Ryuji Sakamoto

Tokyo is where the Phantom Thieves live.

Yongen-Jaya: The heart of Joker's daily life. It's a quiet neighborhood, full of narrow alleyways, vending machines, and local establishments. Leblanc Café: Sojiro Sakura's cozy café, where Joker lives in the attic. Laundromat and Public Bath (Sentō): Places frequented to improve the protagonist's social attributes.

2. Shibuya: The vibrant, youthful, and chaotic commercial center of the city. It's the Phantom Thieves' main transit point. Shibuya Station and Hachiko Square: The group's meeting point. Central Street: A crowded area with convenience stores, arcades, burger joints, and the bookstore. Station Underground: Where Joker buys special juices on Sundays. 3. Shinjuku: The bohemian nightlife district of Tokyo, unlocked later in the game. Adult Redoubt: Neon-lit streets that house the Crossroads bar (where Lala Escargot works) and Dr. Takemi's medical clinic. Specialty Shops: Contains a bookstore with advanced titles and a mysterious fortune teller.

3. Akihabara: The paradise of otaku culture, electronics, and gadgets. Maid Café: A place for comedic interactions and attribute bonuses. Model Shops and Arcades: Where Joker buys custom weapon parts and plays the classic "Gun About".

Other Unlockable Locations
Harajuku / Meiji Shrine: Recreational areas for meeting friends. Kanda: The church where Joker plays Shogi with Hifumi Togo. Jinbocho: The used book district.

Ryuji Sakamoto enjoys ramen (including instant noodles/cup noodles), beef bowls, hanging out with friends, reading manga, and sports-related items.

Ryuji and Ren act a lot more like best friends than they do in the games, with Ryuji always calling him "Renren" in the Japanese dub.

In the special Persona 5 The Animation Valentine's day OVA, Ryuji comes over and complains like usual, a callback to the original games. This time, Ryuji says that they should hang out for the entire night, and later, it is shown through Akira's window that they hugged and presumably cuddled while watching

During Ryuji's Confidant Link hangouts, he puts his trust in Akira/Ren by telling him personal details about his past and uncovering his overall life. Initially, they were to bond over training for palaces and getting their bodies stronger, but Akira/Ren slowly ends up helping Ryuji overcome his distress over Kamoshida and the disbandment of the track team, re-assuring that he wasn't the one at fault and even helping out with some school problems that concern ex-friends of Ryuji and track. During the max rank hangout for Ryuji's confidant, he tells Akira/Ren that he's grateful for having him stick around through thick and thin, thanking Akira for all he's done for him, and that he wants to give the same help that Akira gave.

Ryuji first meets Akira/Ren on his first day transferring to Shujin Academy, with Ryuji trying to chase their gym teacher, Kamoshida, calling him vulgar names. Ryuji introduces himself politely and seems to hit it off well, despite his teachers advising Akira to stay away from "bad influences like him". Ryuji is the first member of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and the first ally to gain a confidant link with, accompanying Akira and Morgana when they first get used to Kamoshida's distorted heart and palace. Although Ryuji was initially freaked out by the strange new alternate dimension, he grew used to it and being on Joker's side, being portrayed as his best friend.

When Ryuji and Akira/Ren are trying to gather intel on the mafia boss exploiting Shibuya, Junya Kaneshiro, they are stopped by two gaudy looking men trying to harm Ryuji. He pleads for Akira to help him out, saying that "he shouldn't just leave his best friend".

If you choose not to romance anyone in both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal, you will unlock a path where you hang out with Ryuji for Valentines. Ryuji shows up to Leblanc's and complains about how no woman is interested in him, and generally venting about his life. While Ryuji is hanging out, Sojiro decides to take them all out on a trip to a nearby restaurant instead of moping around. Before they leave, Ryuji gives you some chocolate as a gift, in which Akira has the option to respond with "Is this a confession?", to which Ryuji exclaims "absolutely not"! Later, Sojiro calls them two "lovebirds", to which Ryuji neither accepts nor denies.

When attending the Festival Party in Persona 5, you have the option to go on stage during the student sharing special and exclaim that "you love somebody". Choosing to say "I love Ryuji" will earn a flustered, yet extremely upset reaction from Ryuji, saying that "he would get a bad reputation if you said that".

The group is founded by the protagonist, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ann Takamaki and Morgana when they discover that the volleyball teacher of Shujin Academy, Suguru Kamoshida, has abused his students and molested Ann's friend, Shiho Suzui, leading to her attempted suicide which put her in a coma. However, since no other student, parent or teacher is willing to speak against Kamoshida due to favoritism coming from Principal Kobayakawa, the group decides to put matters in their own hands and get him to confess his crimes on his own by stealing the distortions in his heart stored within his Palace in the Metaverse.

