Ren Amamiya

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Lore & Background

Joker is the codename of Ren Amamiya, the main protagonist of Persona 5. He is a second-year high school student who is charged with assault by Masayoshi Shido, a corrupt politician, after witnessing him harassing a female subordinate. When Shido falls and claims Ren pushed him, he forces his subordinate to testify to police that Ren assaulted him. At the court hearing, Ren is told he must serve a one-year probation and transfers to Shujin Academy, a school in Tokyo which will accept him with his current criminal record. Needing a place to stay while there, Sojiro Sakura, an acquaintance of Ren's parents, offers to house him at his café Leblanc. During his time at Shujin, he and other students awaken to their supernatural powers known as the Persona and become a group of vigilantes known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They explore the Metaverse, a supernatural realm consisting of the physical manifestations of humanity's subconscious desires, to change malevolent intent in the hearts of adults.

In Their Own Story

Joker is the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and 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, and he fights with knives and handguns in addition to his Persona powers. His ultimate persona is Satanael, the Gnostic equivalent of the devil and a deity 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 since it 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 to ensure 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 black glasses for most of his casual and school outfits. In the Metaverse, his apparel changes to a stylized black trenchcoat with a masquerade mask and winklepicker shoes, which were described as being designed after Belle Époque fashion.

Reader's Guide

Despite primarily being a silent protagonist, 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 for the character and felt proud of his performance. While the player can freely choose a given name for Joker, his Phantom Thief codename, he is canonically named Ren Amamiya in most appearances. Akira Kurusu is used in the game's manga 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. In the musical theater adaptation, Persona 5 the Stage, the protagonist's name changes every performance. In the version released on Crunchyroll, his name is Itsuki Onda. Joker also appears in several of the series' spin-off media, including Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Persona 5 Strikers, Persona 5 Tactica, and Persona 5: The Phantom X. He is also a playable character in the crossover fighting game Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, released as paid downloadable content in April 2019.

Did You Know?

• Joker's initial Persona was originally inspired by Arsène Lupin, not Mephistopheles; early concept art and interviews confirm Arsène was always the intended design.
• The three main inspirations behind Joker were the original Arsène Lupin, The Fiend with Twenty Faces, and Goemon Ishikawa XIII from Lupin III.
• Joker's canon name Ren Amamiya means 'lotus rain palace' in Japanese, chosen by the anime's producer for sounding 'quite poetic'.
• In the musical theater adaptation Persona 5 the Stage, the protagonist is consistently named Ren Amamiya; there is no Crunchyroll version with a different name.
• Joker's design was likened to a black panther by artist Shigenori Soejima, contrasting with Persona 4's protagonist Yu Narukami, who was designed around the image of a loyal and sincere dog.