Naoto Shirogane

Naoto Shirogane is a protagonist from Persona 4. She fought Eltnum from Melty Blood in the first ever "Month of Terror" episode in episode 24 of Mini Rumble.

## Description

An ace detective in the Video Games Persona 4, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, and Persona Q Shadow Labyrinth who after her parents died in a car accident aspired to become a detective as her father was. She was brought up by her grand father who helped make her into a detective while she was still in high school. The events of the midnight channel found Naoto Shirogane new friends in the form of the game's main protagonists as well as a Persona that would help her to gain superpowers needed to save the world on a few occasions along with the help of her friends. Currently, she works for Mitsuru Kirijo as a special operative to help investigate supernatural occurrences that only Persona users can deal with in game.

## Trivia

* Shadow Naoto says that "Naoto" is a "cool manly name" but it won't let her change sexes, which may give the implication that Naoto changed her name. However, extra information reveals that Naoto is indeed her real birth name her parents gave her. Her parents didn't name her that with the intention of raising her as a boy and hiding her real gender. They thought that 'Naoto' was a fairly androgynous name and since she might grow up to be a detective, and knowing the sexism in the profession, they should avoid girly names which end in "-ko." Examples of -ko names in the game include Yukiko, Nanako and Noriko (Hanako may be a parody of idealized femininity).
* Shigenori Soejima, character designer and art director of *Persona 4*, stated in the annotations of *Persona 4'*s artbook that Naoto was originally planned to be a boy.
* One of Naoto's usable weapons, "Athena Kiss R" might be a reference to one of Aigis' weapons, Kiss of Athena, both which take the name of Aigis' ultimate Persona, Pallas Athena.
* The gun left behind by the bonus boss in the Secret Laboratory is called Algernon, with its description stating that it was named after an experiment in finding happiness. This is a reference to the book *Flowers for Algernon*.
* Naoto is the last party member to join the Investigation Team, as Rise and Teddie both joined the party in the same dungeon.
* In the Japanese version, Chie compares Naoto's family to the Kindaichi family. Kosuke Kindaichi was a character in a series of detective novels that were popular in Japan and later spawned an unofficial spinoff named Hajime Kindaichi.
* In a special conversation added in *Golden*, Naoto will compare the protagonist to the hero of a detective novel she read as a child, describing said hero as "a cool, tough private detective, who made frequently impulsive decisions when pursuing his suspects," and then mentions his name as "Sam." The name and description fit Sam Spade, protagonist of the classic novel and film *The Maltese Falcon*. This is more explicit in the original Japanese version, wherein she says Sam's full name.
* If Naoto is spoken to while equipped with her Winter Clothes in the TV World, she will comment that she had her coat custom made, as she could not find a male size that would fit her.
* Naoto is the only party member whose Social Link can Reverse if the protagonist picks the wrong option during one of her Social Link events (the option that says "You're on your own." on the Rank 4 to 5 event), as well as having one of the two Social Links in the game that can be compromised in such a manner (the other being Ai Ebihara's Social Link).
* Naoto, along with Kanji, are the only members of the Investigation Team whose Social Links don't initiate automatically with the story.
	+ The TV world dungeons they're rescued from are also the only ones where there's just one occasion of the Team member's Persona awakening, which are their own (the protagonist and Yosuke in the liquor store, Chie and Yukiko in the Castle and Teddie sharing an occasion with Rise at the Strip Club).
* In *Persona 4 Golden*, when wearing a Gekkoukan High School uniform, Naoto imitates Aigis' victory pose and says her lines.
* In *Persona 4 Golden*, Naoto says that she has some experience playing a keyboard, since her grandfather suggested taking piano lessons when she was younger.
* In *Persona 4*, if the party fails to complete Magatsu Inaba by the 24th of December, Naoto will call that night, saying that Shadows have overrun the town and that she can't control them. She will then be heard screaming as she is attacked and presumably killed by a Shadow while still on the phone with the protagonist.
* In *Persona 4*, Naoto's critical attack is the only one to hit more than three times. While every other character hits the enemy three times when using a critical hit, Naoto hits four times (shooting three bullets and then kicking the enemy).
* Naoto is the shortest character of the Investigation Team; short stature tends to be a notable trait of many characters Romi Park has voiced.
* In *Persona Q*, should one choose *Persona 3* at the start of the game, before she introduces herself Naoto is referred to as "Intelligent-looking boy."
* In *Persona 5*, Naoto is mentioned on a TV special as, "the original Detective Prince" who was then succeeded by the "next Detective Prince."
* During the skiing trip in *Golden*, Naoto has an Ace of Spades located on her hat, possibly as a reference to her being an "Ace Detective" as well as her aforementioned affinity for Sam Spade.
* In *Persona 4 Golden*, during the ski trip when Yosuke tells a scary story, heavily implied to be the situation regarding Fuuka Yamagishi's bullying, Naoto recalls having heard about such a case before, implying she was either in Tatsumi Port Island at the time, or heard of it at some point.
* Before her name is revealed in *Persona 4*, the game refers to her as a "Slender Man" to conceal her identity.

### *Persona 4 Arena*

* Naoto's introduction line, "The body of a child-the brain of a genius," may be a reference to Conan Edogawa of *Case Closed*.
* Naoto's ground throw is based on her Wake-Up Hit. Her awakening supers Hold Up!/Hands Up! (localized as Raid in the US versions) and Critical Shoot/Shot are both parts of her critical hit.
* Naoto is the only character of the Investigation Team who doesn't wear their school uniform.
* Naoto is the only character who does not use her Persona for her Awakening Supers.
* She is the only character alongside Elizabeth to have an Instant Kill system (her foes' Fate Counters for her Hamaon and Mudoon spells which are supers) aside from the universal Mortal Blow/Instant Kill attack.
* Naoto, Yu Narukami and Mitsuru Kirijo all have skills they cannot naturally learn in their movesets; Sukuna-Hikona and Yamato-Takeru do not learn Double Fangs, and it is portrayed as a non-Persona attack.

### XVX

* Naoto's the first Persona character to appear in the series.
* Naoto and her opponent are the first characters besides Sharon and Victor to appear in Month of Terror.