Something P5R doesn't properly convey is just how FAR Kichijoji is from Leblanc. This is what the travel time looks like from Sangenjaya to Kichijoji: a minimum 2-hour commute going back and forth, plus the time spent walking. Akechi is also an evening confidant, which is when there are peak crowds. And Joker still has to wake up early for school the next day. So the next time you play, remember that Joker is so down bad he's willing to do all this just to see his rival
goro akechi in a nutshell is just “i’ll kill you.” and when that doesn’t work, he’s like “we can kill each other.” and when that doesn’t work, he’s like “you can kill me.” and when that doesn’t work, he’s like “i’ll kill myself.” and when that doesn’t work—
sorry if this is half assed its 1am and i cant sleep so im yapping and idk if im cooking or not
thinking abt the parallels between the non-joker members of the shujin and royal trios (joker being excluded because. well. he’s in both).
ann and sumire are both driven by intense devotion to someone they care about. ryuji and akechi are both significantly driven by anger at the people responsible for their abuse and suffering.
the difference is in how they were able to cope with those feelings.
ann, feeling guilt and grief over not being able to do more for shiho, committed herself to strengthening her heart and will, hoping to serve as a beacon of hope that would give shiho - and, particularly postcanon, as exemplified in strikers - other people strength in turn. ann was able to cope by holding onto and sharing her truest self, but sumire wasn’t so fortunate. falling into grief and self-blame, she became convinced that the only way to move forward was to become somebody else. she thought that the person she was wasn’t worth being.
ryuji’s anger boiled over when he (rightfully) lashed out at kamoshida, and he struggled with that anger for a long time. it had nowhere to go, because he’d already found out firsthand that standing up for himself and others would be useless. when he awakened his persona, the nascent phantom thieves gave him an outlet in the form of a noble cause. akechi never got that chance. there was no one to fight for him, and he had no one to fight for but himself and his mother’s memory. he channeled his anger into a plan, and we all know what followed after that. (side note: their parental situations are noticeably similar. both of them display immense devotion to their mothers, who were abandoned by their fathers. thats another post though)
ann and ryuji found solidarity in the phantom thieves. sumire and akechi were not so fortunate. instead of the mutual support of young people like them, they found maruki and shido. (VERY different situations. but stay with me.) it didn’t end well for either of them. shido exploited akechi’s anger to mold him into a weapon. and while maruki had much better intentions for sumire than shido had for akechi, he was ultimately responsible for sumire being molded into “kasumi”. they both became manifestations of the adults ideals.
the phantom thieves gave ann and ryuji what they needed. akechi and sumire thought they knew what they wanted, and the adults they turned to used it to turn them into hollow husks of themselves.
looking at how Goro Akechi became a foil of Akira Kurusu thru their childhood (attachment styles)
(Content Warnings for discussing all the stuff in Akechi's childhood specifically, bad parenting, neglect, mental illness. Take care of urselves)
waking up to the tags @1derpu2 added on another post of mine about Akechi ("#I don't think I could survive in his position") had me thinking of a 15-16 year old Akechi, and how survival even feels to him.
Because arguably Akechi has been in survival mode since he was born. Even with a mother doing her best to provide, poverty fundamentally rewrites the brain especially at such a young age−
(Tangent: Akechi's dessert blog actually reminds me of Brennan Lee Mulligan during the d20 Misfits & Magic actual play discussing his character [Evan Kelmp, an unhoused orphaned kid] ordering from desserts at restaurants in order to maximize caloric intake for his money bc stuff on the dessert menu actually tends to contain the most calories– ANYWAYS)
–and he also can feel the underlying tension in how his mother is treated, how he himself is treated, how there is no support network for them. I can imagine that's part of the lure of an ensemble kid's show like Featherman: reliable companions who take your hand rather than slapping it away.
