(no subject)
Character: Naoto Shirogane
Series/Fandom: Persona 4
Original or Template version: Original
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Sexuality: Bisexual, but thoroughly uninterested in relationships.
Link to picture/PB of character: Naoto 1, 2, Persona, Shadow
Appearance: Naoto is a very attractive girl, but with a very androgynous appearance. She has short, dark blue hair, dark blue eyes and pale skin, which is described as "smooth" by the other girls, much to her chagrin. She's been compared many times to the main character of Persona 3, in terms of looks. She's also apparently well-endowed, judging by Rise's reaction when she gets a hold of a list of measurements. Despite this, Naoto dresses as a male whenever possible, keeping her hair in a pixie cut, binding her breasts, and wearing the boys' uniform. She's very short and thin, and her crossdressing pays off - all of the students at her high school call her "Naoto-kun", and don't realize that she's a girl until her secret is leaked. Naoto is generally seen wearing a navy blue officer's cap, and the Yasogami High boys' uniform, or, outside of school, her officer's cap and a dark blue, double-breasted miltary-style jacket with gold buttons and a white undershirt with a high, buttoned collar and a blue ribbon at the throat. The coat reaches to about mid-thigh, and under it she wears close fitting blue pants. In the TV world she also wears blue-rimmed glasses which allow her to see through the fog.
Like others of its kind, Naoto's Shadow is identical to her, with the exception of its gold eyes and strange double-voice. When it goes berserk, however, it takes the form of a half-human, half-robot Naoto with two blasters, rocket propelled feet, and wings similar to those of an airplane on its back.
Personality: Naoto is very serious, analytical, and loves a challenge. She is very composed and rarely loses her temper or allows her emotions to get the best of her, and is also very well-spoken and eloquent. Her parents were both detectives, and thus she likely gained her smarts from them - she easily analyzes situations and solves most problems easily. In this sense, she could be termed a genius - she could be called the "L" of Persona 4, and, in fact, is known as the "Detective Prince" throughout the region around Inaba. She is very suspicious and has a hard time making friends, and thus is shocked when others offer to spend time with her. Because of this, she spent most of her time in her grandfather's study reading detective novels, and soon developed a sort of complex. She believes she'd be better off as a man, but this is not because she feels she was meant to be born as a man or wishes to be one - she's worked closely with police for a good part of her life, and understands how male-oreinted the profession is. Thus, she believes that she would have very little chance as a woman.
In addition, she hates being viewed as a child, and unfortunately most of the adults she works with view her as such, and don't respect her opinions nearly as much because of it. Ironically, she is much more organized and responsible than the police force, and is the first to realize that something is not quite right with the way they'd closed the case - that there were too many loose ends. Naoto also hates being called useless, to the point where she drops her usual stoic facade and yells at Yosuke for calling her such. She is also very easy to unsettle or embarass - at least, as long as you mention how "cute" she looks, or she is seen in anything other than her usual (male) clothing. In these instances, she usually blushes badly and stammers out a change of subject. This sort of loss of composure only really happens around those she's close with, though, and seems to unsettle her badly.
Naoto seems to be unused to simply relaxing and having fun, and, as mentioned before, is not good with dealing with others - when two girls ask her to hang out, thinking she is a boy, she quickly says, "I have no interest at all in spending any time with you." She also looks behind her, blushes, and stammers out a, "M-me?" when the main character of the game and his friends ask her if she'd like to go out to eat with them. Obviously this is not conductive to popularity.
Her shadow is a representation of her longing to be respected as a detective and her hatred of being treated as a child and the disrespect of woman in the police force, as well as her need to accept herself for who she really is.
Abilities/Strengths: Naoto is incredibly good at solving mysteries and catching criminals, and has a nack for seeing what other's can't. In addition, she's very intelligent and rarely allows her emotions to override her logic. She can fight using a gun, but her main ability is that of summoning a Persona - a facet of herself called Sukuna Hikona. This Persona is of the Fortune Arcana, and exceeds in almighty, light, dark and physical skills. It takes the form of a being much tinier than its user, wearing a cape that resembles butterfly wings over a blue suit and shorts, and fights with an energy sword many times longer than itself.
Weaknesses:
History: Naoto was born to a long line of detectives, but tells the others that, unlike most children who inherit professions, she didn't resent it. In fact, she was inspired by her parents to become a great detective. However, when she was young, both of her parents died in a car crash, and she was adopted by her grandfather. A loner by nature, and "inept at making friends", Naoto spent most of her time in her grandfather's study, reading as many detective novels as she could get her hands on. These novels were populated by handsome, charming men, though, and thus she believed she would never succeed as a female detective.
Feeling it was his duty, as her parents were dead, Naoto's grandfather allowed her to help him on some of his cases, secretly. Of course, when his clients found out, they were furious that a child was helping to solve the case, and viewed it as "fooling around", or just a little girl playing a game. It was through these experiences with the police department that Naoto found out how male dominated the profession was, and this only intesified her belief that, in order to be successful, she would have to be a man.
So, Naoto began to dress as a male, binding her breasts and speaking with a deeper voice, and was soon known by the media as Naoto-kun, the "Detective Prince". She solved many cases under this guise, and was successful, but met the same setback as before - no one would respect her because of her age. She was also incredibly lonely and self-critical, and had little to no friends outside of her grandfather and his secretary.
