Ren Amamiya (Persona)

"Show me your true form!" - Ren when ambushing a Shadow.Ren Amamiya (b. February 13, 2000) is a fictional Japanese student, who was wrongly accused of assault and grievous bodily harm and sentenced to a year-long probation, being sent to Shibuya, Tokyo for his sentence, which would prove to be his destiny as he becomes leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts - a group who reforms criminals through unseen methods that are not normal. He will serve as the primary protagonist of the upcoming Persona 5: The Animation Playthrough and Persona 5: The Royal Playthrough. He serves as the protagonist of all of Persona 5 media.
== Biography ==
=== History ===
Ren Amamiya was born in Japan, possibly in a small country town a fair distance away from Tokyo. Although his birthday was never mentioned, it can be implied that he was born sometime after Christmas, possibly February 13 of 2000, making him one of the youngest of his friend group. He grew up around an unknown country town.
=== False Assault Charges ===
Around February or March of 2016, Ren was returning home late at night when he overheard two people fighting - a man and a woman. When he investigated the disturbance, the man was seen abusing the woman and ordered her into his car. He intervened and helped the woman by pulling the man off of her. However, the man in a drunken stupor fell down and banged his head, splitting it open. He then threatened to sue Ren and intimidated the woman into falsely accusing Ren of the crime out of fear for herself, much to Ren’s shock. He was immediately arrested by two passing officers and sentenced to a year-long probation in Tokyo, permanently earning him an assault record and a bad reputation.
=== Move to Tokyo ===
In April, Ren was sentenced and was shipped to Tokyo to live with a caretaker, Sojiro Sakura, who was a cafe owner who agreed to be his guardian for a fee. After a train ride, Ren finally arrived and wandered into Shibuya’s crossing junction, where he had discovered a strange app appearing on his phone that had the shape of a red eye. When he tried to tap on it, time slowed down and he discovered a large burning blue fire in the junction, with a strange entity as well as a dark reflection of himself, wearing an entirely different attire with burning eyes. He snapped out of his trance and promptly deleted the app after his surroundings returned to normal. He immediately deleted the app and got onto the train needed to get to Yongen-Jaya, where Sojiro Sakura lived.
After first checking his house, he learned from the mailman that he ran a cafe just around the corner from the house called Leblanc. Ren navigated his way there, and introduced himself to Sojiro, who was initially somewhat hostile to Ren for his record. Regardless, he directed him to the attic, which was dirty and cluttered, and claimed it was his room. After warning him not to cause any problems and announced that he would be introducing him to the principal at Shujin Academy tomorrow, where he would be attending school, Ren settled in for the night, giving the attic a rudimentary cleaning to make it more inhabitable. That night, Ren noticed the app had appeared again and deleted it a second time before falling asleep.
Ren then woke up in a strange room, in which there were two twin girls who wore blue warden's clothes, and a strange older man with a long nose sitting behind a desk, in which he said "Trickster, welcome to my Velvet Room." The man introduced himself as Igor, and his assistants Caroline and Justine. Igor then explained that "ruin" was coming and although it was nigh, there were ways to combat this, and that was where Ren came in. He was to help avoid ruin and save not only himself, but the world as well.
=== First Heist - Suguru Kamoshida ===
Ren awakened, still reflecting on the dream he had of the Velvet Room, but brushed off those thoughts to prepare himself to be introduced to his principal. He had also met his homeroom teacher, Sadayo Kawakami, who had quickly hid a suspicious looking magazine upon handing Ren his ID. The next day, Ren prepared for his first day at school and took the trains to Shujin, ending up in a neighborhood in Aoyama-Itchomi. As he stood in the rain, possibly waiting for it to stop and he noticed the app acting up on his phone again, he encountered a blond-haired girl, who stood next to him. The two then stared at each other with friendly gazes, with Ren possibly taking an interest in her, but not making any moves. The two awkwardly stood together as a car pulled up, with an older looking man offering the woman a ride. He offered Ren one too, but he silently declined. He then watched as the car drove away, with a blond man running after the car, but he eventually stopped and grumbled "screw that pervy teacher." Ren curiously asked "pervy... teacher" as a response to the man's insult, which prompted the man to ask Ren if he was going to "rat him out to Kamoshida," which confused Ren on who he was referring to. The boy then replied that the man in the car was Kamoshida and he thought he was "a king of a castle." The boy then realized that Ren was the transfer student. The two then decided to walk together to Shujin, but as they began to walk, they felt a sudden pulse in their heads as the app had responded to their words - "pervy teacher," "Kamoshida," "castle," and "Shujin." The two did not pay much mind to it and they continued to walk to Shujin, unaware of the strangeness about their surroundings.
However, as they arrived at where Shujin was supposed to be, the boy slightly screamed at what he saw, which was a giant castle, with the school signage being in front of it. The two were dazed and confused by what they saw and the two decided to go in. It turned out that the castle was not real and it was the school, but the two students did not notice and believed it to be a castle. The two walked in to explore their surroundings, and were cornered by knights in armor and captured. They were imprisoned in the dungeons and were approached by who appeared to be Kamoshida wearing a crown and a robe with nothing on except for underwear. He then ordered his guards to restrain the two teenagers and have them killed, mentioning the boy's name as Sakamoto. He then proceeded to beat and torture Sakamoto first, with Ren attempting to counter Kamoshida, who had a guard bash him and two of them restrained him to the wall as he proceeded to have a guard prepare to execute Sakamoto. Ren then noticed a butterfly that was shining in blue, which told him that his chances of winning were almost none and it was an unfair game, but he had a chance to fight. He then heard a voice that called out to him, asking if he was willing to condemn Sakamoto to die and if his decision to help the woman was a mistake. After answering, the voice told him that he will lend his powers to him, which caused Ren to start convulsing uncontrollably and scream in pure agony and pain as the voice recited "I am thou, thou art I." Just as Kamoshida ordered the guard to kill Sakamoto, Ren yelled out for him to stop, which prompted Kamoshida to react and have a guard bash him in the face. Just as Ren was about to be executed, a sudden strong gust of wind sent the guards flying back. After the wind died down, Ren was seen with a strange mask, which he quickly pulled off, but very painfully as he bled while violently tearing off the mask. After doing so, a strange entity appeared behind Ren as his clothes changed and a flame emerged on his face, while Kamoshida fled and Sakamoto looked on in fear and shock.
The entity then introduced himself as Arsène, Ren's own Persona, which can use magical powers to kill the mysterious guards, which suddenly transformed into strange but dangerous entities known as Shadows. After Ren instructed Arsène to lend him his power, he did so and Ren killed the Shadows. He then helped Sakamoto up, and the latter tackled Kamoshida to incapacitate him. The two students then stole the cell keys and locked Kamoshida in to buy them time. The two navigated through the strange castle, looking for a way out, but when they had no idea where to go, they heard a strange boyish voice, and found a strange cat-like creature in a cell. He introduced himself as Morgana and requested for them to let him out of the cell, in exchange that he would tell them everything they needed to know about this "Palace." Morgana initially took a liking to Ren due to his unforeseen power, while he insulted Sakamoto mostly. Morgana decided to uphold his part of the deal and led them onwards towards an exit, with Ren using his new powers, as well as Morgana using his own to fight off any Shadows along the way, while Sakamoto was helpless. The two then found a room where there were slaves that resembled the students of Shujin, more notably the members of Kamoshida's volleyball team, and how they were abused constantly in both the real-world and the Palace.
Along the way, Morgana explained the fundamentals of battle as well as the fact that they were in a place called a "Palace," where it was created as a result of an individual's distorted desires. In that alternative world, the desires became as real as Kamoshida saw fit, and he saw Shujin Academy as his castle, while he viewed himself as a king and his students as slaves, but in the real-world, nothing was changed except for Kamoshida's nature. Deep within the Palace is a Treasure, which is the origin or heart of their distorted desires. Both students were just as confused, but listened along, especially Ren, who took a quick adaption to the new information. After Sakamoto, who revealed his name as Ryuji along the way, memorized the faces of the students who were abused so that he could question them in the real-world, the trio decided to take their leave, and Morgana led them to another exit that was secret. After Ren thanked Morgana for the information and for leading them to safety, the two students decided to flee while Morgana stayed behind for his own personal reasons.
The two boys returned to reality after escaping the Palace and ended up on a sidewalk not too far from the school. They were approached by two officers, who questioned their sobriety when Ryuji mentioned Kamoshida's castle. The two decided to leave before the cops could call the school for their tardiness, but when they arrived, the school was already notified. Kamoshida and an official were already waiting outside for the two boys and were disappointed in their tardiness. Ryuji and Kamoshida exchanged unpleasantries before the former went inside, with Kamoshida warning Ren not to be late again.
Ren then went to the student faculty office to check in with Kawakami, earning her scolding as a result of him missing half a day on his first day, but she decided to have him be introduced to the class anyway. Later, as he was about to go home, Kawakami warned him not to hang out with the likes of Ryuji, which ironically, he arrived into the conversation to have Ren meet him on the rooftop, much to Kawakami's chagrin. Ren did what Ryuji requested and met him on the roof, wanting to discuss the strange phenomenon that they have encountered, how they entered a castle instead of the school where Kamoshida was king, and how they were nearly killed. The two decided that it was no dream, but figured that there was nothing they could do about it, and decided to try and drop it for now, with Ren going home. Once back a Leblanc, Sojiro relayed the news that he received a call from the school that he showed up late on his first day, expressing anger and threatening that if he kept messing up, he would go to jail.
The next day, Ren managed to get to school on time, but as he left school at the end of the day, Ryuji cornered him once again and requested his help to find out if they could walk to the castle again. The two kept trying to find out where the castle was again, but every time, they kept going back to the school gate. The two then realized that they could check Ren's phone, and sure enough, they noticed the strange app on his phone, which said "beginning navigation" before, much to their curiosity. However, the two activated the app and they returned back into the strange world where the castle was. There, they noticed that Ren changed back into his attire that he had when he awakened to his Persona, and Morgana noticed that they had returned due to the Shadows acting up. He then decided to give them more of a run-down on Palaces, and the three of them go back inside via the vent they escaped through earlier to try and investigate further, learning more and more about the basics of battle, although Ryuji had yet to awaken to his own Persona.
However, midway in, they had reached the dungeons and Ryuji realized that they were his classmates and decided to take a mental picture of each one as his phone did not operate normally in the Palace. After doing so, they returned to the entrance hall, only to be ambushed by a waiting Kamoshida and his minions. Ren and Morgana attempted to fend them off, but with just the two of them, they were quickly attacked and overwhelmed. As the two were pinned down, Kamoshida laughed in Ryuji’s face as he mocked him for his failures as both a track star and a friend and announced that he was going to watch his two comrades die right in front of him. However, Ren was able to yell out to Ryuji to not let Kamoshida win, which gave him the will of rebellion to stand up and fight against Kamoshida. In turn, this caused Ryuji to suffer a migraine much similar to Ren. Ren then watched in shock and awe as Ryuji awakened to his own Persona - Captain Kidd. He was able to save Ren and Morgana from being executed and the three fought their way out.
