No-Okami to cheat the fight which I did on my first playthrough since I didn't have this strategy in place until the second playthrough and I wanted that fight to be over with. Fighting Darth Burger in the wee hours of the morning with a headache wasn't the best time. 

This strategy had been refined with the third playthrough and hopefully, you don't have to struggle. You will struggle no matter what happens but it's better to go into the fight without pulling your hair out. If you want a third way, check out this. It works for P5R and hopefully, the base game as well. I could be wrong but whatever. In the real world, Darth gets the calling card and he decides to do the smart or dumb thing. He calls the police and gives it to them. 

Kamoshita not Smeargle didn't do this because the Phantom Thieves weren't seen as a real way to enact justice. Porky didn't do it because he was a criminal and couldn't go to the police for help. That would just be silly. Futaba didn't mainly because she wanted them to steal her heart. It's showtime. Lets hope my strategy works. Oh and Darth knows how they're going to steal his treasure. He's also working with the police and well, everyone knows.

Oh and Haru's delivery on their comment is pretty good. To the general public, the thieves are seen as nothing more than entertainment but they have to do this regardless. With one final save, it's time. No more stalling with last minute grinding for items or levels. It's time to take down the Death Burger once and for all. Before we can get said treasure, a UFO suddenly appears and this is what Darth meant by ascend to the political world.

This really does fit the space theme huh but I kinda wish that the UFO looked similar to a burger. It could look like one but well, it's hard to tell. The treasure is shaped as a energy sphere and said sphere is used to power the UFO. Before we can grab the power supply, the emergency launch sequence is up and running. Darth is also running away and well, we need a time limit to chase him down. This won't be the last time we see a time limit and don't worry.    

I planned for this. You can fight the enemies but well, it isn't worth wasting the time. Treasure on the other hand. It's up to you if you want to get it. I have a way to get past this and there is the grappling hook shortcut. You do this by ignoring the hallway filled with shadows but well, I didn't think about this at time. So as we catch up to Darth Burger, he claims that he had a change of heart. Even on my first playthrough back in the day, I didn't believe him for a second.

Darth Burger is a piece of crap since he was more than willing to sell off his daughter in order to gain an advantage in the game of life. He was a person who poured his heart into making food and bringing joy to others but that Okumura is gone. He didn't answer Haru on why he changed from that man. It seems that Haru decides to trust him and well, he betrays her like he has done before with countless others throughout his life. 

By pressing a button, he traps the thieves excluding Morgana in a barrier. He mentions the Okumura family motto which is "Overcome failure at any cost, even if it means betraying others". Despite trusting him at first, Haru doesn't trust her father who went to the dark side. I would make Star Trek jokes but honestly, I'm not well versed in that series. I guess Darth's robot servants could be a reference to them but hey, I'm not a Sci-Fi person.

Darth tries this with Morgana since he was spying on them. Could the other palace rulers do this or just Darth? I mean he seems to know more than others especially Kamoshita so maybe that's why. Like with Noir, this doesn't work and we get a cutscene dedicating to him. With the barrier down, it's time to take down Darth or should I say his robotic servants. He does fight us but in his chair while his goons do all the hard work. 

So remember how I mentioned that when Porky fights, he's known by Bael. Darth Burger is the same and his name is Mammon. He also doesn't change so yeah. That's a let down. So unlike really any other boss fight so far or after this, there is a time limit of thirty minutes. You need to wipe out each wave of robots because if you leave one left over, they run away and call away in backup to replace them. I could be wrong about this next part since I was rushing through the fight.

Didn't have the time to take notes and I'm not losing because of that. Our first wave consist of Blue Robots. These guys are weak to fire and wind so that's where Ann and Mona really shine. The next wave has Cognitive Haru show up. This is something only in P5R and it's like Bunny Shiho. Doesn't really do much except agreeing with her dad. Your next wave is the yellow suits which is where Haru and Joker shine. 

You could have also given one of your team mates an ice move as well. Wave number 3 consist of the lanky red ones who are weak to electricity and nuclear. Since neither Makoto and Ryuji were here, Joker was the spotlight along with the other Phantom Thief I choose to have that. This is the first wave that I didn't take down from the start but I recovered rather quick. Wave number 4 consist of the blue lanky ones who don't like any wind whatsoever.

Joker and Mona on the other hand, they love the wind. The next wave is the big green robots who don't like the psychic forces or being cursed. While Haru handled messing with their mines, Joker cursed them using Alice. Yeah. This is one of my favorites for a reason. After taking down several smaller robots, we face Darth's number two aka MDL-ED. This one doesn't have any weakness so it's time to use brute force to take him down.

I also got a lucky critical on him so well, he was going down. After that, Darth sends his cognitive daughter to do his dirty worker. Yeah. If it isn't obvious by now, this guy would literally sacrifice his blood in order to succeed. Oh and before you ask, this doesn't work on her.  Such a shame but she goes down pretty easy thanks to the power of brute force. You would think she would be like Bunny Shiho but nope, she became a robot which makes her more durable than a bunny.

This doesn't stop us at all. Darth was left all alone since he overworked anyone who could have helped him out. With fourteen minutes to spare and claws to the face thanks to Mona, Darth Burger has been taken down. The entire party got a level up from this so thanks for that I guess. Oh and I should mention that once we get to the end of this review, I'll be talking about some of the boss's quotes. Darth has some good ones and well, they're something else.

So after taking down all of his goons hopefully, Darth has a change of heart for real. He will tell Giorno that the wedding is off between him and Haru. It's also the end of Okumura Foods and well, Ryuji asks if he was the one responsible for the breakdowns and mental shutdowns. He said that he hired someone to do the dirty work which makes sense given how he used robots to fight instead of himself. I'm sure that whoever he hired to do all of that, it's like how the Phantom Thieves handle requests.

Except this assassin works for cold hard cash rather than the goodness of it. We also don't get all of the answers because of what Darth did earlier. After grabbing the treasure, Darth doesn't leave which confuses Ann. This is rather strange. Haru leaves Darth behind and she tells him that only you can follow through on your own responsibilities. These are the last words Darth hears because he was shot in the back by a mysterious figure.

That's what the game calls him. I won't say who it is but well after seeing Code Geass, I'm pretty sure that this figure is from that show. If you're ever seen Code Geass, you'll noticed that the people in that show have long arms and legs. He takes care of Darth and well, I wonder if things will be different. He didn't disappear in a burst of light like Kamoshita, Porky, and Smeargle but a puddle of black goo. The Phantom Thieves escape however and well, the Darth Burger is long gone.

I doubt anyone is going to rebuild that space station any time soon. So the thing that Ann noticed was that Morgana acted normal when it came to the treasure. Not the fact that Darth didn't go away like normal but how the cat acted. I guess I could be wrong about how the Palace Rulers left but hey, it's something to bring up. Even with the culprit and truth to the mental showdown being unknown, we got his treasure. 

Darth's treasure is basically a plastic model kit and now that I get a good look at it, it looks like a burger I guess. This is important to Darth due to it being something that he wanted when he was a child and he could never get it despite begging to his father about it. Before Darth, Okumura Foods wasn't Persona's equivalent to Burger King or Mcdonalds. Haru's grandpa wasn't the best business man due to him being the one to lend out money regardless if they payed him back.

So Darth was used to see debt collectors often when he was young and well, it does explain why he was willing to give up others for his sake. This does make him better than Kamoshita who did his crimes with him thinking that he'll never get in trouble for it. The model kit is worth a lot of money mainly due to it being a collector's item. Ryuji should know that people are willing to pay a lot of money for a lot of things like a PS5 or a priceless figurine.

The SIU Director returns and his boss's plan went perfectly. They do lose a source of income but it's better not to have any loose ends regardless of what they offer. Darth wasn't ready for the world of politics since they're backstabbing bitches. He was good at betraying people but didn't expect to be betrayed himself. They also plan a mental shutdown at just the right time. Like before, Mona says that he wanted to be human in order to have a goal like the others or a reason to live.

He wants to make the Phantom Thieves succeed so good on him. He wants Lady Ann to be happy but well, Joker already made that happen. So do you think Joker will tell Morgana about him and his Lady Ann? I doubt it but I'm sure he'll be okay with it. So Haru wants to walk around the school festival with everyone as her welcoming party. Oh and Shujin's school festival will be having a certain guest. I'm sure whoever this guest is, they'll be interesting.

The Phantom Thieves won't be showing up for obvious reasons. Oh and hanging out with Mishima taught me something. One of the thugs is named Tohru and no. He isn't a dragon maid. The other punk is named Yuuta but nah. That doesn't matter. After taking down Darth, we met up with the twins and the Crypt Keeper. The twins finally believe in Joker so good for them. The Vulture does bring up a good point.

Being at the peak means that you're only seconds from the fall. Things are going to great I'm sure of it especially when we see another dream involving evil Morgana. Oh and the sports meet went well. So Shinya's mom is totally a Karen since she's fighting with the school about how things are ran. On the third, we get a P5R exclusive. I say this since Kasumi and Maruki appear which means just that to little old me. 

Kasumi's honor status is being brought into question and may get revoked. So how is third place a bad thing? I would be gratefully to get a bronze but nope. Shujin wants to be number one. Even with Eggman gone, Shujin only cares about their reputation. They may claim that they care about fairness but that's bull crap. Maruki mentions that what the school is doing won't help her. It will only destroy her more and well, the faculty doesn't support Kasumi.  

She bumps into Joker and drops her good luck charm which means Joker should return to her after school. As Joker tries to send her a text, Kasumi hears the vice principal and that teacher talking about her. Those two don't care about her unless she wins much to the disagreement of Maruki. Shujin sees Maruki's method of praising her as pointless since harsh words get results I guess. They also mentioned that they took in sisters and make fun of the deceased one.

They claim that it was a waste of effort getting them. Maruki is pissed at their behavior since Shujin only cares about their reputation which is bad right now. After school, Kasumi decides to meet us at Odaiba in front of the stadium. Her phone is on the frtiz. In front of Odaiba, Kasumi sees herself as useless and needs to be the Kasumi Yoshizawa. The pampered woman and that laid-back man don't help her mood in the slightest. 

So I think the pampered woman is played the same actress who plays Ann and I think the laid-back man is played by Kirito. I could be wrong about that though but hey, I'll see if that is the case in the credits maybe. After they leave, we get an cutscene and get sent into the Metaverse which involves the stadium turning into a rather strange place to say the least. It's a palace but well, it doesn't have a theme like the other ones did. 

With Mona by our side, we go into this strange place looking for Kasumi. This place reminds me of a sterile conversation center. There are pigeons here and a whole lot of writing on the walls. I don't think any other places has had animals in it before beside the obvious one. These pigeons could also be doves and well with all of these birds, you would that this palace is a John Woo movie or something. I mean this could mean something right?

In due time, we find Kasumi and she's with Kasumi? It's a clone match and well, she claims that it's her fault. The real Kasumi doesn't like this and well, she gets a headache as a strange creature slices the fake one done. Fake Kasumi doesn't get a chance to talk but the creature does. It claims that Kasumi is treating their lord's mercy and it transforms into a Byakhee. I'm reminded of a bee when I see this thing and well, Kasumi sees that Joker is her senpai due to her voice. 

We also hear the voices of the jealous student body and those douche teachers talking about how much of a failure Kasumi is. She eventually awakens to her Persona Cendrillon and reveals that she is the girl from the prologue back when Joker got arrested. Remember her? Yeah. I didn't because well, that was a long time ago. She also gets a magical girl transformation and none of the other thieves got this. This is why I thought she was so important back then since well, no one else got this. 

Said bee doesn't last for too long since it's weak to Bless with Kasumi's Persona just so happens to be an expert in. This was probably on purpose. Kasumi recognize Joker thanks to his voice ,which we don't hear except for a couple of times, and his posture which we do see a lot of. The trio escapes and said red head learns the truth. She learns that a cat is talking or Morgana. We return her good luck charm to her and the boys learn why she was so upset this morning.

Despite third place being really good in my books, everyone else in this game seems to think that this is a bad thing. So while the vice president may have little screen time compared to Eggman, he's still a piece of shit just like his superior. Kasumi seems to be in a better mood after entering the palace so good for her. Due to Kasumi's phone being a piece of crap, we don't known who owns this mysterious palace for now. 

So Kasumi figures out that they are the Phantom Thieves and well, she figures out that she told the Phantom Thieves that she disagrees with what they're doing. You're better than Akechi Kasumi since that man's hate boner for the Phantom Thieves is strong. I'm going to keep mentioning that since it's so obvious. Kasumi is offered to join the Phantom Thieves due to her discovering palaces, awakening her Persona, and has potential.

However, she doesn't join us much to Morgana's shock. This is due to her more focused on her career which makes sense. She also isn't a squealer so good and may join up one day. Unlike other palaces, we have to go to sleep and we need to focus on how Darth is really getting the business. He isn't the most well liked person right now. Oh and Mishima can't talk to girls as seen with Futaba's Rank 5. She also roasts him.

She says that he's forgettable, speaks generic, and has no sex appeal like Ryuji. She calls him a NPC which is totally wrong yet right. I mean he has a face and portrait so he isn't one. We also see the King lose to Takekuma badly and he's a sore loser. I may have to agree with him in game to boost up my rank but hey, I don't deny who I am. Oh and Yusuke won the art competition. Good for him. I may never get art but well, I'm happy for him. 

We also learn more about Smeargle and well, he did have a good side to him. He's still a bad person but better than Darth, Porky and Kamoshita. During this time frame, we managed to get a couple more Rank 10s. These rank 10s come in the form of Hifumi Togo, Ichiko Ohya but not Lala. Sojiro Sakura who decides to finally see Joker as his adopted son in my head canon and make Futaba's mother proud thanks to how he raised Futaba, and Yusuke Kitagawa. 

If you recall, I don't mention the voice actors of any Phantom Thieves until much later so lets go over the other ones instead. The one thing I will mention is Yusuke's evolved Persona Kamu Susano-o and well, this is one of the reason why Yusuke brings the rain wherever he goes. I didn't get this Persona on my first playthrough but well, I really like it. I will miss the music I heard whenever Goemon appears though. 

