HEY GUYS I CANT BELIEVE HOW GREAT WE, THE PHANTOM THIEVES, ARE.

LIKE WE ARE SO AWESOME, THIS GROUP OF OURS, THE PHANTOM THIEVES, ALL OF US TOGETHER, SO AWESOME.

Like fuck man seriously the whole point is that no-one knows your identity and yet every school day, every time on the subway, every restaurant, every time you're in fucking public you're flappin your mouth hole about how great we/us/you are as the phantom thieves, all to get laid.

Also you're a fucking dick to the cat and that shits me as well.

Now at the 5th palace and I fucking hate Ryuji. He's become loud-mouthed and big-headed to the point of unbearable. Role-wise, his also pretty much the most useless person in the team, with no talents outside of battle. I wish so much I could tell him off or kick him off the team...

Im 60hours in now and he still has the stupid role,Everyone else is just so chill but he keeps on going on and on what a whiny dude.

N.B Makoto is the best character in the whole game.

After about 70 hours I can confirm that Ryuji is the best bro and Yusuke is probably the worst character in the entire game. Maybe Mishima is worse, idk, it's close.

I've gotten really annoyed with him a couple of times, but then again, isn't that just how people are? You get annoyed with them. While I like Makoto for instance, she is almost too "perfect", making her a bit flat. Futaba is probably my favorite so far, some of her quips in the text messages are pretty funny I think. Though I gets a bit much with the videogame references all the time.

@zeushbien: I agree, Futaba is mostly great... except when she makes unfunny nerdy references. Atlus no doubt thought they'd be funny/cute, but they are mostly cringey instead. Honestly Futaba is at her best when being socially akward or brutal to others.

I totally agree.

Near the end of the game right now (12/10) and I've liked all his confidant scenes well enough. Solid bro or whatever.

But in all other major plot scenes, he was the absolute worst and even actively detrimental to the group. He has zero tact when it comes to secrecy and for 90% of the main story is just obsessed with nothing but being famous to the point that I started expecting there'd be some kind of Ryuji palace related to vanity.

Oh I think that's the whole idea though. Those references feel like they feed directly into the idea of not knowing how to interact with other people at all. I have to imagine her dialogue was a real treat to localize.

I did see them though and think 'Aw man people are gonna hate her for this stuff' and that's a real shame.

Well, I don't hate her for them, I still like her a lot, and I think you are right in that it is meant to show how unused to living in the real world she is. I still feel like that could have come across without them, or at least with significantly less of them.

Nah Makoto and Futaba are way worse than him. he is just normal dude and thing like teenage kid in his situation. Fame, money and girls are the things that would be on mind of most people in his shoes.

Ryuji is definitely starting to grind my gears a bit at the 5th Palace. He was being ridiculously mean to Morgana, and I really wish the game gave me the option to tell him the shut the hell up. Other than that, I think he's reacting like any person his age would. They initially started the group to help people, but now the fame is starting to get to his head, and he's letting that influence his decisions. I have faith that Atlus will have all of this backfire on him significantly - and hey, considering you're telling a prosecutor this whole story while being imprisoned, I think it does end up blowing up in his face.

Why is everyone crying about Ryuji being mean to Morgana when he dose the same thing back to Ryuji but when the first thing doesn't go he way he cry and run away.

He's grown on me over time for sure. I'd side with the people who think he's not necessarily likable but also not a bad character. He's essentially a former jock who had his athletic aptitude forcibly stripped away from him by a fucked up adult. When your specialty in school is sports and you lose that I can totally buy the idea of becoming a hot headed dumbass as a result. Can we start a positive thread for the characters in this game because I like a lot of them more than I thought I would from the start.

@submarine_bear: Ding ding ding ding, you are correct sir!

Now that I'm quite a bit into this game and am nearing the end, I can safely say: Fuck both Ryuji AND Morgana.

After dozens of hours, I think I had enough of him. Cause the two modes he can communicate are somewhat calm (after getting told by everyone on the team to "Calm the fuck down!") and FUCKING SHIT AAAAAARG. Which is weird because in his Social Link scenes he acts like a totally different, normal person. And he always seems to have a boner for fucking shit up and when someone tells him "Hey, maybe we should think about this first" he goes batshit crazy.

