Mitsuo Kubo

Mitsuo Kubo is a character from Persona 4.
==Appearances==
*Persona 4 / Golden: Non-playable character
**Persona 4 Manga: Character
**Persona 4 The Animation: Character
**Persona 4 The Golden Animation: Cameo
**Persona 4 Visualive: Minor Antagonist
== Design ==
Mitsuo is an ominous-looking young man with disheveled black hair that is parted slightly in the middle. He has a cool, ashen complexion, though his skin has a peachy tint to it, and he has a beauty mark under his left eye. He has a fairly pronounced slouch, walks somewhat slowly and breathes heavily, and has droopy eyes and a rather grim expression. Unlike any of the other characters in Persona 4, his pupils are extremely deep and pitch black without visible irises (similar to the real-world condition ). He also has long eyelashes, thin eyebrows and very pronounced lips.
Mitsuo wears the uniform of an unknown high school, consisting of a black blazer with matching pants and black shoes; his blazer has the insignia of his high school, a green and red emblem resembling a shield on the right of his blazer. Under this, he wears a white dress shirt with a green tie. In an old picture of Mitsuo while investigating him, he wears a blue tie without an emblem.
Meanwhile, his casual clothes consist of video game themed shirts such as with a controller design, or an alien invaders-like pattern, and jeans. He also wears black and white sneakers with all his casual outfits, his overall choice in clothing reflects his interest and love of video games.
His English voice is boyish and tone-filled, whereas his Japanese voice is deep and intimidating. However, he may freely change the pitch of his voice if he wishes to.
== Personality ==
Although a regular high school boy, his expulsion from school and supposedly a loss of friends in turn have turned him into a delusional, narcissistic and repulsive person. He finds himself having no useful talents or skills bar video games and the internet. Wanting to be recognized but with no proper way to do it thanks to his lack of talent, he copies the Inaba serial murders with no real knowledge of how the real killer managed to pull them off. This lets him to be used as a pawn by the real killer, who merely finds him entertaining and decides to use him as the next victim.
He was disliked among others for his generally rude behavior and inappropriately running his mouth. Rise Kujikawa describes him as the "type who keeps talking, whether you like it or not." He would rant to her about the biker gangs (surrounding Kanji Tatsumi's case) and insist that they can't do anything alone. He's muttered that "women who cheat on their husbands should be executed" (surrounding Mayumi Yamano's affair and public scandal.) He even tries to hit on Yukiko Amagi, referring to her in an overly familiar manner (directly calling her "Yuki") and approaches her while she is talking with her group; when Yukiko doesn't accept his offer to go out, he takes it as a rejection, storming off in anger.
Because people in Inaba cling to rumors and treat them as the truth, Mitsuo is driven to lie for genuine recognition, but because of it he's forced to suppress his feelings, which he does to an extent that they're no longer part of him, most prominently with the help of the recognition of the Investigation Team that he's a killer is the truth. The shell of a boy would end up being inconsiderate of other people's feelings, blankly mocking and shunning Teddie for wearing a costume and calling him a "freak," and even convince himself Yukiko Amagi's acknowledged him even if he apparently has no interest in her. He would be satisfied with the turn of events, even not caring if he got killed, but his true feelings are temporarily unburied once Kanji Tatsumi adamantly reminds him of the consequences of his actions towards the people he's "killed."
A summary of all of these traits would be that Mitsuo is self-centered and one-sided, caring only about his own personal wants and his inflated morals. He is quite immature and often throws tantrums if something upsets him, such as when his Shadow starts implying that he is nothing more than a copycat wanting attention. He is incredibly forceful and forward with his attempts in social interaction.
In the anime, Mitsuo is shown to be much more aggressive following his killing of Kinshiro Morooka. An example of this is when he verbally threatens Nanako Dojima after she attempts to buy the last two rolls in Junes, reaching out to grab her before Yu intervenes. He also abrasively grabs Yukiko's arm to display "affection." When he fails to convince Yukiko to date him, he turns to the internet where he anonymously brags about being the serial killer in Inaba. Nobody believes him which causes him to throw a fit and smash his keyboard out of sheer anger, leading to him delusionally claiming that he is the killer in an attempt to shake Inaba.
