Shadow Mitsuo is a character in Persona series. It is the Shadow of Mitsuo Kubo.
Profile
Shadow Mitsuo is the Shadow of Mitsuo Kubo. It first appears as a version of Mitsuo with yellow eyes, but has the name same as the real Mitsuo. After the real Mitsuo refuses to acknowledge it, the doppelganger Mitsuo transforms into a baby-like figure named Shadow Mitsuo and builds a robot around itself called Mitsuo the Hero.
Shadow Mitsuo's design reflects how Mitsuo never has anything good happen to him in the real world, so he takes refuge in video games. The outside is a game-like character while the body is childlike to show that he has not yet grown up. The text around the body is a ring of mojibake, meaning that something is wrong.[1]
Gameplay
Game Appearances
On July 26th, the Investigation Team sees a version of Mitsuo, a boy they don't know, on the Midnight Channel. He taunts the viewers to come and find him. After the broadcast, Teddie calls the protagonist and tells him the broadcast on the Midnight Channel is the result of the victim's repressed feelings resonating with the TV World, meaning that boy must already be inside the TV.[2]
Inside Void Quest, the group finds two Mitsuo Kubos together in the Final Chapter. At first, the Mitsuo with yellow eyes says nothing. The real Mitsuo begins yelling at his lookalike. Finally, the lookalike replies that it is empty and feels nothing, and furthermore, it and Mitsuo are the same person, but the real Mitsuo denies being void.
Chie Satonaka asks Mitsuo if he is the murderer. The real Mitsuo turns his attention to the Investigation Team and claims he did it all, and even brags about being the murderer, threatening to kill them. The lookalike Mitsuo then remarks on how the real Mitsuo will not acknowledge it, causing it to transform into a baby-looking figure named Shadow Mitsuo. The Shadow builds a robot around it called Mitsuo the Hero and fights the Investigation Team through a black and white text menu. After the robot is defeated, the Shadow attempts to rebuild it.
After finally defeating Shadow Mitsuo, Yosuke Hanamura asks Mitsuo again if he is really is the killer. Mitsuo claims that he killed all of them: Morooka, Mayumi Yamano, and Saki Konishi. Once he says this, his lookalike suddenly disappears, confusing the Investigation Team.
As the game progresses, the Investigation Team learns that despite Mitsuo's claims of killing all three murder victims, he never had the power to enter the TV and only killed Morooka which is possibly why his Shadow confrontation went differently than the others. Additionally, the group later learns from Ameno-sagiri that Shadows appear to kill their originals, but the Investigation Team are able to wield them as Personas because they learned to control them, which Mitsuo never did.
End of spoilers.
Anime Appearances
|
This appearance section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
|
| No reason provided.
|
Manga Appearances
|
|
This appearance section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
|
| No reason provided.
|
Stage Play Appearances
|
|
This appearance section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it.
|
| No reason provided.
|
Appearances in Non-Megami Tensei Media
Trivia
- Shadow Mitsuo has skills called Whisper, Prayer, and Chant. In Japanese, these skills are named ささやき, いのり, and えいしょう, and are references to a message that appears in Wizardry when you revive dead characters or cure paralysis at the Temple of Cant.[3]
- When Shadow Mitsuo transforms into Mitsuo the Hero, his third command is Spell which casts Gigadyne. Gigadyne is a reference to Kazap (Japanese: ギガデイン, romanized Gigadein) from Dragon Quest.[4]
- In order to fight Shadow Mitsuo, the Investigation Team must find the Orb of Darkness (Japanese: くらやみのたま, romanized Kurayami no tama). This is a reference to the Sphere of Light (Japanese: ひかりのたま, romanized Hikari no tama) from Dragon Quest.[5]
- When the protagonist interacts with the pile of bones to get the Gaia Sword, a message appears that says, "No response. It must be a tile, not an object." (Japanese: 返事がない。ただの飾りのようだ…) This is a reference to how in Dragon Quest, when the hero interacts with a pile of bones or a dead person, a message appears that says, "There's no response. It's just a corpse." (Japanese: 返事がない。ただのしかばねのようだ。)
Nomenclature
The real Mitsuo and his Shadow with yellow eyes are both called Mitsuo or Mitsuo Kubo. Once the Shadow transforms, it becomes Shadow Mitsuo, and it constructs a robot around itself called Mitsuo the Hero.
Names in Other Languages
| Language |
Name |
Meaning
|
 English
|
Mitsuo
|
| Shadow Mitsuo
|
| Mitsuo the Hero
|
 Japanese
|
久保 美津雄 Human form Kubo Mitsuo |
Kubo Mitsuo
|
| 美津雄の影Boss form Mitsuo no kage |
Mitsuo's Shadow
|
| 導かれし勇者ミツオRobot Michibikareshi yūsha Mitsuo |
Chosen / Guided Hero Mitsuo
|
Gallery
Game Appearances
Anime Appearances
References
- ↑ "Chapter 3: Shadow", Persona 4 Official Design Works. p. 162.
- ↑ "[July 26] Teddie: Sensei! It's me, Teddie! I finally got to see the Midnight Channel with my own eyes. Now I know exactly what's happening. That guy's suppressed emotions are resonating with the other side, which are picked up by the TVs over here. It's clear now that it's not being filmed by anyone." Persona 4. English.
- ↑ Example of the message in Wizardry 1 (Japanese playthrough). Published November 24, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2024. YouTube. Video.
- ↑ Kazap. Retrieved August 29, 2026. Dragon Quest Wiki. Article.
- ↑ Sphere of Light. Retrieved August 29, 2026. Dragon Quest Wiki. Article.
"Mitsuo Kubo's" portrait
"Mitsuo Kubo's" smiling portrait
"Mitsuo Kubo's" yelling portrait
"Mitsuo Kubo's" model
Shadow Mitsuo's model
Mitsuo the Hero's model
"Mitsuo Kubo's" portrait
"Mitsuo Kubo's" smiling portrait
"Mitsuo Kubo's" yelling portrait
Persona 4 The Animation Shadow Mitsuo render
Persona 4 The Animation Mitsuo the Hero render
