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| “ | Have you finally pieced it all together? Case closed... This is how your "justice" ends. | „ |
| ~ Goro Akechi upon revealing his true colors to the protagonist. |
| “ | Don't make me laugh! Justice? Righteous!? Keep that sh*t to yourselves! You and your teammates piss me off! | „ |
| ~ Goro Akechi's villainous breakdown. |
| “ | I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image, so someone would want me around! I am an ace detective... A celebrity! [...] But you... you're just some criminal trash living in an attic! So how... How does someone like you have things I don't!? How can such a worthless piece of trash be more special than me?!' | „ |
| ~ Goro Akechi showing his jealousy towards Joker. |
Goro Akechi is the secondary antagonist of the 2016 videogame Persona 5 and the deuteragonist in its expanded re-release Persona 5 Royal's Third Semester arc. He was a detective who is investigating the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Hearts case sensationalizing Japan. Akechi eventually joined the Phantom Thieves, despite his negative stance towards them and their activities.
However, it was later revealed that Akechi was a member of Yaldabaoth's Antisocial Force, who joined into the Phantom Thieves to orchestrate their downfall, but instead using this opportunity to get revenge on Shido instead when they outwitted his usefulness to eliminate his biological father. His true nature as a villain was not revealed until the climax of the game, although there are certain foreshadowing in his true nature after his debut in the story.
He was voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi (who also voiced Death Gun, Gino Weinberg and Lio Shirazumi) in Japanese and Robbie Daymond (who also voiced Chrollo Lucilfer, Indra Ōtsutsuki, Happy Chaos, Gaelio Bauduin and Flect Turn) in English.
Contents
- 1 Personality
- 2 Biography
- 2.1 Persona 5
- 2.2 Persona 5 Royal
- 3 Other Media
- 3.1 Super Smash Bros.
- 4 Gallery
- 5 Trivia
- 6 Navigation
Personality[]
Akechi is an ace detective who boasts a sharp wit and high level of intelligence. His aptitude for solving cases has him named "The Second Advent of the Detective Prince".
Despite his popularity, Akechi is actually quite lonely and yearns for attention and validation. He was abandoned by his father, Masayoshi Shido, lost his mother to suicide (which he later claims were the result of him being a "cursed child") and never had any genuine friends.
Biography[]
Persona 5[]
Several years before the start of the game, Goro offered his powers as a Persona user to Shido, who asked Goro to eliminate several major political figures who stood in Shido's path to securing the chair of Prime Minister. However, this was an underhanded revenge plot to get close to Shido and murder him after he won the election.
During this time, he mastered the use of his true Persona, Loki, and took down important figures connected to Shido by inflicting psychotic breakdowns; it is implied that he even killed Wakaba Ishiki, Futaba's mother, who was researching the Cognitive world for Shido. However, Akechi appears troubled while sitting in Leblanc the day after he shoots Okumura's shadow, signifying that he feels guilty about the crimes he has committed.
After Akechi joins the Thieves in an attempt to capture and eliminate their leader, he experiences how it feels to be bond with a group of friends for the first time, particularly with Ren. This leads to Akechi experiencing ambivalent emotions about disposing of the Thieves per Shido's orders. Throughout the game, Akechi remarks that there's "something special" about Ren, and he notes that they have a few things in common. Akechi simultaneously admires and envies Ren, who he later comments could have been "a great rival" or "a friend" if fate had dealt them a different hand.
After the Thieves defeat Akechi, Shido's evil cognitive version of Akechi appears and reveals that Shido knew Akechi's true identity from the start and has planned to kill him after the election. The Cognitive Akechi demands that the real Akechi shoot the protagonist to spare his own life. Akechi redeems himself by sacrificing his life to save his friend - he shoots his Cognitive double, then seals himself and the double behind a steel barricade. Smiling sadly, Akechi asks Ren to take down Shido in his stead. With this, Akechi and the protagonist's "desires become one". Two gunshots then ring out, at which point Futaba is no longer able to sense his presence. Later, after Yaldabaoth's defeat, Sae tells Joker that Akechi is missing.