In Royal, Kasumi Yoshizawa expresses the belief that while the Phantom Thieves have good intentions, the general public should not become dependent on the group to change society. This is further compounded by how many of the targets who experience a change of heart of do not actually atone, such as Kamoshida who still makes advances towards Ann when he sees her in the Mementos Depths over half a year after his change of heart, instead being reduced to an apathetic, weeping husk of their former self, making their behavior look more like criminal activity than justice. Regardless, with the increasing numbers of changes of heart, the Phantom Thieves consistently attract the attention of the general public, turning them into an international phenomenon.

Not only that, this resulted in the retaliation of authorities, currently being taken over by the Antisocial Force, backed by unnatural forces. They would partially manufacture the Phantom Thieves's popularity in order to set them up, eventually framing them for the deaths of Kobayakawa and Kunikazu Okumura to plunge their reputation in an instant. The plan was successful, and not only were the Phantom Thieves caught off guard, but after Okumura's death, they were labeled as violent murderers by society and became despised by most. Despite it being said that the Phantom Thieves had lost sight of their original goal before getting framed, that does not stop them from genuinely reforming minor Mementos targets along with Okumura.

In the end, the Phantom Thieves find out that they were sponsored and manipulated by a conductor and were destined for ruin in the end, which explains their morally ambiguous activities and targets not atoning properly after their change of heart. While public reception of them is mixed after the final confrontation against the driver, they become less morally ambiguous, especially during the events of Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers where they are willing to steal the hearts of anyone who attempts to cause disorder and stagnation within the public, including those doing so with well-intent, and actually make them atone as better people. Additionally, several members of the police began to open up to them, namely Zenkichi Hasegawa and Miyako Kaburagi.

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts is a group of Persona users from Japan largely consisting of former victims of Suguru Kamoshida and Masayoshi Shido (or his co-conspirators). Their goal is to confront "corrupt adults" by stealing their "corrupt hearts," and change the world in order to rebel and fight against the complex, sophisticated and well-ingrained system of slavery they are trapped in, reinforced by the General Public's selective apathy which enables abuse against them to go unchecked and unopposed. They are willing to explore the supernatural if it means bringing freedom and liberation to the masses.

To combat this injustice, they surpass the preconceived notions of morality; although it is subjective as to whether the Phantom Thieves are "right" or "wrong," they reject both inability and hypocrisy by carefully establishing their tools while working together towards the same vision of righteousness. Unlike Goro Akechi (before his experience as a part of the Phantom Thieves), Takuto Maruki and the Monarchs of Persona 5 Strikers, the Phantom Thieves change hearts in order to simply set them free rather than control them. In the public eye, while some view them as heroes who fight for justice and protecting the innocent, the Phantom Thieves have been met with various illegitimate criticisms conceived for the purpose of swaying public opinion and forcing them to concede, rather than objectively analyzing the events at hand, and events would develop to directly question the strength of their justice by harming them with powerful forces in return; Goro Akechi would actively try to denounce the Phantom Thieves by deeming them to be a dangerous group who have no right forcefully changing the hearts of people, believing that doing so makes them no better than the criminals they target. The story would develop over time, eventually suggesting the false notion that they might be manufacturing confessions for crimes that haven't been committed, and even having their work.

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts (心の怪盗団, Kokoro no kaitou-dan)?, also known simply as the Phantom Thieves (怪盗団, Kaitou-dan)?, are a group of Persona users in Persona 5 and its related media. Sick of the deception, hypocrisy and corruption around them, the Phantom Thieves are devoted to "stealing" corrupt hearts, usually of adults in positions of power, in order to reform Japanese society.

After their first heist, a name can be picked for the group (with the default name being "The Phantoms" (ザ・ファントム?)), which is used in calling cards, dialogue (although voice dubbing will always refer to them as the "Phantom Thieves"), and in online

Together with the protagonist, they try to get information about Kamoshida from other students, but everyone is too afraid to talk, even learning that the teachers, parents, and principal know, but didn't bother to speak up to Kamoshida. Morgana, in cat form, then approaches the two boys, suggesting they steal the source of Kamoshida's corrupt heart to make him confess his own crimes. However, when Morgana warns them that there is the risk that the real Kamoshida could suffer a mental shutdown and die, Ryuji hesitates and asks for time to think. However, not long afterward, Ann's friend, Shiho Suzui, attempts suicide on the school roof. When Ryuji and the protagonist heard from Yuuki Mishima that Kamoshida called Shiho a day before, the two realized that Kamoshida had sexually assaulted her. Ryuji angrily confronts Kamoshida about this, joined in with the protagonist and Mishima, resulting in Kamoshida's decision to expel the three upon the next board meeting.

