Naoto Shirogane

**Naoto Shirogane** is a playable character in *Persona 4*. Arriving in Inaba to help investigate the murders, this fifth generation of the famed Shirogane detectives enrolls as a first-year student at Yasogami High School.

## Design

Naoto is the shortest member of the Investigation Team. She is androgynous in appearance with short blue hair and gray eyes (blue in *The Animation* and *Arena*). She wears Yasogami High's gakuran, with the exception of one optional occasion in which she wears a seifuku-style school uniform. Naoto is often seen wearing formal clothing such as blue shirts, ties, and her trademark blue cap. On days off during winter, she wears a dark blue double-breasted cardigan coat (which she says is custom made) with a light blue bowtie (on her white dress shirt underneath) and yellow buttons, and plaid blue pants. Naoto's summer outfit, however, is reminiscent of the clothing of Kyouji Kuzunoha and consists of a light blue shirt and a yellow necktie.

In *Persona 4 Golden* during the ski trip in the winter, she wears a snow suit with a white hoodie, light blue snow jacket, dark purple gloves, dark pants, and gray shoes, with a pair of goggles hanging around her neck.

In *Persona 4 Arena*, her appearance is the same as in the game (her winter outfit).

In *Persona 4: Dancing All Night*, she wears a combination of her Yasogami uniform and summer outfit, the only minor difference being the addition of black suspenders, a white tank top, dark brown boots, and black fingerless gloves. She wears her tie different like seifuku-style fashion.

In *Persona x Detective*, Naoto is seen with much longer, nearly waist-length hair. Her trademark cap is absent and she wears a gray suit with a white shirt and a blue tie.

## Personality

"The need to change... And the desire to remain the same... They're mixed together... And it scares me."

—Naoto, *Persona 4*
Having lost both her parents in a car accident when she was very young, Naoto is an orphan who acts very mature in spite of her age. As a descendant of a respected lineage of famous detectives, she wears formal clothing, and deepens her voice when she speaks in a sophisticated, stilted manner. She is generally very serious, focused and mission-oriented. She rarely jokes around which can make her seem like a killjoy or party pooper when the team is involved in silly antics. In *Persona 4 Arena*, Kanji calls her out on this, saying she is too "uptight" and it makes her seem distant and on a different wavelength.[1] One of Naoto's insecurities is her lack of friends; she has difficulty making friends and is lonely as a result.

Naoto is very intelligent and analytical. A running gag, however, is that she texts in all caps with abbreviations, for example, "SEE U TOMORROW? Y/N PLZ REPLY ASAP" and "I HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION 4 U, PLZ SEE ME TOMORROW AFTER SCHOOL"

Naoto's insecurities are her gender and age. She yearns to be seen as an adult, and expresses frustration at being treated like a child by the police force. She hates being looked down upon, and fears no one will take her seriously as a female, in a sexist occupation field. The sexism Naoto has tolerated and endured had made her self-conscious and ashamed of being female, making her struggle with the concept of femininity. In response, Naoto desired to be male; Naoto wanted to be viewed as male by society, adopted a male identity, never corrected anyone when people used male pronouns, avoided feminine clothing and wears platform shoes to appear taller. It is also implied Naoto began binding her chest to hide her large-sized breasts.

After dealing with her Shadow, Naoto decides to give being female another try. However, Naoto still has difficulty accepting being female in her Social Link. By the end of the game, due to her own will and with the protagonist's help, she accepts the fact she does not always need to change who she is to suit the world. In the epilogue of *Persona 4 Golden*, she has started dressing more freely, disguising her femininity less than before. She is comfortable with not only who she is, but also that everyone else is aware that she is female.

