INFORMATION.

[quaesitum]

PLAYER
Name: Isabel
Age: 22
Personal Journal: irrigo
E-mail: unspeakingly@gmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: unspeakingly

CHARACTER
Character Name: Minako Arisato
Canon: Persona 3 Portable
Age: 17
Timeline: Post-P3P, after she becomes the Great Seal
If playing another character from the same canon, how will you deal with this? N/A

Personality:

Although Minako Arisato is a silent protagonist, she still has a base personality that is implied through her dialogue options, her actions throughout the game, and what other characters say about her. This provides enough of a scaffold to build upon with personal interpretation, as well as further traits drawn from her role in the game and its themes.

To contrast her with her male counterpart, she seems to be more talkative. She interjects in conversations more often, and there are less opportunities for her to select the infamous "..." choice in her dialogue options, which suggests that she isn't as inclined to stay quiet. Her available choices are often more enthusiastic and chipper than the Male MC's. She also doesn't have many angry or aggressive dialogue options throughout the game, so it's probably rare for her to snap at people or lose her temper, especially with friends. When people lash out at her, she tends to respond calmly; Junpei snapping at her because of his jealousy after the Shirakawa Blvd Shadow, or Yukari blowing up at her in frustration on the Yakushima trip, for example. One of the most notable incidents of her striking back at someone who lashed out at her is when Junpei shouts at her for having carried Death inside of her for ten years, to which she has the option of responding, "How could I have known?!"

Most of her dialogue tends to be blunt and honest, but in a good way; she isn't tactless, but she gets to the heart of things quickly. This isn't to say that she won't chat when she feels like it, but rather, it says that she's a good listener. She waits for the appropriate moment to contribute to a conversation, instead of trying to interrupt or speak over someone else, and she doesn't waste words when she's being relied on for advice. Outside of casual chatter, Minako always tries to choose her responses as they're needed, for the sake of the people who are relying on her for an answer.

Similar to the Male MC, Minako seems to be largely unfazed by the stranger and more horrific elements of the Persona 3 universe. When she first arrives in Iwatodai and experiences the Dark Hour, she barely even bats an eyelash at the changes to her surroundings, including the large coffins all over the place and the blood red water. She shoots herself with an Evoker without hesitation, even when she has never had its function explained to her, and with no knowledge of Personas. She tends to simply accept whatever she sees, and she deals with the more supernatural events in the game very calmly.

A number of things in P3P suggest that Minako is a kind, friendly, and likeable person. Firstly, many of her dialogue options are sympathetic towards other characters, and she seems to have a knack for understanding others. Secondly, other characters in the game often comment on her personality, and they seem to consider her to be a good person; they frequently mention how kind and dependable she is. The existence of her Social Links would also suggest a certain level of friendliness and likeability; she grows close to people easily, even those with a tendency to avoid bonds, and she always seems to be willing to give up her time for the sake of her friends, or even for strangers when they need help. No person's problems are too small for her to pay attention to. She also finds pleasure in simple things like cooking, or karaoke, or eating at a restaurant, especially when they're things done with friends.

All of Minako's Social Links are maxed out, and she treasures the bonds that she has formed with these people; she holds onto the special items that they give her in commemoration of their friendship with her, no matter how small they may be. Her greatest strength comes from those friendships, and her bonds even save her life in the final battle against Nyx, so it's safe to assume that she values her relationships quite a lot, and understands the importance of the bonds that people make; that is what a large part of her journey is about, after all.

The fact that Minako has her three stats maxed - Charm, Courage, and Academics - also says something about what kind of character she would be. Her Charm stat reflects that she is well-liked and popular among her peers, and not generally bothered by negativity directed at her. Her Courage stat allows her to take more forceful and assertive actions in-game when she needs to, and renders her almost entirely fearless. Her Academics stat not only reflects her booksmarts, but also the diligence that she had to demonstrate in order to raise that stat.

Early on in P3P, Minako is named the leader of S.E.E.S, and she retains that position throughout the entire game. Mitsuru was quick to give her the position, and allows her to keep it even when there are more experienced members on the team, and so it's likely that Minako demonstrates clear leadership abilities that make her a suitable candidate. She seems to be responsible, capable, and mature, able to handle command in combat and to balance her life between school, leisure, and Tartarus exploration. She isn't the type to buckle under stress or pressure, and she never once complains about her responsibilities or tries to give up on their mission to eliminate the Shadows, nor does she ever try to foist her position onto someone else, even when the situation takes unexpected bad turns. She also has the diligence and determination to carry on, and to encourage her friends to carry on with her, despite everything that is thrown at her; she isn't the type to take the easy way out, or to slack off.

