“People can do it. As long as they open their eyes and look around, they'll see it. They'll see the truth! If there is a fog, they just have to embrace the truth to get rid of it! This is what's right, and this is the path I choose to follow!”
Yu Narukami is the protagonist of Persona 4, Persona 4 Arena, and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and the fifth in the Persona series.
He is a student at Yasogami High School who moves to the rural town of Inaba because his parents moved to America for the year due to their work. He moves in with his uncle Dojima and his cousin Nanako, and soon becomes friends with Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satanaka, and Yukiko Amagi at school. The four of them get involved in a murder mystery in their small town after Yosuke's crush is killed, and the group discovers a mysterious world inside of their TVs. The murders are connected to the TV World, and periodically have to journey inside there to confront their own Shadows (and gain Personas,) to try to track down the murderer and solve the mystery. After their Investigation Team grows, they discover that Adachi's partner on the police force, Tohru Adachi, was the real killer, and he was throwing people inside of the TV in order to kill them. They defeat Adachi, but Yu realizes later that Adachi's motives don't make too much sense, and there's still a lot left to be explained. The group enters the TV world for the last time and discovers that the Midnight Channel was actually created by the Goddess Izanami, who also granted everyone their Personas. The team defeats Izanami, who then promises to return the Midnight Channel to normal and dispell the horrible fog that covers Inaba.
He is a Persona-User who awakens the Persona Izanagi after being attacked by Shadows, which later evolves into Izanagi-no-Okami while Narukami is being attacked by Izanami.
Physical Appearance[]
Yu has bowl-shaped silver hair and gray eyes. At 5'11" (180 cm) he is tall, although still shorter than fellow Investigation Team member and Persona-user Kanji Tatsumi.
At school and in the Midnight Channel, Yu wears the conventional school uniform of Yasogami High School and wears gray-framed glasses in battle. In the summer, he wears a light uniform. On days off, he is shown wearing a black jacket and gray turtleneck shirt along with black pants. On days off in the summer, he wears a short-sleeved white collared shirt and brown pants. At the school festival, while cross-dressing, he uses a female uniform with black leggings as well as a wig with long pigtails. He also has a black blazer which he is occasionally seen wearing in the manga adaptation of the game.
Design Variants[]
Child Yu wore his hair in a similar style with a sweater.
When entering the TV world, Yu wears a special set of glasses made for him by Teddie.
During the winter, Yu sometimes wears a long-sleeved white undershirt.
Also in the Winter, Yu wears a jacket with a gray undershirt.
His gym uniform is a cyan track suit that he wears unzipped.
During the School Festival event, Yu crossdresses as a woman wearing a typical Yasogami High female uniform and a wig with pigtails.
Shadow Yu looks like his normal design but with sinister yellow eyes.
In-Game Appearances[]
| Other Video Game Appearances | |
|---|---|
 Yu in Persona 4  Yu in Persona 4 Dancing All Night  Yu in Persona 4 Arena  Yu in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax  Yu in Persona 5 Royal  Yu in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth  Yu in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth  Yu Narukami in BazBlue Cross  Yu in Puzzles & Dragons  Yu in Star Ocean |
History[]
Persona 4[]
The protagonist is a high school student who moves to the countryside of Inaba to live with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima and cousin Nanako Dojima for a year as a result of his parents working abroad and attends Yasogami High School. The students in his school are shocked about his transferring.
The protagonist first appears in the Velvet Room, where he encounters Igor and his assistant, Margaret. Igor remarks that a mystery awaits, and it is his fate to discover it. The protagonist later awakens from his subconscious and reminiscences about his old school.
Upon reaching Yasoinaba, the protagonist meets up with his uncle and his cousin. On the way back, Dojima stops by the gas station, and the protagonist is welcomed by an attendant of Moel Gas Station, who offers him a job. The attendant gives the protagonist a handshake, and shortly after, he begins to feel somewhat sick, but dismisses it as car sickness before going on their way.