Despite her mature nature, Naoto has a shy side to her, as she refuses to wear a bikini at the Yasogami Beauty Pageant, but still manages to win despite dropping out of the swimsuit part because of her endearing popularity among voters. She also becomes embarrassed during the Investigation Team's visit to the Amagi Inn, when the schedules for the hot springs' use were confused. During the ski trip in *Persona 4 Golden*, Naoto appears to be afraid of ghost stories. And when in a state of fear and/or panic, her voice becomes more feminine than usual, possibly meaning she only has a masculine voice when she is composed.
Naoto is uninterested in romance, and seems easily flustered, embarrassed or dismissive when the topic arises. When she possibly receives a love letter, Naoto claims romance is "entangling" and she has no time to be "dilly-dallying with callow love affairs" and almost throws it away. However, she is willing to date the protagonist if he advances her Social Link.

## Gameplay

Naoto is best described as a morphing character who is mostly played at medium-to-long range, but can shift to close range combat. As a payoff, Naoto has low health and has a hard time fending off against fierce opponents. Unlike her fellow keep away characters, her strengths lie in the ability to shift her line of fire swiftly as well as being able to utilize traps, along with her original Shield of Justice (*Seigi no Tate*) Reversal Action being a secondary counter. Naoto also packs several creativity in her combos when her setups are properly used, such as her traps being placed in specific locations and through one of her supers, is the only character capable of causing mute to an opponent.

Unique to Naoto, her opponent is given a special Fate meter which she can deplete using several attacks. When it is depleted to zero (0), she has access to both Hamaon's and Mudoon's ability to instant kill the enemy and, unlike most instant kills, is able to execute them in any round. Despite not being able to land possible OHKO's with her Hamaon and Mudoon, the former can be great for pressure as Naoto can conceal her mix-ups inside the light, and the latter can be used to extend combos quite well. This overall, along with Naoto having some meter to spare, gives her some of the highest damage potentials in the game. Some of her moves such as her jumping B and C can be used for long ranged pokes. In addition, her D moves cloak her Persona and when used again, her Persona appears and attacks from that spot and can even attack behind her opponent. Though a special glitch, Naoto is also able to perform a loop with her Niren Kiba (Double Fangs) B in the corner by breaking through Same Move Proration by performing 10 different moves on the opponent in one combo.

Her Aim/Sogeki Kamae (Sniping Stance) can enable her to fire her gun or cancel the stance right away. And the stance can also be automatically entered through her Double Fangs. Of course, in regards to her shooting, Naoto can fire her gun forward (Shoumen/Frontage), downward (Choudan/Springing Bullet) or upward (Taikuu/Anti-Air). The downward version is a unique case where it bounces off the ground to an upward angle, meaning can hit OTG and thus, finish Naoto's OTG combos off an A version Double Fangs most of the time, or can be used as an anti-air as well as a low attack mixup up close. All bullets can be super cancelled as well. For SMP loops, her final gunshot counts as a separate move from the rest of the initial ones, and removes a Fate Counter.

Firing bullets after firing all five of them will case Naoto to attempt to fire her gun as usual, only clicking will be heard and no projectiles will appear. From there, Naoto is forced to cancel the stance and enter it again from there to fire bullets again; rise and repeat; while the Aim stance can be canceled with a normal D or 214A command, but the B version makes Naoto perform a cartwheel backward instead with plenty invincibility before she recovers from it, while the SB version makes her perform an invincible roll forward to enter the stance which can switch sides with opponents; both the B and SB versions if done during the stance can allow Naoto to automatically reload her bullets at any time without cancelling her stance outright well while entering it again, enabling for some tricky gun defense.

A drawback of hers in competitive play as well, is that should one be too focused on her keep away, there's a chance she'll often have more Negative Warnings and Negative Penalties than most characters, severely crippling her — adding that with her already low health and some bad direct defensive options. What's more, despite her flexible playstyle, her zoning and offense can be overshadowed by others like Teddie for the former and Kanji for the latter. Thus, Naoto is often high risk but very high reward for a unique playstyle that's difficult to grip.

