Persona (Concept)

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This article is about the manifested entities in the Persona series. For other things named Persona, see Persona.
The protagonist of Megami Ibunroku Persona summoning a Persona, Vishnu

Personas are manifested entities in the Persona series. While the details surrounding them can differ between games, they are consistently a supernatural power used by the main characters in each Persona game.

Description

Personas are manifestations of a person's psyche in response to outside stimuli[1]. They are called forth from the "Sea of Souls", or the collective human consciousness. Similar to Demons, they take the shape of gods, demons, and historical or folk figures in order to channel that which lies in the unconscious[2]. They are considered a tamed form of Shadows with the main difference being the ability to control them. Personas are similar to masks that emerge to protect the user from hardships[1]; the term "persona" is a word of Latin origin meaning a mask or a projected social front. Those who have awakened to their Personas and are able to summon them are referred to as Persona-users[3]. In order to obtain a Persona, one can be either given one by a higher power such as Philemon, or through certain situations under high emotions. While Personas are freely summoned in the first two games in the real world and with some assistance in the third game, the later games only have Personas available in a spiritual or mental world[4].

In the early series, a Persona was the ability to summon a Demon[5] and use its power[6] by taking its consciousness into the body[7], but the Persona was not the Demon itself[8]. Since Persona 3, the idea of Demons becoming Personas is no longer mentioned, and the definition of Persona has remained consistent ever since[9].

The early Personas were designed to wear masks and resemble costumes[10]. In Megami Ibunroku Persona, they were designed with a disguise concept, and in Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, with a Tokusatsu suit concept[11]. After Persona 3, the design concept for each Persona is that it is conceived by its user[12][13][14].

Gameplay

Personas and Shadows act as the Persona series' equivalent to Demons in other Megami Tensei games which can be summoned into battles by their Persona-user and fused by the player. Personas and Shadows are associated with a Major Arcana and are grouped together based on these.

In Megami Ibunroku Persona, characters awaken to an initial Persona, but each possess a Stock which can store more Personas. These Personas can be changed outside of battle, or during battle by spending an action. Each character also has an Affinity with each Persona, which determines how effective that Persona will be when equipped by the character. Personas grow by gaining Ranks as they are actively used, which allows them to unlock new skills.

In Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, instead of characters each having an individual Stock, the party has a shared Stock that is accessible by any character. They otherwise function as in the first game.

From Persona 3 onwards, all of the Persona-users in the cast awaken to a Persona that is unique to them. The main protagonist of each game, who all have a power called the Wild Card, are able to hold multiple Personas of each Arcana and swap them during battle. Their other party members are unable to change their Personas but are still able to gain new abilities and evolve their Personas.

In Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, all characters have a Main Persona and may be equipped with a Sub-Persona. The Main Persona is fixed and determines the character's stats and resistances. The Sub-Persona contains an additional set of skills and grants bonuses to HP and SP. Sub-Personas are stored in the shared party Stock and can only be switched outside of battle.

For lists of Personas that can be obtained and fused in each game, see:

Persona Awakenings and Evolutions

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Initial Persona

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Ultimate Persona

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Prime Persona

Others

Ancestral Persona

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Arche-Persona

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Picaro Persona

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Game Appearances

Megami Ibunroku Persona

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Persona 2: Innocent Sin

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Persona 2: Eternal Punishment

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Persona 3

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In Persona 3, Evokers are used to emulate the heightened mental emotion of firing a gun to one's head to "coerce" a Persona to appear.

Persona 4

Except for the protagonist, who hears Izanagi's voice calling out to him on April 15th, all of the members of the Investigation Team confront their Shadows and accept the repressed part of themselves, causing their Shadows to transform into their initial Persona and become a power they can wield in the TV World. By getting to know each team member through their Social Links, the protagonist witnesses them continue to grow and their Personas change into new Personas.

Due to battles taking place in a spirit world where it is easier to draw out mental images, it is easier for the Investigation Team to summon their Personas without using a device like the Evokers used in Persona 3. However, this also means they cannot summon a Persona outside the TV World.[4]

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

On March 20th, the Investigation Team discovers that Izanami is the so-called conductor who is responsible for the events of the past year. When confronted, Izanami admits that she gave the protagonist, Tohru Adachi, and Taro Namatame a kick start of sorts. And thanks to the kick start she gave to the protagonist, he was able to help his friends awaken to their power in turn. At Junes, the Investigation Team recaps the events of the past year. Naoto Shirogane recalls that the group awakened to their Personas by confronting their Shadows, with the sole exception being the protagonist who never confronted his Shadow, supporting Izanami's claims.

End of spoilers.

Persona 4 Golden

During the new winter semester, the Investigation Team can talk to the protagonist about what has happened in the previous year and the conclusion of the murder case. Reflecting on their growth causes their Personas to change once more.

Persona 5

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Persona 5 Royal

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Persona 5 Strikers

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Persona 5 Tactica

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Persona 5: The Phantom X

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Persona II is an artificial Persona created by a resident of the Velvet Room. However, it is not inferior to a standard Persona in terms of ability[15].