When she was fifteen, she was hired by prefectural police to investigate a series of serial murders in a small, rural town called Inaba. These murders were strange - the victims were all found hanging upside down from something (a telephone pole, a roof, ect) after the fog common to the town cleared, and upon autospy, no cause of death could be determined. She worked closely with the police, though she was met with much scorn, and the men she worked with seemed convinced that there was a motive in the fact that both of the victims had some tie to the local high school. However, Naoto deemed this unimportant, and found a different link - both victims became "famous" in the area prior to their deaths.
The first victim, Mizuru Hiiragi, was a news reporter that became well-known after a highly publicized scandal in which she had an affair with the husband of a famous singer. She was found dead not long after. The second victim, Saki Konishi, was a high school senior who'd discovered Hiiragi's body and was found dead after she was all over TV, giving interviews. There were other disappearances, too, however these were quickly rescued by some unknown force - a local second year named Yukiko Amagi, whose family had owned a famous local inn for generations. She disappeared after giving an interview on TV, and showed up a few days later, claiming not to have any memory of the events. She'd been found by three other second years - a transfer student named Souji Seta, the son of a manager of a large department store, Yosuke Hanamura, and a girl named Chie Satanaka. Souji is especially interesting to Naoto, as he is staying with his uncle, Ryoutarou Dojima, who is a leading member of the team assigned to solve the murders.
Not long after, Naoto caught a TV special dealing with the local biker gangs. Prominently displayed was a first year at the local high school named Kanji Tatsumi, who was the son of the owners of a well-known textile shop. Naoto, sensing another kidnapping was eminent, spoke with him on a few occassions, and on each, realized they were being followed by Yukiko, Chie, Souji and Yosuke. This, of course, piqued her interest, and she began to suspect that the four were trying to solve the case themselves.
Despite her efforts, Kanji disappeared a few days later, but was found not long after. Once again, he'd been found by Yukiko, Chie, Souji and Yosuke, and claimed no memory of the events leading up to his kidnapping. Growing increasingly frustrated, Naoto was at her wits end when yet another young girl disappeared - this time Rise Kujikawa, a nation-wide famous idol who'd brought even more attention to Inaba when she'd announced her hiatus and added that she'd be staying in Inaba with her grandparents.
This girl, too, quickly showed up again, and the result was the same - no memory, and found by the previous kidnapping victims along with Chie, Yosuke and Soji. When the fog cleared from the town again, though, a third body was found - this one didn't match the MO of any of the others. He was a local teacher named Mooroka, and hadn't become famous prior to his death. The cause of death was also obvious - blunt-force trauma to the skull.
Despite this, Naoto helped the police pinpoint a killer - a young boy named Mitsuo. Before the suspect was arrested, she gave Chie, Souji, Yosuke and the others a visit, warning them off of the case and informing them that a suspect had been found. She also told them to stop treating the murders as a game, prompting Rise to snap back, "Aren't you the one who's treating this like a game?!" Naoto is shaken, reminded of her grandparent's clients when she was young, but doesn't let this show to the group. She gives them one more warning, then leaves.
A week or so later, the suspect is apprehended, but something is still bothering Naoto. He seems more like a copycat killer than the actual murderer, but the police won't listen to her. They're much too happy to close the case for that. So Naoto begins attending the same school as the victims so that she can stay in town and tie up the case's loose ends, and introduces herself to the group. She also asks them to admit they've had a part in the case, but they tell her some nonsense about a TV world and "Personas", not that she was expecting the truth in any case.
A few days later, Naoto singles herself out by allowing a rare interview, announcing to the nation that she doesn't believe the case is closed. And, just as she'd planned, she is promptly kidnapped. When she comes to, she finds herself in a strange place, with a doppelganger with gold eyes staring her down. The doppelganger brings up every weakness and insecurity Naoto has - her gender, her age, and her longing to accept herself and be accepted, and then claims that it's going to force Naoto to undergo surgery to become an adult male. Naoto is annoyed, but keeps her composure and waits for Souji and the others to arrive as she suspects they will.
And sure enough, they do - arriving just as Naoto is at her wit's end. The doppelganger simply ups it's ante and reveals her secrets to the entire assembled group, and Naoto finally snaps, ordering the clone to stop. Chie intervenes, calling out, "Don't say it!", but Kanji says that Naoto can say whatever she wants - otherwise, she'll just keep hurting. He adds that they can "kick the Shadow's ass" regardless. The "Shadow" responds by laughing condescendingly and going berserk, transforming into a strange half-robot, half-human version of Naoto, throwing her back and shouting, "I am a Shadow, the true self." In the insuing battle, Naoto sees for herself the Personae that she'd been told about - strange, mythological beings that are summoned with Tarot cards that the group uses to attack.
When Naoto's Shadow finally goes down, the "detective prince" forces herself to her feet and approaches it, accepting it, and all it's insecurities, as a part of her - albeit one she'd hidden until this point. The reaction is immediate - the Shadow disintegrates and transforms into a small, winged creature with a long energy sword, and Naoto immediately knows it's name and abilities.
Then she collapses, and the group guides her out of the strange world and out of the exit, at which point she finds herself in the local department store, Junes. They promise to explain everything to her when she recovers, and during her recovery she does as much research about the Shadows and Persona as she can, discovering that these are common psychological terms, and that the Persona do, indeed, take the form of classical mythological figures.
When she finally recovers, the group explains the place she'd found herself in - a strange world that can be entered through a TV, and one that is, apparently, formed by human thoughts and desires. Each person has a Shadow counterpart in that world, made up of hidden insecurities and hopes, which goes berserk and attacks when it's human half denies that it is a part of them. They also add that each of them awakened to their Persona in the same way Naoto did, with the exception of Souji, who apparently does not have a Shadow.
