Persona 5’s VILLAINS are REAL (Japanese Context of each Palace Ruler)

In director Hashino’s own words, “Persona 5 is unabashedly Japanese.” So I’ll be highlighting the real life people, cases, and sociocultural issues that served to inspire every corrupt Palace Ruler in the game. I’ll also discuss uniquely Japanese concepts like “gaman” and “shikata ga nai,” and how they play a role in preventing people from challenging abusive authority. As someone of Japanese American heritage, fostering better cultural understanding and context when it comes to Persona games just means a lot to me. Timestamps: 0:00 Intro 1:29 Interviews w Hashino & Japan’s Confucian Values, Filial Piety 6:45 Kamoshida: Abuses in Secondary Education 14:06 Madarame: the Frauds tarnishing Japan’s art world 20:30 Kaneshiro: “Hangure“ vs. the Yakuza 27:31 Okumura: “Karoshi“ CEO turned politician 34:42 Shido: Shinzo, the Nationalists, and a “trail of bodies...“ 45:44 Gaman, shikata ga nai, and effects on “rebellion“ __________