I've done a lot of reading into attachment styles and attachment trauma (bc it's interesting and also haha ;] trauma) and it is a really cool lens to view the differences between our two Wild Cards Akechi and Akira.
adding a reblog with an attachment theory rundown! actual discussion of akechu attachment stuff below cut
There is no better fit for Akechi than a Disorganized Attachment style after finding his sole caregiver and financial (his mother) dead by her own hand after years of her focus being split by the work she needed to do for them to afford survival, before being passed around by distant relatives who viewed him with contempt, if they acknowledged him at all.
The world treated him and his mother like vermin, so of course no one else is trustworthy, of course the people who take advantage are evil. Of course everyone takes advantage. Just like his father, who is the root of this whole horrible thing (the thing being Goro's life, the thing being Goro)
His mother left him violently, voluntarily (from his pov, suicide & mental illness are complicated), so he must be someone repulsive. Incapable of being loved. If he wants others to love him, and he must in order to get close enough to his father to kill, then he must be anything other than himself.
One of the symptoms of disorganized attachment and attachment trauma is the inability to regulate emotions, leading those with it to feel things with an intensity they can't control, soothe, or explain that can fluctuate between emotions rapidly.
And doesn't that markedly fit with a kid who has awoken such disparate personas that are both him? His entire relationship with the world (there must be justice but there is no such thing as justice) and his inner psyche does explain why he brings up Hegel. If you have both Loki and Robin Hood inside you, thesis and antithesis, then isn't it a comfort to know their existence somehow makes sense? That you are synthesis rather than just chaos and pain.
Meanwhile, from the little we hear about Akira's parents and how Persona 5 frames the adults around him, the Avoidant attachment style fits best. He is fiercely independent, with such a strong sense of identity despite with the masks he wears for others that he has the true Wild Card ability. He stands his ground with his morals, even when everyone around him is telling him his life would be easier if he gave up.
He has a strong internal moral center because he was never attached enough to his caregivers that they'd be able to influence his cognitive assimilation. Why trust someone's moral judgment when you can't even trust them with your vulnerability?
This is why Akira and Akechi are so fascinating as foils, as rivals, and as people who know each other better than anyone else could. Akechi walks around as a fake, appealing version of himself that Akira sees through clearly. And Akira likes the bitter, vicious, angry version of Akechi because it's honest. That is the underlying intensity of people he knows is hidden behind the masks adults are convinced are their faces. (Where's your rage? RISE RISE RISE)
Akira and Akechi match so well not because they have a hidden ugliness, but because they view the pleasant masks people wear to excuse or ignore injustice as what are truly ugly. And their difference lies in Akira's belief that there is good in people while Akechi's upbringing has him convinced that humanity is rotten to its roots.
And Akechi wants Akira's beating, caring heart between his teeth because there is still a lonely little child in his own chest who loves Featherman and just wanted a better life for his mom. And who won't fucking die, no matter how Akechi tears the world apart to match his perception of it.
Akechi has spent years trying to kill his heart, which has done nothing but soaked his masks in his own blood.
Akira looks Akechi in the eyes, straight through those masks, and steals his heart from off the chopping block. And he keeps it close even as Akechi turns the blade on him in a rage borne of fear.
They're gay as hell thanks for coming to my ted talk. might improve after work
You could rant to us too 🙂😊🙂😊🙂 unless you dont wanna. Im personally dying to hear about your thoughts since they make me go crazy and you have absolutely amazing takes usually
RAHHHH okay well if you don’t mind me stealing a large chunk of what I sent to my friend (is it stealing if it’s my own writing? idk)
In particular I love thinking about how Maruki parallels the royal trio and especially especially how he and Rumi parallel Akechi and Ren
I know fs people must have talked about how Ren parallels Maruki and HE DOES but imo Akechi parallels Maruki the best! You may be thinking - what. No. no he does not.
HEAR ME OUT !!
