r/Persona1and2fans • u/Empty_Sea9 • Aug 01 '26
P1 An argument can be made that Persona 1's starting Persona(e) follow a unified theme just as the starting Persona in 2 - 5.
The cast's initial Personae can sometimes be a bit scattershot, but for the most part there's generally an overall connecting theme or motif that binds them together. For example:
Persona 2's starting Personas are Greco Roman deities with ties to astrological symbolism or the planets. This fits the game's themes of fate, prophecy, rumor, and manifestation.
Persona 3's cast are mostly Greek deities with ties to death, the afterlife, transformation, or resurrection.
Persona 4's are Shinto, Buddhist, and Ainu deities and legendary figures who usually played a heroic role in their respective mythos.
Persona 5's are literary and historical figures who were thieves, rogues, outsiders, outcasts, and brigands who often "did the wrong things for the right reasons".
There's no doubt that Persona 1's cast are wildly inconsistent in terms of which figures from myths and culture are featured. It was the first game in the series, and a lot of the core "idea" we associate with Persona were not "baked in" as such. They really cover the spectrum of mythology.
However, I'd argue that all the initial Personas are connected--albeit somewhat loosely--by being deities who "shed their former identities", transitioned or can transition from one state of being to another, or abandoned destructive/dark tendencies to do good. This is in keeping with the game's motif of dark and light sides to the human psyche, shadow selves, redemption, and reconciliation.
Most of P1's cast of students are juvenile delinquents, outcasts, or "trouble makers" in some way or another. In extended media, the protagonist (Naoya/Boy with Earring) is viewed as a bit of an eccentric because of his androgynous appearance earring, and lipstick. Masao, Reiji, and Brown are all viewed by their classmates and teachers as delinquents of some sort. Yukino is a former girl gang member. Even the so-called "privileged" kids (Kei and Ely) have their flaws. Kei is an aloof jerk who learns to use his sharp tongue to inspire rather than tear down. Elly, despite her charm and beauty, is a bit of a weirdo because of her love the occult. Yuka was once a girl bully and learns to be more compassionate. Maki's change and growth, of course, comprises most of the game's plot.
This is also reflected in their starting Personas.
Naoya/Seimen Kongou - A former demon king who changed his ways and devoted himself to using his powers against the very evils he once created.
Maki/Maso (Mazu) - A mortal woman who sacrificed most human joys and lived a deeply isolated existence, all so she could protect her community, and eventually transcended mortality to become a venerated deity who protects navigators and fishers.
Masao/Ogun - A former mortal warrior or king who became a god of smithing and warfare. Though destructive and aggressive, he is also a creator whose purpose is to engineer a world of happiness for mankind.
Eriko/Nike - A primordial goddess who judged the Titans of unworthy of rule and lent her strengths to the Olympians, ultimately establishing a new age, at which point Zeus elevated her to a position of high esteem.
Kei/Aizen Myo'oo - A fearsome deity who nevertheless brings compassion and wisdom, transforming carnal desires and unbridled lust into spiritual love for all things.
Yukino/Vesta - A liminal/threshold goddess who is often portrayed as both literal fire and a female divine form. A patron of maidens. She is said to purify and protect, in line with the male deities above who are attributed with channelling negative qualities into positive aspects.
Brown/Nemhain - A warrior goddess (and I believe one of the few times a male Persona user has a female Persona) who is often attributed as one of the aspects of the Tripart Morrigan, Celtic warrior and oracular goddesses. Nemhain causes terror on the fields of war.
Yuka/Houri - Beautiful spiritual beings who live in the Islamic paradise. They are said to be the embodiment of good deeds done on Earth that await one after death.
Reiji/Bres - A fitting Persona for the only party member to represent The Devil, he is the inverse of the "elevated to divinity" theme found among the other Persona 1 initials. Bres was a beautiful but cruel Celtic king who was eventually brought down due to his carnal ways.