Lets start with Hifumi Togo who has some interesting backstory to her but first, lets learn who voiced her. She's played by Eden Riegel. I had no idea about who she is so off to Wikipedia I go. She was a White House Intern in 2000 so that's impressive I guess. The most famous role she had from what I can tell is Bianca Montgomery who was played by a lot of actress like Lacey Chabert who I do know quite well. 

She was Eliza Thornberry from the Wild Thornsberry, Gwen Stacey from the Spectacular Spider-man which is Spider-Man's best adaptation in my opinion, Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls, Meg Griffin from Family Guy before the role was recast, and Zatanna Zatara in a bunch of projects like Young Justice which is running its fourth season at the time of writing thing. Enough about Lacey and lets go back to Eden.

Another role she played with Sara from the Naruto movie involving time travel aka my favorite plot device ever. Some other roles are Akari Tatsuhiro from that one Naruto game where the blond gets a sword, Coco Bandicoot in Crash 4 (the most recent one), Eden in a show called Imaginary Bitches, Jane Austen from Saints Row 4, Marie from Persona 4 Golden where she was an exclusive character in that game, Rurichiyō Kasumiōji from a Bleach filler arc, and Sherry Birkin from Resident Evil 6.

So I do know a couple of these names especially Jane Austen since I loved Saints Row 4 when it came out. It's my first R rated game to my knowledge and I have fond memories of that game. I'm excited for the new one despite the controversy behind it. I'm aware of it but I just don't care. Like Kawakami, this isn't her first time in the Persona series and she was going to be a Phantom Thief at one point. This didn't happen but it's fascinating to know. 

Next up is Ichiko Ohya who is voiced by Amanada Winn-Lee. So her two roles I really want to talk about is her role as Rei Ayanami from Evangelion and Yukiko Amagi also from Persona 4. So between the two, I know her better as Yukiko and wow. She can really switch up the characters huh. She also voice Ulala Serizawa from Persona 2 but I don't really know that game too well except for Hitler being around thanks to rumors. 

She was also Eriko Kirishima from Persona 1 and I know nothing about that game. Good amount but now, we have Sojiro. He's voiced by Jamieson Price whose voice I do know. He played Diethard Reid in Code Geass, Dreyfus from Seven Deadly Sins, Muramasa from Bleach, Jelly Jigger in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Tarkus from Jojo Bizarre Adventure Part 1 Phantom Blood, Yasutora Sado or Chad from Bleach, and Yukichi Fukuzama from Bungo Stray Dogs. 

A couple roles he played were Archie and Giovanni from Pokemon Generations and Origins respectively, Giuliano Flip from Brand New Animal, Leol from Hunter x Hunter, and Noob Saibot in Mortal Kombat 9 and Ermac in Mortal Kombat X. The most interesting thing I found about Jamieson is this. He voiced Tobirama Senju in Naruto Shippuden while also voicing the older brother Hashirama Senju in Naruto. 

That's just interesting to me how he played the older brother at first but now, he plays the younger brother. He swapped roles with Peter Lurie who played Calares in Code Geass, Gale Raregroove in Rave Master, the brothers of Jidanbō Ikkanzaka and Jirōbō Ikkanzaka, and  Vulcan Raven in Metal Gear. Some really interesting going on here. Eventually, the day arrives and we see Darth's change of heart which I hope goes well.

Like with a lot of this review, I'm being very sarcastic since we see Darth get capped. Before that, we get to go on a lunch date with Kasumi and Maruki. Weird combo but hey, you got to have the two exclusive characters hanging out somehow. He's also concerned by Kasumi's lunch and well, she's concerned about the two glasses characters. So I wonder if this will happen again any time soon. Not at all being subtle about what's going on by the way.

After lunch, we head up to the rooftop and do some bonding exercises in the form of gardening. I mean that's the best way to bond right? Oh and I'm pretty sure that a Mona flower won't look good. And Futaba can't photosynthesize since well, it's cloudy and there is little to no sun. The Thieves are doing a good job except for Futaba, Morgana, and Yusuke with one being a cat and the other two being Futaba and Yusuke. 

So along with the cultural festival, we're going to throw another party for her. If you forget, Haru is stinking rich since she was able to get the entire Destinyland for just the Phantom Thieves. This works by the way and one of the perks of dating Haru for some I guess. Haru's character is what I like most about her not her money. We later head to Destinyland and well, why isn't Haru sitting down with the rest of them.

This is her party after all and why are only three of them wearing silly headbands? They also have the entire park to themselves and this includes fireworks. Oh and Ryuji cockblocks Morgana. The only reason he's wearing the headband is because of Futaba. I call bull on that one. We don't get the parade but well, this is more than enough. The press conference begins and well, it begins. So since I want you to see the scene, this is the conference in game and in the anime.

It goes like every other conference so far. The truth is revealed about how he has been treating his employees. He was forced them to work under terrible working conditions like no sanitation which is a bad thing now a days and how they covered up a lot. He's about to announce who the one responsible for the mental shutdowns is but well, things don't go the Phantom Thieves this time around. Darth well gets the Eggman treatment and has a heartache.

His eyes roll back into his head and he starts bleeding for them. Lets just say that shit is graphic beyond belief. Haru doesn't take this well and things are going to go down from here. The party is cancelled and well, the Shadow didn't make like the other times. This is how Futaba's mom died as well. Akechi and Sae watch the conference as well. The boy doesn't take it well with him almost puking and well, Sae decides to be all business. 

She mentions how Darth was bitten by a lapdog with Akechi always so quick to presume that the Phantom Thieves did this. He also brings up how it wasn't the Phantom Thieves but someone else and Sae doesn't believe him in the slightest. She also presume that Akechi stole data off her laptop and well, Makoto didn't hide her tracks. Good for Akechi to have pride in what he does because well, things are going to be changing for the worst. 

The fall of the Phantom Thieves begins. Like with the other Palace Rulers, lets talk about who Darth Burger or Kunikazu Okumura's voice actor played. He is voiced by Christopher Corey Smith. He played Acid Man from Mega Man 11,  Katasuke Tōno from Boruto, Master Daidara from Persona 4, Riser Phoenix from High School DxD, Rufus from Street Fighter, Spandam from One Piece, the Joker in a lot of Lego Games, and Mewtwo in Detective Pikachu.

He also voiced Roger Raincomprix, Tom Dupain, and Wayzz from Miraculous Ladybug. The big role I wanted to talk about is Kite from Hunter x Hunter. I have my issues with that series and most of them are rather petty. So this is a MASSIVE spoiler for whenever I talk about that series but one of my major issues is how the anime treated Kite. I watched the anime mainly because I wasn't in the mood for waiting a long ass time for a next chapter.

Also have you seen how much dialogue is written in the manga? I'm not taking about the art since I have no literally no artistic talent so I'm not going to talk about that at all. Those text boxes. Just thinking about it makes me shiver so I'm sure that I would hate if I had to read that. Back to Kite. So in the anime, they pretty much got rid of the scene with him and Gon ,who I always pronounce with a g at the end for some reason, and put it right before his death scene.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't read the manga or watch the first anime for this series at all but I would have been disappointed if they do that for someone like Shanks. Now all of you may know that I'm a fan of Fairy Tail and that series is known for a lot of things. The one thing I want to talk about is Makarov's third time he escape death. I remember seeing Makarov "die" that time and I was pretty sure that this was it. 

He finally passed on after an amazing scene which is like Whitebeard's death scene. However, Hiro decided to bring him back which pissed me off. It made me hate an entire section of the story mainly due to the fact that THEY kept reminding you about how he "died". I hated that scene so when I saw that in Hunter x Hunter, I really didn't like how they kept bringing it up or how they brought him back as a little girl thanks to an ass pull Nen ability. 

Don't get me wrong. I think Nen is a good power system but it just so happened that Kite's Nen managed to reincarnate him as a little girl Chimera Ant made me hate that moment. I like the Chimera Ant Arc but wow. I'm not a fan of that moment at all since well, Makarov's third death attempt made me dislike fake out deaths and bringing them back shortly after. Here's the messed up part. We may never see why Togashi brought them back because he takes so damn long to write anything.

This isn't the long break between chapters as seen with Nichijou who went on hiatus for six years and recently came back this year. I find this more annoying with Hunter x Hunter since Nichijou runs in Monthy Shonen Ace aka not the most popular magazine. Hunter x Hunter is published in Shonen Jump aka the king. How does he still have it running there after not putting anything out for almost three fucking years?

I get that Togashi has problems writing manga for a long period of time due to injuries but have some else write it. I've seen so many promising series get canceled due to low sales but Hunter x Hunter is still there despite not putting anything out in the last three years. How is this possible? Oh and hopefully, I used the right pronouns because I really don't care. Most of the time I do but whenever I talk about this series and how it's still running, I get mad.

Lets put a hold on my Hunter x Hunter rant since well, I got my issues with it and they are very petty ones. Back to Persona which is the topic for this review. Darth wants to be remembered for all time and well, I can say this. He will be remember but for the wrong reasons and not what he wanted. He will be remember for his boss fight which isn't the most pain in the ass fight I've ever had in gaming but this is someone with experience and I hated this boss fight my first time.   

Chapter 7: Sae Nijima, Envious Prosecutor and Gambling Sister to the Queen. October 11 to November 19. Forty days.

So like with the palace rulers before him, lets talk about Darth Burger and the tropes associated with him. So like with Smeargle, Darth is an abusive parent and I would argue worse. Smeargle may have been a very greedy man but he did care about Yusuke deep down. I learn this during the Yusuke confidant. Smeargle is still a terrible person mind you but at least, he didn't sell Yusuke off to a clear sexual predator in the form of Robo-Giorno.  

I know his name but the game really doesn't tell you that. So if you never played Royal before, you wouldn't know about Android Haru who is completely loyal to her father. I mentioned this before but after taking care of his number 2 robot, Darth sent out his daughter who he'll let blow up after just two turns. He does care about Haru deep down like Smeargle but that wasn't revealed in this game. It was revealed in the "sequel".

To be honest, I'm not sure if Strikers counts as a sequel to Persona 5. It isn't one to Persona 5 Royal due to reasons that will make sense in due time. So unlike Royal, the reverse happens to Darth in the anime where he does makes a genuine apology to his daughter before he gets killed by that masked murder. He also has memories of him and her during the good days rather than the bad days. Wish that happened in the main game but oh well. 

A possible nickname I had in mind for this masked murder is from Code Geass and it's Zero. If you have never seen Code Geass, you would probably think I'm talking about Zane but nope. I'm talking about a different Zero. I'm also trying to avoid who Darth's killer is so Code Geass's Zero works right? I may not use that but go with another name instead. It's either going to be the Supreme King ,from a series about an entire school dedicating to a children's card game, or Darkblade.

The other name may be more likely since well, it's more obvious later on. You'll see. So if it isn't obvious by the way he dresses and his whole palace gimmick, Darth is a very big fan of Star Wars and sci-fi in general. I'm more of a fantasy guy myself but hey, he's a lot like Darth Vader. I'm not the biggest expert on Star Wars but Darth Burger is a lot like him except Vader's child gets screen time and not have taking by a talking cat. 

So it's often mentioned that Darth treated his workers badly and would be something of a nightmare for any employee. However, this isn't shown in game to my knowledge. Going to Big Bang Burger on Central Street doesn't show the employees acting up or anything like that. Compared to the visible crimes that Smeargle and especially Kamoshita, Darth is a saint. He also owns a yacht. I just find that interesting to note. Play the dancing game to find out more.

Lets talk about Darth's death. His death and the whole mental shutdown cases is similar to a scene in Persona 3 according to the wiki. I may not like Darth as a person but he didn't deserve to go out like that. His death was broadcasted LIVE and well, I'm sure a couple of kids were scarred by this and there was a lot of vomiting. People were cheering for this at first due to him being a criminal but this changed and poor Haru. 

She did care about Darth despite him not showing that he felt the same. She saw her father die on live TV and well, she really needs a hug. So like I mentioned before, I mentioned how I would fix Haru and here it is. You would think I would done this before her dad's death but well, I wanted to put it right after. To let his death settle in just a bit. I wouldn't have done this for Eggman by the way. Lets begin shall we. 

As Kawakami mentioned on October 11th aka Darth's final day, she mentioned how Joker had to go see Maruki for counseling before he leaves. He has been here since May in game so why not have Haru show early for that reason as well? We even see her even before the doctor at least in Royal. It doesn't have to be the same reason as with Maruki but maybe it should go something like this. I'm not an expert story teller or game designer so take this with a grain of salt.  

Kawakami is worried about Joker not making any friends due to his past getting leaked by Mishima thanks to Kamoshita. She could think that he may do something like what Shiho did earlier. She does care about her students despite well, not the most active teacher in the world. This whole scenario happens way before her confidant and during the mission for Kamoshita's palace by the way. This could be a good reason to how you could introduce Haru earlier. 

Not sure if Eggman would agree to this but who cares what he thinks? He is dead now and having Haru help Joker won't affect Shujin's reputation at this point. Kamoshita's crimes weren't made public and the Eggman's attempt to cover it up weren't either. We could also have her be the opposite of Makoto who was seen as a very confrontation senior or nosy to put it gently. She could be this kind and gentle senpai who doesn't judge Joker because of the rumors like Shiho.

I don't see Haru judging someone for rumors and it would be nice for Joker to have someone other than the blonde duo who likes him at school. This changes once Makoto and Mishima become his friend but this scenario takes place in April. Have her and Joker work together on the rooftop flower bed and maybe get to know her as well. This would be a great way of giving Haru some extra screen time which I really feel like she deserves. 

Strikers did Haru good in my opinion and maybe the other two spinoffs did as well. Perhaps have her subtlety hint toward her forced engagement with Robo-Giorno, her liking cats with her seeing a cat who looks like Morgana, and maybe her issues with her father. This could be how you start her confidant but not complete it fully until she joins later. This way of ranking up the confidant is very similar to another member later down the road and how Sojiro's confidant worked as well.

Like with Sojiro, we can stop it at 4 or 5 until the events of the story. I think that's a good number. This is just something that could be done to given Haru some screen time but not too much. Don't have her appearing all the time since well, we would be sick of her by the time she does join the thieves. You could have done like how Kasumi and Maruki are entwine with the story of Persona 5 Royal. Back to the game, going to bed leads to you see the twins and the crypt keeper. 

