Click Here for Update 18
: “Perfect! Probably dropped all his plans just to get you over there.”
: “We need to find out from Kitagawa-kun if what we saw in the Palace was true…”
: “Hey, quiet down. It’s that student council president.”
: “It’d suck if she noticed us. C’mon, let’s split up.”
: “Okay, see you later.”
: “C’mon, let’s get some dirt on Madarame. But man… Ann’s late.”
: “Sorry. I was thinking about some things and didn’t notice how much time had passed.”
: “Thinkin’ about what?”
: She was thinking about how much she kind of regrets leaving Persona 2 for this job.
: “Don’t you think Kitagawa-kun has to be protecting Madarame? I mean they live together, so he’d have to be aware of Madarame’s true nature.”
: “The only reason I can think of him doing that is that Madarame has something on him…”
: “Yeah, that’s weird. But that’s why we’re goin’ to check it out, right? You ready to be a model?”
: “Yeah, I’m prepared.”
: “Whaddya mean prepared? Prepared for what? Something seem different about her to you?”
: “Ooh, nice eye!”
: “I didn’t cut them.”
: “H-huh. Well… let’s get goin’. We gotta talk to Yusuke.”
: “Kitagawa-kun seemed really happy when I agreed to be his model. Once he finishes drawing and gets a little friendlier, we should bring up Madarame.”
: “Wouldn’t you get nervous too, if it was just the two of us?”
: “We’re here to keep an eye on you, so don’t try anything perverted, 'kay?”
: I like that this is almost word-for-word the terminology that Satomi Tadashi used to describe Jun. It’s pretty clear Yusuke is gay and I’m wondering if they at one point had the option for Joker to date him.
: “Huh?”
: “Is there a problem?”
: “…No, not really.”
: You just know this would’ve been a contact in Innocent Sin between Jun and Lisa where Jun would paint a picture of him and Tatsuya together and Lisa would just look at it and go “I know! It means Tatsuya is all mine, right?”
: “…Hey. Kitagawa-kun?”
: “…”
: “You hear her?”
: “…”
: “…It’s no use.”
: “This isn’t what we planned! We were gonna catch him off guard and make him spill his beans, weren’t we?”
: “How were we supposed to know this was gonna happen? Guess we just gotta wait ‘til he’s done. What an effin’ pain in the ass.”
: “Perhaps I should try going outside this room…”
: “Just waiting around is a waste of time! This is too boring, so I’m going to scout around a bit.”
: I wonder, do people even do the whole modeling for art thing anymore, in an age where everyone has a camera on them at all times?
: “And… is that a lock? A door with a hefty lock… what could be in there?”
: You would think given that Morgana is supposedly the thieving expert that he’d know most of those locks are made more for looks than actual security. It’s probably a knockoff, too.
: “…What?”
: “I’m sorry… am I the problem?”
: “No, not at all. It’s just… I’m having trouble staying focused today. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to resume this another time…”
: “Oh hell no! How many hours do you think you made us wait!?”
: “I’m sorry… we had another reason for seeing you today. We needed to talk to you.”
: “It’s about those rumors regarding your sensei.”
: “This again…”
: “That painting I saw at the exhibit… you’re the one who actually painted it, right?”
: “That’s…”
: “I knew it.”
: “Your sensei is seriously messed up. He just thinks of his pupils as tools. That’s why he doesn’t give a damn whether he steals their work or physically beats them.”
: “I’ll make this clear, there’s no point in hidin’ stuff from us.”
: “Hahaha… I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
: “You couldn’t go against him, could you? I’m sure we can help you out though…”
: “Stop it… It’s just as you all say. We’re… our sensei’s ‘artwork’.”
: “Don’t misunderstand me though. I offered my ideas to him myself. As such, it can’t be called plagiarism.”
: I get that they’re trying to point out that Yusuke has cognitive dissonance, but that’s kind of not what happened at all.
: “Sensei is simply suffering from artist’s block right now.”
: “Dude, still…”
: “Kitagawa-kun…”
: “Then why’re you stickin’ around!? All his other pupils ran away! Aren’t you the only one left!?”