After the protagonist falls asleep at the Dojima Residence, he awakens in a fog-ridden area. He hears a voice, telling him to follow it, if he wishes to find the truth. The protagonist eventually encounters another presence, but the heavy fog makes it impossible to see the other person. The voice claims to be intrigued by the protagonist and decides to lend him his power for the time being.
The next day, the protagonist enrolls in Yasogami High School and befriends Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi and Yosuke Hanamura. Chie tells the protagonist and Yosuke about the rumor of the Midnight Channel and asks them to try it out. The protagonist also meets Saki Konishi, an upperclassman and Yosuke's senpai who is working at Junes.
Later that night, the protagonist tries to gain access to the Midnight Channel and sees a blurred image of a female student on his TV. Intrigued, the protagonist touches the screen and discovers that he can reach his hand inside. The TV tries to pull him in, but because the TV screen is too small, he gets stuck before pulling himself out.
The next morning, the protagonist, Yosuke and Chie have a discussion about their discovery and come to the conclusion that they all saw the same girl. The protagonist tells the two about how he was sucked into the TV, although they don't believe him. The trio goes to the electronics department of Junes and goes over the TV sets on display. The protagonist tries to re-enter, this time using a wide-screen TV large enough to insert his body in. Seeing the protagonist stuck midway inside the TV, Yosuke and Chie panic, accidentally pushing him and themselves inside, as the three fall into the Midnight Channel. While exploring, they eventually encounter a mysterious bear mascot named Teddie who urges them to leave.
The next day, during a school assembly, the team learns that Saki mysteriously passed away. Devastated, Yosuke swears to investigate the Midnight Channel, and they conclude that the female student they witnessed on the Midnight Channel must have been her. He asks the protagonist for his help, due to his capability to enter the TV. The two then enter the Midnight Channel, leaving Chie behind to keep her from harm. Inside the Midnight Channel, the protagonist and Yosuke once again encounter Teddie. Infuriated by their return, he angrily accuses them of being responsible for "throwing people" inside the Midnight Channel. Upon learning that the protagonist and Yosuke aren't responsible, Teddie makes the pair promise to help find the culprit, and gives them a pair of glasses, allowing them to see through the fog in the Midnight Channel.
During their investigation at the Twisted Shopping District, the protagonist and Yosuke are ambushed by monsters, which Teddie calls Shadows. The protagonist hears a voice, calling out to him to awaken his true self, and is presented with a card. Crushing it triggers the awakening of his initial Persona, Izanagi, helping him dispatch the Shadows. Bewildered by his power, Teddie is intrigued by the protagonist and begins to respect him.
As they continue exploring, the protagonist and Yosuke later end up in a liquor store, owned by Saki's family. Inside, they hear an inner voice of Saki expressing her hatred towards Junes for ruining her family's business, and Yosuke in particular for being the son of the owner. While Yosuke is devastated by this revelation, another "Yosuke" makes his entrance and mocks him for hating his boring life and simply wanting to solve the case of Saki's death to to be the hero. Yosuke's continuous declination of his Shadow's taunts causes the other "Yosuke" to go berserk and attack them. The protagonist defeats the shadow using his Persona, and Yosuke is forced to come to terms with his true feelings, which lets him awaken to his own Persona, Jiraiya.
Later that night, the protagonist tries to tune in to the Midnight Channel again, which this time displays a blurry image of a young woman in a kimono. Yosuke concludes that the blank figure is Yukiko, as that's what she wrote during a TV interview. To further complicate the issue, Yukiko has stopped showing up to the school, worrying Chie. However, it turns out that her absence was due to being busy helping out at her family inn, and has been forced to skip school. However, still worried, Yosuke suggests the protagonist tune in to the Midnight Channel tonight again.
