Kanji Tatsumi

**Kanji Tatsumi** is a playable character from *Persona 4*. He is a first-year student at Yasogami High School in Inaba and known to many as a notorious delinquent since middle school.

## Design

Kanji is the tallest member of the Investigation Team. He has a bleached-blond sweptback crewcut with a widow's peak, gray eyes (blue in the animation), with a scar above his left eye. He wears many piercings, metal jewelry, and under his school uniform a black sweater with a skull-and-crossbones design. He also wears shaded glasses in battle. On days off, he instead wears a black jacket, and in the summer he discards his jacket and dons a black tank top with flaming skull design. At the campout he wears his P.E. suit fashioned similarly to his winter uniform.

His character art features tattoos on his left arm. However, the tattoos are absent in certain costumes, like when he goes shirtless, or dresses like Marilyn Monroe during the school festival.

During the winter in *Persona 4 Golden*, he wears a snow suit, a black beanie, a maroon pullover, a black winter jacket, black gloves, tan pants, and black shoes with red lines. During the True Ending epilogue, it is revealed that his hair is naturally black and wears glasses, but decides to return his hair back to blond after being made fun of at the end of *Persona 4 The Golden Animation*.

In the anime, his hair is more blond than the game. His design also features ear cuffs on his right ear, as well another ear piercing. A similar design is featured in *Persona 4 Arena*, although it's the other way around.

In *Persona 4 The Golden Animation*, his sweater is dark purple instead of black.

In *Persona 4: Dancing All Night*, he retains his Yasogami school uniform, but wears his jacket around his waist. He also wears black sneakers with flames on them, a dark gray tank top with *1+3* in black writing, and a yellow scarf around his head.

## Personality

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

From the start, he was known as a delinquent. When he was in middle school, he destroyed a biker gang and his notorious fame as a wild person spread to every corner of the countryside town. Although people mistake him as a member of a biker gang or as someone who likes violence, he actually does not have even the tiniest inclination to be violent. When he strongly denies the side of him which enjoys "feminine" hobbies like sewing or knitting is pushed to the extreme, it unexpectedly established his position as a juvenile delinquent. He drapes his school uniform over his shoulders in a punk-ish style to emphasize the atmosphere he wishes to embody. He acts out against any authority figure, but speaks politely to the protagonist and his other seniors. However, when he gets flustered and wants to threaten people effectively regardless of the circumstances, he occasionally gets into fights and scraps. Despite his seemingly rough personality, it is often due to misunderstandings. For example, he once went after a rowdy biker gang, but only to stop them from disturbing his mother. He obeys his strict curfew or his mother will make a fuss.

His father is deceased. Before Kanji's father died, he told Kanji, "If you're a man, you have to become strong." 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. At the beginning of *Persona 4*, Kanji has no known friends.

Compared to the rest of the team, Kanji tends to be a bit slow on the uptake. However, he is straightforward and decisive. Through the game he realizes that his impulsive actions can drag others down, and that he can balance that by instead giving them his support.
Kanji and his mother run a textile shop, which is frequented by the Amagi Inn staff. For this reason, not only is he adept at sewing and knitting, he is passionate about these activities. 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. When it comes to crafts, Kanji is unrivaled. Kanji really wants to join his school's the Sewing Club, but felt that he might frighten the other club members. He can be seen standing the Sewing Club classroom, although he has made the Sewing Club members nervous. On his online profile, he is part of the social groups "Let's Sewing," "Knitting Cafe" and "I Like Hawaiian Quilts."
In addition to that, in the social link event with Naoki Konishi it was revealed that the 'super yummy croquettes Kanji's mom made' which he had 10 years ago was actually made by the young Kanji. In other words, not only is Kanji good at crafts and sewing, he's also a decent cook. On his online profile, he is part of the social group "Delicious Shops In Inaba." He is a huge fan of popsicles and animal crackers, and is searching for the ultimate secret animal cracker: the penguin.

There are also implications that Kanji is a clean freak since he has a neurotic personality and is obsessed with details.