Finally having enough with Kamoshida, Ryuji and the protagonist agrees with Morgana's suggestion to steal Kamoshida's treasure and make him confess his crimes. They later are joined by Ann who also wants to expose Kamoshida after hearing everything from Shiho. To agitate Shadow Kamoshida once they almost reach the treasure, Ryuji makes and attaches a flurry of calling cards on the school board under the name "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" that is addressed to Kamoshida, stating he will confess his crime soon. After Kamoshida confesses his crime in front of the entire student body, Ryuji, the protagonist and Mishima's expulsion is canceled, much to their relief.

With the case over, Ryuji and the others decide to celebrate at an expensive restaurant by using the money they got after selling Kamoshida's Treasure. At the restaurant, Ryuji, the protagonist and Morgana meet the same man who led to the protagonist's probation. The man acted in an incredibly arrogant fashion and didn't remember the protagonist, only to

The second time visiting the Palace, Ryuji wants to help the students trapped inside the dungeon cells and has Morgana guide him there, but when Morgana realizes his intentions, he points out to him that the students were mere cognitions, and his phone does not work in the Metaverse, preventing him from taking photos of the students suffering from brutal "training." So instead, Ryuji tries to memorize the faces of the cognitive athletes, so he can interrogate them in the real world. Upon trying to escape, the party was blocked by Kamoshida at the entrance, and this time several Shadows taking the form of Bicorns defeat the protagonist and Morgana effortlessly. Shadow Kamoshida takes the opportunity to reveal his plan for the principal to invest in his volleyball team only and to gain admiration and submission from all the students of his school, but Ryuji was a great threat to him for drawing that attention. Therefore, he intentionally injured Ryuji's leg because he tried to attack and confront him for the unfavorable rumors of his family, giving him an excuse to disband the Track Team and label Ryuji as a track traitor. Kamoshida's true intention angers Ryuji deeply and his Shadow Self calls out to him, transforming into Captain Kidd and awakening his Persona for vengeance. Returning to the real world, Ryuji vows to expose Kamoshida's true self and becomes friends with the protagonist after both confide their backgrounds to each other.

Age: 16-17 years old (2nd year high school student at Shujin Academy) Height: 170 cm / 1.70 m

Weight: 61 kg

Birthday: July 3rd (Cancer sign) Codename: Skull

Though Ryuji is socially blunt and upbeat, he is obsessed with being popular and recognized. Some examples tied to these traits include him suggesting that the Phantom Thieves reveal their identities, pointing out that they will finally be treated with respect. When first exploring Kichijoji, Ryuji can comment on the protagonist's fake glasses and ask if he would look "smart" if he wore some. This same clumsiness would end up being detrimental during Okumura's arc, when not only does he become enamored in the party's recent fame, he begins to unfavorably compare Morgana's contribution to Futaba, beyond simply giving him a reality check or teasing him, which only backfired as it convinced Morgana he does not belong in the team, leading to a fight between the two. Even so, this flaw of his would persist once the group has become famous, causing him to lose himself in the group's popularity for the sake of wanting to be a hero, not to mention the fame itself was a trap by the conspiracy that specifically exploited the group's lack of aim to frame them for a crime they did not commit, a realization that Ryuji did not take it well.

Whether his motivations are misguided or not, Ryuji often does things that he would regret thanks to his irrational moral defiance. One of his greatest mistakes was standing up to Suguru Kamoshida, only leading to consequences for himself and his closest ones, which is a key point in Ryuji's overall character and his Confidant; it is only after letting his track team friends he "betrayed" beat him up to take accountability for his actions, when he finally moves on from his error and allows him to try again as he unloosens his defiant side.

Ryuji and the protagonist (Ren/Akira) first meet after Kamoshida picks up Ann by car. He calls him a "pervy teacher" before approaching the protagonist in a threatening manner when he asks who Kamoshida is in fear of him ratting Ryuji out. When he realizes that the protagonist is a transfer student, he explains to him that Kamoshida is a bully who thinks that he is the King of Shujin, which he perceives as a "Castle." Courtesy to Ryuji accidentally inputting the keywords "Kamoshida," "Pervert Teacher" and "Castle" onto the Metaverse Navigator, it acts up, with seemingly no abnormalities. However, when the duo go ahead to Shujin, they are deceiving when they find that their destination is a castle, instead of a school.

