Persona 5 Characters List: Meet the Phantom Thieves

The protagonist of Persona 5 – Joker – wouldn’t go far without the support of his fellow Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Each is tied to the game’s main plot, and the relationships between them and Joker are crucial for the story.

Without further ado, here is our list of the playable characters in Persona 5, and their roles in the story and gameplay.

Be warned: this article is full of spoilers, so read it at your discretion!

Who are the Phantom Thieves of Hearts?

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts are the closest allies of the protagonist and the playable characters of Persona 5.

All of the Phantom Thieves are persona-users aware of the Metaverse’s existence. Despite their different personalities, they are united by a desire to change society for the better by exposing corrupt adults who abuse their position of power.

Thanks to their powers, they can enter the cognitive Palaces of various evildoers, face the shadows that dwell within, and steal the Treasure – a physical manifestation of the Palace owner’s twisted desires. By doing so, the Phantom Thieves trigger a Change of Heart and force the antagonists to repent for their sins.

The Protagonist (Joker)

• Name: Customizable/Ren Amamiya/Akira Kurusu
• Codename: Joker
• Persona: Any (Arsene is the initial persona)
• Specialty: Varies (depends on the equipped persona)
• Weakness: Varies (depends on the equipped persona)
• Arcana: Fool, World

Joker is the protagonist of Persona 5 and Persona 5 Strikers, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. His name is customisable, but the name used in most spin-offs is Ren Amamiya. He also goes by Akira Kurusu in the manga.

He is a second-year high school student. Before the events of the game, his attempt to help an assault victim gets him into trouble, as the assailant turns out to be a powerful political figure, Masayoshi Shido. The corrupt politician uses his influence to have the boy falsely accused of assault. As part of his probation, Joker is transferred to a new school – Shujin Academy. He’s immediately labelled an outcast and a delinquent by other students and has a hard time fitting in.

Despite it all, Joker finds it hard to keep his head down in the face of injustice. After discovering that one of the teachers at Shujin – the star volleyball coach Kamoshida – is abusing other students, Joker awakens to his Persona powers. From then on, he becomes dedicated to changing the hearts of evildoers, forcing them to repent for their crimes.

Like his predecessors from the previous Persona games, Joker is a silent protagonist for the most part, although he’s not a complete blank slate. His combat taunts and some of the cutscenes portray him as somewhat cocky and with a flair for theatrics.

Also like the other Persona protagonists, he’s a Wildcard. This means he is not limited to the first persona he awakens to – Arsene – but can freely switch between available personas. As such, Joker is the most versatile playable character with customisable skills, elemental affinities and attack types.

Morgana (Mona)

• Name: Morgana
• Codename: Mona
• Persona: Zorro/Mercurius/Diego
• Specialty: Wind, HP and status recovery
• Weakness: Electricity
• Arcana: Magician

Morgana is NOT a cat, thank you very much. And no, it’s not a girl’s name!

Despite his insistence that he’s a real boy, Morgana looks like a regular cat in the real world and everyone but his fellow Phantom Thieves only hears him meow when he speaks.

In the Metaverse, he is known by his codename Mona and is an anthropomorphic cat-like creature resembling a mascot.

Morgana awakens to his initial persona – Zorro – long before the other Phantom Thieves. He becomes a somewhat reluctant guide to Joker and Ryuji when they accidentally stumble into the Metaverse for the first time.

Despite his deep knowledge of the Metaverse, Morgana knows little about himself. Throughout the game, he tries to recover his memories and return to his human form.

Morgana can be quite arrogant and childish. He never passes up the opportunity to be condescending toward Ryuji. His one-sided crush on Ann makes him seem hopelessly romantic or creepy, depending on your sensibilities. But in the end, Morgana’s heart is in the right place and he usually does his best to support his allies.

Ryuji Sakamoto (Skull)

• Name: Ryuji Sakamoto
• Codename: Skull
• Persona: Captain Kidd/Seiten Taisei/William
• Specialty: Electricity, Physical, Attack buffs
• Weakness: Wind
• Arcana: Chariot

If you ask anyone at Shujin Academy – be it a teacher or a fellow student – about Ryuji, you’ll learn that this boy is trouble. But this loud-mouthed problem student with a chip on his shoulder is actually the best friend Joker could ask for.

Despite his short fuse and a tendency to act before he thinks, Ryuji has a strong moral compass, a heart of gold, and is fiercely loyal to his friends. He’s also unable to stay silent in the face of injustice. His defiance towards the abusive coach, Kamoshida, led to Ryuji’s downfall from his position as a star track team member to the role of a universally shunned social pariah.

