Rise Kujikawa

Rise Kujikawa
Other Name(s)	Risette The Scandalous Superstar IdolPersona 4 Arena Ultimax
Date of Birth	June 1, 1995
Age	15-16Persona 4 Persona 4 Golden 17Persona 4 Arena Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Persona 4: Dancing All Night Persona x Detective Naoto
Height	155cm (5'1")
Weight	41 kg
Blood Type	AB
Relative(s)	Rise's Grandmother (Paternal)
School(s)	Yasogami High School
Occupation(s)	Pop idol Student
Affiliation(s)	Investigation Team
Arcana	Lovers
Persona(s)	Himiko Kanzeon KouzeonPersona 4 Golden
Voice Actor(s)	Rie Kugimiya (JA) Laura BaileyPersona 4 Persona 4 Golden Persona 4 Arena Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Persona 4 The Animation (EN) Ashly BurchPersona 4: Dancing All Night (EN)
Live-Action Actor(s)	Rie KugimiyaVisualive Persona 4 (Voice Over) Yuriya SuzukiVisualive Persona 4: The Evolution Natsuko AsoPersona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold

Rise Kujikawa is a character in Persona 4. She is a pop idol and member of the Investigation Team, as well as a first year student at Yasogami High School.

Profile

Rise is a famous idol who is first seen in the game's opening movie as part of an advertisement for Quelorie Magic. To her fans, she is also known as Risette. She becomes a major part of the story starting in June when she moves to Inaba to live with her grandma out of disillusionment with her career. She begins working part-time at her grandma's shop, Marukyu Tofu, in the Central Shopping District and attends Yasogami High School as a 1st year student.

When the Investigation Team first meets her, Rise seems almost drained and exhausted from her life as an idol. Originally, she became an idol because she wanted to try and change who she was. But now she finds herself struggling with her sense of self, unsure who the real her is: Is it the ordinary girl Rise or the idol Risette? While being rescued from the TV World, Rise accepts that both are her. She gains a Persona and later joins the Investigation Team as their new Navigator.

After confronting her Shadow, Rise has a more energetic and personable personality. At times, she gets easily worked up and expressive. She becomes playful and flirty with the protagonist, insistent on trying to romance him. Coming from the idol industry, Rise shows a level of comfort with her figure that the other girls do not have. She enjoys spicy food, but like Chie Satonaka and Yukiko Amagi, she lacks in cooking ability, and ends up creating kitchen concoctions like a completely red omelette and habanero chocolate.

In Persona 4, Rise wears a Yasogami High School uniform that she accessorizes with pink clip-on earrings and thigh high stockings. Inside the TV World, she also wears pink and white oval glasses that Teddie made for her. Early on, Rise was envisioned as a combat party member. Shigenori Soejima wanted her to be a small town bully-type character, wearing a long skirt and wielding a bamboo shinai sword like the sukeban archetype, something that fit the game's rural setting. However, this was only Soejima's idea, not something that had been planned as part of her character, and after Kanji Tatsumi was designated as the team's delinquent party member, Rise was moved from a combat party member to a more supportive role. Soejima redesigned her as an idol with an inner conflict and gave her pigtails with a lot of volume to contribute to her manufactured idol image, thinking that pigtails were something he only ever saw on television. He was also tempted to give her heterochromia, but he had set a rule for himself not to be too far-fetched with the designs in Persona 4.

During Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Rise has a new pink and white idol outfit with houndstooth pattern accents. She was designed to stand out compared to the other characters since the story of Dancing is an idol story. Additionally, Rise is meant to be a bold and charismatic idol in contrast with the more gentle and healing-type idol Kanami Mashita. Even Rise's zipper has a fang pattern, as if one would get hurt if they tried to open it.

Gameplay

For complete gameplay information, see Gameplay:Rise Kujikawa.

Rise is the Lovers Social Link. She takes Teddie's place as the team's navigator starting in July with her Persona, Himiko. In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Himiko gains combat capabilities which Rise uses to fight in the P-1 Climax.

Manual

Manual Descriptions
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax	The high-school idol Risette, who is preparing to make her comeback to the entertainment industry. She was originally a supporting member in the Investigation Team, but her Persona Himiko evolved, allowing her to stand on the front line. She'll take the stage with a storm of sound!
Persona 4: Dancing All Night	An extremely popular idol managed by the showbiz agency "Takura Productions", striving to reach the top of her industry. She plans on returning to her idol career this summer after her hiatus. She's been doing well for herself after leaving Inaba for the city.

