Yu Narukami

"It's only natural."

- Yu Narukami, Persona 4 Arena

Yu Narukumi is a protagonist from the (2008 game/anime) Persona 4.

Appearance
The protagonist has short, bowl-shaped gray hair with matching gray eyes. He has a pale complexion and is quite tall, however is still a head shorter than fellow Persona user Kanji Tatsumi. At school and in the Midnight Channel, the protagonist wears the conventional school uniform of Yasogami High and wears gray glasses in battle. In the summer, he wears a light uniform. On days off, he is shown wearing a black jacket and gray turtleneck shirt along with black pants. On days off in the summer, he wears a white collar shirt with short sleeves and brown pants. At the school festival while crossdressing, he uses a female uniform with black leggings as well as a wig with long pigtails. The protagonist also has a black blazer which he occasionally is seen wearing in the manga adaption of the game.

In Persona 4 Golden during the newly added Halloween event, he dresses as a magician, wearing a huge black top hat, a white chemise along with black suspenders and black pants while he wears a snow suit with a beanie and yellow goggles, black turtleneck and possibly a white sweater vest during the ski trip event. In colder days in the winter, he wears a white winter coat with black and white pad scarf and matching black gloves under his school uniform.

Personality
The protagonist of Persona 4 is a silent protagonist except for instances where he speaks when summoning a Persona and so on. His personality is ultimately based on the player's actions and decisions. However, when the protagonist of Persona 4 hears Jika Net Tanaka, he describes it as a cheery song unlike the protagonist of Persona 3 who describes it as an annoying song which may indicate some semblance of a personality.

In the Persona 4 Manga adaption, Souji Seta is a distant loner who demonstrates a high level of maturity, his overly formal speaking tone being one of the most telling signs. Seta has a pessimistic outlook on life due to his parents and having to move frequently as a result of said parents' demanding careers but he eventually warms up as he explores friendship.

In Persona 4: The Animation, Yu Narukami is depicted as quiet and polite. Before the awakening of his Persona, Yu seemed to be emotionless and cold at times, as well as occasionally deadpan. Afterwards, however, he is shown to value the bonds of friendship between the members of the Investigation Team and is highly concerned about his friends. He goes through great lengths in order to help others. Fortunately as he grows closer to the group he opens up more and more, and by the end he is as unique (though still quieter) as any of the other characters. He has a dry sense of humor, and sometimes does questionable things which he thinks are funny. He also seems a bit naive and oblivious to certain situations, which somehow keeps working to his benefit; especially when dealing with the girls, as he is able to get away with things that would warrant a smack for any of the other male characters.

Story
Yu has his parents from Osaka but they're working so Yu goes to Inaba for a foster home to meet his new cousin Nanako and a detective Ryotaro Dojima.

Similar Heroes

 * Ragna the Bloodedge (BlazBlue)
 * Ky Kiske (Guilty Gear)

Persona 4 Arena

 * In Persona 4, the protagonist always attacks with two hands, however in Persona 4 Arena, Yu holds his sword with one hand in his idle animation but switches between a one handed and two handed style throughout a match.
 * Yu and Teddie are the only characters that do not face their "shadow" in their Persona 4 Arena story mode. Yu does face his "shadow" in his Arcade Mode though immediately picks up that his Persona and Shadow cannot co-exist.
 * In Mitsuru's story mode, she noted that excluding his appearance and fighting style, Yu reminded her of the Protagonist from Persona 3.
 * Yu shares many similarities and parallels to his fellow Wild Card wielder and predecessor, Aigis:
 * They share Room 2-2 as their default stage.
 * They are the only characters to have received themes that are full remixes of a battle theme (Reach Out To The Truth and Heartful Cry) from their original game.
 * They both change their Personas to their alternate forms during their Instant Kills.
 * In their story modes, before they proceed to the Announcement Room to confront General Teddie, they both must fight Elizabeth, who wishes to see them unleash the Wild Card's true power. In addition to this, they are the central characters of Elizabeth's own story mode, where she pursues them both in order for her to understand the true potential of the Wild Card.
 * In Aigis' story mode, Elizabeth saves her from the Malevolent Entity's deceptions and illusions, and will confront her for almost giving in to them, and will deliberately let her win, and reminds her that she is never alone and her bonds will lead her to the truth. This scene is extremely similar to the scene when Margaret confronts Yu in the animation finale when he also gave in to illusions Izanami created.
 * Yu's Furious Action "Big Gamble" is based on his critical-hit animation from Persona 4.

Other

 * The calender in his room in the Dojima Residence features both the logo of Persona 3 as well as a promotional art of the game featuring the protagonist of Persona 3 and Thanatos. In Persona 4 Arena, his updated calendar features an image of Catherine from Catherine instead.
 * He may also have knowledge of English (JPN) or Spanish (USA) when certain optional conversation choices are used during the conversation with a woman in Okina City appearing in Persona 4 Golden.
 * The protagonist (along with Izanagi), together with Aigis (Messiah and Athena) and Elizabeth (Thanatos), appears as a cameo character in Square Enix's arcade game, Lord of Vermillion Re: 2. He belongs to the Beast Tribe, and his skill is Ziodyne.
 * He has the same English voice actor as Adachi.
 * In Persona 4: The Animation, Yu is the only party member who doesn't deny his Shadow's accusations.
 * When Yu wears the Gekkoukan High School uniform, he imitates the Persona 3 protagonist's victory pose when wielding a two-handed sword, a one handed sword, a bow, and an axe.
 * When wearing the "Cheerleader costume" outfit in Persona 4 Golden, the other members of the Investigation Squad will mention how similar he looks like his persona, Izanagi.
 * In the instructional manual of Persona 4, the protagonist is named "Raidou Kuzuhona" which is a reference to Raidou Kuzuhona, the protagonist of Devil Summoner 2. It could also be a nod towards the fact that the protagonist must solve a mystery, like Raidou Kuzuhona does as a detective.

External link

 * Megami Tensei Wiki