Shigenori Soejima
(Redirected from Soejima)
| Shigenori Soejima | |
| 副島 成記 | |
Soejima in 2026 | |
| Date of Birth | February 24, 1974 |
| Birthplace | Japan |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation(s) | Artist Art director |
| Known For | Persona series |
Shigenori Soejima (副島 成記 , Soejima Shigenori) is a Japanese video game artist, best known for his work in the Persona series of role-playing video games by Atlus. He is also the art director of some of Atlus' other series, including Catherine and Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Biography
Early Life
Soejima was born in Kanagawa Prefecture.[1] When he was in middle school, he loved Record of Lodoss War and Patlabor, and they influenced him. He once drew character sketches, but he has never drew a manga.[2] He attended high school in Tokyo. His uniform consisted of checkered pants and an emerald green necktie.[3] In high school, he did not join any clubs, such as the art or manga club, and only drew at home. But he loved drawing and went to a vocational school to study illustration. He originally planned to apply to advertising agencies or the design industry, but because he needed to find a job urgently, he applied to Atlus.[1]
Career
He joined the atlus in 1995,[4] and started his career with Print Club.[5] He drew the Jack Frost on the title screen.[6] Since around 2017, he has been part of an independent department called the Atlus Artwork Team.[7]
Personal Life
Media Credits
This is a list of each Megami Tensei media Shigenori Soejima was involved with.
Trivia
- According to Kazuma Kaneko in Megami Tensei Jūnenshi, Soejima's favorite demon was Leanan Sidhe.[9]
- Makoto Niijima was the most fun character to design for Persona 5.[10]
- Soejima has stated that when designing, he will always create a female character wearing a headband or headphones, since the accessory divides the hair in a satisfying way and makes it easy to get the right angle when drawing.[11][12] He also simply thinks girls look cute when wearing a headband.[13]
- For Persona 3, 4, and 5, he designed Aigis, Yukiko Amagi, and Makoto Niijima with headbands
- When designing the protagonists of the Persona series, he emphasizes the feeling that they could exist in the real world.[14] This approach was mentioned again by Yosuke Uda regarding Persona 5: The Phantom X.[15]
- His art style was influenced by Kazuma Kaneko and Fujiko Fujio.[16]
- He and Kazuhisa Wada and Masayuki Doi enjoyed playing The King of Fighters during their breaks.[17][18][19]
- The character Garcon Soejima from Persona 2: Innocent Sin is based on him.[20]
Gallery
For a listing of files on Megami Tensei Wiki produced by Shigenori Soejima, see Category:Works by Shigenori Soejima.
-
Soejima with Megumi Shiraishi and Kazuma Kaneko in 1999 -
Soejima in 2018 -
Soejima in 2026
Artwork
Timelapse of a Persona 5 illustration featuring Makoto Niijima for pixiv's Deskwatch series
Timelapse of the key illustration for The Eve of P3D & P5D Persona Show Case
Timelapse of a Persona 5 Royal illustration featuring Joker and Violet
Timelapse of a PROJECT Re FANTASY illustration featuring an unnamed character and a dog
Timelapse of a Catherine: Full Body illustration featuring Catherine, Katherine, and Rin
Interviews
Persona 5 interview with Katsura Hashino and Shoji Meguro - July 19, 2016
Yutaka Izubuchi x Shigenori Soejima: Conversation - May 14, 2018
The Art of Persona and Catherine - July 18, 2018
Persona 5 Royal interview on the 続きぃぃeeeee！電脳HUMAN program - June 30, 2019
- Atlus Is Currently Hiring! Interview With "Persona" Character Designer Shigenori Soejima #DESKWATCH - April 28, 2017
- (“Record of Lodoss War” Yutaka Izubuchi x “Persona” Shigenori Soejima: Conversation) “Why do elves have long ears?” Exploring the secrets hidden in visual creation that will be passed down to the next generation (In search of a new and classic fantasy ② ) - May 14, 2018
- (“Berserk” Kentaro Miura x “Persona” Katsura Hashino & Shigenori Soejima) Beyond “sex and violence” and the birth of dark fantasy - July 9, 2019
Notes
- ↑ Fusion sword design
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 季刊エス. Published by PIE International. Page 109-110. Cover date October, 2019.
- ↑ ゲーム&アニメ キャラクターデザインブック. Published by パイインターナショナル. Page 15.
- ↑ "自分は東京のとある高校出身なのですがそこの制服がかなり派手だったんですよね。チェックのズボンにエメラルドグリーンのネクタイという女の子（女の子はチェックのスカート）には人気があったのですが男子には不評でした。" Translation: "I went to a high school in Tokyo, and the uniform there was quite gaudy. The checked pants and emerald green tie were popular with the girls (the girls wore checked skirts), but unpopular with the boys." Shigenori Soejima, Behind the Scenes with Artist Soejima Vol. 16. Published August 24, 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2025. Atlus Net.
