is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

of ''

Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. ...

'', a 2016

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...

. He is a second-year high school student who gets expelled due to a false accusation of assault from a corrupt politician. As a result, he leaves his hometown and moves in with a family friend in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

to serve a one-year probation. Following his transfer to a new school, he and a group of other students awaken to a supernatural power known as the

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...

. Soon after, they form a

vigilante Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without Right, legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a pers ...

group known as the

Phantom Thieves of Hearts ''Persona 5'', a role-playing video game by Atlus, is centered on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a vigilante group of high-school students working to change the hearts of criminals by getting them to confess their crimes through defeating a phy ...

, whose purpose is to explore the Metaverse, a metaphysical realm consisting of the physical manifestation of humanity's subconscious desires, in order to remove malevolent intent from people and cause a change of heart within them. Joker also appears in a number of series spin-off media, as well as in various other cameo appearances outside of it, such as being a playable character in the crossover

fighting game A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeeding ...

''. He was designed by ''Persona'' series artist Shigenori Soejima, and is voiced in Japanese by Jun Fukuyama and in English by Xander Mobus. He has also been portrayed by actor

Hiroki Ino is a Japanese actor associated with Stardust Promotion's Section 2. Ino debuted as an actor in 2009 and has notably appeared in the films ''Demolition Girl'' (2017) and ''Touken Ranbu'' (2019). He has also starred in several stage play adaptati ...

in the game's stage adaptation. While the player can freely name Joker in the game, he is canonically named Ren Amamiya in most appearances and Akira Kurusu in the

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation.

Development and design

Joker is a male teenage character created by artist Shigenori Soejima for the 2016

''. In the game, he is a second-year high school student who is charged with assault by

Masayoshi Shido ''Persona 5'', a role-playing video game by Atlus, is centered on the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a vigilante group of high-school students working to change the hearts of criminals by getting them to confess their crimes through defeating a phy ...

, an influential politician in the

Cabinet of Japan The is the chief executive body of the government of Japan. It consists of the prime minister, who is appointed by the emperor after being designated by the National Diet, and up to nineteen other members, called Ministers of State. The prime ...

. As Joker walks in his hometown at night, he witnesses Shido harassing a female subordinate. After Shido falls and injures his head due to him being intoxicated, he places the blame on Joker, a simple passerby, and forces his subordinate to testify to the police that it was Joker who pushed him. At the court hearing, Joker is told that he must serve a one-year probation and transfers to Shujin Academy, a school in Tokyo, as they were the only one that would accept him with his current criminal record. Needing a place to stay while there, Sojiro Sakura, an acquaintance of Joker's parents, offers to house him at his cafe Leblanc. During his time at Shujin, he and other students awaken to their supernatural powers known as the

, becoming a group of

s known as the

who explore the Metaverse, a supernatural realm consisting of the physical manifestation of humanity's subconscious desires, to change malevolent intent from the hearts of adults. Despite primarily being a

silent protagonist In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...

, Joker occasionally speaks short phrases during cutscenes and battles; being voiced in Japanese by Jun Fukuyama and in English by Xander Mobus. Fukuyama used two different tones in the making of the series and felt proud of his performance. While the player can freely choose a given name for Joker, his Phantom Thief code name, he is canonically named in most other appearances. is used in the game's

adaptation. Amamiya was chosen by the anime's producer who thought that the combination of his full name, which means lotus rain palace in Japanese, sounded "quite poetic" together. The producer further stated that remaking Joker's characterization in the anime was challenging, but was ultimately a success. Joker is the leader of the

and is the only member with access to the Velvet Room as he holds the "Wild Card", an ability that allows him to hold more than one Persona and fuse them together to create more powerful ones. Joker's primary persona is Arsene, with him resorting to fighting with knives and handguns when he is unable to use his Persona powers. His ultimate persona is Satanael, the Gnostic equivalent of the devil and a

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

who can harness the power of the seven deadly sins. Joker's initial Persona was originally the German demon Mephistopheles, but it was changed to Arsène as the latter character better fit the game's themes. The three main inspirations behind Joker were the original Arsène Lupin, The Fiend with Twenty Faces, and Ishikawa Goemon. The first character sketch of him was done in 2012. Soejima worked closely with game director

Katsura Hashino is a Japanese video game director and producer, best known for working on the ''Persona'' role-playing game series by Atlus. From 2006 to 2016, Hashino served as director of P-Studio, an internal team at Atlus that manages the ''Persona'' serie ...

so that Joker and the rest of the characters could properly reflect the game's themes. Joker has unkempt wavy black hair and dark grey eyes and wears a set of black glasses for most of his casual and school outfits. In the Metaverse, his apparel changes into a stylized black trenchcoat with a

masquerade mask A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

and

winklepicker Winklepickers, or winkle pickers, are a style of shoe or boot worn from the 1950s onward, especially popular with British rock and roll fans such as teddy boys. The feature that gives both the boot and shoe their name is the very sharp and long ...