Persona 5 Royal[]
Akechi returns in Persona 5 Royal, an updated version of Persona 5 with new plots and features, and serves as the triangonist in the Third Term Arc. In the trailer, Akechi is somehow shown fighting with other Thieves in the new Palace as a playable character once more, dressed in his Black Mask attire and wielded Loki as his Persona, a feature which the producers of Persona 5 once considered for Akechi but is cut due to time constraints.
In Persona 5 Royal, Akechi's Confidant is optional rather than a function of story progression. As it is done, more and more of his Detective Prince facade falls away to reveal his true, cynical personality and he comes to admit a lot of his mannerisms are due to him being desperate for friends. His desire for the world to be just is shown to be genuine, but far more brutal than he normally lets show. Over time, he comes to genuinely view the protagonist as a friend, becoming deeply regretful over the role he feels necessary to destroy his father.
Should the third term be triggered, Takuto Maruki's wish-granting powers change the normal course of events so that he barely survives the battle with his Cognition and turns himself in to draw police attention away from Joker. However, due to the wish-fulfillment aspects, Akechi is mysteriously released for no good reason, which confuses and upsets him as he does not believe he should escape the consequences of his actions. This leads to him, Kasumi Yoshizawa, and the protagonist being the first to wake up from Maruki's illusion, and he rejoins the team to stop Maruki.
While he knows this will lead to the original timeline and his probable death being restored, he admits that even in a world where he has everything he wants, after being manipulated by Shido for so long he would rather die than live under Maruki's control, and he views Maruki as a coward. After Maruki's defeat, Akechi had vanished alongside the entire dream world with his original presumed death to be reverted back. However, in the game's final scene, a figure resembling Akechi can be seen as the protagonist takes his train home, ultimately leaving his final fate ambiguous.
Other Media[]
Super Smash Bros.[]
In Super Smash Bros. Ulitmate, Akechi appears as both a cameo palletswap for Joker and a support spirit that gravitates items towards the player. His spirit battle is against Marth and a giant Pit (representing Robin Hood) that converts opposite controls on the fighter's movement. Only Marth has to be defeated to win.
Gallery[]
.png "Goro Akechi (5)")
Goro Akechi as Crow.
Goro Akechi revealing his true nature.
Goro Akechi in Persona 5: The Animation.
Goro Akechi summoning Loki.
Goro Akechi as the Black Mask.
Robin Hood
Loki
Hereward
.png "Goro Akechi (15)")
Goro Akechi in Persona Q2.
Goro Akechi nearly choking himself upon tasting the spicy "Russian Takoyaki".
Goro Akechi's last known moments before his apparent sacrifice.
Trivia[]
- Despite being the game's traitor and red herring, as well as his polarizing receptions throughout the entire fanbase, Akechi placed 1st in a poll for the most popular member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
- Akechi is the only major antagonist in Persona 5 that is a former playable character and a Persona user.
- The fandom often points out how Akechi bears a physical resemblance to Light Yagami.
- Unlike Light, who never atoned for his wrongdoings and died trying to escape imprisonment, Akechi expressed remorse for his actions and sacrificed himself for the Thieves.
- Contrary, he is more like L due to their beliefs that controlling the world to wipe out crime is wrong. Their role and stance with the protagonists are similar after their first meeting when they develop interest in them. This delves more when their past was revealed that they were orphans. Their deaths did share a similarity as the fan favorite. In the Third Semester, just like how Akechi opposed the Phantom Thieves, he opposes Maruki as much as L did to Light and would pass on to his successors Near and Mello stating that they rather go by their realistic beliefs than living in the world controlled by one person criticizing them to be childish.
- Akechi is often compared to Ken Amada, a party member from Persona 3. However, his guest party role is more similar to Shijiro Aragaki due to both sacrificing their lives saving their true friends from being killed by the main villains.
- Akechi's Arcana is Justice, but his true personality matches that of the Reversed Justice Arcana. Like Justice Rx, he is dishonest about his intentions, exhibits a black and white views of morality, and unfairly manipulates rules and authority figures to achieve his goals. On a deeper level, it also points to the injustices Akechi has faced as a victim of his father's neglect and Japan's corrupt foster care system, with these injustices leading Akechi to lose faith in society.
