Persona x Detective Naoto

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Persona x Detective Naoto
Author(s)	Natsuki Mamiya
Illustrator(s)	Shigenori Soejima (cover and frontispiece) Shuji Sogabe (illustration)
Publisher(s)	ASCII Media Works Dengeki Bunko (Imprint)
Published	June 8, 2012
ISBN	978-4-04-886419-0

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Persona x Detective Naoto is a light novel in the Persona series. Taking place a year after the ending of Persona 4, it follows Naoto Shirogane as she attempts to solve a mystery involving a series of mysterious disappearances at a school in the Yagokoro area. Unlike the other Persona novelizations which were pitched to the Persona team, the Detective Naoto project was pitched by the Persona team to Dengeki Bunko in 2009-2010 as an official spinoff with character designs created by Shigenori Soejima and the logo designed by the Persona team. It was later adapted into a serialized manga which shared its name. The novel was fan translated during 2013-2014 by Azurill Turtle.

Synopsis

See full plot...

Development

The Detective Naoto project began when the Persona team had pitched the idea of a novel to Dengeki Bunko. Mamiya, his editor, and members of Atlus were all involved in the planning. One of the things that Hashino expressed was how Naoto, due to her joining the group so late in Persona 4, had less development than the rest of the cast and suggested a novel where she is the main character. Mamiya wrote elements like Naoto and Rise's gravure photo shoot to communicate that Naoto is not a boy but a girl who crossdresses. He also gave her a new Persona that specializes in enhancing the abilities of others to emphasize how she had gone from thinking she had to solve cases on her own to learning how to rely on others. Sōsei being able to transform into a motorcycle was something that Hashino pushed for, and Mamiya had to rework a part of the plot in order to accommodate it, though he thinks that Sōsei became a better character thanks to that. When playing Persona 4, Mamiya liked Naoto's character and rushed to max out her Social Link. He felt that in the process of writing the novel, he grew to like her character even more.

When it came to fleshing out Sōsei's character, Mamiya was unsure if he should be writing something that expanded so greatly on Persona's world building. But during planning meetings with the Persona team, they really got into what Mamiya had come up with for Sōsei and even gave him suggestions on how to make it more interesting. Mamiya was also provided details about Persona 4 Arena before its release, allowing him to incorporate some elements into Detective Naoto. During a meeting with his editor early on, Mamiya had brought up the possibility of having Shuji Sogabe (creator of the Persona 3 and Persona 4 manga adaptations) draw illustrations to accompany the novel. Sogabe and Mamiya were both surprised by Soejima's design for an older Naoto with her longer hair, with Mamiya sensing it was something Soejima must have been particular about. When drawing the illustrations, Sogabe made Naoto look older and feminine compared to his work on the Persona 4 manga. Sogabe came up with the idea to make Naoto and Rise's photo shoot illustration a 2-page spread, which was approved. Mamiya thinks the spread has a lot of impact since it's the first illustration seen in the novel. He also appreciates that Sogabe drew an illustration of Ai, Sōsei's younger sister who only has a small role.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ペルソナ×探偵NAOTO Perusona tantei naoto	Persona × Detective Naoto

Gallery

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  Introduction Artwork

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  Table of Contents Artwork

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  Title page illustration

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  Volume 1 End Page Illustration Artwork