#persona-4

[thevelvetanalysis]

Izanagi and Izanami: A Creation Myth Made Manifest Through Persona 4's Yu Narukami as an Arc of Individuation

In Japanese mythology, one of the key stories prevalent within it is the creation myth featuring the creator deities of Izanagi and Izanami, the tale of the two forging islands of Japan, and stirring the primordial oceans, as chronicled in the Kojiki. Upon the birth of Kagutsuchi, the fire god, Izanami died, and in an attempt to retrieve her, Izanagi descended into the underworld of Yomi, where…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

Critiquing Modern Society: How The Modern Persona Series Critiques Social Anxieties of the 21st Century

One of the defining tendencies of the modern entries of the Persona series, starting from Persona 3, is how deeply entrenched each game is in modern societal trends of its time period. Rather than simply telling a timeless fantasy like many RPGs, Persona consistently aims to reflect the concerns of contemporary Japanese youth throughout the decades. Persona 3 and Persona 4, as games that…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

The Fool's Journey: How The Fool Finds The Truth Through The Will Of Their Teams

While all Persona games center around a group of characters, the modern trilogy, under the direction of Katsura Hashino, centers around the central Wild Card, who undergoes the Fool’s Journey. The Fool Arcana, as the 0th Arcana, represents infinite possibility and limitless potential. Those who are in search of themselves are “no one” as long as the search continues, and have the ability to…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

Beauty and The Beast: The Arcs of Persona 4's Naoto Shirogane and Kanji Tatsumi

Perhaps one of the most well-known stories of all is the story known as “Beauty and the Beast”. It chronicles Beauty, the most beloved daughter of a man, and Beast, a seemingly abominable beast who turns out to be a handsome prince, placed under a curse until someone could love him for who he truly was. The story is also deeply Jungian, as it embodies crucial concepts of the shadow, anima, and…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

Persona 3 and Persona 4: How Cycles of Nature Reflect the Psyche

In Persona 3 and Persona 4, the first two games of Katsura Hashino’s era of the Persona series, the calendar system not only emphasizes the passage of time but also the cycles of natural phenomena. Persona 3 bases its significant events on moon cycles, culminating in each full moon, while Persona 4 uses the weather: certain patterns of weather create deadlines by which confrontation must occur…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

How Persona Uses a Modern Societal Setting to Convey Jungian Themes

Most fantasy RPGs act as an escapist fantasy, leaving the modern world behind in medieval, fantastical worlds. Persona, however, takes place in contemporary society itself, akin to our own world, and in doing so forces players to confront reality itself, asking an uncomfortable question: what if our modern world itself is psychologically broken? The Persona series draws heavily from the work of…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

Persona Summoning Rituals: How They Represent Confrontation with Uncomfortable Truths of the Self

In the modern Persona games, the Persona Users of the groups summon their Personas through dramatic, often painful means. These range from shattering a tarot card to shooting oneself in the head with a metaphorical tool to tearing off a mask. These methods, as gruesome as they can look, are not merely painful-looking for the sake of it: they represent a brutal confrontation with painful truths…

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[thevelvetanalysis]

Individuation: The World Arcana and Universe Arcana as the Realization of the Self

Every Persona protagonist begins as The Fool: undefined, incomplete, and full of potential. But what does it actually mean to finish that journey? In Jungian psychology, that answer is individuation: the realization of the Self. In Persona, that realization takes form as The World, or perhaps The Universe. Jungian Individuation: What is it? In Jungian psychology, in the psychological journey of…

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