CHARACTER PROFILE
This is CND's fault, which makes it in a round-bout way Kat's fault. So yeah. Insert tl;dr warning here.
Name: Shinjiro Aragaki
Biography:
(HEADCANON WHICH WILL PROBABLY CHANGE THE MOMENT P3 ON THE PSP COMES OUT, AHOY)
Shinjiro doesn't remember his birth parents at all. According to records, his mother left him at the orphanage when he was a toddler, and there are no records of his father. Fussy and headstrong, the stubborn and argumentative two-year-old was difficult to adopt by the couples who would come to the orphanage. Shinjiro was also slow to make friends, being too rough and aggressive for the other kids his age. By the time he was rolled into elementary schooling, Shinjiro got along a little better with other children, and slowly began to work a bit better under authority figures. Still, he was regarded by teachers and adults as a rather shy boy with a childish temper. In truth, Shinjiro simply was more comfortable with observing others than initiating group activities.
By the time Shinjiro met Akihiko Sanada at the age of seven, he had already earned a kinda well-warranted reputation as a somewhat tough and intimidating kid. Not a bully per se, but someone shyer kids were afraid to talk to all the same. They met after Akihiko started a fight with him; the smaller boy thought Shinjiro was picking on some of Miki's friends. Shinjiro was just trying to ask the girls where they found the dog they were playing with, and scared them. After the adults broke up their fight, they made them clean up one of the classrooms by themselves that afternoon as punishment. Somehow, from this, a friendship was formed.
Adults observed that the friendship between Shinjiro and Akihiko - and by extension, Miki - helped to mellow out the boy. At the same time, teachers were often finding them in the center of problems and fights, even though other children said without falsehood that they boys weren't bullying others. The focused and energetic Akihiko helped make Shinjiro more goal-oriented, and dealing with his friend's younger sister forced him to learn a little gentleness. Shinjiro's performance in school improved, and while prospective parents looked at him more favorably, he was reluctant and perhaps even sabotaged attempts which would have taken him away from the orphanage.
Then, when Shinjiro was nine, there was a horrific fire. Most of the children were evacuated, but about a dozen children died, including Miki. During the confusion which followed the incident, he thought Akihiko was in the burning debris along with his sister - and only found out later that adults had pulled his friend from the ruins. Swallowing his own guilt, looking at his friend's scarred hands, he decided he wasn't going to leave Akihiko on his own again. This led, a few years later, to his stubborn insistence on joining SEES despite Akihiko's arguments against it.
Joining SEES seemed like an adventure even to the pragmatic and otherwise reserved Shinjiro. It was certainly better to approach the Dark Hour and the terrifying Shadows with a sense of fearlessness, if only to compete with Akihiko's drive for recklessness. After meeting Mitsuru, he immediately had both fierce respect and dislike for her, due to her strength and stubborn adherence to academics. Through their battles against the Shadows, however, they formed a strong bond despite their very different personalities. Shinjiro came into his adolescence feeling like he knew exactly how the world worked, and where his place was exactly within it. Then, things began to change.
Shinjiro began to have discipline problems in school again. Though he realized the importance, little in academics actually interested him, and he began to wonder what his interests really were. He had little patience for punks and found himself involved in fights again. Because he's a big-picture person, but difficult to goal-orienate, he began to wonder if he had an actual future. It was basic teenage identity-oriented issues - perfectly normal - but compounded with that was his Persona. He was beginning to wonder if he was able to completely control it, and began to doubt himself.
In addition, awakening hormones caused additional identity issues. Though he never felt the need to conform to any particular image, it bothered him that he seemed to like guys as well as girls, based on things he had observed in society. Shinjiro felt very relieved when his best friend seemed to have similar urges, and messing around with Akihiko seemed like a perfectly natural and utterly easy solution. However, as his doubts about his Persona increased, combined with his general protectiveness of his friend - What if Castor went out of control? What about their relationship? What would the school do to Aki, the golden boy, if they found out? - made Shinijro break it off. He was purposefully cruel and deliberately misleading. He knew Akihiko's own hero complex, and didn't want the boy to have a single reason to argue back.
