Kanji Tatsumi

* PM
* PRMA

## First Appearance

### Debut

Persona Magica - Chapter 1 (Main)Persona Record: Magi Arena - Chapter 3 (Supporting)

**Kanji Tatsumi** is a supporting character in Persona Record Series and one of the main protagonist of Persona Magica. He is a first-year student at Yasogami High School in Inaba and known to many as a notorious delinquent since middle school.

## Background

Kanji is the only child of the Tatsumi family, owners of the textile shop in Inaba's Central Shopping District. Amagi Inn patrons this textile shop. He is now a student at Yasogami High School, but he often skips class for unknown reasons.

His father died a young age and he lives alone with his mother. Before he died, he told Kanji, "If you're a man, you have to become strong" because Kanji enjoys doing feminine hobbies despite his appearance. Kanji thought his father was telling him he wasn't a real man, which angered him and caused him to become insecure about his masculinity. As a result of this, Kanji drastically changed his appearance and began isolating himself from others. Kanji has no known friends, and people in Inaba, police included are terrified of him, to the point that when he approaches the investigation team, they have to run.

Kanji is first seen with Naoto Shirogane after Yukiko Amagi was rescued from the Midnight Channel, after he's been interviewed on the TV during that night and a blurry image of him can be seen on the TV at the end of that day. Naoto was also able to deduce that Kanji would be the next victim, and tries to seek clues by speaking to him. During that time, Naoto expresses interest in the case, which Kanji mistakes as Naoto being romantically interested in him. (Despite few in Inaba knew that Naoto was actually a woman.) The Investigation Team has to sneak up on him because he looks and acts terrifying. Since the Amagi Inn patrons his textile shop, Kanji has been pinned down as a target courtesy of the Inn's involvement with Mayumi Yamano. He is eventually kidnapped and thrown in the Midnight Channel, confirmed when a clear image of him appears on the TV and Yukiko dialed his mother, telling her that he never came back after going out that day. Kanji's Midnight Channel dungeon is the "men's only" Steamy Bathhouse.

On the top floor, the team finds Kanji confronting Shadow Kanji. Shadow Kanji calls him out on his "charade" and tells him it's awful to deceive himself and other people, and asks Kanji what is so bad about doing what he wants to do. Shadow Kanji continues on how much he hates girls because they are arrogant, self centered, ridicule him on his hobbies and treated him as a "thing," and he prefers hanging out with men because they won't ridicule him for his feminine interests.

After being denied, Shadow Kanji transforms into is a mostly nude version of himself surrounded in a bed of roses while holding two Mars symbols. It represents his sensitive side under his rough exterior which was often unappreciated and even ridiculed by girls, and being thought of as an unmanly degenerate as a result. His Shadow is also accompanied by two other Shadows, one named 'Nice Guy' and the other named 'Tough Guy;' possibly referring to the stereotypes of a feminine man, and the other a masculine man, which he's been doubting which side he actually is.

The party manages to defeat Kanji's Shadow, although the real Kanji still refused to accept it. The Shadow pleaded desperately with the party at this point, asking if anyone would just accept it. Kanji punched the Shadow, but soon accepted it, and so, it transformed into his Persona, Take-Mikazuchi.

## Appearance

In Persona Magica, Kanji is the tallest member of the Investigation Team despite his young age compared to the rest of the Investigation Team. He has a bleached-blond sweptback crewcut with a widow's peak, blue eyes, with a scar above his left eye. He wears multiple piercings, metal jewelry, and a black sweater with a skull-and-crossbones design under his school uniform. He wears shaded glasses while in battle.

In Persona Record: Magi Arena, he wore a black suit over a white shirt, a black tie and black jeans.

## Personality

Kanji seems to be a delinquent who was strong enough to fight a biker gang at middle school, earning him a town-wide reputation of wildness and toughness. He drapes his school uniform over his shoulders in a punk-ish style to emphasize the style he wishes to embody. However, when he sometimes gets flustered he tends to threaten people, occasionally getting into fights and scraps.

In reality, Kanji's delinquent behavior is just to hide that he likes feminine hobbies such as sewing or cooking despite his appearance. When his father died, he told him that he wasn't like a man because he obsesses in sewing, knitting, crafting and preparing snacks, causing him put up this facade. He actually fought down the biker gangs to prove his masculinity and to prevent them from harassing his mother, since he's sort of a mother's boy and cares for her well being more than anyone else. He cares for his mother so much that a simple mention of his mother being in a hospital severely unsettles him.

Kanji's feminine hobbies, or the side of him that he attempts to hide at all costs, includes how adept and passionate he is at sewing, knitting, arts and crafts, much unlike any other man in the area. He has been interested in arts and crafts since he was young and has been honing his skills without anyone knowing. Kanji's cutely designed works, which include knit plushies and plush hand mitts are already being sold as proper goods in the shop. He also conducts handicrafts classes for the neighbors.

## Abilities

Kanji's Persona is Take-Mikazuchi and Takeji Zaiten. In battle, he fights with Blunt Objects.

## Relationship

### Yu Narukami

Kanji's senior and leader team. Their relationship was difficult as Kanji's attitude was terrifying to everyone in the school and Inaba. However, after Kanji joins the investigation team, the relationship as a senior and a juniors grow stronger, despite some conflicts at times.

### Yukiko Amagi

Kanji's senior and fellow team. Due to the Tatsumi family's textile shop receiving patronage from the Amagi Inn, Kanji and Yukiko got to know each other before, but for some reason he never had a chance to meet her again. After he joins the Investigation Team, the relationship between her and him regains its strength again.

### Naoto Shirogane

Kanji's highschool classmate and fellow team. At first, Kanji thought Naoto was a boy, not knowing she was a girl, but when he later learned that Naoto was a girl, he was shocked, but he was close to her with his true feelings.

### Kanae Yukino

Kanji meets Kanae when he's dealing with biker gangs, and He met her when she went to save her friend, who was kidnapped by biker gangs. The two of them became so close until he secretly crush on Kanae, but he didn't dare to confess to her until Kanae moved from Inaba to Kamihama City. He only hopes that once he will meet her again, but he doesn't know that Kanae has died.

### Aiko Narukami

Kanji has been taking care of Aiko since she was a baby. He always looked at Aiko like his daughter, even though she was his senior's daughter.

## Trivia

* Kanji made the "Alice" costume that Teddie wore, showing Kanji's talent and expertise when it comes to sewing.
* He secretly likes cute things.

## Gallery

KanjiYoung KanjiKanji concept artConcept of KanjiKanji wearing glassesKanji's crochetingKanji and NaotoYu knitting with KanjiKanji with the team at JunesKanji encounters the real JunpeiYukiko figuring out who's the real KanjiKanji holding Koromaru.Kanji with the groupKanji with the group