=== Second Heist - Ichiryusai Madarame ===
=== Third Heist - Junya Kaneshiro ===
=== Fourth Heist - Futaba Sakura ===
=== Fifth Heist - Kunikazu Okumura & Framing ===
=== Sixth Heist - Sae Niijima & Arrest ===
=== Interrogation & Disappearance ===
After Ren's incarceration and finally beginning to remember everything up to that point, Ren's recollection returned to the present-day on the 20th of November. Sae, finally heard the last of his testimony, decided to strike a deal with Ren, where if he were to cooperate, she could consider lightening his sentence as he could either get the life sentence or the death penalty due to the severity of his crimes. Sae then read off the names of his accomplices - the first student he befriended on his first day; Ryuji Sakamoto, a victim of the Kamoshida case, Ann Takamaki; Madarame's former pupil, Yusuke Kitagawa; Wakaba Ishiki's daughter, Futaba Sakura; the daughter of Kanikazu Okumura and heir to Okumura Foods, Haru Okumura; and Sae's own sister and student council president, Makoto Niijima. Ren was then presented with two choices: either confirm the names of his accomplices, or deny it further and accept his punishment. In an alternative timeline, Ren did so, but it costed him his life. In the true timeline, Ren denied their involvement continuously, which resulted in Sae almost deciding to leave due to her time being nearly cut short. However, Ren managed to catch her attention once more about how she wanted to win and he had a way to have her do so. He then pointed out his phone and, finally remembering his goal, he instructed for Sae to show the phone to the "traitor" who was "not a teammate." Sae then realized, after much determination in squeezing more information out of Ren, who the true culprit was. Sae, after much convincing, was given the knock signal to leave the room now as her time was cut short. Ren then recalled Akechi's voice, saying "we could say that he stole the guard's gun and committed suicide with it." Sae then decided to go along with Ren's plan as he had told her his entire testimony and she might as well play it out to the end as she no longer had much to lose as she was no longer heavily involved in the case. Sae then left the room, with Ren's plan in motion.
Before Akechi arrived in the room as he planned, he encountered Sae leaving, and after remembering Ren's words, showed the phone to Akechi, causing him to experience a slight uncomfortable feeling as he asked about the phone. Sae then left Akechi to go onwards, and he finally reached Ren's interrogation room. As he did so, both he and the guard standing by entered, and Akechi quickly pulled out the guard's guns and attached a silencer to it before shooting the guard dead. He then thanked Ren for being a valuable asset before turning the gun on him, asking if he finally pieced all of the pieces together. Ren only sat and watched as Akechi pointed the gun at Ren's head, saying "case closed, this is how your 'justice' ends," before pulling the trigger. Blood then trickled down Ren's face as he was shot in the head, and fell forward onto the table. Akechi then poked at Ren's head to ensure that he was dead, and after doing so, he removed his silencer and put his handgun in Ren's hand to make it look like a double-murder & and suicide. Akechi then left the room, believing that he had won.
However, thanks to Sae going along with the plan, Futaba, as Alibaba once more, instructed Sae on how to approach saving Ren and instructed her not to trust the guard as he was an accomplice. She made her way back to Ren's room, and told the alive guard that she was filling in for Akechi and he needed to leave and hide if he wanted to live. Later, it turned out that Sae showing Akechi the phone caused both of them to enter the Metaverse, which was still considered part of Sae's Palace, and since they were inside the police headquarters, it looked the same as every other building in Shibuya other than the courthouse, which was where Sae's Palace was. Sae was able to leave the Metaverse, while Akechi continued on in it longer. It turned out that once Akechi was in the Metaverse, he entered Ren's room and shot both him and the guard, but they were actually just the cognitive versions of both of them, and in reality, Akechi never really entered Ren's room, and therefore, both Ren and the guard survived, with Ren looking towards the door in silence and gave a slight chuckle, presumably looking at the player with a proud and cocky look, realizing that his plan had worked.
Beforehand, it was announced in a public announcement that Ren, although not called by name and was referred to as the leader of the Phantom Thieves, was detained, but shortly after saying so, it said that he had committed suicide in custody, which was mysterious as nobody confirmed Ren's death in that time. The rest of the Thieves were shocked and worried by the announcement, but Ryuji, who was shocked that it happened, also realized that the plan had worked.
The following day, Sae managed to rescue the still alive but recovering Ren from the police station and took him back to Leblanc, where everyone was waiting for him, relieved and overjoyed that Ren was still alive, and that Akechi was the true culprit all along. The Thieves then explained their plan to Sojiro and Sae, explaining how they were able to use the same interrogation room that Ren was incarcerated in to fool Akechi into thinking that he was still in reality. Due to them using Sae's Palace for their plan, they had Sae picture Ren and the guard's cognitions as being present in the room, the same way that she saw both of them really being there, and thanks to their cognitions being there, this had set their plan further in motion. Weeks prior, Ren and Morgana realized that Akechi was highly suspicious, and had Futaba tap into his phone to not only record audio, but to plant a bug that would cause him to be sent into the Metaverse during his assassination. This happened when Futaba snatched Akechi's phone and played an act where she was fascinated by his phone's model to allow her to properly download the bug without fail. Then, once the day came for the heist, they had brought in a fake suitcase to make Akechi believe that it was the real Treasure, and that they knew that Akechi would bring in a SWAT team to ambush the Thieves by bringing them into the Metaverse in mass amounts. They then planned to have Ren get arrested so that the plan could continue. Once that was done, Ren just needed to convince Sae to play a part in his plan, and when she showed Akechi the phone, he entered the Metaverse without noticing and killed Sae's cognitives of both Ren and the guard, while in reality, Sae sent the guard away and saved Ren from certain death. While it all paid off in the end, it was a big gamble and the only problematic part that occurred during the plan was the fact that the police physically abused him and drugged him to the point where if he lost all memory or fell into unconsciousness, Akechi would have killed him in reality.
With the plan having worked, and Ren being alive and well, the Thieves realized that Ren could not return to Shujin for a while as he was considered dead by the public, but Sojiro came up with a story to the school officials that he had to return home for a while for family matters, allowing Ren to stay hidden in public. Now considered dead, Ren is forced to keep his head down while the Thieves find out more about Shido, Akechi's boss.
=== Seventh Heist - Masayoshi Shido ===
Ren was still determined to help the Thieves, despite being considered dead and the risk of someone catching wind of his survival. The Thieves struggle to learn more about Shido, but they learn that he was planning to run for prime minster of Japan. By some sheer chance of fate, Shido began to campaign his election throughout Yongen-Jaya, near Leblanc. Thanks to the loud speakerphone, the Thieves were able to hear him and they rushed to where he was campaigning. Ryuji personally encountered him after he made a speech and tried to talk to him about the Wilton Hotel incident, only to be rudely shoved off by a bodyguard who did not even remember encountering Ryuji. Once Ren and Haru tried to calm down Ryuji, Shido turned to Ren without even recognizing him, Haru, Ryuji or their encounter in the Wilton Hotel, cynically threatening "the kids" not to get in his way and left afterwards, completely unaware that the "kids" confronting him are the very people that he is supposed to arrest and take care of and one of them was the one he thought that he disposed of during the interrogation. After listening to Shido's voice once again in the election campaign, Ren finally realized that Shido is the man who accused him of assault. He had a vague memory of that night, and remembered Shido's drunk rambling mentioned "steering this country." He deduced that it referred to a ship's steering wheel, opening the way to Shido's Palace.
=== Final Heist - Mementos & Yaldabaoth Fight ===
=== Original Incarceration & Release ===
=== Ninth Heist - Takuto Maruki ===
Unlike the original timeline, in this one, as Ren was confronted by Sae and requested to turn himself into the police, Akechi suddenly appeared out of nowhere and offered to turn himself in instead of Ren, as his testimony could prove to be much more valuable as he did work as Shido's pawn. Sae agreed to do so and let Ren go. Ren then returned home to Leblanc to celebrate Christmas with Sojiro and Futaba, the three of them which had no money to afford a proper Christmas dinner, but Sojiro gave Futaba a little bit of pocket money to buy candy. After a bit, Futaba returned seemingly with nothing, but then she suddenly presented a turkey, which she was able to get for free thanks to a coupon she received. The three then enjoyed their large Christmas dinner with cake as well, with Sojiro extending a thanks to Ren for helping them all this time, and offered an ear if Ren wished to talk about anything. Furthermore, thanks to Akechi's confession and testimony, Shido was successfully tried and sent to prison for treason. However, one night, Ren had a dream where he was wearing his prison garbs from the Velvet Room and was sitting in the nurse's office in Shujin, and noticed a blue butterfly. He decided to follow it, hearing the wishes of his friends while doing so, but eventually reached the front gate, with an unknown voice expressing disappointment to his departure, but announced that they will meet again. Ren then woke up and received a text from Kasumi, inviting him to the shrine for Hatsumode, with Sojiro calling him down for work.
However, Ren noticed some strange behavior and changes going on in Leblanc that morning, notably how there was an unknown teenager with blue hair who did not exist before, and Futaba mentioning going with "her mother to pick out her yukata," which was odd as her mother died. Later that morning, Ren made his way to the shrine and noticed Kasumi wearing her yukata. After praying at the shrine, his friends finally arrived at the shrine, but each one was having strange conversations, notably how Makoto stated that she would celebrate New Year's with her "family" rather than her sister alone, Haru mentioning her supposed to be deceased father, Kunikazu, and Futaba mentioning Wakaba once more. After parting ways with his friends, Ren was introduced to Kasumi's father, Shinichi Yoshizawa, who told Kasumi that her relatives were all at home and she needed to go, but he heard him mutter the name "Sumire," but since his voice became distorted, he was unable to make it out.
The next day, Ren's suspicions became much more concerning as he woke up to see the strange blue-haired teenager sleeping next to him in bed, shocking Ren and prompting him to jump out of bed. It turned out to be Morgana, who finally became a human, much to Ren's surprise. He then heard a female voice calling both of the boys down for breakfast, and when Ren finally went down, it came to his surprise to see none other than Wakaba herself sitting next to Futaba. Akechi then came in, who was surprisingly released without question after he turned himself in. He then requested for Ren to go with him outside for a moment, and the two talked in private in the next door laundromat. Akechi then pointed out the strange occurrences, such as Wakaba being alive, Akechi being released without question, which Ren acknowledged, with both of them coming to the conclusion that they were the only ones who sensed strange unnatural changes happening to the world. Kasumi then called Ren and told him about how the Palace that they had seen back in October came to reality in Odaiba. The two then decide to go and investigate Odaiba, and sure enough, the same structure from when Ren saved Kasumi from was appearing in reality, much to their shock. As it turned out, it was not just Ren and Akechi who maintained their memories, but Kasumi as well. The trio then went into the Palace to investigate the unknown instigator, and despite receiving warnings on the loudspeaker to turn back or face having their hearts torn apart, they continued on anyway and reached a center, where a image resembling Kasumi showed.
They then discovered who the Palace's true ruler was: Takuto Maruki, Ren's friend and Confidant, who had created and initiated his plan to change reality to suit everyone's wishes and needs, effectively making everybody happy and able to live their lives without pain and suffering, which was the strange anomalies that Ren and Akechi had noticed the past few days. After Kasumi demanded answers about who she really was, Maruki reluctantly revealed that "Kasumi" was not really "Kasumi." He then played a video of a girl resembling her, but with brown hair and a beauty mark below her left eye. It turned out that the "Kasumi" Ren knew was the twin sister she had mentioned that died - Sumire Yoshizawa. The real Kasumi had died after being accidentally struck by a car while saving Sumire from being hit in her depressed trance, inflicting a severe case of survivor's guilt and inferiority complex, continuously comparing herself to her deceased sister. As per her request during her first session with Maruki last spring, she wished to become Kasumi to relieve herself of the pain and to fulfill her sister's wish as she believed that she robbed her of that, which Maruki was able to do. With Sumire losing her will of rebellion as a result, she remained defenseless. Maruki then restrained Sumire and separated her from the boys, and tried to convince both of the boys to accept his reality, which they ultimately refused, and Maruki had his right-hand man face them, but both of them destroyed the Shadow in a Showtime. He offered the two boys seven days to consider a decision, after which, he will hear them out. The two boys are forced to leave without Sumire, but they were aware that Maruki would not harm her and would simply watch over her, so she would be safe for now.