One night, the Midnight Channel displays a show called "Princess Yukiko's Search for Prince Charming," where Yukiko is dressed up as a princess in a journey of scoring herself a "hot stud," or a Prince Charming. As Yukiko's behavior in the TV was rather bizarre and out of character, Yosuke calls the protagonist and suggests to meet up in the Junes Food Court the next morning.
The three eventually set out to rescue Yukiko and use Teddie's help to guide them to the castle. Along their way, Chie faces her Shadow self and receives her own Persona. The three later create the Investigation Team dedicated to investigate the origins of the Midnight Channel, and solving the bizarre murder cases. Through the team's activity within the Midnight Channel, however, they all express the same question upon the protagonist's latent skill of invoking his Persona without having to face his other self.
Throughout the course of the year, the protagonist rescues Kanji Tatsumi, Rise Kujikawa and Naoto Shirogane. All three of them join the Investigation Team. Additionally, Teddie joins the group as well, after facing his own Shadow self and receiving a Persona.
As the story progress, the protagonist receives an anonymous letter, threatening him to stop his activities of saving people. Despite the team's worries, they've decided to continue watching the Midnight Channel. The protagonist eventually receives the threat again. This time, however, the letter directly tells the protagonist that if he does not stop his actions, someone close to him will die.
The letter was later discovered by Dojima, and upon thinking the protagonist's possible connection with the recent murder cases, the protagonist was detained at the police station. The protagonist tries to explain Dojima the full truth of what's been going on, including the mysterious other world, but Dojima doesn't believe him in the slightest. Dojima eventually coerces the protagonist to spend a night in the police station, but at midnight, he is shocked to see Nanako's silhouette in the Midnight Channel, who is revealed to have been abducted. The Investigation Team eventually discovers the identity of Nanako's kidnapper, based on bits of information salvaged by Dojima. The Investigation Team finds out the true murderer is actually Taro Namatame, the lover of Mayumi Yamano, the first victim of the murders. The protagonist is asked to save Nanako at Dojima's request, as he was injured in a car crash while trying to chase Namatame.
The Investigation Team eventually succeeds in saving Nanako in Heaven, but her health begins to deteriorate critically after her exposure to the Midnight Channel, causing her to fall into a coma.
On December 3rd, Nanako's health has suddenly worsened, rushing the protagonist to the hospital. Unfortunately, Nanako dies. The Investigation Team eventually manages to sneak in Namatame's ward. Grief-ridden and devastated, members of the Investigation Team try to kill Namatame by pushing him through his hospital room's TV. Depending on the protagonist's decisions of dealing with Namatame, Nanako may die or awaken.
The True Ending takes up following the events of Ameno-sagiri's defeat. Similarly to the Normal Ending, the protagonist decides to visit his friends one last time. Prior to leaving the Dojima Residence, Nanako gives the protagonist a letter. After bidding farewell to his friends, should the protagonist decide to regroup the Investigation Team one last time in Junes, the True Ending unlocks. The letter states Adachi's feeling of uneasiness despite his game being over and it is up to the protagonist to solve it.
The Investigation Team eventually realizes that Ameno-sagiri said that those who have awakened their powers are supposed to play their roles to override the world with Shadows as well, which implies an existence of a conductor who gave the protagonist, Adachi and Namatame their power to enter the TV. Entering the Velvet Room for assistance, Igor then tells the protagonist that he is going to grasp a truth even his powers cannot predict, and he will play a role in assisting him, by giving him the Orb of Sight, which erases lies and reveals the truth, playing an important part of their final confrontation.
Reminiscing his actions during his first visit to Yasoinaba, the protagonist remembers the gas station attendant and goes to visit him during the rain. The attendant reveals that he took an interest in the protagonist's potential, and decided to give his powers a little push through their handshake. The attendant also mentions that Adachi, Namatame and many others are awakened by him as well. He stirred the spark in the protagonist so he could awaken other peoples' Personas, and fulfill their role in her experiment.