The crypt keeper has some words for us with him being proud of the work to take care of Darth but something went wrong. He does know that the Phantom Thieves didn't do it but does the general public? He does believe in us to overcome this predicament and well, we get a rank up in the confidant with him so yeah. To bring up how the general public sees Darth's death once again, one guy on the way to school the next days wanted to see it live.

I usually don't judge people for their kinks aloud but wanting to see a guy die on stages is a little creepy and you should go see someone. Maybe Maruki. The big news on campus is that Darth is dead and that the police are here at Shujin. They're here due to the deaths of both Darth and Eggman being with a month of each other. They did find a calling card, connecting the Phantom Thieves to both deaths so good for them. 

At least Sae sees this as a good thing and wants Haru to tell her anything she can about the Phantom Thieves but doesn't force her to say anything. She won't since well, Haru trusts the thieves right? Back in the interrogation room, Sae ,in the present, knows that the thieves didn't go after Darth's life and says that the calling card in the principal office was the work of someone else. I really wish we saw that card since well, we could see if it looks like Yusuke's work.

The artist of the group should be able to tell his work from a copy right? Sae knows that Joker isn't lying but the concept of a Metaverse sounds rather far fetched. Without context, it does. She doesn't see Joker as the murdering type and well, we rank our confidant with her as well. With the deaths of both Darth and Eggman, the oh so fickly public changed their opinion once again. Due to the truth serum, there are some side effects and shows that the police in this game aren't the best people.

Before passing out, Sae says that Joker needs to tell his side before it ends and both of them will be in trouble if Joker's testimony isn't good. The thieves' next objective after Darth was one who they decided would prove them innocent and that target is Sae Nijima. Like with most things in this game, this shocked me on my first playthrough. I was shocked to see that Makoto would allow the thieves to go after her sister but well, there is a reason.

We'll learn that reason in time since Haru's well being is what we need to focus on. After fixing up the laptop we got a long time ago, we get access to another shop. This shop is Shady Commodities Tanaka and this character is from Persona 3. As the days go on, the public's opinion on the thieves goes down like a slide and Haru wants to talk with the thieves after school. That won't happen since we need to make sure that the SIU Director looks shady.

Like with Akechi, the public has treated the thieves like gods before striking them down hard. He also says that she'll be next. Oh and like Eggman, we never see the director outside of his office. Is this another connection that the Bald Man Squad share? His office does have a better view than Eggman's did though. Back at the base, a man giving a speech is going on and Haru is later to the meeting. The public is starting to say that the thieves killed Darth and here comes the Thief hunt.

I based this name after the witch hunts back in the day and it fits sorta of. It was shown pretty well with Akechi earlier but the public is quite fickly about who they love. Haru shows up despite her still grieving over the death of her father. It's about the death of Eggman and if the thieves were involved with him. This didn't happen due to the thieves taking a vacation. Haru says that she only brought this up since a card was seen in his office after Sae's associate mentioned it aloud to Sae.

This happened in front of Haru but I doubt Sae cared. So Makoto noticed that things have been going at a fast than expected rate after Darth's death. She suspects that the real culprit has set them up to take the fall for their crimes. Tensions are high so making any moves is banned. Time to be normal students which means doing confidants. Oh and midterms are next week. Futaba has something on her mind and well, this may be important.

So a person on the packed subway mentions a man named Shido and how he is with Akechi on those menaces known as the Phantom Thieves. Akechi's hate boner could be like Jameson's hatred for Spider-Man but he hasn't asked for any pictures yet so we'll be good. So in time, the exams begin and well the Phantom Thieves are the main topic still. I get why but still, it's annoying. Do they not have anything else to talk about? 

Oh and the Phantom Thieves's poll is going down below 50%. They also talk about Akechi and how he was brave for sticking it out despite the public hating on him. He is but still, come up with another topic. They do mention how they think the thieves are students since they killed Eggman. By the end of the exams, the Police come by and Haru goes to see Maruki just like the other thieves before her except for Yusuke.

Him being the last one to get examined by Maruki makes sense since well, he's the only one who doesn't go to Shujin but it's weird. It does make sense for Haru to go see Maruki right now given what's going on her. Before we go to the Phantom Thieves meeting, we help Haru with her rooftop garden and this is the start of her confidant. Yes. This is a damn shame. I mean she's a main character not a side character plus she has a green thumb.

Like with art, I'm not a expert in the slightest but I'm pretty sure that growing a tropical fruit in a ritzy house like Haru's is impressive. So Ryuji failing his midterms makes sense this time around given what has been going on. Oh and that speech giver is back. The reason why Futaba was acting strange is about the Medjed that she banned was a fake! This confused the thieves until she explains it. A code is like your fingerprints.

The coder's personal traits will appear in it even if you try and hide it. The Medjed's code was similar to the Phantom Thieves' first calling card due to it being cut and pasted together with no pattern. It was also done by someone who has no interesting in being a hacker of justice. So with this, both Futaba and Makoto sees that the fake Medjed member used the name to make the Phantom Thieves popular. Fake Medjed's fingerprints were all over the Phantom Afcionado Website.

With this in mind, this means one thing. Mishima is the one responsible for this or someone tampering from the outside. It's probably the latter since well, Mishima doesn't seem like the evil type. Futaba says that the hacker made the access counter higher than it really should be especially during Darth's rise at the top. So with this in mind, Makoto says that the reason for targeting Darth was because of the public and the ranking. It was the perfect target and timing.

So was this the SIU director and his boss's master plan? Or is there more to this story? Lets find out shall we? Ryuji wonders who they pissed off and well, he becomes a paranoid wreck. The thieves need to find some clues so maybe they should call a crime solving dog and his humans. Before we could do that in my headcanon, the SIU director shows up with Sae and offers up an interesting promotion. She is in charge of the Phantom Thieves case.

Everything is available to her much to her shock. So if she succeed, she'll get a higher promotion but failure will bring bad luck. She accepts this promotion which pleases him and well, Sae is focused on work much to Makoto's worry. So the SIU or the Special Investigations Unit is basically for large cases like government scandals who make headlines often. They also haven't lost a case in over twenty years which means that I would want to have them on my side if I ever go to court.

Not planning on doing anything criminal since well, I could be up against them if I went to Japan. So is there any country not governed by law? Things are looking bad aren't they? I really do miss the days where they were on our sides and things are looking really bad. I mean the percent is lower than 30 at this point. So the school festival got moved to the 25th because of the whole affair. It could have been cancelled but it's better than nothing despite it being on a Tuesday in game.

Oh and the police are beginning to interrogate the students of Shujin. This means that 3/4 of the Thieves are in trouble but the other two are safe. Speaking of duo, the duo of Ann and Joker get interrogated at the same time. It may be because they sit next together or they're main characters. I like to be believe that it's because they're dating and the police somehow knows this. I mean they know that Joker hangs out with Haru and Yusuke.

It could be possible so don't ignore that possibility. So the police aren't joking anymore. They want to find these damn thieves no matter what. Makoto brings up that they need to be cautious about how you spend your time at school. This makes sense so why have the blond duo and Joker be on the festival executive committee exactly? I mean that would only draw attention to them right? She says that it will be a good way for them to meet up and blend in would only do the opposite.

That does make sense but still. It seems off to me and despite us seeing Makoto's home life, something seems off with the queen. Oh and the SIU Director seems to be making things even harder. Whoever he is working for seems to be rather cruel. I wonder who that could be? Oh and despite Ms. Usami saying that math doesn't kill, I disagree. Math can kill or is it science? The point is that knowledge is power and deadly in the wrong hands. 

After class, the Shujin thieves and Morgana help out Makoto with the questionnaires. This is to determine who the student body wants to see as the guest of honor. Due to the date being changed, they need these results tallied up and fast. I wonder who the student body wants to see. I mean it could be really anyone. Maybe Atlus could bring back some old characters and have them interact with the thieves?

It could be Yukiko Amagi who runs the famous Amagi Inn in Inaba, the gumshoe who managed to take down a bear Akihiko Sanada, Yukari Takeba who plays Featherman Pink while in college, Rise Kujikawa who has been seen a couple of times throughout the game and maybe brings along a certain protagonist whose voiced by a soul reaper over in the west, or the original detective prince Naoto Shirogane herself. 

Despite all of the choices I mentioned above being really cool and would be awesome for older fans to see, who do you think the student body wants to see? All of them seem to have a hive mind and they want Goro Akechi so I was right a bit. A detective prince will show up and I can bet that the Phantom Thieves will be mentioned. Oh and Ryuji doesn't help at all. I don't blame him and well, everyone thinks that the thieves are killer.

So Akechi wins but who is second and third? I mean I'm curious to know who got second and third more than the guy who has done nothing but talk about the Phantom Thieves. I mean why not mention one of his other cases? Oh and I agree with Ryuji. They should ask a singer or idol. I wonder if a certain character from the previous Persona game fits that description and maybe brings along a certain senpai with her. 

Nope but I can dream. The Shujin thieves could lie about the results but well, he won by a landside and be shocked to see him not win. Before we can invite him, Akechi says that the Phantom Thieves are not just which is a shock to no one. That man talks about the Phantom Thieves more than Mishima so he's their biggest fan. He does believe that the thieves aren't responsible but I doubt that. This was back in my first playthrough since well, he doesn't talk about them.

He's far more obsessed with them than the public was for a while. He also goes on a hiatus from the media. How suspicious since the public seems to think the same. Oh and Akechi is going to the school festival despite him being a massive danger to the thieves. She says that they need information since Sae isn't giving her and that leaves only Akechi. Despite me being against having him there, this is for the plot to progress so he's coming to our school.

I agree with Ryuji on this since Akechi coming to Shujin is only asking for trouble and not him being petty about Akechi. The next day, Kasumi shows up and mentions the school festival. So in most school based anime/light novels/manga, each class does something. I wonder what Ann and Joker's class is going to do. Oh and all of the students can see Akechi coming from a mile away despite him not wanting to be in public right now.

However, he can't turn down anything to do with those pesky Phantom Thieves. Joker is also at the top of his class for grades so that's good. Akechi still hasn't replied to Makoto but well, he will reply to Joker. We also meet Shido in person and well, he looks familiar doesn't he? I mean his voice is familiar as well but look at him closely. He doesn't have any hair which means that he's a member of the Bald Man Squad.

Said representative claims that the people of Japan are lazy with them letting the thieves run wild and I can say this. Calling them lazy won't be winning you any votes unless the other candidates suck. He also says that because they've only targeted prominent figures, the government refuses to do anything about them. I find this strange since well, how is Kamoshita an important figure? Everyone else I can get behind to an extent but a gym teacher?

It's strange to consider him as prominent compared to people like Darth, Porky, or Smeargle. Kamoshita was a Olympic medalist but a hasbeen. Oh and Shido has a fan in the form of Pompous Male Customer so good for him. He claims that he'll be the one to solve the Phantom Thief problem and I'm sure that he will. Oh and Akechi seems to react to this guy as well. It isn't because he hates politicians or anyone but the Phantom Thieves. 

Akechi will never stop mentioning them will he? I keep bringing it up because well, it's something that I take issue with it. He doesn't deny being a Phanboy when asked so my theory about him being the Phantom Thieves's number one fan makes sense. He also decides to go since well, plot and Joker will be there. Yusuke will be going as well mainly to see Maruki since well, it had to happen eventually. The school festival is how. 

Before that, we learn that Caroline can't handle Clara the maid. Just something to bring up since the festival seems lively despite everything going on. Akechi, Eggman, Kamoshita, and the Phantom Thieves made the school popular especially with the police. I get what Makoto is talking about but she needs to relax. The only one who is going to be talking about the thieves is Akechi and he's working with them so we're good okay?

After some fun school festival hijinks involving VR and a Haunted House, the group arrives in front of a maid café aka what Ann and Joker's class decided to do. Head canon here but I bet this was Joker's idea since well, Kawakami will never escape the maid life. Due to their maid café being well dead, the thieves are left ordering some questionable Russian takoyaki after Ryuji make a scene. A rumor going on is that Kamoshita is being treated like a victim and Eggman was targeting for knowing too much.

Excluding Akechi's popularity and said detective loving being at the center of attention which has been a constant theme, I can say this. One of the rumor about the Shujin staff is false with the other one being correct. The takoyaki arrives and after hearing a microwave go off, this probably isn't too fresh. One of them is obvious red so I bet this is the one which gives it its name. Haru decides to go for the special one which earns her points in my book. 

Before either she or Joker could eat it, Akechi shows up despite the panel not being today. He is here mainly not to look like a complete idiot tomorrow. Smart idea and well, he's excited. Despite saying that he is here not to make any mistakes, he makes a big one by taking the red one. This makes Ryuji a happy customer so good for him. So Akechi hates spicy stuff. Good to know that the detective prince has his weakness. 

Yusuke is also acting paranoid along with Makoto. She's also the one going to be asking him questions and I'm sure things will go somewhere. Akechi also made another mistake as well and it's how everyone is here. This makes no sense at first but it will in time. Yusuke also finally goes see Maruki so all of the thieves excluding Morgana have been to see him at one point. I wonder if this means anything at all and yes. I'm not at all being subtle about it.   

After playing the Train of Life, the panel begins alongside the interrogation of Akechi. I really do wish we had a singer or mascot appear rather than Akechi but nope. The Phantom Thieves x Akechi is what the public wants. While Makoto tries to get the dirt from Akechi, said detective brings up the fact that he knows Makoto's older sister quite well. This is something that the crowd finds funny but hey, comedy is subjective.

Up above, Ann, Joker, Ryuji, and Yusuke are watching the press conference while Futaba and Haru are in the crowd. I'm not sure where Morgana is but maybe he's with Haru or Joker. Oh and Akechi seems to know who the Phantom Thieves are. He doesn't tell the police about this at all but he was more than willing on telling students about this. This would be a problem but since the police don't know shit, he can say since it's only his opinion. 

He claims that it's the truth which is quite cocky and Makoto calls him on his bluff. Before Akechi can spill the beans, his phone rings. Saved at the last second but only for a second. Akechi wants the gang to meet with him in the PE faculty office aka the place where Kamoshita probably did some less than pleasant things. Akechi set this up and shows pictures of the Phantom Thieves leaving Darth's palace by appearing out of thin air. 

