Taro Namatame

Overview

Taro Namatame, a character in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, was a successful, up-and-coming politician from Inaba who seemed to have it all going for him. In addition to a promising political career, he was also married to Misuzu Hiiragi, a popular enka singer. However, he and TV newscaster Mayumi Yamano met and fell in love, leading to an affair that destroyed both of their lives when Hiiragi found out and revealed the details to the press. Disgraced, Namatame lost his job as council secretary and returned to his hometown to live in solitude, where he was also unknowingly given the power to enter the TV World by Izanami.

When he saw Mayumi appear on the Midnight Channel prior to her death, he discovered his ability to enter the television. After Mayumi died, he became interested in helping people, and tried to warn Saki Konishi after she appeared on the Midnight Channel, but to no avail. After her death, he realized he would have to take matters into his own hands. Using his new delivery job as a cover, he began to kidnap people and throw them into a television he kept in the back of his truck, believing that these actions would save them from the murderer. After kidnapping Nanako Dojima, he is pursued by Nanako's father, Yu, and his friends, but after crashing his truck, he makes his escape through the television he carried in the truck, taking Nanako with him.

Inside the TV World, Namatame is confronted by Yu and the others, convinced that his actions are going to save Nanako. However, his emotions and mental state cause him to draw out Kunino-sagiri. After Kunino-sagiri's defeat, Namatame is taken out of the TV World and handed over to the police. Weakened by his ordeal, he is subsequently put under armed guard at Inaba Municipal Hospital. He is also charged with the deaths of Yamano and Konishi. After Nanako's life signs give out, the Investigation Team confronts Namatame, when they see his Shadow appear on the Midnight Channel. The Shadow taunts them, telling them that he will continue saving others.

If Yu doesn't stop Yosuke, Naoto and Kanji from throwing Namatame into the TV out of revenge, the game's bad ending will be triggered, and the actual killer will go unpunished as the truth will go unknown. Namatame is thrown into the TV and dies in the TV world, later found by the police. Alternatively, if Yu spares Namatame but cannot convince the others that they need to dig deeper into the case, Namatame will later be seen in court, pleading guilty to the kidnapping charges but pleading not guilty to the first two murders.

However, if Yu talks Yosuke and the others out of their rash idea, the group will interrogate Namatame, who tells them the truth behind his circumstances; that he did not kill Yamano or Konishi, and that he had only been trying to help others. He had no idea how dangerous the TV World actually is until he entered it himself with Nanako. In the end, Namatame regrets his actions and confesses to all of the kidnappings he committed.

Voice Actor

Taro Namatame is voiced by Koji Haramake in the Japanese version of Persona 4, while JB Blanc voices him in the English version.