As soon as they enter, they are blocked by knights and trapped in a prison where Shadow Kamoshida orders them to be executed. Ryuji witnesses all of the events in total disbelief. He was nearly killed, only for the protagonist to awaken to his Persona and defeat his knights. Ryuji knocks away Kamoshida when he's about to threaten the protagonist afterwards and escapes alongside him, locking the door of the cell.

The duo later encounter Morgana, a mysterious cat-like creature, and free him from a cell. With his guidance, they manage to escape from the castle. When the two confront the real Kamoshida back in the school in the real world, however, the teacher has no idea what they are talking about. To make sure whether they were dreaming or not, Ryuji suggests they once again go to the Palace using the Metaverse Navigator, at which they succeed.

Ryuji Sakamoto is a student of Shujin Academy and has known Ann Takamaki since middle school, although they were only acquaintances. Ryuji borrowed money from Ann in middle school so he could buy a stuffed dolphin for his mom from a school trip, but never paid her back, which Ann holds against him.

He came from a household with an abusive father, who eventually abandoned him and his mother. Later on, Ryuji got a great opportunity for his future and to ease his mother's burden by becoming a star athlete on the school's track team, where he managed to become its leader and earned fellow teammates Nakaoka, Takeishi and Ikeda's trust. The team was also at the forefront of Shujin's sports teams and one with a potential for going to internationals. However, during an unknown time prior to the game's events, Suguru Kamoshida came into the school and set up his tyranny against its students.

Ryuji's track team was one of the casualties because Kamoshida wanted his own volleyball team to be the only frontline sports team in the school, so he began telling everyone at Shujin about Ryuji's parents. This led to Ryuji attacking Kamoshida in a fit of anger, only for him to break Ryuji's leg and justify it as "self-defense." The conflict between Ryuji and Kamoshida caused the track team to disband, and the former members of his team alongside Kamoshida would label him as the track traitor due to his prominently brash violence against Kamoshida leading to the team's disbandment. Since the team was already disbanded, they were also unable to participate in a track championship. Nakaoka and Takeishi also went to a fall-out on him since he led to the Track Team's disbanding, while Ikeda regrets being unable to stop Kamoshida as a senior, albeit not holding resentment unlike the former two.

Ryuji's upbeat and tempestuous, being strongly dedicated and passionate towards what he cares about. He is especially protective of his friends when they're in harm's way, being nothing less than provocative towards their instigators.[9] Not only that, but he'd go as far as to risk his life recklessly, such as when he'd enter public traffic to call the party a cab to pursue Makoto's self-endangering plan, an inevitability during a moment of crisis. Ryuji cares a great deal for the well-being of others around him, such as when he attempts to help end the abuse of the track team, even going as far as letting them beat him up in an attempt to air out their frustrations.

Furthermore, Ryuji is a rather forgiving person, as evident by his willingness to help out his former teammates on the track team despite them viewing him as a traitor, as well as being the first to voice the party's forgiveness to Makoto for recklessly getting the team blackmailed, despite having despised her up until then. He's quick to make friends with others, and in Strikers, Ryuji becomes one of Sophia's closest friends, and he came to care a lot about her, enough to give the mysterious voice in the Okinawa Jail a tongue lashing for having insulted Sophia. That being said, he's quite unforgiving of Goro Akechi for his actions, although he'd recognize that his head was twisted and manipulated by Masayoshi Shido.

Ryuji's academic abilities, his Japanese included, are outright questionable at best and horrid at worst, as he more often than not, gets bad grades from exams, usually by oversleeping or refusing to study at all. He's so oblivious to the real world that he'd need Makoto Niijima to use little words to help him identify certain branches of the government. Aside from his threatening way of expressing himself sometimes, he also has poor taste, as the first calling card he designed was based off of online references, and even then failed to be convincing, as Ann described it sounded like "an idiot trying to be an adult." In Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Ryuji's dancing style is also uninspired in the same fashion, as he often lifts popular street dance moves without any thought, such as the robot dance. Ryuji's frequent density causes him to be viewed as an idiot or even a little kid by his peers, Morgana and Ann in particular.[11][12]

Hobby-wise, apart from having been on the track team, he also does muscle training. He can drink a 500mL bottle of carbonated water in one go which he did as training during his track and field club days. When he was active, he could also do 1000mL bottles. He is often impatient and has a habit of tapping the ground with his toes when he's bored, and prefers to get "straight to the point" during conversations. He claims he never reads, and his artbook profile claims he only reads manga. When it comes to food, he's particularly fond of ramen, to the point of being fussy about the flavor and texture of the noodles. Though not a cook by any means, Ryuji displays some cooking skills, as he mentions a recipe involving combining honey and sliced ​​lemons as a way of restoring stamina, something his mother taught him.