However, the protagonist's power of the Wild Card is something the attendant did not foresee. They also reveal that Ameno-sagiri is actually birthed from an aspect of him. Chastising the protagonist's greed to reach out for the truth, the attendant finally reveals his true identity: the great goddess Izanami. She then tells the protagonist that since he is so determined to stop her, she shall await the protagonist in the other world, but tells him that he should also have the preparation to accept his loss towards her as well.
In the protagonist's final confrontation with Izanami, he uses the Orb of Sight, revealing Izanami is already dead, as she loses her current form and reveals her true form, Izanami-no-Okami. When Izanami-no-Okami is on the verge of defeat, she tries to send the protagonist to the underworld with her "Thousand Curses," but her attacks are repeatedly intervened in by the protagonist's comrades, each shielding him from harm. After falling to the curse himself, the protagonist hears the voices of his friends, telling him to continue fighting. Accumulating the power of the bonds he forged, the protagonist channels the powers of his Social Links to his initial Persona, Izanagi, transmogrifying Izanagi into his true form, Izanagi-no-Okami. Returning to the battle and enduring all of Izanami's assaults, he summons Izanagi-no-Okami defeating Izanami with Myriad Truths.
Upon Izanami's defeat, Izanami tells the Investigation Team that she will no longer interfere with humanity, and encourages them to live their lives with their own decisions, though she cannot ensure their happiness. Igor would later tell the protagonist that due to his efforts, the fog within humanity's hearts has finally lifted, and tells them to see the bright future of the world he had created with his own eyes. The fog on the Midnight Channel was lifted, revealing a beautiful, peaceful land which Teddie remembers was once the world he lived in. The story ends with the protagonist bidding a heartfelt farewell to his friends and leaves Yasoinaba. As the train leaves the station, the protagonist pulls out a group picture of the friends that he spent his year in Inaba while Teddie's voice is heard in the background, promising that someday they will meet again.
Epilogue[]
As an exclusive bonus content to Golden, if the protagonist manages to save Marie before defeating Izanami, the scene will then shift into a few months after the last scene of the true ending (and after the events of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax), where the protagonist will reappear at the Inaba train station on a visit. He will find several changes around town, such as Namatame giving a passionate speech about change while running for mayor, and the remaining family shops working together to make sure they all stay open next to Junes. The protagonist will eventually meet up with his friends, who changed since the last time they met, and will head to the Dojima household, where a surprise party was set up earlier by Dojima.
While eating, the protagonist will learn about the recent changes in the neighborhood and see Marie on the news as the popular new weather girl (depending on their relationship, she may also declare her love for him while on the news, much to the group's shock and surprise). Nanako will appear shortly after, welcoming back her "Big Bro," and sits down with the rest of the group. Nanako will then whisper something into everyone's ear before they all welcome the protagonist "home." As the rest of the Investigation squad starts to complain to Kanji who said something different than everyone else, the protagonist will respond by smiling brightly. The scene ends with another group picture of the protagonist and his friends including Marie all smiling together.
Persona 4 Arena[]
During the events of story mode, Yu returns to Inaba for Golden Week where he reunites with Dojima and Nanako for a meal until Margaret takes him into the Velvet Room. Soon he sees the return of the Midnight Channel alongside Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko as the four of them investigate. However, all of them get dragged into a weird fighting tournament called the P-1 Grand Prix. When the Grand Prix started and he first had to face off with Yosuke, he told him that "Nanako" got inside the TV World again. He soon finds a young girl who claims to be Yasogami High School's student council president but is also forced to fight Chie and Yukiko. Eventually, he encounters a girl who shares his power, as well as Margaret's sister, Elizabeth, who had left the Velvet Room for her own reasons. Yu arrives in the announcement room, he is reunited with "Nanako," but it turns out to be an illusion created by Shadow Labrys and she reveals the president's true form as Labrys. After defeating Shadow Labrys, Labrys is suddenly hacked by the true mastermind behind the incident who somehow knows who he is. After Labrys leaves with Mitsuru Kirijo, Akihiko Sanada and Aigis, Yu decides to reform the investigation team and plans to finish this case.