Ren and Akechi then devised a plan to try and figure out how to stop Maruki, while also attempt to liberate the rest of the Thieves' from Maruki's control. Ren confronted each one of the Thieves in each day of the week, asking if they were happy with their lives, while also planting seeds of doubt into their minds before leaving them to think more on it. On the final day, Ren and Akechi returned to the Palace, where Maruki awaited them, hoping that they thought long and hard about accepting his reality. Akechi refused continuously, leaving Maruki to try and appeal to Ren, who was his friend, to see some sense and accept it. Ren was then left with two decisions: peacefully accept Maruki's world, or continue to defy him and fight. Ren could choose to accept, but the original reality will be overwritten and the Thieves' memories become distorted, minus Ren and Akechi's. In the canon timeline, Ren refused further and therefore, Sumire became wrecked with guilt and refused to go back to being herself, resolving to fight the boys. However, Akechi removed himself from the battle to allow Ren to take matters into his own hands as he knew that if he ended up fighting her, he would resolve to just killing her, while Ren wanted her alive. After Ren subdued Sumire, Maruki once again restrained her out of the boys' reach, causing her Persona, Cendrillon, to go berserk and attempt to kill the boys. The fight continued on, but Cendrillon was able to heal itself after each turn, making the battle unbeatable by the two. Just as Cendrillon was about to unleash one final attack to end the duo's lives, an unexpected Skull finally arrived and blocked the attack, as well as the rest of the Thieves, as Ren planting the seeds of doubt into their minds worked and they broke free of the reality's cognition. Once Cendrillon was destroyed by the Thieves, Maruki let Sumire go and Ren carried her, allowing the Thieves a chance at changing his heart, giving them until February 2nd to decide whether to change his heart if they can, or simply accept his reality.
The Thieves' returned home, and saw that their initial distortions and realities reverted back for the most part, but they were still stuck in Maruki's reality, such as Wakaba being reverted back to being deceased as well as Kunikazu, and everyone else's lives revert to the same. Sumire apologized to Ren for attacking him and promised to help, accepting the fact that she is who she is, but she needed some time to recover. After a while, Sumire finally agreed to join the Thieves' once again, although her Persona was destroyed. The Thieves infiltrated Maruki's Palace once more, where Sumire finally accepted her old identity, which allowed Cendrillon to return in its true form, giving Sumire her Persona back once more. The Thieves continued to secure a route to Maruki's Treasure, which was waiting at the top of Eden in his Palace.
On the off days where Ren and the Thieves did not fought in Maruki's Palace, Ren personally met up with his seven original members, where they had a heart-to-heart conversation, regretting the fact that they simply resigned themselves to their ideal realities and not being there for Ren when he needed them, which he accepted and understood, with everyone resigning to the fact that their ideal realities coming true is wonderful, but it is not one they strive to be in to grow and learn, rather wishing that their original reality would remain the way it was, further promising to be by his side to the end, awakening their third Personas and fulfilling the spirits of rebellion. After finally securing the route, come February 2nd, Maruki visited Ren personally in Leblanc, pleading for him to reconsider his decision as he really wished for everyone to be happy in his reality. Akechi was also listening in and walked in upon being called out by Maruki. Akechi repeatedly refused, which led to Maruki stating that Akechi was only with them now because it was Ren's desire to stay together with the Thieves in Tokyo forever, and Maruki's reality that allowed Akechi to reform himself and start over in a reality where he never killed anybody, stating that if this reality was reverted, Akechi may very well disappear and die in the original reality. He simply responded that he did not care and would not become a pawn, although he did say that he did not remember anything between Shido's Palace and Christmas Eve. Although Maruki's credibility here is questionable as he actually did not know if Akechi had actually died in Shido's Palace and was likely frantically trying to appeal Ren to his ideal reality. Maruki then left Leblanc to allow the boys to think more on it, with Ren slipping him his calling card and Maruki declaring that his offer still remained and if Ren and the rest of the Thieves did not show up the next day, he would take it as a sign of them accepting his reality. Akechi further denounced Maruki's reality, choosing to very much rather die at the hands of his cognition than to live out the rest of his life as a mere pawn under Maruki's finger, and firmly pressed Ren if he would decide to "be spineless" and accept Maruki's reality at the cost of his identity and freedom of growth, or continue to defy Maruki to the bitter end alongside him. Ren could choose to refuse any further action, which would disgust Akechi and prompt him to leave, leading to Maruki's reality becoming the main one. However, Ren ultimately refused to submit to him, which pleased and relieved Akechi as he refused to be anyone's pawn anymore. Together, Joker and the Thieves then assembled to take on Maruki's Palace together, reaching the top of Eden.
There, Maruki awaited them, although bearing no ill will to any of them and wished to make them surrender and accept, he felt he had no choice and resolved to fighting the Thieves, wearing a golden pastor's vest, and summoning his Persona - Azathoth. He then instructed Joker and the Thieves on how the fight would go down - if they won, they will be allowed to restore the original timeline. However, if the Thieves were to fall, he would overwrite the previous reality and force his new reality into completion. Both sides then continued to fight, with Maruki attempting to appeal to each Phantom Thief about their true desires, which each one, save for Akechi, expressed their gratitude for his kindness, but resolved to press forward and move past their circumstantial painful pasts. Maruki is eventually severely weakened and the Palace began to crumble, with the Thieves grabbing the torch that is his Treasure. However, as they tried to escape, Maruki was able to reclaim his torch and summoned a colossal mech-like entity, which was revealed to be his reawakened Persona - Adam Kadmon, consuming Maruki to serve as its power source and boost it to godlike-levels of power. With no other choice, Joker and the Thieves tried to fight Maruki as he was on the ground, and then fighting Adam Kadmon. However, the Persona had nigh-invulnerabilities and seemed impossible to defeat. However, Oracle was able to determine Adam Kadmon's weakness, where each time it focused power to its arm to strike down the Thieves, its protection on its head goes away, enabling whoever was free to damage it. With everyone wielding the powers of their Personas to hold back Adam Kadmon's dangerous attack, except for Joker, who remained out of the way, they instructed Joker to perform the final shot on Adam Kadmon's head to finally defeat Maruki once and for all. Joker then jumped and grappled all the way to Adam Kadmon's head and aimed his gun straight at where Maruki was. After declaring "checkmate," Joker fired his handgun straight at Maruki's head, removing his mask and finishing his battle once and for all. Adam Kadmon was then destroyed, and the Thieves reunited.
As the Palace began to crumble for the last time, as Maruki was caught in a small blast of debris, the Thieves were led to assume that he perished. Mona then resolved to pile the Thieves into the Mona Car to shield them all from the falling debris, possibly with the intention of sacrificing himself as all of their escape routes were destroyed. However, with no other way, Morgana wished for him to be able to fly, which used up the last of the Star's power that Jose gave to the Thieves. As a result, he transformed into an attack helicopter, allowing the Thieves to be able to fly away. However, as Joker dangled from a rope, Maruki was revealed to have survived and used the last of his cognition control's power to grab the helicopter with a hook to pull the Thieves down. Seeing no other choice, Joker let go of the rope to descend down to the platform where Maruki awaited him. As he expressed frustration at his loss, he requested for Ren to help him release his frustration, which he accepted. The two then engaged in a fist fight, with both men exchanging heavy blows out of frustration, anger, and built-up stress. After exchanging several blows to each other, Maruki finally let out one last scream of agony as he accepted defeat in front of Joker, collapsing to the ground, resigning himself to die in his Palace as his final chance of redemption and punishment. However, just as the ground below Maruki began to crack and eventually break, leading Maruki to begin falling, Ren immediately grabbed Maruki's hand, refusing to let him die and have things end like this. Maruki felt great remorse for what he had done and saw the honesty in Ren's eyes, finally realizing his true strength and hopefulness, cementing Maruki's change of heart for good. Just before Maruki could fall to his demise, the Mona Helicopter flew towards the two as its lights flashed both Ren and Maruki. With this, Ren was able to save Maruki and the Thieves managed to escape alive, with the original reality being restored to the way it was.
=== Alternative Incarceration & Release ===
As a result, Ren returned to the Velvet Room, where Igor and Lavenza congratulated him for overturning the false reality and restoring the true one. However, time moved forward as normal in the real timeline and as a result, for all reasons and purposes, Ren was the one who ended up turning himself into the police, and Akechi still remained missing, possibly still deceased. In reality, with the Thieves having found out about Ren's incarceration and strived to find a way to free him, resolving to calling in favors around Tokyo, as well as Ren's confidants.
* Makoto Niijima called Shiho Suzui's parents to try and get their help in finding out the woman's identity who had been threatened into silence by Shido and into a false testimony against Ren, succeeding in doing so, plus some extra assistance.
* Tae Takemi announced that she would mention Ren's name as the key figure who helped pioneer the completion of her medicine at her next conference, which would give Ren leeway into his innocence.
* Sadayo Kawakami called in a teacher board meeting to oppose Ren's unjust arrest and overturn his sentence, ridiculing all of them for failing to support their student in his time of need.
* Munehisa Iwai engaged in an interview with the investigators and begged for them to get him in touch with Public Security and vowed to protect Ren, whatever it took.
* Yuuki Mishima stood in the Central Station Square to gather signatures to press for Ren's release as he pushed through the worst to protect everyone and he was paying dearly for it, even announcing that he was his best friend.
* Chihaya Mifune gathered the members of her organization and used his favor of helping them come to their senses as a way to get them to help Ren as repaying the favor.
* Ichiko Ohya went back to Ren's hometown and confronted the woman whom Ren encountered the night of his arrest and tried to convince her to move past Shido's threat and repay her debt back to Ren.
* Toranosuke Yoshida gathered a group of people outside of the Diet Building and protested that Ren was arrested for unjust reason and criticizes how their country handled him in an unfair manner, even supporting him and announcing that he will be the one who would help Japan strive towards a brighter future.
* Shinya Oda gathered a group of adults at the arcade where the two of them played Gun About and pointed out his score, as well as using guilt to try and convince the adults to join in the petitions to save Ren from imprisonment.
* Hifumi Togo reported to the press that it was all thanks to Ren that she was freed from her fixed-matchmaking in shogi games and she wished to be his hero in this situation.
* Sumire Yoshizawa asked her coach, Hiraguchi, to allow her to take time off of training to devote her time to saving Ren, which she refused, but she revealed that she had some very useful contacts who could do a lot more, and would gladly put them to good use for Ren's freedom in exchange that Sumire trained incredibly hard, much to her relief and gratitude.
