is a fictional character introduced in the 2008
PlayStation 2 video game ''
Persona 4
released outside of Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4'', is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was ...
'' by
Atlus. In the game Kanji is a high school student who becomes famous in television after fighting delinquents in the streets. Kanji becomes a victim of a series of kidnappings where the person is thrown to a dimension known as the TV World and the main cast of characters goes to save him from his alternate self, his Shadow. After Kanji is saved from the experience with the Shadow being turned into a power known as Persona, he joins the Investigation Team, befriending them in the process. He has also appeared in other works such as the fighting game ''
Persona 4 Arena
''Persona 4 Arena'' is a fighting video game co-developed by Atlus and Arc System Works for arcades, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360; the game is a spin-off from the ''Persona'' series, itself part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. The game ...
'' and the crossover ''
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth''. He is voiced by
Tomokazu Seki
is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He has previously worked with Haikyō. He is honorary president of and affiliated with Atomic Monkey and the chairman of theater company HeroHero Q. He is a special lecturer at Japan Newart College.
Caree ...
in Japanese, and
Troy Baker
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
in English in ''Persona 4'', ''Persona 4 Golden'', ''Persona 4: Arena'', and the first twelve episodes of ''Persona 4: The Animation''; his English voice actor for the remainder of ''Persona 4: The Animation'', as well as all subsequent games, is
Matthew Mercer
Matthew Christopher Miller (born June 29, 1982), better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor. He is best known for his work with Studiopolis, Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, Viz Media, and NYAV Post in anime, cartoons, and ...
.
Kanji has received generally positive reception for his role in ''Persona 4'' including his Social Links where he undergoes character development. However, his ambiguous sexual preference has become one of the game's most controversial themes with several writers commenting on whether the game does a good job in explaining Kanji's personality.
Concept and creation
Early designs of Kanji were drastically different from the final one. He was initially given the classic gang-style pompadour. His design was made by Shigenori Soejima.
Both of Kanji's Personas are based on his own visual appearance.
Yu Namba, the ''Persona 4'' Project Lead for Atlus USA, commented that while Kanji's Shadow might offend some players due to it being a gay stereotype, Kanji was nothing like a stereotype. Kanji's sexual orientation was left ambiguous to all players.
Namba added "We would like everyone to play through the game and come up with their own answers to that question; there is no official answer ... What matters is that Kanji's other self cries out, 'Accept me for who I am!' I think it's a powerful message which many, if not all of us can relate to."
Nich Maragos, ''Persona 4'' Editor for Atlus USA, agreed with Namba, but personally held the opinion that Kanji was homosexual.
The localization team of ''Persona 4'' made a point of keeping as true to the original translation as possible.
He cited Shadow Kanji's flamboyant personality and stated, "That flamboyance was also what the viewers of the Midnight Channel wanted to see: a typical gay person on TV that people would laugh at. The TV station broadcasts what the audience prefers to watch -- it's a stark portrayal of modern society."
Namba also made some scenes which involved Kanji's sexual orientation more subtle without removing the scenes' value.
He is voiced by
Tomokazu Seki
is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He has previously worked with Haikyō. He is honorary president of and affiliated with Atomic Monkey and the chairman of theater company HeroHero Q. He is a special lecturer at Japan Newart College.
Caree ...
in Japanese,
Troy Baker
Troy Baker (born April 1, 1976) is an American voice actor and musician. Baker is known for his video game roles, including Joel Miller in ''The Last of Us'' (2013) and its sequel (2020), Booker DeWitt in ''BioShock Infinite'' (2013), Samuel ...
in English,
and
Matt Mercer in later English releases. Seki's portrayal was highly praised by the game's staff due to the delivery of his lines.
Youichiro Omi was cast as Kanji Tatsumi for the ''Persona 4'' musical.
Appearances
Kanji Tatsumi first appears in the
PlayStation 2 video game ''
Persona 4
released outside of Japan as ''Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4'', is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise, and was ...
''. He is a delinquent who has a reputation for being a bully, and is the center of numerous rumors regarding a confrontation with a local biker gang. As a result, he was initially given the "classic gang-style pompadour" in the making of his design.
The fourth victim to be sent to the TV world, Kanji is revealed to have a complex with his Shadow revealing he hates girls as a result of criticizing his sewing and is more interested in boys. After the protagonist's group comes to save Kanji when he is trapped in the Midnight Channel, he accepts that his other self is an important part of his identity.