The summer months, while awkward, helped repair their friendship when Shinjiro was fifteen. It also helped restore some of his confidence about his Persona use, believing his concentration on controlling it helped, along with what appeared to be a streak of good luck. However, on October 3rd, Shinjiro already had a stressful day in school and had served detention from punching a girl on the stairwell. Taking out his aggression on the Shadows in Tartarus, he eagerly followed Akihiko when his friend began to chase a rogue Shadow, despite Mitsuru's calls. Somehow, trying to track the creature, they became separated in Port Island. The Shadow began to wake people who were Transmogrified, threatening them with Apathy Syndrome. Shinjiro called Castor.
It would have helped if he blacked out. Or, if he wasn't so close to the buildings as debris began to catch on fire. Or, if he didn't panic as he saw a snatch of a child's face and flames. If he didn't taste blood in his mouth, and every emotion as his Persona - which was only part of him, he was always taught - brutally killed Mrs. Amada.
Castor was gone by the time Akihiko caught up to him. The fire damage - just caused by sparks from fallen electricy cables - wasn't extensive. Only one person died. He could hear Mitsuru buzzing in his ear.
Shinjiro ran.
Huddled in an alleyway corner, frightened and confused and utterly sick to his stomach, he managed to catch sight of a brutal assult as some thug robbed an older man, which left the guy penniless. Drawn by some sort of morbid curiosity, he followed the criminal down the street, and found him paying some older man - whom Shinjiro was shocked to learn was a drug dealer. He was disgusted. Quietly and still reeling with shock from his own experiences, he watched the underworld around him, and came to a horrible epiphany. None of them were very old. They all had no future, and were the scum of society. And - this is what Shinjiro felt most strongly - he belonged here. This was his place, after everything he did. Because of who he was.
The next morning, he arrived at the dorm. Mitsuru and Akihiko were waiting for him, worried out of their minds. He and his friend had a terrible argument, and Shinjiro finally left with what little he had. "Don't follow me. Don't look for me. I aint coming back." At the time, he didn't intend to see them again. Yet he found over the next months drawn to where he knew they'd be, and couldn't bring himself to stay away. He kept in touch with Akihiko, but only on his terms. Meeting for lunch, talking about Shadows - but never SEES. Staying away, after all, was to protect him and Mitsuru, but he couldn't be sure they weren't okay if he didn't keep tabs on them, either. He kept quiet, though, on his life and activities after leaving the dorm.
Slowly, Shinjiro learned to adapt, and his personality hardened due to life on the streets. But his experiences also helped to mature him. Though he was disgusted with and hated the bums he saw after the Dark Hour on October 3rd, he gradually learned about the sort of people who ended up there, and gained sympathy for a few. Because he chose to be there, he didn't feel trapped in his situation by society, and even found himself giving advice to those who he could see had opportunities outside. He had unique respect for both the police - who helped SEES - and the organized crime lords and other high-tier criminals - whom he learned to avoid. Shinjiro knew to keep a low profile, but couldn't help but stick out for the little guy, which gained him more attention than he would have liked.
Of course, he wasn't always so hardened, and had a rather distorted view of street life in the beginning from television and movies. During his first few months, Shinjiro ended up on the rather bad end of a number of encounters. Though he wasn't defenseless - killing Shadows meant he was half-decent in a fight - he was foolish, and made dumb mistakes. Stubbornness and his guilt prevented him from asking for help, especially since a part of him believed he deserved the rough treatment he received. Because of his skills and powers of observation, it wasn't long before Shinjiro could avoid most of the most violent and dangerous encounters for him. But the damage was done, and while Shinjiro doesn't believe he's bothered by it - and won't act broken up about it - those experiences still affect certain decisions and behavior, including on what he'd resort on doing when he's desperate for cash.
