Trauma Narratives in Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal (P5R) is a visually stunning, widely acclaimed JRPG from Atlus, the studio responsible for the Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) series and the resulting Persona spinoffs. You play as a semi-silent protagonist (codenamed “Joker”) as you recruit friends (referring to yourselves as the Phantom Thieves) to fight in a parallel universe known as the “cognitive world” (or Metaverse) and steal “treasure” — the distorted desires of corrupted people. Meanwhile, you also manage Joker’s life as a high school student by going to class, taking exams, and spending time with your friends helping them face their challenges. With a backdrop of mythical figures, Jungian archetypes, and existing SMT lore they tell stories of children and teenagers harmed by adults in ways that mirror our real world. The game captures a world that, while full of evil deeds and pain, is full of hope, and proposes that the door to healing is open to everyone.
DISCLAIMER: Many of us have personal experiences that resemble those of the characters in this game. While I will be discussing trauma and recovery from a clinical perspective, nothing in this essay is intended to be counseling or psychological advice. If you resonate with these stories and want help, check out this guide from Take This: How to Find a Therapist (US)
SECOND DISCLAIMER: I am discussing trauma in this piece, and I believe it is important to allow people to opt out with a more specific content warning. This piece will discuss (in non-graphic terms) suicide attempts, sexual harassment and sexual abuse, physical violence, police brutality, and a myriad of depictions of emotional and verbal abuse.
THIRD DISCLAIMER: There are spoilers in here for the entire story, including the third semester expansion, of P5R.
What is trauma?
For our purposes, we’ll define trauma as an ongoing response to a major event (such as death, injury, assault, or disaster) or a series of events (such as neglect, emotional manipulation, abuse, or instability). For some people, the trauma responses fade over time with distance from the events. For others, they can have ongoing responses such as issues with self-image and self-esteem, intrusive memories (flashbacks), hallucinations, nightmares, hypervigilance, instability in personal relationships, and even physiological symptoms such as headaches or nausea. Many people experience other mental health issues after experiencing trauma like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, eating disorders, and more. Though there are many effective treatment options, trauma recovery can take a long time and be a non-linear process.
Another important part of trauma to understand is that these symptoms occur because of physical effects on the brain. When someone experiences trauma, it affects the amygdala (the emotional and instinctual center), the hippocampus (the memory center), and the prefrontal cortex (responsible for regulating emotions and impulses). When we experience trauma, we go into “survival mode” and rely on our instincts and parasympathetic nervous system (“fight-or-flight”) to get through. Afterward, when we are reminded of our trauma, our amygdala activates, the prefrontal cortex shuts down, and the hippocampus can’t differentiate a memory from the present. Essentially, trauma can keep your brain in hypervigilant survival mode long after the danger has passed. If the trauma occurs during childhood, when the brain is less developed, the effects on brain function can be even broader. When we see the characters of P5R, we are looking at teenagers, many of whom experienced trauma as children, so we know their brain development plays a role in how their trauma responses developed.
Trauma in the story
The game opens with Joker leaving his hometown to live in Tokyo with a new guardian, which we eventually learn is due to the fact that he was charged with assault after stopping a man from attacking a woman on the street. Joker faces social ostracization from his peers, the loss of his family (who make no appearance within the game outside of a single line), and faces more traumatic events (including a murder attempt and police brutality) throughout the game. We also meet Sumire, who we eventually learn lost her sister in an accident (which she witnessed). For these two characters, their trauma came from big events that alter their lives suddenly and decidedly.
However, we also meet characters who were much younger when they experienced trauma. Yusuke, Ryuji, and Akechi all describe trauma in their upbringing. For example, Akechi describes a series of emotionally and physically abusive experiences in foster care and the suicide of his mother, while his father was absent from his life entirely. Meanwhile, Ryuji faced physical abuse from his alcoholic father and witnessed his mother being abused as well, eventually facing physical abuse from a teacher. One of the most horrifying scenes of the game features a child Futaba being read a fake suicide note from her mother while men in suits mock her and call her a murderer.