He has a fondness for cute things, particularly animals, as he is shown to keep many stuffed toys and takes a particular liking towards Koromaru. He also likes reindeer.

At the start of the game, Kanji is scared of partaking in any potentially "feminine" interests, due to the bullying he has faced from girls, calling him homophobic slurs such as "queer" and questioning his masculinity. When Kanji tried painting, a relatively gender-neutral hobby, he was even told "painting is so not you." Kanji compensates with a tough, hypermasculine facade in order to avoid ridicule and rejection, and he hides his interests. His Social Link reveals that acting tough has often caused a chain of trouble for Kanji, and he wonders how to prevent such things from escalating. In his 10th Social Link Rank, Kanji realizes that the solution is to try to make others "understand" him, something which he never attempted and something he hopes will prevent future misunderstandings.
He is terrified of having the secrets he has kept for so long - his likes and his true nature - revealed and he suspects that he really does have a "feminine" heart. As a result, on the other side of the TV, a dazzling world of love between men was created. Shadow Kanji is portrayed as flamboyantly homosexual, and Kanji claims his Shadow self really *is* him in his 10th Social Link. Kanji's ambiguous sexuality becomes a running joke throughout the game and its surrounding media such as the anime, much to his frustration and embarrassment.

Even after his friends have accepted his long-standing inner conflicts, his likes and hobbies, and the him who represents all those things, he still feels unsettled at times. By the end of the game, Kanji acknowledges a deeper acceptance and understanding of stereotypically "feminine" and "masculine" interests in his Social Link. Whether or not Kanji is heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual is a subject of fan debate as there is evidence for all three, although Kanji points out that his sexual orientation should not matter about him: his issue is his fear of rejection and not receiving acceptance, as well as his doubts and insecurities about his identity.

Despite his ambiguous sexual orientation, Kanji implies an interest in Naoto, sometimes blushing at her, even from before it was revealed she was female.

## Gameplay

#### Play Style

Kanji is a grappler character with multiple options at nearly all ranges, but many of his options suffer from specific flaws, as well as generally having a hard time fighting keep away characters on a consistent level. He has very slow movement options, his run has a noticeable startup, he has a very wide stance and Take-Mikazuchi is very huge. His moves often force him to commit to doing a specific action, especially if it involves his Persona. If he whiffs these moves, Kanji may be taking a lot of damage due to the recovery of such moves. And while he can deal with opponents on his own, if he suffers a Persona Break, he loses some of his most powerful defensive and offensive tools.

To compensate, he has the highest health in the game and incredible damage potential, allowing him to come out of the toughest of pinches with what few hits he is able to land. What's more, his Cruel Attack (Bastard Attack in JPN) can lead to some interesting mixups. Should Kanji be put on the offense, it is possible to score massive amounts of damage from several types of resets and grab linking with his command throws. It becomes especially dangerous when Kanji manages to shock his opponent making his approach that much easier.

Kanji's leitmotif/theme is known as "A Pure-Hearted Beast."