I'm sure about two things. The first thing is that these pictures would be great yet confusing evidence for Sae since they could be easily altered and look confusing. The second thing is that I'm sure that Akechi wasn't the only one seeing this. It's out in broad daylight after all. Akechi also has video evidence and this would be bad news for two thieves. The pictures showed Ann and Yusuke but the others were safe at first.

That damn video evidence seals the fate of the other thieves though. He also knows about the world thanks to him getting the Nav on his phone probably way back when we were first shown Darth's palace in much great detail. He was drawn into the world in a similar manner to Ann, Makoto, and Yusuke's first time. They didn't have the Nav but were brought into the world by someone who did. The Nav works like a virus except you need to enter the metaverse to have it installed.

You also need be an important character and not so face-less husk. Oh and Morgana is here as well but can't be seen due to the character's profile pictures. Akechi knows that all of them are the Phantom Thieves due to him having the exact same power or when Joker claimed that Ryuji was one of them back in July. It would be funny if it was the second reason but it's most likely the first one. Akechi says the only reason he knows that the Phantom Thieves didn't kill Darth is because he saw the real killer.

He claims that he doesn't know who Darkblade is mainly due to that mask covering his entire face. It's the opposite of the Phantom Thieves whose identities are super obvious. In this scenario, Darkblade's mask makes him like Batman and the Thieves's mask make them like Superman. Both Batman and Superman's identity may be obvious to pretty much anyone outside of the comic book work but in said world, their identity are a mysterious.

I really don't get how this would be possible since well, Superman doesn't wear a mask and looks like Clark Kent with a few minor difference. Batman does wear a mask in most costumes and doesn't show off that he is Bruce Wayne. So to prevent jail time, Akechi strikes up a deal. He asks for the thieves help in finding the truth and if they say no, the thieves go to jail. It's pretty much blackmail as Ryuji puts it perfectly. 

Akechi points out that Sae and the higher ups only want this case to be over with so Sae is under a lot of pressure. Even if they don't have any proof, they'll arrest the Thieves regardless which is bullshit. He wants the Phantom Thieves disbanded after this. After seeing that we need time to think over, there is only one real choice. Akechi leaves and the Thieves are pretty much left with no choice on this so welcome to the party Goro Akechi. 

I would say we're glad to have you but I'm not. You're not really a part of the group for a couple of reasons but one of the more petty ones is this. You upset the gender balance of the group. I told you that this reason was going to be petty. Noticed how Akechi noticed Morgana talking prior to seeing him talk in the Metaverse but in reality instead. This will be important for later. You also may noticed that both Joker and Morgana stay behind to have a conversation which can't be heard. 

My theory to this happening is that this is due to the drugs Joker has been given. So since Akechi is leaving earlier, he is being replaced by rakugo and this isn't a fair trade. So while trying to get info from Akechi, he played the Thieves like a fiddle and there is a way out of this deal. Break Akechi's legs or take care of him if you know what I mean. As this is going on, Sojiro is watching the news about the Thieves since they don't talk about anything else and has a calling card in front of him.

This is one that was given to her by Futaba and we don't see how he managed to find it. I don't think they show how in the Anime either but my theory is that he found it by cleaning Futaba's room. This is what the anime shows. Before Joker can leave, it's time for the post-festival party. The only reason we go to it is because of Kasumi who shows up and invites Joker. Morgana is there too but nah. This is a P5R exclusive by the way.

Just another reason why I thought Kasumi was the main girl on my first playthrough mainly due to the fact that she had all of these exclusive scenes with Joker. She had that whole magical girl transformation when she awoken to her persona and now this. I later learned the truth on who is the main girl since it's no one. Also that Joker can dance. I wonder if this is a reference to the Persona dancing game which I think is canon to the series as a whole but I could be wrong.

It's the main costume I used since well, I really like the battle theme. That and the P4 costume for the same reason. Music can make something better after all along with voice acting. After the dance, it's time for another event. You can go on a school date with any confidant who goes to the school so that means six lucky characters get to be your date. These characters are Ann, Haru, Kawakami, Makoto, Mishima, and Ryuji.   

On my first run, I picked Haru since I had no other choice on that. It was fine but nothing special. I think I did this for my second playthrough since well, you need to be rank 10 for any of the choices except for Haru. The boys will all go together as a group but the girls require you to be in a relationship with them first. This is just like the Hawaii date and all of the items you get do the exact same thing so it's up to personal preference. 

These five items are Ann Cream Puffs, Makoto Donuts, Ryuji Dog, Sadayo Taiyaki, and Sakura Amezakiu. This is my middle school mind talking but I think three of these items have suggestive names and I don't need to tell you which ones. Just add 's to them and you'll figure it out. With that in mind, all of these items restores 100 SP to a singular character. Like with the Hawaii Date, I went with Ann and it's time for the Student Sharing Special or Triple S. 

It could also be Quadruple S if we add Shujin to the title. So I get why everyone thinks that the thieves are students but they could be teachers for all we know. I mean it would make some sense since Kamoshita was the first target and he was a faculty member. It's food for thought and makes you wonder who would be the Phantom Thieves if they were adults instead of teens. Maybe use the adult confidants like Sojiro or Kawakami. 

There is an AU comic series about this concept which I put a link to here and also this as well. After the date, Futaba is outside and Sojiro is there waiting for them. Before this can happen, we see how the SIU Director is putting more pressure on Sae mainly due to the media having a field day with this. He does threatened to fire her so yeah. Sae is trouble just like the thieves are. My theory about how Sojiro found the calling card is stated by him in game but we don't see it happen.

So Sojiro is pretty smart here since well, he noticed Futaba's sudden change from hermit to a more social person. She left her room so suddenly and wanted to go to the beach of all places. The calling card is all the proof he needed and you can't avoid a former government man's eye. He was pretty much the man who went to Wakaba for the research she had. Futaba can't really say anything about it much to Sojiro's growing anger and looks to be having a panic attack. 

However, she tells Sojiro what's going on and we learn more about Sojiro's past with Wakaba. He also notices that Joker is connected to the thieves as well due to the first incident being at his school and Yusuke coming over for a visit. The man decides to listen to his daughter and well, he learns that both of his children are the Phantom Thieves thanks to Futaba blurting it out. So I will probably mention this later but I'm going to mention it here as well. 

At the end of each Confidant excluding the Phantom Thieves, the confidant learns that Joker is one of them or their leader. Sojiro is the only one I'm sure is an exception to this rule and here is why. He does react more toward the news worse than the others though but this is due to the connection Sojiro has with Joker. In its place, we do get a good scene between the whole Sakura family plus Joker. We also learn why Sojiro took in Futaba and I presume Joker as well.

To make amends for not investigating into the death of the woman he loved or at the very least cared deeply for. All he did was run away but things changed. He won't report them to the police so we get another ally though but tells them to back out of a fight they can't win. It's too late for that since they entered into a fight that they have a disadvantage in. The next day, we learn more about Shido and that is his first name which is Masayoshi.

Sojiro also seems to know about him which makes sense due to his government past. Speaking of the government, they put up a bounty of thirty million yen for information about them. This would be about $ 264,283.41 and shows how serious things have gone. So excluding the police, who are the victims effected by the Phantom Thieves? The Palace Rulers or maybe those effected by the mental shutdown cases. Probably the latter but it could be the former as well. 

Oh and the reward is because of the SIU director who may get a nickname like Eggman. He is doing so much behind that desk unlike Eggman who tried doing this with Makoto but failed. The Thieves don't take this well and it makes its perfectly clear. They were set up to take the fall and were lead to take down Darth by an unknown party. This unknown party didn't interfere with Makoto and Yusuke but they did after Porky.

Kamoshita was also ignored. Ryuji is not taking this well and I really don't blame him. Yusuke as well and you would think that there will be another fight but nope. Sure Haru was in danger but did that unknown party care about Darth's daughter and what was going on with her? Nope. They need a scapegoat and the thieves were perfectly. Ryuji almost swear but nope. We won't get that for a while and it will be amazing.

This only happened since they were focused on what the public wanted from them. Nothing is wrong about finding a place to belong but clinging onto fame because of it. No one is taking this well and this is just reality slapping them in the face hard especially with Ryuji. Joker doesn't give up and neither do the other thieves. We also learn that Ryuji wanted to be a phantom thief not for fame but to be depended on and it went straight to his head. 

After this, Akechi decides to have a meeting with the thieves about what to do and there is only one option available. Playing the final chapter of Train of Life obviously. Before we can have that talk with Akechi, we see Shido once again and talks about the Phantom Thieves. I wonder if this guy is going to be important or something. The day goes by and the meeting begins. Before we can begin, Akechi wants coffee which he doesn't get.

There is no longer time to play games since the cops aren't either. Is it weird that only Akechi could figure out their identities? I mean beside the obvious reason of how their costume hides nothing of their identities, there has to be some sorta of a link right? The police also don't care if the evidence they have is real or not. They only want the evidence. It's revealed that Sae has a palace which means one single thing. 

She will be getting a nickname for me and this will be the first female palace ruler to get one. Shadow Futaba didn't get one but Sae will. She will also be the target for this unknown criminal and their hitman Darkblade so they need to enter Sae's palace and change her heart. It's also the last heist of the Phantom Thieves which is a good thing. Akechi catches the real criminal and the thieves don't go to jail. Don't tell Akechi that since well, I rather not let that smug prick have his ego raised any higher.

Akechi's reason for seeking justice is because of sickening human beings and it's a rather strange reason but very personal. Ann may say that he's similar to the thieves since all of them have been hurt by an adult but well, these sickening human beings could have been children. It isn't that but it could have been. So after this, Makoto reveals something as well. She knew about Sae's palace from the start from the very start of her being a thief.

Oh and notice how Akechi is taking over the role of leader. Suggesting they check out the palace and calling off the meeting. You're the rookie here detective. After this, we go back to Sae in the interrogation room and learns about her having a palace. She also learns that Akechi decided to sick the thieves on her after learning about the Metaverse thanks to Darth. She noticed that Akechi had changed and lied to her. 

Joker is slowly losing focus after all of this and Sae learns that she was nothing more than a puppet in all of this. Nothing more than a puppet for them to use. Like the conversation back at the school, we don't hear the full conversation between Futaba, Joker, and Morgana. Dang truth serum and after school today, we go to the courthouse and begin the palace investigation. So the courthouse is just a part of the government office district Kasumigaseki. 

It consist of the Police Department, Ministry of Justice, Public Prosecutor office, and Public Security so it's pretty much the government's main base. The Diet building is also there too. So on the 20th, there will be an investigation at Shujin and the Sakura residence. That's our dead line or at least very close to that date. Before they can enter the metaverse through Akechi's smartphone, Futaba decides to take a closer look at it much to his confusion.

After we enter her keywords, we enter her palace and it's a casino. Everything is coming full circle and this casino is where Joker got arrested. It's weird to see buildings like the police station next to a flashy as all hell casino though. We also give Akechi a codename and it's Crow. He suggested Karasu and on my second playthrough, this made too much sense. His costume is rather tacky to say the least. I mean it's so white and that mask. It rivals the Crypt Nose's nose. 

    

It would make a good piercing weapon though and well, it sticks out for a reason. Akechi says that it's because he is someone who sticks to their justice or in other wise, he doesn't want to be a rebel but a goodie two shoes. While I'll admit that Akechi has a huge hate boner for the Phantom Thieves, he's totally going steady with the concept of justice. I'm pretty sure that Akechi says justice or Phantom Thieves in most of his dialogue. 

Oh Haru pointed out how pointy his mask is so good on her. Akechi is also too excited about this and keeps interrupting much to the queen's annoying. As we investigate the palace, we get some really good music. Probably my favorite palace theme and I want to mention something. I've stated that I tended to use different costumes for the thieves to wear and well, Akechi is the same. If you're playing on a second playthrough or new game +s, there is a certain costume you can have him wear.

I won't say what it is but I didn't use that costume. It's either the dancing costume, the chibi outfit since it makes me laugh, or the Hazama's uniform. I just think the latter fits the whole white costume but has dark colors as well. Not too long in, we meet Shadow Sae and I can say this. She looks the best out of all the Palace Rulers. I mean it may be because she's a attractive female compared to men who don't look attractive but I'm thankful we have a more risky looking palace ruler.

The nickname I had in mind is Gothic Manager but nah. I'm thinking something else. Maybe something involving the devil and her outfit. I'm not sure. I could keep calling her Sae but nah. We don't get a chance to go after her before we need to get a membership with said casino. A Shadow shows up and we see Akechi's Persona. His Persona is Robin Hood and well, it fits the thief theme better than his outfit does.   

Its color scheme is similar to Akechi but unlike Akechi, Robin Hood was considered to be a thief by those he stole by and a hero by others. He and Zoro were the only Personas whose history I knew a little bit about before this game. After taking down the first shadow, we have to leave but it's time to begin the palace officially. It's also around Halloween in game so there will be in costumes during this time and on Halloween, Joker takes the twins to Persona Disneyland.

I mean that's what it is and it makes sense unlike seeing the crypt keeper wearing mouse ears while holding a stuffed bear. We also unlock the final Confidant and it's Haru. Like I said many times before now, I really wish we started this one sooner. We can start to work  Makoto and Ryuji's Confidant within the chapter they joined the party so why not Haru? After this, we head to the Palace and unlock my favorite showtime.

This showtime is basically wrestling involving Haru and Makoto. I just love this because of how silly it is and well, I'm comparing it to every other Showtime. Despite me liking the music of this palace, I do think that it's the least interesting to me. It isn't a bad palace but compared to the Burger Star or Kamoshita's palace, I don't know. It's just a casino to me just like how Porky's palace was a bank or Smeargle's palace was a museum.

It's also because I know what happens by the end of the palace. Oh and one thing I also wanted to mention about Robin Hood beside its look being very superhero like. It's also the only Persona that comes with more than two elements at the start. Bless and Curse. You would think that he would be an all Bless user given his outfit and how he's the opposite of Joker who was the Curse user. I guess Kasumi would be the Bless User in this game.

Just something I noticed while writing this and wanted to bring it up. So since I recently bought something, I think Taro Tanaka is a reference to Tanaka's Amazing Commodities but I'm sure I'm some how wrong. Remember this card since well, it will be important and Futaba is right. It's time for the newbie to do the grunt work like picking up the trash. We eventually make it to the next floor with the gothic devil is waiting for us.