: “What’s wrong with a pupil helping out his master!? There are no victims here! Stop pushing your self-centered righteousness on me!”
: “…! I’m supporting Sensei as his pupil. Where’s the wrong in that? Don’t ever come here again… if you do, I’ll sue you for causing a disturbance.”
: Yeah, all those lawyers just clamoring for business from 17 year olds who have no money.
: “Hold it! We’re not done talkin’ here!”
: “Then you leave me with no choice.”
: “Hey!”
: “I’m reporting you to the police. I asked Takamaki-san to be my model today, but I don’t recall ever calling you two here!”
: I don’t even get how this would work. “Yes officer, they came to my house. Yes, the homeowner invited them in… no, they left hours ago… why are you hanging up?”
: “What the eff, man!?”
: “Ryuji! Stop it! Calm down, okay?”
: “Dammit!”
: “I won’t report you… but only under one condition.”
: “What’s that?”
: “I want you to continue being my model, Takamaki-san.”
: “But you said it wasn’t working out today…”
: I’m sure the cops will take the fact that you’re attempting to blackmail Ann very well. Not like blackmail’s a crime or anything. Yusuke basically does a 180 to the point where he’s a different person entirely after he joins the party.
: “WHAT!?”
: “Nude!?”
: “Ah, to think I’d be able to create a nude painting with my most ideal model! Of course, you two won’t be allowed in, and I ask that you forget about our discussion today as well.”
: “If I don’t submit a new piece to Sensei soon, there will be some… inconveniences.”
: “Nude, meaning it’ll be without any clothes, right!? Why are things suddenly escalating like that!?”
: “Because those are my terms.”
: “But that’s-”
: “Wait, ain’t that bad!?”
: “Sensei is out during the afternoon while the art exhibit is on, so I can use this place freely. I should buy more art supplies…”
: “Will you give me a second here!?”
: “Of course, I’m willing to wait. I’ll make time according to your plans. But, please come before the exhibit ends.”
: Oh right, they have a blushing portrait for Ann here.
: “Sensei will be returning home soon. We’re done for today, Takamaki-san. I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.”
: "No no no! We are not done talking here!’
: “Hey… what should we do?”
: “Yeah… dammit. He got us good this time.”
: “Don’t give up so easily!”
: “…A cat?”
: “You moron!”
: “How dare that Yusuke…!”
: “The way he said it, it’s not gonna be semi, but full-on nude.”
: “F-Fu- F-F-Full nudity? Lady Ann’s gonna…”
: “Drop it!”
: Well yeah, she’s gonna drop it, that’s the definition of nudity.
: “You know, you won’t have to worry about that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends.”
: “But Kitagawa-kun thinks he owes his life to him. Is there a need to make Madarame confess?”
: “Then, Lady Ann… you’re fine with baring it all!?”
: “I am not!”
: “Madarame’s no different from Kamoshida. That asshole’s usin’ Yusuke, who doesn’t have parents. You’re tellin’ me we should just ignore how he’s bein’ treated horribly like the other pupils?”
: “No… it is frustrating to leave this alone, even if Kitagawa-kun is fine with it himself…”
: “You can’t leave it be because you’ve endured a lot yourself, with Kamoshida.”
: “…Yeah.”
: “Anyways, we gotta go after this guy. Madarame’s the kind of target we’ve been waitin’ for. Let’s help Yusuke come to his senses too… before he ends up like us.”
: “…Right.”
: You know what would’ve been way better writing? Have Ann recognize something when she sees Yusuke talking about his painting, and then realize that what she saw is the same thing she saw when Shiho was being abused.
: “We need to look into Madarame first.”
: “There might be tons more stuff that hasn’t been exposed yet, too.”
: “It may become easier for us to investigate his Palace if he’s preoccupied with his exhibit.”
: “Also, there’s the thing about me modeling! Kitagawa-kun said there’d be ‘inconveniences’ unless he submits a new piece. Maybe that’s going to be announced soon as Madarame’s next work.”
: “Oh yeah. It might not show your face.”
: “That doesn’t make me feel any better about it!”
: And now we have our arbitrary time limit.
