I asked YOU to rank the Persona 3 Characters (these comments are WILD)

[@LadyVirgilia]

Shop INTO THE AM's super comfy tees (sale going on right now) & use my link to get an extra 10% off! intotheam.com/LadyV I'd also like to clarify some things in the Junpei section. I understand that the personal tidbit I shared isn't really the *main* point of his arc (more about finding a purpose), nor his actual circumstances throughout the story (feeling worthless without that "one" thing/the Dark Hour). I can't say I've ever felt purposeless, but I could identify with feeling the weakest link deep down. For me this translated to imposter syndrome tho (which isn't exactly Junpei's problem); an example is being selected Trombone section leader (SL) for my senior year. There are definitely a lot of other qualities that go into that position than just music ability, but compared to all my other friends who were also SL of their own sections that year (& one of my best friends was a drum major) I always felt the least talented. Thankfully I played P3 prior to band camp and the actual season starting, which really helped me not dwell on that stuff for the *actual* season & just focus on being the most approachable/kind leader I could be (that's my definition of those kinds of roles lol). So yeah, I get that I'm kinda self-imposing this personal connection to Junpei's arc lol--but nevertheless it's what really resonated with me in 2013. (on another note, I also loved how he really appreciated the little things in life in January; I completely related to that optional dorm dialogue along the lines of how "this cup noodle may be my last, I'm gonna savor it"). Again, thank you everyone who participated in this poll! It was fun ^^ 🌟PATREON: www.patreon.com/LadyVirgilia 🎮TWITCH: www.twitch.tv/ladyvirgilia 🐤TWITTER: @VirgiliaLady twitter.com/VirgiliaLady

[@fury2055]

Oh, I'd absolutely love another community polling like this for P4 and/or P5

[@ashyflame]

For p4 the number one and last place pick is so obvious I would laugh if they aren't. And if you are wondering number 1 is kanji and last place is teddie

[@fury2055]

@@ashyflame I think number 1 pick would be a close competition between Kanji and Naoto, ngl. But yes, I do think last place would be Teddie pretty quickly.

[@akihikosanada2020]

I wish i found this channel while this poll was going on so badly! Persona 3 is my favorite video game of all time. I found the original FES after beating Persona 5 Royal in late 2020. It helped me cope with my anxiety and loneliness during quarantine by surrounding my by a cast of characters that were all relatable to me in one way or another. Whether it be Junpei comparing himself to others, Akihikos unhealthy ambition to be better or Aigis' struggle to find purpose in life and ultimately thats why shes my favorite character in all of persona and one of my favorite fictional characters personally. Her social link always brings me to tears every single time i do it. Her slowly with the help of Makoto figuring out the beauty in life, is so touching to me as someone who has always struggled to find the value in my life, to figure out why to keep going. Her speech to Makoto at the very end of the game where she FINALLY finds her purpose only to have it ripped away from her as he passes away shortly after never fails to get me sobbing. Shes a very special character to me in a wat thats hard to articulate, but in terms of everyone she absolutely resonates with me the absolute most.

[@siph0r154]

Honestly, your sample BY FAR will not have reflected the 'general fandom' but I think in a way, that is a good thing. I'd like to think that your channel attracts mostly the _"Lore Nerds"_ and those who like to dive in a bit more deeply than just "Sporty-Guy look good" or "DOG!" (although both are still valid ofc, especially "DOG!") :)

[@ViVi1159-d1]

Honestly, though, I’d still love to find the part of the fandom that doesn’t bash characters just for having narrative conflicts with the fan-favorites.

[@siph0r154]

@@ViVi1159-d1 this guy is one of those. But one does not a fandom make I guess xD I know I am not one of those cause I don't even know what you mean. Are there truly people who dislike characters simply _just_ cause they have narrative tension with their faves? :o

[@gambadrawing5669]

It hurts every time I see my boy Ken in the bottom of a p3 cast members list. I’ve learned to expect it but it still hurts my soul 😭

[@KenAmadaIRL]

REAL hes my favorite by far 💔

[@blobby_blobby]

For real. 😔

[@Rina-eg7zw]

I ended up super liking him in Reload

[@Finppa]

Does it hurt more than the bullet that hit Shinji?