The serial killer has been killing people by throwing them into this alternate world, at which point they are sent to a place created by their hidden feelings and fears - for Yukiko, a castle (representing her longing to escape and find a prince to protect her), for Rise, a stripclub (representing her terror of the possibility that she could be turned into a sex symbol by her managers). When the fog sets in in the "real" world, it clears in the other one, which, for some reason, enrages the Shadows. The victims were killed by their Shadows, and Naoto realizes that this is the reason why no cause of death could be found, and the reason the victims were found in such odd positions - after being killed by their Shadow, they were expelled out of the TV world and left to land wherever they might.
The way that the group found out who was going to be next was by watching the "Midnight Channel". Naoto had heard about this before - it was a local urban legend, in which one watches a turned off TV at midnight on a rainy night and is supposed to see their soulmate. However, the reality is much more sinister - the figures appearing on the Midnight Channel are the killer's next victims, who first appear blurry and indistinguishable when the killer is uncertain who his next victim will be, and slowly grow clearer and clearer until they are easy to see. When this happens, it means that the victim has been thrown into the other world.
Naoto is then introduced to Teddie, a being from the TV world who doesn't know anything about his past or who, or what, he is. He gives her a pair of glasses which, he explains, allows her to see through the fog in the other world. Naoto then explains her beliefs about Mistuo - he was simply a copycat killer desperate for attention. She then adds that they must find the true killer as soon as possible, with or without the help of the police. She then describes what she remembers of her kidnapping - the doorbell rang and she answered it, only to find no one outside. Just as the alarm bells were going off in her head, she was grabbed from behind and her mouth covered with some sort of cloth. It was apparently doused in a chemical, because Naoto found herself unable to move. She was lucky enough to remain conscious, however, and took note that she was then thrown into a bag and carried on the killer's shoulder, then felt another impact. This, she assumes, was when she was thrown into the TV.
Yosuke then asks why the great "detective prince" didn't catch a better glimpse of her kidnapper, and Naoto falls silent for a moment before mumbling, "Well, to be honest, I... I was really, really scared."
She grows close to the group (as well as Souji's young cousin, Nanako), and finds, to her chagrin, that she loses her composure around them more than she has with anyone else. In addition, Kanji completely freaks out around her, blushing and apparently losing the ability to speak intelligently. Things are peaceful for a while as they wait for the killer to make the next move, and during this time, Naoto schedules physicals for them all to try to find out if the other world has any negative affect on any of them, and to see if the doctors can find out anything about Teddie. Everyone turns out perfectly healthy, but the doctors could find nothing unusual about Teddie, barring the fact that his x-rays turned out blurry, which they quickly said must be a malfunction of the machine, despite the fact that everyone else's x-rays turned out fine.
A while later, Souji receives a letter without a name or return address that says, simply, "dont rescue anymore". They hold an impromptu meeting about this, and Naoto suggests that Souji not mention this to his uncle, because it will make Dojima suspicious and much more protective, threatening their ability to solve the case. And so, they are forced to wait for a rainy night, and in the meantime, must deal with the culture festival at their high school.
This would normally be no big deal, except that, as a joke, Yosuke signs up Chie, Yukiko, Rise and Naoto for the beauty pagent. Of course the girls are enraged, especially after Chie finds out that no one can back out, even if they've been signed up by someone else. Naoto says she will simply have to take it up with the administration, but then Kanji cuts in, begging Naoto to enter for the sake of his well-being and manhood. Naoto is understandably confused, but, little does she know that Kanji's shadow was a manifestation of his fear of being gay (no, really), because, before he was kidnapped, he was attracted to Naoto and believed she was a he, as well as because, growing up in a textile shop, he enjoyed sewing and knitting quite a bit.
And so they give in, but in a bid for revenge, Rise and Chie sign the boys up for the crossdressing pagent, and the girls make the boys "look beautiful". Naoto is put in charge of Teddie, despite her lack of knowledge about make up or being girly. Despite this, Teddie turns out the least disturbing (no, really), and is dressed up as Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The other boys don't fair so well. Kanji is some ungodly version of Marilyn Monroe, Yosuke is a school girl, and Souji is a... Thing. Of course Teddie wins, and his prize is to be a judge for the girls' pageant. His first act as judge? To add a swimsuit competition. Naoto almost dies. She goes onto the stage for the usual part of the pageant, but refuses to come out for the swimsuit part. Despite this, she wins the competition.
Things get serious again when it rains for the first night in a while, and a figure appears on the Midnight Channel. The next night, Naoto receives a call from Yosuke, informing her that Dojima has taken Souji to the police station and is holding him there. Naoto takes a moment to watch the Midnight Channel, and sees none other than Souji's younger cousin, Nanako, who has taken to calling Souji "big bro". Then it clicks - recently, there was a story on the news, in which a politician did a study with elementary school students about the affects of the fog, which had increased in recent years. A young, intelligent girl's comment was released, though her name never was on television. It was, however, in print - Nanako Dojima. Naoto didn't think this would fit the criteria, but apparently it does. And so she immediately runs to Nanako's and Souji's house.
On the way, she gets a call from Chie, and explains what she's realized - Chie is horrified, and she tells Naoto that she and the others will try to get Souji out. Naoto agrees, but when she arrives at the Dojima household, the door is wide open and Nanako is nowhere to be found. Naoto gives the place a quick once over and finds that there are no signs of a forced entry. She quickly calls Yosuke, telling him what she'd discovered, and heads to the police station, where she finds Dojima, Souji and the others, and Dojima's partner, Adachi, all in the holding cell. Apparently Souji had received another letter, this one warning him to stop interfering, or the killer would take someone close to him. Dojima is going insane with worry, and orders checkpoints to be set up along the highways and each exit from town, and also orders searchers to look.