: “Let’s start after school tomorrow. It’d be a pain if Miss President finds us on the rooftop a gain, so where to meet up… let’s see…”
: “I guess that walkway-like place in Shibuya would work. It’s near Madarame’s place, too.”
: “Changing our hideout periodically, huh? That’s a plan I don’t mind backing.”
: And here’s where we actually meet Ohya for the first time. The wiki has some BS about her being a reference to some reporter, but it’s pretty clear she’s heavily based on Maya in Persona 2.
: “…Huh?”
: “From the looks of things, you don’t seem like the ordinary, stalking fans.”
: “Uh…”
: “There’s this painting, Sayuri, that was supposedly stolen in the past. But there’s this rumor that it was taken by one of his pupils in retaliation for being abused. Have you heard anything about that?”
: John Persona only cares about two things - gripping and sipping, in that order.
: “I see… there’s no case unless there’s a victim, and if there’s no proof of abuse… I can’t write either. Looks like I’m back to square one. Sorry for taking your time.”
: “I’m a journalist. If you ever get any leads, mind contacting me here? See you then.”
: God dammit. They could’ve just ended Madarame’s entire career by pointing out that all of the paintings are plagiarized.
: “…I guess we should go home for today.”
: I think part of my problem with this game is that the way the plot is laid out, it would’ve worked a lot better as an Ace Attorney style game rather than as a JRPG. Something like Ghost Trick, but with courtroom scenes.
: “I have some interesting news. Someone who received a change of heart contacted me on the Phan-Site.”
: “Said he wants to meet with you to discuss another person who needs a change of heart.”
: This is one of the problems with the plot - by the time we get to Sae, half of Tokyo knows who John Persona really is.
: “You’re better off talking to him in person if you want specifics. All I know is his target is a terrible person… and that it might complicate things if he posted the name online.”
: “I’ll have him wait for you at Shibuya Station after school. The guy’s name is Nakanohara.”
: I really wish that Hashino had at least tried to be clever about it. The real Anonymous had some degree of operational security even before they became what they are now.
: “Nakanohara… that’s Madarame’s student.”
: “I told him to approach you. Good luck.”
: We spend the night crafting. I made some useless item that lowers Security Level because we have plenty of lockpicks already.
: What I didn’t anticipate is that we’d get some amazing RNG. There’s a chance on any given night that you craft an extra item without paying any additional material cost. This also gets us an extra two points in Proficiency (5 vs 3).
: I completely forgot about this being a thing - this is what you’d be resetting for in the base game to minimize time spent on social stats, but the schedule in Royal does not require us to do this. This is because Royal has far more open nights than the base game did.
: “We’re about to head to the hideout too. Who’s that?”
: “That’s Nakanohara. Mishima told us to meet him here in Shibuya today.”
: “For real?”
: “He seems pretty nice. Doesn’t seem like the stalker type. I think the change of heart must have worked.”
: “So? Whaddya want?”
: “Ooh, you think this is it? Is the pupil gonna confess his master’s secret?”
: “His Shadow did mention Madarame as well…”
: “All right, we got some real proof of the plagiarism.”
: “Suicide…”
: Metal Gear!?
: Seriously, what the shit is wrong with Persona 5’s world, where apparently any random idiot can just blacklist a person from everything? Is it like Earth Defense Force where civilians can request airstrikes and the EDF will actually do it?
: “That has to be Yusuke.”
: “So Yusuke’s got no choice but to listen!”
: “Kitagawa-kun…”
: I feel like this cutscene kind of has no reason to exist. It’d be one thing if, say, they’d gone to Madarame’s and Yusuke just went “everything’s fine, no problems here” and then this came up, but we already know most of what he’s telling us.
: “We’ve been asked to act directly on behalf of one of Madarame’s victims. It sounds like we don’t have the time to deliberate whether or not to change Madarame’s heart.”
: “Hell yeah! Madarame’s just a piece of shit who preys on the weak!”
: “Suicide… I’ll never let something like that happen! Plus, we finally got to hear how Kitagawa-kun really feels!”
: “Well, since we’ve reached a unanimous decision, how about we continue this at our new hideout?”