Game Appearances

Persona 4

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	Reason: Only covers up to her gaining her Persona

Rise first appears on a TV commercial for Quelorie Magic that airs in the protagonist's home city on April 11th. To her fans, she is also known by the name Risette.

On June 19th, the protagonist sees news on TV about Rise going on hiatus from the entertainment industry. A reporter asks if she stay with her relatives in Inaba, and another asks if she will help run the family's traditional tofu shop. Shortly following her announcement, on the evening of June 21st, the protagonist and Yosuke see a girl resembling Rise on the Midnight Channel.

After school on the 22nd, the protagonist, Yosuke Hanamura, and Kanji Tatsumi visit Marukyu Tofu and meet Rise inside the shop. Yosuke orders Ganmodoki and warns her about the incidents that have occurred recently. Rise heard about the Midnight Channel from someone and even watched it last night, but she believes the girl who appeared last night was not her as she has never been filmed in that swimsuit, nor are her breasts that big. Rise gives the three of them some extra tofu to thank them for coming to warn her. When Ryotaro Dojima and Tohru Adachi visit the store later in the day, Dojima also tries to warn Rise about what has happened recently. Rise tells him that three boys had already come and told her. At night, the protagonist watches the Midnight Channel and sees the girl resembling Rise again.

The Investigation Team plus Adachi stake out Marukyu Tofu on the 23rd. Rise is running the shop when Yukiko Amagi spots a suspicious-looking man outside the shop on a pole and the whole group chases him. When they return to the shop, Rise is missing, and the group worries that something might have happened to her. This is proven true later when a clearer image of Rise appears on the Midnight Channel that evening. On the TV, Rise says she will strip to celebrate her entering high school, then runs off into a building behind her.

After the protagonist gets enough info on Rise to locate her, the Investigation Team enters the TV World and makes their way to Marukyu Striptease where they find Rise and her Shadow on floor 10. Rise has been struggling with a sense of identity due to the character she has to play as an idol. Shadow Rise claims that the idol, "Risette", does not actually exist and the Shadow is the real Rise. Shadow Rise twists Rise's identity struggle into wanting to strip in order to be seen for who she truly is, and she prepares to take it all off. Hearing this, Rise rejects her Shadow, and it transforms and attacks the group. The Shadow is impervious to their attacks until Teddie launches himself at it. After, Rise realizes that she does not have to pick: Neither the idol Risette nor the regular girl Rise are the real self, rather both are her. She accepts her Shadow as part of her and gains the Persona Himiko. However, her words cause Teddie to begin doubting if he has a real self, and this leads to his own Shadow manifesting. Rise uses her new powers to help the team fight his Shadow, taking over as the Navigator. Rise collapses after the battle, and Yukiko and Chie Satonaka help her get home.

By July 10th, Rise recovers from her time in the TV World and invites the Investigation Team to talk at Tatsuhime Shrine. She does not remember who tried to kidnap her as she only recalls waking up in her dungeon. When questioned by Naoto Shirogane, she reported that the Investigation Team had found her unconscious at Junes. Yosuke and Kanji notice that she seems much more lively than before, which Rise admits is on purpose as she thought the Investigation Team might not like her that way. But Chie and Yukiko encourage her to act naturally. The protagonist hands her a pair of glasses Teddie made for her, and she officially becomes part of the team. Rise mentions she is also starting school at Yasogami High School and mistakes Kanji for an upperclassman. She thanks everyone for being her first friends in Inaba.

Persona 4 Golden

Rise is involved in multiple new scenes for Golden.

By July 25th, Yosuke reports that his scooter has been fixed after Operation Up Close and Personal. Rise remembers that her agency's office has a scooter and she decides to ask if she can borrow it, though it will mean talking to her manager again. Her, Chie, and Yukiko all decide to get their licenses, too, so they can ride their scooters to the beach during summer vacation with the guys. By August 15th, if the protagonist is stuck at remedial classes, Rise tells him that the girls all have their licenses, and the group finally rides to Shichiri Beach together on August 23rd. Rise pouts when Kanji has no reaction to her figure. When the group gets in the water, she uses an inflatable ring while Yosuke pushes her around. Rise is conscious of her sun exposure and reapplies sunscreen when they take a break from swimming. When Kanji loses his speedo and covers up in seaweed, Rise and the other girls are all grossed out and run away. After, they play in the sand with Teddie.

On August 30th, Rise watches the fireworks with the rest of the Investigation Team, Nanako, and Dojima. In October, Yosuke asks Rise to have a live event at Junes after Kanami Mashita's visit to Inaba gets canceled. She seems a little off-put by the idea of being Kanami's replacement, but she ultimately agrees with her condition being that the rest of the group performs with her as she refuses to perform with pre-recorded music. She picks "True Story" as their song and joins the group in practice on October 8th and 9th. Everyone performs the song together on the 10th and watches as Teddie goes crowd surfing.