By now in DDD, Shinjiro would be doing a lot better if he wasn't already dependent on the suppressant drugs supplied by Strega and high-end pharmacies. Because of his reluctance to kill and his wish to stay well out of gang politics, combined with his inability (age and homeless status) to work for most legitimate jobs, Shinjiro is continually running into debt due to the high price of pills. When he can, he sells information - finding people, listening to rumors for the police and criminals, or even keeping an eye out during illicit activities. He's forced to deal with Strega but has as little to do with them as possible. Because he can't keep away from situations he hates, however, and doesn't see a way out due to his own guilt, he fully accepts the future Akihiko tells him about. His relationship with his friend in the future changes little, because in all honesty, it's too fantastic for him to really accept. Far too good to be true.
AGE: 17 (canon birthday August 11)
HEIGHT: 5'8" and growing
WEIGHT: 125 lbs in an average week
BODY TYPE: Shinjiro is tall, and very well-built, but alarmingly underfed - especially considering his muscle mass. His frame gives him long limbs, long fingers, with dense and compact muscles, especially on his arms, legs, and shoulders. If he filled out, he'd be a wall of a man, but even with his heavy pea coat he is obviously slender. Hence, the surprised looks he'll get when he lifts some poor kid who looks roughly his size by the neck with one hand. There are random scars here and there from his encounters with the Shadows and the type of humanity which he's run afoul with on the streets.
FACE TYPE: Shinjiro's face is long, with a thick nose and brow, giving him a slightly severe look when he's not glowering - and a rather intimidating one when he is. His eyes appear a bit more sunken, along with his cheeks, than they really should be. It makes his features even more angular and intimidating than they would be otherwise.
COMPLEXION: Shinjiro sees plenty of sun, but is still a little pale - a sickly sort of complexion - when examined closely. Which is exactly why he doesn't let people examine him too closely. It's nothing approaching Takaya or even Chidori, but it certainly is less than desirable.
EYES: A light brown.
HAIR: Also light brown, though it sometimes appears darker depending when the last time Shinjiro was lucky enough to properly bathe. It's long and ragged, both because he cuts it himself and because he doesn't care much. Along with his hat and coat, it serves as a sort of mangy camouflage to keep people away. Unfortunately, its length softens his apperance when he "cleans up" - which he accepts as a manageable drawback, considering how infrequently it happens.
CLOTHING STYLE: Shinjiro dresses for three reasons: 1. Camouflage, 2. Warmth, 3. Inexpense. His coat is signature and one of the few things he kept from SEES when he left. It carries everything of importance which he owns, now, since he doesn't trust anyone enough to leave anything important elsewhere. His boots are the other somewhat expensive thing he owns, and also hide a few surprises. Otherwise, Shinjiro cares very little about what he wears, along as it keeps him warm and it was cheap. If given a budget and a life off the streets? Shinjiro would choose dark or bold colors, simple and subtly masculine. He's not a complicated guy.
SPEAKING STYLE: Shinjiro doesn't say much, and he's not bothered much by politeness or formality. He's not deliberately rude - unless you piss him off - and he'd rather say nothing at all if he could say something rude but doesn't want to. Or, if he could say something nice but doesn't want to. He's not stupid and he certainly could speak formally if he was forced to, but it'd be difficult to put him in that position. Generally, it's not something which is important to Shinjiro, so he doesn't put effort into it.
GENERAL DEMEANOR: Shinjiro is quiet and intimidating, and even though a lot of people don't know him, they just assume he's a tough thug. But his interactions with others gradually give him away when people pay close attention to him. He scoffs and dismisses, and has difficulties returning compliments or affection. It's rare to hear him say "thank you" or "I'm sorry", and his most common phrase when all else fails is "whatever". But he gives advice without prompting, shows concern for others without meaning to, and indulges in random acts of kindness if he thinks no-one's looking. Shinjiro is quick to reject ties to a background or group, but is surprisingly reluctant to dismiss the friendships he has.