: “Our target this time is Madarame! We all saw that Palace. We’ll pay dearly if we assume it’s just going to be like the last one.”
: “And furthermore… Lady Ann’s chastity is on the line!”
: “What!?”
: “We’ll need to do what we did with Kamoshida. First, we secure an infiltration route in the Palace. After that, we send our calling card. Once the treasure has materialized, we steal it.”
: “Oooh, I got a question! Madarame doesn’t know that we were doin’ stuff in the Palace yet. Why are we already gettin’ treated like criminals in there?”
: “You’re learning, Ryuji. Well done. It must be because he doesn’t trust anyone. Any unknown person may as well be an enemy.”
: “Or maybe he’s just super salty from all those rumors that have been spreading about him…”
: “Then his Palace bein’ so crazy had nothing to do with us?”
: “Either way, we should stay on our best behavior. It’ll be harder for us to steal the Treasure if we needlessly increase the security level.”
: Security level is such a non-issue it’s kind of laughable.
: “We need to be careful of Kitagawa-kun this time too. I’m sure that whatever he sees will just get passed on to Madarame.”
: “That’s right!”
: “Hey, what is Madarame’s Treasure going to look like anyway? Another crown?”
: “I’d doubt that. But my sixth sense will know when I see it.”
: “Oh yeah, you go completely nuts, huh?”
: We’ll be finishing the dungeon before the month is over. The annoying part is that unlike Kamoshida’s dungeon, we need to take FOUR DAYS to finish Madarame’s - this a hard limit and cannot be bypassed.
: “Now listen here. We can’t mess this up, NO MATTER WHAT! OKAY!?”
: Yeah, no. Instead, let’s go to Iwai and get some new guns.
: “You picked it up somewhere. Nothin’ to do with me. Understand? I didn’t see it, I didn’t touch it, I don’t know about it. We clear?”
: Unfortunately, we can’t ask him about the gun. The Riot Police EX is a customized gun - which is what Iwai’s confidant lets you do. It sucks, in that it has about 10 more attack than the one we can buy but only has a four-round magazine.
: First thing I do is sell all the treasure we stole from Madarame’s museum.
: The new guns are a pretty significant attack bump, though most of them only have 85 accuracy.
: I also buy Morgana a cone of shame, which is kind of hilarious. By the time all is said and done, we’ve blown through about a third of our total funds but everyone has new guns and armor.
: Our next stop is a visit to Dr. Femdom.
: “Looks like I have a patient with an emergency.”
: “A young girl losing weight is definitely not good. You should go to a bigger hospital. I can’t provide a thorough examination here.”
: “A famous doctor, huh? I’m just a general practitioner out here in the sticks. As you can see, I don’t even have any staff.”
: “…”
: “What!?”
: sigh “Fine… is your vision blurry? How about your throat, does it hurt? Hm. No signs of swelling.”
: “Are you sure you’ve told me everything about her symptoms and treatments you’ve tried so far?”
: “Hmmm…”
: “There’s something I’d like to ask him bout a case that was in last month’s medical journal. I see. Guess the ones in stock will have to do…”
: “There’s a shelf by the reception desk. Bring the contents of the second drawer into the exam room. You’ll need to help me administer the medicine.”
: “Also, bring the beaker with the red label in the fridge, a towel, wash basin, and measuring spoon… well, what are you waiting for? Get moving!”
: “It was a very unique strain of an infectious disease. It can’t be detected by conventional exams.”
: It’s GUILT, isn’t it.
: “I temporarily suppressed the symptoms. We’ll make adjustments as her condition improves.”
: “Okay, that’ll be one million yen for today.”
: What’s funny is that a million yen (~$9,500) would be an outlandish medical bill in Japan due to their national health care system that has very strict regulations on medical costs, but in the US a $9,000 bill wouldn’t even be that surprising.
: “Huh? Wait, you’re actually going to pay? By the way, that famous doctor you mentioned earlier… was it Medical Chief of Staff Oyamada?”
: “…I knew it. In that case, I’ll make this free of charge.”
: “…Hehe.”
: “Doesn’t it feel good? Treating his patient without permission.”