- ↑ 「ペルソナ5」から「ペルソナ5 ザ・ロイヤル」までの3年で取り組んだシリーズの挑戦とは。ペルソナチームの和田和久氏と伊東大輝氏，デザイナーの副島成記氏に話を聞いた. Retrieved June 28, 2026. .
- ↑ 『真・女神転生』や『ペルソナ』を生み出したアトラス、社員は変わり者ばかり!?. Retrieved December 19, 2025. ananweb.jp.
- ↑ "あと、『プリント倶楽部』のタイトル画面でクルクル回ってアニメーションするジャックフロストも描きました。" Shigenori Soejima Artworks: 2004-2010. Published by Enterbrain. Page 149.
- ↑ "じつは副島にも、このたび新設したアトラスアートワークチームに所属してもらい、" Weekly Famitsu. Published by Kadokawa. Japanese. No. 1464 Page 8. Cover date January 5, 2017.
- ↑ "『デビルサマナー』では、合体剣のデザインを手がけていたとか。かの「ネコパンチバズ」も氏のデザインらしい。" Dengeki PlayStation. Published by ASCII MediaWorks. No. 469 Page 201. Cover date April 9, 2010.
- ↑ "副島は、「デビルサマナー」ではキレイどころ系の悪魔をけっこうやってます。特にリャナンシーあたりが好みだったみたいですね。" Megami Tensei Jūnenshi (1998), CB's Project. Published by Aspect. Japanese. p. 125. ISBN-13: 978-4-89366-917-9.
- ↑ "Makoto was the character I had the most fun designing this time (laughs)." "Interview with Shigenori Soejima", Persona 5 Royal Official Design Works. Published by Kadokawa Game Linkage. English. p. 508. ISBN-13: 978-1772943238.
- ↑ "数あるレトロ風の要素の中で、なぜカチューシャを選ばれたのですか?
副島･･････カチューシャが好きなんですよ(笑)。自分のデザインには、毎回カチューシャをつけたキャラクターが、必ずひとりは入ってるいるんじゃないでしょうか。" "Interview with Shigenori Soejima", Persona 4 Official Design Works. Published by Atlus. Japanese. p. 188. - ↑ "When I draw women, I like to use headbands to divide the hair into sections. To separate it into bands, sides, and back... drawing that is remarkably satisfying. ... What's more, starting with the position of the headphones makes it easy to get the right angle for the illustration." "Interview with Shigenori Soejima", Persona 5 Royal Official Design Works. Published by Kadokawa Game Linkage. English. p. 508. ISBN-13: 978-1772943238.
- ↑ "You can try to explain it any number of ways, but ultimately it boils down to the fact that I think girls look cute in headbands." "Interview with Shigenori Soejima", Persona 5 Royal Official Design Works. Published by Kadokawa Game Linkage. English. p. 508. ISBN-13: 978-1772943238.
- ↑ "『ぺルソナ』シリーズの主人公なら“実際にいそうな雰囲気”も意識して描くのですが、" 週刊ファミ通. Published by KADOKAWA. Japanese. No. 1803 Page 18. Cover date July 6, 2023.
- ↑ [1]. Retrieved December 19, 2025. denfaminicogamer.jp.
- ↑ "話は変わりますが、副島さんの画風に影響を与えた作家さんや作品などありますか? 番影響が強いのは......やっぱり、金子さんです。(...)根本的なところでは、藤子不二雄だったりするんです。" ステラデウス ザ・コンプリートガイド. Published by メディアワークス. Japanese. Page 206.
- ↑ "そうそう、カドゥケウスのキャラ描いてる土居氏も先週倒れてましたね。格ゲーの対戦相手がいなくなるとつまらない………いや、仕事が進まないので困ったもんです。" 絵師・副島成記の舞台裏 Vol.40. Archived: [2]. Retrieved February 26, 2026. atlusnet.jp.
- ↑ Translation: "SS: This year…I didn’t really have any, either. I do play King of Fighters against my coworkers regularly during lunch breaks." Persona 4 Afterthoughts. Archived: Megatengaku. Retrieved February 26, 2026. 1up.com.
- ↑ "和田和久氏(以下、和田) 僕も、昼休みになるとよく副島といっしょに格闘ゲームを遊んでいたので、本作にはぜひ参加したいと名乗り出ました。" P-1 Grand Prix Visual Pamphlet. Published by Enterbrain. Japanese. Page 18.
- ↑ The PlayStation. Published by SoftBank Publishing. No. 165 Page 63. Cover date September 17, 1999.