About me: In Persona 4, he is a silent protagonist, as in the series tradition. Except for instances where he audibly speaks when summoning a Persona and so on, with his personality ultimately based on the player's actions and decisions. This is emphasized in Persona 4 Golden, as the Investigation Team members comment on how he doesn't talk much when equipped with the Butler Suit. His dialogue choices make him seem very neutral and include some limited sense of humor along with occasional flirtatious or silly behavior. Overall, he is portrayed through his dialogue options and actions as having a more extrovert personality than the Persona 3 protagonist, such as when both hear Jika Net Tanaka, with the former describing it as a "cheery song" unlike the latter, who describes it as an "annoying song." However, while he seems to have a strong moral compass, there are several dialogue options that show he could be mean if he wanted it. In one case, when asked to stay and help clean the basketball court, the options given to him are either to stay or to "be an ass and leave," though indicating an inclination to the former. Additionally, while the game portrays him as a calm and decisive individual, there are scenes that show him to having limits as to how much tolerance he has. One example, in particular, is the decision to kill Namatame, as the dialogue choice "Calm the hell down!" can be shown, and when selected, it demonstrates how he hardly ever shows to be this aggressive, as the Investigation Team gets surprised by his outburst at Yosuke.
The protagonist also portrays some feminine qualities, with dialogue choices such as telling Nanako to give her Mother's Day flowers to him or advancing on Teddie when the latter asks to give him "one of those 'Honey, I'm home' kisses". He is a decent cook, capable of not only making lunches that his friends compliment well in the game, but also excellent omelets compared to the Mystery Food X that the girls made during the celebration for Mitsuo's arrest. During that event, his omelet was the only one that truly won Nanako's favor, despite Nanako claiming that the girls' omelets were "delicious" just to be polite. In the anime, manga, and stage play's adaptations (and the game, depending on the player's choices) of the School Festival, he embraces acting like a girl by exclaiming he would do his best, willingly taking the girl's side of the table in the group date café, and confidently behaving like a sukeban in the "Miss" Yasogami Beauty Pageant.
In the Persona 4 Arena duology, Yu is also shown to be a fairly sarcastic and witty person, occasionally making jokes at the expense of the other members of the Investigation Team; however, for the most part, he is shown to be the most mature member of the group (an example of which is the fact that attempts to target his personal insecurities by enemies, more often than not, fall flat). He has a sharp mind and is able to quickly realize the trick behind the tournament that forces the group to fight one another. He deeply cares for his friends and one of the few ways to truly anger him is to threaten either them or Nanako which causes him to become very cold, the latter not being entirely an exaggeration from his title in the tournament, when the taunts about her being captive being the one ruse he actually falls for. He also has a great understanding of the bonds of people, which leads to Aigis and Mitsuru to realize that despite their different appearances, Yu reminds them of the protagonist of Persona 3. While not above making fun of him, he trusts Yosuke completely and generally understands him best out of the entire Investigation team and vice versa, continuing the theme that the anime established that Yu and Yosuke generally lead the team side by side, as well as discussing plans with each other on serious issues.
His characterization in Persona Q is essentially a combination of the above adaptations. He's confident and affable, but also strange and a little random at times. His dialogue choices during the P4 route support this, as they're noticeably more cheery and bizarre than his Persona 3 counterpart. He visibly blushes during the group date cafe, when Mitsuru and Yukari deem him to be boyfriend material, and when Naoto and Yukari cling onto his arms if the option to hide in Yukari's stall from the Creepy Doll was chosen.
Yu's most consistent trait in all of his depictions is his need to be connected to people. He views himself as a weak person and gets his strength from his bonds and being accepted by others as shown in the anime and by his own admission in Persona Q, as when he is separated from them, Yu withdraws into himself and loses the confidence he normally portrays.
Who I'd like to meet: Anyone from the Persona series or anyone that's in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle.
As someone who absolutely ADORES Persona; I would like to thank you for accepting me and I would love to write with you, whether it be discussed or something spontaneous! Lemme know which you'd prefer and I look forward to hearing from you!