Not to mention he's an asshole towards Morgana for being 'useless.' Morgana can turn into a motherfucking catbus and has a greater knowledge of the Metaverse than Ryuji. What can Ryuji bring to the table? "Me Kratos!" ...That's it.

So yeah, fuck Ryuji!

@whatshisface: ryuji=kratos. Dude you just blew my mind. No wonder I hate him.

I can understand why someone wouldn't like Ryuji. I don't agree with it, but I understand it at least. This Morgana hate is baffling though. It's a Cat that turns into a Van! He's a Cat-Van that lets unlicensed teenagers drive him!

Ryuji is the best, fuck the haters.

December spoilers:

Ryuji is the only one who recognizes that I've been overleveled since the second dungeon and everything I gaze at dies instantly. I thought we went through this in the fifth dungeon? Everything must die.

Here's how the party works:

Ryuji is the motherfucker pulling the whole troupe towards bigger and better things while these other wishy washy fucks are kicking and screaming, 'cause they lack the WILL POWER and confidence to be actual Phantom Thieves.

Also, I feel like people pay attention to Ryuji when he raises his voice and just gloss over everything else he says. I'm in August of NG+ and have been paying close attention to him and so far he's just been a solid bro.

E: Now with more fanfiction.

@briarpack:
That first Spoiler block pretty much covers why Renji is not awsome.....

If Ryuji would have just kept his damn mouth shut, Makoto wouldn't have been able to blackmail us in the first place.
AND EVEN AFTER THAT! He STILL goes around shouting, and saying; 'YO WE ARE THE PHANTOM THIEVES!!!' in public every chance he gets.

REAL Late Game Spoilers.... not end game, but late.

And I suppose that is why, when we stumble upon the conspiracy, he is literally the first one to try and quit?

Ryuji has me so angry, because up until now, I have loved all of the characters in this game.

• Ann, while at first glance appears to be a standard Vally Girl Bitch. Is actually a caring friend just trying to protect, and help, the people she cares for, any way she can.
• Morgana, of the Bro-Arcane(Magician), is for all intents and purposes the second protagonist. Master Thief, Metaverse Scensai, and obvious overcompensating bravado, if Joker didn't exist we ALL know who would be the MC..... that plus the way he watches over Futaba is just adorable >.<
• Yusuke, the aloof Artist BADASS. Underneath his formal aloof nature, lies the heart of a true one-liner spouting BADASS. Besides the MC, Alucard, Awakening, Yusuke's awakening was my favorite. The fact he can dish out, TONS of damage also helps with badass label. As for his personality, he almost always has something helpful to say in serious situations, and almost always something hilarious to say in less serious situations. and as for his interactions with Futaba..... I currently ship Inari(Yusuke) X Futaba. The LOL Couple.
• Makoto, let's be honest, if you found out the Mafia was targeting your school. You would try to blackmail some superheroes into fixing the problem for you as well. (If you had the opportunity that is, and thanks to Ryuji she did.) She is practically the exact opposite of Ryuji... which of course makes her my Waifu ^///^ Unlike Ryuji she is smart, not a jerk, actually cares about helping people, and most of all useful :) (Unlike the Ryuji the walking liability)
• Futaba, SHE IS SO DAMN CUTE!!!!
• Haru, I am still getting to know Haru, but her introduction is probably the funniest event to take place in the game so far..... "Mona and the Beauty Thief Strick Again" Nanananana Beauty Thief!
• Sojiro, the coolest uncle I never knew I always wanted, sure he is a bit cold to you at first, but looking back. You can tell, even when he first met you, he always wanted what's best for you. He is the kindest cool old guy, you could ever hope to find!
• Dr. Takemi, my biggest crush. Now as I don't pimp my character, I only romanticize one Confidant at a time. I have not romanced her yet, but her dry wit, and gothic charm has me hooked. The fact she gives us Drugs despite knowing we are lying is cool too. (She can probably tell we need the healing for important stuff)
• Mishima, he is as psychologically damaged as I expected, considering he spent years under someone's abusive control. After all that shit, things don't go hunky dory over night, and is S Link arc is perfect. as far as I can tell...
• Akechi, my Beloved Nemesis >:D
  
  

I love them all, even my Charm pinatas Ichiko & Toranosuke.
Which is why Ryuji makes me so angry, in the sea of diamonds, the Shit Head really stands out.