The nickname is still in the works since well, I want it to have something to do with the casino. I guess Queen Dice could work since it could be a reference to Cuphead's King Dice who ran the casino for the devil. His song Die Hard ,not the movie, is sung by a woman but I'm not feeling that one either. So Sae is here to tell that in order to fight her, the thieves need to keep winning until they're number one like she was. 

So I'm may sound sexist here but Sae is different from other palace rulers so far. They usually use brute force but Sae is using her noggin. Shadow Futaba was similar except she didn't really try to stop the thieves. Oh and Akechi seems know how to gamble since he likes to be a winner. Makoto suggests that her palace came to be after their father's death and how she was trying to fight in a male dominant industry which makes sense.

I'm not too familiar with the world of law but I can say this. I don't know too many female fictional lawyers off the top of my head. So after some research, I did managed to find some. There is Elle Woods from Legally Blond, She-Hulk, and the show Drop Dead Diva. That's three but well, I think of Daredevil, Lionel Hutz, and Phoenix Wright as famous fictional lawyers. She-Hulk I know for other reasons and her lawyer status doesn't come up as the first one.

There is also the single female lawyer from Futurama but I don't think that counts. Oh and this palace really shows that the thieves are being manipulated into what Sae wants them to go through. If this isn't fitting for how the story is going currently, I don't know what is. Oh and all of these games are rigged due to Sae want to be a winner rather than a loser. Akechi says that defendants in Hapan are prosecuted at a 99.9% success rate so don't do anything criminal over in the land of the sun.

If it isn't obvious, this is very rigged and any case of false accusation is rather rare. All of these games are rigged in the house favor so it seems we need to find a way to change the odds to our favor. This is the only way to win and there just so happens to be an open vent to the back room. You can try to earn 50,000 coins naturally but well, the odds aren't the best. We eventually find the room where they are doing said rigging and Akechi has an idea.

He comes up with an idea to get all of the coins in one room and it involves rigging the dice in our favor. This is similar to how you can cheat those classic video games you can play in your room if you read a special book. Futaba managed to rig one of the rooms to our favors but the others are left unchecked. Even after this, we managed to get only 3,600 coins. Before we leave the dice room, Akechi needs Skull for something and it involves Ryuji being used to carry all of those coins.

I do feel bad for Ryuji but well, he's the brawn after all. This helps boost the total by 3,000 and makes 6,600. If only we had 66 extra coins. In the slot room aka the one across from the coin room, the guests only care about themselves and want to win. They don't care and things are only going to get worse from here. Oh and I should mention that some of the items aka the present have coins in them so smash everything. 

This room also has bunny girl shadows so yeah. Very fitting for a casino. I mean the other shadows are card dealers but this is normal for shadows. Like with Sae, I'm sure that the bunny girls are the most attractive goons for obvious reasons. I mean you could like the knight ones from Kamoshita's palace but most people like bunny girls. I mean I learn this is just fact and can't be denied. Pretty sure that most franchises have a female character dressed as a bunny.

Do remember that people were upset that Lola Bunny wasn't sexy in Space Jam 2. Personally, I didn't care since I didn't see Space Jam in full until Space Jam 2 came out. My favorite version of Lola Bunny is the one from the Looney Tunes Show. Back to the game. Keep an eye out for any terminal because this is important. We eventually find the best slot to use and while it may cost 5000 coins for a single spin, the rewards are pretty nice.

Getting all cherries earns you back the five thousand you spend, BAR gets double what you put in aka 10,000, and triple 7s gives you ten times what you put in aka 50,000. We need to get this working in our favors so it's time to find the red and green terminals. One is at the start aka the red and the one is back behind the screen aka the green. Upon finding the last terminal, Akechi wants to change the odds for favor. 

Futaba can do that but it does have a chance of failing two times out of ten. This doesn't happen since we get triple 7. With this in mind, we have enough to exchange them for a member's card. You probably show buy that right now before buying the soma and bead chain. Before we go up to the next floor, Sae stops them and says that she's the victor. After talking down one of her elite guards aka Norn, we make it to the next floor after Sae calls them losers despite us winning. 

I'll admit that this palace is more fitting for Makoto than Porky's palace since Sae and her are sister. It also brings to light how Sae only sees the trials as nothing more than gambles. The next level is the High Limit Floor and we can't go any farther thanks to the shadow preventing that. We need a reservation to enter which is all he says and this shadow's voice is totally Kanji Tang. I can just hear it but well, we need to get a reservation. 

Thanks to Akechi, we need to get into the courthouse somehow. Akechi also figures out the cognitive world rather fast while Ryuji struggle for a bit. Futaba suggest that Ryuji should go piss off the police which doesn't work but we just need to attend a trial that Sae is attending. Akechi has some connections in mind so lets leave up to the rookie and we have to leave the palace. Luckily, Sae is participating in a trial tomorrow and we have to go there tomorrow. 

No choices on that manner. It's pretty much open house at the court house and well, it's rather boring to say the least. I doubt most trials are interesting like Judge Judy. Futuaba noticed that Saw has an aura of a capable woman which makes her stick out compared to the other palace rulers. This trial is about the personal use of government funds and said politician went on a vacation to a hot springs with his mistress. 

Haru brings up the fact that Sae is supposed to be busy with the Phantom Thieves investigation but she still has other cases to work on. Another prosecutor would take her palace but Sae isn't one to let someone else to do her job. In time, Sae does notice the group which doesn't bother her and we head into the palace shortly after the case. Upon arriving, we managed to get a cool thousand coins but this is chump change to our goal this time around.

We need double the amount we had on the last floor and it's a cool hundred thousand. To earn a crap ton of coins, we'll need to fight for our lives in both body and mind. Lets starts with the house of darkness aka the battle of the mind. On this floor, we won't be playing any games of chances but using ourselves in order to get the coins. Entering this house requires 1,000 coins but winning gets you ten times the amount of them.

You can leave the maze if you want so trial and error is the way to go for this floor. Upon entering the house, everything is dark but we have a way to cheat. Pressing the L2 button opens the third eye aka the way to see past the darkness. You could also use a flashlight or Fire based abilities but nah. This room also doesn't play the casino floor music so yeah. You can see other people inside here as well but they don't have the power of the third eyes so they're lost in the darkness.

Hopefully they don't have any heartless beings running around here. After making our way through the darkness, we fight against the snake king or Raja Naga. Taking down this snake earns a cool ten thousand so off to the battle of the body. We first need to collect the will seeds which are really easy to find and at the end of it, you find against Baal and this one is one of my favorite Persona. I just love how it looks.        

The battle of the body is a one on one battle which means its Joker vs the house. This may sound bad which it is but well, winning gets you a hundred thousand aka what we need to cross the bridge. Like with pretty much everything in this casino, these fights are rigged and the Phantom Thieves can't help as Ryuji learned the hard way. Do note that you won't be able to do any All-Out Attack since you're all by yourself.

I'll admit that these fights aren't hard and well, the Phantom Dweeb Joker got this. On my first battle, I had more trouble with Darth's battle but figuring out the type weakness to your enemies is always something helpful. Not even Thor stands a chance against the Myriad Truths. Despite earning the amount of coins, Sae won't allow this and increases the prize by ten. We need a cool million to enter the manager's floor.

A possible nickname for Sae could be sore loser but nah. I'll just go with Sae until I come up with something clever comes to mind. Akechi comes in with the save thanks to Taro Tanaka. Despite Akechi not doing his job, he does manage to save the day. We find Sae's treasure and Sae claims that elegance is needed for victory but well, I call bull. Despite the treasure not being formed, there is a shape in there and it's a police notebook belong to Sae's father. 

Makoto says that Sae thinks that justice is meaningless due to her father's death. She wanted to be a prosecutor and grew obsessed with winning as a result. The next day, we learn that we can't send the calling card until time is completely up. Akechi says that Sae is a realist and won't believe that the thieves are really stealing hearts without going to the metaverse. Makoto finds Akechi impressive but doesn't like how he knows Sae more than she does. 

So before too long, we get to fight Akechi in Mementos for his Rank 8 Confidant. He points a gun at you and well, it's time to show him how to use a gun. Do note that this Rank has voice acting when most confidants don't have that until Rank 10. I wonder why that is. Akechi also finally admits that he hates Joker and slaps Joker with one of his gloves. In time, these two will duel. So I'm pretty sure that Akechi was DLC in the Persona 5 dancing games which is canon maybe.

I'm sure if the dancing games are canon but I really don't care. I just wanted to mention the DLC costume for Akechi and well, it's easily my favorite one. It's the hat. His Featherman costume is pretty good as well. I mention this because well, it's time for the annual Mementos round where I got seven targets to take care of. This list of targets includes that cheater and this is possible thanks to the duo of Shinya and gun.

Before we eventually face off against Sae, I managed to get the Max for Technical Rank and Baton Pass with every one except Akechi. I'll explain why I ignored him in due time. By November 16th, the percentage is a very small 5 percent. Remember the days when it was nearing 100. I do. Good times but well, the audience is quite fickle. On the 17th, we have a private chat with Kasumi on the roof and it's about the Phantom Thieves. 

She is worried about them and all of the bad press they've been. She also points how fast the public changed their stance on them and how it relates to how the public was treating her. She asks if the two of them can go somewhere and have some fun. Despite being in a relationship, I'm sure a man and a woman can hang out with each other without any romantic tension whatsoever. In due time, we eventually reach 18th and send the calling card to Sae.

Before that, we have to say goodbye to our favorite doctor who wants to see us during lunch. I wonder what's going on there. I'll really miss Maruki mainly due to him being he's the only teacher I can easily remember other than Kawokami. I mean there is Japanese Hank Hill but still, we didn't have a confidant rank with him. He's still a dork even after all of this time and well, he says something that caught my eye.

He says,"If your situation ever becomes too painful to endure, remember. It's okay for you to escape your problem.". I'm not a psychiatrist whatsoever but that sounds off to me. I do agree with him on how you shouldn't obsess over your worries. He also wants everyone to have the perfect lie and well, this will be important for later on. Lunch time eventually comes around and well, he gets the best lunch aka tempura bowls from a restaurant that caught the doctor's eyes a long time ago.

Due to how steamy said food is, both him and the Joker are unable to see but that's the life of a four-eyes after all. Oh and Maruki knew about Joker being a Phantom Thief from the very start. Do you remember back in April when I mentioned a brown coat wearing man? That was Maruki and well, he had an introduction shortly after that. This was the same with Makoto but Haru didn't. It took her until September before we could meet her. 

I'll always be upset that it took so long for Haru to be introduce and well, I said how she could have showed up early. So do you think Maruki heard about Futaba's mom before she passed away due to them studying the same field? I mean they could have meet each other but well, I'm not sure. Maruki did use the Phantom Thieves for his research and well, I don't think he's a bad guy. He's too nice of a guy to be a snitch unlike Eggman and maybe the vice president.

Not too sure on the latter but the former screams snitch to me. We also sent out the calling card to Sae using Makoto because if Akechi does it, he would be too obvious. Oh and notice how we don't hear the conversation between the Phantom Thieves excluding Akechi. This has happened before and there is a meaning for this. Sae gets the calling card and she isn't too happy about this. She also tells Makoto what she is going to do when she captures Joker which we see.

Oh and we happen to see how Sae is forced onto the sidelines. Right before we fight against Sae in the casino and perhaps go full circle, I managed to get a couple more rank 10s. You may wonder why I'm not mentioned this before the boss fight. This is for a certain reason and well, I'll be sure to mention the voice actress for Sae along with the tropes about her at the start of next chapter. Don't worry about it. I do keep things the same even though the story will be reaching a certain point. The climax if you will.   

These rank 10s come in the form of Chihaya Mifune who I didn't expect to get through so fast but I did thanks to Iwai being stubborn, Makoto whom I planned to get rank 10 during this part of this story due to the connection between her and Sae, Shinya Oda whose confidant I managed to get to 10 on my first playthrough,  Takuto Maruki who goes to 10 automatically if you get his confidant up to Rank 9 before November 17th, and Yuuki Mishima.

I could have gotten this during the last chapter but time wasn't on my side in that regard.  Another reason I got Makoto to rank 10 now is simple. I didn't plan for this at first but I managed to rank 10 Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke in the order that they joined the party. I want to keep this train going so after Makoto, Futaba is up next and we have a new Persona on the team. This Persona is pretty much a transformer since well, Anat looks like a transformer to me. 

This one along with Ryuji's Punk Rock Goku are the first two Persona I managed to evolve on my first playthrough. It will be sad to no longer see Makoto riding her Persona but well, she grew stronger as a Persona and that slap of hers. Don't mess with her is the moral of that story. Lets begin with the voice actor/actress for Chihaya, Maruki, Mishima, and Shinya. Chihaya was placed by Sarah Anne Williams whose roles I got to know after this game. 

She plays Akari Nitta from Jujutsu Kaisen, E.M. Pino from Edens Zero, Jack Frost from this game, Jack O' Lantern from this game, Lisbeth from Sword Art Online, Mirai Sarutobi from Boruto, Neferpitou from Hunter x Hunter, Ruka Sarashina from Rent A Girlfriend, Sannokuchi from Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and Susamaru from Demon Slayer. A very good amount of roles but the big ones for me are Pino and Neferpitou.

I like Pino as a mascot for Edens Zero far more than Space Happy because to me, she fits the whole sci-fi role better than Happy who is a robot but could you tell that from just a single look? Neferpitou is a character who I do like but well, I like a certain cat person whose gender is unknown instead. This character works for a demon who can turn into an egg and is a series which I hope gets a manga release over here in the states.   

Next up is Maruki but well, I've already mentioned his voice actor before in Fairy Legion Royal. It's Tyrell's voice actor Billy Kametz and not to repeat myself, he voiced who voiced Asmodeus Alice from Welcome to Demon School! Iruma Kun! and Josuke Higashikata from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4 Diamond is Unbreakable. That was easy so up next is Mishima. He's voiced by Sean Chiplock whose voice I recently gotten to know recently thanks to Edens Zero.

This actor has played Draken from Tokyo Revengers, Guido Mista from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5 Golden Wind, Kiyotaka Ishimaru from Danganropa, Natsuki Subaru from Re:Zero, Shiki Granbell from Edens Zero, and Swamp Demon from Demon Slayer. I did watch Re:Zero but only the first episode. I may have mentioned this before but well, Re:Zero didn't catch my interest at all. It just bored me and well, I'm not the biggest fan of isekais to begin with.

