Sho Minazuki

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Sho Minazuki
Other Name(s)	SHO Minazuki Sho MINAZUKI
Relative(s)	Shuji Ikutsuki (adoptive father)
Arcana	Sun (as Sho) Moon (as Minazuki)
Persona(s)	Tsukiyomi (as Minazuki only)
Voice Actor(s)	Kenichi Suzumura (JA) Todd Haberkorn (EN)
Live-Action Actor(s)	Yuki TomotsunePersona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold

Sho Minazuki is the primary antagonist and a playable character in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.

Profile

Sho Minazuki is the adoptive son and former test subject of Shuji Ikutsuki. When Sho was young, he had a Plume of Dusk implanted into him, giving form to an alternate personality within him. Ikutsuki's treatment of Sho, and Ikutsuki's attempt at eradicating him, made the personality (from here on referred to as Minazuki) resentful towards him, and made Minazuki wish only to help Sho after the hardships he faced from his adoptive father, although Sho has adopted Ikutsuki's love of puns and wordplay and still loves and misses him. While under high stress or extreme emotion, Minazuki tends to take over Sho's body in order to protect him. While in this state, the scar on Sho's face glows a bright red, a mysterious ghostly aura appears around him (in gameplay, not in story), and his demeanor completely changes, becoming cold and meticulous in stark contrast to Sho's wild attitude.

Sho has bright red hair and wears the Yasogami High School uniform with the jacket tied around his waist. Shigenori Soejima designed Sho not only be a rival for Yu Narukami, but also to be gaudy or flashy. Sho fights with imitation Japanese swords similar to what appears in the movie Blade, giving him the image of someone who fights improperly. His hair also expresses how flashy he is.

Gameplay

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Sho is a rushdown character focused on overwhelming the opponent with an onslaught of sword attacks from every angle. Sho is the only character in the game to not wield a Persona, making him unique among the cast. As a result, Sho's C attacks are additional sword normals, and his D button is instead a spotdodge that grants him temporary invulnerability to being hit, but it can still be thrown.

Notable Moves

Move Input Notes Izayoi B+D Ura Izayoi B+D in air Survival Knife Hold back, then press forward and any button A throws high/slow, B throws low/slow, C throws high/fast, D throws low/fast. Hougetsuzan: Flash Fang QCF A/B Hougetsuzan: Soaring Fang QCB A/B, or A/B after Flash Fang Hougetsuzan: Destructive Fang QCF A/B in air, or A/B after Soaring Fang High-Speed Movement QCF C/D, or C/D after Flash/Soaring Fang Blazing Moon Barrage QCF QCF A/B Requires 50 SP Moon Smasher QCB QCB A/B Requires 50 SP and Awakening state

Sho MINAZUKI

Minazuki is quite similar to Sho in playstyle, but has a Persona. While Minazuki retains most of Sho's basic attacks and movement options, he also gains some new moves and an extended effective range thanks to Tsukiyomi.

Move List

Move Name Input Notes Izayoi B+D Ura Izayoi B+D in air Survival Knife QCF A/B A throws high, B throws low. Flash Fang QCB A/B Soaring Fang After Flash Fang, hold back and press A/B Can cancel into Survival Knife or Tsukiyomi on hit. Destructive Fang After Soaring Fang, hold back and press A/B Tsukiyomi QCF C/D Teleport attack that tracks the opponent. C hits in front of them, D hits behind them. D does not work properly when opponent is fully cornered and will whiff on non-large characters. Drain QCB C/D C version drains 10 meter and gives it to Minazuki, D version drains 500 HP instead. Wings of Purgatory QCF QCF C/D Requires 50 SP Moon Smasher QCB QCB A/B Requires 50 SP and Awakening state Dream Fog QCB QCB C/D Requires 50 SP and Awakening state God and Demon Annihilation ↓↓↓C+D Requires 100 SP and match point. Instantly kills on hit

Manual

Manual Descriptions

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

SHO Minazuki: A mysterious young man who stands in Yu’s way and calls himself the mastermind behind this incident. With all his bad puns, could he have something to do with “that person”...? He can’t use a Persona, but has superhuman capabilities to make up for it. Sho MINAZUKI: A mysterious young man with an evil aura to him. He is always composed, but his origins and objective are unknown. He dominates the battlefield with his unexpected movements and chain of powerful attacks.

Game Appearances

Persona 4 Arena

Sho briefly appears in Persona 4 Arena as the Eerie Voice, which hijacks Labrys and causes her Shadow to emerge from her.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

In Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Minazuki aims to make Persona-users across Inaba battle in the P-1 Climax fighting tournament. He does this in order to carve off fragments of their Persona's power released in combat. With that power, he attempts to summon Hi-no-Kagutsuchi and create a world of solitude where Sho can be truly alone. He also creates Shadow replicas of the combatants in order to manipulate them into fighting one another. Minazuki also allows Tohru Adachi to temporarily escape from prison as he sensed that the latent power of Izanami still dwelled within him, and wanted to use it to control Hi-no-Kagutsuchi.

After Hi-no-Kagutsuchi is destroyed by Yu Narukami (in Episode Persona 4) or Labrys (in Episode Persona 3), Sho comes to realize that his power truly comes from the bond that him and Minazuki share, not solitude. In the true ending, Sho can no longer feel Minazuki's presence within him, and is able to use his Persona Tsukiyomi on his own.

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

Sho is available as a dancer in Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight with the downloadable music track Break Out Of... (Atlus Kitajoh Remix). The song is a remix of P4AU's main theme, Break Out Of..., that incorporates motifs from Blood Red Moon, Minazuki's theme. Sho's dancing can be best described as chaotic while he is "Sho", but elegant and graceful as "Minazuki".

Trivia

• In the Japanese script of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, in order to differentiate them, Sho's name is written in kanji and Minazuki's name is spelled in katakana.
• Sho has an X-shaped scar because his Plume of Dusk was embedded in his forehead. The scar glows blue at times due to the Plume of Dusk. At other times, it glows red due to him receiving power from Hi-no-Kagutsuchi.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	皆月 翔 Minazuki Shō ミナヅキ ショウ Minazuki Shō	Sho Minazuki (Written in kanji) Sho Minazuki (Written in katakana; alternate personality)

Gallery

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight

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  Render of Sho

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  Sho's 2P colors

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  Sho's 2P colors

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

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  Twitter vol. 1 countdown artwork

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  Mini print bonus for buying vol. 4 through Animate

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  JP Vol 4 Back Cover

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  Illustration

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  Vol 1 Color Illustration Page

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  Vol 3 Color Illustration Page

Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold

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  Character visual

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  Bromide

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  Bromide

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  Bromide

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  Bromide

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  Bromide

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  Stage photo

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  Stage photo