The Ethics of Reform in Persona 5
- Dav!
- Apr 22, 2017
- 5 min read
THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES THE EARLY STORY REVOLVING AROUND THE ENTIRE FIRST DUNGEON IN PERSONA 5 - ANYONE WHO WISHES TO AVOID READING ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS UP TO THIS POINT SHOULD CLICK AWAY.
I have been chomping at the bit to play Persona 5 every day since it came out. I won't review it yet because I'm only 30 hours in - only 30 hours! - so I can't judge the Persona series' longest entry quite yet, but I can say that so far it's been everything I have hoped it would be. The presentation is above and beyond that of nearly all other games of this generation, its gameplay is some of the most rapid in a turn-based RPG, and its story is as entertaining as you could ask for.
Even after thirty hours I haven't actually gotten into a lot of the major parts of the story yet, but Persona 5 makes use of the medium of videogames to set up a rich scene that constantly communicates its themes of breaking free from society's control and expectations - ripping off the mask which you have been forced to wear so that you would be what you have been told that you are. Part of why this concept works is its authenticity in representing Japanese culture - something that has carried over well to the Western release thanks to a generally good localisation. Japanese authenticity is important to the game because it is a major driving force behind one of them themes in this game about reforming adults' psyche so they will atone for their sins - the ethics of doing so.
A little context here: as you may know, in Persona 5 you lead a group called the Phantom Thieves, a group of Robin Hood-alikes who put an end to the acts of wrongdoers by going into an alternate world called the Metaverse. In the Metaverse they confront the Shadows, pure reflections of the egos and warped judgments of said wrongdoers. By defeating them, they can straighten out the wrongdoers' moral fibre, forcing them to realise the weight of their sins and atone for them appropriately. Thus the Phantom Thieves have non-lethally put an end to their crimes. Sounds great for society, doesn't it?
Surprisingly, the answer to that question isn't entirely straightforward. One instance of this is after having beaten the first boss, changing the heart of a high-school gym teacher with a reputation for sexually and physically abusing students. His acts have been ignored by teachers, pupils and parents alike, but he openly confesses to them in a school assembly directly after the first dungeon ends. The question is, why would so many people be willing to hide such awful deeds?
The reasoning is that the teacher Suguru Kamoshida, has played a major role in boosting Shujin High School's reputation, having beaten the volleyball team into top shape. He has contributed so much to the school's current position that, in a twisted way, it'd be a discredit to take that away from him by trying to get him fired by over his offenses. Sports students are emotionally manipulated and lie to themselves, believing that their torture is simply what must be done to play Volleyball at a good level. Female students stay quiet about the sexual abuse they receive. Their parents don't want to make a public stink about the matter. And the principal values Kamoshida too much to let him go. It's because of this complacency that Kamoshida is given the freedom to behave however he pleases without consequence.
I remember playing P5 and wondering why students never spoke up about these things. It's easy, however, to forget you're playing a game revolving around a totally different culture. To the average Western viewer, it may seem mad to insinuate that the above statements are rational reasons to keep shut about, but things are different in the Mythical Land of Japan(TM). In an essay on Japanese society by Nader Ghotbi, of Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, wrote: "To try hard to succeed in one’s business is a highly regarded virtue itself, respected by Japanese society, and protected within the law. Therefore there may be instances when distinction between tenacity,‘gambari’ (頑張り), and a little mischief in doing business is blurred." In other words, Kamoshida is forgiven for his bad deeds based on what he has contributed to the school. This twisted advocation of Kamoshida's behaviour is something the Phantom Thieves are trying to expose as wrong.
The issues with this complacency Japan are perhaps best epitomised by its 'subway problem'. A survey of a Japanese high school in 2001 suggested that more that 70% of its female pupils had been groped on the trains. In 2005, female-only subway carriages were introduced to Japan to deal with this The problem is that these issues are often rarely tackled head on, and as such it is not uncommon for Japanese women to keep shut about groping, as it happens. I'm sure a lot of Westerners in that situation would bring attention to anyone who may try and grope them, but in Japan, the attention and fallout that would occur from that is not desirable. As Nader Ghotbi suggests, however: "[I also suggested that] the secular mechanism underlying Japanese society’s ethics is the need for harmony."
The female-only subway cars prioritise protecting women from groping over punishing the criminals.
Relating this back to P5, this is why so many students keep shut about Kamoshida's physical and sexual abuse. They are scared of disrupting the proceedings of day-to-day school life by calling out their teacher. This corrpution isn't endorsed in P5 - in fact, it's all about taking justice into your own hands when society fails to stop crime, about doing what has to be done instead of what should be done. This is reinforced by the sheer noise of the art direction, animation and music in the Metaverse segments of the game - these moments, in which your team of misfits are now confident, brave warriors, starkly contrast the real-life segments, in which they are merely outcasts on the fringes of a society in which they hold no power to cause genuine change.
Though the cause of the Phantom Thieves is noble, you are constantly reminded of the ethics of what you are doing - as though turning baddies to goodies is somehow wrong. Throughout the game, the protagonists question their judgment in forcing change from a person - like they are rewiring their personalities or psychologically tormenting them. Comments from commentators drain your team's drive because they make it seem as though it is wrong to cause change that is disruptive - feeding into Ghotbi's comments on the need for "harmony" in Japanese society.
But as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, there is no time for you, the protagonist, to question the ethics of your noble intentions. These questions of ethics in changing people's hearts exist in the context of the story for two puruposes: To comment on Japanese complacency towards corporate crime, and to prove that your adversary is not just certain individuals - it's Japanese society as a whole. Not only are you tasked with showing wrongdoers the weight of their sins, you must also prove to everyone that 'your justice' is worth protecting over justice as it written by society. As a bunch of socially isolated foreigners, poor folk, geeks and problem children, the Phantom Thieves know that society has failed them. But now, as wielders of the power of Persona, they have the ability to show society that justice isn't about putting an end to evil when all the self-drawn criteria are met - it's about putting yourself on the line to do what must be done to end crime and corruption.
At the start of Persona 5 you are required to acknowledge that the themes in the game are purely fictitious and do not represent the staff's views. but I doubt that the writers could pull off such an enthralling concept, so grounded in reality, if it did not have a convincing basis of an underlying truth about the shortcomings of Japanese society.
Comments