In *Arena Ultimax*, Naoto has not changed much in terms of her playstyle, though her approach on her auto-attack normals has, along with all the other characters. Naoto eventually gains a new move, the Blight (Venom Zapper in JPN), which is her new anti-air attack (and also counts as a Persona-based move), as well as a new followup to her Shield of Justice called Safety (named after the mechanic used on firearms), where she can backdash out of her R-Action. She can also now perform Double Fangs in the air, allowing her to finish her air combos with better follow up scenarios. Another new touch is that Naoto's gun can now "jam," which after firing all her bullets causes her new gun icon to show a gauge in the place of her bullet amount (which is 5 like the original game) which quickly refills during its cooldown period, and her bullets cannot be reloaded anymore via performing a B or SB version Aim stance while it's active, preventing her from spamming too much of her gunshots freely (thus Naoto after using up her rounds must reload via stance break and use her bullets more wisely).

On another note, Naoto's close range game has somewhat improved, especially with her new Blight move and a few other changes. Also regarding her gun attacks, Naoto can now use 6D to fire an exploding short-range burst that removes a Fate Counter (which does not use up any ammo but must still be used while there is any amount of ammo remaining), as well as the fact that her Raid now can only fire three bullets per time the super is executed. Her Anti-Shadow Rifles A version can now allow for an immediate B version followup via an SB Super.

Naoto's theme/leitmotif is named "Seeker of Truth," and is named after the other name for the Investigation Team. The OST disc version features notably altered instrumentals in comparison to the other leitmotifs however, making use of extra alternated guitar chords and techno sounds.

## Battle Quotes

### *Persona 4*

Quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-V1CQ38sv4

* *"Come, Sukuna-Hikona!"* (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"Come, Yamato Takeru!"* (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"All yours!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Let's go!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Persona!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Someone finish this one off!"* (Attack doesn't kill enemy)
* *"It's quite tenacious!"* (Attack doesn't kill enemy)
* *"I'll have my revenge for that!"* (Recover from Down/Dizzy)
* *"I see, so it won't work!"* (Enemy immune to element)
* *"I'm ready to go! Just say the word!"* (All-Out Attack prompt)
* *"Our moment has arrived! Let's go!"* (All-Out Attack prompt)
* *"The enemies have fallen! Let's finish them off!"* (All-Out Attack prompt)
* *"Okay, understood!"* (Performing All-Out Attack)
* *"Precisely!"* (Performing All-Out Attack)
* *"Here goes!"* (During All-Out Attack)
* *"I hope you're prepared!"* (During All-Out Attack)
* *"Let's end this!"* (During All-Out Attack)
* *"Shall I take over?"* (Follow up attack)
* *"Let me do this! Please!"* (Follow up attack)
* *"Leave this to me!"* (Follow up attack)
* *"Please stand up!"* (Helping MC up)
* *"On your feet!"* (Helping Yosuke up)
* *"No!"* (Shielding MC from mortal blow)
* *"As expected, Senpai!"* (Cheering on MC)
* *"Again, Yosuke-senpai!"* (Cheering on Yosuke)
* *"Now then, what's next?"* (Victory)
* *"That's what comes for underestimating me!"* (Victory)
* *"Elimination complete!"* (Victory)
* *"You've become even more dependable!"* (Protagonist level up)
* *"My skills have been honed!"* (Level up)
* *"I gained a level!"* (Level up)

#### *Golden*

* *"Perfect timing! May I join in?"* (Prompting Cavalry Attack)
* *"An act of self-defense!"* (When performing the skill Shield of Justice)
* *"I can't lose here!"* (When performing the skill Shield of Justice)
* *"Justice is with me!"* (When performing the skill Shield of Justice)
* *"Did I succeed in protecting everyone?*" (Battle won in Gekkou Uniform)
* *"Enemy annihilated!*" (Battle won in Gekkou Uniform)
* "*Phoenix Rangers Featherman R!*" (Battle won in Neo Featherman Suit)
* "*An utter victory by Feather Swan!*" (Battle won in Neo Featherman Suit)
* *"Go, Yamato Sumeragi!" (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys Skill)*