shoes, which were described as being designed after

Belle Époque The Belle Époque or La Belle Époque (; French for "Beautiful Epoch") is a period of French and European history, usually considered to begin around 1871–1880 and to end with the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era ...

fashion. As the main theme and narrative of ''Persona 5'' revolved around crime and vigilantes triggered by Joker voluntarily choosing that path, Soejima needed to convey this while allowing the character to suit whatever dialogue choices the player decided upon. Due to these difficulties, Joker was given multiple designs in a trial and error process to find the best one. As the "phantom thief" premise was a common stereotype in fiction, Soejima initially drew Joker and the rest of the game's main cast in a style similar to shōnen manga, but these designs were scrapped as they clashed with the series' realistic aesthetics. Soejima likening his design to a

black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

, which contrasts with the protagonist of ''

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 ...

'', Yu Narukami, being designed around the image of a loyal and sincere dog. He emphasizes the two-sided nature of his design, which ties into the theme of Phantom Thieves members living double lives. Despite Joker's uniformed appearance being meant to give off the impression of someone who is kindhearted and loyal to the system, his true nature is free-spirited and rebellious, with him being the type of person who plans things without telling anyone.

Appearances

Joker was first introduced in ''Persona 5'' as the game's main playable character, and has also appeared in series spin-off games '' Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight'', '' Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth'', and ''

Persona 5 Strikers ''Persona 5 Strikers'' is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's ''Dynasty Warriors'' franchise and the ''Persona'' series developed by Atlus. The g ...

''. He is also a playable character in the 2018 crossover

'', being released as paid downloadable content for it in April 2019. He has also made appearances in other non-related games, such as ''

Dragon's Dogma Online ''Dragon's Dogma Online'' was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Capcom for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows in 2015; As of 2019, the servers have been shut down. A follow-up t ...

'', '' Phantasy Star Online 2'', '' Lord of Vermilion Re:3'', '' Sonic Forces'', '' Puzzle & Dragons'', '' Granblue Fantasy'', '' Catherine: Full Body'', '' Star Ocean: Anamnesis'', ''

Another Eden is a free-to-play role-playing video game developed and published by Wright Flyer Studios. The game features the collaboration of writer Masato Kato and music composer Yasunori Mitsuda who both worked on ''Xenogears'' and the ''Chrono'' series o ...

'', ''

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

,'' and '' Soul Hackers 2''. He has also been portrayed by

in Japanese

stage play A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and intended for theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Reading (process), reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright. Pla ...

adaptations of the game.

Reception

Critical reception to Joker has been positive, with fan art and

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

of the character being popular. Upon the revealing of ''Persona 5'', fans in Japan nicknamed him "Potter" due to his visual resemblance to

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

, the main character of the ''

'' franchise. Upon his announcement as a downloadable content (DLC) character in the crossover

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

'',

Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the ''Kirby'' and '' Super Smash Bros.'' series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of ''Meteos'' in 2005 and directed '' Kid Icarus: Upr ...

, the game's director and fan of the ''Persona'' series, stated that Joker was emblematic of the approach that he wanted to take with its DLC, adding that he wanted characters that were "unique", "different", and "fun" to use within the ''Super Smash Bros.'' environment. His appearance in ''Ultimate'' was met with praise, with game journalists noting the level of detail and how faithful his transition from ''Persona 5'' was, as well as the enjoyment factor of playing him in general. '' USGamer'' criticized his relatively silent personality in the anime adaptation, negatively comparing him to the more talkative Yu Narukami in '' Persona 4: The Animation''. Nevertheless, his relationship with Goro Akechi was praised. Xander Mobus's voice acting was the subject of praise by '' Siliconera''. Various merchandise of Joker, such as figurines and action figures, has also been made. A Joker-modeled TT pistol airsoft gun, based on one that he uses in the game, was released in Japan in April 2019. His Phantom Thief outfit and a number of related accessories were also released by the Japanese fashion brand SuperGroupies in June 2019. An

Amiibo (, ; officially stylized as amiibo; plural: ''Amiibo'') is a toys-to-life platform by Nintendo, which was launched in November 2014. It consists of a wireless communications and storage protocol for connecting figurines to the Wii U, Ninten ...

figurine of him was released in October 2020.

Footnotes

Notes References

External links

* * * {{Super Smash Bros. Characters designed by Shigenori Soejima Fictional characters from Tokyo Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional Japanese people in anime and manga Fictional Japanese people in video games Fictional knife-fighters Fictional prisoners and detainees Male characters in video games Persona 5 characters Sega protagonists Super Smash Bros. fighters Teenage characters in anime and manga Teenage characters in video games Video game characters introduced in 2016 Video game characters who have mental powers Video game protagonists Vigilante characters in video games Atlus characters