Ren Amamiya

## Voices

**Ren Amamiya** (雨宮蓮, *Amamiya Ren*) is a transfer student at Shujin Academy. At the beginning, he has little to no power or influence in the world and is restrained by the rules of the system he was born into.

However, beneath his quiet demeanor is a strong-willed Wild Card leading the Phantom Thieves and capable of exploiting the Metaverse to affect reality. To his teammates, his code name is **Joker**, and to the residents of the Velvet Room he is known as the **Trickster**. The protagonist is the leader of the rebellious Phantom Thieves of Hearts, a group which aims to change society by touching the hearts of people and performing illegal heists.

## Appearance

Ren appears as a tall young man of slim to athletic build who is considered to be very cute with an androgynous appearance. He has a pale complexion with unkempt, wavy black hair that falls over his eyes. His eyes are gray and have long eyelashes. Despite his messy hair and slouched posture, he wears all of his clothes primly and properly.

For most of his civilian outfits, he also wears a set of large black glasses. The glasses are later revealed to be for aesthetic purposes and to help him maintain an unassuming image, as he did not need them before nor after his probation. However, when his glasses are removed, his eyes are revealed to be sharp and give off an intense gaze.

In *Persona 5 Royal*, Morgana outright confirms that the protagonist wears fake glasses when the protagonist tries to interact with a store called "two windows" in Kichijoji. In *Royal*'s true ending (bar the very end of the post-credits scene) and during the events *Persona 5 Strikers*, the protagonist still wears them.

His default outfit is his winter school uniform, which consists of a red-buttoned black blazer with Shujin's emblem on the pocket, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar and slim red pants with a plaid pattern. It is shown in Episode 5 of *Persona 5 The Animation* that he wears black suspenders under his blazer. His uniform is worn with black, laced dress boots. During the summer, he wears the school regulation polo shirt, albeit untucked and sans the suspenders.

On his days off during the winter, he wears an unbuttoned black blazer over a black-trimmed cream sweater, blue jeans and brown, laced oxfords. After his "death," he temporarily swaps his sweater for a light gray hooded sweatshirt as a disguise. During the summer, he wears an open white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a black short-sleeved T-shirt, blue jeans and dark, laced shoes. His loungewear consists of a black long-sleeved shirt and olive sleep pants.

As Joker, his outfit consists of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, cinched black pants, brown-black winklepickers boots with taller heels and a pair of red gloves. Over his eyes is a white, birdlike domino mask with black designs around the eyes reminiscent of full eyeliner and sharp lashes. His expression and demeanor are also markedly different and there's a strong air of confidence to him compared to his usual self.

During visits to the Velvet Room, he wears a black and white prisoner uniform.

In his flashback, he is wearing a black and white baseball shirt with the numbers "1797" over the front, gray jeans and black, laced shoes.

During *Persona 5 Royal*'s third semester, on his days off and during the night he wears a black turtleneck sweater, a long gray coat, dark blue jeans and brown, laced dress boots. On school days, he wears a black hooded overcoat with Shujin's logo emblazoned on the front and a thick blue scarf.

In *Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight*, Ren Amamiya wears the Shujin Academy uniform, though he replaces the turtleneck with a black shirt with a zero on the front with "DANCE" written on it. His jacket is left open and he wears red gloves and high-tops with black laces. A red rag is also found hanging out from his right pants pocket. Around his neck are black and red headphones.

In *Persona 5 Strikers*, he continues to wear his glasses, though they are no longer opaque and his eyes can be seen. His civilian outfit consists of a short-sleeved black polo shirt with a white collar, gray jeans, a brown belt and gray converse sneakers. He also wears a brown-banded watch on his left arm. While at the festivals, he wears a black yukata with a red sash. At the beach in Okinawa, he wears gradient black-to-teal swim trunks.

## Personality

As per tradition of the *Megami Tensei* franchise, he is a silent protagonist, whose personality is based on the player's actions and decisions. However, he appears to have more established traits than any of the previous protagonists. His dialogue options range from somewhat indifferent to outright cheeky. The game allows for quite a number of playful, snarky or audacious answers, including teasing his friends. He also taunts his enemies like the famed Arsène Lupin. In the prologue scene, he remains cocky and confident even when his life is in danger. He also has a flair for showing off and making dramatic decisions, such as exiting by jumping through the stained glass windows of the Casino, much to the amazement (and mild annoyance) of the other Phantom Thieves. This is even reflected in gameplay, as when he is turned into a mouse, he makes a flamboyant hop after escaping a battle.

