Naoto Shirogane (白鐘 直斗)
Naoto is a playable character in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, and makes subsequent appearances in Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Golden, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and Persona Q. According to a character popularity poll held by Atlus, Naoto is the 5th most popular character in Persona 4: Golden.
The rest of this page contains spoilers. Read at your own risk. :)
Profile
- Name: Naoto Shirogane (Japanese: 白鐘 直斗)
- Also known as: The Detective Prince, The 2000 IQ Killjoy Detective
- Personae: Sukuna-Hikona, Yamato Takeru, Amatsu Mikaboshi
- Arcana: Wheel of Fortune
- Weapon: Pistol
- Occupation: Detective
- Student Classification: 1st year student at Yasogami High
- Birthday: April 27, 1995
- Zodiac: Taurus
- Height: 5'0" (152cm)
- Blood type: B
Personality
A seasoned detective at only 15 years old, Naoto is considered an intellectual prodigy. It's rare for Naoto to become emotional; to most she appears calm, collected, and well put together. It's only when the Investigation Team meets her shadow that her inner battles become apparent.
As a short woman, Naoto fears that others will not take her seriously, especially in the male-dominated field of detective work. She dresses in the male version of the Yasogami High uniform and deepens her voice to appear masculine. This fools everyone in the game into thinking she is male before she reveals her true gender. Naoto is also very sensitive about her age. She acts as maturely as possible to distract from her age and be taken seriously by others.
Due to her intelligence and attempts to appear mature, Naoto frequently bumps heads with people that don't know her well because she comes off as arrogant, chastizing, and pretentious.
Shadow Naoto
After Naoto appears on the TV to discuss the investigation of the murders in Inaba, she appears on the Midnight Channel and is ultimately kidnapped. The Investigation Team finds a new location called "Secret Base" when searching for her, and it appears to be a huge laboratory with lots of trap doors.
Once found, Naoto's shadow cries and laments its loneliness. "Why am I always alone?" Naoto's shadow also confesses feeling inferior as a woman, and wishing she were a man so she could be taken more seriously. Eventually she grows angry and chastizes herself for wanting to act more mature despite truly being quite young.
The shadow's ultimate goal is to perform a sex change on Naoto, and transforms into a robot to defend its prey from the Investigation Team. Naoto is visibly shaken and embarrassed that this side of her has been revealed once they rescue her.
Social Link
Nurturing Naoto's social link will allow the player to create stronger Fortune personae, and ultimately fuse the persona Norn.
Naoto's social link becomes available after she has been rescued from her Secret Base dungeon in the Midnight Channel. Throughout her ranks, she works to solve a challenge created by someone dubbing themself "The Phantom Thief," which ultimately turns out to be her grandfather in an attempt to renew her love for investigation and puzzles.
If the player decides to pursue a romance with Naoto, a special scene will be unlocked in which she dresses in the feminine version of the Yasogami High uniform. She will also give the player a special gadget she made that will notify him of her location when they are within 1 meter of each other.
Personae
Naoto's personae are notably insect-like with robotic parts in appearance, a clear throwback to her love for insects and gadgets. They always wear military-style clothing, similar to the detective outfits that Naoto adorns herself with. Their movesets typically contain Almighty, Light, Dark and Physical attacks.
