Chie Satonaka

Overview

Chie Satonaka is one of the characters in Persona 4, joining the party early in the game. Although she has a short temper, even with friends, she is in reality an extremely protective person, especially when it comes to her best friend, Yukiko Amagi. Chie is also a huge fan of steak and kung fu movies, often bringing them up in normal conversation or going so far as to spontaneously yell out battle cries. Like the other girls in the party, she has little in the way of cooking skills and often botches major dishes. Additionally, the player can also choose to date her or become good friends with her via Social Link events.

Combat

At the start of the game, Chie is primarily used as a caster of ice magic. Her main strength in combat is her physical prowess. Despite the fact that there is a large gap between her skills, by the end of the game, with the combination of "God's hand" and "Power charge", she does considerable damage with melee combat. Chie is one of the only characters that doesn't learn a party-wide buff, only keeping "Tarukaja" which focuses on one character. Chie attacks using her powerful feet, and her weapons are usually variants of shoes or greaves. Her follow-up attack is the Galactic Punt. This move removes an enemy from combat, instantly taking out any standard enemy, and a few select sub-bosses.

Shadow Chie

Chie encounters her Shadow and, by extension, unlocks her initial Persona Tomoe early on in the game at Yukiko's Castle. While there, she is forced to confront several of her issues in front of the then small party. Among them are her jealousy of Yukiko for easily being able to exert her feminine traits, as well as her desire to hold onto Yukiko in order to have a sense of control over someone. Yukiko had historically, after all, been very dependent on Chie for the duration of their friendship. Although Chie initially denies having such sentiments within her because they aren't her true intentions, after recognizing that they are indeed there and her need to keep them in check, she accepts those parts of herself in the end. In doing so, she joins the party in earnest and starts down the path of reconciling the dark aspects of herself.

Social Link

After awakening her own Persona in the Midnight Channel, Chie is made to come to terms with a number of different things, most notably how to best be protective of people without being overbearing, as well societal perceptions of her lack of feminine traits. This is evident in the end part of her link, where she is protecting a young child against bullies. Should her Social Link with Yu Narukami reach the maximum level, she learns to overcome the former after accepting that she doesn't have to go at it alone in situations where others need protection. The latter issue is tackled more directly should the player opt to date her. At the end of the game, she tells Yu that it's her dream to join the Inaba police force and she also hopes to work under Ryotaro Dojima so that she can protect the place that she loves and its people.

After completing Chie's Social Link, Yu receives a wrist band and the ability to create the persona Futsunushi of the Chariot Arcana. Her persona also transforms into Suzuka Gongen upon the Social Link completion, removing her weakness to fire.

Character Design

In the official Japanese art book for Persona 4, the game's character designer, Shigenori Soejima, discusses at length the design process in creating Chie, including the specific influences that led to the final version that is seen in the game. According to him, Chie was always designed from the get-go to be an independent, yet down-to-earth and realistic girl. Her hair and clothing was especially major focal points in designing her; her hair was designed to resemble something you'd see women adorn in modern day Japan and her clothes were deliberately made to look tacky, cheap, and retro-looking to draw out her quirky personality. The end result of Soejima's designing efforts proved to be critical for the development of Persona 4 as a whole, since Chie was the first character in the entire game whose design was finalized. As a result of that, much of the game's optimistic tone and even its color scheme owes a great debt to her creation.

Persona 4 Arena

Two months after the true end of the Inaba murder investigation in Persona 4 Arena, Chie is still focused on entering the police academy after she graduates and becoming a police officer. However, while out on a jog, she overhears students discussing something one of them had seen on the Midnight Channel. Unable to contain herself, Chie hurriedly asks the girls what they were talking about, but only gets a cryptic response about it supposedly displaying some sort of fighting program. That night, she and the others view the Midnight Channel and see that it is now advertising a fighting tournament called the P-1 Grand Prix, in which she and the others are also named as participants. Particularly incensed by the unflattering nickname given to her by the program, "The Carnivore that Discarded Womanhood," she is eager to return to the TV world and figure out what's going on.

Move List

Furious Action

• High Counter (B + D) [AIR]: An unblockable counter that delivers a flurry of kicks.

Skills

• Rampage (236A or B) [SB / A] : Chie does a short hop and flails her legs.
• Skull Cracker (236A or B): Chie will perform one overhead kick and a low kick as Rampage ends.
• Dragon Kick (236C or D) [SB / P / AIR]: A kick given by Chie where she is propelled in a forward and diagonal direction by Tomoe Gozen.
• Black Spot: (214C or D) [SB / P]: Tomoe appears and poses, while Chie palms forward, hitting the opponent into a wall-bounce.

SP Skills

• God Hand (236236C or D) [P] : Chie's Persona calls upon a giant golden fist from the sky to crash down on the opponent.
• Power Charge (236236A or B) : Move that temporarily buffs Chie's damage and can be stacked up to three times.

Awakened SP Skill

• Agneyastra (214214A or B) [P / A] : Sends forth 10 flaming meteorites to rain down on the opponent.

Instant Kill

• Galactic Punt (222C + D) [P]: Tomoe tosses the enemy upward with while Chie prepares to perform her famous kick, which sends the opponent flying into the sky upon impact.

Voices

Chie's Japanese voice actress is Yui Horie, who has portrayed her in all Persona 4-related games and voiced media, including Persona 4, Persona 4: Golden, Persona 4 Arena, and the anime Persona 4: The Animation.

In English, Chie is voiced by Tracey Rooney in Persona 4. Rooney was subsequently replaced by Erin Fitzgerald in all subsequent appearances, starting with Persona 4 Arena. Although no official reasoning was provided, Fitzgerald implied that Atlus wanted Chie to sound younger and more energetic, and that the decision was mutual. Rooney also retired from voice acting around that time.

Battle Quotes

• Aha, is this our chance? (All out attack prompt)
• Sheesh, that hurts! (Recover from Down/Dizzy)
• Someone finish it off!(Attack doesn't kill enemy)
• Come! Hi-ya! (Using Persona skill)
• Ooh! Me, me, me I'll do it! (Follow-up attack)
• Alright! Keep it up! (One-More! chance by others)
• Ooh! Can I have this one!? (Follow-up attack)
• Don't think, feel! (Victory/Bruce Lee reference )
• Couldn't quite beat it...(Attack doesn't kill enemy)
• Persona! (Using Persona skill)
• Now, Suzuka Gongen! (Enemy weak to attack/Critical with Phys skill)
• How was that?! (Victory)
• Yay, I levelled up! (Level Up)
• That was easy! (Victory)
• Thanks a million! (Being Healed)
• Thank you! (Being Healed)
• All right guys! Pile on! Ready? (All Out attack prompt)
• So who's next in line for a stomping? (Victory)
• It's up to you, chief! (Decline All Out attack)
• We're not doing it? Ohh...(Decline All Out attack)

Trivia

• Chie and her parents own a dog that Yukiko was clutching when the two met. It has apparently grown to be fat and stinky.
• After a battle, one of Chie's lines is " Don't think...feel." This is a reference to Bruce Lee, who's character says the same line in the movie Enter the Dragon.
• Chie, Teddie, and Yosuke are the only party members who do not have a dungeon manifested for them. Chie encounters her Shadow in Yukiko's Castle.