His fighting is a lot like his personality. It's abrupt and direct. He doesn't just use his axe - he kicks things, head-butts things, and gets physical with his opponent. Shinjiro is careful and observant, but doesn't hesitate and still manages to stick his neck out for strangers even though he knows he shouldn't. As Mitsuru observes, he's very rough around the edges. But, towards the people he values, he's very careful and protective towards them.
CAREER: ... He's a teenaged hobo. :|
PREJUDICES: Shinjiro usually assumes everyone - and I do mean everyone - is blind to the big picture - the world and how it works. Police and teachers don't know what it's like for homeless bums; homeless bums don't know what it's like to be law-abiding and thug-fearing citizens; people with parents don't realize what it's like not to have them; and people without them don't know how much it can suck to have a family at times. Shinjiro thinks people automatically think he's dumb, and trash, and a thug - he doesn't often give them the opportunity to prove him wrong. As wise and observant as he is, he's too suspicious for his own good. He doesn't think he's judging everyone else negatively for this, but he is.
In other words, he still hasn't quite grown out of the "I'm a teenager and I know everything" complex yet.
In addition, Shinjiro is a bit prejudiced against the wealthy - especially the wealthy who choose to associate with the lower class, and most especially the wealthy who are actually criminals. These people, in his view, really don't know what it's like - and they also think the lower class are theirs to take advantage of. He'll claim he doesn't think rich people are bad, but if someone with a lot of money approaches him with an offer, he'll automatically be suspicious to the level of paranoia. This is connected with some of his experiences during those initial months on the streets.
BEST QUALITIES: Shinjiro is a great listener and observer. He really does get things in a "big-picture" way, and yet has developed a nuanced attention to detail as well. This lets him adapt quickly, and learn certain types of skills with relative ease. In addition, he still possesses a lot of empathy for other people, which perhaps is part of his ability to listen.
WORST QUALITIES: Shinjiro has very poor impulse control, and in addition is tremendously stubborn. He can make a bad decision in haste, and also has a short temper. This combined with his current guilt and depression manifests in poor habits and violence. Given his current situation, he doesn't believe he can change or improve his ability to control his worst impulses. He won't accept help - not even within Persona 3; if the Player Character revives him from KO in battle Shinjiro will scold him. If it weren't for his better qualities, Shinjiro would likely be far more dangerous and even abusive to other individuals. However, these faults in him do translate to a rather negligent behavior towards himself and an unwilligness to change his own situation.
WEAKNESSES: Someone who's calm and manipulative would be able to quite deftly make Shinjiro do exactly what they'd like him to. As jaded and suspicious as he can be, his temper and empathy for others can easily box him in. In addition, anyone with control over things he needs - food, drugs, shelter - will also find Shinjiro easy to control. Though he's tough, has a strong sense of self, and a rather dominant personality, Shinjiro has learned he needs to roll over for more powerful people if he's backed into a corner and desperate.
Shinjiro's also easy to discourage when it comes to his own goals, due to what's happened to him. Unless he grows past his guilt over what happened a year ago, it'd be too easy to convince him any improvements he has made to his character since then are worthless. This weakness also lets him accept treatment which, had his history been otherwise, he'd wouldn't stand for one moment.
HOBBIES: Shinjiro is a surprisingly good cook. Stints of not-quite-legitimate work as a replacement busboy and dishwasher in low-rent restaurants let him see the basics, and a kind and well-meaning street vendor taught him more. He's learned since then anything he can get his hands on, as both treat and guilty pleasure. Shinjiro also found that cooking for himself saves him money. He doesn't see it, even with DDD's Akihiko's suggestions, as a career path.
He also knows far more about how to care for dogs and other small animals than he'd ever admit to. These hobbies he keeps secret for a variety of reasons.
TALENTS: Street brawling, basic first aid, street survival skills, axe usage, Shadow fighting, and cooking. He's also quite talented at gathering information through word-of-mouth and observing a given area. Shinjiro is also good at deliberately intimidating people - perhaps why his Persona has a skill which can inflict the Fear status on enemies.
