Having the Courage to Stand Up for Yourself

Warning: This article contains major spoilers for the character backstories in Persona 5.

The first main chapter in Persona 5 hits hard with a dark story about the students of Shujin Academy unable to escape a cycle of abuse from an adult. The story starts off simple enough, but it quickly escalates to the point where some of the students actually start to break down from both the physical and mental abuse. The most frightening part about this whole thing is that no one wants to speak out against the teacher that’s perpetuating all of this. The story hits a climax when one of the students tries to kill herself.

The most important takeaway from this story is that we should always have the courage to stand up and to speak out for ourselves, no matter what the situation is. Regardless of what the consequences may be, it’s never okay to simply suffer in silence when you know that someone’s doing something wrong or unjust against you.

Recognizing that Adults Don’t Always Know What’s Best

Persona 5’s second main story follows art student Yusuke and his master and guardian Madarame. Madarame is often praised for having so many distinct art styles, but it’s later revealed that he’s actually been plagiarizing his students’ work. Yusuke is the only student to stick with him after all this time because he feels gratitude towards Madarame for taking him in as a child.

A lot of us grow up thinking that our parents and guardians always know what’s best for us, but what we fail to realize is that adults are humans too. They can make mistakes. We often look to them for direction, but that kind of reliance can sometimes lead to our actions being a little misguided, as was the case with Yusuke’s insistence on protecting Madarame. It takes a special kind of courage to recognize that our parents might not always know what’s best, and for us to help them find their own way.

Not Letting Others Put You Down, Even Family

Following Yusuke’s story and his determination to protect Madarame, Persona 5’s third main story gives us a little more insight into Makoto’s relationship with her sister. As their parents left them at a young age, Sae was left with the heavy responsibility of taking care of her sister and supporting the family. Because of that, she puts herself under a lot of stress at work, and this results in Sae snapping at Makoto over dinner, telling her that she’s useless as she can’t do anything for the family.

Needless to say, this has a huge impact on Makoto herself, and leads to her doing some really risky things just to prove that she isn’t useless. The important lesson to learn from this is that we shouldn’t let our own personal value be based on whatever other people tell us. Words can cut deep when they come from other people, especially family, but during times like these, it’s best to reflect on our own personal achievements and remember that no one is worthless.

Accepting that You’re Not Responsible for Every Bad Thing that Happens

Perhaps the most important story that Persona 5 has to tell us, Futaba Sakura spends most of her life living with the guilt and thought that she was the one who caused her mother’s death. After her mother passes away, government officials present a faked suicide note that insinuates that she killed herself because she was tired of taking care of her daughter alone. As a result, Futaba starts shutting herself in her own room, too afraid to go out to meet people, and too ashamed because she thinks she killed her mother.

As it turns out, this isn’t actually true, and we find out that Futaba’s mom did love her very much. It was just too painful for Futaba to revisit her memories of her mother and figure out the truth for herself. A lot of times, it can be easy to shoulder more blame and responsibility in life than you need to. As human beings, we have a tendency to assume the worst about ourselves, and it can lead to unwarranted feelings of guilt. At times like these it’s important to look back at things with an objective eye, and learn to accept that not everything is our fault. Sometimes, things are just out of our control.

Always Being There for Your Real Friends

This has been the core message of the previous two games in the series, and Persona 5 is no different. In the game’s fifth act, Ryuji and Morgana end up in a huge fight with each other, and the latter ends up running away for a short period of time. Because of this fallout, it’s difficult for the team to make any progress with their new target, and Morgana himself struggles to get all of the work done alone. The pair finally make up when they get together again to protect a mutual friend from danger.

The big lesson is that no matter how badly friends fight, it’s always important for them to find their way back to each other again. It’s not easy finding genuine friends who have your back, so when you do find them, you have to be there for them.