Naoto struggles to explain the true situation to Dojima, but he refuses to listen and leaves to look for Nanako. She then quickly explains everything she found at the Dojima house, and adds that it means the kidnapper was likely someone Nanko knew well, such as a friend or a friend of Dojima's. Adachi rules that out - he says that Dojima doesn't have any friends at the station, except for himself, then he quickly adds, "I-I was here the whole time, of course." So Naoto switches gears, further explaining that when she was kidnapped herself, the time from kidnapping to being thrown into the TV was a few minutes, at most. In other words, the culprit must be hauling a large TV around with him. She adds, though, that there have been no large, easy to spot cars around the neighborhood lately, and so it is likely the murderer drives a delivery truck or something similar - something that people see every day and ignore.
Adachi mentions that a delivery truck was mentioned in the papers Dojima had been collecting. Apparently Dojima didn't believe the case was solved, either. And so Naoto goes through the papers, and a name immediately strikes her - Namatame, the man who was involved in the affair with Hiiragi, the first victim. He had recently taken up the family business of delivering for a large company. Thus, Naoto believes they have their culprit. Adachi claims that he should go help Dojima find Nanako, and, if all the kids left, he wouldn't see. So they leave, heading to the address in Dojima's paperwork, but on the way spot the telltale signs of an accident.
When they arrive at the scene, they find Dojima, badly hurt, and the delivery truck Namatame had driven. Inside is a large TV, as well as a diary on the driver's seat. The diary explains that Namatame must "save" people, and lists the names and addresses of the victims - even those such as Yukiko and the others who were not released to the public. However, Naoto says that they shouldn't focus on Namatame anymore - they have the police for that, and it is clear that Nanako is already inside the other world.
When the ambulance arrives, Naoto rides with Souji and Dojima to the hospital, and the two wait until he wakes up. Naoto begs Dojima to leave it to them, and to trust them, and Dojima agrees, though he blames himself for being helpless while his daughter needs him. And so the group travels to the other world, where Rise uses her Persona to find out where Nanako is. When they arrive, they find that Nanako's "prison" is beautiful - "Like a storybook vision of Heaven," Rise says. And it's true - it does look like Heaven. Yosuke mentions that Nanako must miss her mother, who died a few years ago in a car accident, much more than they'd all realized.
And so they search through this Heaven, but with each floor they climb, Rise mentions that something is bothering her - she can sense Nanako getting closer and closer, but something seems off. When they reach the fourth floor, they hear Nanako telling herself that she isn't lonely without her mother, because she has her father and her "big bro". This hits Kanji particularly hard - he's horrified that a little girl has to convince herself she isn't lonely to keep from falling apart. Yosuke says they have to greet Nanako with a smile, and then Rise realizes someone else is with Nanako. Naoto assumes it's Namatame, and admits she has no idea why he would come into the TV world, knowing the risks.
When they finally reach the last floor, they see Namatame and Nanako. Namatame is practically strangling Nanako he is holding her so tight, and claims he's going to save Nanako. He identifies the others as "the ones I saved", and Kanji insists Namatame let go of Nanako, taking a step forward. Namatame panicks, tightening his grip on Nanako and warning Kanji not to come any closer. "Calm down, Kanji-kun! We can't predict his behavior! We have to keep him talking. If we can discern his intentions, perhaps we can somehow deal with him," Naoto says, and so Soji attempts to do just that. But the man says very little to any of Soji's questions, and finally he snaps, demanding that Namatame let Nanako go, but Naoto jumps in.
She insists that they have to pull his attention away from Nanako, and asks if Namatame put the people he saw on the Midnight Channel into the TV world. Namatame answers that "they all want to be saved", and Rise demands to know if she ever asked to be saved. Kanji agrees that Namatame did the exact opposite of saving them, but Namatame insists that he did help them, by allowing them to face the weaker sides of themselves. When Yukiko says, "We nearly died!" he simply answers with, "Yes, exactly!" Yosuke says, "You kidnapped them... Yes, or no?" and Namatame admits that he did. Naoto asks why he targeted locally famous residents, and why they appear on the Midnight Channel, but Namatame only says they're begging him to save them.
Yosuke snaps, calling him a murderer, but Namatame again refuses to believe he is a murderer. He says, then, "I know, you chased us all the way here, to kill..." then begins to laugh and insists he will save Nanako. When Kanji calls out, "You're not gonna get away with this!" Namatame turns into his shadow form, insisting that the TV world is wonderful, that the "real" world is full of filth and sinners, and that he is a savior. Nanako cries out that she can't breathe, and Yosuke and Kanji move forward at once, both punching Namatame. Nanako falls to the floor, and Naoto calls out, "Now, Senpai!" Soji grabs Nanako, and Namatame once again cries out that he will save Nanako. Then things turn strange. The shadow goes berserk, and Namatame screams, writhing and becoming strangely deformed. "What's happening to him?!" Naoto cries out, and Teddie warns that he's attracting more powerful shadows. Rise finally realizes that he's merging with the surrounding Shadows, and Namatame turns into a strange monster - a large, red humanoid figure wearing a white robe with a huge red halo.
He once again insists he'll save Nanako, prompting Naoto to wonder how solid his grasp on reality is. The fight goes as usual, until they whittle down his stamina enough that he uses a strange attack, in which he mind controls every other member of the party, with the exception of Soji and Rise. It is during this fight that Naoto is killed.