Name: Shinjiro Aragaki
Biography:
(HEADCANON WHICH WILL PROBABLY CHANGE THE MOMENT P3 ON THE PSP COMES OUT, AHOY)
Shinjiro doesn't remember his birth parents at all. According to records, his mother left him at the orphanage when he was a toddler, and there are no records of his father. Fussy and headstrong, the stubborn and argumentative two-year-old was difficult to adopt by the couples who would come to the orphanage. Shinjiro was also slow to make friends, being too rough and aggressive for the other kids his age. By the time he was rolled into elementary schooling, Shinjiro got along a little better with other children, and slowly began to work a bit better under authority figures. Still, he was regarded by teachers and adults as a rather shy boy with a childish temper. In truth, Shinjiro simply was more comfortable with observing others than initiating group activities.
By the time Shinjiro met Akihiko Sanada at the age of seven, he had already earned a kinda well-warranted reputation as a somewhat tough and intimidating kid. Not a bully per se, but someone shyer kids were afraid to talk to all the same. They met after Akihiko started a fight with him; the smaller boy thought Shinjiro was picking on some of Miki's friends. Shinjiro was just trying to ask the girls where they found the dog they were playing with, and scared them. After the adults broke up their fight, they made them clean up one of the classrooms by themselves that afternoon as punishment. Somehow, from this, a friendship was formed.
Adults observed that the friendship between Shinjiro and Akihiko - and by extension, Miki - helped to mellow out the boy. At the same time, teachers were often finding them in the center of problems and fights, even though other children said without falsehood that they boys weren't bullying others. The focused and energetic Akihiko helped make Shinjiro more goal-oriented, and dealing with his friend's younger sister forced him to learn a little gentleness. Shinjiro's performance in school improved, and while prospective parents looked at him more favorably, he was reluctant and perhaps even sabotaged attempts which would have taken him away from the orphanage.
Then, when Shinjiro was nine, there was a horrific fire. Most of the children were evacuated, but about a dozen children died, including Miki. During the confusion which followed the incident, he thought Akihiko was in the burning debris along with his sister - and only found out later that adults had pulled his friend from the ruins. Swallowing his own guilt, looking at his friend's scarred hands, he decided he wasn't going to leave Akihiko on his own again. This led, a few years later, to his stubborn insistence on joining SEES despite Akihiko's arguments against it.
Joining SEES seemed like an adventure even to the pragmatic and otherwise reserved Shinjiro. It was certainly better to approach the Dark Hour and the terrifying Shadows with a sense of fearlessness, if only to compete with Akihiko's drive for recklessness. After meeting Mitsuru, he immediately had both fierce respect and dislike for her, due to her strength and stubborn adherence to academics. Through their battles against the Shadows, however, they formed a strong bond despite their very different personalities. Shinjiro came into his adolescence feeling like he knew exactly how the world worked, and where his place was exactly within it. Then, things began to change.
Shinjiro began to have discipline problems in school again. Though he realized the importance, little in academics actually interested him, and he began to wonder what his interests really were. He had little patience for punks and found himself involved in fights again. Because he's a big-picture person, but difficult to goal-orienate, he began to wonder if he had an actual future. It was basic teenage identity-oriented issues - perfectly normal - but compounded with that was his Persona. He was beginning to wonder if he was able to completely control it, and began to doubt himself.
In addition, awakening hormones caused additional identity issues. Though he never felt the need to conform to any particular image, it bothered him that he seemed to like guys as well as girls, based on things he had observed in society. Shinjiro felt very relieved when his best friend seemed to have similar urges, and messing around with Akihiko seemed like a perfectly natural and utterly easy solution. However, as his doubts about his Persona increased, combined with his general protectiveness of his friend - What if Castor went out of control? What about their relationship? What would the school do to Aki, the golden boy, if they found out? - made Shinijro break it off. He was purposefully cruel and deliberately misleading. He knew Akihiko's own hero complex, and didn't want the boy to have a single reason to argue back.
