Persona Supplementary Blog #4: What do you mean the main character isn't the chosen one?! And for that matter, what even IS a Persona?! · 11:38pm Apr 20th, 2022
Alright, so since I’m back in the swing of Persona 6: REM, I wanted to get back to making these too, cause Persona has some really interesting concepts, but again, hardly any of it is ever explained. Besides Nyx, and just how, terrifying EVERYTHING concerning her is, there’s another subject in Persona that’s rarely ever touched on.
The power itself.
Seriously, every game kinda explains it, but not really. Most they’ll say is “it’s the power to summon the Gods and Demons from within you”, and how a Shadow “is power untamed, and when it’s tempered by the ego, it becomes a Persona”.
What the F*CK does that mean?!
And naturally, it gets even crazier when you see there’s always this special Chosen One who can use multiple Personas. Like, what’s so special about them, right? Joker can use multiple Personas, why not Morgana, or Ann. How come Akechi had the same power as Joker, but only had two Personas he could switch between?
Also, where does this power come from? This, Wild Card. How does it choose a person, and why is that person exclusively the only one who has it?
Simple, they’re not.
It’s not as well known, but in Persona 1, 2, and 2.5 Eternal Punishment, the power of Persona was similar, but a bit different than what it is in current titles. Nowadays, the main character can freely change Personas at will while the other characters can only use a single Persona. But back in the early days, everyone had the ability to use multiple Personas.
Not just of the same Arcana either. Everyone had the ability to freely shift into Personas of multiple types and of different Arcana. Thing is, people had Arcana that they were really good at using, and Arcana that they weren’t as great in using.
So take EQG Rarity for example. She’s hyper feminine, an artist, extremely passionate, flirtatious, but kinda short tempered when she wants to be. Under these rules, she’d probably use Empress Arcana Personas the best, with a hint of Lovers too. That said, because again, hyper feminine, she’d be terrible at using Emperor Arcana Personas, because that emphasizes masculine traits and qualities. This isn’t to say she couldn’t use Emperor Arcana Personas if she had to for whatever reason. Just that those qualities don’t really feel, comfortable to her.
See, Personas are often compared to Stands from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and for good reason. They were initially based off of the raw concept of them I think. However, one major difference between them is while Stands are the embodiment of ones fighting spirit, Personas are a reflection of one’s personality.
Looking at Starlight in Persona 6: REM, notice how she speaks to her Personas? Like how she has this sort of mentor student relationship with Morgana? Well, in truth, Starlight is talking to herself. Morgana is Starlight, albeit personified through magic as a spirit of sorts. There is something of a super natural element present. But it’s more like, Morgana embodies Starlight as the witch.
As for the relationship between Personas and Shadows, that’s a bit where the differences between Personas and Stands tend to shine forth. See, the Shadow isn’t just one aspect of yourself you dislike. It’s a combination of all the things you dislike. The parts of your personality that exist, but are unconscious. Like maybe Applejack secretly hates how people don’t treat her like a woman, but can’t admit it to herself. In Persona, her Shadow might look something like Applejewel, and be characterized as such.
Similarly, Fluttershy may actually be jealous of how outgoing and sensual Rarity is, how confident Rainbow Dash is, or may just resent her friends deep down for various reasons. Her Shadow would then say all the mean things she thinks about her friends, express how jealous she is of Rainbow Dash and Rarity, while also carrying herself more sexually lose, wearing skimpy clothes and being flirtatious, being a dark representation of how she REALLY wants to be.
In both these cases, what the Persona does is takes these aspects of the person and filters them, in a way where the person can still be themselves and control those more unconscious aspects of who they are. It’s not that the Shadow becomes the Persona per say. More like the Persona is born from an understanding that all of these darker aspects of them are who they are, and then channels those darker aspects so that they’re still there, just not as sinister. So Applejack in that example might have a Persona that’s overtly feminine, or maybe someone that’s feminine, but still tough and able to get shit done. Likewise Fluttershy’s Persona could be someone that’s a femme fatale, and outwardly selfish, but not necessarily a bad person.
This way, both of them could still be themselves as they are naturally, but still embrace those more negative traits. They become more whole as a result, and therefore more balanced. One could expect in their everyday lives, Applejack might start being more openly girly around people, or just a tad fussy when someone doesn’t hold the door open for her, but does so for Rarity. As for Fluttershy, expect a lot more snark from this incarnation, as she’s now embracing that her friends are, kinda assholes sometimes.
Seriously Pinkie Pie, Filli Vanilli was not a good look for you… 
Alright, so now that we know what a Persona actually is in context, it’s time to answer one important question. What, the actual fuck, is the Wild Card?
Now, a good bit of this is mostly theory on my part. That said, it’s a theory that’s come from playing all of the games, thinking about society as a whole, the relationship the main characters have with their world around them and the rest of their party, how said party differs from the main character, and talking to various people, my lover being chief among them.
