Ann Takamaki
ESFJ
Functional Order: Fe - Si - Ne - Ti
Spoiler warning This article will cover Ann’s analysis and there’ll be references to Persona 5, alongside with events from her confidant.
Judging Functional Axis
Extroverted Feeling (Fe) / Introverted Thinking (Ti)
Ann is a sweet and caring girl, who often offers moral support and cheers others up, more than giving logical advice. All her focus as a person and mostly as a phantom thief lays on giving people hope and the will to fight through her own strength - she wants to be a source of inspiration for everyone, both as a model and as a vigilante. As a Fe dom, she often comes up with fun and engaging activities to do all together, she is the most enthusiastic towards parties and holds very dear the general happiness and cohesion of the group. She doesn’t want to leave people behind and is very hard on herself for not being able to help Shiho when she needed it: this is why Ann wants not only to make up for not acting sooner, but also feels the need to help a bigger number of people. She is also very welcoming of new members in the group, even if they got off on the wrong foot - think about Yusuke (who she found kinda creepy at first) and mostly Makoto. Ann was very harsh with Makoto, as she saw her as a threat for the group and as a person who doesn’t care for others and only looks for her own benefit. After discovering Makoto’s situation though, she understands her better and apologises, effectively making the first and most important step towards reconciliation. Furthermore, both Makoto’s investigation and Mika’s rivalry are two good example of what happens when Fe is under stress: instead of approaching the situation rationally (inf Ti), Ann lashes out against them and resents them on a personal level. She can’t focus anymore and tends to act in an irrational, emotional way, using her Ti to attack people instead of reflecting upon what’s happening. Her confidant in particular shows the development of her Si (we’ll talk more about it later) and her Ti. She makes peace with the fact that Mika is a better model than her because she’s confident and puts a serious effort in what she’s doing. In the end, Ann finds her own merits and learns to build the self-assurance she was looking for in order to confront Mika in a more mature way, so she can pursue her dream of becoming a model to inspire people from the covers.
Perceiving Functional Axis
Introverted Sensing (Si) / Extroverted Intuition (Ne)
Ann’s auxiliary Si is admittedly not very easy to spot, as it doesn’t show that much during the regular plot and is absent during most of her confidant since she starts in a loop. The whole point of Ann’s confidant in fact is to become stronger: a stronger person, a stronger thief, a better model, a better friend. But dealing with Shiho’s attempted suicide and the whole Kamoshida scandal affected her so much that she shuts down her introverted, auxiliary function and responds to stress by charging forward full speed ahead. She’s insecure of herself and her strength, and instead of taking a moment to reflect on herself, her experience and the steps she needs to take from that moment onward (healthy auxiliary Si), she proceeds with a trial and error approach that in the end only leaves her frustrated. It’s only when she understands that becoming a model is though and focuses on what she has to do, little by little, that she’s able to proceed on that path with a clear mind. In the end, she becomes less of a airhead and more aware of the attitude that allows her to successfully build relationships with her coworkers. She’s also satisfied with “not being a top model just yet”, but she’s determined to proceed by steps and slow progress. Generally speaking, her Si can be observed in her being more sensitive than intuitive, she doesn’t think much in abstract and doesn’t look for a bigger picture. Her Ne is still present though, as Ann can be very open towards new options and, inside the group, is often the first one who questions their action when a solid counterargument comes - usually from Akechi.
Also typed as ENFP
We can understand why ENFP is a popular typing for Ann, especially since her Ne is more easily spotted than her Si - it also seems that ENFP is a frequent mistype for ESFJs (take a look at Mayuri from Stein’s;Gate if you’re curious.) As we’ve stated, this can be explained with a loop, and looking at her confidant, Ann is a pretty textbook example of what a FeNe loop looks like: only relying on what people think about you and trying everything that pops up in your head in order to accomplish your goal of being liked, accepted or becoming a source of admiration. We agree that her Si isn’t very strong, so we also proceeded by elimination in typing her:
ENFP would mean auxiliary Fi, but if there’s a trait that is beyond doubt in Ann, is her high and strong Fe. Fi, even if auxiliary, would imply a stronger sense of self (which Ann lacks) and a more individualistic approach to life, especially if identity and morals are involved. Ann’s focus lays on other people, not on ideas and even less on her own sense of self;
ENFJ implies auxiliary Ni + tertiary Se, where Ni provides the envisioned, clear goal that one wants to reach and Se pushes the person towards taking concrete action to achieve said goal and being generally proactive in life. Ann isn't like that, as she tends to be fickle and open to try different approaches to reach her goal (which, by the way, is far from clear and defined);
Generally assuming that she’s an Extrovert (which in our opinion cannot be questioned) and that the functions involved are Fe, Ne, Si and Ti, this leaves two options open: ENTP and ESFJ. We believe that is agreeable that ENTP cannot be an option thinking about Ann. So, this leaves ESFJ.
On a final note, we’d like to add that fictional characters aren’t real people. Typing them is fun and can be a good way to learn MBTI, but plot writing and consistency are two factors that must be taken into consideration as well. Regarding Ann, these are two problems that we’ve found, as the regular plot doesn’t show her personality in a rounded way and, functionally speaking, only tends to focus on her Fe. So, we’re aware that there aren’t a ton of evidences that point to aux Si, but some can be found nonetheless - so, ESFJ seems like the only type that suits her.