The summer months, while awkward, helped repair their friendship when Shinjiro was fifteen. It also helped restore some of his confidence about his Persona use, believing his concentration on controlling it helped, along with what appeared to be a streak of good luck. However, on October 3rd, Shinjiro already had a stressful day in school and had served detention from punching a girl on the stairwell. Taking out his aggression on the Shadows in Tartarus, he eagerly followed Akihiko when his friend began to chase a rogue Shadow, despite Mitsuru's calls. Somehow, trying to track the creature, they became separated in Port Island. The Shadow began to wake people who were Transmogrified, threatening them with Apathy Syndrome. Shinjiro called Castor.
It would have helped if he blacked out. Or, if he wasn't so close to the buildings as debris began to catch on fire. Or, if he didn't panic as he saw a snatch of a child's face and flames. If he didn't taste blood in his mouth, and every emotion as his Persona - which was only part of him, he was always taught - brutally killed Mrs. Amada.
Castor was gone by the time Akihiko caught up to him. The fire damage - just caused by sparks from fallen electricy cables - wasn't extensive. Only one person died. He could hear Mitsuru buzzing in his ear.
Shinjiro ran.
Huddled in an alleyway corner, frightened and confused and utterly sick to his stomach, he managed to catch sight of a brutal assult as some thug robbed an older man, which left the guy penniless. Drawn by some sort of morbid curiosity, he followed the criminal down the street, and found him paying some older man - whom Shinjiro was shocked to learn was a drug dealer. He was disgusted. Quietly and still reeling with shock from his own experiences, he watched the underworld around him, and came to a horrible epiphany. None of them were very old. They all had no future, and were the scum of society. And - this is what Shinjiro felt most strongly - he belonged here. This was his place, after everything he did. Because of who he was.
The next morning, he arrived at the dorm. Mitsuru and Akihiko were waiting for him, worried out of their minds. He and his friend had a terrible argument, and Shinjiro finally left with what little he had. "Don't follow me. Don't look for me. I aint coming back." At the time, he didn't intend to see them again. Yet he found over the next months drawn to where he knew they'd be, and couldn't bring himself to stay away. He kept in touch with Akihiko, but only on his terms. Meeting for lunch, talking about Shadows - but never SEES. Staying away, after all, was to protect him and Mitsuru, but he couldn't be sure they weren't okay if he didn't keep tabs on them, either. He kept quiet, though, on his life and activities after leaving the dorm.
Slowly, Shinjiro learned to adapt, and his personality hardened due to life on the streets. But his experiences also helped to mature him. Though he was disgusted with and hated the bums he saw after the Dark Hour on October 3rd, he gradually learned about the sort of people who ended up there, and gained sympathy for a few. Because he chose to be there, he didn't feel trapped in his situation by society, and even found himself giving advice to those who he could see had opportunities outside. He had unique respect for both the police - who helped SEES - and the organized crime lords and other high-tier criminals - whom he learned to avoid. Shinjiro knew to keep a low profile, but couldn't help but stick out for the little guy, which gained him more attention than he would have liked.
Of course, he wasn't always so hardened, and had a rather distorted view of street life in the beginning from television and movies. During his first few months, Shinjiro ended up on the rather bad end of a number of encounters. Though he wasn't defenseless - killing Shadows meant he was half-decent in a fight - he was foolish, and made dumb mistakes. Stubbornness and his guilt prevented him from asking for help, especially since a part of him believed he deserved the rough treatment he received. Because of his skills and powers of observation, it wasn't long before Shinjiro could avoid most of the most violent and dangerous encounters for him. But the damage was done, and while Shinjiro doesn't believe he's bothered by it - and won't act broken up about it - those experiences still affect certain decisions and behavior, including on what he'd resort on doing when he's desperate for cash.