Ren later reawakened in the Velvet Room one last time, which Lavenza commented on his state of imprisonment in reality The Velvet Room then disappeared for certain, leaving Ren alone in its darkness, but was given an Arcana card, which was the world, meaning that as long as Ren had that, he would never truly be alone in the world. After seeing the butterfly fly by him one last time, he reawakened back into reality. The next day, he was met by Sae, who had come to inform him of the great news that had circulated: Shido was finally successfully tried thanks to Ren's testimony as well as the same woman from his hometown, and therefore, since with the help of many people on the outside petitioning for Ren's innocence, he was acquitted of all charges and was finally able to be freed, much to Ren's surprise. Sae then announced her resignation as investigator and decided to become a lawyer to protect those who are charged, even promising Ren that she would make sure the adults do things more properly this time around.
With Ren's release, Sojiro arrived in his car to pick him up and take him back to Leblanc. On the way, they got held up by traffic once again due to another subway incident, mirroring the first time they were stuck in traffic together nearly a year ago now, with Sojiro reflecting on his behavior and attitude to Ren in the beginning. The two finally arrived in Leblanc, where the Thieves awaited his return, each one celebrating.
=== Valentine’s Day - Animation ===
In the Animation Playthrough, Ren did not respond to any of his girlfriends and instead worked in Leblanc for Valentine’s Day. Ryuji came in to hang out with Ren as he believed that he was the only other guy who did not have a Valentine’s, unaware of Ren’s current infidelity. Ryuji gave Ren cheap chocolate he received from a kind lady from a convenience store he was shopping at as a friendship gesture, an act that Ren poked at but accepted. Ryuji ultimately decided to stay the night and have fun, notably play video games. However, since Ren did not respond to his girlfriends, each one went to Leblanc that same night, but saw two figures in Ren’s window, and they believed that Ren was having relations with another and that he had invited them up to his room.
They arrived at Leblanc the next day to confront Ren, horrifying Sojiro. Each one threatened him and told him to take their chocolate, much to Ren’s horror and fear. When he spoke out of line on accident as he was instructed to say something by Sojiro, the girls got incredibly angry and proceeded to advance towards Ren, prompting both Sojiro and Morgana to clear the cafe before they could get involved. Ren ultimately received the beatdown of his life by each of his girlfriends and they each took their chocolate home. Ren reawakened, albeit badly battered and injured and saw a text from Ryuji asking him if getting chocolate from his mom counts, to which Ren did not text or say anything and simply collapsed once more. Sojiro returned and gave Ren cheap pity chocolate, telling him that he was able to spin a web of lies with each of the girls and that as long as his story matched his, he would be fine.
On White Day, the following month, Ren chose to go with Ann on a date to the aquarium and to the restaurant Sojiro suggested, although in the Animation, he went to see a show with Sae, either on Valentine’s or White Day (though the Animation said Valentine’s Day), which is not possible in the game.
=== Valentine’s Day - Royal ===
On Valentine’s Day, Ren did not enter a relationship with multiple girls, but instead dated Sumire as in the Royal path, he entered a relationship with her. He invited her to Leblanc and the two enjoyed an evening with one another, with Sumire likely spending the night.
On White Day, Ren took Sumire on a date to the aquarium and to the restaurant Sojiro suggested.
=== Returning Home - The Original Path ===
Ren finished saying his goodbyes to his friends in March and prepared to leave for the station after saying goodbye to Sojiro. The Thieves awaited Ren in a bus that resembled how Morgana looked when he transformed into a car, with them inviting Ren to come along and they will give him a ride. As Morgana repaired the car, they noticed two agents watching them, which they did not care as they were innocent as of that day. Morgana mentioned having “borrowed a plug” to fix the car and it started with ease. It was then revealed that Morgana sneakily stole the agents’ spark plug as to make sure they are not followed outside of Tokyo. The Thieves then take Ren on a trip outside of Tokyo, mentioning that they won’t take him home right away and they decide to go on a vacation trip together.
As the Thieves approached the ocean after driving for a period of time, the Thieves felt great relief at seeing how they have won and they can enjoy their lives now. Ren then got out via the roof hatch and took in the spring breeze as he watched the scenery. He then looked upwards, presumably at the player with a satisfied and grateful expression as the Thieves drove onwards.
=== Returning Home - The Royal Path ===
Ren said his goodbyes to Sojiro and his friends, and the next day, he approached the Thieves, who were waiting for him in their bus. However, as the Thieves prepared to leave, they noticed the two agents watching them, making them concerned and wondering how to lose them. A cab then suddenly pulled up and the windows rolled down to show none other than Maruki, in an ironic twist where his friend mentioned he would appear in a strange situation each time, and now that he is a cab driver, he would take people to where they would want and need to go, not to where he wants them to go. He then suggested that Ren split from the Thieves and take the cab to the train station to keep himself protected while the Thieves lured the agents away as bait to ensure that Ren would not be followed.
After arriving, Maruki thanked Ren for what he did and suggested that if things do not work out, he could always start fresh again and gave him a fist bump, saying that if this had helped him, they are not even with each other, a gesture which Ren gratefully returned. Maruki then left and the Thieves managed to stop next to Ren after losing the agents temporarily, saying their goodbyes once again as they had to leave soon before the agents would discover them again. After doing so, they drove off in a hurry to shake the agents who had discovered them again. As Ren walked to his train, his bag started shaking all of a sudden and he bumped into Sumire by accident. As Morgana popped out of the bag, like he said on how he was accompanying Ren back home, Sumire gave him one last smile and said her farewell. The two then smiled and quietly boarded their train, with Morgana falling asleep in Ren’s bag as he looked outwards.
After receiving a text from presumably one of his friends, he sensed but failed to notice a familiar figure walking by the train whose outfit and body figure resembled Akechi’s. Whether or not this was him and whether or not he was still alive is unknown, but Ren did not notice who it was despite looking out. As the train started moving, his reflection turned into a mirror of his Metaverse counterpart, which had his mask instead of his glasses. This momentarily stunned and shocked Ren but he quickly calmed himself and took off his glasses. He then gave an intense stare at the player once again with a satisfied expression as he closed his window shade.
=== Return to Tokyo ===
Ren eventually returned to Tokyo in the summer and reunited with most of the original Thieves, excluding Sumire and obviously Akechi. The Thieves experienced another phenomenon that involved the Metaverse once more and they traveled the country to change more hearts, engaging in a new style of battle.
== Alternative Endings ==
In alternate endings, Ren’s fate as well as his teammates are changed differently. These are semi/non-canon and therefore, could happen or do not happen.
=== Deal with Ryoji (Non-Canon) ===
Although Ren does not appear in Persona 3 as he was living away in his hometown and was roughly around the age of 9-10 by the events of the game, Makoto Yuki, the protagonist, had the chance to either take Ryoji’s deal and kill him to erase the members of Special Extracurricular Execution Squad’s memories of the Dark Hour and live in bliss until the fall of humanity, or refuse and risk their lives trying to stop Nyx from bringing the Fall.
In this non-canon timeline, Makoto took Ryoji’s deal and killed him. On March 5th of 2010, everyone, including Ren, was killed when Nyx brought the Fall of humanity, with everyone unaware of their imminent deaths.
=== Deadline Missed (Non-Canon) ===
In some cases, Ren missed his deadline to change a target’s heart and was confronted by police officers and taken into custody in Leblanc, alongside Sojiro in some cases, but in present-day, Ren’s drug overdose affected his memory.
* Kamoshida - Kamoshida proceeded to have Ren, Ryuji, and Mishima expelled from Shujin due to them confronting and nearly assaulting him in Ryuji’s case, then proceeded to press charges against Ren, enabling the police to arrest him in Leblanc. Ryuji most likely was also faced with attempted assault charges.
* Madarame - Madarame, having felt harassed and bothered by Ren, as well as trespassing in his home, decided to file a lawsuit and charges against Ren and possibly Ryuji, Ann, & possibly Yusuke if he had joined the team, for being accomplices, enabling the police to arrest him in Leblanc.
* Kaneshiro - Makoto was recaptured and forced into prostitution, even drugged into a stupor, where she was taken into custody after being caught outside of an illegal establishment and through her stupor, she mentioned one name clearly - Ren. With the pictures of the Thieves being leaked for them being falsely involved in underage debauchery, the police then proceeded to arrest him in Leblanc, much to Sojiro's shock.
* Futaba - A warrant was made for the arrest of Ren, for blackmail and coercion, on top of that, suspicion of him being a Phantom Thief. They decide to arrest Ren on these charges as well as Sojiro for assisting and harboring a criminal. Futaba then committed suicide sometime after, unable to cope with the trauma any longer.
* Okumura/Sae - A tip regarding Ren as the Phantom Thieves leader was given to the police, and with their thorough investigation, they deduced that it was him and they took him in. In Okumura’s case, Haru was sold off to her abusive fiance and possibly became a victim to abuse.
* Shido - Akechi and the police stormed Ren’s room, having found out that his corpse was not in the morgue. The police then instructed Ren to surrender, threatening to shoot if he did not comply, with Akechi ominously stating “this game is over,” implying that since his first assassination attempt failed, he can ensure this time that Ren would be killed in custody.
* Maruki - The Phantom Thieves remained indecisive of what to do and the rest of the Thieves leave without making a decision as they realized that Maruki's deadline was near. Maruki then decided to approach Ren in his dream and "relieve" him of his pain of indecisiveness and ominously confine him to continuously sleep for presumably either the rest of his life or all of eternity. After an undisclosed amount of time, Ren woke up later to discover that his phone was dead and he ultimately resigned to not wanting to think anymore and fell back to sleep, with Lavenza's butterfly attempting to reach him, but fell and died before it could reach him, implying that with this curse, his will of rebellion was finally broken and he would sleep forever without any thought.
In all cases EXCEPT for Shido and Maruki, these were all memory mistakes due to Ren’s drug overdose in present-day. Sae then concluded that the interrogation would prove to be pointless and left the room. Moments later, Akechi as an unseen assailant broke in and aimed a gun at Ren’s head, proclaiming that his righteousness ended here. He then shot Ren in the head, killing him and portraying his death as a suicide for the guards.
With Shido's deadline, Ren was simply rearrested and either executed by Akechi or the police to ensure that he would actually die. In Maruki's deadline, Ren remained asleep for the rest of his life or for eternity.
=== Selling Out Teammates (Non-Canon) ===
The same event followed up to November 20th, only that Ren decided to sell out his teammates to strike a deal for his sentence with Sae, failing to remember the plan on how he would survive the upcoming ordeal against Akechi. Sure enough, Akechi arrived and killed the guard for real as the world was not cognitive. When confronted, Ren realized that he had failed to accomplish his important task and Akechi finally executed Ren with a single shot to his head. He then successfully framed his death as a suicide. Igor, disappointed with Ren’s fate, decided to imprison him in the Velvet Room for the rest of his life as punishment for allowing ruin to come. The rest of Ren’s friends after his death were presumably murdered in accordance to Akechi and Shido’s plans as their plan had failed and they were sold out by Ren himself.
=== Deal with Yaldabaoth (Non-Canon) ===
Ren was offered a chance to restore the world to the way it is by Yaldabaoth in return for that everyone could no longer think for themselves, ruin would be averted, and the Phantom Thieves would be praised as heroes. Ren decided on this being the best reality possible and agreed to the deal, much to Lavenza’s disappointment. Some time later in the New Year, the world was no longer plagued by Mementos, and it had mostly returned to normal, with the citizens seemingly normal, but enslaved by Yaldabaoth. Ren is then last seen standing in the Shibuya crossing, having finished watching a news report about the Phantom Thieves, and after overhearing citizens around him praise the Thieves, Ren chuckled and smirked before walking away, now a force of terror in Tokyo. Ren’s teammates and friends were imprisoned in the Velvet Room for eternity, exiled and banished forever from reality as another cost of the change.