[@jessicacarr4933]

⁠@@Finppabut that wasn’t Ken’s fault in the end? I genuinely reckon if takaya hadn’t interfered then Ken would’ve have lowered his weapon eventually, you could hear the confusion and hesitation under the pain when Shinji gives him that warning (well you can in reload anyways) and probably would’ve had enough time for sees to get there and help talk him down. But that’s the tragedy of it all… the should have, would’ve, could’ve’s. It does frustrate me a tad when people blame the struggling 10 year old when he’s just a kid trying to make sense of the impossible situation he’s thrown into while fighting s ideations, something even adults really struggle against.

[@meesh11p]

Yukari reminds of Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender - Deeply empathetic and their passion can cause an outburst of aggression as an expression from their desire to protect the people they love. A deeply relatable aspect that speaks to me so much.

[@Captain_M27]

I think makoto from p5 is more like katara than yukari

[@Williamfurno962]

I’m charmed my comment made it in, I can’t seem to find people who see the persona games as deep as we all do. Your video’s help build my confidence, make me feel less alone, & helps me see the games even deeper.

[@LadyVirgilia]

I'm so happy to hear that! I'm so appreciative of all you 'deep thinkers' in the audience--always a treat to find others who actually enjoy diving *this* deep into Persona too haha!

[@overrated2975]

Ken being so low is so crazy, even after given way more time to shine in reload. Out of the trio of Akihiko, Ken, and Shinjiro, Ken’s narrowly been my favorite of the 3 due to how closely his character changes and connects to the themes of persona 3. What definitely gave him the edge in reload for me is his really fun risky/support play style, wanting to constantly use high sp moves to keep his thurgy building and making sure he has accessories that strengthen his magic attacks. Akihiko and Shinjiro are both really high up as well, just little things like my distaste for protein brain Akihiko and Shinjiro’s continued lack of time in the party hold them back a little bit for me personally.

[@KenAmadaIRL]

this entire comment is me my top 3 p3 characters are ken shinji and Kai but he’s still my favorite by far

[@Dorked]

I'm sad to see Ken rank last because he was by far one of my favorites in Reload as someone who played it as their first Persona 3 experience. Maybe it's because I'm an Akechi-head, and so the similarities between the two characters really made Ken resonate with me, but I really enjoyed the contrast and conflict between this young kid and the sheer grief and trauma he carried with him to a point where he didn't even value his own life. I don't think it's fair to blame him for what happened with Shinjiro because while it's true that it was extremely reckless, it was ultimately Takaya who pulled the trigger, and it's further complicated by the suppressants slowly killing Shinji. It was basically a case of "it was going to happen, but it just escalated in the worst possible way." But I also think blaming a traumatized child who was left to fend for himself, told off by the police when he tried to explain the situation, and left to stew in his rage and resentment deserves a bit more empathy. It seems like people who played Reload first tend to be more favorable to Ken as well, and that it might be an Akechi vanilla situation where people who hated them in earlier releases are still embittered by the newer releases (even though Royal and Reload both did very well for Ken and Akechi respectively in terms of fan reception). I also just think that Ken being a *child* is so interesting in P3's broader framework. He's still in the beginnings of his life, yet feels he has nothing to live for, and him finding love, support, and the strength to stand on his feet is all so compelling and I think really encapsulates P3's hopeful message and what the protag(s) were fighting for.

[@TheDaphinator]

I am so mad at KZbin for not telling me you were holding a Persona 3 character ranking. I would have written a whole essay on why I love them all. Then again, maybe it is for the best since I would have a tough time ranking the homies lol. Writing this at the 4:38 minute mark, so my guess for the winner… I feel like it will come down to Akihiko or Junpei. In much of the discourse I have seen online, Akihiko tends to come out on top for being as inspirational and strong as he is. Yet Junpei is inspirational in his own way as well and has a goofier personality to get attached to, so maybe with Reload more people will put him ahead of Akihiko. I am confident number one will be one of them, yet my money is on Junpei. I will add to this comment when I finish the video. EDIT: Yeah, I was definitely surprised with their placements lol. Banger video though; really loved this idea and hope you do it again.