==Profile==
===Persona 4===
Mitsuo first appears as a nameless student from a rival school in Yasoinaba when he waits outside the gates of Yasogami High School for Yukiko. Upon seeing her, Mitsuo addresses Yukiko as "Yuki" and asks if she wants to hang out with him, much to Yukiko's confusion as she does not know him. Several students passing by mock him for talking to Yukiko. Mitsuo asks again and upon Yukiko's rejection, he angrily says "Fine!" and runs away. He would be later seen standing across the street from Tatsumi Textiles, complaining about daily life.
On 6/13, Mitsuo can be found in the northern end of the shopping district, complaining that the police haven't found the killer yet. He goes on to fixate on Morooka, remarking that he is pretty suspicious. He goes on to talk about how he has a reputation for being strict and arrogant, and probably has some crazy grudges, also stating that teachers rank pretty low on society's totem pole before the conversation drifts off with Mitsuo dragging on and on.
====Void Quest====
After the rescue of Rise Kujikawa, the protagonist's homeroom teacher Morooka is killed by blunt force trauma. His corpse is then found hanging from a water tower by his foot in a similar fashion to the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Mitsuo takes the opportunity to turn himself into the police, confessing that he was responsible for the three murdered victims thus far. The police do not take his statement seriously and pawn him off to Adachi. Shortly after, Mitsuo goes missing and winds up in the Midnight Channel.
If Mitsuo is not rescued and taken into police custody by the deadline of 8/12, Yosuke Hanamura will call the protagonist and tell him that they found Mitsuo's body. Since they assumed Mitsuo was the killer, Yosuke wonders if he purposely went into the TV to commit suicide. The protagonist blacks out after this and is given a choice to try again a week prior by Igor.
His presence in the Midnight Channel immediately puts him on display where his Shadow gloats about him murdering the three victims and ultimately getting away with it all. While they have serious doubts about his role in the murders, the Investigation Team decides to brave his dungeon to question him directly.
Mitsuo's dungeon, Void Quest, takes the form of a classic 8-bit styled video game dungeon, complete with pixelated flames and graphics. The music is peppy and 8-bit, eventually scaling up into maniacal orchestra music, and the dungeon's sound effects are monotone and digital. The dungeon's floors are labeled as "chapters," and climbing each one represents a certain moment in Mitsuo's journey in a chronological order and in the format of a video game. As the party scales the dungeon, Mitsuo loses his grip on reality. He thinks of killing Mayumi, Saki and Morooka as video game fights, complete with fictional stat increases ('Excitement increases by 4! Emptiness increases by 1!')
The dungeon's story starts with Mitsuo getting "knocked down" by an unnamed enemy. It is heavily implied it is Kinshiro Morooka punishing Mitsuo by expelling him from Yasogami. He would have fallen into depression as the murder of Mayumi Yamano was discovered. The next few chapters would falsely recollect Mitsuo killing both Mayumi and Saki, all while leveling up and becoming stronger: the context of these recollections are unclear. Afterwards, Mitsuo's had a mental breakdown, possibly implied to be from Yukiko's rejection. After would follow the discovery of Saki's body. Much later on, Mitsuo encounters Morooka again and kills him for the sake of fame and attention. He would become praised as a hero, but in the process the dialogue becomes garbled and frozen.
thumb|250px|Shadow Mitsuo
When the Investigation Team reaches the Endgame, they find Mitsuo yelling at his Shadow, who refuses to say anything; even when Mitsuo hurls a hysterical question at him, the Shadow only replies that he is "nothing," implying that he is not only a delusional copycat rather than the real killer, but he's completely empty. Mitsuo wildly denies his Shadow's claim that he is nothing and continues to state that he is the true murderer. Upon rejecting the Shadow's existence, it turns into a giant baby with computer codes circling its head. It is heavily suggested by his dungeon and his Shadow's infantile appearance that Mitsuo has an immature personality and poor self-esteem. The Shadow also has the ability to erect 8-bit styled blocks around it, forming the image of "Mitsuo the Hero," a representation of his hobby of playing video games to mask his immaturity, escape the real world and become the important "hero" he could never actually be.
