Joker (Persona)

Joker (Persona)

Joker
Persona character
Joker in his school (left) and Phantom Thief (right) attires
First appearance	Persona 5 (2016)
Designed by	Shigenori Soejima
Portrayed by	Hiroki Ino (stage play)
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full name	Ren Amamiya
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Phantom Thieves of Hearts
Weapon	Persona, dagger, handgun
Nationality	Japanese
Age	16–17

Joker[a] is the protagonist of Persona 5, a 2016 role-playing video game by Atlus. He is a second-year high school student who gets expelled due to a false accusation of assault from a corrupt politician. As a result, he leaves his hometown and moves in with a family friend in Tokyo to serve a one-year probation. Following his transfer to a new school, he and a group of other students awaken to a supernatural power known as the Persona. Soon after, they form a vigilante group known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, whose purpose is to explore the Metaverse, a metaphysical realm consisting of the physical manifestation of humanity’s subconscious desires, in order to remove malevolent intent from people and cause a change of heart within them.

Joker also appears in a number of series spin-off media, as well as in various other cameo appearances outside of it, such as being a playable character in the crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was designed by Persona series artist Shigenori Soejima, and is voiced in Japanese by Jun Fukuyama and in English by Xander Mobus. He has also been portrayed by actor Hiroki Ino in the game’s stage adaptation. While the player can freely name Joker in the game, he is named Ren Amamiya in most appearances and Akira Kurusu in the manga adaptation.

Development and design[edit]

Joker is a male teenage character created by artist Shigenori Soejima for the 2016 role-playing video game Persona 5. In the game, he is a second-year high school student who is charged with assault by Masayoshi Shido, an influential politician in the Cabinet of Japan. As Joker walks in his hometown at night, he witnesses Shido harassing a female subordinate. After Shido falls and injures his head due to him being intoxicated, he places the blame on Joker, a simple passerby, and forces his subordinate to testify to the police that it was Joker who pushed him. At the court hearing, Joker is told that he must serve a one-year probation and transfers to Shujin Academy, a school in Tokyo, as they were the only one that would accept him with his current criminal record. Needing a place to stay while there, Sojiro Sakura, an acquaintance of Joker’s parents, offers to house him at his cafe Leblanc.[1]

During his time at Shujin, he and other students awaken to their supernatural powers known as the Persona, becoming a group of vigilantes known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts who explore the Metaverse, a supernatural realm consisting of the physical manifestation of humanity’s subconscious desires, to change malevolent intent from the hearts of adults. Despite primarily being a silent protagonist, Joker occasionally speaks short phrases during cutscenes and battles; being voiced in Japanese by Jun Fukuyama and in English by Xander Mobus.[2][3] Fukuyama used two different tones in the making of the series and felt proud of his performance.[4] While the player can freely choose a given name for Joker, his Phantom Thief code name, he is canonically named Ren Amamiya[b] in most other appearances.[5][6] Akira Kurusu[c] is used in the game’s manga adaptation.[7] Amamiya was chosen by the anime’s producer who thought that the combination of his full name, which means lotus rain palace in Japanese,[d] sounded “quite poetic” together.[8] The producer further stated that remaking Joker’s characterization in the anime was challenging, but was ultimately a success.[9]

Joker is the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and is the only member with access to the Velvet Room as he holds the “Wild Card”, an ability that allows him to hold more than one Persona and fuse them together to create more powerful ones.[1] Joker’s primary persona is Arsene,[10] with him resorting to fighting with knives and handguns when he is unable to use his Persona powers.[1] His ultimate persona is Satanael, the Gnostic equivalent of the devil and a deity who can harness the power of the seven deadly sins.[11][e] Joker’s initial Persona was originally the German demon Mephistopheles, but it was changed to Arsène as the latter character better fit the game’s themes.[13] The three main inspirations behind Joker were the original Arsène Lupin, The Fiend with Twenty Faces, and Ishikawa Goemon.[14] The first character sketch of him was done in 2012.[15] Soejima worked closely with game director Katsura Hashino so that Joker and the rest of the characters could properly reflect the game’s themes.[16] Joker has unkempt wavy black hair and dark grey eyes and wears a set of black glasses for most of his casual and school outfits.[17][18] In the Metaverse, his apparel changes into a stylized black trenchcoat with a masquerade mask and winklepicker shoes, which were described as being designed after Belle Époque fashion.[10]

