disclaimer : all content in this post is up to interpretation, and almost everything i say is my own opinion. it’s okay to have your own opinion, but please don’t hate. just know opinions =/= facts. and, to be honest, i’m biased.
out of all the girls you can date in p4/p4g, i can wholeheartedly say naoto is the best choice for yu. by far, from what i’ve observed, she cares the most for yu, from her social links and other interactions with him.
let’s talk kanji and naoto first, though.
it can be said with almost 100% certainty that kanji likes naoto. i don’t think anyone can deny this–
–but the real mystery here is how naoto feels for kanji.
naoto’s feelings for kanji
naoto–by all my own observations–thinks of kanji as nothing more than a friend. i think the only “hint” of the pairing on naoto’s side is that she blushes when she falls on him during the ski trip, but if i fell on top of anyone i’d blush too. it really doesn’t mean anything.
besides, kanji is blushing far more than she is. (to be honest, she just looks annoyed, or embarrassed that she fell.)
persona 4 arena/ultimax has scenes, (particularly kanji’s alternate ending), with naoto blushing over only calling him kanji, but she would probably be flustered with anyone asking that due to the meaning it holds. i don’t think she was particularly flustered by kanji asking that. he was talking about how formal she speaks, and it probably provoked some feelings within her about herself.
before this, he kept going on and on about how annoying it was that she was proper with him. (even in the regular story mode he talks about her way of speech, and she seems very bothered by it.)
he basically tried to bully her into becoming more intimate when she clearly doesn’t want to. (she doesn’t even do what he asks, she stills calls him kanji-kun immediately afterwards.
she tries to say “kanji” later on, but she seems… distant. or…antagonized. or just generally irked.)
either way, during this scene, she simply seems like a concerned friend.
naoto, in general, seems uninterested in kanji beyond friendship. the only reason she blushes is because he tries to be intimate with her, and because of her lack of experience she gets flustered. she gets flustered with yu, too, but she seems far more into it with him. i can’t say for sure whether or not she likes kanji, but i would think she really doesn’t.
the way kanji acts around her really rubs me the wrong way. he’s always telling her to do things, like trying to force her to be in the pageant.
(this is stemmed from his denial of his feelings for naoto as a boy. this rejection of his sexuality is still not an acceptable excuse for his actions, however.)
yu is the only one who objects to the idea (if you choose the right dialogue option).
kanji’s “make me a man” attitude just makes me really dislike* him and the way he treats naoto. she’s really not comfortable with feminine things, like pageants, swimsuits and such–
–yet kanji tries to force into doing those things, (or guilt her, at least). i doubt kanji has bad intentions, but he definitely shows it in a cringe-worthy way.
kanji doesn’t accept naoto for who she is
naoto’s shadow event and social link are all about her accepting herself, and others accepting her, too.
kanji tries to guilt her into being someone she isn’t, while yu accepts her for who she is :
…and many more beautiful cases. (in fact, let me direct you to this post for a few more examples.)
because you, the player, chooses how yu reacts to the world around him, it’s very tricky to deal with his side of things. but there still are limited options.
in general, (or at least going by options in her social link) the player has the choice of accepting naoto. there are multiple occasions where he can come out and tell her he loves her for who she is.
when the investigation team faces izanami-no-okami in the true ending, she sends yu’s friends to the underworld, forcing him to watch as his friends die one by one. eventually it’s his turn to face death, but right as he’s about to give up his friends encourage him to go on living and fighting. naoto’s words of motiviation strike me as particularily affectionate, and it gives you a sense that he really does accept naoto.
and this happens even if you didn’t romance her. the words “never fear… we’re always together” seem to me that naoto is telling you she’s here for you whenever you need her, but her wording implies she wants to be there with you, not just for you.
it certainly looks like she has some sort of feelings for yu. even if it isn’t completely romantic, she still has a deep respect for him.
other hints on naoto’s side
- one rainy early morning when yu, yosuke, kanji, and naoto meet up at an intersection on the way to school. only yu and naoto have umbrellas (which match, btw) so yosuke and kanji share because they don’t want to walk in the rain without one. kanji and yosuke fight over who they’re paired with (yosuke wants to go with yu, kanji is far too embaressed to go with naoto), but eventually the decision falls to you. if you choose to go with naoto yourself, leaving the other two with your own umbrella, she’ll blush…
…and state she has no qualms about the decision.
sharing an umbrella is a sign of intimacy or romance in japanese manga, (not real-life japan), or so i’ve heard.
- if you fail to defeat adachi’s dungeon by december 24th, naoto will call you saying the town is overrun with shadows, and you hear her scream in agony as she dies. despite her impending and unfortunate death, she decides to call yu. she calls yu as she reaches her end. she calls yu and not kanji or rise or anyone else.
- during their adventures in the TV world, naoto comments on yu’s outfit changes, mostly to point out the humor in them.
- out of all yu’s romances, naoto is the only one to ask about him.
- speaking of, during her social link you must recall things you’ve learned about her to continue.
(when asked a place she’d be fond of, choosing ‘somewhere high’)
(when asked about something she can’t stand to do, choosing ‘throwing things away’)
- she outright tells you she thinks about you a lot.
- she always wants to be with you.
- (she wishes to be together on new year’s.)
- on christmas eve, she gives you a watch that tells you where she is, and she has one to match.
- getting distracted by yu.
- in persona q, during the group date cafe, answering the questions to get naoto gives you a few adorable hints.
- in naoto’s story mode in persona 4 arena, her first opponent is yu. but even before then, she’s thinking about him after seeing the video.
- she also feels safe and relived that yu is with her in this strange, new TV world. she feels strong when he’s around. and when he can’t come with her, she’s hesitant to go on.
- in persona 4: dancing all night, you begin the game with naoto waiting for a dance lesson from rise. just you and naoto. alone. together.
at one point, early in, naoto and yu are wondering where she is. naoto wonders if rise is in trouble, and says this:
from the look on her face (and the tone of her voice), she seems somewhat upset of rise’s affections for yu.
later on, in the TV world, the older students and younger students split up, leaving naoto, rise, kanji and teddie together. at the beginning, she has this exchange with teddie regarding yu:
insinuating she’s uncomfortable without yu–and that she feels safe with him.
- besides that, both naoto and yu are living in tokyo after the events of p4g. that would probably mean they hang out far more often than the others in inaba. although still not entirely all that often, since she’s most likely busy with work. but this is all speculation.
kanji doesn’t treat naoto the way you should treat a person you care , or anyone for that matter. he doesn’t accept her true self, and pushes her to do things she doesn’t want to do. yu, however, accepts her for who she truly, really is, and she loves that. it’s important to her. naoto likes yu; she has a deep admiration and it’s possible she even loves him.
(i’ll add more if i ever find anything else out and im not lazy as fuck. i literally spent all day on this post bc i’m a fucking loser and i stayed home from school.)
* don’t get me wrong. i love kanji… when he’s not around or talking about naoto. he’s very sweet, especially in his social link. kanji isn’t a bad guy by any means, and that’s not what i’m trying to make you think, but the way he handles his crush on naoto is not acceptable to me.
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