[@hawkrivers-garrett9315]

I've seldom if ever seen such direct audience interaction in a youtube video, let alone from a channel of your size, and as a participant, that was a real treat. When you put out the poll, I definitely wasn't expecting this level of engagement with the comments. While writing my own I was concerned that I was being overindulgent by sharing in too much detail just one rando viewer's opinion, the likes of which would be liable to make your eyes roll in the back of your head if you deigned to read it at all. So colour me delighted to be cited like 3 times across the course of the video! I also enjoyed hearing you bounce your own ideas off everyone else's, & I think you did a really good job of editing the video to incorporate so many comments that illustrate your narrative.

[@LadyVirgilia]

This is a really encouraging comment! I always do my best to interact as best I can (and as my health permits), so I'm glad to see others can see this reflected in the video! I'm the one who doesn't need the tl;drs on posts because I'll obsessively read the whole thing haha. Thanks again for the really thoughtful comment on the poll and also here!

[@blazemara1624]

I loved this video! The engagement with comments is exactly what I wanted, and now I’m kicking myself that I missed this poll as it was happening. My greatest outlier is Aigis, because I rank her pretty close to last place personally. The robot who learns to love was already played out in 2006 and it’s still played out now. Just a trope that doesn’t elicit anything in me. I’m very pleased with all the Yukari love though, she’s my #1 and Junpei is a close #2. They act like real teenagers!

[@harryhewson2382]

Aight I'll fess up to my own comment (9 minute mark ish). You're right, I was flip flopping a lot on Ken because there are aspects about him I do appreciate, and I stand by my P4AU comment, that design is absolute fire. And as another commenter points out, I agree Ken is an excellent foil to Shinji, shoutout to the movies (and Q/Q2 to an extent) for expanding on this. But this all come at the cost of Shinji and FEMC who I just like significantly more.

[@miki783]

i’m actually so surprised that people hate ken yall, it makes me so sad i love him. as my comment clearly said lollll

[@guava186]

SUPER off topic but man i really resonated with your story of how you felt inferior in your academically competitive school, because that literally happened to me too lmao. All of my friends (and classmates) were amazing hard workers who ended up in prestigious colleges. And while I was a hard worker too who got into a good college, I still never felt like I could be as academically achieving as them. In a way it makes me wish I had played this game at the time, cause I know high school me would've found a kindred spirit in Junpei. All that aside great video as usual! Hope there will be polls for the other games too cause it is very interesting seeing how the more lore focused side of the Persona fandom ranks characters! 💖

[@Captain_M27]

Idk why people think yukari was bad in the original p3 My first p3 experience was in fes and yukari took the top spot for me until the late game and the answer made her even better for me

[@Rayzinks]

Long comment ahead... My personal ranking is 1) Ken 2) Yukari 3) Junpei 4) Shinjiro 5) Akihiko 6) Aigis 7) Fuuka 8) Mitsuru 9) Koromaru 10) Makoto/Protagonist To be honest I could switch the top 3 characters around because I love these characters equally and the ranking wouldn't be too different. Now for the reason my ranking is the way that it is.. I'll start from the bottom. I know it's kinda crazy that I put the protagonist last place even below the literal DOG but he's mostly like a self insert (even though I have watched the movies and I'm aware that he does have his own personality) but it feels unfair for a game like persona that has silent protagonists (most of the time) to like them more than the other characters. And that's why he's last place. Next is Koromaru which makes me really sad that I have to put him so low but his inability to speak (y'know because he's a dog) lessens the opportunities to get to know him. Next is Mitsuru who I'm very aware is a very popular character but when I first played persona 3 I didn't max out her social link at first and since then she feels like an easily forgetful character for me. (I know I should've said this earlier but I love all of the characters unlike some other people who hate some characters and love others). Same thing as Mitsuru, I forget about Fuuka's existence from time to time but I like her more than Mitsuru because I really enjoyed her social link as the female protagonist (also to anyone wondering I would put the female protagonist above the male protagonist but she would still be below Koromaru). Next up is Aigis, our sweet little robot with a heart. She's a lovely character and I honestly can't find anything bad to say about her but she also doesn't have any traits that make her super awesome in my eyes. Akihiko is in the middle because I also enjoy his character. The reason I can't rank him higher though is because I had to get to know him more with the help of (again) the female protagonist's route. Also I really dislike how his character is watered down to "woohoo protein" in other games. Next up is Akihiko's best buddy, Shinjiro. Shinjiro is a great character with a very good story and despite being in the game for a very short time he still manages to make me really like him (also I'm guilty of being a Shinjiro x FEMC shipper). Third place goes to the man, the myth, the legend Junpei Iori. I always had a soft spot for bro characters so it's obvious that he would be high on my list. Also his social link with FEMC and his relationship with Chidori are adorable. Second place goes to Yukari who, in my opinion, is such an overhated character because she's "rude" to Junpei and the protagonist. She's probably one of the most realistic and relatable characters in my opinion. First place goes to Ken, possibly the most hated party member of persona 3 (or maybe of other persona games too). I grew to like him simply because he is overhated and he doesn't deserve that. He's a literal child and learns to grow through the story, also I think Reload did a fantastic job with his character and also improved his abilities in battle (in my opinion he's one of, if not the best, party member). Fun fact, I liked his battle changes so much that I decided to solo Nyx with him on the hardest difficulty and it was successful. I feel like a lot of people just automatically hate him because he "killed Shinjiro" (even though it was Takaya's fault) and don't bother to look into his character more. Anyway that's my ranking and to anyone who bothered to read the whole thing, thank you!

