Les Adultes Nulles - How Persona 5 Reflects The Times in Which it Was Made

It began in Winter 2014 and ended in Winter 20XX.

(Come on, it was a good opener)

The silence was uncomfortable as I stared at the massive bullet hole I'd made in the face of Yaldabaoth, the God of Control. Somehow, this didn't strike me as particularly odd. Katsura Hashino's games have that effect. His contribution to the Megami Tensei series, and notably, his work on Catherine and Persona 5, shows he has an ability to gracefully marry the wackiest, cartooniest concepts with a grounded, significantly human, modern-day setting.

As a game released in 2016, Persona 5 definitely feels like a product of its time. And I don't mean that this game has 2016-era memes or slang. (Though the word 'kek' is said once, God forbid) I mean that Persona 5's world is a curious reflection of the general attitude of society today. Throughout P5's agonisingly prolonged development cycle, global society has taken some interesting turns that P5 would eventually reflect upon its release in Japan, and later the rest of the world, making all of its villains seem less like cartoon caricatures, but rather disturbingly plausible individuals.

Hashino ruminates on the game's success in other territories in a PlayStation blog post: "I think that traditional Japanese superhero stories tend to be about fighting off invaders from outside their society, while Western ones focus on fighting against villains and misfits that come from within it. There’s a sense of society being responsible for creating this evil, and such a setting lets the audience’s imagination run wild, like “it could’ve been me.” For instance, doesn’t the Joker from Batman make some valid points that resonate with you?" I think there's quite a lot of truth in that. In taking a concept common in Western fiction and tackling it from a Japanese perspective, Persona 5 makes a message that is relevant in both the East and West,

What I want to note is that Persona 5, for a game aimed about teenagers fucking about, is curiously political. Not in the typical dumbed-down sense that infects teen fiction these days, but rather, P5 is a game that takes a serious look at contemporary Japanese politics, knowing that its teenage target audience are conscious about politics, and that those who aren't will learn to be more conscious as a result. This game was able to be made because of the fact that young people are more politically aware than ever before.

What hammers home the idea that P5 is a message to the kids of today is the Confidant with disgraced politician, Toranosuke Yoshida. Throughout this campaign, the independent election candidate professes clearly about engaging the disinterested youth in politics, and encouraging independent, critical thinking - directly challenging the apathy which permeates society, just as the Phantom Thieves do. Yoshida goes on to be offered many opportunities to restore his political reputation by other political parties, at the price of compromising his ideas and integrity. But Yoshida never compromises his ideals or his beliefs regarding justice - relaying the importance of fighting for your own sense of justice and thinking independently, instead of relinquishing free control comfort as the people are revealed to do in Mementos, the world of the collective unconscious.

It would be silly of me to talk politics without talking about Mr. Evil Politican himself, Masayoshi Shido, and his rise to power. See, he doesn't simply become a favourite for Prime Minister role due to voodoo magic. The path he takes to victory is comparable to other corrupt world leaders. Of course, the moment I compare him to a real-life modern politician, I risk criticism and cries of political bias, so feel free to compare Shido to your favourite manipulator of democracy and/or dictator!

Shido's illicit behaviour is overlooked through his charisma. He comes off as determined and pure-hearted in his speeches. Shido's campaign comes at a time when many people are frustrated with the system, and to see someone who convincingly seem like he has poured his heart into opposing it for the better, gives the people hope that Shido will reform society.Moreover, Shido is a candidate who promises change. He gives hope that the turmoil that is living under the current system can be resolved. We never see the policies of P5's current government, but we know that the people want change, and Shido is seen as an alternative to the current system. Some people will accept alarming conditions if it opens a way out of the current state.

Though we don't know much about the political leanings of P5's politicians, but it's interesting that Shido appeals to the people's pride in their country. He takes about restoring the country's' s greatness and global influence - something arguably stolen by the Americans during World War II, as the real-life nationalist Japan First Party likes to note. This is important. Shido successfully establishes a notion that voting for him is the patriotic thing to do, compelling voters to feel not just a desire to vote for him, for an obligation to.

To make his voice heard, however, Shido has to entice the masses, and he is certainly a charismatic character. The game portrays his daily persona as a man of extreme determination and confidence. Somebody who takes the pleas on the people and gives them the push they need to be made manifest. Someone who's had it up to here with these motherfucking politicians and is about to fucking redpill those Phantom Cucks. Of course, this is all a façade - Shido sees himself as above everyone, and willing to cross those who he believes are below him to create a country in his image. Shido is an anime villain by personality. His ego reaches the top of Sky Tower, and he actively believes that others are lowly vermin rather than doing so as a result of his environment. But his methods reflect the tactics of other dictators both past and present. Yet just because his devious methods are clear doesn't mean that people care to stand up to him.

This is what I really love about Persona 5. In my first P5 writeup, I argued that the true enemy of the game was society as a whole. But I didn't realise that that statement would be made so apparent in penultimate boss - the Holy Grail, a being which promises safety and comfort for the Japanese citizens, chaining them down and making them slaves to their apathy. This is the reason nobody cared about Shido, and it's the reason that students speak out against Kamoshida's abuse, that Yusuke accepts the exploitation of his artistic talent, that Haru begrudgingly accepts an arranged marriage. There seems to be this running notion some people prefer the stillness of their current situation to the fallout caused by trying to rise against it. Others seem to want to be led, as though they don't want the burden of responsibility. The depths of Mementos being to mind people who will knowingly embrace total peace, even if that requires totally relinquishing moral compass to corrupt courts and and police. I think this line of thinking is something many are more aware of in Japan, where the the Communist China is uncomfortably close, South Korea's democracy has faced corruption at the highest level and North Korean Kim regime has kept its citizens obedient over three generations. There are countries where democracy is under threat, and in the ones where autocracy rules, its citizens willingly obey the law, despite its twisted nature.

The enemy of P5 is not an individual. It is human apathy itself. All of the above works so well because Persona 5's world feels so real, even when you're fighting a Sphinx in Ancient Egypt right after entering a Japanese girl's house. And that's a tall feat considering that it's a game about kids summoning demons in an alternate reality to make people suddenly become good guys. The ideas the game touches on are relevant in today's world of dictators manipulating democracy, and nations of people apathetic to the idea of standing out and causing real change.

And years from now, I will return to this game to see if I am right.