### *Persona 4 Arena*

Quotes (English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPQaKcKBojc

Quotes (Japanese): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_oGuQZuEKek

* *"I sense the case in the making."* (When chosen on character select screen)
* *"Let the investigation begin!"* (When chosen on character select screen)
* *"K-Killjoy!? What is this? Who came up with this demeaning epithet?!"* (In response to her title)
* *"What is this? What's going on?"* (Starting Arcade Mode)
* *"Is this an army of idiots?"* (on E3 trailer)
* *"I assumed as much!"* (While performing Shield of Justice)
* *"Freeze!"* (While performing Aim)
* *"I won't miss!"* (While performing Aim)
* *"Steady…"* (While performing Snipe [Front])
* *"Headshot!"* (While performing Snipe [Ricochet])
* *"Fire!"* (While performing Snipe [Anti-Air])
* *"Time to move."* (While performing Cancel Aim)
* *"Ready … Burst Shot!"* (While performing super move, Anti-S SP Pistol a)
* *"This one's special … Fire!"* (While performing super move, Anti-S SP Pistol B)
* *"Here it goes! Be engulfed in light!"* (While performing super move, Hamaon)
* *"Here it goes! Be consumed by darkness!"* (While performing super move, Mudoon)
* *"Initiate! Hamaon!"* (While performing super move, Hamaon)
* *"Initiate! Mudoon!"* (While performing super move, Mudoon)
* *"I won't fall yet!"* (Awakening)
* "*Here goes!"* (While performing Awakening super move, Raid)
* *"It's over! That was too easy."* (While performing Awakening super move, Critical Shot)
* *It's the end of the act."* (After performing Awakening super move, Critical Shot)
* *"This is it!"* (Instant Kill)
* *"Showtime!"* (Instant Kill)
* *"Prepare yourself. That's what you get for not knowing your place."* (While Naoto using Sukuna-Hikona's ability to deliver the final shot during the Instant Kill)
* *"Farewell."* (While Naoto using Sukuna-Hikona's ability to deliver the final shot during the Instant Kill)
* *"I will see for myself, the power of Kirijo."* (vs Mitsuru)
* "*You'll pay twice over for that!*" (Character's long string of combo ends.)

#### Victory Quotes

**General**

* "*Whew... I suppose that could've gone a little smoother.*"
* "*As long as you take me lightly due to my size, you will never defeat me.*"
* "*The results are as expected. Your movements are all in accordance with my assumptions.*"
* "*I went at you with everything I had. Rest assured that this is no game for me either.*"

**Character Specific**

* Yu Narukami: "*Having fought at your side for so long, I thought I would be prepared for your every move... but it was a tough battle nonetheless.*"
* Yosuke Hanamura: "*I've won, so you'd best promise to stop calling me "squirt"!*"
* Yukiko Amagi: "*Elegant, yet aggressive attacks... If I let my guard down, I'll get literally burned.*"
* Kanji Tatsumi: "*Impressive, Kanji-kun. I managed to win this time, but you still seem to have an upper hand in combat experience.*"
* Naoto Shirogane: "*I will never be taken in by my own face, ever again!*"
* Mitsuru Kirijo: "*Amazing. This proves that your current status isn't solely down to your family name...*"
* Aigis: "*The anti-Shadow weapon I've heard about... Your performance vastly outpaced the rumors.*"
* Labrys: "*A man-made entity with a heart and a Persona... To be honest, my sense of what's possible has been forcibly expanded once more.*"