Munehisa Iwai says if everyone in the world held the same code of honor as the protagonist, guns would be obsolete. Sadayo Kawakami notes that, by opposing Suguru Kamoshida, he has a strong sense of justice despite his bad reputation. Shinya Oda states that he made him realize "To be cool, you have to live life in your own way." and that's the type of person he's striving to become. Hifumi Togo notes, while playing shogi with him, that she senses he has a "gambler's spirit." Sojiro Sakura says the protagonist has an assertive nature, to which the rest of the thieves agree. During the climax of the Niijima Palace heist, Ryuji Sakamoto states that despite being quiet, once he has made up his mind, he won't take no for an answer. Goro Akechi says although the protagonist is quiet, he possesses the courage and determination to take action, and has a free heart, despite his social standing and how others view him, and that he never stops choosing his own path. Morgana perceives potential in the protagonist, and although the protagonist shrugs it off as being merely lucky, Morgana's assertion solidifies, exclaiming that there's definitely something special about him, dodging everything the enemies throw at him like it's his destiny.

His profile states that he appears quiet and well-mannered, but this behavior is a profound ruse that hides the heart of a rebellious trickster. He is extremely resistant to rigid and dogmatic forms of control-based authority and order. He has received much criticism, insults, opposition and even death threats for his rebellious nature, whether it be his targets, school staff, disapproving comments left on the Phantom Aficionado Website, etc. Suguru Kamoshida calls him a "defiant piece of garbage." However, despite all this, the Phantom Thieves have also received a good deal of support.

In *Persona 5 The Animation The Day Breakers*, he can easily be perceived as an unassuming student during his daily life. He appears somewhat introverted and absent-minded, perhaps as part of his "profound ruse" or in being mentally preoccupied with the Phantom Thieves' activities, as he was shown not paying attention in class. In truth, he is highly resourceful and plans ahead, such as using Café Leblanc as bait to obtain evidence behind Kazuya Makigami's crimes, as well as obtaining the false alarm system from Iwai. He also has a reckless side, as seen when Ryuji and Ann question his bold decision to use Leblanc as bait despite numerous dangers, including the risk of Sojiro finding out. In response, the protagonist simply says he'll cross that bridge when he comes to it. Like the other Phantom Thieves, he fully believes in their mission to reform their targets, even taking pride in his work as he declares to Kazuya that he has stolen the arrogance in his heart.

In the process of designing characters for *Persona 5*, Shigenori Soejima imagined the protagonist as the type who plans things but does not talk about them. Jun Fukuyama, his Japanese voice actor, described the protagonist as the type of person you cannot get to know easily. However, he also says the protagonist has the characteristics of a leader and that the other members of the Phantom Thieves trust him deeply.

As noted by Ann, Yusuke and Hifumi, the protagonist has immense kindness as he would do what he can to help people such as his Confidants. Unlike previous *Persona* protagonists, the catalyst for his Persona awakening is specific (his desire to help people in need). Arsène notes this, and provokes him to think about whether the resolve the protagonist showed in the past was valid or not. This, in turn, proves instrumental to his awakening, as it is the basis for his rebellious will, allowing him to form a contract with Arsène and summon him.

Hints of his true desires come from the new *Royal* ending where Maruki develops an ideal reality for him by accepting his offer. Similar to Yu Narukami in the *Persona 4 the Animation*, he holds some sadness by the fact that he has to leave after his probation ends. His bonds with his fellow Phantom Thieves and Sojiro become the main center for his ideal reality as he remains living at Café Leblanc, finishing his high school at Shujin, and still maintaining his friendships with everyone, including Yoshizawa and Akechi. Unlike the others who seem to blissfully accept the realities Maruki gave them, the protagonist may at least be aware of the choice he made, but has chosen to turn a blind eye.

In *Royal* as well, more glimpses of the protagonist's personality are shown, specifically at the end of the new final boss fight, when he desperately risks everything to save the life of Takuto Maruki, a great friend of his despite their differences, and Maruki notes how "bright and honest" the protagonist's eyes are, meaning that he still strives to keep moving forward and helping people.