Series/Fandom: Persona 4
Original or Template version: Original
Age: 15
Gender: Female
Species: Human
Sexuality: Bisexual, but thoroughly uninterested in relationships.
Link to picture/PB of character: Naoto 1, 2, Persona, Shadow
Appearance: Naoto is a very attractive girl, but with a very androgynous appearance. She has short, dark blue hair, dark blue eyes and pale skin, which is described as "smooth" by the other girls, much to her chagrin. She's been compared many times to the main character of Persona 3, in terms of looks. She's also apparently well-endowed, judging by Rise's reaction when she gets a hold of a list of measurements. Despite this, Naoto dresses as a male whenever possible, keeping her hair in a pixie cut, binding her breasts, and wearing the boys' uniform. She's very short and thin, and her crossdressing pays off - all of the students at her high school call her "Naoto-kun", and don't realize that she's a girl until her secret is leaked. Naoto is generally seen wearing a navy blue officer's cap, and the Yasogami High boys' uniform, or, outside of school, her officer's cap and a dark blue, double-breasted miltary-style jacket with gold buttons and a white undershirt with a high, buttoned collar and a blue ribbon at the throat. The coat reaches to about mid-thigh, and under it she wears close fitting blue pants. In the TV world she also wears blue-rimmed glasses which allow her to see through the fog.
Like others of its kind, Naoto's Shadow is identical to her, with the exception of its gold eyes and strange double-voice. When it goes berserk, however, it takes the form of a half-human, half-robot Naoto with two blasters, rocket propelled feet, and wings similar to those of an airplane on its back.
Personality: Naoto is very serious, analytical, and loves a challenge. She is very composed and rarely loses her temper or allows her emotions to get the best of her, and is also very well-spoken and eloquent. Her parents were both detectives, and thus she likely gained her smarts from them - she easily analyzes situations and solves most problems easily. In this sense, she could be termed a genius - she could be called the "L" of Persona 4, and, in fact, is known as the "Detective Prince" throughout the region around Inaba. She is very suspicious and has a hard time making friends, and thus is shocked when others offer to spend time with her. Because of this, she spent most of her time in her grandfather's study reading detective novels, and soon developed a sort of complex. She believes she'd be better off as a man, but this is not because she feels she was meant to be born as a man or wishes to be one - she's worked closely with police for a good part of her life, and understands how male-oreinted the profession is. Thus, she believes that she would have very little chance as a woman.
In addition, she hates being viewed as a child, and unfortunately most of the adults she works with view her as such, and don't respect her opinions nearly as much because of it. Ironically, she is much more organized and responsible than the police force, and is the first to realize that something is not quite right with the way they'd closed the case - that there were too many loose ends. Naoto also hates being called useless, to the point where she drops her usual stoic facade and yells at Yosuke for calling her such. She is also very easy to unsettle or embarass - at least, as long as you mention how "cute" she looks, or she is seen in anything other than her usual (male) clothing. In these instances, she usually blushes badly and stammers out a change of subject. This sort of loss of composure only really happens around those she's close with, though, and seems to unsettle her badly.
Naoto seems to be unused to simply relaxing and having fun, and, as mentioned before, is not good with dealing with others - when two girls ask her to hang out, thinking she is a boy, she quickly says, "I have no interest at all in spending any time with you." She also looks behind her, blushes, and stammers out a, "M-me?" when the main character of the game and his friends ask her if she'd like to go out to eat with them. Obviously this is not conductive to popularity.
Her shadow is a representation of her longing to be respected as a detective and her hatred of being treated as a child and the disrespect of woman in the police force, as well as her need to accept herself for who she really is.
Abilities/Strengths: Naoto is incredibly good at solving mysteries and catching criminals, and has a nack for seeing what other's can't. In addition, she's very intelligent and rarely allows her emotions to override her logic. She can fight using a gun, but her main ability is that of summoning a Persona - a facet of herself called Sukuna Hikona. This Persona is of the Fortune Arcana, and exceeds in almighty, light, dark and physical skills. It takes the form of a being much tinier than its user, wearing a cape that resembles butterfly wings over a blue suit and shorts, and fights with an energy sword many times longer than itself.
Weaknesses:
History: Naoto was born to a long line of detectives, but tells the others that, unlike most children who inherit professions, she didn't resent it. In fact, she was inspired by her parents to become a great detective. However, when she was young, both of her parents died in a car crash, and she was adopted by her grandfather. A loner by nature, and "inept at making friends", Naoto spent most of her time in her grandfather's study, reading as many detective novels as she could get her hands on. These novels were populated by handsome, charming men, though, and thus she believed she would never succeed as a female detective.
Feeling it was his duty, as her parents were dead, Naoto's grandfather allowed her to help him on some of his cases, secretly. Of course, when his clients found out, they were furious that a child was helping to solve the case, and viewed it as "fooling around", or just a little girl playing a game. It was through these experiences with the police department that Naoto found out how male dominated the profession was, and this only intesified her belief that, in order to be successful, she would have to be a man.
So, Naoto began to dress as a male, binding her breasts and speaking with a deeper voice, and was soon known by the media as Naoto-kun, the "Detective Prince". She solved many cases under this guise, and was successful, but met the same setback as before - no one would respect her because of her age. She was also incredibly lonely and self-critical, and had little to no friends outside of her grandfather and his secretary.