That being said, Ryuji has a strong sense of morality and lives by his beliefs of right and wrong, putting it on high priority. As such, he sees through people's attempts at excusing their actions with sympathy, and is the first to untie the twisted context of right and wrong, delivering a clear picture; he even tells Natsuhiko Nakanohara that being treated like dirt doesn't give one the right to do the same to them. When Morgana warns him and the protagonist that stealing Kamoshida's treasure may result in his death, Ryuji is shocked and reluctant to take that risk, believing that them going around secretly doing whatever they wanted would make them no different from Kamoshida. He changes his mind after Shiho Suzui's attempted suicide, but even after it is done, he wonders if it really was for the best; it is only after a chance encounter with Masayoshi Shido, however, when Ryuji comes up with the idea to continue as the Phantom Thieves, in order to get rid of adults who have gone unpunished for so long and give courage to all those who need it.

In reality, his seemingly delinquent-like behavior is merely a coping mechanism for the loss of his reputation to Kamoshida's tyranny and his inability to continue becoming an athlete after the injury he suffered at Kamoshida's hand. Deep down, he is nothing more than a kind and altruistic boy. He deeply cares for his mother and takes fervent effort as an athlete to relieve her worries. He also reveals that his father was an alcoholic who beat him and his mother and then left, so his mother is the only family he has. When he tells the group about the aftermath of his confrontation with Kamoshida, he is broken when he admits that, following a meeting with the school authorities, she apologized to him for being a single mother and not giving him a strong father-figure in life. He even calls himself a "bad son," due to him messing up his efforts to make things easier for his mother.

Ryuji is known as a disruptive "problem student" at school whose bad behavior causes all sorts of trouble for the teachers. He is quite proud of his status as a self-proclaimed "troublemaker" and his rebellious, mischievous and disobedient nature are the perfect qualities to be a Phantom Thief. He is sometimes vulgar and aggressive, as shown in his early interactions with the protagonist, Yusuke Kitagawa and Makoto Niijima. He is also rather short-tempered, easily taking offense from even the slightest of comments, making him resort to trying to be threatening.

Though there is truth to his terrible temper, this causes a misunderstanding as there is more than meets the eye, however, as Ryuji is actually upbeat, lazy and even cowardly. Though much of it only comes from his appearance, mannerisms and even his language, his lax nature in itself makes him look worse at times. In certain Mementos dialogue, Ryuji will comment that in trying to keep his eyes peeled for intel, people have told him he looks "even more of an asshole than before."[8] Otherwise, even other party members may misunderstand him in rare cases and think he's being purely a jerk. Even then, from the beginning, Ryuji actively tries his best to be a better person, but overdoes it by showering others with unsolicited kindness.

Ryuji has short spiky dyed blond hair and dark brown eyes. He has an athletic build, reflecting his background as a talented athlete. his hair is naturally black. His eyebrows lack the outer sides.

He wears his winter school uniform a bit modified. It consists of the standard black blazer with red buttons, unbuttoned to reveal a yellow T-shirt with a colorful green and magenta comic style star symbol and the word "ZOMG!" He has black pants with a red plaid pattern rolled up to reveal his ankles and part of his shins. He wears black suspenders that hang down instead of being worn on his shoulders, a white canvas belt and white and red low top Converse-like sneakers that have a rising sun flag motif. His summer school uniform is the same as his winter's, except his yellow T-shirt is replaced with a red one reading "NO MO RULES," he no longer wears his blazer and he now wears black and white high-top sneakers and a black spiked wristband on his left arm.

On his days off in winter, he wears a purple zip-up hoodie with red lining and the number "777" on the back, a black T-shirt with a yellow frowning face wearing colorful sunglasses, black pants and yellow sneakers. In the summertime, he wears a yellow tank top that reads "ON UR MARK!" with red shoe prints, light gray cargo shorts that slightly sag, revealing hot pink boxers with a thin green stripe, and blue sneakers with two white diagonal lines on each side. In addition, he wears a chain necklace and white belt as accessories.

During Persona 5 Royal's third semester, Ryuji wears a bright blue puffer jacket with brown fur lining the hood over a red sweatshirt with a graffiti paint design, a camouflage-patterned scarf with black pants and blue sneakers with black laces. At school, he wears his uniform's standard blazer and pants with a red hoodie with a black skull and the word "NOBODY" over the right eye with a small orange star inside the left over a blue T-shirt and purple Converse.

Ryuji Sakamoto is a playable character from Persona 5. He is a student at Shujin Academy and a former track star who lives a double life as a Phantom Thief. He's Ren (Akira) best friend and the Phantom Thieves' charge commander