I liked Ryuji at first, but the narrative circumstances around the fifth palace made me very cross with him. It all feels true to what the character would do, though, so good on Atlus. Also, metaphorically dunking on Ryuji is one of the best parts of this game.

@mikeshogunlee said:

Ryuji seems like that friend you had where he was like kinda smelly and unstable and told racist jokes but probably didn't really mean it, but he was nice and did crazy shit and had a PlayStation

I like Naoto a lot. Always found it somewhat humorous that her logical, matter of fact character is reflected in her fighting style as well. While everybody else in the party resorts to knives, steel chairs or silverware taped to their paws, Naoto's just straight up murdering Shadows with handguns.

Regarding Ryuji: I don't mind him so far, but I'm only at the end of the second palace and got his S-Link up to 7. His universal anger toward adults is the most grating character trait of his for me. Then again, that fits perfectly with the theme of the game. I probably would have liked him more when I was younger myself, but I've mellowed out quite a bit since then.

What really surprises me is how much I've grown to like Ann. I didn't care for her in the least at the start of the game, now she seems like a really cool, all around decent and funny person to just hang around with.

@dinosaurcanada: haha I knew that guy too!

climbing aboard the "Fuck Junpei" train

I think almost everyone in the game I've met so far is the worst. I don't like Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, caretaker guy and the first two bad guy's entire arcs (since every adult seems cartoonishly evil/egotistical, with the bad guys getting forced redemptions not of their own volition).

Even the main character. The "choices" you get in dialogue somehow feel even more restricted than before. There's rarely an option I actually want to choose, I'm just going with the least bad one. He lies like a 4 year old but you never get to pick an honest answer. And even though you can respond quite frequently, none of it feels like it changes anything. Also, the interactions with newly introduced possible party members so far are always fucking awful. They enter the scene, say two lines, you don't get to explain yourself or answer in any smart way, they leave the scene, rinse and repeat for a few days which leads to big misunderstandings every time and eventually they join you after what could've been cleared up in a single conversation.

Maybe I've just been spoiled by better writing in games recently, but this one is painful for me.

@dinosaurcanada: Yeah I know that guy. I hate that guy!

I was in this topic earlier saying Ryuji was fine. I was wrong. I was so very very wrong. This game need a "smack Ryuji upside the head" button.

I went on an exciting roller coaster in both thread and game. He's great and terrible and okay then back to terrible and finally breaking even all over again.

Can't say that he's boring at least.

I read the title of this thread as "Ryan was just the worst" and I was going to start a fight.

Ryuji's ok I guess. I like his outfit and shotgun.

@linkster7: Hey I ain't a Ryuji hater myself, I'm pro Ryuji generally. I hang out with him whenever I can, hes got guts, the kind kids don't usually have, I respect that

Them being the Phantom Thief's is the worst kept secret even without Ryuji being a load mouth Ann also blabs about it with Ryuji when there first discovered by Makoto, they have open group text messages about their activities which yes Futaba discovers, but you would think Akechi would have the police check out their text message records along with their phone call history and emails since he suspects them of being the Phantom Thief's. and like you mentioned they all loudly talk about it on the Public Overpass "hideout."

Ryuji is terrible. Yusuke is the worst though. I wouldn't mind his weirdness (and his borderline creepiness - seriously, just leave Ann alone), but his immaturity is what gets me. I just maxed his social link and I was hoping that his character development would involve accepting the patron's support, but NO it was all about how good art makes you feel *feelings*.

It's like, dude, how do you think the real world works? You can't eat feelings. Many artists, even talented ones, barely scrape by. And here you are, being offered the opportunity of a lifetime, and you turn it down multiple times. Seriously, that makes you dumber than Ryuji.

Which is a real shame, because I liked the "coming to terms with a mentor who did terrible things but was a complicated human being" bit of his arc, because it mirrored some things from my own life.

I like Ryuji significantly more than Yosuke, but less than Junpei (who is my GOAT.)