When she was fifteen, she was hired by prefectural police to investigate a series of serial murders in a small, rural town called Inaba. These murders were strange - the victims were all found hanging upside down from something (a telephone pole, a roof, ect) after the fog common to the town cleared, and upon autospy, no cause of death could be determined. She worked closely with the police, though she was met with much scorn, and the men she worked with seemed convinced that there was a motive in the fact that both of the victims had some tie to the local high school. However, Naoto deemed this unimportant, and found a different link - both victims became "famous" in the area prior to their deaths.
The first victim, Mizuru Hiiragi, was a news reporter that became well-known after a highly publicized scandal in which she had an affair with the husband of a famous singer. She was found dead not long after. The second victim, Saki Konishi, was a high school senior who'd discovered Hiiragi's body and was found dead after she was all over TV, giving interviews. There were other disappearances, too, however these were quickly rescued by some unknown force - a local second year named Yukiko Amagi, whose family had owned a famous local inn for generations. She disappeared after giving an interview on TV, and showed up a few days later, claiming not to have any memory of the events. She'd been found by three other second years - a transfer student named Souji Seta, the son of a manager of a large department store, Yosuke Hanamura, and a girl named Chie Satanaka. Souji is especially interesting to Naoto, as he is staying with his uncle, Ryoutarou Dojima, who is a leading member of the team assigned to solve the murders.
Not long after, Naoto caught a TV special dealing with the local biker gangs. Prominently displayed was a first year at the local high school named Kanji Tatsumi, who was the son of the owners of a well-known textile shop. Naoto, sensing another kidnapping was eminent, spoke with him on a few occassions, and on each, realized they were being followed by Yukiko, Chie, Souji and Yosuke. This, of course, piqued her interest, and she began to suspect that the four were trying to solve the case themselves.
Despite her efforts, Kanji disappeared a few days later, but was found not long after. Once again, he'd been found by Yukiko, Chie, Souji and Yosuke, and claimed no memory of the events leading up to his kidnapping. Growing increasingly frustrated, Naoto was at her wits end when yet another young girl disappeared - this time Rise Kujikawa, a nation-wide famous idol who'd brought even more attention to Inaba when she'd announced her hiatus and added that she'd be staying in Inaba with her grandparents.
This girl, too, quickly showed up again, and the result was the same - no memory, and found by the previous kidnapping victims along with Chie, Yosuke and Soji. When the fog cleared from the town again, though, a third body was found - this one didn't match the MO of any of the others. He was a local teacher named Mooroka, and hadn't become famous prior to his death. The cause of death was also obvious - blunt-force trauma to the skull.
Despite this, Naoto helped the police pinpoint a killer - a young boy named Mitsuo. Before the suspect was arrested, she gave Chie, Souji, Yosuke and the others a visit, warning them off of the case and informing them that a suspect had been found. She also told them to stop treating the murders as a game, prompting Rise to snap back, "Aren't you the one who's treating this like a game?!" Naoto is shaken, reminded of her grandparent's clients when she was young, but doesn't let this show to the group. She gives them one more warning, then leaves.
A week or so later, the suspect is apprehended, but something is still bothering Naoto. He seems more like a copycat killer than the actual murderer, but the police won't listen to her. They're much too happy to close the case for that. So Naoto begins attending the same school as the victims so that she can stay in town and tie up the case's loose ends, and introduces herself to the group. She also asks them to admit they've had a part in the case, but they tell her some nonsense about a TV world and "Personas", not that she was expecting the truth in any case.
A few days later, Naoto singles herself out by allowing a rare interview, announcing to the nation that she doesn't believe the case is closed. And, just as she'd planned, she is promptly kidnapped. When she comes to, she finds herself in a strange place, with a doppelganger with gold eyes staring her down. The doppelganger brings up every weakness and insecurity Naoto has - her gender, her age, and her longing to accept herself and be accepted, and then claims that it's going to force Naoto to undergo surgery to become an adult male. Naoto is annoyed, but keeps her composure and waits for Souji and the others to arrive as she suspects they will.
And sure enough, they do - arriving just as Naoto is at her wit's end. The doppelganger simply ups it's ante and reveals her secrets to the entire assembled group, and Naoto finally snaps, ordering the clone to stop. Chie intervenes, calling out, "Don't say it!", but Kanji says that Naoto can say whatever she wants - otherwise, she'll just keep hurting. He adds that they can "kick the Shadow's ass" regardless. The "Shadow" responds by laughing condescendingly and going berserk, transforming into a strange half-robot, half-human version of Naoto, throwing her back and shouting, "I am a Shadow, the true self." In the insuing battle, Naoto sees for herself the Personae that she'd been told about - strange, mythological beings that are summoned with Tarot cards that the group uses to attack.
When Naoto's Shadow finally goes down, the "detective prince" forces herself to her feet and approaches it, accepting it, and all it's insecurities, as a part of her - albeit one she'd hidden until this point. The reaction is immediate - the Shadow disintegrates and transforms into a small, winged creature with a long energy sword, and Naoto immediately knows it's name and abilities.
Then she collapses, and the group guides her out of the strange world and out of the exit, at which point she finds herself in the local department store, Junes. They promise to explain everything to her when she recovers, and during her recovery she does as much research about the Shadows and Persona as she can, discovering that these are common psychological terms, and that the Persona do, indeed, take the form of classical mythological figures.
When she finally recovers, the group explains the place she'd found herself in - a strange world that can be entered through a TV, and one that is, apparently, formed by human thoughts and desires. Each person has a Shadow counterpart in that world, made up of hidden insecurities and hopes, which goes berserk and attacks when it's human half denies that it is a part of them. They also add that each of them awakened to their Persona in the same way Naoto did, with the exception of Souji, who apparently does not have a Shadow.