In Elizabeth's story mode, Yu and Aigis help her understand the nature of the Wild Card throughout the course of the story. She eventually gains her own Fool Arcana, then continues on her journey.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax[]
In the Persona 3 story mode, Yu, Yosuke and Chie reached the Tartarus entrance where they confronted and heavily injured by Sho Minazuki. They are saved by Labrys, Mitsuru, Ken, Koromaru and Junpei's arrival. After Sho retreated to the top of Tartarus, Yu wanted to go with the Shadow Operatives to look for Rise, Naoto and Kanji, but Mitsuru insists for them to rest.
In the Persona 4 story mode, Yu and his friends gathered at Junes and discussed the culprit behind the P-1 Grand Prix. When he returned home, General Teddie appears in Midnight Channel and suddenly announces the second P-1 Grand Prix with Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis crucified. Yosuke immediately calls Yu, but the electricity turns off and Inaba is surrounded by red fog. Yu is able to meet Chie and Yosuke after defeating a shadow. The three of them are then confronted by Sho, who reveals that he is the culprit behind the previous P-1 Grand Prix and the one who kidnapped Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis. After exchanging a few words, Sho leaves.
Entering Yasogami High, they are surprised upon meeting Adachi, who was supposed to be imprisoned. Questioning his presence, Adachi left cryptic clues of what happens to Yu, Yosuke and Chie before he leaves. Once they reached Tartarus, they eavesdropped the conversation between Sho and Adachi, but the former senses their presence, forcing them to engage in combat. Sho was defeated, but the tide turns when Minazuki, Sho's other-self, replaces him and summons Tsukuyomi. Yosuke and Chie protect Yu from his attack, rendering them unable to fight and defenseless. Minazuki goads Yu to abandon his friends so he can fight him without any burden, but Yu refuses to do so. Before Minazuki can deliver a finishing blow, Labrys and Naoto arrive, saving Yu. Minazuki contemplates killing Yu at the time since he is the greatest threat against him, but Adachi convinces him not to since he has something more important to do. Reuniting with Mitsuru and the rest of their friends, Shadows starts to gather around the tower. While his friends fend off the Shadows, Yu goes to the top of Tartarus. At the top of Tartarus, he stops Minazuki right before he kills Adachi and defeats him. He makes Minazuki realizes that his strength comes from his bond with Sho. However, they are interrupted by General Teddie who reveals himself to be Hinokagutsuchi, the being that Sho tried to awaken. With the help of Adachi, Yu is able to defeat Hinokagutsuchi. Transported to the TV World by Margaret, Yu is glad that all of his friends are safe. He then tells Sho that he will gladly take him on anytime he wants one-on-one before the latter leaves.
With the case completely closed, Yu leaves Inaba and officially disbands the Investigation Team. Saddened that Yu is leaving again, Nanako begs Yu to stay and play with her, but Yu promises her that he will be back during summer vacation. Right before the door of the train is closed, Dojima teases Nanako, causing Nanako to enter the train with Yu because she is upset, ending up with Yu and the others panicking when the door closed with Nanako still inside with Yu as the train ready to leave.
In the True Ending route, after Yu defeats Hinokagutsuchi with Adachi, Yu tells Sho not to be afraid of bonding with people, but Sho says that he can only understand them through fighting. Accepting that if fighting is the only way for him to bond with Sho, Yu engages Sho in one last battle, in which he won once again. Sho insists that he will kill Yu one day, which Yu replies that he will gladly fight him again as long as the others are not involved. Yu reunites with his friends at Junes, celebrating their victory. He and Labrys also share a private conversation, where each expresses their confidence in Sho growing up and finding friends.