As the main theme and narrative of Persona 5 revolved around crime and vigilantes triggered by Joker voluntarily choosing that path, Soejima needed to convey this while allowing the character to suit whatever dialogue choices the player decided upon. Due to these difficulties, Joker was given multiple designs in a trial and error process to find the best one. As the “phantom thief” premise was a common stereotype in fiction, Soejima initially drew Joker and the rest of the game’s main cast in a style similar to shōnen manga, but these designs were scrapped as they clashed with the series’ realistic aesthetics. Soejima likening his design to a black panther, which contrasts with the protagonist of Persona 4, Yu Narukami, being designed around the image of a loyal and sincere dog. He emphasizes the two-sided nature of his design, which ties into the theme of Phantom Thieves members living double lives. Despite Joker’s uniformed appearance being meant to give off the impression of someone who is kindhearted and loyal to the system, his true nature is free-spirited and rebellious, with him being the type of person who plans things without telling anyone.[18]

Appearances[edit]

Joker was first introduced in Persona 5 as the game’s main playable character, and has also appeared in series spin-off games Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, and Persona 5 Strikers.[19][20][21] He is also a playable character in the 2018 crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being released as paid downloadable content for it in April 2019.[22][23] He has also made appearances in other non-related games, such as Dragon’s Dogma Online,[24] Phantasy Star Online 2,[24] Lord of Vermilion Re:3,[24] Sonic Forces,[25] Puzzle & Dragons,[26] Granblue Fantasy,[27] Catherine: Full Body,[28] Star Ocean: Anamnesis,[29] Another Eden,[30] Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore,[31] and Soul Hackers 2.[32] He has also been portrayed by Hiroki Ino in Japanese stage play adaptations of the game.[33][34]

Reception[edit]

Critical reception to Joker has been positive, with fan art and cosplay of the character being popular.[35][36] Upon the revealing of Persona 5, fans in Japan nicknamed him “Potter” due to his visual resemblance to Harry Potter, the main character of the Harry Potter franchise.[37] Upon his announcement as a downloadable content (DLC) character in the crossover Nintendo fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Masahiro Sakurai, the game’s director and fan of the Persona series, stated that Joker was emblematic of the approach that he wanted to take with its DLC, adding that he wanted characters that were “unique”, “different”, and “fun” to use within the Super Smash Bros. environment.[38][39] His appearance in Ultimate was met with praise, with game journalists noting the level of detail and how faithful his transition from Persona 5 was, as well as the enjoyment factor of playing him in general.[40][41][42] USGamer criticized his relatively silent personality in the anime adaptation, negatively comparing him to the more talkative Yu Narukami in Persona 4: The Animation.[43][44] Nevertheless, his relationship with Goro Akechi was praised.[45][46] Xander Mobus’s voice acting was the subject of praise by Siliconera.[47]

Various merchandise of Joker, such as figurines and action figures, has also been made.[48][49][50][51] A Joker-modeled TT pistol airsoft gun, based on one that he uses in the game, was released in Japan in April 2019.[52] His Phantom Thief outfit and a number of related accessories were also released by the Japanese fashion brand SuperGroupies in June 2019.[53] An Amiibo figurine of him was released in October 2020.[54]

Footnotes[edit]