The serial killer has been killing people by throwing them into this alternate world, at which point they are sent to a place created by their hidden feelings and fears - for Yukiko, a castle (representing her longing to escape and find a prince to protect her), for Rise, a stripclub (representing her terror of the possibility that she could be turned into a sex symbol by her managers). When the fog sets in in the "real" world, it clears in the other one, which, for some reason, enrages the Shadows. The victims were killed by their Shadows, and Naoto realizes that this is the reason why no cause of death could be found, and the reason the victims were found in such odd positions - after being killed by their Shadow, they were expelled out of the TV world and left to land wherever they might.
The way that the group found out who was going to be next was by watching the "Midnight Channel". Naoto had heard about this before - it was a local urban legend, in which one watches a turned off TV at midnight on a rainy night and is supposed to see their soulmate. However, the reality is much more sinister - the figures appearing on the Midnight Channel are the killer's next victims, who first appear blurry and indistinguishable when the killer is uncertain who his next victim will be, and slowly grow clearer and clearer until they are easy to see. When this happens, it means that the victim has been thrown into the other world.
Naoto is then introduced to Teddie, a being from the TV world who doesn't know anything about his past or who, or what, he is. He gives her a pair of glasses which, he explains, allows her to see through the fog in the other world. Naoto then explains her beliefs about Mistuo - he was simply a copycat killer desperate for attention. She then adds that they must find the true killer as soon as possible, with or without the help of the police. She then describes what she remembers of her kidnapping - the doorbell rang and she answered it, only to find no one outside. Just as the alarm bells were going off in her head, she was grabbed from behind and her mouth covered with some sort of cloth. It was apparently doused in a chemical, because Naoto found herself unable to move. She was lucky enough to remain conscious, however, and took note that she was then thrown into a bag and carried on the killer's shoulder, then felt another impact. This, she assumes, was when she was thrown into the TV.
Yosuke then asks why the great "detective prince" didn't catch a better glimpse of her kidnapper, and Naoto falls silent for a moment before mumbling, "Well, to be honest, I... I was really, really scared."
She grows close to the group (as well as Souji's young cousin, Nanako), and finds, to her chagrin, that she loses her composure around them more than she has with anyone else. In addition, Kanji completely freaks out around her, blushing and apparently losing the ability to speak intelligently. Things are peaceful for a while as they wait for the killer to make the next move, and during this time, Naoto schedules physicals for them all to try to find out if the other world has any negative affect on any of them, and to see if the doctors can find out anything about Teddie. Everyone turns out perfectly healthy, but the doctors could find nothing unusual about Teddie, barring the fact that his x-rays turned out blurry, which they quickly said must be a malfunction of the machine, despite the fact that everyone else's x-rays turned out fine.
A while later, Souji receives a letter without a name or return address that says, simply, "dont rescue anymore". They hold an impromptu meeting about this, and Naoto suggests that Souji not mention this to his uncle, because it will make Dojima suspicious and much more protective, threatening their ability to solve the case. And so, they are forced to wait for a rainy night, and in the meantime, must deal with the culture festival at their high school.
This would normally be no big deal, except that, as a joke, Yosuke signs up Chie, Yukiko, Rise and Naoto for the beauty pagent. Of course the girls are enraged, especially after Chie finds out that no one can back out, even if they've been signed up by someone else. Naoto says she will simply have to take it up with the administration, but then Kanji cuts in, begging Naoto to enter for the sake of his well-being and manhood. Naoto is understandably confused, but, little does she know that Kanji's shadow was a manifestation of his fear of being gay (no, really), because, before he was kidnapped, he was attracted to Naoto and believed she was a he, as well as because, growing up in a textile shop, he enjoyed sewing and knitting quite a bit.
And so they give in, but in a bid for revenge, Rise and Chie sign the boys up for the crossdressing pagent, and the girls make the boys "look beautiful". Naoto is put in charge of Teddie, despite her lack of knowledge about make up or being girly. Despite this, Teddie turns out the least disturbing (no, really), and is dressed up as Alice from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The other boys don't fair so well. Kanji is some ungodly version of Marilyn Monroe, Yosuke is a school girl, and Souji is a... Thing. Of course Teddie wins, and his prize is to be a judge for the girls' pageant. His first act as judge? To add a swimsuit competition. Naoto almost dies. She goes onto the stage for the usual part of the pageant, but refuses to come out for the swimsuit part. Despite this, she wins the competition.
Things get serious again when it rains for the first night in a while, and a figure appears on the Midnight Channel. The next night, Naoto receives a call from Yosuke, informing her that Dojima has taken Souji to the police station and is holding him there. Naoto takes a moment to watch the Midnight Channel, and sees none other than Souji's younger cousin, Nanako, who has taken to calling Souji "big bro". Then it clicks - recently, there was a story on the news, in which a politician did a study with elementary school students about the affects of the fog, which had increased in recent years. A young, intelligent girl's comment was released, though her name never was on television. It was, however, in print - Nanako Dojima. Naoto didn't think this would fit the criteria, but apparently it does. And so she immediately runs to Nanako's and Souji's house.
On the way, she gets a call from Chie, and explains what she's realized - Chie is horrified, and she tells Naoto that she and the others will try to get Souji out. Naoto agrees, but when she arrives at the Dojima household, the door is wide open and Nanako is nowhere to be found. Naoto gives the place a quick once over and finds that there are no signs of a forced entry. She quickly calls Yosuke, telling him what she'd discovered, and heads to the police station, where she finds Dojima, Souji and the others, and Dojima's partner, Adachi, all in the holding cell. Apparently Souji had received another letter, this one warning him to stop interfering, or the killer would take someone close to him. Dojima is going insane with worry, and orders checkpoints to be set up along the highways and each exit from town, and also orders searchers to look.