=== Deal with Maruki (Non-Canon) ===
Ren decided to take Maruki’s deal of shaping his own version of the world where there would be no more suffering, but everybody's memories would be distorted, Sumire would permanently become Kasumi once again, and they would no longer be living in their real reality. The rest of the Thieves were resigned to their new memories, having no recollection of their old ones. Ren was then offered to stay with Sojiro in Shibuya until he graduated Shujin, with permission from his parents, attended Makoto and Haru's graduation, and took a group photo with the rest of the Thieves, with Maruki posing as a stranger to take the group photo to allow the now resigned Akechi to be in the photo. Later, a photo was taken of the Thieves celebrating in Leblanc, except for Ren and Akechi, who were both situated at the counter space, staring at the camera with knowing facial expressions, implying that their memories were still retained and only decided to not share them anymore as they have resigned to let things be the way they are.
All of the non-canon ends resulted in a Game Over or a false ending, in which the ending text simply states "END" instead of "FIN."
== Appearance ==
=== Physical ===
Ren appears as a tall young man of slim to athletic build. He has a pale complexion with unkempt, wavy black hair that falls over his eyes. His eyes are gray, though they can vary between dark brown, light brown or red, depending on the art. He has long eyelashes. Despite his messy hair and slouched posture, he wears all of his clothes primly and properly. He is known to give off an intense and sharp gaze whenever his eyes are not covered by his glasses.
=== Clothing ===
Ren often only wears certain outfits, but he has a variety of clothes. He usually almost always wears a pair of black framed fake glasses to make him look more "innocent" and less of a condescending threat.
* Throughout most of his time as a student at Shujin, especially during the Spring and Winter months, Ren wears his signature civilian outfit, which is a black Shujin Academy blazer with a white turtleneck shirt underneath with some chevron details on the collar, black and red checkered slacks, and black laced boots. He always wears his glasses with this outfit, except for during his interrogation, where he wears the same outfit, but his glasses were removed.
* During the summer months while attending school, Ren removes the jacket and wears his untucked white polo t-shirt, but maintains the rest of his clothes as normal.
* During the summer whenever he has off, he wears an open white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a black short-sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans and brown derbies.
* On his days off during the winter, he wears an unbuttoned black blazer with brown buttons over an off-white sweater with a black V-neck collar, dark blue jeans and brown boots.
* While lounging at home, he wears a black long-sleeved shirt with olive sleep pants.
* After his "death," he temporarily swaps his sweater for a light gray zip-up hoodie as a disguise to hide his face and hair.
* As a Phantom Thief, his outfit consists of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, cinched black pants, brown-black winklepickers boots with taller heels and a pair of red gloves. Over his eyes is a white, birdlike domino mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes.
* During the third semester, on his days off and during the night he wears a black turtleneck sweater, a charcoal gray mac coat, dark blue jeans and light brown oxfords to suit the cold environment.
* On school days, he wears a black duffel coat with red accents and Shujin's logo emblazoned on the front and a thick blue scarf.
== Personality ==
== Abilities/Skills ==
As a normal individual, Ren had peak intelligence, being able to top his class in exams, and had an incredible sense of maturity and perception, being able to note anything that was suspicious. As a Phantom Thief, Ren had access to multiple Personas as well as guns and tools, which are normally not common with any of his Phantom Thieves teammates, excluding Akechi & Sumire. He also had extra powers bestowed upon him by "Igor" and therefore, enabled him to do so much more.
=== Reality ===
* Perception - Ren always had intuition about things, and most often times, they were correct. He also noticed many odd things, even without his Third Eye ability. He began to comprehend each problem and even felt whenever danger was near. For example, he noticed Akechi's strange behavior many times and his intuition about him being a traitor was true, and humorously even realizing that his teacher, Ushimaru, was planning to pitch a piece of chalk at his head, often dodging it each time.
* Agility - Ren was still spry, even without Metaverse powers, as he was not only able to run for a long period of time, but he was able to maintain quick moves to avoid danger, such as avoiding Ushimaru's "deadly chalk" throw while he was distracted in class.
* Speed - Ren eventually was able to run pretty fast, even without Metaverse powers, and can rush to any location in a mad dash.
* Intelligence - Ren was a top student in Shujin and often devoted some of his time to studying whenever he is not a Phantom Thief.
* Stealth - Ren was able to avoid standing out in public too much and was able to evade arrest.
* Endurance - Even without his Metaverse powers, Ren was able to endure much pain and torture during his time in custody. Even while beaten and drugged, he still maintained consciousness and his composure.
=== Phantom Thief ===
* Extreme Perception/Third-Eye - Granted by "Igor," Ren possessed the ability to see things the naked eye cannot, such as whether Treasure is hidden within containers, unforeseen weak walls, or Shadows that are hard to see.
* Extreme Agility - Ren is spry, mainly thanks to his powers in the Metaverse and can dodge attacks easily, as well as being able to run fast and for long periods of time.
* Parkour Skills - Due to his Metaverse powers, Ren can jump to incredible heights and perform many tricks to reach otherwise difficult-to-reach spots.
* Strength - Ren held much strength against every entity he came across and even was able to handle fighting enemies with a dagger.
* Evasion - Ren was able to evade most enemies by dashing as fast as possible as well as hiding in shadowy areas and parkouring to a safe place, which was necessary for him to avoid unnecessary conflict and danger.
* Extreme Endurance - As Joker, he withstood almost every attack inflicted upon him, including some that would otherwise be fatal to him. Even while he was pinned down a few times and even injured by Yaldabaoth's power, he was able to stand up by sheer will and wishes of the masses.
* Gun Skills - He was able to learn how to handle a gun with rudimentary skills, even though his guns were simply models, not real guns. He learned more trick shots and aiming skills from Shinya Oda, allowing him to become a better marksman. Interestingly enough, although not seen on the MinneEagle channel, Joker used a gun to defend himself against Yu Narukami rather than his dagger, showing that not only can he shoot, he can use it as a last resort melee weapon as well.
* Swordsmanship - Ren was granted a dagger as Joker for his main melee weapon, which he continues to use the same class. Although a dagger is not as long as an actual sword, like Yusuke's katana or Sumire's rapier, he still hones his skills with a dagger, even able to use it to defend himself.
* Grappling Hook skills - Granted the grappling hook by Morgana, Joker became very accustomed to it when he is able to grapple to any suitable surface and swing his entire body effortlessly to properly grapple and reach hard to get to areas.
* Master Stealth - Due to him being a Phantom Thief, which relies on stealth and surprise, Joker is able to hide from any Shadow just by using the cover of darkness and corners alone, as well as being able to even sprint past a Shadow without being noticed.
== Personas ==
Due to Ren possessing the ability of the Wild Card, he is the only Phantom Thieves member, excluding Goro Akechi, to possess more than one Persona within his mask. His starting Persona is Arsène, of the Fool Arcana. Over time, Ren gathered more Personas on his person.
* Arsène - A Persona of the Fool Arcana and his default Persona, which he awakened to as his first. He later fused Arsène into Satanael.
* Satanael - His final Persona of the Fool Arcana, which was fused from Arsène during the Thieves’ final battle against Yaldabaoth. He later possessed a smaller version of Satanael during his journey into Maruki’s Palace in Royal.
* Pixie - A Persona of the Lovers Arcana and the first Persona that Ren received via a Hold Up.
* Yoshitsune - A Samurai Persona of the Tower Arcana. Although Ren cannot receive him very early, in the playthrough videos and in the Animation, he possesses Yoshitsune by the time of Shido’s Palace.
* Alice - A Child Persona of the Death Arcana. Much like Yoshitsune, Ren cannot receive her very early, but in the playthrough videos and the Animation, Ren possessed her by the time he fought Shido.
* Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro - A God Persona of the World Arcana. In the Animation Playthrough, Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro did not appear as he did not appear in the Animation, but in the Royal Playthrough, he appears and is considered one of Ren’s most powerful Personas. It was the fused Persona of Izanagi-no-Okami that belonged to Yu Narukami before it was added to the Velvet Room registry and it turned picaro upon being possessed by “the Trickster’s” mask, aka Ren’s mask, donning a red attire instead of white.
== Killed Victims ==
* Kunikazu Okumura (Indirectly Caused; Unintentional)
* Yaldabaoth (Alongside Satanael)
* Numerous counts of Shadows
* Numerous counts of Personas (Caused; Fused)
== Relationships ==
=== Sojiro Sakura ===
Status: Close Friends & Familiar
Ren and Sojiro’s first encounter was tense as Sojiro disliked Ren for his actions and his criminal record, also assuming that he was guilty, despite his innocence. Despite this, Sojiro offered Ren a place to sleep as per his agreement to have temporary custody over Ren for a year while he was on probation, threatening to kick him out if he misbehaved. However, as time grew on, the two became closer ever so slightly. Sojiro then offered Ren a lesson on how to make the best cup of coffee, as well as allow him to go out at night without curfew in exchange that he helped him in his shop. But after changing Futaba’s heart and she became close to both Ren and Sojiro, the latter developed a more grateful attitude towards Ren and accepted him. Sojiro eventually opened up more to Ren and even revealed more about his own past as well as Futaba’s.
When Sojiro learned that Futaba’s heart change was caused by the Phantom Thieves, and that Ren was the leader, he was initially baffled and angered, but he quickly calmed down and accepted the fact that what Ren and the Thieves were doing was in fact just, and supported them further when they were coming close to finding out Futaba’s mother’s true killer. Sojiro was also relieved when he learned that Ren survived his “suicide” and was not dead, even extending an offer to use his shop as a Thieves hideaway whenever they needed. When Ren defeated Yaldabaoth, but had to turn himself into the police, he could not tell Sojiro as he did not wish to concern him. Sojiro was deeply saddened when Ren was arrested for false charges, but was extremely happy and grateful to see Ren was discharged, now having a clean slate.
When Ren was discovered cheating on his harem of girlfriends, which even included Futaba, Sojiro decided to leave Leblanc with Morgana to avoid the catastrophe that ensued after. He then returned to see Ren having been beaten to a pulp, and decided to give him some store-bought chocolate out of pity, while also doing him a favor of damage control by convincing every last one of his girlfriends that he never cheated on them. When Ren had to leave Tokyo to return home due to his probation being lifted, Sojiro was deeply saddened and shed a small tear after he left, showing that he accepted Ren as family and a friend due to his actions and his efforts as well as his gratitude.