### *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*

* "*Let's begin.*" (When chosen on character select screen)
* "*I will solve this.*" (When chosen on character select screen)
* "*Let the investigation begin!*" (When chosen on character select screen)
* "*I sense the case in the making.*" (When chosen on character select screen)
* "*I dislike using force, but...*" (Starting the round)
* "*I've already investigated you.*" (Starting the round)
* "*You're going to fight me then...*" (Starting the round)
* "*If you resist, I'll show no mercy.*" (Starting the round)
* "*There's no need to hold back!*" (Starting the round vs. Yu)
* "*Don't call me a squirt!"* (Starting the round vs. Yosuke)
* "*She'll be a hard one to read.*" (Starting the round vs. Yukiko)
* "*To think that the two of us will fight...*" (Starting the round vs. Kanji)
* *"I'm sorry..."* (Final round loss)
* "*You're open... ahaha..*" (First round victory)
* "*Why not give up?!*" (First round victory)
* "*An army of idiots, hmm?*" (First round victory)
* "*You don't stand a chance!*" (First round victory)
* "*Thank you for the match.*" (Final round victory)
* "*Hmm... the expected result.*" (Final round victory)
* "*Every good detective knows how to fight.'*" (Final round victory)
* "*Definitely not an opponent I expected to be fighting.*" (Final round victory)
* "*That's what you get for all the teasing!*" (Final round victory vs. Yosuke)

#### Victory Quotes

General
* "*Power isn't everything. These results prove the point.*"
* "*I have friends who accept and depend on me. For their sake, I cannot lose.*"
* "*I see I underestimated your skills... I'll need to recalculate things again.*"
* "*Unfortunately, you still lack the training to best me. Come back when you've improved.*"
* "*You shouldn't judge people on how they look, else you'll be swept off your feet like so.*"
* "*On my family's honor, I can't lose! Hah... it's fun to bluster like that from time to time.*"

Character Specific
* Yu Narukami: "*I managed to win today, but it didn't go as I had theorized... Impressive skills as always, Senpai.*"
* Chie Satonaka: "*The fruits of your training are most impressive. Out of curiosity, how go your other studies?*"
* Kanji Tatsumi: "*Kanji-kun, your face seems a little flushed... Were you winded in the fight?*"
* Teddie: "*Your moves are always like watching the circus... I can't predict what comes next.*"
* Labrys: "*You've become even stronger. To be honest, I feel a little relieved.*"
* Mitsuru Kirijo: "*No wonder you lead the Shadow Operatives. Had I let my concentration wane for even a moment, I would have been the one to fall.*"
* Sho Minazuki: "*Overwhelming solitude... I can see it in your eyes.*"
* Shadow Naoto: "*Even when I try to remain calm, it's still unsettling to see you... I wonder if I'm still naive.*"
* Tohru Adachi: "*What is your purpose here? Answer well, or I'll show no mercy!*"

