Ryuji doesn’t get enough love and it's a goddamn shame, really.
Together, they form a literal power couple, each bringing levity and strength to the other. Whereas Joker leads through his actions, Makoto leads through her words, which are always well worth listening to. Despite her not being my favorite romanceable character in the game, I always choose her to pair up with Joker because she comes across as such a natural fit and equal to stand alongside him.
All around Makoto are authority figures who expect constant maturity and obedience from her, so it’s no wonder she has no idea how to be a normal teenager.įor all the reasons above, I find Makoto’s growth and journey towards freedom and self-realization in Persona 5 Royal exceptionally cathartic, touching, and relatable.
Outside of her teachers-who don’t treat her particularly well, I might add-Makoto’s only other companion is her older sister, Sae, a detective who also doesn’t treat her particularly well. When you first meet Makoto, she is an honor student who is closer to the teachers she seeks to impress than she is to any other student. Just like all the characters on this list, there’s a quality to Makoto that isolates her from the rest of her peers, but unlike the rest of the characters, that quality isn’t necessarily endearing to everyone. I don’t think there’s a character in your Persona 5 Royal party that’s more divisive than Makoto Niijima. She also has a bit of a sadistic streak, which rears its head in battles and can at times shake up the rest of the Phantom Thieves, but adds a bit of silliness to her overall elegant demeanor and humanizes her. She is the only party member Ryuji never butts heads with, as well as the only party member to always use affectionate honorifics (-kun, -chan) when speaking with the others. However, despite all her struggles and her shy nature, Haru treats those around her with nothing but kindness and acceptance. It therefore makes it even harder to watch such a lovely character have to go through so much at such a young age, as she is forced to confront her own abusive father and escape an arranged marriage. Haru is sweet, charming, nurturing (to both plants and humans), and a complete hopeless romantic, making for an all-around endearing character. Persona 5 Royal added a lot of great changes to Persona 5, and one of the best was giving us more time to get to know Haru Okumura-a character who felt a bit shoe-horned in in the base game. This quality makes him one of the more patient and understanding members of the team, which is a quality that is desperately needed. However, he also has a serious side to him, and understands how it feels to be different. While Yusuke is always gentlemanly, he also is incredibly goofy and dramatic, and it makes for some of the more memorable interactions in the game. Yusuke is eccentric in the truest sense of the word, but unlike Futaba, his distance from “normal” and the rest of his peers doesn’t ever come across as mean-spirited-though he can be a bit endearingly uptight. While your introduction to Yusuke is a bit problematic (though to be fair all the guys' behavior in that situation was, sorry Ann), Yusuke truly is solely driven by his art and I believe his desire to paint Ann nude was driven by that vigor rather than any other urges. Let me tell you, I went through some ups and downs with Yusuke, but have inevitably come to this conclusion: Yusuke is good, actually.