I haven't watch Konosuba mainly because I know the jokes within that series and honestly, I don't find anything in it funny. I'm fully aware of how petty I'm being here but honestly, I'm not a big fan of that series whatsoever. I would still recommend both Konosuba and Re:Zero despite never watching them since they're good examples of isekais I think. If you ask me what isekai I would recommended, I would recommend That Time I reincarnated as a Slime.  

Lets move away from the topic of isekai and go back to voice acting. So I would recommened watching both Edens Zero and Tokyo Revengers but more of the latter than the former. Edens Zero is something I enjoy but that's because I'm a fan of Fairy Tail and they share the same author. Tokyo Revengers is just a good series and has a really good protagonist. The series get much better I can promise you and well, I am looking forward to where things are going.

So our final character is Shinya and he has two voice actress playing him. For the anime only, we have Eden Riegel whom I mentioned earlier as the voice actress for Hifumi. In game, we have Barabara Goodson. She plays Ashley Kafka from Spider-Man the Animated Series 1994, Chiyo from Naruto, Enya the Hag from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 3 Stardust Crusaders, Marianne Lenoir from Miraclous Ladybug, and the Rita Repulsa from Power Rangers at one point. 

Yeah. While I didn't watch Mighty Morphin when I was a kid, I did watch Power Rangers so this was a shock to me. After playing one more game of Pro Golfer Sarutahiko which pales in comparison to Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge, we begin the fight against the casino boss herself. I do want to mention that you can play Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge right now and well, I think Bonestorm is a much better game. 

It could also be that I suck at golf but nah. That can't be it but well, it's time to take down the queen of gambling at her game. So upon arriving in the manager's office, the treasure is gone and Shadow Sae knew about the Phantom Thieves coming. She asks them to meet her on a roulette wheel and well, we learn that she hated her father's killer from the bottom of her heart. She claims those who are left behind are to clean up the mess and had to endure great hardships. 

So it seems that Sae has lost control and she wants to be a winner rather than a loser. Her boss fight is interesting. Like Darth, she doesn't turn into a monster like the other palace rulers. We do see a glimpse of it much to her sister's shock. This isn't because she's lazy or have her minions fight. How she fights is similar to how in a shonen, the characters don't go all out from the start or they're cocky. I think it's the latter in this case.

Her fight involves a game of roulette and the stakes will be our lives. She does mention not to fight her because that's breaking the rules as Walker from Danny Phantom would say. Despite her being against breaking the rules, she's more than willing to cheat and we need to find out how she's cheating. I mean you would think that she would play the rules but nah. She's a dirty cheater and she's doing this with a glass lid.

If you went for red, the lid would put the ball in black and vise versa. We eventually call her out on her bull and she doesn't take it well. She transforms into Leviathan and well, I really like this one. This one was my favorite boss design because she's wielding a chainsaw and she has a gun arm. There is also her pointy nipples because as a guy, I was going to notice that. The roulette panels change and well, it's all of the game elements. 

Wherever the ball lands, she gets an attack equal to that element. This fight ends with the duo of Haru and Makoto defeating Sae with the power of wresting. Is it weird that I defeated both Porky and Sae using Makoto and a showtime? I mean what are the odds of that? It's probably better than Sae winning against the Phantom Thieves. So even though Akechi is smart, he's rather dumb dumb when it comes to the connection between Shadow Sae and her sister.

As this is going on, Ryuji and Yusuke grabs the treasure. Makoto tries to remind Sae of who she used to be and I got to be honest. This palace is a much better Makoto based palace mainly due to her connection with the ruler but I won't deny that Makoto's introduction to the thieves is pretty good as well. If only Haru got this kind of treatment. I wouldn't be complaining about it so much like how Akechi talked about the Phantom Thieves prior to joining up with them, I'll keep bringing it up.

So while we did promise Akechi that we would stop being Phantom Thieves, are we sure that he'll know about it if we keep doing this? I mean is he stalking us twenty four seven? So before we can leave said palace, enemies show up and there is a lot of them. Despite defeating Sae with the power of a ddt or just wrestling in general, the shadows are still restless and something is going wrong. The thieves need to leave fast and well, someone has to be bait.

My first pick is Akechi but well, Joker has to take the lead here. After saying goodbye to the team, we go back to the beginning of the game and you know how this ends. It's been a long journey to get here but well, I wonder what will happen next since Arsene mentions to remember everything. The only difference between now and then is that we know everything about the story. It's also voice acted since we know who those mysterious shadows are. 

All of them are characters we've grown to like flaws and all. So after getting re-arrested, we're finally finished with the interview with Sae. The drugs has hopefully worn off. A easily 50+ hour interview but well, Sae is hopefully on our side after hearing all of this. I mean we went into depth on what has been gone on in since April where we were fighting against Kamoshita and in November, we were fighting against a gun toting metal woman.

So as we relieve the initial police beatdown, lets learn who voiced Sae. Sae was voiced by Elizabeth Maxwell and I've heard her voice before. She played Leona Miyamura from Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches which is a series I think is good for its first half while the second half is a more complicated feeling for me, Shakuyaku from One Piece, Urbosa from Breath of the Wild, and Winter Schnee from RWBY. 

While I may not know anything about RWBY, I do know that it's a big deal and well lets see how things are going this time. Will it be the same or different? Lets see how things are different between now and then.

Chapter 8: Shido, Prideful captain of the SS Antisocial Japan. November 20 to December 18. Twenty Nine days.

So you may have noticed that we're repeating the start of the game, lets talk about the tropes associated with Sae while we go through the start of the game once again. Shadow Sae's motifs are dogs and that flower she wears. Dogs are very loyal creatures but in Japanese culture, they're associated with envy which makes the most sense. She is also more of an anti villain compared to the other Palace Rulers who were pretty much villains. 

Futaba's palace is the same but well, Futaba was a victim. That's really about everything I had about Shadow Sae since well, I rather not talk about the character herself. I didn't do that for the other palace rulers so should I do things differently for Sae? Nah. So unlike last time, we sees the twins and the Crypt Keeper. The twins repeat what Arsene tells you and lets see what they mean by that. So if you pretty much throw your friends under the bus, you get the bad ending.

That won't be happening whatsoever so well, I'm not a monster. Sae mentions Akechi and well, here's a scene showing Akechi talking with the thieves about saving Joker. I wish this was in the game but at least, the anime added something good. As the truth serum wears off, we see those scenes that we couldn't before aka the conversation with Joker and Morgana which was about pancakes and how someone reacted and the scene between Futaba, Joker, and Morgana in Joker's attic.

Joker shows Sae the phone which has a complicated lock on it and well, this phone was given a certain app thanks to Futaba. A virus if you will and needs to be shown to a certain male. As Sae is trying to figure out what's going on, we heard an all too familiar voice speaking to someone. The voice says that Joker stole the guard's gun and committed suicide during the imprisonment.". Without saying his name and through clever hints, Sae figures it out.

Sae decides to trust Joker even though what he's asking for sounds insane. At the end of this interview, we get another rank 10 with Sae. Yeah. This confidant is similar to the Crypt Keeper and Morgana since it's story related. We do get the ability to fuse Satan from this so yeah. It's a unique Persona to say the very least. Once Sae leaves Joker alone, she meets up with Akechi and he's heading up the investigation team after all.

This shocks Sae before Akechi tells Sae that it was a joke and he's only here as a consultant. Akechi mentions how he made up another culprit to set the thieves up. If it wasn't obvious, Akechi is the traitor and this wasn't too big of a surprise for me. Throughout the entire game, Akechi has been someone who has been against the Phantom Thieves and how they do things. So tell me this. If he wasn't the traitor and had a change of heart, why would he now decide to work with them?

I doubt it was because of Darth's death but something else. Some other ways I thought he was a traitor is due to his Phantom Thief Costume. Noticed how Crow's costume didn't have any black or darker colors to it. All of the Phantom Thieves had this in their costume except for hi. He also claimed that he wasn't a rebel but someone who sticks to their justice. This is also why I didn't have him go up in Baton Pass either.

After giving Akechi the phone, reality warps for a split second. Once Sae leaves, Akechi changes from the detective prince to a smug prick. Akechi heads down to the interrogation room and asks the guard to join him since well, Joker is so scary. The guard does this and gets killed for his action. He also shoots Joker and that's game. Joker dies at the hand of a red nose smug prick. His mask's long nose is ,I hope, a reference to Pinocchio.

 

You know how the wooden doll's nose only grew bigger as he lied. Crow's mask had a very large nose but does it rival another characters? If you really want to feel the twist of this impact, watch these four scene in order. Scene 1, Scene 2, Scene 3, and Scene 4. For the anime, you had to wait ninety three days for the conclusion to this and this is how the anime ended. Akechi won and Joker died. Pretty bold cliffhanger but that's not how the story ends.

As Akechi is in the elevator, he talks to Shido and he's Akechi's boss. Yep. It's Shido. The guy who people want to change this country thanks to the Phantom Thief's actions. Akechi plans to kill off the other Phantom Thieves as the storm blows over and the smug prick says that they're nothing without his guidance. Oh and Shido knows about Morgana too. While both Akechi and Shido plan what they're going to say, the bald one mentions the SIU Director. 

Like Darth and Eggman, the SIU Director will suffer the same fate. I don't really bad for him at all since well, he was an evil person. I get why they would want to clear up any loose ends and well, so long SIU director and that leaves only two members left of the Bald Man Squad. Lets go back to Sae and she interacts with Alibaba aka Futaba. Futaba tells Sae that Akechi is evil and here to kill Joker. The guard is part of the whole scheme as well so yeah. 

You really can't trust the government after all. I doubt everyone in the force is working with Shido but a good majority are. Trust Futaba on this one Sae and well, Sae decided to trick the guard mainly in order to save his own life. Smart move since well, Akechi can't be trust. We see how the suicide  went off in a cutscene and how it affects the Phantom Thieves. We also see other Shujin teachers and other students of Kosei high aka Hifumi and Yusuke's school.

There is also some other references such as Robo-Giorno. The news reporter announce Joker's death and this shocks the Phantom Thieves except for Ryuji who smiles. Joker wakes up back in the Velvet Room and asks Igor why he's been killed. On my first playthough, I didn't have an answer since I was unsure on how things went done. I got that Akechi betrayed the Phantom Thieves but that was about it. He then decides to show how things got to this point. 

Remember the scene at the festival? Akechi fucked up big time and all because of pancakes. I'm sure that this won't become a meme. We then see how Futaba got involved in this little scheme and do you remember how she really wanted to see Akechi's phone? This is how she got the virus onto the phone and it's perfect. In the room where Joker died, we see the trio of Futaba, Makoto, and Yusuke planning something there. 

This shows how versatile and powerful the metaverse can really be. Joker is still alive but the cognitive copy of him and the guard are no longer alive. The pose the real Joker is in it is pretty good too. Later the night of the twenty first, Sae tells Joker not to fall asleep until they reach their destination. Joker sees another scene of the thieves talking about how Akechi was against them from the start and was the true culprit of the mental shutdowns.

I'm not sure when this took place but well, it had to be sometime during late October or maybe early November. Here is a video on how the plan went down if you're curious. I'm sure that I'll explain it wrong and well, they know that Akechi was nothing more than a tool for the mastermind and also in his personality. Personal opinion on that. Oh and way to good Futaba. Show that inkling girl whose better and well, the metaverse is a place that can screw over even geniuses like Akechi.

So with the whole gang all here, Joker is alive much to the joy of everyone around them and Sojiro is me. I was wondering how all of this went down and well, they explain it better than I could. Just watch the video I mentioned above. If I went into detail about it, it would be rather long and I rather let the game do it for me. So like with Eggman, lets talk about the SIU Director's voice actor. He was played by Kirk Thornton whom I've mentioned before.   

He is the voice actor I chose for Gurat from Fairy Legion Royal. I also wanted to mention some other roles he played since as Kaname Ohgi from Code Geass and Shadow the Hedgehog. A pretty big actor for such a minor role just with like Eggman. Both of these men both worked under someone and died the same way. Despite the player knowing how their boss is, the thieves don't right now. They later learn soon thanks to Sojiro spilling the beans. 

So with Sae and Sojiro helping the thieves out, Akechi talks with Shido. Shido also seems to remember Joker but from where? So the SIU Director died from a stroke and he was mainly used by Shido to forge evidence. Oh and I really want to get rid of Akechi's smile soon rather than later since he is in the limelight for "defeating" the Phantom Thieves. So if Shido wins this election, he will become the prime minister. 

Well, Sojiro seems to know Shido from his past job and baldie was the only one responsible for stealing Wakaba's research. Sojiro is a smart dude since from the moment Wakaba died, he knew that Shido was involved. He couldn't do anything about it given how Futaba was in danger. So much to the surprise of no one, Shido has a palace and he has already mentioned his final key word if you were paying very close attention.  

As the thieves plan to take down Shido, Shido remembers meeting Akechi 2.5 years ago. Akechi mentions that he was a young politician and I question that part due to a statement mentioned just a bit later. Not him being someone who was rising up against bureaucracy but something else. So anything bad Shido got himself caught up in, he had Akechi take care of them thanks to the metaverse. This is why Wakaba had to die. 

Shido says that any suspicions should be snubbed out being that even the smallest doubt could lead to ones fall. That last part was ad-libbed by me but I'm not wrong. This whole scene is pretty both of them explaining their evil plan and how it was done. Akechi is smart no doubt but he's no detective unlike another Persona wielding detective. Since Joker is well dead, we don't have to go to school so that's nice I guess. 

For a while, we're off to find that last key hole of Shido by going out much to the shock of Sojiro. Day 1 fails but hey, we still got time. The election won't happen until the 18th of December and Yusuke points out that Shido is 53 years old. I truly don't know if 53 is young in the world of politics but how is 50 or 51 years old considered young Akechi? In what regards? 50s means that you're past or going through middle age at this point.

That line has always bothered me to say the least since whenever I think young, 50+ doesn't count to mind except if that species lives to 100+ years like the giants from One Piece. It's also a really good thing that the app doesn't have a limit on guessing key words since well, they would be screwed at this point. Ryuji's theory about a barrier may be possible but highly unlikely. Instead of Shido, it's Akechi instead. Oh boy. 

