The Psychology of Trauma in Persona 5

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[kaylenvee]

Honestly, your analysis on Joker is on point. It's the reason why there's so much material on the idea of Joker having a Palace or some form of distortion. Fanfictions, fanart, there's literally a Joker Palace theme that's blown up on YouTube, because how on Earth he hasn't crumbled to pieces from all the trauma he's been through is downright ridiculous.

[jetstar]

You summed up Joker's character so well. That's why I love the headcanon/fan theory of the Thieves Den in P5R essentially being Joker's "Palace" so to speak. How the entire place - from the decor to the music to the overall vibe and theme - is catered around all of Joker's friends and confidants, his memories, and his every little achievements. The theatrical nature of it all, how some say he clings to the persona of "Joker" (the unshakable, charismatic, powerful leader of the Phantom Thieves) like a lifeline because if he's Joker then he can handle anything and take on anyone. If he's just himself, he's nothing (shy, unimposing, a nobody who tried to stand up for what's right, but got criminalized for it). That's why the entire center of the Thieves Den is this grandiose stage where all of his greatest victories and achievements are propped up for all to see, as though they're the greatest prize and honor of Joker's life. Because if he can distract you with all the spectacular personas and locations and trophies, then it'll distract you from the small tv area that's shoved towards the very back of the Den where all of his past events, memories, and traumas are located. I like the idea that Joker's memories would be one of the biggest sources of his distortion - his inability to let go all every little thing that's happened to him, replaying in the back of his mind (in the very back of the Thieves Den, the deepest part of the Palace) because he's more conditioned to just bottle everything up rather than let his emotions play out in order for him to heal. Joker's the leader; he listens to everyone's problems and tries to fix everything for everyone, but he doesn't allow others to do the same for him. You'd really have to go the long way around, past all the spectacular and shiny decorations, to get to the heart of his Palace.

[emilyzhao]

Let’s not forget third semester in Royal. Everyone is given their dream lives, only to throw them away themselves. That alone takes SO much willpower. And of the course, Joker suffers as well. He wakes up one day to discover everyone is moving on with their happy lives, while he is left alone. He helped them with their problems, but in the new reality, they never had their problems to begin with, making their bonds superficial.

And don’t even get me started with Akechi…learning that he’ll die if they go against Maruki is probably one of the hardest decisions he ever had to make. He doesn’t want Akechi gone again, but accepting Maruki’s deal would mean betraying everything he stands for and would be going against Akechi’s wishes.

So yeah…third semester involves a crap ton of emotional baggage.

[amelialoyselle]

Thank god someone recognizes that Joker has a truckload of trauma and keeps piling it on because he doesn't want his friends to go through it. With how little is said about his own situation--no contact with his parents or former friends--as the player we should be happy, because clearly if he was going through abuse it would be highlighted in the game, right? But it makes me think that with Joker's personality, I have doubts if he would recognize abuse as abuse when it's aimed at himself, especially when he's shown the range of trauma and abuse of his friends. Like, having your mom killed? Your last living relative calling you useless and a burden? Deadbeat corrupt father who abandoned you and your mother, leading to her loss of life?

I can very easily see Joker thinking 'my mom/dad ignore me most of the time and sometimes forget to feed me or buy groceries but that's nothing compared to what my friends have gone through' and just... never mentioning it. Because, as you say, he doesn't have a quitting bone in his body, he just keeps trucking.

[noonespecial]

Your analysis of Joker reminded me of a story I had read in a P5 anthology. It was where Mona had gotten Joker in trouble in Sojiro when he (Mona), had tipped over a pot of curry. Instead of saying that Mona had done it, he chooses to take to blame for him.

When he was asked why he did this by Makoto, why didn't he just tell the truth, he said that he was scared to tell the truth because he has told the told the truth once but was ignored and charged for assault anyway. Why defend himself if they will just call him a liar? He was also scared of how Mona will be tossed out and abandoned for being too troublesome, just like how in his eyes, his parents had done to him. So he chose to take the blame instead.

Thankfully, the Phantom Thieves came through for him and tried to explain to Sojiro about what had really happened, and they managed to clear things up, with Sojiro saying that he would not kick Joker out for something as minor as this.

I can kind of relate this story to your analysis of Joker. He has trauma, but he is willing to help others. He has a strong sense of responsibility and look out for the rest of the Phantom Thieves.

[RojoJojo]

Akechi is also a very important character to look at when it comes to trauma when it comes to this game.

All of Akechi's life he has been told he is a bastard child that has no hope of ever being important by his father, which turns to be his main driving point as our antagonist. As the Phantom Thieves grow more notable within the story, Akechi remains ever present in the wings offstage, watching and learning everything he can about them, but never directly impeding the group, not until he knows he has all of his cards set in place. But once again, most of this was against his will. His entire motive was based on his father psychologically and emotionally abusing him, causing him to believe he was nothing unless proven worthy. So naturally, Akechi worked as hard as he could, becoming a prime student, and becoming a detective that way, like his father, he could form a web of powerful connections in order to get away with severe crimes, such as mental shutdowns. But even as he works under his father, Akechi continues to plot and place pieces so he can get his revenge on his father for all of the years of abuse. Along with that, he also makes sure to clean up all loose ends. What ends up being Akechi's downfall is also directly correlated to his father. Due to Akechi being told he deserves nothing, and not having any healthy social experiences outside of Joker, he feels the need to ONLY work alone.
This is his greatest weakness and continues to be even in the final fight against Maruki.