By now in DDD, Shinjiro would be doing a lot better if he wasn't already dependent on the suppressant drugs supplied by Strega and high-end pharmacies. Because of his reluctance to kill and his wish to stay well out of gang politics, combined with his inability (age and homeless status) to work for most legitimate jobs, Shinjiro is continually running into debt due to the high price of pills. When he can, he sells information - finding people, listening to rumors for the police and criminals, or even keeping an eye out during illicit activities. He's forced to deal with Strega but has as little to do with them as possible. Because he can't keep away from situations he hates, however, and doesn't see a way out due to his own guilt, he fully accepts the future Akihiko tells him about. His relationship with his friend in the future changes little, because in all honesty, it's too fantastic for him to really accept. Far too good to be true.
AGE: 17 (canon birthday August 11)
HEIGHT: 5'8" and growing
WEIGHT: 125 lbs in an average week
BODY TYPE: Shinjiro is tall, and very well-built, but alarmingly underfed - especially considering his muscle mass. His frame gives him long limbs, long fingers, with dense and compact muscles, especially on his arms, legs, and shoulders. If he filled out, he'd be a wall of a man, but even with his heavy pea coat he is obviously slender. Hence, the surprised looks he'll get when he lifts some poor kid who looks roughly his size by the neck with one hand. There are random scars here and there from his encounters with the Shadows and the type of humanity which he's run afoul with on the streets.
FACE TYPE: Shinjiro's face is long, with a thick nose and brow, giving him a slightly severe look when he's not glowering - and a rather intimidating one when he is. His eyes appear a bit more sunken, along with his cheeks, than they really should be. It makes his features even more angular and intimidating than they would be otherwise.
COMPLEXION: Shinjiro sees plenty of sun, but is still a little pale - a sickly sort of complexion - when examined closely. Which is exactly why he doesn't let people examine him too closely. It's nothing approaching Takaya or even Chidori, but it certainly is less than desirable.
EYES: A light brown.
HAIR: Also light brown, though it sometimes appears darker depending when the last time Shinjiro was lucky enough to properly bathe. It's long and ragged, both because he cuts it himself and because he doesn't care much. Along with his hat and coat, it serves as a sort of mangy camouflage to keep people away. Unfortunately, its length softens his apperance when he "cleans up" - which he accepts as a manageable drawback, considering how infrequently it happens.
CLOTHING STYLE: Shinjiro dresses for three reasons: 1. Camouflage, 2. Warmth, 3. Inexpense. His coat is signature and one of the few things he kept from SEES when he left. It carries everything of importance which he owns, now, since he doesn't trust anyone enough to leave anything important elsewhere. His boots are the other somewhat expensive thing he owns, and also hide a few surprises. Otherwise, Shinjiro cares very little about what he wears, along as it keeps him warm and it was cheap. If given a budget and a life off the streets? Shinjiro would choose dark or bold colors, simple and subtly masculine. He's not a complicated guy.
SPEAKING STYLE: Shinjiro doesn't say much, and he's not bothered much by politeness or formality. He's not deliberately rude - unless you piss him off - and he'd rather say nothing at all if he could say something rude but doesn't want to. Or, if he could say something nice but doesn't want to. He's not stupid and he certainly could speak formally if he was forced to, but it'd be difficult to put him in that position. Generally, it's not something which is important to Shinjiro, so he doesn't put effort into it.
GENERAL DEMEANOR: Shinjiro is quiet and intimidating, and even though a lot of people don't know him, they just assume he's a tough thug. But his interactions with others gradually give him away when people pay close attention to him. He scoffs and dismisses, and has difficulties returning compliments or affection. It's rare to hear him say "thank you" or "I'm sorry", and his most common phrase when all else fails is "whatever". But he gives advice without prompting, shows concern for others without meaning to, and indulges in random acts of kindness if he thinks no-one's looking. Shinjiro is quick to reject ties to a background or group, but is surprisingly reluctant to dismiss the friendships he has.