In the manga adaptation, Akira Kurusu is not silent. He comes off as initially quiet and awkward while showing his obvious discomfort and confusion with the crowded streets of Tokyo. He is also severely disheartened and saddened when none of the students, save for Ryuji who he helped earlier in Kamoshida's Palace, want anything to do with him because of his record. Like in the game, Akira is quick to catch on to certain things, showing himself to be quite observant.

In *Persona 5 the Animation*, Ren Amamiya comes off as very quiet and polite. After the court's decision, he becomes visibly depressed and, initially, becomes hesitant to help Sakamoto in their first encounter with Kamoshida. After awakening to his Persona, however, Ren is more willing to help someone. When he bumped into Shiho, he didn't hesitate to pick up her papers and return them to her. He always seems to look out for his companions. When spying on the new track coach, Ryuji asked why he was doing this and Ren responds that seeing him mope around bothers him. Ryuji also notes that, while in the Metaverse, Ren is different, being very aggressive.

Similar to Yu Narukami in the anime, Ren has something of a playful side. When meeting Morgana for the first time, he petted him, much to his embarrassment. Also, like in the game, Ren has a mischievous side, as shown when he calls Sakamoto by his last name after he called him by his new nickname, or when he tells Ann that she needs to strip "for justice." He can become socially awkward or uncomfortable when doing mischievous favors for others, as he's seen physically flustered during Operation Maid Watch. In later episodes, Ren has a subtle character development arc which leads to him being more confident and less shy and introverted. Justice and honor are very important to him, and after the Kaneshiro arc, he tends to show his defiant spirit more often and openly tells Akechi that he is a supporter of the Phantom Thieves, refusing his offer to become his assistant. Despite becoming more confident in the real world, he's never seen giving orders to the team.

While in the game the protagonist is seen as something of a showoff, the anime portrays Ren as a cold and logical tactician who tends to avoid risky decisions. As shown when he tells Morgana to delay the infiltration of Okumura's Palace as he thinks something isn't right with the sudden rise in fame of the Phantom Thieves. In later episodes, like the fight with Sae and the *Dark Sun...* special, Ren has a subtle character development shown in his dialogue during those fights, despite still keeping his silent persona in the real world (and even that seems to shatter when he finds out Shido's behind everything.) Ren actually takes pride in Sae's defeat and in the *Dark Sun...* OVA he becomes much more of a field leader (in the Metaverse, not the real world,) ordering the team how to handle opponents like Akechi and confronting the IT president and Akechi by himself. After Shido's defeat, Ren mocks him for losing, saying he's "not even in his league," and when he finds out that people still adore Shido after his change of heart, the silent facade Ren puts up in the real world shatters for a second time, with him screaming: "What the hell is happening!?"

In *Persona 5 Mementos Mission*, Ren is a similarly friendly, kind and observant person with a strong sense of justice like in other adaptations. The noticeable difference is Ren involved himself more in discussion while giving instructions directly to the rest of Phantom Thieves without anyone having to be his mouthpiece. He is persuasive, playing with people's interest to convince them to help him in his information gathering. When it comes down to it, Ren is willing to take a risk even if it means his identity may be exposed, such as not seeing any problem crossdressing to gather information. Despite this, he is modest about his looks; when he is offered to become a model, Ren refused because he wasn't comfortable standing out.

While Makoto Yuki's character arc was the central theme in *Persona 3 The Movie* and Yu's personality was openly shown from the very beginning of *Persona 4 The Animation*, *Persona 5 The Animation* tends to keep Ren mostly silent and focus more on the development of the other playable characters. A reason for this is the very little time that the anime dedicates to the Metaverse, where Ren's aggressive and defiant personality is openly shown. as opposed to the character interactions in the real world, where Ren is basically forced to be silent because of his criminal record.

In *Persona Q2*, the other party members comment on the P5 hero having many similarities with the P4 hero and the P3 hero. He is described as having the same courage as the P4 hero that he would do something reckless for the sake of his friends, and the same calmness and maturity as the P3 hero. They all unanimously agree that all three have the charisma to bring people together and feel completely at ease by their presence.