## Battle Quotes

### *Persona 4*

Quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91xsySidfmM

* *"C'mere, Take-Mikazuchi!"* (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"Crush 'em, Rokuten Maou!"*(Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"Go, Takeji Zaiten!"*(Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
* *"Here goes ... Persona!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Crushin' time!"*(Using Persona skill)
* *"Hehe, come on down!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Lay down and die already!"*(Attack doesn't kill enemy)
* *"Damn, it ain't going down!"* (Enemy survives attack)
* *"Damn, couldn't finish it!"*(Enemy survives attack)
* *"Out of my sight, punks!"* (Battle ends)
* *"Underestimate me, and this is what you get!"* (Battle ends)
* *"Barely a warm-up."*(Battle ends)
* *"Alright, powered up!"*(Level up)
* *"I'll give as much as I got, dammit."* (Recover from Down/Dizzy)
* *"Hehe, Persona!"* (Using Persona skill)
* *"Another Level, gotta keep at it!"* (On Level Up)
* *"Just say the word and it's go time!"*(Requesting All-Out Attack)
* *"We can smash 'em all! Let's do it!"*(Requesting All-Out Attack)
* *"Now's our chance for a beatdown!"* (Requesting All-Out Attack)
* *"It's my turn! You gotta let me do this!"* (Requesting Follow-Up Attack)
* *"Yo yo! Let me at 'em!"*(Requesting Follow-Up Attack)
* *"Armed and ready!"* (After confirming All-Out Attack)
* *"Bring it on!"*(Performing All-Out Attack)
* *"I live for this part!"*(Performing All-Out Attack)
* *"Have at it!"*(Performing All-Out Attack)
* *"Suck it!"*(Performing Critical Attack)
* *"C'mon, don't be a killjoy!"*(After denying All-Out Attack)
* *"Yo, mind if I kick a little ass here?"* (Follow-Up Attack)
* *"Hehe, you ready for this?"*(After confirming Follow-Up Attack)
* *"I'll send you to hell!"* (Performing Follow-Up Attack)
* *"Go, Yosuke-senpai!"*(Cheering on Yosuke)
* *"Awesome, Naoto!"*(Cheering on Naoto)
* *"Tch, you mess with the bull, you get the horns!"* (Recovering from down/dizzy)
* *"I ain't gonna fall behind!"* (After MC levels up)
* *"Look out!"*(Shielding MC from mortal blow)
* *"There we go..."*(Performing Help Recover on MC)
* *"You alright?"*(Performing Help Recover on Chie)
* *"Eat this!"* (Scoring a Critical Hit)
* *"Get bent!"*(Scoring a Critical Hit and Follow-Up Attack)
* *"Amagi-senpai's seriously cool!"* (Cheering on Yukiko)
* *"Man, she is unreal!"*(Cheering on Yukiko)
* *"Go to town, Senpai!"* (Cheering on MC)
* *"Cheers!"* (Being Healed)
* *"Sorry..."* (Being Healed)

### *Persona 4 Golden*

* *"Lame!"* (After evading)
* *"Pathetic!*" (After evading)
* *"Let's do this in style!"* (Just before Rise assists an All-Out Attack)
* *"Tch, like I'd say no!"* (Just before Rise assists an All-Out Attack)
* *"I'm here! Let's do this, Senpai!"*(Prompting Cavalry Attack)
* *"This is how a man does it!"* (When performing the skill The Man's Way)
* *"Better not fall for me."* (When performing the skill The Man's Way)
* *"The name's Kanji Tatsumi!*" (When performing the skill The Man's Way)
* *"Say your prayers!"* (Normal attack hits weakness or critical)
* *"Consider the trash taken out."* (Battle won in Gekkou Uniform)
* *"Get lost!*" (Battle won in Gekkou Uniform)
* "*Phoenix Rangers Featherman R!*" (Battle won in Neo Featherman Suit)
* "*That's a win for Feather Falcon!*" (Battle won in Neo Featherman Suit)