[@ChiangKai-Shrek]

Finally someone found Amada "Kenough". In seriousness, for Ken I would've liked him more if he was more relevant to the plot after 10/6 in game. His personality is just kinda boring too. He's just a polite kid, that's it.

[@sekiganxz]

I'm definitely one of the few who really likes Mitsuru For me I quite related to the struggles Mitsuru went through. I also think, opposite to the other commentor, that her romance arc was actually what made it a lot more relatable for me. I think the reason I like her a lot is because of her character essentially being about striking a balance between family and the individual, or responsibilities versus desires. It's why I also think her romance, whilst 100% very melodramatic and soap opera-esque with her shouting at her fiance in public that "THIS IS THE MAN I WANT TO BE WITH", actually was a great character moment for her imo, as it was like her final straw in actually deciding to give herself more agency on her life, rather than doing what's expected of her. In particular I think it speaks a lot to certain Asian cultures where things like the person you decide to date/marry can be a very family involved affair, leaving the actual individual feeling like it can be a massive hurdle just to choose the person you want to spend your life with. And I think it does touch upon something you brought up in a previous video about how different cultures view identity- and that in Asian cultures, we tend to see family as a core part of our identity, as compared to western cultures. I think this conflict between family and the self is a huge part of her role in the main story where it almost seems that she pushes herself so hard for her family, not necessarily for herself. The fact she did all the SEES related work just to ease things for her father who was clearly guilt stricken by the actions of his own father. I can't remember if it's the movies or the games which has a line where she says that all she wanted was for her father to stay alive, she was never as invested in the tartarus gig as her dad was, but she pushed herself for him. I can see why people might not like her though- her struggles are emotional and in every scenario where you don't get to see that side to her, she just appears like a rich girl who knows nothing about the world.

[@ghostdong40]

21:37 Obviously, Mitsuru can't fight AND navigate. She's not a cat.

[@sjk8495]

Plus, since Igor did create Morgana, perhaps that's how Mona got blessed with the ability to do both? Or of course the times can be blamed since both Mitsuru and Teddie lack that ability, and their games did come out in the early 2000's.

[@hawkrivers-garrett9315]

I think either are equally valid, but having Mitsuru hold off until someone else takes over the navigator role sets an appropriate expectation for Fuuka not fighting either.

[@sjk8495]

@@hawkrivers-garrett9315 Yeah truth be told, Mitsuru not fighting to focus on navigating stuff doesn't really bother me, even as someone who played Persona 5 Royal first.