Lets see what comes out of his mouth and it's about the Phantom Thieves. His hate boner for them is strong after all. None of the thieves are happy about this and well, Japan has an infection. This infection was the Phantom Thieves but has switched over to the duo of Akechi and Shido. So by luck, Shido just so happens to be near Yongen-Jaya and it's time to get that word. Joker slowly begins to remember his connection with Shido as Haru and Ryuji go off. 

So why are you sending Joker and Morgana to go get Haru and Ryuji? I get that being in a big group is a bad idea but why send the guy whose supposed to dead to a large crowd? Why not Ann or Makoto? I get that it's for plot reasons but well, it's just weird. Both Joker and Ryuji have met Shido before back in May during the celebration after taking Kamoshita. It's been a long time. This conflict was Joker finally remember that Shido was the man who got him arrested and ruined his life.  

Yeah. If it isn't obvious, the palace involving Shido is quite fitting for Joker isn't it? Shido ruined his life and countless others just because they got in his way. If he was accidently bumped on the street, he would sue that person who bumped him regardless if it was intentional or not. Spill his coffee on his suit? You're getting sued. On the way there, Shido mentions sail and steer in the flashback. So Shido sees the Diet building as a ship.

It's unique I'll give him that. So like with Sae's palace, not much has changed but that changes as they see that the thieves are on a boat. Japan is submerged in water with only a boat sailing away and this is most apocalyptic palace so far. The other palaces looked nice in comparison to how this is the evil version of Noah's Ark. After entering the building, everyone on board is wearing a mask. We don't get too far before we get caught by security.

This security is Cerberus and it's rather fitting. Despite fighting a giant dog, no one seems bothered by this. I mean I'm more bothered by all of the Shido posters everywhere. This man's ego is so big since well, you can't go five feet without seeing Shido's bald head. We need five key cards in order to reach the treasure and maybe, we'll learn if Shido shines his head using wax. That may not be true but I can say this. 

Shido's safe rooms look really cozy. Ryuji also goes through some solid character growth as well so good on him. In this short time frame, all of your confidants except for Sae and Sojiro check in with you since they were unsure if you were alive. It started with Kawakami, Mishima, Ohya, Chihaya, Tae, Shinya, Hifumi, Tora, and Kasumi. I didn't mention Maruki or Iwai since Maruki doesn't show up and you need to get rank 10 with Iwai. I didn't since he was being stubborn. 

I could have gotten him to rank 10 but no. He didn't want to hang out until later. Oh and Kasumi is a much better stalker than Makoto. Kasumi wants to join the Phantom Thieves in their quest but well, Shido is too strong of an enemy for a rookie like her. I mean Akechi is working under Shido so yeah. It's too dangerous for her right now and well, Kasumi has a goal of her to complete. During this period of time, I'm also pretty sure that this comic happened off screen by the way. 

Before taking down Shido, we do a couple of last minute prep work aka hanging out with the twins one more time. They learn that according to the twins, Sojiro managed to cut up a god in order to make his curry. If you don't want to die by the god slayer Sojiro, don't make fun of his curry or hurt Futaba. The chainsaw comes out if he's pissed off. 

After reading so many books, I managed to get some new Technical skills. This will make Joker and the rest of the gang stronger than needed to take down Cruise Director Shido. That isn't Shido's nickname since like the two female palace rulers, Shido is an important character to the story overall. The other palace rulers don't really effect the story past their confession. They get name drops here and there but well, we don't see them effecting the plot. 

It's mainly shown best with Darth since he's currently sleeping with the fishes while under the stars. In due time and about nine days before the election, we finally begin our journey as the Phantom Pirates since this heist has us stealing the treasure off a boat. It's only fitting plus we did have a pirate captain on the team before he evolved into Goku. The perfect outfit for sneaking around this place is having the dancer Joker travel along with his butlers and maids.

You may think this is stupid which it totally is but hey, it makes sense just a bit. We need to find a politician, a former noble, a TV station president, an IT company president, and some cleaner so why not dress up as the staff? They'll never see us coming except for Joker who will pose as Shido's favorite pop star. You may think that's silly but well, I'm sure Shido is a fan of a pop star maybe one who can boost up his image or something. 

Everything is coming together and well, the cat is wearing the maid outfit for some reason. I guess it could be because he's voiced by a female but I got nothing. After taking down several very unpaid members of the staff, we eventually obtain a membership club to the exclusive restaurant where you need a card to enter it. This is where we can take down the politician where Makoto and Ryuji decided to have dinner together. 

Not in the romantic fashion since well, Makoto is a bit out of Ryuji's level. The politician Ooe shows up with him transforming into Yamata no Orochi. We learn why Shido killed Eggman because he was going to expose Shido's name and well, he eventually got cracked. If you pledge loyalty to Shido, you get the ability to decided who get hits with a mental shutdown. Ooe here picked someone who isn't too important but that engineer who caused that subway accident back in Spring. 

This may seem like a waste but this was to take out a president of some company and some diplomat who sided with someone not named with Shido. I guess Ooe really wanted to kill two birds with one stone huh. This snake eventually get all of its heads sliced to bit thanks to Haru's ax. Futaba and Morgana saw that Ooe here was a fusion between a cognition and a shadow. Expect the other VIPs to be the same and well, Shido seems to have a scene with the snake.

Our next target is the former noble and he's lounging by the pool. Before we can take him down, the group turn into mice and Yusuke makes a pun which earns a boo from Futaba. If you're an intruder to Shido, you get turned into a mice if you're near one of his gold statues. Despite looking like really cute and totally marketable, the mice thieves aren't really fighters. This is a rather prepawsterous situation after all.

In time, there is a switch to prevent being turned into a mice and that means we can take our revenge on them. After getting our revenge and first will seed, we reach the pool deck and that means one thing. It's time for the Palace's Swimsuit episode. I mean we already had our beach episode earlier but well, you can never go wrong too beach episodes. Unlike the beach in the real world, Shido's pool requires clothes so Morgana will stay in his maid outfit for now.

This beach episode will have Haru joining us and we shouldn't stick out. We eventually find our noble and well, Ryuji tries to get his attention. It doesn't work since well, this noble is more into the ladies rather than the fellas especially ones in swimsuits. Ryuji decided to get the info by using the power of swimsuits and well, this is your normal beach episode with fanservice glory. Sometimes, the simple plan is the best plan and girls in swimsuits always catches the eyes.  

After seeing Ann's "amazing" acting in action, these ladies have to deal with Forneus in order to get our letter. I mean it's better than dealing with a literal cock right? I'm also sure if there is ever a Persona racing game, Forneus is totally going to be one of the vehicles I'm calling it now. So fun fact I didn't notice about this scene is that Haru's swimsuit looks similar to the costume you can have her wear if you picked the swimsuit. 

This may be due to the fact that Haru doesn't show up for the beach adventure but it's a way to reuse a model. I like Makoto's swimsuit but well, Ann's swimsuit is rather revealing. I mean Ryuji did pick them out so blame him. So why didn't the noble like Haru? I mean she's the daughter of Darth who was a very important man here in Japan. So after taking down the noble, he reveals that he was able to have some mental shutdowns by giving Shido some wealthy nobles.

     

Shido is also quite picky about who he allows on board his boat and doesn't allow anyone to not wear a mask. It may seem like he doesn't care about what someone looks like but Shido is just worried about getting sick and Ann's acting skills have leveled up. She's still in the lower levels but well, it's better than before I think. It's time to retire the dancer and the staff plan but instead, we go with the caroler plans aka everyone in Christmas outfits. 

I may be writing this in November but in game and reality, it's December and we celebrate the holiday early respectively. We also turned back into mice and we get not one but two puns from Yusuke. I mean I like how he's the one making the puns. I didn't expect him to be so good at giving admice especially about pro-squeak around these shadows. If you don't like these puns, Futaba don't like them either. In due time, the mice get attracted by the sweet smell of cheese and it looks rather silly.

Said cage looks all of them up and well, we get to see all of the Phantom mices. My favorite one is Haru since it's wearing a cute little hat. After finishing off another room involving mice escapades, we reach the back deck and face against elite shadows aka the SWAT force. This doesn't take too long since they aren't too much of a challenge at this point. Our next target is the TV station president and he's hiding out in a room similar to Sae's palace.

This is due to them both involving gambling but unlike that palace, this one has King Frost aka the top dog among the Jack Frosts. I really like King Frost since it's a really unique persona. We eventually find the TV station president and well, Haru decides to get us the letter of introduction this time. This man was funded greatly by Darth before he got carried away. Shido asked the president here to try and defend Darth's actions but that was a tall order. 

Due to Darth being too much of a risk, he had to be cut off and used to be trap the Phantom Thieves as we saw ever. Haru doesn't take it kindly about what the president says about her father and how he was the one to broadcast his death. The president turns into Hanuman and he isn't alone. He's teamed up with a pair of Garduas. He doesn't last too long due to said president really not being a fan of the cold which Yusuke is the best at. 

After taking him down, the president tells the thieves about Kaneshiro or Porky. All of the money he was taking from Shujin and others around Shibuya went directly to Shido. Madarame aka Smeargle's counterfeit business helped as well. He's also the one making sure that Akechi and dear old Shido is always on the news. Unlike the last two, we see Akechi and what happened to Joker. So Akechi thinks that the reason behind Joker's "sucide" is because of pride.

It's fitting since well, Akechi has a whole lot of pride in his image. He also will go after the other Phantom Thieves mainly for the victims and their families. So I got to ask. Who is he talking about right here? I doubt any of the palace rulers and the targets that he killed had family. Maybe the people who died because of the targets Akechi killed for Shido. That does make sense since none of the Phantom Thieves's targets probably hurt anyone too drastically. 

So it seems that everyone in the studio audience wants Akechi to take them down but I really wish that one of them didn't. Not because they like the Phantom Thieves or anything like that but just because they misclicked. It's stupid but it would make me laugh. As Akechi is making them laugh, he has an inner monologue about how he was a child who wasn't wanted by society and how he wanted to be needed. 

This does explain why Akechi is always seen in the public's eyes and thanks to the host's comments, Akechi is starting to figure something out thanks to someone not turning off their phone during a live show. This whole scene is much longer than the first two so I wonder if it's on purpose or something like that. After the third mice adventure, we meet up with the thug from before and it's time for round two with Baphomet. 

Like before, these goats were nothing and we eventually make our way back to the main hall. This is due to the IT president being a recluse compared to the other targets. So we need to get some food delivered to him and hopefully, the thieves don't charge too much. Futaba is the one to handle this one since said recluse will be on guard if a whole group shows up and Futaba is the tech expert. These two bond rather fast and it seems that we'll get this letter with no issue. 

I mean I doubt that heavily since well, this is Shido's palace. Said IT president is the one responsible for having the Phantom Thieves target the Medjed. The group's defeat shocked them but well, it didn't interfere with their plans like with Kamoshita. It may have alerted Shido about someone having the ability to travel in the Metaverse but in the grand scheme, Kamoshita doesn't mean shit. Said president turns into Oberon and has two Titanias teaming up with him.

Said fairy king doesn't have that Titania teaming up with him but two nameless ones. On the way here, I've fought against my fair share of fairy royalties so they went down. Said president's biggest crime involves the cognitive psience research and how he delete the original copy after they stole them. He wasn't involved with the mental shutdowns though. After this, Akechi and Shido have a chat about how Shido is pretty much the most popular man in Japan.

After congradulating each other, Shido asks Akechi to take any customer of the mental shutdown business who is rather suspicious. This confuses Akechi since the election is coming up soon and unlike my previous playthroughs, this makes sense. Akechi asks why and Shido mentions something about him feeling rather anxious about the whole thing. Shido tells him to do his job and this alerts Akechi since well, he isn't an idiot. 

He starts to figure something out and while that's going on, there is only one target left. It's the Cleaner and well, the Christmas thieves decide to go back into their normal clothes. Like Porky, the Cleaner is a Yakuza and much more threatening compared to the other one. However, the thieves are here to give the cleaner a new tattoo thanks to Yusuke much to his chagrin. Yusuke does draw a phoenix like the Cleaner wants and well, it's a Yusuke drawing. 

Said cleaner likes it much to Yusuke's joy and wants him to be his personal tattoo artist. After Yusuke rejects him, the Cleaner gets angry and turns into the Ongyo-Ki. He's basically the boss of those shadows you fought in Porky's palace. Thanks to the power of art and lust aka Ann and Yusuke's showtime, the Cleaner is taken out. He gives us the fifth and final letter due to there being no longer a reason to do any cleaning so the thieves are around. 

He decides to get out of dodge before its too late and leave Shido to sink with the ship. The final calling card needs to be flashy and Futaba has an idea since any other way will go unnoticed due to Shido's power. Due to the Cleaner and Shido having no real relation to each other, we don't see a scene in the real world. Before reaching the main hall, Akechi finally returns and says,"Long time no see.". The line is all too familiar to all Sonic fans.  

The reason for him being here is because of what was going on with Shido and the clues mentioned in the stage show earlier. So aren't Akechi and Joker already rivals? They aren't friends and we managed to go up a rank with Akechi during this exchange. Makoto asks the prince why he would work for someone like Shido and this reason is simple. It isn't because of Shido or this country but because Shido is Akechi's father who Akechi wants revenge on. Dun dun!

We learned about how Akechi's dad was pretty much a piece of shit due to him leaving Akechi and his mom alone. He's nothing more than a scandal for Shido since well, most people won't like Shido having a child born without marrying her. I think that why but Akechi managed to get the power to get revenge on Shido thanks to the metaverse. Akechi's nice guy image slowly fades away, revealing a very angry and bitter young man.

The fight begins with Akechi bringing in some help in the form of Cerberus and Cu Chulainn. Said detective is able to make people and Shadows go psychotic and well, he shows it off using an unknown Persona since that wasn't Robin Hood. These two psychotic Personas don't last long since Cerberus can't handle the cold while nuclear power handles the human. So Akechi's ability to turn others psychotic comes from himself.

Well, Akechi doesn't handle this defeat well and the thieves know that Akechi is lying to himself. He hates Joker because despite everything he has now, he sees himself as inferior to Joker who is criminal trash living in attic. Akechi is lost in his anger and well, the true Akechi comes to light. He's the true criminal behind the mental shutdowns and well, the detective prince is gone. Darkblade takes his place and he has a second Persona like Joker.