Notes

References

1. ^ a b c Goldfarb, Andrew (December 11, 2018). “What Persona 5’s Joker Could Bring to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate”. IGN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
2. ^ Michael McWhertor (October 19, 2016). “Hear Persona 5’s English voice cast in new video”. Polygon. Archived from the original on December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
3. ^ Osborn, Alex (September 18, 2015). “TGS 2015: Atlus Details Persona 5’s Four Main Characters”. IGN. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
4. ^ “Anime Japan 2018”. Meome On Music. June 14, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
5. ^ “Persona 5 the Animation Starts In April 2018; Protagonist Officially Named “Ren Amamiya””. December 24, 2017. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
6. ^ Robertson, Joshua (October 21, 2022). “Persona 5 Royal Now Confirms Joker’s Real Name”. The Gamer. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
7. ^ “Yes, Persona 5’s Main Character does have a canon name”. RPGsite. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
8. ^ “Interview With Persona 5 the Animation Producer Kazuki Adachi”. June 16, 2018. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
9. ^ “Interview: Persona 5 The Animation at Anime Expo 2018”. Archived from the original on July 19, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
10. ^ a b Jackson, Gita (April 14, 2017). “The Gentleman Thief Who Inspired Persona 5’s Killer Look”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
11. ^ 2 Enoch 18:3. On this tradition, see A. Orlov, “The Watchers of Satanael: The Fallen Angels Traditions in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch,” in: A. Orlov, Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (Albany: SUNY, 2011) 85–106.
12. ^ Juba, Joe (April 14, 2017). “How To Create A Nearly Invincible Killing Machine In Persona 5”. Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 28, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
13. ^ Mafia Kajita (host), Tomomi Isomura (host), Katsuna Hashino (guest), Shigenori Soejima (guest) (October 31, 2016). Persona Stalkers Club V. Episode 5 (in Japanese). Niconico.
14. ^ “Persona 5’s Joker details”. Persona Magazine (in Japanese). ASCII Media Works (July 2015): 243–244. June 29, 2015.
15. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (August 8, 2012). “More Future Talk From Japan’s Big Producers”. Andriasang.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
16. ^ Prahl, Kyle (February 4, 2014). “Persona 5 details: If you’ve played P3 and P4, you ‘should feel right at home’”. PlayStation Universe. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
17. ^ Mielke, James (May 5, 2017). “‘Persona 5′ Creators Talk Series’ Legacy, Character Design and J-Pop”. Glixel. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
18. ^ a b The Art of Persona 5. Prima Games. November 2017.
19. ^ “Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight and Persona 3 Dancing in Moonlight Coming to PS4 and PS Vita in Early 2019”. GameRevolution. June 7, 2018. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
20. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (February 2, 2019). “Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth confirmed for western markets, out in June”. VG247. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
21. ^ Gera, Emily (April 25, 2019). “‘Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers’ Coming to Nintendo Switch and PS4”. Variety. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
22. ^ Gilliam, Ryan (December 6, 2018). “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to add Persona 5’s Joker as DLC”. Polygon. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
23. ^ Pereira, Chris (December 10, 2018). “Persona 5’s Joker To Join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate As DLC Character”. GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
24. ^ a b c Sato (September 15, 2016). “Persona 5 Is Out To Steal Some Hearts In Dragon’s Dogma Online’s Collaboration Trailer”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
25. ^ Hernandez, Patricia (September 2017). “The Internet Reacts To Sonic Forces’ Persona 5 Costume”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
26. ^ Wong, Alistair (April 20, 2018). “Puzzle & Dragons Gets A Collaboration With Personas 3, 4 And 5”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
27. ^ Lee, Julia (June 18, 2018). “The Persona 5 event in Granblue Fantasy works extremely well”. Polygon. Archived from the original on February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
28. ^ Winslow, Jeremy. “E3 2019: Persona 5 Characters Join Catherine: Full Body”. GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 16, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
29. ^ Luster, Joseph. “Yu Narukami and Persona 5’s Joker Leap into Star Ocean: Anamnesis”. Crunchy Roll. Archived from the original on October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