[@khourd2661]

I finally had the chance to watch this and wow this was a great video! It was very interesting to see where people in your community ended up ranking each character. Maybe this applies to the English speaking Persona fans at large, but if not it was still very cool. It was extremely surprising to see segments of my comment show up even once, let alone five times in this video (Twice in the Junpei section and three times in the Akihiko section). I'm glad that you were able to extract a lot from it and I can't help but also feel a little bit of pride that there was even enough there for you to pull that much. If I'm being honest, I didn't even realize that that was a trait of the Emperor arcana, but I guess it partially explains why I relate to and like the Emperor arcana in the three Persona games I have played. I need to read up more about the major arcana and probably should rewatch some of your videos on characters to help refresh my memory. To answer your question at the end of the video, the one I'm most surprised about is how low Mitsuru ranked (I literally yelled "WHAT?" at my screen for that one), but the furthest pick away from my own was Junpei. That one wasn't a surprise for me, I figured people would like him more than I do. Again, I don't hate him, but the long and repeated creepy behavior towards girls and women really put a sour taste in my mouth for the rest of the game. I do understand why you can relate to him in the way you described. Hell, I can too, most of my friends were a lot "smarter" than I was in school. I had my talents, but ranking myself against extremely competitive flute players (while I was just pretty good at the flute) and kids in all AP classes was demoralizing. Anyways, if you end up reading this wall of text, thank you and I hope your year ends up turning out better than the first part of it

[@sekiganxz]

Lady, I'd love to see polls for Persona 4 and 5 at some point!!! Or even one about ranking the social links? I think these kinds of videos are great and get to open good discourse on these games, so I'm always a fan lol

[@Dime_Guy98]

As a person who struggles a lot with self confidence, and social anxiety, I relate a lot to fuuka’s character. I always feel like I’m getting in the way and I just want to be useful , which is why I find fuuka’s very similar story and struggles very endearing. Just being able to see myself in a character like that, and have that sort of anxiety represented in game media tastefully just makes it impossible for me not to connect with her. Plus, I feel like people tend to look past her importance as a sees member. While sure, the overall plot might not completely change because of her, but the dynamic between sees is definitely impacted by her. For example, how she cared so much for Ken when he disappeared, and how she was constantly the most distressed over it really added an extra level of tension to an already stressful moment. And her dynamic with characters like Yukari, being someone she can talk to, and rely on makes her an important member for the rest of the party, and as the navigator, she does a good job being the person they can rely on. Plus, she’s got a fun design and she’s very silly, so how could ya not like her.

[@FTNChicken]

Definitely looking forward to that protag/ending analysis video! A bit relieved that my low rank of the protag wasn’t too crazy of a hot take

[@Freakymonkey78]

I honestly have to guess either junpei gets top billing here, if not him either best doggo or aigis Edit: my poor boy. The reason I personally rate the doggo so high is because of how good and like able of a character he is despite not being being able to talk at all, such a serious and obvious handicap and yet I never once overlooked or forgot to account for his reactions. Also love his combat kit and variation.double amp,debilitate, and revolution along with almost always going first unless mc is using a high agility persona. Debilitate and rev love being used as opening moves

[@TheJaredPunch]

My Ranking: Aigis Junpei Protagonist Yukari Akihiko Ken Shinjiro Fuuka Mitsuru. Koromaru is the goat.

[@PerhapsGuy]

While idk if I'd put Junpei at #1, I still like him a lot and I almost would entirely rank the SEES cast exactly like yours. I always default to Junpei, Yukari, and Mitsuru for my team since they're my favorite members overall. Still, everyone else is great and interesting in their own right, and you did a great job explaining why.

[@skylarblackwell2279]

My prediction for who won is yukari, she has probably always been my favorite mostly because of the way she expressed grief was so real to me in the "answer" if we're saying awesom in terms of other things probably shinjiro, he was kewl

[@CaliGamer4321]

Seeing Yukari place 2nd in the poll makes me so happy. When I first got into Persona and interacted with the fandom back in 2020, she was a very underrated character who many people disliked, but I personally adored her even back then (though she isn't my favorite). I'm not sure if it's because of Reload or not, but just seeing the amount of love Yukari got on the poll brings me joy! ^^ My favorite character though? It's Aigis for sure. And yeah, I was expecting her to be the #1 spot ngl... She's a fan favorite and she absolutely deserves it, in my opinion.