: “…By the way, thanks to your outburst earlier… I’m going to perform a very special exam on you today…”
: Joker’s getting the extra-strength femdom.
: “Yes, my assistant… guinea pig. He’s about to put in a LOT of hard work today. Aren’t you?”
: “Not for a while. You need to start eating and regain your strength first. Can you do that for me?”
: “Don’t mention it…”
: “Your turn. I wonder what kind of response you’ll have this time… maybe you won’t even be able to make it home.”
: “But maybe it was just what my careless little guinea pig deserved, huh? Especially after approving that girl’s consultation without my permission.”
: “Good boy. But I’m only letting this go today. Don’t pull anything like that again. The drug does seem to be more stable compared to the early stages, though.”
: “It’s probably thanks to your cooperation. Feels like I’m almost there, so… try not to die just yet, okay?”
: There’s a crossword at Leblanc, but we can’t do it without chasing the customers out. It’s kind of annoying.
: It then gives us a trivia thing about the English word “gallery”. I wonder if this was more difficult in the original Japanese or something.
: We have one final stop on this extremely long day, and that’s with Yoshida at the station.
: “…There have been far too many incidents recently to ignore! Can anyone deny this!? The runaway-train incident, mysterious psychotic breakdowns, a school with a corrupt teacher…”
: “We have yet to discover the truth of it all! The apathy that permeates society is a direct result of negligence by our government and the media.”
: “…You’re listening quite attentively. Are you interested in politics?”
: “Are you a student? I’m delighted to captivate the interest of someone your age. …Hm? Have I seen you somewhere before?”
: “Oh, you were working at the beef bowl shop before! You have a lot of perseverance for a young person. Well, if you’re interested, I could use your help.”
: This is why we had to do the two nights at the beef bowl shop.
: “I want to change the state of this country, and to do so, I need the power of the youth. …However, due to a certain regulation, I can’t offer a job to a student.”
: “I was thinking you could learn some things if you chose to attend a few of my speeches though…”
: “Really!? That would be helpful indeed! Well then… would you mind telling me your name and contact information? You’re a student from Shujin Academy, hm? It’s nice to meet you.”
: “In the past twenty years, I’ve lost seven straight elections.”
: I’m… not entirely sure how the math works here. Assuming Yoshida was running for the Diet every time, he’d either be running every 4 years (for the House of Representatives) or 6 years (for the House of Councillors)… unless he’s counting by-elections or something.
: “This isn’t good. I’m dwelling on the negative right before my speech. Well then, I hope I can count on your help immediately.”
: “With common sense no longer our guide, we make decisions based on selfish wants and desires. This has resulted in a deluge of self-centered people who delight in taking advantage of the weak.”
: “A world where the young exist only to be exploited… is a world that must be changed!”
: This is actually a pretty major problem in Japan. The LDP is basically so entrenched as a party, with extensive fundraising and huge amounts of infrastructure, that it’s impossible for the less-organized opposition parties to really oppose them.
: The LDP has basically been in power since 1955, apart from two gaps: one from 1993 to 1994 (after the bubble popped) and one from 2009 to 2012 (after the financial crisis). This is part of why the Japanese economy doesn’t work.
: And when I mean doesn’t work, I mean REALLY doesn’t work. I used to think it just didn’t work in a way that was kind of comical, but no, it doesn’t work in a way that has actively ruined the lives of millions of people. That article there will also explain a lot about Yoshida’s speech.
: “You mustn’t base your decision on whom to support merely according to the party they belong to…”
: I read through a couple of papers on this, and one of the reasons cited for the LDP’s dominance is that people believe in the system, and the LDP is the system. This is why they lost after major, very visible financial crises - because the system didn’t work.
: “If I am chosen to represent the will of the people, then I am fully prepared to…”
: “Well, what did you think of my speech?”
: “Indeed. Do you feel the same? Such as I am, I’d like to believe that I’m capable of giving a moving speech.”
: “However, there are times, like today, when the audience has a difference of opinion on the topic. Some feel I should concentrate on getting elected before I worry about others… do you agree?”