30. ^ “Another Eden and Persona 5 Royal Crossover Launches Today”. Gamasutra. Archived from the original on December 12, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
31. ^ Doolan, Liam. “Joker Costume Spotted On The Back Of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore Box Art”. Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on January 14, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
32. ^ “Soul Hackers 2 Will Get Persona 5 DLC Pre-order Bonus”. Siliconera. February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
33. ^ Sherman, Jennifer (July 11, 2019). “Persona 5 Game Gets Stage Play in December”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 11, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
34. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 30, 2019). “Persona 5 Stage Play Gets New Run in October 2020”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
35. ^ Plunkett, Luke (April 6, 2017). “The Best Persona 5 Cosplay”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
36. ^ Jackson, Gita (April 20, 2018). “Fans Are Freaking Out Over Persona 5 Hero’s Newest Look”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
37. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (September 2, 2014). “The Persona 5 Protagonist Has a Very Appropriate Nickname”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
38. ^ Goldfarb, Andrew (December 7, 2018). “Nintendo: Persona 5’s Joker Is ‘Emblematic’ of Smash Bros. Ultimate’s DLC Approach”. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
39. ^ Sato (December 27, 2018). “Masahiro Sakurai Shares His Thoughts On Persona 5 And Atlus Games In A Special Video Interview”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
40. ^ D’Anastasio, Cecilia (April 18, 2019). “Smash Ultimate’s Joker Is A True-To-Form Tightrope Act”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
41. ^ Carter, Chris (April 19, 2019). “Smash Ultimate’s Joker is another DLC slam dunk”. Destructoid. Archived from the original on April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
42. ^ Graeber, Brendan (April 18, 2019). “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Joker Challenger Pack DLC Review”. IGN. Archived from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
43. ^ “Persona 5: The Animation Has a Chance to Right the Wrongs of its Predecessors”. USGamer. April 10, 2018. Archived from the original on January 2, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
44. ^ “PERSONA 5 The Animation Blu-Ray”. Anime News Network. January 11, 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
45. ^ Farris, Christopher (July 2, 2018). “PERSONA 5 the Animation: Episode 13”. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
46. ^ Lada, Jenni (March 31, 2020). “Persona 5 Royal Finally Gives Goro the Attention He Deserves”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on June 10, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
47. ^ Lada, Jenni (October 25, 2020). “Persona 5 the Animation Is a Great Cliff Notes Experience”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
48. ^ Plunkett, Luke (August 2017). “Bury Me With This Persona 5 Figure”. Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
49. ^ “Persona 5’s Hero Joins the Nendoroid Lineup in Joker Form!”. Okatu Mode. Archived from the original on February 20, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
50. ^ Whritenour, Jacob (January 21, 2019). “Persona 5 Funko Pop!s Coming Soon”. Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
51. ^ Sato (April 6, 2018). “Persona 5’s Cute Joker Cupoche Figure Is Now Up For Pre-Order And Ready To Steal Your Heart”. Siliconera. Archived from the original on June 26, 2018. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
52. ^ Hashmi, Ali (April 13, 2019). “Official Persona 5 Airsoft Gun ‘Joker Model’ Revealed, Coming out this Month”. The Nerd Mag. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
53. ^ Cofano, Mario. “Persona 5 – SuperGroupies crea degli articoli a tema Joker e Goro Akechi”. GameIndustry.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on June 21, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
54. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (July 15, 2020). “Persona 5’s Joker and Dragon Quest 11’s Hero Super Smash Bros. Ultimate amiibo to Be Released in October 2020”. IGN. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.

External links[edit]

• Characters designed by Shigenori Soejima
• Fictional characters from Tokyo
• Fictional characters with evocation or summoning abilities
• Fictional gentleman thieves
• Fictional high school students
• Fictional Japanese people in anime and manga
• Fictional Japanese people in video games
• Fictional knife-fighters
• Fictional prisoners and detainees
• Male characters in video games
• Persona 5 characters
• Sega protagonists
• Super Smash Bros. fighters
• Teenage characters in anime and manga
• Teenage characters in video games
• Video game characters introduced in 2016
• Video game characters who have mental powers
• Vigilante characters in video games