[@blazemara1624]

Yukari lover (and Aigis hater ;p) since 2015 here, and you’re right. Sooooo many people in those days just did not get the depth of Yukari’s character. I’m happy Reload has made her new fans! Do you think Reload newbs will keep the same energy when The Answer comes out for them?

[@CaliGamer4321]

@@blazemara1624 I hope so... I really hope people understand where Yukari is coming from instead of saying she "regressed" as a character T-T

[@TheInferno0099]

​@blazemara1624 the reason why there are people who disliked or still dislike here and I noticed with other shows pr games bur if they see a character make a decision they don't agree with even if it makes sense for the character then it makes them not like them anymore characters who don't rock the boat like aigis aren't really going to have as much haters because she isn't as big of a personality as yukari

[@drakordarkstar]

1 shinji, his story is so tragic and compelling, love him, his death made the game 2 aigis her arc and story is almost as high as shinji the top two are interchangable 3 junpei, he's real, he's alive and imperfect, insecure, and i love him 4 ken his story and hatred for shinji, wanting revenge so he can "join his mom" is so sad and realistic, he's a compelling character 5 makoto, his "i don't care" attitude and the fact that he embraced his fate, for the sake of his friends, facing impossible odds all alone despite his quiet and apathetic mind, really feels great to me, not the best, but far from the worst 6 mitsuru, she may not be the most extroverted person, but her coldness, formal tone is realistic, she wants to fix everything no matter what and i like that, she can be a bit distant but that's ok imo 7 akihiko, his bond with shinji is cool, his desire to be strong for others is nice, but he never was too important or compelling to me 8 koromaru, he is dog, cute boy, moving on 9 fuuka, always found her boring and just.....she's there i guess....for.....things 10 yukari, never liked her, no idea why, just didn't like her.

[@alcatrazvongola]

Yukari is overrated tbh. I never liked how she was a vehicle for drama throughout the game and started crap with everyone else while never reflecting how much of a hypocrite she is. What's worst is that she never truly suffers consequences for getting on her high horse. Everyone else around her does.

[@canarydewitt2816]

"...I'd really appreciate you leaving a like..." My friend, you don't even need to ask. Done!

[@OW8579]

I missed the ranking, so maybe someone else had a similar experience, but a big reason why Yukari is my favorite SEES member, is that her struggle of both trying to find out what happened to her dad, and her reckoning with the fact that her family was involved with the creation of the Dark Hour, reminded me of myself in a lot of ways. My family history has some extremely disturbing aspects to it, and it was hard for me to find information about it, either due to time or my family members not wanting to talk about some events. So during the part when Yukari confronts Mitsuru about withholding what happened to her dad, and then her emotional breakdown after that, I felt like I was seeing myself confronting my own family members.

[@blazemara1624]

Wow, thank you for sharing. Actually, I haven’t thought about just how closely Yukari’s frustration about her dad is like my own. Jeez, just when I thought Yukari couldn’t speak to me more, it turns out I’ve subconsciously projected myself onto her all these years.

[@CodeNine_9]

i will give you my soul if you do a p4 poll

[@Gwen1661]

Damn, I didn't know there was a poll.I would've loved to participate. I had a feeling Aigis was gonna be number 1 but me personally I find her to be my least favourite SEES member. I don't hate her or even dislike her, she's a good character like everyone else. I just find her to be... Overrated, you could say, compared to everyone else. And I find the other journeys more compelling than hers, though The Answer does add a lot more to her character compared to just the base game. My ranking would be Yukari, Ken, Fuuka, Junpei, Akihiko, Shinji, Koromaru, Mitsuru, Aigis. I don't like to count the MC for this but if I had to, male MC would be in between Koromaru and Mitsuru while FemC would be in between Fuuka and Junpei.

[@Auberry0m0]

It is so weird seeing yukari so high when like five years ago she was the most hated glad isn't any more I love her

[@florinmusician]

15:38 I'm shocked Fuuka ranked #8, so I shall elaborate on my placing her #1: I feel like Fuuka would be the nicest to be around since she's kind and caring but also has interesting thought and ideas about topics she talks about. She also fits very well in the role of "Priestess", having great and intuition and learning to accept and use it in and outside of battle. Another big reason may be because I relate to her struggle to know what SHE wants, instead of subconsciously trying to meet other people's expectations. I feel she grows into a strong and independant person that learns to be confident in herself and her abilites, which can be a lot tougher than it sounds. And Reload improved all these aspects in my opinion. I understand the critizism Fuuka gets (all characters have flaws, I feel that others are even more problematic) but for me she still feels like a person with a more intersting personality and positive vibes. So yeah, I think Fuuka is pretty neat.