The group plans to welcome in the New Year together at Tatsuhime Shrine. The boys expect the girls to come in kimonos and are disappointed when they show up in regular clothes. Rise informs the boys that girls only get dressed up when it really matters, and Yosuke quickly realizes she is saying they are not worth getting dressed up for. After the clock strikes midnight, Rise wants to get amazake, a beverage with a small amount of alcoholic, but Yosuke forbids her and Yukiko from doing so.

Yosuke organizes a skiing and snowboarding trip with an overnight stay at a guest house. They originally planned to go early in January, but the protagonist falls ill, and the trip is delayed until February 11th, after their exams. The protagonist goes skiing down the slope with Rise trailing behind him trying to catch up.

When the group takes a break, Rise remarks on the skiing resort's menu, and Yosuke thinks that the girls are the least qualified to comment on cooking. Rise thinks he is being mean when their Christmas Cake turned out fine once they finally used a cookbook. At night, Rise dislikes the idea of telling ghost stories due to something that happened during a shoot. During the protagonist's story, she gets frightened, and ends up hugging Chie when Teddie turns off the lights. On the 12th, her and the protagonist watch Kanji trying to teach Naoto how to ski, and Rise is shocked that Naoto is bad at something. She suggests the four of them all race to the bottom. Naoto starts to panic, but Rise suggests Kanji will surely catch Naoto if she falls.

Persona 4 Arena

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Rise does not have her own story mode and is not a playable character, but she appears in the story modes for the other playable characters.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Persona 5

In Persona 5, Rise's posters can be seen in the subway. Her family's tofu store is also mentioned on the TV at Leblanc.

Anime Appearances

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Manga Appearances

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Audio Drama Appearances

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Novel Appearances

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Stage Play Appearances

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Appearances in Non-Megami Tensei Media

Weiß Schwarz

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

Persona 4 The Slot

	This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
	No reason provided.

CR Persona 4 The Pachinko

Rise is one of the selectable avatars for the pachinko machine. When selected, her mini-portrait will appears on the player's stat screen and he does the voice over for the machine's functions. She is the subject of some probability events, such as one where she must retrieve a One More from a tree branch while standing on Kanji's back.

Trivia

• In her Yasogami High social media profile in Persona Club P4, Rise says she loves the Hagakure special from the secret menu at Hagakure Ramen in Iwatodai, she hates Japanese ginger and royal fern, she lists her favorite people as senpai and her grandmother, and her least favorite type of person is one who is indecisive and unreliable. The social clubs she is part of are "Cafes and Sweets in Okina City", "Tofu Lovers, Assemble!", "What do you think of Kanami Mashita?" and "Fans of Animals with Tiny Eyes". Her greeting is, "This is where a young maiden's secrets get revealed". Her inbox has a message from Teddie about discovering the finest sweets around.
• The developer Q&A about Rise reveals some background information:
  • Rise mostly helps out doing prep at her grandma's tofu store during the morning.
  • Rise has been an idol for under two years. She has two photobooks and only one of her songs has been used in a commercial.
  • Rise doesn't have many CDs or photobooks yet because she didn't begin selling very well until recently.
  • Rise loves spicy food and is the type of person who judges food based on its color rather than its taste, hence why her cooking is disastrous. She has tried to make red tofu before, but her grandma doesn't like spicy food. The actual shop tofu comes out fine because her grandma is very traditional.
• Rise placed #6 in a Japanese popularity poll of female party members with 137 votes.

Nomenclature

Her family, Kujikawa, name means "old merciful river."

In Japanese, Rise's idol nickname from her fans is Risechī. In English, this was changed to Risette to make it sound more like a singer's stage name or the name of a band.

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
English	Rise Kujikawa
Japanese	久慈川 りせ	Kujikawa Rise
	りせちーIdol fan name	Risechī
Simplified Chinese	久慈川 理世 jiǔ cí chuān lǐ shì	Simplified Chinese rendering of 久慈川 りせ Kujikawa Rise, substituting the kanji 理世 Rise for the hiragana りせ Rise.
Traditional Chinese	久慈川 理世 jiǔ cí chuān lǐ shì	Traditional Chinese rendering of 久慈川 りせ Kujikawa Rise, substituting the kanji 理世 Rise for the hiragana りせ Rise.
Korean	쿠지카와 리세

Gallery

See Gallery