=== Ryuji Sakamoto ===
Status: Close Friends
Ren and Ryuji first met during the former's first day attending Shujin Academy. Ren watched as Ryuji chased after Kamoshida's car in hopes of catching up and getting a ride to school in the rain, as he had picked up Ann Takamaki moments prior. Ryuji was initially slightly tense to Ren at first due to his bad mood against Kamoshida, but he let his guard down when he realized that Ren was transferred and therefore, could not have any connection to Kamoshida himself. The two then decided to walk to school together, and that was when the two ended up in the Metaverse due to Ren's navigation app triggering due to Kamoshida's keywords transforming his Palace. The two worked together to escape capture from Shadow Kamoshida, and Ren awakened to his Persona in order to save Ryuji from being executed by Kamoshida's Shadows. After escaping Kamoshida's palace, the two quickly warmed up to each other as they were at the time, the only ones who knew of the Metaverse and had a common disdain for Kamoshida. The two grew even closer when the two returned to the Metaverse and Ryuji awakened his Persona, enabling him to aid in the fight against Kamoshida. After changing Kamoshida's heart with Ann's help, the three along with Morgana had formed their own group known as the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, or the Phantoms for short, to help change the hearts of the corrupt. Ren spent some time with Ryuji and trained with him, even assisting him in confronting his old track team and help make amends and achieve redemption, allowing the two to become much more closer. By the end of the story, the two became best friends and Ryuji became dedicated to ensure that Ren would be safe should any battle become too dangerous. After Shido's palace was destroyed, since Ryuji was caught in a nearby blast, which he survived, Ren gasped and silently observed the place where Ryuji was caught in the blast and although not expressing it, was deeply saddened when he believed that Ryuji died in the blast. Ren was silently relieved when he found out that he had actually survived, but he allowed the rest of the Thieves to pummel Ryuji for driving the others to cry and mourn his "death," as punishment. When Ren was arrested, Ryuji was enraged at the fact that Ren's arrest was not fair and that he saved society by defeating Yaldabaoth. Ryuji was overjoyed and actually driven to tears when Ren was finally discharged with a clean slate and promised to visit Ren's hometown to run and train whenever he got the chance. When Ren had to leave Tokyo and go back home, Ryuji joined him and the other Thieves on a vacation to the ocean.
Ironically enough, in the Animation playthrough, although Ren had multiple girlfriends, he decided to simply spend time with Ryuji in Leblanc, but this friendship hangout was accidentally displayed as Ren cheating on each of his girlfriends with another, therefore earning him a beatdown, with Ryuji humorously asking Ren via text if getting chocolate from his mother counts.
=== Morgana ===
Status: Close Friends
Ren first met Morgana when he and Ryuji saw him locked up in Shadow Kamoshida's Palace dungeon. Ren freed Morgana in exchange that he assisted them in finding a way out. Morgana appreciated the power and potential that Ren had and the two fought together before Ryuji awakened his own Persona. When the two returned and met Morgana again the second time, after assisting him with more work inside of the Palace, the two left him as Morgana was angry that they did not do what he desired them to do for him. As a result, it took Morgana some time to escape the Metaverse and shunned Ren for abandoning him. Morgana, however, was willing to keep helping Ren in exchange that he gave him a place to live, sleep, and eat, essentially becoming his caretaker as he was just a cat in reality. Morgana then taught Ren how to train as a Phantom Thief, and make infiltration tools, and Ren carried around Morgana to wherever he went and took care of him in exchange, as per their deal. After Morgana's identity crisis resulted in him abandoning the Thieves, mostly due to Ryuji's disrespect, Ren worried for his safety and pondered how he would amend his strained relationship with him. After saving him and his new friend, Haru from being harmed by the latter's abusive fiancée, Morgana accepted Ren's care once again. As time went on, Morgana felt more comfortable around Ren and accepted him as his very close friend. After Morgana had decided to stay with the Phantom Thieves for good, he made the decision to stay with Ren permanently, or until he could turn into a human. After Yaldabaoth was defeated and the Metaverse was erased, Morgana had disappeared in front of Ren's eyes, which saddened the latter. When Morgana finally returned after over a full month and Ren was discharged from jail, the latter was silently overjoyed to see that Morgana had actually survived and was pushed out of the Metaverse, now a simple cat in reality who could still communicate with the Thieves. Morgana then decided to join Ren back in his hometown, entrusting him to be his caretaker once and for all, either for good or until he could find a way to become human again, showing that the two had an unbreakable bond. Even by 2017, Ren and Morgana still had a strong bond and remained very close.
=== Ann Takamaki ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
Ren and Ann first met when the two stood underneath a tarp in the rain on the former's first day of being transferred. The two stared at each other, but in a friendly manner as Ann smiled back at Ren, with the young man possibly taking an interest in her, but silently refusing to act. The two talked more when Ann became more concerned for her friend, Shiho Suzui. Ren followed her, which annoyed her more, but she realized that she was out of line and Ren wanted to help. The two talked at a diner, where Ann confessed her dilemma with Kamoshida and Shiho, which Ren silently listened, but felt guilt for her problems. When Ann wanted to get revenge on Kamoshida for causing Shiho's attempted suicide, Ren also refused to allow Ann into the dangers of the Metaverse, and when she accidentally went with them the first time, Ren, along with Ryuji, removed her from the Metaverse, but due to her app, she walked back in alone and was captured, prompting Ren, Ryuji, and Morgana to rescue her. She was grateful for Ren rescuing her, but was somewhat uncomfortable with the situation. The two bonded more as they became the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, both in and out of the Metaverse. Eventually, after Kamoshida's change of heart, the two began to hang out more, with Ann trying to improve herself with Ren's help. He helped her in whatever way he could and she was grateful. After being able to overcome her guilt for Shiho, as well as witness Shiho's full recovery, their relationship entered a pivotal moment.
* In the Animation playthrough, the two's relationship furthered more into a romantic sense, with the two spending alone time on the Ferris Wheel, where they made out. However, on Valentine's Day, Ren did not contact her and as a result, she alongside his numerous girlfriends ambushed Ren in Leblanc and beat him down to a pulp, although Sojiro was able to calm Ann's nerves and convince her that he was not cheating.
* In the Royal playthrough, the two remained strictly platonic, but close friends.
In the end, Ren and Ann had an unbreakable bond and two faced death in Mementos' depths together. After their work as the Phantom Thieves was done, Ann, along with the rest of the Thieves, took Ren on holiday to the ocean. However, in the Royal ending, the two had an abrupt farewell at the train station due to the Thieves being pursued by agents, but promised to see him again.
=== Yuuki Mishima ===
Status: Close Friends
Ren and Mishima were silent to one another at first, only properly interacting while the former was investigating Kamoshida's abuse alongside Ryuji. However, their relationship was at first frosty and it nearly headed towards a physical altercation from both Ren and Ryuji as Mishima tried to deny any involvement with Shiho Suzui's suicide attempt caused by Kamoshida's sexual assault, but Ren tried to remain diplomatic, with both of them promising not to rat on Mishima. Luckily, Mishima confessed to him being the one who called Shiho to Kamoshida's office, feeling immense guilt. Both Ren and Mishima ran to Kamoshida's office together to stop Ryuji from doing something he would regret against Kamoshida, with the gym teacher eventually revealing that Mishima was the one who leaked Ren's criminal record online and across the school, but Mishima confessed that he did it under Kamoshida's orders, which shocked Ren, but he did not harbor any animosity towards him. After Ren was able to change Kamoshida's heart, Mishima deduced that he was part of the Phantom Thieves, but promised to not reveal anything, and even offered additional support via his Phantom Aficionado Website, which would be a forum for people to post their problems about certain potentially corrupted individuals.
Ren and Mishima got along well mostly, but Ren was slightly a bit uncomfortable with Mishima's devoted behavior and his dedication to helping the Phantom Thieves. Nevertheless, he allowed Mishima to help and even appreciated Mishima's info in terms of dealing with small requests. When Ryuji proposed that he, Ren, and Mishima called a maid service to see what it is about, which Mishima called the plot "Operation: Maidwatch," Ren was initially hesitant, but eventually happily agreed to do so, and the three somewhat bonded in the situation. However, out of fear and embarrassment, both Mishima and Ryuji ditched Ren to fend for himself with the maid, whom unbeknownst to the two, was Kawakami, Ren and Mishima's homeroom teacher. However, Ren did not hold a grudge, but was simply embarrassed.
As Ren and Mishima spent more time together trying to bond, Ren began to figure out Mishima's true intentions of helping the Phantom Thieves - he no longer wanted to be known as a nobody and was using the Thieves to try and gain popularity via his website. However, when Ren confronted his Shadow, he ultimately decided not to fight and change Mishima's heart, realizing that it was not worth changing it. Later, however, Ren helped Mishima with finally finding the courage to stand up to his bully's bully and attacker, and ultimately began to see the error of his ways. In the end, Mishima thanked Ren for helping him change his heart in a different way rather than having Ren attack his Shadow, showing that Ren saw that Mishima could change without much intervention. When the Phantom Thieves confronted Yaldabaoth, Mishima yelled out that Ren was his best friend and will continue to support him to the very end, even being the first one who called out everyone's initial hesitation to support the Phantom Thieves and began to cheer for them. During Ren's last day in Tokyo, he stopped by to say goodbye to Mishima, and he gave him a gift.
=== Yusuke Kitagawa ===
Status: Close Friends
Ren and Yusuke were tense when they first met as the latter was stalking Ann for her to be a model for his paintings. He held disdain against Ren as well as Ryuji for accompanying Ann to his interviews that he wished she would go alone to, and he did not appreciate Ren's constant pestilence into Madarame's affairs, even threatening to call the police and sue him for harassment and trespassing. However, when Yusuke found out about Madarame's deception, he was sorrowful over the fact that he repeatedly pushed away and disrespected Ren, even though he knew the truth about Madarame, and two began a friendship after he had joined the Thieves, although Ren still found him humorously strange.
In time, Ren and Yusuke bonded further when the former decided to help Yusuke break out of his artist "slump" and find his creativity, some methods which slightly made Ren uncomfortable, but still willing to help. After much dedication into breaking Yusuke out of his block, the two finally came to a conclusion and Yusuke was finally able to paint a noteworthy art piece, cementing their friendship. On Ren's last day in Tokyo, he said goodbye to Yusuke, with the latter giving him a gift as a symbol of friendship.
=== Makoto Niijima ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
Ren and Makoto were initially on tense terms as Ren was the leader of the Phantom Thieves and Makoto was snooping into the Thieves' business, effectively hindering his own business. The two occasionally spoke on the train platform, but she always tried to get answers out of Ren. Eventually, Makoto confronted Ren and revealed that she knew about his involvement and she ordered him to lead her to the rest of the Thieves or she would report him. He did so out of force, and to Ren's surprise, Makoto wished for him to change a mob boss named Kaneshiro's heart as he targeted Shujin students, but threatened to report him if he failed. He did so and along the way, Makoto was captured by Kaneshiro, which prompted Ren and the rest of the Thieves to rescue her, putting their own safety at risk. Later, Makoto was brought accidentally into Kaneshiro's palace and there, after she confronted Kaneshiro, awakened to her own Persona, which impressed Ren and the rest of the Thieves. Later, the two grew closer as they became teammates and after Kaneshiro's defeat, Makoto vowed to keep Ren and the Thieves a secret as she officially joined them. Throughout the story, Ren grew closer to Makoto and even helped her with a dilemma where a friend of hers was involved in business which would victimize her, which included her being used by her boyfriend. As the two got deeper into the business, so did their relationship. During the Thieves' first meeting with Futaba, Makoto clung onto Ren out of fear as at the time, they were in a dark house and Futaba was hidden well. When Sojiro discovered the two frozen in the corridor after scaring Futaba, he immediately asked if the two were dating, in which she responded that they were only friends. After resolving her friend's problem and saving her from becoming a victim, the two had a pivotal moment where Makoto expressed that she did not know how to love.
* In the Animation playthrough, Ren offered to teach her how to do and expressed his love for her, which touched Makoto's heart greatly. The two then began dating and spent alone time in Ren's room together. However, on Valentine's Day, she believed that she caught Ren cheating on her the day before and she along with all of Ren's girlfriends, showed up to beat him for his apparent treachery in Leblanc. However, Sojiro was able to calm Makoto down and convince her that Ren was not cheating somehow.