See, they have this theory about the Wild Card. They believe that in truth, the Wild Card isn’t exclusive to just the Trickster at all. Rather, it’s more just something that everyone THINKS is exclusive to him/her, which is reinforced by those around them. I’ll admit, at first I wasn’t sure about this. My lover has only ever played Persona 5, the latest installment, and isn’t a super fan like I am. Therefore, I admit that I wasn’t too thrilled by the idea that the main character of the game, wasn’t really all that special in the grand scheme of things…
Not, at first.
Once I sat down and thought about it though, I remembered how the Wild Card wasn’t even a thing in Persona 1, 2, and Eternal Punishment. People just changed Personas whenever they felt the need to. Like I said before, it wasn’t as free flowing as the Wild Card is now, but changing Personas wasn’t this special thing that only one person could do on the team. It was a shared skill, one that was expected to be used regularly as the need arose.
It’s only since Persona 3 and onward where Personas have become more centralized. Where suddenly, most people have one single Persona that evolves over time, but never changes much beyond that. Meanwhile there’s now this special person who appears that’s an anomaly in this system. They go against the “new rule” in a sense.
Wait a second… this sounds familiar…
skip to 1:20.
Okay, so let me sum up what’s being said here. In this scene, Neo is learning what it means to be The One. Up until this point in the Matrix series, Neo has been seen as this Messiah of sorts. A mythical being who’s going to free the people from the Matrix. He’s able to hack the code of the Matrix through thought alone, which gives him freedom that most don’t have. Such as flight, or the ability to move and fight like the Agents do. It essentially makes him seem super human, and as such, he’s looked up to and worshiped by a ton of people.
In truth though… Neo is the result of an anomaly. When the machines first made the Matrix, they made it more a paradise. The Humans wouldn’t want to leave if it was perfect right? Well turns out, human minds rejected this perfection, so the machines made adjustments to the Matrix. Creating more limitations, making things harder, stuff like that. This made people more compliant with the system, and less likely to begin searching for the way out.
But… this led to the creation of a SUPER powerful anomaly! By creating such forced order, there was always one individual, who’s very nature rejected the controlled system. This person couldn’t be controlled, they’d have powers unlike anyone in the system, and would eventually rise up to challenge the norms around them. That individual, is The One. Neo, being the latest One.
How does this connect to Persona? Well, I think something similar is happening here.
See, as society evolved, people as a whole began to attribute their identities with what’s outside of them. It’s like, instead of knowing who they themselves are as individuals, they focus on how society sees them, the things they like, and shape their personalities around that. Essentially, they become locked in an identity, and assume that if they stop being that identity, they stop being them.
Simply put, they look at their Personas, and think that this is who they are. They identify with an archetype, and stick with it.
This isn’t just as an individual either. Societies over time have begun to become more oriented toward collective ideas and thoughts. A lot of these, aren’t healthy either. It’s like people have just been conditioned to accept mediocrity, right? The people who are in power are the ones who make the rules, and we should just follow them without question. Stuff like that.
In this society, who we really are isn’t exactly accepted. Not as readily at least. This results in people choosing an archetype to carry so they can fit into this collective. The more people adhere to this collective thought, the more society changes to accept this thought, which then reinforces the thought, and so more people believe in it, and I just explained how Yaldabaoth from Persona 5 came into being…
No joke, I did not see that until I typed it.
Now, nothing can exist without balance. The more people who follow an ideal without question, the more noticeable said ideal is to those who are more observant. And not everyone will agree with this. In fact, some people will reject it entirely on principle. Those who play Persona, at least Persona 3, 4, and 5, will have probably heard the term “potential”, referring to the people who have the power to awaken to their Personas.
What they’re referring to are the people who notice the direction society is going, and have the desire to break free of it. The ones who just, don’t fit in this society now. Thing is, they’re torn. They want to break free, but what would that entail? How would they do it? And, if they did, would they be rejected by everyone around them? This is why they have “the potential”. It’s the potential to break free. But that’s all it is. Potential. Until they get that push, they’re probably just going to keep going through the motions, hating every second of it.
Said push, comes in the form of the Wild Card.
Like with the Matrix, there’s always going to be one person who’s very nature is to reject the norm around them. The stronger the collective idea, and the more people follow that collective idea, the harder one will fight to reject it. This will continue, until someone just, refuses to get in line. Society as a whole will view this person as an aberrant, a Maverick, if you would. This isn’t far from the truth either, as this person’s very nature is to just break the rules. They don’t want to give up that freedom. The ability to decide who they are at any given moment. Some of the rules are fine, sure, but not if they’re being forcibly enforced.
In Persona 3, we see a society that was looking at its own end and dreading it. They had no control over their lives, only that they’d one day just, cease to be. All save for one, who took his (or her in P3 Portable) life into his own hands. Makoto Yuki didn’t fear death, rather he embraced it.