Side-tracking from canon fact for a moment into the realm of personal interpretation (ooh scary), there are a few elements of Persona 3 that apply consistently to all other characters and to the game as a whole, and to me it doesn't seem unlikely that these things would also appear in Minako's characterisation, since she is the main character and all.

The first of those is the application of Tarot Arcana to characters and relationships. Minako's Arcana is the Fool. In the Tarot, this card generally represents new beginnings, impulse, being carefree, and having faith. The Fool heralds personal growth and tells the reader to cast off their doubts in favour of following their heart. It also signifies the start of a journey, the story of which is told by the other Arcana in the deck. In terms of characterisation, this could suggest that Minako is very much a "go with the flow" sort of person; that she addresses things as they arise, and doesn't worry too much about the distant future. She also seems to be somewhat impulsive and not afraid to trust her natural instinct or intuition, even when faced with something like a potential train crash. It could also be that there is some particular reason for her Fool's Journey, possibly focused on personal growth, which I will address in terms of memento mori shortly.

Her other Arcana trait is that she is the Wild Card, meaning she can hold multiple Personas at once and switch between them at will. A character's Persona is said to be a mask of sorts, or a façade that they use to face life's hardships; most characters only have one, which holds some kind of significant symbolism in relation to them. However, Minako's access to 170+ Personas, which she acquires through strengthening her bonds with others, suggests a certain amount of adaptability in her personality. It may be that she has many "masks", and she can adopt whichever is most appropriate for the person or situation that she is dealing with. The fact that she does this could also imply a desire to please or be liked, if she is going to such an extent just to face others. I wouldn't say that this tendency alters her personality drastically depending on the situation; just that she's quite attuned to others' interests and desires, and she is flexible in accommodating for them.

Persona 3's themes centre on depression, loss, and death. The meaning found in life and memento mori ("remember that you will die") also play a heavy role in the game. Taking that into consideration, I will address how I interpret and incorporate those important themes as an aspect of Minako's characterisation.

In a world of people hiding their struggles behind masks, and the hordes of those suffering from Apathy Syndrome throughout the city, Minako feels the heavy weight of depression, and has since her parents died during her childhood. It wouldn't be apparent to most; she isn't obvious about it like the Lost, instead keeping it to herself and putting up a façade. It isn't so much about secrecy or being a reserved person, but more that it simply isn't the kind of thing she would talk about to others.

While she is naturally sweet, friendly, and cheerful by nature, she also puts on an almost aggressively optimistic front in order to combat the negativity she sometimes struggles with internally. She does like to help others, but she also goes to an extreme in order to please others; the apathy that can come with depression causes her to feel a lot of guilt, as if she isn't as grateful for or as happy with her life as she should be. The ways in which her depression affects her makes her concerned that she may come across as uncaring, or a bad friend, and so she tries to balance out her guilt with action. If she shows how much she cares for her friends through her actions, then she is less worried about her feelings of apathy and exhaustion sometimes showing through. However, this doesn't define her entirely; it's just something that weighs on her mind quite a lot. When she's in high spirits, she has no such façade to worry about.

Another thing that is on her mind a lot, something that she isn't prone to be open about, is questioning the meaning or the purpose of her life. When the Great Seal is performed and Minako disappears briefly after Nyx's defeat, Ryoji mentions that she found the "answer to life's greatest question"; given the themes of the game, and the fact that the "meaning of life" is a question that comes up in her Social Link conversations quite a lot, it's likely that she had thought about it herself, and not come to a conclusion until her sacrifice. As for her thoughts on it - it isn't that she doesn't want to be alive, it's just that she frequently wonders what the point of it is. Minako also has a deep fear of loss, stemming from the death of her parents, although she is not afraid of her own death. Acknowledging and overcoming these issues could be the personal growth that is associated with her Fool Arcana. She comes to terms with all of this turmoil when she faces Nyx; she accepts the facts of mortality, and is at peace with her life so far. After being given the power to defeat Nyx by the bonds she has forged, hearing the voices of her friends giving her strength, she more fully understands the purpose of life, making the most of your time while you have it, and that death does not diminish the significance of a person's life. This is the conclusion of her Fool's Journey, heralding back to the common message of the Fool Arcana: "living in the moment".