As a fellow outcast, Ryuji reaches out and quickly befriends the Protagonist. Together, the two stumble into the Metaverse for the first time and discover Kamoshida’s Palace. Ryuji awakens to his persona – Captain Kidd – soon afterwards. He remains Joker’s loyal friend and a dedicated Phantom Thief until the end.

Ann Takamaki (Panther)

• Name: Ann Takamaki
• Codename: Panther
• Persona: Carmen/Hecate/Celestine
• Specialty: Fire, Healing, Enemy debuffs, and Status effects
• Weakness: Ice
• Arcana: Lovers

The first thing most people notice about Ann is her looks. Her blue eyes and blonde hair are a result of her mixed heritage. As a quarter-American, she stands out in ethnically homogenous Japan, and her parents’ travelling lifestyle meant she missed school a lot. As a result, despite her naturally open and cheerful personality, she appears withdrawn and solitary at first.

Ann’s beauty makes her a target of vile gossip and unwanted advances from the abusive coach, Kamoshida. Ann fears that if she openly rejects him, he’ll take it out on her best and only friend – a volleyball player on his team, Shiho. Despite Ann’s attempts to appease him, Kamoshida’s abuse becomes unbearable, and Shiho attempts suicide.

Ann vows to take revenge on Kamoshida. She gets that opportunity when she secretly follows Joker and Ryuji and accidentally enters Kamoshida’s Palace. After witnessing his distorted vision of himself, other students, and Ann herself, she awakens to her persona and joins the Phantom Thieves.

Yusuke Kitagawa (Fox)

• Name: Yusuke Kitagawa
• Codename: Fox
• Persona: Goemon/Kamu Susano-o/Gorokichi
• Specialty: Ice
• Weakness: Fire
• Arcana: Emperor

Yusuke is an Artist whose life revolves around painting. When we meet him, he is the student of the famous painter Madarame, who also happens to be the Phantom Thieves’ second target. His mentor took Yusuke under his wing shortly after the boy was born and his mother died. As a result, Yusuke treats his master as both a father figure and an idol. He’s especially captivated by Madarame’s famous painting of a woman, Sayuri.

As the game progresses, it becomes clear to everyone but Yusuke that Madarame is a fraud who plagiarises his students’ works, and Yusuke is one of his victims. Only when the Phantom Thieves drag him into the Metaverse and make him realise that Madarame sees him as nothing more than a slave does Yusuke finally stop defending his mentor – and he awakens to his persona, Goemon.

He also learns that Sayuri was in reality his mother’s painting and Madarame, jealous of her raw talent, was responsible for her death.

Liberated of his abuser, Yusuke continues his artistic education in a less abusive environment. Thanks to a scholarship, he’s not completely destitute – but his struggles for money and a huge appetite become a running joke. His eccentricities and total focus on art sometimes bewilder his fellow Phantom Thieves and lead to absurd situations.

Makoto Niijima (Queen)

• Name: Makoto Niijima
• Codename: Queen
• Persona: Johanna/Anat/Agness
• Speciality: Nuclear, healing, defence buffs
• Weakness: Psychic
• Arcana: Priestess

When she first starts interacting with the Phantom Thieves, Makoto plays the role of an antagonist. Shujin Academy’s corrupt headmaster tells her to find out if the mysterious Phantom Thieves of Hearts are students at his school. As part of her investigation, Makoto essentially stalks Joker and his friends, becoming quite a nuisance.

Makoto lives with her sister, Sae Niijima, who has been raising her since their father’s death. Knowing Sae considers taking care of her a burden, Makoto is desperate to get into a good college and relieve her sister. This makes her prone to the headmaster’s manipulation and is why she never acted against the abusive coach Kamoshida, despite her position as the student council president.

When she finds definite proof that Ryuji and Ann are Phantom Thieves, she doesn’t report them. Instead, she asks them to prove they are fighting for justice by taking down a drug boss – Kaneshiro – who has been extorting many of Shujin High’s students. Despite their dislike for Makoto, the Phantom Thieves agree.

Makoto wants to prove she’s not useless and devises a plan to lure Kaneshiro out of hiding. It backfires spectacularly, giving Kaneshiro prime blackmail material. However, her actions enable the Phantom Thieves to finally enter the gangster’s Palace – although they need to haul the powerless Makoto into the Metaverse to achieve it.