[@SirthOsiris]

*sees Fuuka's placement* Now I don't even know if I want to watch the rest of the video. I get her placement. I just like her vibe more than... probably every other character in the series. I also started calling her the team's "voice in the darkness" from the FES days, the person keeping the team together while their drama brings them down. I have a feeling if you did a P4 one I'd have the same reaction, since my favorite's Yukiko and I'm guessing people find her boring so they'd rate her low.

[@BigKlingy]

I was surprised she placed so low too. I get that she's the least relevant party member to P3's story (even Koromaru has more influence), but she's not bad, especially in Reload.

[@SirthOsiris]

@@BigKlingy I guess other characters had a bigger impact on people, while Fuuka was just kind of there. But to me she has less baggage, leading to her being as reliable as the MC.

[@marecaelomiscere]

I'm def a priestess boy so YES justice for Fuuka and Yukiko (and Haru, not a priestess but so underrated)

[@TheInferno0099]

Well I like fuuka but she's apart of a strong main cast so that's why she's not at the top and yukiko well yeah I don't really care about her character but if you put fuuka in p3 I'm sure she would be placed high

[@BigKlingy]

Sorry it took me so long to comment, and also I already left my comments on the first half on Patreon, but... YO YOU RANK JUNPEI NUMBER 1?! I never knew that and that's goated. 31:54 ...So you know those moments where Americans say something about a foreign culture that makes people cringe? Well, here's me doing the reverse: "Wait, Caltech is a real school and not something invented by Big Bang Theory?!" (Okay, I WAS aware it was a real place, but this is legit my first time hearing about it outside of that sitcom, wow.) But seriously, I also related to Junpei a lot in his feelings of inferiority and not being able to appreciate what I had. I think I'm better now, but I was definitely in that stage while playing P3 for the first time. On the one hand, I do agree with some comments here that your audience skews towards narrative over gameplay, but I also think that when Persona fans rank characters they usually do so by narrative? Gameplay discussions exist but they're typically separate, and as Persona isn't as overtly difficult as SMT I don't think it's viewed as importantly, except in OG P3 sometimes since it's probably the hardest of the Hashino trilogy. But these are games where everyone is typically viable. Agreed that Shinjiro has a massive impact on everyone else both before and after his death. I also fully agree that Shinji's death hammers home how dangerous the protags' work is. Makes it feel like you're fighting a real battle, not everyone's going to make it out alive. Oh man that Akihiko FeMC route "hot take" is really interesting. While I still think the death version is more powerful, I like people defending the less-liked options and this was a REALLY GOOD defense. It makes sense Akihiko got consistently high placements but not a lot of number 1's. Aigis' arc being, as you describe, "backloaded", is a big part of 56:34 Only semi-related, but is it weird that this sums up how I feel about Rixia in the Crossbell Trails games? She gets so much marketing in later entries, and yet she's actually not that prominent in her first playable appearance, being a very late-joiner. My biggest outlier ranking? KEN, 1000%. I'd thought the hate on him had died down so I'm surprised he ranked this low. Can I just say "Chris' Alarmingly Small Nipples" is an amazing patron name lol.

[@Numbuh714]

It's incredibly interesting to me that we had similar experiences in terms of schooling and how that made you relate to Junpei, but I didn't connect with him in quite the same way. Your opinion really gives me more appreciation for him, since I can relate in a lot of ways as well. I think it comes down to timing, since I only really got into P3 with Reload, well after my high school years, and you got into it while finishing up high school. I wonder, if I had played at the same point in my life that you did, would I feel differently? If you're wondering who my favorite is, I'd say it's Aigis by a long shot. She really surprised me! I didn't expect to like her as much as I did, especially given that she's not a major player until the last few months of the game. I do have a soft spot for characters who aren't good at social cues, so I did find her funny, but her social link and the ending absolutely knocked it out of the park for me. I've struggled a lot with my mental health and found it difficult to find purpose in living, so to see this robot slowly learn what life is, what connections are, that you can lose them at any time, and how to treasure them anyways- that really connected with me. I really admire Aigis' deep love of life and dedication to protecting it. I think it really works that her character arc is so prominent on the ending. She is a bow tying together Persona 3's themes, in only the way a girl who cannot die in a game about death can.