Kanji learns of the Investigation Team's actions in ''Persona 4'' and joins them to find the culprit.
His sexual orientation remains ambiguous across the series, with Kanji being first interested in
Naoto Shirogane
is a fictional character in the video game ''Persona 4''.
Concept and creation
Naoto was created for ''Persona 4''. She is a young detective who moves to Inaba, the setting of ''Persona 4'', to solve a serial-murder case. Due to the gendered ster ...
when first meeting her, believing her to be a boy, but is still attracted to her when it is revealed that she is a girl.
His Persona is , an imposing, black, robotic humanoid which has a skeleton-like design, like Kanji's shirt, and is armed with a large lightning bolt.
Throughout Yu's interactions with Kanji, he reveals to be skilled at tailoring inspired by his family who runs a textile shop but stopped making dolls when accused by fellow students. Kanji eventually learns to take pride in his skills, rather than hide them. Shortly afterwards, Take-Mikazuchi evolves into , who has a fiery motif instead of Take-Mikazuchi's skeleton and lightning. In ''Persona 4: Golden'', Kanji's new Persona is , which resembles Rokuten Maoh but has elaborate white armor with red flame details.
The friendship made with Kanji serves as the Social Link to
The Emperor; this is signified in ''Persona 4: The Animation'' by Yu's Persona .
He appears as a playable character in ''Persona 4 Arena'' and its sequel ''Persona 4 Arena Ultimax'' with Take-Mikazuchi.
In the game's story mode, Kanji accidentally falls into the TV World's P-1 Grand Prix tournament and believes he is having a dream as he encounters his friends. He later believes that the main cause of this is his Shadow who has been impersonated by an unknown person.
He also appears in the spin-off games ''
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth'' and ''
Persona 4: Dancing All Night''. He is also available as a paid DLC character in ''
BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle'', which features characters from the ''Persona 4 Arena'', ''
BlazBlue
''BlazBlue'' is a fighting video game series developed and published in Japan by Arc System Works, and later localized in North America by Aksys Games and in Europe by Zen United. An anime adaptation aired in Autumn 2013. The series has sold 1. ...
'', ''
Under Night In-Birth
is a 2D fighting game co-developed by Ecole Software and French-Bread. It received many updates for adjustments and characters.
Gameplay
The game has similar mechanics to ''Melty Blood'', ''Guilty Gear'' and ''BlazBlue''. It uses three attac ...
'', and ''
RWBY
''RWBY'' (pronounced "Ruby") is an American anime-influenced computer-animated web series created by Monty Oum for Rooster Teeth. It is set in the fictional world of Remnant, where young people train to become warriors (called "Huntsmen" and ...
'' franchises.
Reception
Kanji has received generally positive reception for his role in ''Persona 4''. According to
Gamasutra
''Game Developer'', known as ''Gamasutra'' until 2021, is a website founded in 1997 that focuses on aspects of video game development. It is owned and operated by Informa and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine '' Gam ...
's Samantha Xu, reception for Kanji by ''Persona 4'' players has been "neutral or positive."
Kotaku's Kirk Hamilton found Kanji to be a particularly funny character in ''Persona 4 Golden''. He cited Kanji's animal crackers and "general grump obliviousness."
GamesRadar staff claimed that Kanji, as well as
Chie and
Teddie, were "well-defined by scenes that shift between comedy and drama fluidly." ''
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
''s Kimberley Wallace felt that Kanji had one of the best Social Links in ''Persona 4''. She stated, "From Kanji’s hilarious overreactions to seeing him show his true emotions about his struggle, the social link is fun and heartwarming." He was also listed as the third best ''Persona'' character by Kimberley Wallace from ''Game Informer'' who praised the way he starts expressing he likes "adorable things" despite looking like a delinquent. IGN listed him as the best ''Persona'' character, commenting that while initially looking like the "resident tough guy" of ''Persona 4'', "he represents everything excellent about Persona's outstanding characters and storytelling." Atlus senior project manager Masaru Nanba remarked on how popular the interpretation of Kanji and his Shadow were in the west in an interview with ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' in 2013.
Sexuality
Kanji's sexuality is one of the most controversial elements of ''Persona 4'' for North American players according to
1UP.com
''1Up.com'' was an American entertainment website that focused on video games. Launched in 2003, ''1Up.com'' provided its own original features, news stories, game reviews, and video interviews, and also featured comprehensive PC-focused conten ...
's Andrew Fitch.
Fitch worried that both gay and straight players in North America may be offended by how he was designed.