: “Thank you. It’s encouraging to know that my message has won you over. Besides, I have grown quite accustomed to those types of reactions… although I don’t know if that is necessarily a good thing. Regardless, no matter what they say, I must continue on…”
: I’m going to fit one more day in here - it’s pretty short and the 20th is going to be our first foray into Madarame’s dungeon.
: “…I hope you understand. Allow me to warn you again. Don’t involve yourself any further.”
: “I only saw you coincidentally. I have no time for such an ambush. If you continue sniffing around my sensei… we have ways of dealing with that. That’s all I have to say.”
: “I’ve gone to see his work before, but wow… they are truly incredible! I saw some of his interviews, too. He really is a charming fellow. It’s rare to see a gentlemen (sic) artist like him, in a field known for having a lot of eccentric types.”
: Oh wow, our first typo. That only took… 14 hours.
: “By the way, you seem far removed from the arts, Kurusu-kun. Which famous ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period is said to have moved residence over 100 times?”
: This question isn’t something that I would think most people outside of Japan would know, because most people probably only know Hokusai for his most famous work:
: Hokusai was a crazy old man who didn’t feel like cleaning and thus moved every time his studio got too dirty. I wish modern real estate worked that way.
: What P5 doesn’t tell you is that Hokusai was very much into the idea of art for the common person - there’s hundreds of original copies of his paintings out there - and probably would be more if the wood block hadn’t worn out.
: He’s credited with starting French impressionism, the 4-koma style of manga, and manga itself - the word “manga” comes from a book he put out called the Hokusai Manga that was full of drawings for his students to copy.
: Utamaro Kitagawa was a different ukiyo-e artist who mostly did pictures of women. A lot of his life is a mystery.
: “Correct. It seems you know a thing or two after all. Hokusai had a habit of moving, but he also changed his name quite a lot - at least thirty times throughout his life.”
: “His sole interest was his art, so he stayed in poverty, wore tattered clothes, and lived in squalor.”
: “Actually, Madarame’s house was quite modest, too. All master artists, past and present, always put their art above their fame.”
: Now, I’m not saying I want to be one of those people with like 550,000 views on every single LP update, but…
: “He steals his students’ work, and makes them suffer! He’s no master - he’s just an abusive old con man! We’re gonna get him, no matter what.”
: The diner is for studying, and it gives you a bonus on rainy days. They also have special dishes that boost other stats, so in this case we’re getting 3 points to knowledge and 2 to guts from ordering the Surprise Sando.
: Sando is the Japanese word for “sandwich” - it’s one of those words where it’s a loan word that only vaguely sounds like the original word.
: Japan has this weird fascination with sandwiches, to the point where it’s this luxurious delicacy served at high-end restaurants.
: We got a new thing for the Thieves Den, I’ll show it off in a bit.
: This is something new. Some nights, there will be a quiz show on TV. This works just like the crosswords in that it gives you knowledge points and does not take time.
: That’s… not entirely how that works. Japanese law might be different, but in the US both of those things would probably be considered battery.
: The new item in the Thieves Den is a replica of the diner, complete with uh… clones of Ryuji and Ann, because that’s not weird at all. The diner’s name is apparently “Bikkuri Boy”.
: Ok, Stocking. I wonder if anyone’s done crossover fanart, and if so, which P5 cast member is Panty?
: We spent the night getting more placenta water and also hitting the bath.
: I was watching an episode of Game Center CX recently (It’s the one with Warwolf on the NES) and Arino goes to a bathhouse for his arcade trip. They had a bath labelled “electric current bath”, and that frightens me.
: Seriously I saw it and I immediately got the mental image of the torture scene from Metal Gear Solid, only with a bathtub.
: Oh look, Joker’s in the Yamcha death pose.
: And that’s the end of the 19th. One thing I should mention, since there’s a trophy pop-up: I read an article recently that said that P5 Royal is one of the most platinumed games on PSN.
: The reason is that the trophies in Royal are WAY easier to get than the ones in the base game, which required you to do an NG+ run and do a bunch of grindy bullshit to hear all the navigation lines. I don’t think any of the trophies in Royal require NG+, nor is there one for fighting the super-boss.
: Next time, we’ll get our exam results and go to Madarame’s dungeon for the first day out of four.