### *Persona Q*

* *"My weapon is ready."* (Battle start)
* *"Give me your orders and I will follow!"*(Battle start)
* *"Here I go!"* (Battle start)
* *"Let's begin, senpai."* (Battle start, with *Persona 4* protagonist)
* *"Worry about yourself first."* (Battle start, with Kanji Tatsumi)
* *"Easy does it, Kanji-kun."* (Battle start, with Kanji Tatsumi)
* *"Ah, the familiar slime type."* (Battle start, fighting Maya-type Shadow)
* *"An Idol type. Beware!"* (Battle start, fighting Idol-type Shadow)
* *"It may look angelic, but it's truly vicious. Be careful."* (Battle start, fighting Cupid-type Shadow)
* *"That's a Magus. Stay on guard!"* (Battle start, fighting Magus-type Shadow)
* *"It's a Raven Shadow!"* (Battle start, fighting Raven-type Shadow)
* *"A mist Shadow… They're rather mysterious."* (Battle start, fighting a Rainy Brother)
* *"I-it's just a Shadow… Nothing to be scared of…"* (Battle start, fighting a Rainy Pot)
* *"This one's a statue type."* (Battle start, fighting a Relic-type Shadow)
* *"I believe that is a phantom-type."* (Battle start, fighting a Phantom-type Shadow)
* *"That's a very Japanese-looking Shadow."* (Battle start, fighting a Nyogo-type)
* *"That wheel… How is it constructed?"* (Battle start, fighting a Wheel-type)
* *"It's big, as one would expect from a wrestler Shadow."* (Battle start, fighting a Gigas-type)
* *"Watch out! It's a samurai Shadow!"* (Battle start, fighting a Musha-type Shadow)
* *"We should respect our elders…but that doesn't apply to Shadows!"* (Battle start, fighting an Okina-type)
* *"A castle? Seems to have some architectural flaws."* (Battle start, fighting a Castle-type)
* *"A tank! Be mindful of its cannon!"* (Battle start, fighting a Turret-type)
* *"Let's be cautious."* (Fighting a rare Shadow)
* *"This isn't good…especially not now."* (Fighting an FOE)
* *"I'm worried about what he means by that…"* (When the Merciful Clergyman uses Vow)
* *"Yes… Let's put an end to this."* (Fighting Chronos)
* *"Reloading."* (During battle)
* *"The enemy's making their own plan…"* (During battle)
* *"I'm…quite low on energy…"* (Low on SP)
* *"I'm impressed that you noticed…"* (Low on HP, responding to Kanji Tatsumi)
* *"Sorry… I let my guard down."* (Low on HP, to *Persona 4* protagonist)
* *"I'm worried about our leader's health."* (When leader is low on HP)
* *"Prepare yourself!"* (When attacking)
* *"Everyone's morale is high!"* (Prompting All-Out Attack)
* *"Please leave it to me."* (Prompting pursuit attack)
* *"I won't relent."* (Prompting pursuit attack)
* *"We can defeat them now."* (Prompting pursuit attack)
* *"Leave it to me!"* (Prompting pursuit attack)
* *"Shooting requires careful precision."* (During pursuit attack)
* *"I'll show you my strength!"* (During pursuit attack)
* *"This shot is all I need."* (During pursuit attack)
* *"I won't miss."* (During pursuit attack)
* *"It's quite strong."* (Unsuccessful follow-up)
* *"Impossible!"* (When missing)
* *"It's no use."* (When missing)
* *"Why won't my limbs respond?"* (Paralyzed)
* *"I didn't expect them to resort to such tactics."* (Magic Bound)
* *"This could be troublesome."* (When Agility Bound)
* *"The culprit is…is…? …Is me…?"* (When asleep)
* *"Kanji-kun!"* (When Kanji Tatsumi is unconscious)
* *"How dare you!"* (When *Persona 4* protagonist is unconscious)
* *"It's over."* (Victory)
* *"Perfection!"* (Victory)
* *"Well played, Leader."* (When leader is victorious)
* *"Just as we planned."* (Victory via All-Out Attack)
* *"We've done it."* (Victory via All-Out Attack)
* *"We settled that quickly."* (Result)
* *"We owe this to your sound tactics."* (Result)
* *"If only all opponents were this easy."* (Result)
* *"That was close. We need to be more careful."* (Result)
* *"Good, we won. Continue to work hard!"* (Result)

### *TMNT X Pokemon*

* "Don't lower your guard."
* "Sorry about the text. I'm not used to talking to friends."
* "I now understand what needs to be done."
* "Make sure you come back safely."
* "The world is in your hands."
* "Me and Jack have that cover."

## TMNT X Pokemon

Naoto is part of Jack's Investigation team. During missions, she can work with Conan Edogawa and Professor Hershel Layton.

## 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.'[2] Examples of --ko names in the game include Yukiko, Nanako and Noriko (Hanakomay 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.
* In the English localization, 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 player 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 player 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.[3][4]
* In *Persona 4*, Naoto's critical attack is the only one to hit more than three times. While every other 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, and in which short stature/height tends to be a notable trait of many characters Romi Park has voiced.
* In *Persona Q*, should the player 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."
* 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.

### *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 Detective Conan.
* 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.
* Her theme/leitmotif, Seeker of Truth, is named after the alternate name of the Investigation Team.
* She is also 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 is portrayed as a non-Persona attack.
* Her neutral fighting stance may be based on Zombie Cop's stance.

### Appearances in Other Media

* *BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle*: Playable Character (DLC)