Atlus senior project manager Masaru Nanba remarked on how popular the interpretation of Kanji and his Shadow were in the west in an interview with ''
Famitsu
formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the f ...
'' in 2013.
CVG Online's Matthew Pellett called the examination of his sexuality a "first" for Japanese role-playing games. Game Career Guide's Patrick Hayes stated that Shadow Kanji represents his "confusion over manhood and sexuality." Larry Hester of
Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
ranked him the sixth best LGBT character in video games.
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Keza MacDonald cited Kanji as one of the few playable gay characters in a Japanese video game. Kotaku's
Jason Schreier
Jason Schreier (born May 10, 1987) is a journalist and author who primarily covers the video game industry. He worked as a news reporter for ''Kotaku'' from 2011 to 2020 and was recognized for several investigative stories, particularly on the ...
suggested that his lack of understanding of his sexuality comes from his young age. Colette Bennett, editor for
Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History
...
, felt that most American gamers would think Kanji was gay.
She also felt that American designers were not "comfortable with portraying characters like Kanji."
VG247's Julie Horup listed Kanji as an example of a homosexual character in video games. ''
Huffington Post'' also featured it in a list of LGBT video game characters.
Salon's Luke Winkie chose Kanji as his favourite LGBT character in video games. He stated, "By the end of the game you remember Kanji as your friend, not a kid in the closet."
Gamasutra's Xu noted that Kanji was one of the first video game characters to address his sexual identity in an "engaging and meaningful manner." She followed by stating that while he "may not be politically progressive enough to dub him the Harvey Milk of gaming ... his unique existence in ''Persona 4'' is a small and positive move forward toward a more socially diversified gaming universe."
Brenda Brathwaite, author of "Sex in Video Games" stated: "It would have been amazing if they would have made a concrete statement that he is gay. That we could play as a gay main character in a video game would be a big deal." She added, "I can find twenty things that I didn't like about how Kanji was portrayed, such as the game's juvenile nature in dealing with his sexuality, but there is a part of me that is thrilled there is a gay character in a game and that a game would portray how they are dealing with their inner struggles and interactions with friends."
Dr. Antonia Levi, author of "Samurai from Outer Space: Understanding Japanese Animation", discussed the differences between homosexuality's acceptability in the United States versus Japan. She claimed that unlike the US, Japan had no legislation related to homosexuality and did not view sexuality as a matter of "right or wrong." She explained that this was the reason for Kanji's sexual ambiguity.
Xu cited Levi in her article to explain that Japanese people tend to be outwardly traditional, and their private sexual life is not judged. She stated, "For Kanji, working at his family's textile shop was a very traditional and respectable job, one that could have been at risk had he made a lifestyle choice to have an openly gay relationship with another man."
She further cited Japan scholar Dr. Mark McLelland, who stated that "recent research has shown, the notion of 'coming out' is seen as undesirable by many Japanese gay men and lesbians as it necessarily involves adopting a confrontational stance against mainstream lifestyles and values, which many still wish to endorse." Xu explains that this culture may explain that Kanji was not rejecting the existence of his homosexuality or that the developers were not homophobic.
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's Carolyn Petit felt that his depiction "leaves a great deal to be desired" and stated that it "rejects" Kanji's sexuality instead of "embracing" it. She stated that she was intrigued by the idea behind Kanji initially, but was disappointed that Kanji's "shadow self" was based on his fear of women rather than his attraction to men. She felt that this theme didn't make sense, given the imagery of his dungeon. She claimed that the rejection of Kanji's sexuality "sends the message that homosexuality is shameful and should not be accepted." She also criticized the handling of how Yosuke reacts to Kanji's sexuality, claiming that his homophobia toward Kanji was left unaddressed and uncriticized by the end of the game. ''
Metro Weekly''s Sean Bugg felt that while elements of Kanji weren't homophobic, they weren't "exactly a PSA for tolerance, either." Author Jordan Youngblood described Kanji's depiction as "meta-commentary" on how players' engagement disrupts the "idealized vision of queer utopia." He also discusses Kanji's attraction to Naoto, noting that despite his efforts to dissociate from a "queer path" he still feels attracted to a character similarly regarded as queer.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatsumi, Kanji
Fictional Japanese people in video games
LGBT characters in video games
Male characters in video games
Persona 4 characters
Sega protagonists
Video game characters introduced in 2008
Teenage characters in video games
Characters designed by Shigenori Soejima
Video game characters who have mental powers
Atlus characters