Ryuji is okay with me. He did come off annoying (if you hate horny perverts, you won't like him even more) and stupid considering he's loud, actually got someone to stalk us later in the story. He does fit the "rebellion" part but not the "stealth" of the game.

Ryuji has the unfortunate honour of taking the spot reserved for the Well meaning but slighly dense best friend who's job in the main story is to not understand stuff so the other characters have an excuse for talking exposition, it's a thankless spot but I think he manages quite good.

I never liked Junpei, I really like Yosuke in his social link story stuff, but he's awful in the main plot with his constant leering at the girls (or yelling at them) and gay panic. I'm only at the midpoint of the second palace but so far Ryuji's been good to middling in the main story (he comes off way worse after the Kamoshida palace is over with, his yelling was more justified when it was personal) but his social link stuff has been really good, good enough to put him ahead of Junpei and Yosuke.

I have to say, as far as the "Wingman Character" of Persona series goes, Ryuji is horrible. Persona 3 had Junpei, who actually got significantly better due to the tragedies that befell the party throughout the story. His Social Link also delved into the abusive home life and overcoming that situation. He grew in maturity and power and had high points and low points but always felt like an underdog that you want to see come through at the end.

In Persona 4 we had Yosuke. Sure he had a bit of a klutz complex and issues with feeling like he wasn't experiencing what he considered an "exciting" life, but he had many moments in the story and in his Social Link where he showed surprising insight, or concern. After his first botch up with the protagonist, he remained conscious of being discreet and backed you up. He bit the bullet and housed Teddie (poor guy). His awkward relationship with Chie and the rest of gang was funny and great to experience. Also, we had Kanji, who, though brash and extremely rough around the edges, had his aggression curbed by his concern about how others viewed him amongst other things, like Naoto being a girl and his awkward feelings about that given his TV world event.

Then we get Ryuji. Right out the gate I understand the crap he went through with the early events of the game. That kind of crud would piss off anyone. However, his blatant hate and assumption that all adults are shit is a load of crap itself. I get that he's loud and obnoxious and pissed and hotheaded, but it DOES NOT match his Social Link. Where he shows growth in restraint in his Social Link, he shows NONE OF IT in the story. Throughout the entire story he constantly and blatantly yells effectively, "WE ARE THE PHANTOM THIEVES!!!" It gets you into trouble constantly when he knows full well the protagonist's thin ice situation of Probation. Whenever you need to be discreet he gets in people's faces, then gets pissed when said person tells him off because HE'S VERBALLY ASSAULTING THEM. The final straw for me though was when Morgana flees the group and you all try to apologize to him, Ryuji halfasses it and after all the shit you go through, doesn't cement the apology and no one, NO ONE makes him accountable for the near breakup of the group. I just stopped using him at that point and always carried a "Zio" using Persona at all times.

Junpei Iori and Yosuke Hanamura would get the party into a jam every now and again, but realize it and apologize and actually work to help keep party cohesion. Ryuji doesn't, his Social Link means nothing in the story because you see none of it's growth in his character in the story. He's dumber than a brick and doesn't even try to improve himself. Kanji's growth and journey was fun and hilarious, Yosuke was like a brother, heck, Junpei was phenomenal and tear jerking. Ryuji, just . . . no . . . Just horrid. The voice actor was great, the character itself? No.

Persona 5, also known as 'Someone please tape Ryuji's mouth shut before he gets us all killed'

Seriously, what an annoying, loud, arrogant brat. Now he keeps talking about picking up girls using his "fame" (you dumb shit just sit in the starting zone all the time, give me a break). I know it's not possible but I wish you could influence his character a bit more to get him to stop jeopardizing everything just because he's desperately horny.

Ryuji is a great example of the game's bizarre, youth-pandering writing. Fuck adults! Fuck not getting to what I want!

I don't have an issue as other people have, but I will say his Confidant and him in the beginning of the story is better than the later portions. I kind of liked the delinquent hanging out with a delinquent aspect of the opening act. I think when they started to add more characters, Ryuji and Ann sort of get pushed into the background. Which kinda makes sense when you think about how you are going to give Makoto, Futaba, and Haru their moment to shine. However, for Ryuji specifically, they went a little too far into turning him into the stupid character.

So yeah, that could have been better, but I liked just about everyone in this game.