She doesn’t stay powerless for long, however. After being belittled for her obedience and submissiveness again, Makoto finally rebels and awakens to her persona – Johanna.

As a Phantom Thief, Makoto is no longer a pushover. Her personality stays rather serious and she often reminds others – particularly Ryuji – about the importance of studying. She uses her intellect to come up with strategies for the Phantom Thieves and solve most of the puzzles they come across. She has a strong sense of justice inherited from her late father and acts as the voice of reason in the group.

Futaba Sakura (Oracle)

• Name: Futaba Sakura
• Codename: Oracle (Navi in Japanese)
• Persona: Necronomicon/Prometheus/Al Azif
• Speciality: Analysis, Support
• Weakness: Unable to partake in combat
• Arcana: Hermit

Futaba is the founder of a hacker collective, Medjed, responsible for uncovering the secrets of various ethically challenged corporations. She contacts the Phantom Thieves anonymously and blackmails them into stealing her own heart.

This leads the Phantom Thieves to discover that having a Palace in the Metaverse is not exclusive to evildoers. In the case of Futaba, the cognitive distortions at the core of her Palace are the same thoughts and beliefs that led to her becoming a shut-in. As she never leaves her room, Joker isn’t even aware of her existence despite her being his caretaker’s – Sojiro Sakura’s – adopted daughter.

Futaba believes her late mother, Wakaba, hated her. The Phantom Thieves discover that Futaba’s self-hatred and guilt are largely based on false memories. Her mother, Wakaba, loved Futaba and did her best to find a balance between her career and motherhood. On top of that, she was assassinated because of her research into the Metaverse, and the suicide note pointing to Futaba as the cause was a planted fake.

Learning that triggers a Change of Heart in Futaba, and awakens to the Necronomicon persona.

She manages to return to school and endure the discomfort of crowded places, although she still suffers from social anxiety. Her personality is somewhat childish and she loves to tease her friends. She can be very blunt and tactless, although, for the most part, it’s not mean-spirited but a result of her long isolation.

Haru Okumura (Noir)

• Name: Haru Okumura
• Codename: Noir
• Persona: Milady/Astarte/Lucy
• Speciality: Psychic attacks, guns
• Weakness: Nuclear
• Arcana: Empress

Haru Okumura is a wealthy girl and heiress to the Okumura Foods corporation. She is also the daughter of the Phantom Thieves’ fifth target – Kunikazu Okumura.

When Joker and most of the other teammates meet her, she has already awakened to her Persona and explored her father’s Palace with the help of Morgana who, at the time, worked separately from the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

Haru wishes to induce a Change of Heart in her father because he has changed and now only cares about his company and fortune. He goes as far as arranging Haru’s marriage to Sugimura – the son of a prospective associate – and doesn’t care that her fiancee is an abusive man whom Haru despises and fears.

With Haru’s help, the Phantom Thieves trigger a Change of Heart in her father. However, after he publicly apologises for his misdeeds, he dies on the spot due to the meddling of the same conspiracy responsible for assassinating Futaba’s mother.

After her father’s death, Haru is relieved of the duty to marry Sugimura. As a Phantom Thief, she remains shy and reserved but opens up to her friends to whom she is kind and dependable.

Goro Akechi (Crow)

Warning: this section contains heavy spoilers.

• Name: Goro Akechi
• Codename: Crow
• Persona: Wildcard – he can switch personas like Joker. He’s seen using Robin Hood, Loki, and Hereward.
• Speciality: Varies. Almighty, plus Bless, Curse or Physical/Gun depending on his current persona.
• Weakness: Varies. Bless or Curse depending on his current persona.
• Arcana: Justice

Goro Akechi is a detective prodigy and something of a celebrity. Although he’s still in high school, he helps prosecutor Sae Niijima with her case against the Phantom Thieves. He is charming, intelligent, and friendly.

Although he has repeatedly publicly denounced the Phantom Thieves, he eventually joins them to infiltrate Sae Niijima’s Palace. He explains that he awakened to his persona – Robin Hood – two months earlier after stumbling into Okumura’s Palace.

Those are all lies. In reality, Akechi has been using his persona for two years. He is a Wildcard like Joker, meaning he can switch between different personas.