Back to canon for one last piece! It ought to be a forgone conclusion that Minako is at least a little self-sacrificing; she devotes a lot of her time to her friends, helping them out with their problems as much as she can; she takes the time to talk to strangers and help them if she can; she takes on the responsibilities of being a member of S.E.E.S and exploring Tartarus without complaint. It's at the end of the game that you see how much Minako is really willing to sacrifice, though. She gives up her life without hesitation in the battle against Nyx, and not even to a peaceful end; as the Great Seal, her soul is bound in a sort of limbo, separating humanity's despair from Nyx's "salvation". This has been depicted (with the Male MC) as the soul being bound in barbed wire, suspended before a door to bar entry, which sounds unpleasant.

Not only does Minako give up her life in that battle, but she doesn't say a word to her friends as she slowly dies in the final days of her life; although her conversation with Aigis on Graduation Day seems to indicate that she remembers the battle with Nyx when the rest of them have forgotten, she doesn't make any attempt to remind them. She doesn't feel any bitterness about having to sacrifice her life, or expect anything in return for it. She's just grateful that her friends remembered everything in time for her to see them one last time, and she's happy to spend her very last moment surrounded by the people that she loves.

History:

persona 3 plot | character page

A few notes of headcanon + specifics in her playthrough:

• After the death of her parents, she lived with her grandparents on her mother's side. She never grew particularly close to them, and they were struggling to look after her in their condition around the time that P3P canon begins, which is why she went to live in the Iwatodai dorms.
• Maxed out all of her stats and S-Links; the only boy she romanced was Ryoji.
• Joined the volleyball team and the health committee.
• Didn't catch the boys in the hot springs on the Kyoto trip. (This is obviously the most important fact in the entire game.)
• Chidori came back to life.

Abilities:

Apart from high stamina, natural leadership abilities, and skill with a naginata, Minako has the ability to summon a Persona; in her case, as she is also the Wild Card, she can choose from up to 12 different Personas. She is able to form new ones from her Social Links,　either by winning them or fusion, but because there are no Shadows to defeat and she doesn't have access to the Velvet Room, she lacks that ability in Ruby City.

However, she has never summoned a Persona without her Evoker or outside of the Dark Hour, and so she has no experience with that (and wouldn't even know that it's possible, since her knowledge of Personas is fairly limited).

Relationships to Canon Characters: Close friends/team-mates with all of the S.E.E.S members from Persona 3, and the S-Links on the Female Route. Dated Ryoji Mochizuki when they were both alive.

First Person:

Musebox post.

Third Person:

... Huh. That was a pretty familiar situation.

It wasn't quite the same, but something about the train pulling into the station felt a lot like Minako's arrival in Iwatodai. There were other people around her, though, disembarking the train and milling about the station - and somehow, that surprised her more than anything. Because it had been a while since she had seen anyone else... hadn't it? It definitely felt that way. Besides, this was such a nostalgic scenario that she had almost expected to see coffins scattered about the station - but she gave her MP3 player a quick glance, and it wasn't even close to being midnight. Not that the Dark Hour would have made any more sense.

At least she was dressed in something. When she thought about it, she supposed that her uniform made sense, since it had been the last thing she was wearing before—

Before—

Minako stopped, frozen in the middle of the train station. The last thing she had been wearing, before... Right. Weird situations like this would have been just fine at any point earlier in her life, but this time - this was absolutely different to back then. She was supposed to be dead, after all. And it wasn't like she wouldn't be happy to be alive again, it was just that she didn't get any warning of this, and the Great Seal...

Holding back Nyx was her responsibility. It didn't matter whether she wanted to live or not, she couldn't think selfishly like that. And if something had gone wrong, then it was her responsibility to make sure it was righted, too.

There had been people to help her, the last time she had begun her journey - but here, there was no entrance to the Velvet Room that she could see, nor any other kind of guide to explain her sudden resurrection and relocation. No signs, no trail, no voice in her head. Nothing she could sense but her Personas, still held within her heart just as she remembered them from when she had last been among the living. Really, it was almost as if... the battle against Nyx had never happened. Which meant that she needed to get to the bottom of this, and fast.

Well, there may not have been a mysterious figure waiting to introduce her to this place, but there were still plenty of regular people wandering around, and that was more than good enough for Minako. She raised her voice and headed towards someone who didn't seem too preoccupied, a friendly smile on her face.

"Excuse me! Could I get some help, please?"