Councillor (Arcana)

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The Councillor (顧問官, Komonkan) is an Arcana in Persona 5 Royal. It is an additional card not present in the original Persona 5's deck. Both it and the Magician Arcana share the number I1, although the Councillor card features an Arabic numeral 1 rather than Roman numeral I.

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Unlike the other Major Arcana, the Councillor Arcana is not a traditional Arcana in most tarot decks. It originates from the Grand Etteilla deck, created by French occultist Jean-Baptiste Alliette as the first tarot deck intended for cartomancy. In this deck, the card is numbered 1 and called Le Consultant (The [Male] Consultant). (Although the word "Councillor" does not share the same meaning in English, referring to a member of a council, the Arcana's name in other languages (including Japanese) can also refer to an advisory counselor or consultant.) The card has the upright meaning of "Ideal" and reversed meaning of "Wisdom", and features thick clouds parting to reveal the sun, meant to represent the very beginning of the creation of the universe. As the "male consultant", it is sometimes considered the equivalent to The Hierophant.

The Spanish tarot deck El Gran Tarot Esoterico[1] features "El Consultante" (The Consultant) as its version of the Magician Arcana, also numbered 1. However, this is likely a coincidence, with producer Kazuhisa Wada confirming that Maruki's arcana was taken from the Etteilla deck.[2]

Characters

List of Personas

Persona 5 Royal

Name Level
Kushi Mitama
12
Nigi Mitama
22
Decarabia
32
Ananta
44
Yatagarasu
57
Seiryu
62
Dionysus
71
Vohu Manah
80

Game Appearances

Persona 5 Royal

The Councillor Arcana is added to Royal as one of two new Arcana, the other being Faith. Its corresponding Confidant is Takuto Maruki. When alongside the other Arcana it is ordered last, following Faith. Similar to Faith, some Personas from the original Persona 5 had their Arcanas changed to Councillor to accommodate for the new Arcana. Vohu Manah was also added as the ultimate Persona of the Arcana.

Trivia

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)
  • Despite being the Personas of Dr. Maruki, who is the Councillor Confidant, Azathoth and Adam Kadmon do not actually have any Arcana associated with them. There is none visible on the status screen, and internally they are classified as "Other" alongside most non-Shadow enemies.
End of spoilers.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language Name Meaning
Japanese 顧問官 (Komonkan) Councillor; advisor
Simplified Chinese 顾问官 (Gùwèn-guān) Councillor; advisor
French Le ConsultantTarot card
L'ÉdileLocalized Arcana name
The Consultant
The Councillor
German Berater Consultant
Italian Consigliere Counselor; also Councillor
Korean 고문관 (Gomun'gwan) Councillor; advisor
Spanish Consejero Counselor; also Councillor

References

  1. "Maritxu created various Tarot decks which were published by Fournier including El Gran Tarot Esoterico in 1976 (with illustrations by Luis Pena Longa) along with its instruction manual." Wikipedia:Maritxu Guller. Wikipedia.com.
  2. "丸喜のアルカナ「顧問官」の設定には、かすみとはまた別の元ネタタがありまして、シナリオ担当がエテイヤ版という最古のタロットといわれるものをアイデアにしたものです。その「1」のカードが表すものが理想と知恵を意味するらしくて、カードとしても "コンサルタント" だったかなかな、丸喜のキャラクター性に近かったので採用しました。アラビア数字の「1」としたのもそういう理由ですね。" Translation: "Maruki's Arcana “The Councillor” is originally based on a different Tarot deck from Kasumi's. The scenario director took the idea from the Etteilla version, which is said to be the oldest Tarot deck. The “1” card in that Tarot deck represents Ideals and Wisdom, and I think the card itself was called “Consultant”, which was close to Maruki's character, so we decided to use it. That is also why we chose to use the Arabic numeral “1.”" Persona 5 The Royal Official Complete Guide (2019). Published by Kadokawa Shoten. Japanese. p.689. ISBN-13: 978-4049128871.