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

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The setting combined with the existence of multiple Wild Card Persona-users together create a situation where the Wild Cards cannot use any Persona other than their original one, but are able to use Sub-Personas alongside other characters who normally could not have different Personas.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

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The setting combined with the existence of multiple Wild Card Persona-users together create a situation where the Wild Cards cannot use any Persona other than their original one, but are able to use Sub-Personas alongside other characters who normally could not have different Personas.

Anime Appearances

Persona: Trinity Soul

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Everyone has a Persona, but not everyone can summon it. Adults cannot normally summon Personas, but they can do so by using a Suppressant. The producer Yutaka Ōmatsu claimed that he wanted to show that certain senses get dull with age, and it would be too difficult to wrap up the story if adults were also able to summon Personas.[16]

There is a special type of Persona known as a Fukugō Persona[a], which is an artificial Persona created from Shadows.[17] Unlike regular Personas, Fukugō Personas do not reveal their own names. Instead, they are assigned a codename.[18]

Trivia

  • The idea for Persona was born from the concept of using Demons as Guardians.[19]
  • The user's gender is irrelevant to their Persona's gender.[20]
  • Personas can interfere with real phenomena but have no physical substance.[21] However, some Personas can be physically contacted as an exception.[22]
  • Some Persona's face is a mask, so its expression does not change.[23]

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language Name Meaning
English Persona
Japanese ペルソナ Perusona Persona
Simplified Chinese 人格面具 Réngé miànjù Personality mask
Traditional Chinese 人格面具 Réngé miànjù Personality mask
Korean 페르소나 Pereusona Persona
Russian Персона Persona Persona
Thai เพอร์โซนา Phexr̒sonā Persona

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: 複合ペルソナ, romanized Fukugō Perusona