This Persona is Loki and Akechi has gone crazy. The only way to beat the crazy out of him is with a lot of force and eventually, Akechi goes down with everyone gaining a level. Ryuji was the only one who didn't get to fight him since well, I really like use Haru or Yusuke as my physical fighter. I mean I really like swords and Haru wields an ax. Both of them are sharp while Ryuji's weapon really hurts. After this scuffle, Akechi finally gives up and knows that his time in the limelight is over.     

Morgana says that Akechi was turning people psychotic in order to solve the cases while required him to join up with Shido. Despite Akechi seeing him as nothing special, the thieves see him as something special since he wasn't an easy foe to take down. Makoto finds her jealous of his abilities and how much Sae trusts him over her flesh and blood. I really don't get why Futaba and Haru would sympathize with him since well, he killed Futaba's mom and Haru's dad.

I know that Haru says that she won't forget him for that but well, I wouldn't forgive the guy who took the life of someone I cared about regardless of the reason. However, another Akechi aka Shido's version of Akechi shows up and decides to kill the real one since he doesn't need any loser. Shido was going to get rid of Akechi after the election since why would Shido leave a MURDERER to go free? That makes no sense. 

Even though Cognitive Akechi says that he'll spared the real one, the real Akechi decides to kill his clone and seal himself from the others so they can stop Shido. Making this deal awakens Rank 10 for Akechi and this is the end for Akechi. Probably maybe. I'll explain what I mean. After saying goodbye to Akechi, we finally reach the main assembly hall and have a giant Daruma looking down at them. This Daruma won't come to life by the way. 

I really wish that this was the case since well, it wouldn't be that strange to see within the Metaverse and would make for an interesting fight. So according to Makoto, Daruma are often seen as symbols for luck mainly for elections. They personally remind me of Darmuka and its evolved form. I'm a bigger fan of the original Darmanitan and Darmuka rather than the Galarian variation since well, I can't take that afro seriously.

The Zen Charm Pokemon's Zen Mode is pretty cool though since it's literally a snowman. If I ever decided to go back and play Generation 8, I'll try to capture this Pokemon if I get Pokemon Sword. I got Shield and I don't regret it. This was mainly because I really didn't like how Pokemon Sword's Gym Leader Roster compared to Shield's. Don't get me wrong though. We've had both Ghost and Ice type gym leaders before.

I just prefer that type combo compared to Fighting and Rock. I do like Fighting and Rock type Pokemon but well, the gym leaders that often represent those types aren't my favorite. Brock is the only one I really like out of the bunch since well, he was featured heavily in the Anime and has a frying pan as a drying pan. I mean what other gym leader has something like that? 4Kids may have a bad rap due to what they did to One Piece but well, they have a good line like this once in a while.

Despite me not been against talking or ranting about Pokemon for a couple of paragraphs, lets get back to Persona 5. With some last minute preparations, it's time to take down the leader of the bald man squad himself Shido. Sending the Calling Card seems like a issue at first but well, the Futaba cannon is ready much to the Thieves's confusion then joy at first. The Futaba cannon is basically the Phantom Thieves taking over Japan's airwaves to air their message.

It isn't a literal cannon. Even with their voices distorted, you can tell who is talking and their silhouette are shown to the generic public. You can also see Ryuji's hair color due to the light behind them and well, Joker is seen talking for once. Shido gets the message and well, it's time to rock the boat. I'm pretty sure that I'm saying that wrong but who cares? Before entering the palace, the police just now notice that Joker's corpse is missing from the morgue.

The Police Director isn't happy about this just like Shido. He's trying to stop the change of heart and well Akechi is unable to help out. We also see Shadow Shido and well, it looks unique. The Police try to get the location of Joker's body from Sae who plays the amnesia card and makes these trained professionals think that she was being manipulated by the thieves. They still blame Sae for his escape due to her being the last one to see Joker and the SIU Director being well dead. 

She brings up how strange his death was but that doesn't matter to the unnamed detective. As this is going on, the police decide to talk with Sojiro about the Phantom Thieves. One agent is doing just that while the other one is admiring all of the coffee in the background. I think he's a fan of coffee and doesn't know which one he would like to drink. They decide to take Sojiro away due to him being a possible accomplice and well, I'm sure Sojiro will be fine.

As this is going on, Shido tells the public not to worry about the Phantom Thieves and says that the thieves are nothing more than criminals or troublemakers. Oh and Flashy Girl says that Shido looks like a criminal and I can't really argue against that. It's the shades that give me that impression. Outside of the Diet building, there is a crowd forming with a couple of familiar faces who are fans of the Phantom Thieves or Joker to be more specific. 

These faces are Mishima and Ohya. We also have the support of Chihaya at Shinjuku, Hifumi, Iwai, and Tora at Shibuya, Kawakami at Shujin, Shinya in Akihabara, and Tae at Yongen-Jaya. All of these fans are confidants who will appear if you get their confidant up to Rank 10. This isn't the only time this happens since well, I'll talk about that scene when we get there. There is no time to waste. Off to the Assembly Hall where Shadow Shido awaits.

I say this since well, he's literally standing there waiting for you and asks where the Thieves obtained the power to mess with the hearts of others. Before you can explain to him about Igor and the Twins, he says that he doesn't care just like how he didn't care about Akechi. He could also see Akechi's plan coming from a mile away and trick him using praise. I thought it was Akechi who killed Darth Burger not Shido but hey, Akechi was ordered to kill him by Shido so it still counts. 

Even though Shido wouldn't have gotten this far without Akechi, Shido was able to use him to achieve his goals. After some arguing, Shadow Shido transforms into Samael. He also fights the thieves on top of a golden lion that was formed from a crowd of people that appeared earlier. The assembly hall also changes to have a more fitting battle arena. Sammy here dress up like a character from Gundam known as Char Aznable.

Lets be honest here. I have no idea who this is but well, I would say that he looks better than Darth Burger and Smeargle but not my favorite Shadow Self. His beast later gains wings and well, it becomes a griffin like creature. This doesn't last for too long since well, it becomes a pyramid. It's a more unique appearance compared to just the Shadow sitting in a chair but well, Kamoshita's true appearance is still my favorite boss design. 

After slamming Mona as a car into this pyramid and sending a snake onto it, something comes out. It's Captain Shido and he isn't too happy about how the masses failed him. I call him Captain Shido since well, it fits how he wants to rule the country like a captain would. He later figures out that Joker is that same brat from earlier this year and well, I bet he figured it out thanks to the hair. After saying long time no see, Joker takes off his mask and reveals himself to Captain Shido. 

Much to my surprise, he actually remembers Joker. I really thought he wouldn't remember such an insignificant ant like Joker due to his ego and he was also drunk at the time. I guess I was wrong and well, fate is an interesting force. To show off how important it is to sacrifice the weak, Captain Shido disappears and replaces himself with a buff version of himself. Unlike most Shadows, he fights you directly.

He doesn't transform into some kind of monster or have someone else fight their battles. I give Shido that. In due time thanks to the fist of the Phantom Star, Shido decides to fight Joker one on one since he doesn't like losing to these brats. No help from the other Phantom Thieves. Just you vs the man who ruined your life. He does this by unleashing his full power aka removing the exercise harness coming from his body and well, his skin gets really red.

I think he's mad or activate Gear 2. Pretty sure that it's the former rather than the latter since well, he isn't very flexible. There is also the noticeable aura of darkness coming off his body and well, he will fall just like the rest of them. With the power of Joker's neutral special, Shido finally falls with a couple of bullet holes within his body. Before passing out, Shido apologies for what he did to Joker and everything that he has done with the past couple of decades.

Don't forget. Shido here is in his 50s. While Shadow Shido gives up, the real Shido doesn't give up that easily and takes something to kill them by collapse the palace. This is only possible thanks to said drug killing Shido for just a small amount of time. Despite the risks, Shido takes the drug since he doesn't want to fail. His treasure turns out to be a wheel but not too long after, the ship begins to explode. The Thieves have very little time to escape since well, there isn't an obvious exit. 

However, there is a single way out of here in the form of a lifeboat which just so happens to be there. It isn't Mona but something for Shido possibly in case things go bad. despite the distance, Ryuji decides to get it for the others and he succeeds. This is one of Ryuji's best moments but well, things can't go good forever since Ryuji gets caught up in an explosion. Is the blonde ape dead? I mean if you die in the metaverse, you die in reality. That's how Akechi went out. 

Once the Thieves leave the metaverse, Ryuji isn't there and things are looking grim. The sad music plays as the Thieves mourn Ryuji's death especially Ann. Shido's treasure turns out to be a legislator's pin but well, no one is in the mood to celebrate. This sad moment doesn't last too long since well, the blonde ape is alive. This is a surprise to everyone since well, Ryuji was in the center of that explosion and he survived.

Does Ryuji have the will of P despite not being named with P? I mean he's just like Pell from One Piece and well, the explosion sent him flying out of the metaverse. Do you think someone saw this happen or what? Ryuji says something stupid about Ann's crying face and well, she doesn't take it lightly. He gets attacked by womanly fury and well, I feel bad for Ryuji. He has no idea what's going on and well, this scene isn't pleasant to watch.

On my first playthrough, this doesn't bother me. Seeing this scene and a certain hot spring scene made me dislike the girls. Mainly the latter scene rather than the former. I get that they are sad but well, you don't beat up the guy who almost just died a moment ago. You also give the guys a chance to explain themselves before beating them up. I really don't like hot springs tropes by the way. Really wish the other guys did something but well, don't mess with an angry woman especially four of them. 

It's the reason why I don't go for the harem since things will end up badly if you do. After this whole experience where Ryuji almost died, the group decides to go get some food leaving Ryuji behind and maybe using his wallet to do so. After a really good Ryuji scene, he gets this. Poor Ryuji. As this is going on, Shido wakes up and feels regretful for all of his actions over the past couple of decades. I say decades since he's really old despite looking young.

His lackies aren't happy about this sudden change since well, they are worried about their plans being exposed by the mastermind himself who is crying. After a good meal, Leblanc is discovered to have be ransacked and Sojiro is nowhere to be found. Futaba isn't happy about this and well, he shows up. He got taken to Shido's house but was eventually let go. He says that but I'm sure that he fought his way out. That's total head canon by the way.   

Despite the mess, there is still curry within the pot. Shido's goons have some tact after all. They know how good Sojiro's curry is and don't want to mess with it. After some video games, Joker heads to bed and heads to the Velvet Room. The twins are proud of how you took down Shido and this includes Igor himself. He calls us truly marvelous after all. So I got to ask. Does Igor ever blink? I don't think I ever saw him blink even once. 

We get another Morgana nightmare and well, kitty cat isn't taking it all too well. I'm sure that he'll be fine though. Before Shido reveals everything, it's time to do whatever I want. Prior to taking down Shido, I got Rank 10 with both Futaba and Haru whose Persona evolved into Prometheus and Astarte respectively. I like Astarte but well, Lady is just a unique Persona. Prometheus on the other hand is a sphere and would be hilarious to see being used as a bowling ball.

Do note that this wouldn't be good for Futaba but still. Imagine that showtime. I also went to the jazz club and learn that Sae called Makoto a mother in law. It's a unique compliment to say the least. There was also a lot of time spend at the temple. I also spent time with Ann, Haru, Sojiro, nd Yusuke since why not? This group are some of my favorite characters after all. In due time however, the 18th rolls around and that means Shido is going to confess. 

I highly doubt that it's his secret for remaining so youthful despite being fifty+ years old. What's his secret? Shido also won the election since well, either no one else was running against him or Shido was so popular that no one stood a chance against him. During his victory speech, he decides to reveal what he has done to get this far. This includes him killing Darth Burger, made the Phantom Thieves into the bad guys, and kicked anything cute such as kittens.

Oh. I meant to say controlled the hearts of others. That was a total slip of the tongue. You can totally see the two people in the background freaking out as this is going on. His crowd of loyal sheep are shocked by this and well, the Phantom Thieves are going to celebrate their victory. Oh and Joker has to return back to school. Great. I totally missed going back there. Shido also doesn't get a chance to toast much to his disappointment. 

Before going to bed, Mona is wondering what's in the depths of Mementos and Shido's lackies are working without their master. They were using him to achieve their own goals and if Shido squeals, all of them will suffer. The proxy SIU director knows about Sae's determination to get Shido thrown in jail and despite Shido looking like a fool on TV, his group is still going forward with their evil scheme. I guess even without Shido, their evil still exist.

If they lose the support of the general public, they're pretty much screwed. Before we end this arc, I want to bring up two super important things before talking about the voice actors for Iwai and Shido. The first thing is that I'm pretty sure that this comic happened off screen by the way. You can't convince me other wise. Akechi  x pancake is the true ship involving Akechi. Despite getting to Rank 10 with Akechi during this chapter, I won't be talking about Akechi's voice actor is very simple. 

We'll learn more about his voice actor in the next part alongside the rest of the Phantom thieves. We do still have Munehisa Iwai or Kaiji Tang. After doing some research, I learned about some of his roles. These roles are Detective Pikachu, Lü Bu from Records of Ragnarok, Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs, Samurai Jack and Zoro from Death Battle when I watched the show, Sanemi Shinazugawa from Demon Slayer, Satoru Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen, and Yasuhiro Hagakure from Danganronpa.

So for Detective Pikachu, I'm talking about the game rather than the movie. Dazai and Gojo are two of my favorite characters from that show while the Samurai Jack and Zoro was a neat surprise. This is due to me not watching Death battle anymore for a reason that I mentioned before in the past. Lü Bu and Hiro are characters from series that I like but they are in no way my favorite characters from those series. I do think that he's a good actor and I like to hear his voice more within a series. 

Next up is another member of the bald man squad Shido or Keith Silverstein. He has a lot of roles such Coyote Starrk from Bleach, Kimimaro from Naruto, Gild Tesoro from One Piece, Hawk Moth from Miraculous Ladybug, Hisoka Morow from Hunter x Hunter, Mando Owada from Danganronpa, Ōgai Mori from Bungo Stray Dogs,Robert E. O.  Speedwagon from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and Wolfram from My Hero Academia. 

There were a lot of roles so here are just some of them. So with this final voice actor role reveal, we have one more section to go before we finish Persona 5. This part will hopefully be smaller since it's only two sections of a year long story.