Naoto struggles to explain the true situation to Dojima, but he refuses to listen and leaves to look for Nanako. She then quickly explains everything she found at the Dojima house, and adds that it means the kidnapper was likely someone Nanko knew well, such as a friend or a friend of Dojima's. Adachi rules that out - he says that Dojima doesn't have any friends at the station, except for himself, then he quickly adds, "I-I was here the whole time, of course." So Naoto switches gears, further explaining that when she was kidnapped herself, the time from kidnapping to being thrown into the TV was a few minutes, at most. In other words, the culprit must be hauling a large TV around with him. She adds, though, that there have been no large, easy to spot cars around the neighborhood lately, and so it is likely the murderer drives a delivery truck or something similar - something that people see every day and ignore.
Adachi mentions that a delivery truck was mentioned in the papers Dojima had been collecting. Apparently Dojima didn't believe the case was solved, either. And so Naoto goes through the papers, and a name immediately strikes her - Namatame, the man who was involved in the affair with Hiiragi, the first victim. He had recently taken up the family business of delivering for a large company. Thus, Naoto believes they have their culprit. Adachi claims that he should go help Dojima find Nanako, and, if all the kids left, he wouldn't see. So they leave, heading to the address in Dojima's paperwork, but on the way spot the telltale signs of an accident.
When they arrive at the scene, they find Dojima, badly hurt, and the delivery truck Namatame had driven. Inside is a large TV, as well as a diary on the driver's seat. The diary explains that Namatame must "save" people, and lists the names and addresses of the victims - even those such as Yukiko and the others who were not released to the public. However, Naoto says that they shouldn't focus on Namatame anymore - they have the police for that, and it is clear that Nanako is already inside the other world.
When the ambulance arrives, Naoto rides with Souji and Dojima to the hospital, and the two wait until he wakes up. Naoto begs Dojima to leave it to them, and to trust them, and Dojima agrees, though he blames himself for being helpless while his daughter needs him. And so the group travels to the other world, where Rise uses her Persona to find out where Nanako is. When they arrive, they find that Nanako's "prison" is beautiful - "Like a storybook vision of Heaven," Rise says. And it's true - it does look like Heaven. Yosuke mentions that Nanako must miss her mother, who died a few years ago in a car accident, much more than they'd all realized.
And so they search through this Heaven, but with each floor they climb, Rise mentions that something is bothering her - she can sense Nanako getting closer and closer, but something seems off. When they reach the fourth floor, they hear Nanako telling herself that she isn't lonely without her mother, because she has her father and her "big bro". This hits Kanji particularly hard - he's horrified that a little girl has to convince herself she isn't lonely to keep from falling apart. Yosuke says they have to greet Nanako with a smile, and then Rise realizes someone else is with Nanako. Naoto assumes it's Namatame, and admits she has no idea why he would come into the TV world, knowing the risks.
When they finally reach the last floor, they see Namatame and Nanako. Namatame is practically strangling Nanako he is holding her so tight, and claims he's going to save Nanako. He identifies the others as "the ones I saved", and Kanji insists Namatame let go of Nanako, taking a step forward. Namatame panicks, tightening his grip on Nanako and warning Kanji not to come any closer. "Calm down, Kanji-kun! We can't predict his behavior! We have to keep him talking. If we can discern his intentions, perhaps we can somehow deal with him," Naoto says, and so Soji attempts to do just that. But the man says very little to any of Soji's questions, and finally he snaps, demanding that Namatame let Nanako go, but Naoto jumps in.
She insists that they have to pull his attention away from Nanako, and asks if Namatame put the people he saw on the Midnight Channel into the TV world. Namatame answers that "they all want to be saved", and Rise demands to know if she ever asked to be saved. Kanji agrees that Namatame did the exact opposite of saving them, but Namatame insists that he did help them, by allowing them to face the weaker sides of themselves. When Yukiko says, "We nearly died!" he simply answers with, "Yes, exactly!" Yosuke says, "You kidnapped them... Yes, or no?" and Namatame admits that he did. Naoto asks why he targeted locally famous residents, and why they appear on the Midnight Channel, but Namatame only says they're begging him to save them.
Yosuke snaps, calling him a murderer, but Namatame again refuses to believe he is a murderer. He says, then, "I know, you chased us all the way here, to kill..." then begins to laugh and insists he will save Nanako. When Kanji calls out, "You're not gonna get away with this!" Namatame turns into his shadow form, insisting that the TV world is wonderful, that the "real" world is full of filth and sinners, and that he is a savior. Nanako cries out that she can't breathe, and Yosuke and Kanji move forward at once, both punching Namatame. Nanako falls to the floor, and Naoto calls out, "Now, Senpai!" Soji grabs Nanako, and Namatame once again cries out that he will save Nanako. Then things turn strange. The shadow goes berserk, and Namatame screams, writhing and becoming strangely deformed. "What's happening to him?!" Naoto cries out, and Teddie warns that he's attracting more powerful shadows. Rise finally realizes that he's merging with the surrounding Shadows, and Namatame turns into a strange monster - a large, red humanoid figure wearing a white robe with a huge red halo.
He once again insists he'll save Nanako, prompting Naoto to wonder how solid his grasp on reality is. The fight goes as usual, until they whittle down his stamina enough that he uses a strange attack, in which he mind controls every other member of the party, with the exception of Soji and Rise. It is during this fight that Naoto is killed.