- Although not stated officially, it is highly implied that Akechi represents the sin of despair/emptiness (Latin: Cavum), also known as acedia, which was originally considered one of the deadly sins until it was merged with sloth. Akechi explains that he was born an illegitimate child to a mother who later committed suicide, and he grew up lonely and unwanted. As a result, he tries to assign meaning to his existence by being popular, successful, and 'special.' He obsesses over enacting vengeance against his father, whose rejection is a major cause of his emptiness, no matter the cost, even to the point of feeding into Yaldabaoth's game and committing murder.
- There are many instances throughout the game that foreshadow Akechi's role as the traitor:
- When first meeting the Phantom Thieves in June at the TV station, Akechi mentions overhearing them saying something about "delicious pancakes". The only one who had talked about pancakes in anyway was Morgana (he described the Dome Town Stadium as a "huge pancake looking place" that "looked delicious"), but only those who have heard Morgana speak in the Metaverse can understand him in the real world. This subsequently contradicts Akechi's later claim that he only discovered the Metaverse when he accidentally stumbled into Okumura's Palace in September, and this is what ultimately leads to the Phantom Thieves discovering his true intentions.
- Although Akechi appears on the title screen and cover art, he is the only party member who doesn't appear in the opening beyond Persona 5 Royal. Metawise, he is also the only party member to not have their own commercial. He does not appear with the rest of the party on the reverse artwork for the game's Steelbook Edition or on the collector's box for the Premium Edition. Additionally, while Akechi does appear on the title screen of the vanilla game and Royal, he stands a noticable distance away from the other Phantom Thieves, to the point where it can be difficult to notice him.
- During the Kaneshiro arc, during an encounter with Makoto, Akechi behaves uncharacteristically rudely towards her, calling her a "good girl type of pushover". While this is a minor incident, it is an early hint that he is more two-faced than how he presents himself to be.
- While encountering the protagonist and his friends during the Medjec arc, Akechi comments on how suspicious it is that details about the Phantom Thieves are the same as details regarding the group. If Joker retorts that Akechi is the suspicious one, the latter visibly freezes up before laughing it off as a joke. It is possible that Akechi's reaction is him panicking at the possibility that Joker is aware of his intentions.
- The Phantom Thieves always refer to him by his family name. Everyone else who joined the group is addressed by their given name, signifying their distrust in Akechi.
- When Akechi runs into the Phantom Thieves at the school festival, the first thing he says is, "Oh, everyone's all here", as if he recognizes them, despite the fact he has only seen Futaba Sakura with the protagonist and has never met Haru Okumura. Futaba catches onto this.
- Akechi is the only party member who wears gloves while in civilian attire. His gloves are befitting of the elegant image he presents to the world, but they also proved useful for Akechi when committing crimes, such as attempting the staged murder-suicide of the protagonist (he succeeds in the bad ending).
- The phone chat icons used by the Phantom Thieves and the protagonist's confidants are coloured after the colours of the rainbow. Akechi's icon however, is depicted as light gray. His icon colour was changed to brown in Persona 5 Royal.
- Akechi's Persona, Robin Hood, was a rebellious figure like the other Thieves' Personas, but he is usually depicted as swearing his allegiance to the crown following King Richard's return. Akechi is later revealed to be the traitor and working for Masayoshi Shido, a powerful political figure. Similarly, Akechi's true persona, Loki, is near-universally portrayed as an amoral villain in mythological lore and media depictions; the Phantom Thieves' Personas are portrayed as anti-heroes, at worst.
- Robin Hood is almost universally portrayed as wearing green, yet Akechi's Persona wears white. While it does appear more fitting for the superhero's princely design, it also symbolizes Akechi hiding his true colours from the Phantom Thieves and the public.
- Akechi joins the Thieves near the time of the Casino Palace heist, where Joker is successfully apprehended. The heist is his idea, and he uses leverage to prevent the party from backing out.
