Yusuke Kitagawa

"A breathtaking sight... Imitations they may be, but together, they make a fine spectacle... Though the flowers of evil blossom, be it known... Abominations are fated to perish!"

- Yusuke after awakening to his Persona

Yusuke Kitagawa, also known as Fox, is one of the main protagonists and party members in the video game Persona 5. He is an art student from Kosei High School and a member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Introduced as a student of the famous painter Ichiryusai Madarame, Yusuke joins the Thieves after the truth behind his mentor's success comes to light. Having known for some time, Yusuke wishes to atone for not facing reality sooner. His initial Persona is Goemon and his Ultimate Persona is Kamu Susanoo.

He is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita in the Japanese version and Matthew Mercer in the English version, both of whom also voice Alvin.

Design
Yusuke has dark blue hair with parted bangs slightly covering his left eye and gray eyes. His in-game character model is noticeably taller and thinner than those of other male characters. His fellow Phantom Thieves Ann Takamaki and Ryuji Sakamoto both describe him as a "pretty boy."

Yusuke does not wear Kosei High's regulation uniform, unlike his fellow student Hifumi Togo. His winter-variant uniform consists of a white gakuran-style shirt embroidered with a fleur-de-lis, fitted black pants, and black loafers. A silver key ring with multiples keys is attached to his belt loop. His summer-variant uniform replaces the white dress shirt with an ultramarine colored button-down which Yusuke wears with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows.

His thief outfit consists of a traditional kitsune-style half mask, a black high-collared, puff-sleeved jumpsuit with a white fox tail attached to a striped sash worn across his hips, white motorcycle boots, and bright blue gloves.

In Persona 5: Dancing Star Night, he retains his summer school uniform, but with the addition of a black spike-studded blazer, bright red fingerless gloves, and silvery metallic sneakers.

Personality
Yusuke’s entire life’s passion is comprised of and surrounded by art. He searches for the aesthetic everywhere in his surroundings, from people to places. He sees every opportunity or challenge presented to him as a way to broaden his horizons and primarily considers how it will benefit him as an artist. He is captivated by the painting “Sayuri,” and seeks to capture the sense of beauty that it portrays. This passion extends to his mentor Madarame, who he believed created the painting and took him in when he was young. As such, Yusuke greatly admired and respected him to the point that he vehemently denied any of the rumors surrounding Madarame. Even when he knows the rumors are true and finds actual proof supporting it, Yusuke claims that the abuse he faced was consensual as a means of keeping a roof over his head. His passion for art is admired and respected by the group, though they also view him as rather strange. At one point Ann claims that he is "on a different wavelength than other people". There are various signs that Yusuke may suffer from autism spectrum disorder; he has overwhelming focus on a single subject (art), speaks in a monotonous, overly formal style, and constantly misunderstands social cues. He is also well-aware that his mind operates differently from that of most people, to the point of admitting that he's eccentric, and is shown to be downright offended whenever someone makes fun of him for it, or even points it out.

Despite his eccentricities, Yusuke is incredibly level-headed and, in many ways, the most mature of the group. He sees no use in panicking or getting nervous, as it does nothing to help the situation at hand. He is usually polite when dealing with others, particularly when compared to the vulgar Ryuji, condescending Morgana and passive-aggressive Akechi. However, he tends to be more sincere when dealing with subjects he admires from an aesthetic standpoint. For example, he is very direct and respectful when he approaches Ann out of a desire to paint her. However, this sincerity can make him appear pushy, showing that he has a very stubborn, headstrong side which comes out when he is very inspired. He displays a somewhat cold and haughty behavior towards people which are behaving in what he deems as an unseemly manner, or in ways that are against his personal aesthetic. This can be seen especially during his initial encounters with Ryuji and the protagonist, and during an encounter he has with two women who attempt to flirt with him. Additionally, he can be very sharp with people who make mistakes, such as when he calls out Ryuji for getting caught or when he chastises Makoto for being reckless. This even extends to the rest of the group, as when they're framed for murder, he angrily states they shouldn't have rushed into things.

He does not shy away from pointing out that certain actions are undignified and can seem overtly rude because of this; this is shown during the Fireworks Festival, when he ends up insulting two women who ask him to join them by describing them as disgracing their yukata. In addition, his focus on art leads him to isolate himself from others, whether unintentional or purposefully. Still, Yusuke does care for others, as he looks out for his teammates and worries about his classmate Naoya's behavior, suspecting family problems are the cause. His sincerity and willingness to point out what he truly thinks despite what others' reactions may be makes him a very loyal, honest ally. Yusuke also claims he donates blood, calling it a "hobby."

Having been unhealthily sheltered for most of his life, Yusuke acts with pure intentions, but ultimately is unaccustomed to many of society's norms. The naïveté born from it shows more times than not, in particular being unaware when he is coming off as intrusive until directly told. At times, he causes trouble for other team members, such as being energetically pushy when asking for Ann to be his art model, when he remodels Futaba's Phoenix Ranger Featherman R figurines without her permission, and his frequent criticisms of Ryuji's brashness. A running gag in the game is how Yusuke spends all his money on things that capture his attention without any foresight, such as on art books or lobsters at the beach because they are aesthetically pleasing. Despite his naïveté when it comes to social situations, Yusuke is highly intelligent and his wisdom is evident during Phantom Thief meetings and heists.