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Igor: It may take some time to fully comprehend. A Persona is a facet of your personality that surfaces as you react to external stimuli... You can think of it as a mask that protects you as you brave many hardships. That being said, your power is still weak..." Persona 3.
  2. ↑ Translation: "Well, I suppose it's done in order to properly channel their powers. By giving it a name and a shape to a force that, in its natural state, persists vaguely in the the chaos of the unconscious." Persona Club P3. p. 180. Translation by TurquoiseHammer.
  3. ↑ "Shuji Ikutsuki: Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour. Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's "Persona"--the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users. Which means, it's all up to you guys." Persona 3.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Persona Club P4. p. 195.
  5. ↑ "降魔ってどういうことでしょうか？ 岡田：召喚スペルを使って呼び出した悪魔を、キャラに付けてペルソナという状態にすることです。" Translation: "Okada: Gouma(降魔) is the process of using a summoning spell to call a demon, then having it attach to a character to become a Persona." Dengeki PlayStation. Published by MediaWorks. Japanese. Vol. 20 p. 33. Cover date May, 1996.
  6. ↑ "サターンのデビルサマナー」にあった、仲魔(仲間にした悪魔)の自由意志行動は? 戦闘をボイコットしたりしましたよね。 金子: 今回、それはないですね。悪魔の能力のみを抽出してペルソナになるんですよ。" Translation: "What about the free will of the demons, as in Devil Summoner on the Saturn? They would sometimes boycott battles, right? Kaneko: No, that's not a thing this time around. We're just extracting the demons' abilities to create a Persona." "女神異聞録ペルソナ Director's Talk"The PlayStation. Published by SoftBank Publishing. Japanese. Vol. 27 p. 37. Cover date May 3·17, 1996.
  7. ↑ "ペルソナに登場するのは、この別人格を操る強い意志の力に目覚めた人物たちである。悪魔の意識を体内に取り込み、彼らの持つ特殊な力を自分のものとして操る。" Translation: "The characters in Persona are individuals who have awakened to the power of a strong will, allowing them to control this other self. They take a demon's consciousness into their bodies and then wield its special powers as their own." "女神異聞録ペルソナへの予兆"ザ・プレイステーション. Published by ソフトバンクパブリッシング. Japanese. Vol. 27 p. 39. Cover date May 3·17, 1996.
  8. ↑ "ひとつ重要なポイントは、ペルソナはあくまでも自己の心の中につくられるものであって、実際の神話上の存在があらわれているのではないということ。" Translation: "A key point is that a Persona is not an actual mythological being appearing, but is instead something created purely from within one's own mind." Megami Ibunroku Persona Club. Published by Aspect. Japanese. p. 4.
  9. ↑ 『ペルソナ5』はどうして“学園ジュブナイル”なのか？ ディレクター・橋野桂氏による特別コラムから、シリーズの深層を知る【前編】(1/2). Retrieved April 11, 2026. famitsu.com.
  10. ↑ "仮面を必ず付けていて、肌をなるべく露出させない方向性に。服としてのデザインを強調していると思います。" Translation: "The goal is to always have a mask and expose as little skin as possible. The design of the clothes is emphasized this way." ザ・プレイステーション. Published by ソフトバンク. Japanese. Vol. 165 p. 62. Cover date September 17, 1999.
  11. ↑ "ペルソナも、『女神異聞録』では、自分の仮面的な概念というか、自分が仮装するイメージで、仮面を着けたバレエの衣装を参考にしたりしたんですね。『ペルソナ2』では、そのさらに延長で自分が変身する、特撮のスーツっぽい感じにしています。" Translation: "Personas, in "Megami Ibunroku", are a concept akin to one's mask or a disguised mental image, so we tried using ballet outfits that wore masks as a reference. In "Persona 2", the idea of disguising oneself was futher explored towards something resembling a Tokusatsu suit." ペルソナ20thフェス パンフレット. Japanese. p. 14.
  12. ↑ "それとベルソナの設定に、召喚者のイメージがペルソナの姿に影響するというのがありますから。" Translation: "And then, for the Persona's creation, there is an influence of its summoner's mental image on the Persona's form." Persona 3 Portable Official Fan Book. Published by Enterbrain. Japanese. p. 113.
  13. ↑ "ペルソナのビジュアルは、僕らデザイナーが考えたのではなく、呼び出すキャラクター自身が考えたものというロジックになっています。" Translation: "Regarding a Persona's visuals, it wasn't something that us designers came up with. The logic is that it comes from the character that summons it." Persona Magazine. No. 4 p. 55. Published February 7, 2012.
  14. ↑ "橋野:ゾロはモルガナのあこがれの姿なんです。彼は普段は小さく仲間からも「おい、ネコ」と呼ばれているので、ペルソナは理想であるマッチョな姿になっています。" Translation: "Hashino: Zorro is the figure that Morgana yearns for. He is normally a small companion, and is referred to as a cat, while his Persona is his ideal macho figure." Persona Magazine. Published by Kadokawa. Japanese. No. #2016 March p. 61. Cover date March, 2016.
  15. ↑ 『ペルソナ5: The Phantom X』開発インタビュー。奪われた欲望を盗り返すために怪盗に。認知存在＝何でもあり？ 『P5X』の謎は深まるばかり【TGS2024】. Retrieved February 2, 2026. famitsu.com.
  16. ↑ ペルソナ 〜トリニティ・ソウル〜 パーフェクトガイド -ディレクターズカット版- 2:23 ~ 3:11
  17. ↑ "人間の誰もが持つ〝精神の大地〟。 そこに人工的に生み出した〝ペルソナの種〟を植えつけることで複合ペルソナは誕生する。 人が無意識下に持つ抑圧された感情。 それが暴走して体外に放たれたとき、あるものはペルソナに、あるものは怪物になるという。 (...)僕たち稀人には、後者をまとめあげて作られた〝種〟と呼ばれるものが植えつけられているらしいが、詳しく存じない。" Persona: Trinity Soul Novel, Tetsuya Katsuzawa. Published by Villagebooks. Japanese. Vol. 2 p. 106. ISBN-13: 978-4-86332-074-1.
  18. ↑ "名を持たない複合ペルソナに与えるコードネームは、その恩恵を受けるための記号だ。" Persona: Trinity Soul Novel, Tetsuya Katsuzawa. Published by Villagebooks. Japanese. Vol. 1 p. 64.
  19. ↑ "ウチのゲームは悪魔を使役するものですから、そこでちょっと違うニュアンスというか、悪魔を守護霊として付けたらどうだろう？ってなったんです。そこからペルソナが生まれたんです。" Translation: "We use demons in our games, but we thought of adding a slightly different nuance to it – “What if we used them as guardian spirits?”. That’s how the concept of Persona was born." THRiLL. Japanese. Vol. 27 Translation by dijeh.
  20. ↑ "そして、それは男女の性さえをも超越する。男性であっても覚醒した意識は女性の場合もあり、その逆もまた存在するのだ。" Translation: "So, that even transcends gender. Even if one is a man, there are cases of their awakened consciousness being female, and the opposite also exists." "女神異聞録ペルソナ Director's Talk"The PlayStation. Published by SoftBank Publishing. Japanese. Vol. 27 p. 39. Cover date May 3·17, 1996.
  21. ↑ ""ペルソナ"は、世界中の神話に登場する神々や悪魔たちの姿をとっているが、あくまでも心の中の産物に過ぎず、実現象に干渉はできても実体があるわけではない。" Translation: "Although Personas have the forms of beings like gods and demons as they appear in the myths of the world, they are no more than the product of one's heart. Despite its materialized form being able to intervene, it does not mean that it has substance." [1]. Archived: [2]. Retrieved September 4, 2025. atlusnet.jp.
  22. ↑ "宇田: ペルソナによっては触れるものもありますが、基本的にペルソナは自分の後ろに憑依する存在で、直接触れることはできません。" Translation: "Uda: There are Personas that can be touched, but fundamentally a Persona is a spirit at one's back, so they cannot be touched directly." Animage. Published by Tokuma Shoten. Japanese. p. 104. Cover date April, 2025.
  23. ↑ "ペルソナの顔は仮面なので、表情は変化しません" Translation: "Since a Persona's face is a mask, its expression does not change." 劇場版「ペルソナ３」 設定資料集（#1＆#2）. Japanese. p. 67.
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