- He insists the Phantom Thieves raid the Casino on a certain date, unlike every other Palace thus far, because he planned the ambush for that day.
- Shortly before the Phantom Thieves attempt to steal Sae's heart, the protagonist and Ann's homeroom teacher, Sadayo Kawakami, gives a lecture regarding crows, the namesake of Akechi's Phantom Thief codename. She describes them as cunning creatures that should never be underestimated.
- If the player fails to complete a Palace within the time limit, the protagonist incorrectly recalls what truly happened due to the high dose of truth serum he was administered in custody. After Sae Niijima ends the interrogation and leaves the room, the traitor appears and murders the protagonist. The traitor holds their gun in their left hand; Akechi is the only left-handed member of the party.
- While Akechi is speaking as a guest of honor at the school festival, Yusuke infers that if Akechi believes the Phantom Thieves are dangerous yet innocent of murdering Kunikazu Okumura (and others), then he must either know the true culprit's identity or the identities of the Phantom Thieves.
- Akechi catches on to how the Metaverse works very quickly while in Sae's Palace. The party pretends to write this off as a result of him being a detective, but even then, he seems far too comfortable for someone who claims to only have only ever been inside one other Palace previously. This is made more suspicious given how Makoto and Futaba, who are around Akechi's level of intelligence, still took some time to learn how the Metaverse worked and even needed guidance from Joker and Morgana.
- When the Thieves first enter Okumura's Palace, Akechi is secretly observing them in the shadows. Akechi claims he was following the Thieves and accidentally got sucked into the Metaverse, awakened his Persona, then obtained photographic evidence of the Thieves' existence after they returned to the real world. However, later revelations of Akechi being the Black Mask strongly imply that he had deliberately infiltrated Okumura's Palace in order to stalk the Phantom Thieves and assassinate Okumura once the Thieves had defeated him.
- Joker can use Shujin Academy's school library to borrow books about the characters and historical figures his teammates' Personas are based on, but a book about Akechi's Robin Hood is never available. This is a more downplayed example, as such a book, "The Hero with a Bow" exists within the game's code, but was not implemented due to a programming error. The book is made available to borrow and read in Persona 5 Royal.
- Several of Akechi's DLC outfits reference villains from other Atlus games; for example, his DLC outfit for Shin Megami Tensei if... is that of the game's main villain, Ideo Hazama. Additionally, his Persona 2 outfit is Jun Kurosu's Kasugayama High school uniform, his Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha outfit is the uniform worn by General Munakata, and his Catherine outfit is the tuxedo worn by Boss (aka Thomas Mutton).
- Initially, after his boss battle, Akechi would have returned back to the party and helped the Thieves again by using both Robin Hood and Loki as his Personas (both playable), which could switch between each other like all of the protagonist's Personas. However, this idea was scrapped and Akechi's ended up sacrificing himself. Although, his apparent death scene was not presented onscreen, leaving his fate unknown. Additionally, if you fail Shido's Palace after Akechi's death, Akechi will still appear to kill the Protagonist like he does for all the other Palaces- however, the dreamy filter applied to this sequence leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not it's even happening.
- In spite of this, there are mods for the game to make Loki a playable Persona.
- In "Stars and Ours", the final episode of Persona 5: The Animation, Akechi made a voice-only cameo during the final arc, encouraging the Phantom Thieves to fight Yaldabaoth, "What happened? Pull yourself together. It's not the time to be checkmated.", possibly hinting he survived and overlooked the final battle somewhere.
- In the trailer of Persona 5 Royal, a special edition to Persona 5, Akechi made a voice-only appearance interviewing the new female character in the said trailer, and the latter was cynical over the Phantom Thieves' actions.