### *Persona 4 Arena*

Quotes (English): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSyjMCAI1i4

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

* *"What the hell do they mean? Beefcake?"* (in reference to his title)
* *"Deep in the realm of romance!"* (E3 trailer)
* *"So, you want a beating."* (Entrance)
* *"Outta my way, punk...you're in my way? You're going down, too!"*(Intro)
* *"Let's get this man-on-man fight started!"*(vs. Akihiko)
* *"This girl can be pretty scary..."*(vs. Yukiko)
* *"Not a bad opponent!"*(vs. Yosuke)
* *"You'll make a nice punching bag!"*(vs. Teddie)
* *"O-Oh..it's you..." (*vs. Naoto)
* *"I let my guard down."*(Getting hit by Naoto)
* *"Dammit I can't concentrate!"*(Combo ending vs. Naoto)
* *"Hold it right there!"*(While performing Added Cruel Attack move)
* *"Don't just lie there!"*(While performing Added Cruel Attack move)
* *"This'll hurt!"*(While performing *This'll Hurt!* move)
* *"Stab 'em!"* (While performing *This'll Hurt!* move)
* *"Gotcha! Go down!"* (While performing *Gotcha!* move)
* *"I see ya! Thunder time!"*(While performing *Gotcha!* move)
* *"Take that!"* (While performing *Bet Ya Can't Take This!* move)
* *"Bet Ya Can't Take This!"*(While performing *Bet Ya Can't Take This*! move)
* *"Don't underestimate me, goddamit!"*(Upon reaching Awakening Mode)
* *"Hope you're ready!"* (When hit while performing Reversal Action, What a Pain!)
* *"Alright! One more! Smackdown!"*(While performing super move, Ass-Whoopin', Tatsumi-Style)
* *"Better don't move! Blast off!"*(While performing super move, Ass-Whoopin', Tatsumi-Style)
* *"Time to end this! Come! Crush 'em to dust!"* (While performing super move, Burn to a Crisp!!)
* *"This'll finish you off! Nowhere to run! Thunder! Burn to a Crisp!!"* (While performing super move, Burn to a Crisp!!)
* *"Let's finish this!"*(Initiating Instant Kill, The Man Series: Brofist)
* *"Get ready to hurt! Here it goes, dammit! Feel my power! Right!"* (While performing Instant Kill)
* *"Thank you, Senpai!"* (Defeated by Yu in any match)
* *"I'm done for..."*(Defeated by Yukiko in any match)
* "\*shouts in pain\* Damm..." (Continue?)
* "I ain't running in like that!" (Retry)
* *"You cleared it already?! I knew I had skills, but...you surprised me! Come back again, okay? I had fun lettin' you watch my back."*(Spoken to you after beating Score Attack with him)

#### Victory Quotes

**General**

* Sorry, I won't lose a one-on-one match!
* My Persona'll make the skies rumble!
* Haaaaah! I win! Wait... whoa! My nose's bleedin' again from all the excitement...
* You picked the fight. All I did was accept. No hard feelings, got it?

**Character Specific**

* Yu Narukami: Heh! Thanks for the match, Senpai!
* **Kanji Tatsumi**: Hehe, go me... I was pretty tough!
* Teddie: Dammit... That Ted had to go bouncin' around like that... How much more adorable can he be!?
* Naoto Shirogane: Hey, I went for you with everything I had. It was, like, you know, my way of being courteous... and showin' respect for you and stuff.
* Mitsuru Kirijo: That fur looks amazing... U-Um... could I feel it?
* Akihiko Sanada: Whoa, check out those muscles! Even a man like me can't help but stare... Wait, no t-that came out wrong! I - Damn it!
* Labrys: Well, I've had my Persona for a while, so I can't let someone who just got hers beat me. Hm? Wait a sec, how old are you?
* Shadow Labrys: Did you let it all out? Don't worry, we're here to help you carry your burdens.

### *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*

#### Victory Quotes

General
* Isn't it too early to be napping? Or what, are you too freaked out?
* There you have it! The true strength of Kanji Tatsumi, a real man!
* Sorry, but I ain't gonna lose in a fistfight. Though, y'know... to be honest, I'm impressed.
* You thought you could beat me with guts like that? You gotta set your teeth like you're about to die!

Character Specific
* Yu Narukami: Someday, I'll be more man than you! Thanks for everything today!
* Yosuke Hanamura: Say what you want, man, but you're strong too... No wonder you're Senpai's partner.
* Yukiko Amagi: Yukiko-senpai... You were serious about this, weren't you? I mean, I'm still sizzling in places.
* Naoto Shirogane: H-Hey... I didn't hurt you too much, did I? Wait, I-I didn't mean that in a weird way, got it!?
* Aigis: A good scrap with a robot's interesting too! It does make my hands kinda sore, though...
* Yukari Takeba: That outfit... is it that cosplay stuff? The stitching's done pretty well for that...
* Mitsuru Kirijo: I don't know Kirijo from Jojo, but I definitely sensed your guts!
* Akihiko Sanada: Your true man's fists were heavy... Please let me challenge you again some time!
* Junpei Iori: That was close! I underestimated him 'cause of his looks and almost ended up goin' down... No wonder you're one of Akihiko-san's buds!
* Shadow Kanji: Seriously, what a bastard! Quit showing up already!