The women of the game face abuse in many ongoing, complex, and insidious ways. Ann, Makoto, Haru, and Futaba are objectified and harassed by men throughout the game. For example, Ann and her best friend Shiho’s experiences of sexual harassment by a teacher (the same teacher who abused Ryuji) are the impetus for the first stage of the game. It is implied that Shiho was sexually assaulted and she attempts suicide while at school in a visceral cutscene. This ultimately leads to the formation of the Phantom Thieves, as the characters agree this teacher must be punished and made to atone for his crimes. It’s an emotional scene and, like the scene of Futaba’s trauma, drives home that these injustices have debilitating effects on these characters.
In these teenagers, the effects of their trauma vary. Many characters face crises of identity, have low self-worth or self-confidence, and some even have outbursts and violence. When Ryuji is triggered by his memories of abuse, he kicks over a chair and yells at the teacher. Akechi, who is an antagonist at times throughout the game, is shown to have a violent, even ruthless personality underneath his TV-perfect looks. Futaba becomes isolated, unable to leave her bedroom, and experiences hallucinations and memory loss. Sumire, unable to accept the loss of her sister, experiences delusions and fragmentations of her personality. While these are dramatized for the sake of fiction, they resemble the real effects of trauma. We also see the fight-or-flight system activate in several characters throughout the game. Fight-or-flight has two other responses, however: freeze (so the predator cannot see you) and fawn (so the predator is happy with you). There are several scenes of characters (particularly Makoto) freezing in times of fear, while Haru and Yusuke fawn at their abusers to avoid further punishment and abuse.
Finding, starting, and continuing recovery
Trauma recovery is long and non-linear in real life. In the context of the story, we don’t see the adults that these characters grow up to be and we don’t see the long-term effects of their trauma over their lives. However, we do see some of the principles of trauma recovery at play in the game.
Each character begins their recovery by accepting their “true self” and acknowledging what has happened to them. In the game, this is the awakening of their Persona — a superpowered spirit that fights alongside them, born of their inner self. This is how they gain the power to fight injustice and make right the wrongs that they experienced, to protect others from that same pain, and to hold their abusers accountable. This concept, while fictional, is an important part of healing: being able to name what has happened.
Many of the characters heal through social connections and friendships. Many of the characters apologize to each other for their conduct and are shown to be forgiving and accepting of each other’s flaws. Throughout the social events of the game, we see various characters reclaiming passions, hobbies, and career paths. Some integrate their experiences and accept them, choosing a different path forward (like Sumire, who chooses to live as herself and accept the loss of her sister). Ryuji starts running again after being injured by his abusive teacher. Yusuke finds a passion and inspiration in painting after losing the patronage of his instructor. Ann and Makoto recommit to their career goals after living for other people. Futaba overcomes her social anxiety and manages to go shopping on her own. Haru decides on a direction for the business she inherited, after being undermined her entire life.
Therapy is a topic in this game as well. Each character is shown to attend a therapy session at their school at least once. The therapist himself (Dr. Maruki) is shown to have experienced trauma of his own and the game explores how his lack of healing affects his actions and choices. Even though the therapist has several ethical issues involving mind manipulation and using his Persona powers for world domination, I appreciate the positive lens of therapy in this game. Akechi, the sometimes-villain, sometimes-rival character is also left up in the air regarding his healing. He accepts his horrific deeds and the terrible things done to him and states “I am done being manipulated,” but his fate is left unclear at the end of the game. Since trauma recovery is a non-linear process, it makes sense that not every character reaches a tidy ending.
Conclusion
Stories about trauma can easily be dark, sorrowful affairs with little hope and light. Persona 5 Royal remains upbeat and joyful throughout, while not shying away from the difficult topics and visceral effects of trauma in its characters. The game doesn’t discuss many factors of recovery outside of friendship and self-determination, but these are important ingredients. Many of us may need community support, financial support, or medication support for recovery. Many of us may have a longer, more difficult process ahead than the span of one school year, but we can still make progress in any span of time. Whatever we have suffered, the game states we have the power to seize recovery and power within us, as long as we lean on our friends and accept ourselves. That gives me hope, and I hope it gives you hope too.