Personality[]
In Persona 4, he is a silent protagonist, as in the series tradition. Except for instances where he audibly speaks when summoning a Persona and so on, with his personality ultimately based on the player's actions and decisions. This is emphasized in Persona 4 Golden, as the Investigation Team members comment on how he doesn't talk much when equipped with the Butler Suit. His dialogue choices make him seem very neutral and include some limited sense of humor along with occasional flirtatious or silly behavior. Overall, he is portrayed through his dialogue options and actions as having a more extrovert personality than the Persona 3 protagonist, such as when both hear Jika Net Tanaka, with the former describing it as a "cheery song" unlike the latter, who describes it as an "annoying song." However, while he seems to have a strong moral compass, there are several dialogue options that show he could be mean if he wanted it. In one case, when asked to stay and help clean the basketball court, the options given to him are either to stay or to "be an ass and leave," though indicating an inclination to the former. Additionally, while the game portrays him as a calm and decisive individual, there are scenes that show him to having limits as to how much tolerance he has. One example, in particular, is the decision to kill Namatame, as the dialogue choice "Calm the hell down!" can be shown, and when selected, it demonstrates how he hardly ever shows to be this aggressive, as the Investigation Team gets surprised by his outburst at Yosuke.
Powers and Abilities[]
Narukami is a Persona User, meaning he is able to draw on the powers of his inner self to summon Demons that represent inner parts of his soul. A unique property that Makoto has is the power of the Wild Card, meaning that he is not restricted to using only one Persona based on their Arcana. Narukami is, in turn, able to switch Personas at will.
Izanagi[]
Izanagi is the protagonist's initial Persona. When the protagonist first encounters the Shadows, Izanagi's voice prompts him to awaken to the power within. The protagonist then mutters the word "Persona" and summons forth Izanagi.
In the events of the Normal Ending, Tohru Adachi is capable of invoking a bloodied, more malevolent form of Izanagi, called Magatsu-Izanagi. While the Investigation Team is surprised at the similarity of Adachi's Persona to that of the protagonist, the events of the True Ending reveal that the protagonist, Adachi and Namatame actually "received" their Personas from the Moel Gas Station Attendant, whose true identity is revealed to be Izanami. According to Izanami herself, she gave the Persona of Izanagi to three outsiders who represent Hope, Despair and Emptiness.
The protagonist represented Hope and thus his Izanagi is "pure." Adachi represented Emptiness, and as he refused to see the truth and gave into murderous corruption, his version of Izanagi became tainted and malevolent as well. Namatame, presumably, would also receive another version of Izanagi, which represented Despair, reflecting his desperate idea of "saving" people from the murders by throwing them in the Midnight Channel, although his Izanagi is never shown in the game.
During the True Ending's final sequences, in the protagonist's final confrontation with Izanami-no-Okami, he gathers the strengt
Izanagi-no-Okami[]
The ultimate Persona of the protagonist, Izanagi-no-Okami can only be accessed in the events of the True Ending, which can be unlocked provided if the protagonist manages to choose the correct choices.
In the True Ending, the protagonist realizes that Izanami is the true mastermind behind the bizarre murder cases, and ventures into her reality within the Midnight Channel, Yomotsu Hirasaka, to put an end to her plans. Eventually facing Izanami, however, the protagonist and his comrades are engulfed by Izanami's Thousand Curses. Fortunately, the protagonist hears the voices of his friends, telling him to continue fighting on.
Appearances[]
- Persona 4
- Persona 4 Arena
- Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night
- Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Persona 5 Royal (DLC)
Trivia[]
- The protagonist has a low tolerance for bad riddles.
- The protagonist was initially nicknamed "Banchō" (番長, Banchō)? by Japanese fans for being the protagonist and his Persona Izanagi's leather long coat, which is reminiscent of the stereotypical banchō. The title was eventually picked up by Atlus Japan for the mock title of Yu in Persona 4 Arena, though in the English localization, "Banchō" was translated as "Kingpin."