He is also the illegitimate son of one of the most prominent antagonists – Masayoshi Shido. He is desperate for his father’s approval despite his complete lack of interest in Akechi even after the boy’s mother died when he was just a child. After awakening to his persona, Akechi reached out to Shido and became his assassin. Akechi’s actions in the Metaverse caused many deaths described as psychotic breaks. His victims include Futaba’s mother and Haru’s father.

Underneath his charming detective prince image, he is a misanthrope filled with self-loathing and envy. He shows little remorse for his actions and betrayal of the Phantom Thieves until he faces them in Shido’s Palace. Their compassion for Akechi despite all his misdeeds surprises him and shatters his belief that he could never be special to anyone.

This prompts him to sacrifice himself, helping the group escape a deadly ambush.

Kasumi Yoshizawa (Violet) – Royal exclusive

Warning: this section contains heavy spoilers for the ending of Persona 5 Royal.

• Name: Kasumi Yoshizawa
• Codename: Violet
• Persona: Cendrillon/Vanadis/Ella
• Speciality: Bless
• Weakness: Curse
• Arcana: Faith

Kasumi Yoshizawa is a talented gymnast who transferred to Shujin Academy after receiving an athletic scholarship. She is friendly and graceful, admired by her classmates and teachers alike. Sometime before she transferred to Shujin, her younger sister, Sumire, was killed in a car accident after running into traffic. As a result, Kasumi regularly visits the school counsellor, Maruki, for therapy.

She awakens to her persona, Cendrillon, when she and Joker accidentally stumble upon a hospital-like Palace. Kasumi is uninterested in joining the Phantom Thieves and returns to her regular life after they escape the Palace.

During the third semester, introduced by the Royal expansion, Kasumi changes her mind and offers to join the Phantom Thieves. She helps them locate Maruki’s Palace – the same one she earlier visited by chance.

While investigating it, the Phantom Thieves learn that it was Kasumi, not Sumire, who died in the traffic accident. Her guilt for running into the traffic which led to her sister’s death caused Sumire to take on Kasumi’s identity. During their “therapy” sessions, Maruki was reinforcing that delusion, believing that it would make the girl happier than facing reality. Eventually, Sumire accepts the truth, comes to terms with Kasumi’s death, and returns to her real identity.

Sophia (Sophie) – Persona 5 Strikers exclusive

• Name: Sophia
• Codename: Sophie
• Persona: Pithos/Pandora
• Speciality: Bless, healing, debuffs
• Weakness: Curse
• Arcana: Faith

Sophia is an AI created by Kuon Ichinose. She was programmed to learn about humans by being friendly and helpful, but her creator believed her to be defective and went on to create EMMA.

The Phantom Thieves meet her in Alice’s Jail. Sophia appears to them as a little girl and helps them escape the Metaverse. She cannot retain a physical form in the real world, and she communicates with the Phantom Thieves posing as a virtual assistant app on their phones. She can be used to plan a journey or to order items. She can also detect the Jails’ location.

Despite being an AI, she is capable of summoning a quasi-persona, Pithos. Her creator and EMMA can influence Sophia’s behaviour at times, but this changes when Sophia starts thinking of herself as a person, not a machine. This also prompts Sophia to awaken to her true persona, Pandora.

Zenkichi Hasegawa (Wolf) – Persona 5 Strikers exclusive

• Name: Zenkichi Hasegawa
• Codename: Wolf
• Persona: Valjean
• Speciality: Physical, Gun, Almighty, Buffs
• Weakness: None
• Arcana: Apostle

Zenkichi is a police inspector responsible for investigating a series of strange Changes of Heart. He suspects that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts are responsible for those occurrences and approaches them with an offer they can’t refuse. The group has to cooperate in exchange for safety from the police force.

Despite his methods, Zenkichi turns out to be a trustworthy ally with no hidden motives. The Phantom Thieves prove the existence of Jails and explain that Alice, not them, was responsible for the events Zenkichi is investigating. He comes to like and respect them, especially after they hang out with his daughter, Akane.

His relationship with Akane is strained, as she blames him for the killer of her mother not being punished. When he comes across her Shadow in her Jail, Zenkichi – now an official member of the Phantom Thieves – awakens to his persona, Valjean. Eventually, her shadow self is defeated, and back in the real world, Zenkichi manages to reconcile with her.

Zenkichi is intelligent and honest. He’s easygoing and laid-back, but not about his job. He tends to panic when caught off-guard, although it doesn’t happen often.

Now you know the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!

Now that you know who’s who, why not meet them “in person” by playing Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal, and Persona 5 Strikers? Consider this your Calling Card!