Let’s start with my very brief notes:
Ren - savior complex; compulsive need to help everyone that goes to the extent of putting himself in danger
Sumi - ignorance is bliss; it’s better to live in false happiness than to confront the darkness of reality
Akechi - PROBABLY PARALLELS MARUKI BEST TBH; he thinks his own life doesn’t matter, not just to himself, but to Ren; Akechi/Maruki parallel comes in through the fact that they both think that the person that they care for the most in the world would be happier in a reality where they’re not a part of it..
I could literally go on for so long about the parallels between Maruki and Rumi / Akechi and Ren. like. what do you MEAN you think they’re happier living their life without you in it. I have to think that this is why Maruki feels so compelled to give Akechi and Ren a “second chance”
“Don’t you regret how things ended with him?” is what Maruki asks Ren because he knows what that feels like.
Rumi was still interested in Maruki even after she forgot him, too - they could’ve had a fresh start, but instead he threw away his second chance. Which is why he must be so set on giving Akechi a second chance in this reality where he can live and just be happy with Ren instead of resigning himself to his fate as Maruki did (and as Akechi decides to do anyway because he doesn’t want anyone else to dictate what he’ll do with his life)
ALSO as I am an Akechi is alive truther I just want to add as a reminder that Maruki doesn’t know whether or not Akechi is alive or dead! But if you consider that he is, then I think the best interpretation is that Akechi doesn’t know whether or not he is either, but he lies to himself that he’s content either way with either being dead and gone from Ren’s life or alive somewhere but of no value to him once they defeat Maruki and the metaverse is gone for good. Because all he’s ever been good for (drilled into him by Shido) were his powers, and he uses these powers as a justification of his self worth throughout the whole time that you’re aware of him being a persona user - so some part of him tells him that he’s useless if he survives without them WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE and some part of him must recognize THAT as well (since most of the confidant rank up was focused on just hanging out and talking outside of any metaverse problems) but he has to lie to himself and say that he has no value in order to now justify his disappearance from Ren’s life
This, too, can be tied back to Maruki ! He thinks he’s useless and that everything is out of his control until he awakens to his persona and now suddenly he can be a savior to everyone!
Both Akechi and Maruki discard their own happiness in favor of seeking out their own “justice.”
At first I found it wierd but I think this line is very interesting because it tells us a lot about how Akechi wants the world to see him and how he interacts with other. After telling Joker he was looking forward to talking to him, this is the first thing he say without any warning.
Because of the fact that Akechi is popular and the koseki's existence everybody likely know he's an orphan and that he grew up in the system. I think this his way making sure Joker (or anybody he talks to) doesn't box him in in the stereotype of the illiterate orphan child. This was to show Joker he's just as knowledgeable as him if not more. This was his way of making sure he isn't looked down on because of his parentage and asserting his dominance from the very beginning of the conversation.
Is the reason Akechi winks so much in official art because it's a reference to the Crow kanji missing the 'eye'? This trivia appeared in the game as a classroom question, so the devs themselves pointed it out. Funny if true
There's actually a lot of official art obscuring one of his eyes. Not just winking, but the way he's angled or holds objects up to cover it. Hard to unsee once you've noticed it. I feel like the reference to the Crow kanji has to be somewhat intentional
What's crazy about the engine room sprite is that we're seeing what it looks like when someone's soul changes in real time. The red color of the robin hood mask beginning to merge with the black mask (which isn't present in the third semester sprite OR the model OR the anime, so this was a purposeful addition for the engine room sprite) implies an internal change was happening so strong that it altered his appearance.
You know it's genuine because a) these outfits are involuntary and b) the mask is the part most connected to their personas aka their inner selves. That's why I don't buy the idea that Robin Hood is "fake" or that Akechi was "too far gone." This strongly implies they were close to getting through to him and they would've done so if not for the interruption.
"Too late" and "too far gone" are two different things. He just needed more time. The true ending (unlocked if you let Joker spend time with him, so another form of reaching out) grants him that.