* In the Royal playthrough, Ren expressed that he believes that Makoto will find someone someday, but for now, the two shall remain close friends. On Ren's last day in Tokyo, she gave him her calculator to help with his studies.
=== Futaba Sakura ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
Ren and Futaba had an uneasy first meeting as the former, along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, had infiltrated Sojiro's house to try and meet her. Prior to this, Futaba posed as "Alibaba," who had watched the Thieves and threatened to expose information about them unless they changed Futaba's heart. However, when Ren learned of her background, he felt guilt for it and sympathized with her. After Futaba's heart was finally changed and she became a valuable member of the Thieves, Ren and Futaba became closer, to the point where once she finally started going out into the real world more often, the two developed a relationship that was close to siblings, as Ren said so. Ren was the reason that Futaba managed to get out of her comfort zone and see more of the world. By the end of it all, Ren and Futaba had a pivotal moment in their relationship.
* In the Animation playthrough, Ren confessed that he loved Futaba, which gave her some embarrassment, but she reciprocated these feelings, making Ren her first love. However, on Valentine's Day, she believed that she caught Ren cheating, and along with his other girlfriends, they showed up in Leblanc, with Futaba crying out of betrayal, but joined in to beat Ren up for his cheating. Although Sojiro did not like the idea of Ren dating Futaba, he still felt pity and managed to calm her down and convince her that he was not cheating.
* In the Royal Playthrough, Ren promised to protect and help her as a teammate, which she felt great happiness with. The two still remained good friends. On Ren's last day in Tokyo, he said his goodbyes to Futaba, even though she would see him again the next day, and gave him her promise list that she worked on with Ren.
=== Haru Okumura ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
=== Tae Takemi ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
Ren and Takemi had encountered each other when Ren returned from school one day while she was enjoying a cup of coffee. Ren asked Sojiro who she was, which he responded that she was the local doctor that ran a shady clinic nearby. Ren realized that he could buy medicines from her to help with the Phantom Thieves during their journeys into Mementos and Palaces. Ren also overheard that she had "special medicine," which could help so much more. However, she initially refused as she did not wish to have Ren be affected in a negative way by her experiments, as well as the fact that he refused to elaborate in close detail on why he needed the medicine. Ren created a lie to say that it was for his college entrance exams. She decided to cut a deal with Ren, where he could get the medicine at a good price, in exchange that he took part in her shady medical trials. He partook in the deal, which also earned her respect. It was thanks to Ren that Takemi gained more patients, although she had embraced her role as "the Plague," a rumored nickname about her medical error in the past, which Ren did not seem to mind. The two became closer over time, but when Takemi's old mentor had told her that a patient of hers, who was a little girl named Miwa, had died because of her, she decided to close her practice and leave Tokyo, but Ren, being a Phantom Thief, decided to try and help her by changing the heart of her mentor, which led to him confessing that Miwa was actually still alive, but was sent into hospice care for terminally ill patients, and since it would leave a stain on his hospital's reputation, he labeled it as her returning home and dying. When Takemi learned this truth, her and Ren worked together once more to save Miwa and continue her practice and trials on her medicine.
In the end, Ren and Takemi were finally introduced to a doctor, who had offered to recruit Takemi into his hospital as a reliable doctor. However, she refused, but offered some of her newly made medicine to save Miwa's life as well as the lives of many other patients. From here, Ren and Takemi had a pivotol moment in their relationship, leading Takemi to ask Ren why he really went through her trials.
* In the Animation Playthrough, as Ren expressed that he had developed a fondness for her and he did it for her. She initially did not believe his confession, but as he revealed that he did not lie or joke, Takemi realized that Ren's love confession was real. She was initially hesitant about her entering a relationship with a teenager, but after careful consideration, she ultimately fell in love with Ren and the two began a close and romantic relationship. The two later had a romantic evening in Leblanc together. Whether they also had sex or not remains unclear. However, on Valentine's Day, she believed that Ren cheated on her with someone else yesterday, along with his other girlfriends, and proceeded to join in on beating Ren up. However, Sojiro was able to smooth things over between the two.
* In the Royal/MinneEagle playthrough, Ren wished to stay platonic with Takemi, which she agreed, and expressed her gratitude for Ren helping her succeed at her dream. She also offered her medicines to be discounted heavily at a premium price, while also being able to buy her special medicines. 
In both playthroughs, she revealed that she figured out that Ren was a Phantom Thief, considering his strange behavior of buying medicines from her, although he was not sick, and he kept dodging her questions about what he was doing with the medicines, with the final verdict being determined by his strange asking of her former mentor's name and the sudden change of his heart. However, she knew that the Phantom Thieves were just and therefore, continued to support Ren in his quest for justice by remaining a medical supplier.
=== Sadayo Kawakami ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
Ren and Kawakami had a rough start on their first meeting due to Ren's prior criminal assault record, with the latter being prejudiced towards the young man, even openly complaining that he was put in her class and asked why he couldn't be put in another. When Ren was late on his first day due to him entering the Metaverse and spending too long inside, she was annoyed when he finally came to Shujin and expressed disappointment. However, in time, she slowly but gradually began to warm up to Ren due to his continued silenced and often normal behavior, but she still had her disdain towards his presence, often telling him to stay out of trouble, even advising him not to hang out with Ryuji due to his own delinquency. After Kamoshida's confession, she hardly ever showed any disdain towards Ren and actually began to accept him as her student, but she did not say this out loud. On the 25th of May, Ren and Kawakami had an awkward meeting once again when he, Ryuji, and Yuuki Mishima called the maid service she was working for, and coincidentally, she was the one who came. She did not immediately recognize Ren as he looked away from her in embarrassment and even offered "other services," possibly related to sexual services. However, due to Ryuji and Mishima panicking, which alerted her and led her to recognize their voices, she eventually recognized Ren and slightly scolded him for this, but she realized that since Ren knew her secret, she told him to just keep quiet about her job and she will repay him somehow. Later, while Kawakami was investigated by Ms. Chouno, Ren stepped in to help her, earning her gratitude. She also decided to secretly give him her number for maid services, allowing him to call her to help around his room. Ren eventually did so and requested her services. The two then talked for a bit, which allowed them to form a bond of sorts. From then on, Kawakami offered Ren to slack off in class to do something productive as a Phantom Thief during this time, but Ren did not disclose his identity to her.
Ren occasionally called for her services, but each time, she expressed more about her personal problems and stress, to the point where she finally confessed that she felt guilty for a student that died, with the student's parents blaming her for his death, and extorted her to pay up for the trouble or they would expose her secret job as a maid and sex worker. Ren, feeling guilty and obligated to help, used her information about the two extortioners' names to change their hearts in Mementos, which put a serious amount of relief on her shoulders. After she revealed their change of heart and her determination to help her students even more than ever, Ren and Kawakami entered a pivotal moment in their relationship.
* In the Animation Playthrough, Ren confessed his attraction to her, and Kawakami, although hesitant due to the fact that Ren was young and a student and that she was a teacher in her 30's, accepted and fell in love with him, with the two becoming lovers. On their most romantic date, the two officially established their romance and Ren laid on her lap. Considering that Kawakami wished to stay, it could be assumed that the two consummated their relationship as well, but it remained ambiguous. However, on Valentine's Day, she believed that Ren cheated on her with someone else, alongside many of Ren's other girlfriends, and proceeded to beat down on him in Leblanc as payback. However, Sojiro was able to somehow get her to calm down and trust in Ren again.
* In the Royal Playthrough, Ren supported her wish to become a reliable teacher and the two became very close comrades, with Kawakami promising to look after him as her student and as his homeroom teacher. On the final day of Valentine's Day, she gave Ren a friendship chocolate. On the day that Ren was due to leave for home, she gave him a special coupon and wished him farewell.
In the Animation, their relationship is quite similar to the Animation playthrough, except that she is more outgoing towards Ren while he is more shy and slightly embarrassed, even outright offering him his maid services while in school, likely even becoming more sexually attracted to him. In the Valentine's Day OVA, the two spent time together that ended with a kiss as well.
=== Hifumi Togo ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
=== Ichiko Ohya ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
=== Chihaya Mifune ===
Status: Lovers in Animation Path, Friends in Royal Path
=== Sumire Yoshizawa ===
Status: Friends in Animation Path, Lovers in Royal Path
Ren and Sumire first met when she believed herself to be Kasumi, her late twin sister, while the two were on a train headed for Shibuya. When a man took her seat that she was offering to an elderly lady, Ren offered to make him get up, but she respectfully declined. She expressed gratitude for Ren attempting to help her, leading to the two becoming acquainted, encountering each other occasionally. The two attended the same park clean-up together and the two ate lunch afterwards together, where the two decided to make a deal where Sumire would teach Ren how to perform acrobatics in exchange that he assisted her with some of her own affairs, as well as be her emotional support. The two then occasionally went onto the pond at the park to row a canoe. During the school festival, Sumire danced in a glamorous manner while Ren watched in interest and awe, ending her dance with open arms aimed at Ren, leading to him being noticed by most students, who took interest in her dancing. When Sumire was removed from receiving honor bonuses as an honor student, she returned to the construction site, where Ren had followed her. She, however, also had a Metaverse navigation app, which forced Ren as well as Morgana to enter the Metaverse as well and rescue her from an unknown palace, where she had awakened to her own Persona. Sumire was grateful for Ren's intervention and thanked him, and after realizing that he was a Phantom Thief, although she initially had opposing opinions of them, she was extended an offer to join, which she politely declined. When Ren as Joker had infiltrated Sae Niijima's palace and had to fend off a large group of Shadows, Sumire, who had followed him and the Phantom Thieves, intervened and saved Joker, reminding him of the promise they made to stay friends and give her more support.
* In the Animation playthrough, since Sumire initially did not exist in the actual animation, in the game, she along with Maruki were ignored and as a result, her and Ren's relationship was not maxed out any further. Since Sumire's identity remained as Kasumi and Ren did not fully befriend Maruki, her identity would remain the same after Ren's departure from Tokyo in March.
* However, in the Royal playthrough, the two become closer and after Ren changed Maruki's cognition, he restored her true identity, no longer calling herself Kasumi and embraced her name as Sumire. At first, her grief caused her to turn on Ren for defying Maruki to try and stop him from restoring her memories, but she apologized afterwards and promised to help him to the best of her ability. The two then began dating during the period where they were preparing to fight Maruki, and even spent Valentine's Day, and later White Day together. Sumire was Ren's only girlfriend in the Royal playthrough. The two then bid each other one last farewell at the train station, where Ren was to take his train back home.