Upon his Shadow's defeat, Mitsuo continues to deny his Shadow which causes it to disappear into a cloud of smoke instead of transforming into a Persona, signifying that Mitsuo's faith in himself being the killer has surpassed the truth that he is nothing more than a deluded copycat with an overinflated ego. Mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal and supposedly rejecting his Shadow, he is brought out of the Midnight Channel by the Investigation Team.
When questioned for answers, he shamelessly boasts that he wanted attention and nothing else, much to their disgust and shock. Mitsuo then asks if Kanji Tatsumi, who believes he should be ready for what he deserves, will kill him. However, Kanji retorts that it would not be that easy, saying that what he did could never be taken back, and that he would own up to his crimes and pay for what he did, not being allowed to die until he understands exactly the consequences of his actions. Yosuke then calls the police at Kanji's demand, and Mitsuo is then handed off to the authorities for questioning. According to police reports, he's shown no remorse.
For a time, Mitsuo finally attracts the attention he had sought for so long, being plastered all over the media for his supposed crimes. Although the party's been at first convinced that Mitsuo's the killer especially since the beginning, that fades off slowly. By September, Kanji believes that it is wrong to simply say whatever one wants about someone who's been branded a criminal, and even going out of one's way to frame them as a "born criminal" based on loose evidence from someone's past. Even after having caught Taro Namatame and having assumed he's the real killer, Yosuke Hanamura would blame him for the death of Morooka, saying that if he hadn't done anything, no one would've tried a copycat killing to begin with.
Eventually, the legacy of his murder fades away when it is later confirmed that he was not the true killer of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Instead, he was just a copycat killer who killed Morooka with no particular motive other than to claim to be the Inaba mass killer. The Investigation Team wonders why he would beat Morooka to death, under the assumption that Mitsuo also had the ability to enter the TV World, coming to the conclusion that he was unaware of the world's nature and thus never considered using it to murder people. It is unknown what his fate is after his arrest, but he was most likely convicted of his murder and remains in prison for his crime.
Later, after the true culprit is exposed, Adachi reveals that he had thrown Mitsuo into the Midnight Channel, stating that if Mitsuo had taken credit for all of the murders, then Namatame's abductions would have stopped; his confession also confirms that Mitsuo did not possess the ability to enter the TV world. As the police did not believe Mitsuo's claims that he was the killer, they handed him over to Adachi, who took Mitsuo into an interrogation room with a TV before turning out the lights and pushing him into the Midnight Channel while he was stunned, lying to his colleagues afterward that he had sent the boy home. As a result, Mitsuo was completely unaware of his assailant's identity. When confronted, Adachi even admits that he got a sense of excitement in trying to murder Mitsuo with his own hands, since he had never done such a thing since Saki, and that the attempted murder of Yukiko, Kanji and Rise Kujikawa were all performed by exploiting Taro Namatame's ignorance.
===Persona 4 The Animation===
In the anime, Mitsuo appears on April 15 on a rainy day, rather than April 12 as in the game.
He does not appear near Tatsumi Textiles, though he is seen briefly on April 21 in his winter uniform staring at the crowd at Marukyu Tofu where Rise works.
Mitsuo appears in Episode 11. Following his murder of Morooka, he proceeds to go through a fit of near uncontrollable anger throughout the episode. He is seen stomping on a trash bag he accidentally tripped over, and scaring Nanako at the supermarket and reaching out to grab her because she was about to buy the last two packs of tamago, only to back away and run off when Yu shows up.
Soon afterward, he comes back to Yukiko's high school and tries to ask her out once again, grabbing her hand before Chie Satonaka pushes him away, and then Kanji intimidates him into retreating. That night, he goes on the internet and tries to claim he is the serial killer, only to be treated as a joke online, leading him to bash his keyboard out of rage and confess to the police for attention. Mitsuo then appears on the Midnight Channel, laughing at the attention he has received and daring the Investigation Team to come find him.