- When wearing the "Cheer Squad Outfit" in Persona 4 Golden, the other members of the Investigation Squad will mention how similar he looks to Izanagi.
- The calendar in his room in the Dojima Residence features both the logo of Persona 3 as well as promotional art of the game featuring the protagonist of Persona 3 and Thanatos. In Persona 4 Arena, his updated calendar features an image of Catherine from Catherine instead.
- Unlike the rest of the Investigation Team, the protagonist uses his hands to break the card in order to summon his Persona, whereas the others use their respective weapons to do so.
- However, in Persona 4 The Golden Animation, Tohru Adachi also breaks his card in his hands, unlike in the games.
- The protagonist has the same English voice actor as Adachi in Persona 4.
- In Persona 4 the Animation, Yu is the only party member who doesn't deny his Shadow's accusations, possibly because he has already learned from all his other friends' struggles and that his shadow was the last to appear.
- When the protagonist wears the Gekkoukan High School uniform, he imitates the Persona 3 protagonist's victory pose when wielding a two-handed sword, a one-handed sword, a bow and an axe.
- In the anime, it is shown multiple times that Yu passes time by making paper cranes.
- The protagonist of Persona 4 is the second tallest Persona protagonist in the series at 180cm, the tallest being Tatsuya Suou (who is only taller by one centimeter).
- When put in serious situations, he may put on glasses (such as the time in Persona 4 The Animation when he was catching a fish.)
- In Persona 4 the Golden Animation, in his initial battle with Adachi and following the two seeing the other's memories, Adachi remarks that Yu's life is a "masterpiece," although it was never shown.
- Yu is one of the 3 major characters of Persona 4 that never had their voice actor changed. The others being Yosuke and Yukiko.
- Before he was named by the spinoffs, manga, or anime, he was referred to as Kosuke Tsukimori in the original instruction manual.
- In Persona 4 Golden, although the rest of the Investigation Team's motorcycles have their birthdates printed upon the license plates, the protagonist's license plate reads 7-10, the date the original Persona 4 was released.
- Yu and Teddie are the only characters that do not face their shadow self in their Persona 4 Arena story mode. Yu does face his shadow self in his Arcade Mode though and immediately picks up that his Persona and Shadow cannot co-exist.
- Yu's Furious Action "Big Gamble/Kenkon Itteki" is based on his critical-hit animation from Persona 4.
- Sometimes when Yu K.O's the opponent, he will say, "I should leave them be" a reference to an early prompt in Persona 4, where the text box would say, "You should leave him be" after seeing Yosuke get injured.
- Yu, Naoto and Mitsuru are the only characters who possess skills in their movesets they do not naturally learn in their original games; however, in Yu's case, in the original Persona 4, it's possible to re-create an Izanagi with the skills Swift Strike and Ziodyne.
- Despite having various expressions in the art book of Persona 4 Arena, Yu is shown with only three expressions throughout the game.
- Almost true to Daisuke Ishiwatari's previous affiliation with the company SNK, Arc System Works in Ultimax includes a secret move for Yu that is uncanny to Geese Howard/Rock Howard's Deadly Rave attack, in that it's a multi-sequence input super with a total of 10 inputs. However, due to the more complex route, it plays a lot more akin to Order-Sol's Dragon Install: Sakkai since Guilty Gear XX Slash, another pre-dated Deadly Rave reference.
- Yu and Yukiko are the only two characters whose Auto-Combo's second inputs in Ultimax do not change out of the rest of the Investigation Team's.
- Yu wears his Yasogami uniform despite no longer being a student at the school. Yu states he wore it as wearing anything else in the TV world "didn't feel right."
- In the second episode of the 2017 anime series Gamers!, the characters Keita Amano and Tasuku Uehara play the arcade version of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Tasuku's Teddie defeat's Keita's Yu, without losing any HP.
Cover Gallery[]