Over time, Yusuke’s disconnection from reality and his blunt introduction to his mentor’s vain and evil nature becomes a source of internal struggle to him. He wishes to paint purely for the sake of passion and capture the essence of the human heart, but detests that it becomes for the sake of gaining money, shelter, and recognition. He realizes that the beauty he began to portray in his paintings became corrupt by society's expectations of him, deeming it as superficial without any meaning. The protagonist eventually helps him understand his calling on a deeper level and convey his feelings on canvas properly.

Persona 5
Yusuke is an honor student in an art course at the Kosei Public High School. Orphaned at a young age, he was found to have artistic talents and he is currently a live-in disciple of a famous Japanese painter by the name of Ichiryusai Madarame.

Yusuke approaches Ann before being misunderstood as a stalker by Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto. He asks Ann to become a model for his next art, inviting her to go to his master's art exhibition to consider his offer. Hearing Madarame is a fraud, the Phantom Thieves decide to accept Yusuke's offer so they can investigate Madarame. They directly ask Yusuke about this, which angers Yusuke who continuously defends his master. After hearing about Madarame's doing from his former disciple, Matsuhiko Nakanohara, and locating his Palace, Ann and Morgana try to find the proof of Madarame's deception by once again accepting Yusuke's offer to become his model while Akira and Ryuji enter Madarame Palace. Ann sweet-talks Yusuke to let her enter Madarame's studio where they found the evidence of Madarame's deception. When Madarame threatened to call the police, Ann and Morgana run away, and Yusuke follows them as well, leading him to enter Madarame Palace. Even after seeing the proof earlier, Yusuke still wants to believe in his master, so he decides to follow the Thieves to find out the truth.

Meeting Shadow Madarame, his master's Shadow reveals that to him, Yusuke is an art slave. He admits that he has been indeed stealing his students' artwork and declares it as his own. Once Yusuke learns of this truth, his desperation to find any decent goodness in his mentor turns into that of complete and utter desire for Madarame's retribution. Yusuke awakens his Persona, Goemon. Retreating to the real world, Yusuke asks to be allowed to join the Phantom Thieves, which is permitted by Morgana.

Confronting Shadow Madarame along with the Phantom Thieves for the last time, Shadow Madarame reveals his real treasure, the real Sayuri that Yusuke's mother had painted. From this, Yusuke deduces that his mother's death was not a simple accident. Shadow Madarame confirms this, revealing that when Yusuke was a little boy, all other disciples of Madarame began to distance themselves away from him after learning of his true nature, leaving only Yusuke's mother, Sayuri. Around the time Yusuke was born, Sayuri created an art piece of herself happily holding her newborn son in her arms. When Madarame came across this beautifully constructed work of art, he made a deal with Sayuri in which he'd agreed to let Yusuke become a new member of the family in exchange of holding on to the artwork. One tragic day, Madarame witnessed Sayuri having a seizure in front of him, and instead of easily offering medical support, he let her die in vain and made duplicates of her last piece dedicated to her son to sell to the public, which granted him the fame and credit he has today. In order to give it "mystery," Madarame altered the art by removing the baby from the picture completely. Since he was just 3 years old, Yusuke receives no credit or recognition for his brilliant work; Madarame uses them to take the credit for his own, just like he did to Sayuri, Natsuhiko and his other disciples many years ago.

Now knowing the whole truth, Yusuke thanks his former mentor because now he no longer has any reason to forgive him. Eventually defeating him and stealing his heart, Yusuke retrieves the real Sayuri painting that his mother had painted for him. Back in reality, Madarame confesses to his crimes and is swiftly punished and discredited for it. Yusuke sadly recalls the "happy family" he lived in when Madarame's other disciples were around and how as he grew older, he never lost the hope that they would come back and they all could be happy once again. Now that he is part of the Phantom Thieves, he feels like he has another "happy family" again. Wanting to let go of the past, Yusuke gives the Sayuri painting to the protagonist who then displays it at Cafe Le Blanc.

Trivia

 * Yusuke's Japanese voice actor is Tomokazu Sugita, shared by Sakata Gintoki from Gintama and Reisi Munakata from the anime K and its sequel series, K: Return of Kings.
 * Yusuke Kitagawa is similar to Reisi Munakata from K: Return of Kings.
 * Both have dark blue hair.
 * Both are voiced by Tomokazu Sugita.
 * Both have swords.
 * Both of their auras are blue.
 * Yusuke's last name and the design of his Persona Goemon are references to Utamaro Kitagawa (喜多川 歌麿), one of the most highly regarded practitioners of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints, especially for his portraits of beautiful women, or bijin-ga. As an adult, he was known by the given name Yūsuke (勇助).
 * Futaba would often refer to Yusuke as Inari. Although the name itself comes from Oinari, the Japanese god of foxes, Futaba herself cites the inarizushi, a fried sushi dish that foxes had a fondness for according to Japanese folklore, as the origin of the nickname.
 * Yusuke's appearance is very similar to Jun Kurosu from Persona 2. They even share the same zodiac sign, Aquarius.
 * When Yusuke fiddled with Futaba's Phoenix Ranger Featherman R figures, the poses of the figures are reminiscent to the Ginyu Force from the Dragon Ball series.
 * Yusuke doesn't like his mask that much.
 * When opening a chest, Yusuke can wag his tail.
 * Yusuke is the tallest member of the Phantom Thieves, standing at 181 cm.
 * His mask is a reference to Kakashi Hatake's Anbu mask from the Naruto anime.