Mitsuo appears within his dungeon, Void Quest, in episode 12 of the anime. There, he is found screaming hysterically at his Shadow who sits, playing a video game and constantly reminding him of how he is empty inside and a worthless person. Completely insane, Mitsuo constantly denies this truth until his Shadow erupts in a pillar of red flames to fight him.
Upon the defeat of Mitsuo the 8-Bit Hero, he awakens surrounded by the Investigation Team, shocked that they followed him into the television. When they ask him if he is the killer, he claims to be responsible for all the murders, causing his Shadow to dissipate, as Mitsuo's ego is so large, he has become his Shadow. He is then turned into the police, laughing maniacally and driven away with Adachi and another officer from Junes Department Store.
In contrast to the game, the main cast doesn't learn of Mitsuo's identity until after he's arrested by the police following the defeat of his Shadow. The only person in the anime who addresses him by name is his mother, who calls him "Mitsuo-chan." Everyone else who learns about his deeds mentions him in passing as "that Kubo guy." When the case is considered closed and Mitsuo has become somewhat of a minor celebrity for taking the rap for all the murders in Inaba, the news ridicules and demeans him, which sparks some anger and disgust from Kanji who believes it's rude to insult people for their social abilities and looks, claiming that the news is only giving "more ammunition to keep on dissing all the anti-social kids." When the Investigation Team rescues Naoto from her dungeon, a conversation is brought up in which they realize Mitsuo can't be the killer. He was only responsible for the murder of Morooka, and likely had no knowledge of the TV World.
===Persona 4 The Golden Animation===
In the anime's opening introduction, he is seen walking by Konishi's Liquor in the Central Shopping District.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
===Persona 4===
Persona 4 Mitsuo.jpg|In-game appearances
P4-OtherMitsuo.jpg|Shadow Mitsuo
Persona 4 Mitsuo Concept.jpg|Mitsuo concept art
===Persona 4 The Animation===
P4A-MitsuoKuboConcept.jpg|Concept artwork from The Animation
Mitsuo attempt to grab Nanako.jpg|Mitsuo attempts to grab Nanako
Mitsuo_Rejected.png|Mitsuo being rejected by Yukiko
===Persona 4 Visualize===
Visualive Mitsuo Midnight Channel.jpg|Mitsuo appearing on the Midnight Channel in Persona 4 Visualive
===Other===
PSC official line stickers 03.png|
== Etymology ==
*Mitsuo means "beautiful" (美) (mi), "haven, port, harbor, ferry" (津) (tsu) and "hero, manly" (雄) (o). 
*Kubo means "long time" (久) (ku) and "protect/protection, maintain, guarantee" (保) (ho/bo).
== Trivia ==
*On one of Void Quest's floors, a textbox will say: "Good morning. You seemed to have slept well last night. You slept so well that not even the noisy siren from the police cars woke you. I think something real bad happened... Can you go buy some coffee from the cafe at the arcade? Thanks. Did you hear a girl was killed? It's becoming a dangerous world out there... I don't even feel safe walking around town. Don't let your guard down, and make sure you're not out late, okay?" This is a reference to Shin Megami Tensei when the protagonist wakes up from the strange dream and is asked to buy coffee at the mall by his mother.
*In Persona 4 The Animation, the track "I'll Face Myself" from the album Never More -Reincarnation: Persona 4- plays when Yu fights Mitsuo's Shadow.
*In Persona 4 Golden, the boss theme for Mitsuo's Shadow is a heavily synthesized, 8-bit edition of "I'll Face Myself" entitled "Revelations: Mitsuo" / "Shin Mitsuo Tensei." This bears relevance to how Mitsuo is meant to be a joke making fun of the player, and how his Shadow uses video games predominantly in its design.
*Mitsuo can be found walking around Inaba on the same days as Namatame. He talks about how the police are bad at their job and that the biker gangs do nothing for society.
==References==
Category:Persona 4 Characters
Category:Persona 4 The Animation Characters
Category:Persona 4 Golden Characters
Category:Hermit Arcana