Which brings me to the only point in the game where he showed signs of being "healed" of his trauma in any way shape or form, which was when it was time for the final fight. The only reason Akechi felt the need to fight, was to repay Joker for wishing him back to life (As far as I remember, it's been a year since I played through the game's entirety.) Which is still just allowing himself to be used like a weapon by somebody. In conclusion, Akechi is a great depiction of what a person becomes when they have no positive influences within their early life.
(If you read all the way through this, thank you so much. I apologize if anything is incorrect whether that be my info on the game, or my grammar, English is a hell of a second language. Thank you again have a great day.)

[supersonicracer]

Ryuji is honestly the character I related to and loved the most. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Yes he's impulsive and loud, but it's because he's passionate about his beliefs and standing up for others. The way he risked his life in Kamoshida's palace to save Joker, ran in front of a car to save Makoto (even though they weren't on friendly terms), and how he ran in to save Haru when her fiance was grabbing her. He refuses to watch others get hurt, even if it means jumping in and possibly getting hurt himself. He doesn't think highly of himself and doesn't have many friends, but he never lost his positive attitude. I really love his character, he's my favorite in all of persona and one of my favorite game characters of all time.

[bingo]

7:47 Wakaba wasn't killed because her research went in the wrong direction, she was erased because she completed her research and became a loose end that lead to Shido.

[jona_hehe]

I love Futaba by the time I got to her story. I saw my cousin die right in front of my eyes, and I related so much how I felt my cousin was haunting me that maybe I could have saved him and I know what it's like to be lonely

[longforari]

Yes this game does bring me psychological trauma

[Ncsd]

I misread the title into physical trauma😂

[Kiwi_Krafts]

I feel like the guys are very much relatable and as being the opposite gender I feel like I might have a bit more weight on that argument. Yusuke suffers from a past of being kept silent and worked for an end goal. As an artist he explains that the journey is often lonesome and hard when you don't produce results. As an artist I know how it feels to have work stolen and claimed by others as their own. I've been met with people who wanted me to create work for their own gain and didn't expect to pay me for my hard work. Being made to love someone, whether it be a friend or a family member, is hard to break away from when they treat you poorly. You know it but deep down, you don't want to admit that. Yusuke's story is about finding the ability to do the things you love and break apart that relationship no matter how much it might hurt you. The only thing he loves and his only family were a form of toxicity in his life and his struggles to find support and a goal to strive towards while suffering financially are very relatable.

As for Ryuji, his story is somewhat similar to Ann's. I think they're two sides of the same coin. Ryuji also is labeled with many rumors and people stay away from him because of his past where he was blamed with injuring Kamoshida. While he did in fact take a swing at Kamoshida, Kamoshida did bring up stuff about Ryuji's father to paint him in a terrible light. Kamoshida broke Ryuji's leg in "self defense" when it was clearly overboard. Ryuji is left with his reputation ruined and yet he doesn't hate the track team for turning their backs on him. The events don't stop him from being a kind person and standing up for what's right. Kamoshida's mistreatment lead Ryuji to taking justice into his own hands because having an abusive father made him realize that no one should be forced to suffer at the hands of an abuser. While he may not be the smartest person, he constantly makes sacrifices and always tries to keep others safe no matter what.

[kenzu]

I didn't played persona 5 yet so I don't want to spoil anything but whenever I see persona analyze video I just have to click and give it a like

[RyanKarolak]

Another good video. I think you picked the best characters to talk about as examples of some of the P5 themes, or at least my favorites.

Having lived with MDD for most of my life, I really relate to Futaba, especially during my more challenging moments. I understand the conflict between wanting to heal and the instinct to push others away to protect myself. I recognize that I do this—did it then and still do now sometimes—and it’s deeply frustrating to know that my instinct is to keep people at arm’s length, even when it goes against what I truly want and need to do in order to get better. Seeing Futaba accept and merge with her shadow in a P4-like way without fighting it, and then grow and improve over time in P5 and P5 Strikers, feels both encouraging and hopeful.

[Captain_M]

8:16 true for playable characters but for antagonist maruki is there
Ryuji is still the bro and my 2nd favorite after makoto

[sanaefumo]

hearing your thoughts on these characters was truly a treat!! i would love to hear your thoughts on some of the other phantom thieves and what they go through, since all of them represent different stories. keep up the great work!!!!

[YanaKarimah-uh]

I kinda relate with Yusuke.
Stealing art and claiming as our is part of corruption, and known as taboo thing to do. Yes, you can trace work, but only for practicing, not for commercial or big events.

Madarame did it, even unaliving Sayuri on purpose and claims her self portrait, erasing baby Yusuke and do money laundrying with it. It's even foul work.

While Yusuke never know what Madarame did to his mother until his youth, manipulating him. Madarame benefited Sayuri and Yusuke's life. His ex-students too, and they already warned him how Madarame is literally walking red flag (heck, even black flag).

For Ryuji, I think his trauma is because he live with a single mother, trying to get scholarship, but failed. His leg got broken by Kamoshida, making him quite limp (look at his running animation), framed Ryuji and manipulating his ex-teammates, telling bad sh*ts about him. Ryuji loses his track team, and almost lose his passion as ex-track athlete.

[violetmemoria]

Now all we need is a persona 3 psychology of trauma!

[tamimtio]

When playing P5R for the first time I was never expecting to meet a character as relatable and so… me, as Makoto Niijima

Everything about her felt handcrafted just for me, sure I was not as kind, energetic, or as strong and put together as her

But fundamentally, I understood and related to her and her silent trauma, while looking like and being told she was a perfect student with a perfect life,

When in reality she had was in such a great amount of specific pain, as not having a life you want to lead or dreams and goals of your own and just doing what other people tell you and say is best for you your whole life, is unbelievably damaging, especially when some of the people setting you on it do genuinely love and want the best for you

She almost instantly became my second if not number one favorite fictional character of all time

[lucashenriquedecastro]

This video really should have more views
Keep up the good work!