=== Takuto Maruki ===
Status: Close Friends & Former Enemies
=== Sae Niijima ===
Status: Allies
=== Igor ===
Status: Allies
=== "Igor"/Yaldabaoth ===
Status: Nemesis/Enemies
=== Goro Akechi ===
Status: Rivals & Situational Allies
== Gallery ==
== Voice Lines ==
* "Arsène!" or any other Persona names (When switching to another Persona)
* "Go! Persona!" (Using Persona skill)
* "You're mine!" (Using Persona skill)
* "Go down!" (Using Persona skill)
* "Ravage them!" (Hitting weak point/landing killing blow with Persona)
* "You're done!" (Firing gun)
* "Gun!" (Firing gun)
* "Pull!" (Firing gun)
* "There." (Firing gun)
* "Take this!" (Firing gun)
* "Hmph!" (Initiating All-out Attack)
* "Let's go!" (Initiating All-out Attack)
* "Do it!" (Initiating All-out Attack or using Baton Pass)
* "Show me your true form!" (Tearing off a Shadow's Mask)
* "I'll reveal your true form!" (Tearing off a Shadow's Mask)
* "Leave it to you!" (Using Baton Pass)
* "Go ahead!" (Using Baton Pass)
* "Roger!" (Accepting a Baton Pass)
* "Here goes." (Accepting a Baton Pass)
* "Okay." (Accepting a Baton Pass)
* "Sure!" (Accepting a Baton Pass)
* "Persona!" (Accessing Persona skill menu)
* "Come!" (Accessing Persona skill menu)
* "Let's go." (Accessing Persona skill menu)
* "That's not right!" (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Hold on!" (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "No..." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "This isn't it!" (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Some other way." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "There's something else." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Don't rush it." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Hmm..." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "This isn't it." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu or item menu)
* "Not that." (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Not this!" (Backing out of the Persona skill menu)
* "Calm down." (Idle in Persona skill menu)
* "I'm not done!" (Idle in Persona skill menu)
* "Let's see..." (Idle in Persona skill menu)
* "No changes!" (Backing out of Party menu)
* "Stay in formation!" (Backing out of Party menu)
* "This group works." (Backing out of Party menu)
* "Let's keep going!" (Backing out of Party menu)
* "Stick to the plan." (Backing out of Party menu)
* "What's the plan?" (Checking next turn)
* "Next up." (Checking next turn)
* "Improvise!" (Changing tactics to Act Freely)
* "Do what you want." (Changing tactics to Act Freely)
* "Don't hold back!" (Changing tactics to Full Assault)
* "Full power!" (Changing tactics to Full Assault)
* "Save your strength." (Changing tactics to Conserve SP)
* "Be mindful." (Changing tactics to Conserve SP)
* "We have to survive!" (Changing tactics to Heal/Support)
* "Focus on your health." (Changing tactics to Heal/Support)
* "I'll command you!" (Changing tactics to Direct Commands)
* "Listen to me." (Changing tactics to Direct Commands)
* "*sigh*" (Idle in battle)
* "It's time." (Idle in battle)
* "There!" (Using items)
* "I'm using this!" (Using items)
* "Maybe not." (Backing out of the item menu)
* "Not this one." (Backing out of the item menu)
* "Never mind." (Backing out of the item menu)
* "Think it through." (Backing out of the item menu)
* "Too slow!" (Dodging an attack)
* "Saw that." (Dodging an attack)
* "What!?" (Downed by an enemy/Debuffed by an enemy)
* "Gah!" (Downed by an enemy)
* "Damn it!" (Debuffed by an enemy)
* "Okay..." (Finishing a battle)
* "Alright..." (Finishing a battle)
* "It can't be..." (Incapacitated)
* "Cross Slash!/Slash!" (Using Izanagi/Izanagi Picaro's Cross Slash skill)
* "Cadenza!/Leave it to me!" (Using Orpheus/Orpheus Picaro's Cadenza skill)
* "Doors of Hades!/Let us end it!" (Using Thanatos/Thanatos Picaro's Door of Hades skill)
* "How about this?/You need proper punishment." (Using Magatsu Izanagi/Magatsu Izanagi Picaro's Magatsu Mandala skill)
* "Bellow forth, sacred tempest!/Violent wind!"(Using Kaguya/Kaguya Picaro's Shining Arrows skill)
* "Blastoff!/It's educational guidance!" (Using Ariadne/Ariadne Picaro's Beast Weaver skill)
* "This fight will be your death!/Die, die, die!" (Using Asterius/Asterius Picaro's Titanomachia skill)
* "Taste my fury!"/"It's Showtime!" (Using Tsukiyomi/Tsukiyomi Picaro's Abyssal Wings skill)
* "Reverberate, Oratorio!/I can't fall!" (Using Messiah/Messiah Picaro's Oratorio skill)
* "I've got this!"/"Leave it to me!" (Using female Orpheus/Orpheus Picaro's Neo Cadenza skill)
* "Fire!"/"Rise up!" (Using Athena /Athena Picaro's Akashic Arts skill)
* "By the myriad truths!"/"All will be revealed!" (Using Izanagi-no-Okami / Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro's Myriad Truths skill)
* "*laughs*"/"Gotcha now!" (Using Raoul's Phantom Show skill)
* "Haa! - Nya! - Crow!" (During the Showtime attack with Akechi)
* "Go for it! - All yours! - Finish this!" (During the Showtime attack with Sumire)
* "This... is what reality is..."/"Ahaha! That was easier than I thought!" (Magatsu-Izanagi/Magatsu-Izanagi Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Now... the REAL battle begins!"/"Let's keep going!" (Orpheus/Orpheus Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Good. Now, I can fight better." (Thanatos/Thanatos Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Got 'em!"/"Easy win!" (Female Orpheus/Female Orpheus Picaro learns a new skill)
* "It's all mine!" (Raoul learns a new skill)
* "What a stylish power."/"Let's keep this up!" (Izanagi/Izanagi Picaro learns a new skill)
* "I comprehend!" (Athena/Athena Picaro learns a new skill)
* "AHAHAHAHAHA!" (Asterius/Asterius Picaro learns a new skill)
* "I give, I give!" (Ariadne/Ariadne Picaro learns a new skill)
* "More...MORE!"/"Mwahahahahahaha!" (Tsukiyomi/Tsukiyomi Picaro learns a new skill)
* "I sense pathos..." (Kaguya/Kaguya Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Ahhh, and that's that." (Messiah/Messiah Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Lend me your strength!"/"I will stop them!" (Izanagi-No-Okami/Izanagi-No-Okami Picaro learns a new skill)
* "Through there?" - To Futaba in Niijima's palace
* "See ya!" - To Police Officers in Niijima's palace
* "Pervy... teacher?" - To Ryuji about Kamoshida
* "Are we missing one?" - To Makoto about Futaba at the beach
* "Right." - To Akechi in Niijima's palace
* "Yes, before that happens, we will take this country!" - To Ryuji and the citizens of Tokyo in an announcement
* "Hang on!" - To Ryuji
* "Pillage him, SATANAEL!" - During Yaldabaoth's final fight
* "Begone!" - To Yaldabaoth before firing the Sinful Shell
* "Checkmate." - During Maruki's fight
* "Yeah." - To Ryuji on his way home and while gaining experience.
== Trivia ==
* Ren, along with Makoto Yuki, are the only Persona protagonists to have canonically died, not including Kotone Shiomi. However, in Ren's case, his deaths were both fake and reversed.
** Ren's Cognitive version was shot by Akechi, but in reality, he was not affected in any way and later, when Ren was erased from existence, he awakened in the Velvet Room and was revived back into reality by the real Igor and Lavenza once again.
** Makoto's death was permanent due to him using the Great Seal move and he became a Great Seal door with little to no chance of revival. If Kotone is included, her death is the same as she is Makoto's female counterpart.
* Ren, along with Makoto Yuki, Yu Narukami, Kotone Shiomi, Tatsuya Suou, Maya Amano, and Jihei Suzakuin are the only Persona users who can use more than one Persona.
* Ren, Makoto Yuki, and all of Megami Ibunroku Persona protagonists are the only Persona protagonists who use guns.
** However, Ren uses a model pistol during combat to deliver suppressing fire damage as it appears and acts real while in the Metaverse, while Makoto uses an Evoker handgun to summon his own Persona, aiming it at himself and shooting it, although it does not harm him.
** Each Megami Ibunroku Persona has a firearm of their own as well.
* Ren, Makoto, and Yu are the only Persona protagonists whose Animated counterparts have love interests, as well as in-game.
** Ren dated all of his potential love interests in the Animation, even having romantic scenes, while each one is optional in-game.
** Makoto's main love interest was Aigis for the most part as he embraced her and came to be very close, and came close while under a brainwashing spell to making love to Yukari, but was able to be slapped out of his trance.
** Yu momentarily dated Ai Ebihara in the Animation, but in a mostly fake relationship, which made him uncomfortable.
* Ren is the only protagonist who causes a real person's death, excluding Makoto Yuki.
** Although not really responsible, him defeating Okumura's Shadow enabled Akechi as a masked killer to assassinate him while he was weakened.
** Although not necessarily another real person, Makoto sacrificed himself to become the Great Seal, effectively causing his own death. In a non-canon ending, he kills Ryoji.
* Ren, along with every Persona protagonist, can be mostly silent, excluding dialogue options.
** However, much like Yu Narukami, he is much more talkative in the Animation, and his lines are often heard in-game throughout, whether he is summoning a Persona, or celebrating a change in himself or his surroundings.
** He may be considered the second-most talkative as Yu Narukami is slightly more talkative in the Animations, although both of them have a silent personality.
* Ren can be heard yelling when summoning a Persona, leveling up, or ambushing a shadow often.
* Ren's relationships differ in the different playthroughs:
** In the Animation playthrough, he maxed out every Confidant and also entered into a relationship with every possible love interest, which led to his beat-down by each and every one on Valentine's Day.
** In the Royal playthrough, he also maxed out every Confidant, but only entered into a relationship with Sumire, and spent Valentine's Day with her, while remaining platonic but close with everyone else.
*Ren can battle cognitions of Makoto Yuki and Yu Narukami, but canonically, he met Yu in Persona Q.
*In some adaptions, Ren's name is Akira Kurusu, notably the manga. However, in most adaptions, his name is canonically Ren and is considered to be the most popular name.
*Ren shares the same voice actor as Kaoru, Iwai's son - Xander Mobus. Although Ren is not as talkative in the game versions.
*In every ending of the game, aside from him being killed by Akechi, Ren stared towards the camera, almost as if he broke the fourth wall by staring at the player, his demeanor and mood depending on the circumstances.
**In the Yaldabaoth Victory ending, Ren pushed his glasses upwards and gave the player a smug look and a slight chuckle before walking away, likely taking some amount of pride and cockiness into his deal.
**In the Maruki Reality ending, Ren stared at the camera when a final photo was taken of the Thieves celebrating at Leblanc, with Akechi also staring, both of them giving a knowing stare at the player, knowing full well what they have done, but still embracing the reality they are in now.
**In the default True Ending, Ren stared up at the sky with a happy and satisfied look as he rode on the top of the Thieves' bus, likely giving the player a look of acknowledgement and gratitude for succeeding at the game.
**Ren gives the same look in the Royal True Ending, where he gave a similar look through his train seat window, as if he was grateful for the player winning the game and leading him to victory.
*Ren has more speaking lines in game than Makoto and Yu. However, in the Animation adaptions, all three had more speaking lines compared to their respective games.
*Ren and Yu Narukami are the only protagonists who gain the World Arcana from Igor after their time in the Velvet Room and completing their respective journey. Makoto Yuki gains the Universe Arcana, but he had to use it for his sacrifice.
*Ren’s main themes are “Beneath the Mask,” which plays during Ren’s downtime at night, “Daredevil” from Strikers, and “Rivers in the Desert” by Lyn, which was used in the battle aginst Masayoshi Shido, initially being instrumental before switching to vocals, and then used again against the Holy Grail and Cendrillon. His alternate theme is “Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There (Jazztronik Remix).” Ren is the third playable protagonist who has a theme song, with Makoto Yuki using “Mass Destruction” and Yu Narukami using “Signs of Love” as well as “Reach Out to the Truth.”
Category:Persona Characters
Category:Characters
Category:Protagonists
Category:Alive
Category:Revived Characters
Category:Students
Category:Teenagers
Category:Criminals
Category:Males