Ryuga Ishimori

**Ryuga Ishimori** (石森 竜我 *Ishimori* *Ryuga*) is a playable character in Persona: Story. He is a high school student with a known criminal record.

## General Information

School: Avalon High

Zodiac Sign: Aries

Weapon: Baseball Bat

Arcana: The Chariot

Persona: Balor, Anansi

Japanese VA: Kenta Miyake

English VA: Josh Grelle

Theme: To Be Announced

## Personality

Ryuga is a rowdy and rebellious youth who thrives in causing trouble. Because of his family legacy, he is a huge fan of Japanese baseball.

## Profile

Ryuga's father was legendary baseball player Daigo Ishimori. Going to baseball games to cheer on his dad turned Ryuga into a huge fan of Japanese baseball. He was very sad when his father later died of lung cancer, so he continued to go to baseball games as a way to honor his father's legacy.

One year ago, Ryuga first met two orphans named Nagi and Chiharu walking home from school. The two of them had run away from the orphanage because the headmaster was cruel towards them. Ryuga helped them live in secret in an alleyway near Ryuga's favorite baseball stadium. Ryuga began stealing things so he could help care for them. He regretted doing this, but saw no other option.

His first interaction was when Shingo invited the group to a baseball game.

**Chiro's Land**

When the Grimoire Court begins to suspect that their current student council president has suffered from a Shadow Swap, Ryuga joins the investigation in order to get revenge on her for ruining his reputation. He later follows the group in secret to the World of Fiction and unlocks his Persona Balor during an encounter with one of Chiro's Elites

**Social Link**

The Chariot Social Link involves you going to baseball games with Ryuga and joining him in his crimes. Later in the Social Link, Ryuga meets a young couple and overhears that they are sad because they wish to care for some children. With some convincing from the protagonist, he brings the couple to his friends. He tearfully says goodbye to his friends, saying that he hopes to see them again someday. Ryuga explains to Akira how he plans to begin doing community service to pay for the crimes he committed. He doesn't like doing it, but feels that Nagi and Chiharu would want him to do it. His resolve to selflessly do good for the sake of others evolves his Persona into Anansi. Completing this Social Link unlocks the ultimate Chariot Persona, Ku.

**Shadow Ryuga**

Shadow Ryuga is very prim and proper, acting very gentlemanly. He represents Ryuga's secret need to be accepted in society, which he thinks he can do by changing his personality.

### Dancing Past Midnight

* Default Outfit

Ryuga wears a polo shirt. He also wears diamond earrings.

* School Winter Outfit
* School Summer Outfit
* Winter Outfit
* Summer Outfit
* Halloween Outfit
* Christmas Outfit
* Featherman Outfit

Ryuga dresses up as **Green Albatross**, a member of Phoenix Featherman Legacy.

## Battle Quotes

* *"That's right! Who's the best?" (Hitting Weak Point)*
* *"Crush them, Balor!/Anansi, smash!" (Summoning Persona)*
* *"Wait, what?!" (Fails to Eliminate Enemy)*
* *"Oh, screw you!" (Enemy Blocks attack)*
* *"Nuh-uh!" (Dodging enemy attack)*
* *"That's it! Now I'm angry!" (Recover from Down/Dizzy)*
* *"Could it be...?" (Prompting All-Out Attack)*
* *"Oh. Well, you're the boss." (Declining All-Out Attack)*
* *"That's what I'm talking about!" (Performing All-Out Attack)*
* *"You're screwed!" (During All-Out Attack)*
* *"No surprises here!" (Battle Won)*
* *"That's awesome!" (Level Up)*

**Victory Quotes**

## Symbolism

**Fantasy character trope: The noble thief**

* *The thief, also called the rogue, is portrayed in classical literature as an anti-hero who acts based on personal interest rather than a common good. Thieves are often motivated by money and notoriety. Common enemies of the rogue are members of law enforcement.*
* Ryuga has an actual criminal record, with his most common crime being basic theft. Despite his actions, Ryuga is a good person who is struggling against a cruel society.
* One of Ryuga's motivations for his criminal activity is to get attention in order to expose the corrupt orphanage he is fighting against.
* The Shadow Swap Ryuga deals with is one belonging to the student council president, a high ranking member of educational society for a student.

**The Chariot Arcana**

*The Chariot Arcana is associated with those who are passionate and overcome life's obstacles with raw determination. The positive aspects of the Chariot include ambition, confidence, drive, triumph, and vengeance. The negative aspects of the Chariot include presumption, trouble, dispute, and defeat.*

Like previous Chariot Arcana characters in Persona, Ryuga is a passionate and driven individual who tries his hardest at everything. He wishes to live up to his father's legacy in a way only he can and will never take no for an answer. His weakness is that his passion makes him hard-headed and stubborn. He also is a troublemaker who has permanently ruined his reputation in his attempts to help others.

## Etymology

**Ryuga** is a Japanese masculine given name whose meaning depends on the kanji being used. Here, his name means "I am a dragon". Other possible meanings include "noble one", "dragon fang", and "imperial joy".

**Ishimori** is a Japanese surname most commonly spelled with kanji meaning "stone forest".

## Trivia

* Ryuga is heavily reminiscent of Kanji Tatsumi from *Persona 4* and Junpei Iori from *Persona 3*.