### Persona Q

* *"It's awesome fighting next to you, senpai!"* (Battle start, with P4 protagonist)
* *"Yeah, that's right! Scram!"* (Victory)
* *"Good one, Leader!"* (Victory, when by P3 protagonist)
* *"All right, let's keep going!"* (Result)

### *TMNT X Pokemon*

* "Don't piss me off!"
* "For a girl, you're quite strong."
* (blushes) "Shut up!"
* "I know you're not teasing me!"
* "I'm gonna kick your ass!"

## TMNT X Pokemon

Kanji makes clothes for the others such as scarves, gloves, and many more. During missions, he works with Ryuko, Katsuragi, and Akane Owari.

## Trivia

* One of his voice actors (Matthew Mercer, not Troy Baker) called Kanji's character "lovely."[7]
* At the entrance of Naoto's dungeon, Kanji mentions he used to watch *Phoenix Ranger Featherman R* all the time as a kid.
* Kanji made the "Alice" costume that Teddie wore, showing Kanji's talent and expertise when it comes to sewing.[8]
* The Persona 4 Official Design Works lists his birth year as 1995.[9] It is likely this is an error which is fixed in *Persona 4 Arena*.
* Despite the *Persona 4* guidebook and *Persona 4 Arena* saying he is 183cm, the notes for *Persona 4 The Golden Animation*say he is 185cm.
* Kanji's outfit in the *"Miss" Yasogami High Beauty Pageant*resembles Marilyn Monroe.
* During one of the Emperor social link scenes in the game, Kanji mentions "A pink alligator, like in that storybook," referring to the story Akinari Kamiki completed at the end of the Sun Arcana social link in *Persona 3*.
* When Kanji equips the Gekkoukan High uniform, his victory pose and lines mirror Akihiko. This is fitting because they are of the same Arcana (Emperor), as well as the second male party member in the game.
* During the Shadow Naoto battle in *Persona 4 The Animation*, Kanji is the only male who doesn't get hit by Galgalim Eyes.
* In *Persona 4 Golden*, Kanji didn't have a tattoo on his arm during the summer beach swimming. Presumably meaning that it's a temporary tattoo.
* In both *Persona 4 Arena Ulitmax* and *Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth*, Kanji has the tendency of breaking the fourth wall.
* Exclusively to P4 Route of *Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth*, if the player choose the left path of Inaba Pride Exhibit Third Floor event, while being chased by Macho Man FOE, Kanji puts his hands to the screen and directly said, "Wha--Hey--Huh--By myself!?," realizing he has to face the FOE by himself.
* His Persona motifs are designed to have a large body structure but with a small head. This reflects how Kanji rarely relies on knowledge and focuses more on physical strength.
* In *Persona 4 Golden*, Kanji's name is accidentally typed as 'Kanju' when initiating a certain rank of his social link.

### *Persona 4 Arena* and *Ultimax*

* In *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*, Kanji makes a reference to *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* in his victory quote against Mitsuru.
* As one of his victory poses in *Persona 4 Arena Ultimax*, Kanji notices the player and then throws his folding chair directly to the screen.
* In *Persona 4 Arena*, his Bastard Attack/Cruel Attack special is based on his follow up attack (Atomic Press/Kanji no Kougeki; translation being Kanji's Attack), while his Tatsumi-Ryuu Kenka Sappou (Tatsumi-Style Rumble Ending Act; localized as Ass Whoopin', Tatsumi-Style) SP move is based on his critical attack.
* In *Persona 4 Arena*, the SEES members comment that Kanji reminds them of Akihiko. Along with the two being lightning-wielding brawlers, the two are both of the Emperor Arcana which may symbolize their similar personalities. However, in *Persona Q*, the SEES members comment on similarities between him and Shinjiro.
	+ Ken however, still indirectly compares him to Shinjiro due to him taking a hit for Ken.

### Appearances in Other Media

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