His fighting is a lot like his personality. It's abrupt and direct. He doesn't just use his axe - he kicks things, head-butts things, and gets physical with his opponent. Shinjiro is careful and observant, but doesn't hesitate and still manages to stick his neck out for strangers even though he knows he shouldn't. As Mitsuru observes, he's very rough around the edges. But, towards the people he values, he's very careful and protective towards them.
CAREER: ... He's a teenaged hobo. :|
PREJUDICES: Shinjiro usually assumes everyone - and I do mean everyone - is blind to the big picture - the world and how it works. Police and teachers don't know what it's like for homeless bums; homeless bums don't know what it's like to be law-abiding and thug-fearing citizens; people with parents don't realize what it's like not to have them; and people without them don't know how much it can suck to have a family at times. Shinjiro thinks people automatically think he's dumb, and trash, and a thug - he doesn't often give them the opportunity to prove him wrong. As wise and observant as he is, he's too suspicious for his own good. He doesn't think he's judging everyone else negatively for this, but he is.
In other words, he still hasn't quite grown out of the "I'm a teenager and I know everything" complex yet.
In addition, Shinjiro is a bit prejudiced against the wealthy - especially the wealthy who choose to associate with the lower class, and most especially the wealthy who are actually criminals. These people, in his view, really don't know what it's like - and they also think the lower class are theirs to take advantage of. He'll claim he doesn't think rich people are bad, but if someone with a lot of money approaches him with an offer, he'll automatically be suspicious to the level of paranoia. This is connected with some of his experiences during those initial months on the streets.
BEST QUALITIES: Shinjiro is a great listener and observer. He really does get things in a "big-picture" way, and yet has developed a nuanced attention to detail as well. This lets him adapt quickly, and learn certain types of skills with relative ease. In addition, he still possesses a lot of empathy for other people, which perhaps is part of his ability to listen.
WORST QUALITIES: Shinjiro has very poor impulse control, and in addition is tremendously stubborn. He can make a bad decision in haste, and also has a short temper. This combined with his current guilt and depression manifests in poor habits and violence. Given his current situation, he doesn't believe he can change or improve his ability to control his worst impulses. He won't accept help - not even within Persona 3; if the Player Character revives him from KO in battle Shinjiro will scold him. If it weren't for his better qualities, Shinjiro would likely be far more dangerous and even abusive to other individuals. However, these faults in him do translate to a rather negligent behavior towards himself and an unwilligness to change his own situation.
WEAKNESSES: Someone who's calm and manipulative would be able to quite deftly make Shinjiro do exactly what they'd like him to. As jaded and suspicious as he can be, his temper and empathy for others can easily box him in. In addition, anyone with control over things he needs - food, drugs, shelter - will also find Shinjiro easy to control. Though he's tough, has a strong sense of self, and a rather dominant personality, Shinjiro has learned he needs to roll over for more powerful people if he's backed into a corner and desperate.
Shinjiro's also easy to discourage when it comes to his own goals, due to what's happened to him. Unless he grows past his guilt over what happened a year ago, it'd be too easy to convince him any improvements he has made to his character since then are worthless. This weakness also lets him accept treatment which, had his history been otherwise, he'd wouldn't stand for one moment.
HOBBIES: Shinjiro is a surprisingly good cook. Stints of not-quite-legitimate work as a replacement busboy and dishwasher in low-rent restaurants let him see the basics, and a kind and well-meaning street vendor taught him more. He's learned since then anything he can get his hands on, as both treat and guilty pleasure. Shinjiro also found that cooking for himself saves him money. He doesn't see it, even with DDD's Akihiko's suggestions, as a career path.
He also knows far more about how to care for dogs and other small animals than he'd ever admit to. These hobbies he keeps secret for a variety of reasons.
TALENTS: Street brawling, basic first aid, street survival skills, axe usage, Shadow fighting, and cooking. He's also quite talented at gathering information through word-of-mouth and observing a given area. Shinjiro is also good at deliberately intimidating people - perhaps why his Persona has a skill which can inflict the Fear status on enemies.