In Persona 4, we’re introduced to the sleepy town of Inaba, who’s enveloped in a thick fog of mediocrity, with many of the people afraid to even look in the metaphorical mirror to see what’s truly there. Hell, even people who visited the town from the city eventually succumbed to this. All save for one, seemingly average boy. Yu Narukami, who came from the city, and wasn’t content with being lost in the fog, but rather, sought the truth.
In Persona 5, we see Tokyo, a city that’s fully accepted the idea of “staying in one’s lane”. Those in power are the ones who should be listened to, and everyone else should just shut up, and do what they’re told. If someone in a position of power wants to break the laws, well they make them, and it’s not like anyone can stop them right? Well, one boy seemed to think otherwise. The young man who would later become Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, completely rejected this thought, bringing those people with power down a peg and forcing them to pay for their crimes.
And well, in Persona 6: REM, we’re introduced to a world full of people trapped in despair, and unable to accept their inner power. A world where magic isn’t real, and sometimes, the best one can hope for is a definite, tragic, violent end. Life isn’t fair, and childish dreams like magic will be forgotten. Well, tell that to our resident teenage witch, who never stopped believing in magic. Starlight Glimmer, who believed in magic with her very heart and soul, and now spreads that belief to others, letting them know that their situations, don’t have to end in tragedy, and that they have the power within them to change their destinies.
Those with the potential will see this individual, and flock to them. They wanted to break free, and this person has now given them the means of doing so. They helped THEM see their power, and embrace it. This is where the Wild Card comes into play. This person still has their free will, and is refusing to give that up. Refusing to surrender their power to the Gods that be.
This is also why the Wild Card is now so strong compared to how it used to be. It’s being tempered by the current state of the world. The more the rest of the world moves in one direction, the stronger the ripple is made when one person chooses to go in another direction. It’s literally like what made The One so powerful in the Matrix. It’s the power to resist. The power to say, “No, I don’t accept this.”
But this means that in truth, anyone can do this, right?
Absolutely.
If anyone of them were to gather their courage, and reject this system on their own, they’d have the same power too. They’d be Wild Cards, just like the main characters of each game. The ONLY reason they don’t, is because they’re afraid to let go of the identities that they made for themselves completely. Which personally to me, is fine. They don’t have to change right away. And over time, they do change. Through their Social Links, the main character helps their companions become more comfortable with who they are. If they’re a Persona User too, we see this in the form of their Persona either changing into an evolved, upgraded form, or becoming a different Persona entirely. So they can regain their true power, it’ll just take a while.
So yeah, that’s why I believe the Wild Card exists. Its the result of society trying to streamline itself, only for one person to decide that they’re going against it, and ultimately change it. Let me know what you think of this theory in the comments. I love you guys, and as always…
Pleasant dreams~ 
Deep
But very enlightening
I actually agree to this and never thought of it like that. Now I do hope a future Persona game DOES tap into the whole party Persona switch thing but I do get where all this is coming from.
Nice explanation. I like how you compared a Persona to a Stand, and made a reference to The Matrix.
This..got real deep..and I like it.
A pretty deep and enlightening piece.
One thought that crossed my mind was how it relates to the collective unconscious and the player. The main distinguishing characteristic of the recent Persona protagonists is that they're shaped by the player They can be studious, slackers, social, a shut-in, a glutton, brave, cautious, etc. While all other party members and NPCs follow preset paths, protag-kun is the variable. An actual Wild Card, in a meta sense. It's because you're there guiding his actions that he became the Wild Card. The same thing happens in P3 FES. Aegis gains the Wild Card because you're guiding her.
Of course, this theory goes right out the window if you acknowledge the anime, manga, audio CDs, stage plays, etc. You don't control protag-kun in those, yet he still gains the Wild Card.
5652187
Have you tried the Persona Q games on the 3DS? In those, each character gets 2 personas. One is their default, but the other can be completely customized. This applies to the protagonist characters as well. Per standard, the OST also slaps.
Hmm I be honest, this story never caught my interest at all and yet after reading this piece, I actually think I need to give this one a shot.
5652205
So far, Persona 6: REM is my most emotionally charged piece, and will probably be the biggest story I ever write.
5652219
Let me clear a few off my list and I'll jump on this one
Defentally sounds like I have been neglecting a gem then. I know the most emotionally charged piece I read from you was code lyoko eg, this makes it sound like a walk in the park in comparison.
...Sassyshy will be taking part in this?
5652231
Was more referencing canon Fluttershy for the example, but REM Shy...
Oh I have plans for that one...
5652242
I mean...I'll call about any Flutter with attitude/snark, Sassyshy.
I can't wait to see what you do; I mean...you gave me Aelitashy with your Lyoko story so you have my trust.