Navigation[]
 Villains | ||
SEBEC Route Takahisa Kandori | Nyarlathotep | Pandora Snow Queen Quest Victims of the Snow Queen Mask | Tomomi Fujimori | Night Queen
Innoncent Sin Masked Circle | Master Joker | Tatsuya Sudou | Junko Kurosu | Anna Yoshizaka | Ginji Sasaki | Akari Hoshi | Nyarlathotep Eternal Punishment New World Order | Tatsuzou Sudou | Kiyotada Sumaru | Takahisa Kandori | Chizuru Ishigami | Nyarlathotep
Strega (Takaya Sakaki | Jin Shirato | Chidori Yoshino) | Kouetsu Kirijo | Shuji Ikutsuki | Nyx Avatar Persona 3 FES
The Killer | Mitsuo Kubo | Izanami Persona 4: Arena & Persona 4: Arena Ultimax Sho Minazuki | Shadow Labrys | Malevolent Entity
Suguru Kamoshida | Sphinx | Sae Niijima | Antisocial Force (Ichiryusai Madarame | Junya Kaneshiro | Kunikazu Okumura | The Traitor | SIU Director | Sugimura | Kobayakawa | Masayoshi Shido | Yaldabaoth) Persona 5 The Royal Persona 5 Strikers Alice Hiiragi | Ango Natsume | Mariko Hyodo | Shuzo Ubukata | Akira Konoe | Jyun Owada | Kuon Ichinose | EMMA | Lock Keepers
Teru Gojuin | Dark Yashiro | Yatsufusa Hatanaka
Persona Q Clockwork God Persona Q2 Kamoshidaman | Enlil
| ||
 Villains | ||
Yellow Heroes Blue Heroes Green Heroes Red Heroes Other Characters | ||
As a Persona series enthusiast and expert, my depth of knowledge extends to various titles within the franchise, including "Persona 5" and its expanded re-release, "Persona 5 Royal." I have a comprehensive understanding of the characters, storylines, and gameplay mechanics that define the Persona universe. Now, let's delve into the concepts used in the provided article about Goro Akechi.
Goro Akechi: Goro Akechi is a prominent character in the 2016 video game "Persona 5" and serves as the secondary antagonist. He later becomes the deuteragonist in the expanded re-release, "Persona 5 Royal," during its Third Semester arc. Akechi starts as a detective investigating the Phantom Thieves of Hearts case and eventually joins the Phantom Thieves, despite his initial negative stance.
Persona: The article mentions Akechi's Persona, which is a manifestation of his inner self and source of his supernatural abilities. In "Persona 5," Akechi initially uses the Persona Loki, and in "Persona 5 Royal," he wields Robin Hood. The Persona system is a central gameplay element where characters summon and utilize manifestations of their psyche in battles.
Cognitive World: References are made to the Cognitive World, a parallel dimension in the Persona series where distorted desires and perceptions materialize. Akechi, as a member of Yaldabaoth's Antisocial Force, exploits this realm to manipulate events and orchestrate the downfall of the Phantom Thieves.
Confidant System: The article mentions Akechi's Confidant, a game mechanic in the Persona series that represents the protagonist's social bonds with other characters. In "Persona 5 Royal," Akechi's Confidant is optional, revealing more about his true personality and motivations.
Super Smash Bros.: Akechi's appearance in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate" is noted, where he serves as a cameo palletswap for the character Joker. The article mentions his role as a support spirit and provides details about his spirit battle against Marth and a giant Pit.
Foreshadowing and Symbolism: The article highlights instances of foreshadowing in "Persona 5" related to Akechi's true nature as the traitor. Symbolism in the choice of Akechi's Persona, Loki, and its white color is also discussed, representing his hidden motives.
Comparison with Other Characters: Akechi is compared to other characters, including Light Yagami from "Death Note" and Ken Amada from "Persona 3," drawing parallels and differences in their roles and motivations.
Persona 5 Royal's Additional Content: Details about Akechi's role in "Persona 5 Royal," including the Third Term Arc and his interactions with the protagonist, are covered. The article mentions changes to the normal course of events due to Takuto Maruki's wish-granting powers.
Trivia: Various trivia about Akechi is provided, such as his popularity despite being the game's traitor, his left-handedness, and the symbolism behind his Persona's color and design.
In summary, the article provides a comprehensive overview of Goro Akechi's character, his role in the Persona series, and the various elements and concepts associated with the games in which he appears.