[@sjk8495]

18:34 Hey that's my comment! Interestingly, when I tweeted about the similarities and differences between Mitsuru and Edelgard to Tara Platt, even she seemed to agree! And yeah, I have a tendency to like complex characters, hence why Mitsuru, Yukari, and Junpei are my top three favorites in P3R. And while it's a bummer Mitsuru didn't reach the top - I'd rather swap her with Aigis - I am glad to see Yukari make the top two. And side note, my best girl in all of Persona is Makoto Niijima. Whereas I have a three-way tie for second best girl among Mitsuru, Yukari, and Ann Takamaki. Edit: and yeah, I admittedly do find Aigis kind of overrated since most of her interesting stuff does not happen until the last month. I may be tempted to say Sophia is better written than Aigis, but I have to play P5S to decide that. But fortunately, Aigis's social link easily saves her as a character for me.

[@TheInferno0099]

Yeah I try to love aigis but she always ends up in middle of the pack for me everytime I just fins characters like yukari and jumpei more interesting

[@sjk8495]

@@TheInferno0099 Pretty much. Although I do like Aigis's social link more than Yukari's social link and Junpei's linked episodes.

[@professatristan3223]

Yay my comment made it into the video!🎉 But thank you for involving the community with this kind of poll. I'd love to participate in more things like this on your channel and it was fun getting to see other's perspectives on this fantastic cast

[@PearlChrash]

Fun to watch this, since I finished P3R a few weeks ago. Hope I notice when a possible P4 poll is started!

[@jogitofr]

The only reason Aigis would be just a little bit lower to me is her voice direction. She is still a top 3-4 character for me but I loved how she sounded robotic at the start and gradually grew a voice more realistic in fes. It was a nice touch I loved about the og but Aigis is still the goat

[@ViVi1159-d1]

Reload Aigis reminded me a lot of the voice direction in the Japanese version (a lot of them did). It’s possible that it just doesn’t translate to English in quite the same way? I also liked OG Aigis, but I guess I can understand the intent of the new version.

[@dylanrivers75]

36:00 I will stand by this - ShinjiHam forever🩷🖤 But seriously, very well done video and interaction. I’m surprised my boy finished so high, but also I thought recency bias would actually push Yukari to the top. Your anecdote about the pressure of prep-school and successful peers is very relatable, and makes Junpei that much more special to me. Best wishes for your health, and excited for your next content whenever it comes!💞

[@hobaaize6474]

Yukari is the best girl in the whole persona series I dare u to PROVE ME WRONG !😁

[@ShadowOfMassDestruction]

Why would I boo you when you're right! (My personal favorite is Chie tho)

[@RaoulDuke-cs2wn]

​​​@@ShadowOfMassDestructionIm glad to see someone else enjoys Chie. She comes off as very down to earth and fun to be around.

[@maquinlol9673]

Ikutsuki is the top 1 for sure

[@PlayPersona3]

I dont often comment but im guttered i forgot to participate in this. Yet to finish the video but i am very shocked at Mitsurus placement, after all she was the face of Persona 3 in the early days. Being the mascot before Aigis and Koromaru were ever considered imo. Like your work alot and look forward to seeing more :)

[@serenepastel]

I’m so glad that you understood that my Aigis comment wasn’t bait. To give a further look into how far this rabbit hole goes: I genuinely could not remember who I put at the bottom of my list until you pointed out that every member of SEES was the bottom of someone’s list and showed the numbers on the screen. Why is Aigis the Bermuda Triangle of my mind!?!?!? Setting that glitch aside, thank you for your sweet words about my comments. This was such a cool video because of how interactive you were with your audience’s opinions. I’ve seen ranking videos before that glossed through the results without taking the people’s logic into account, sometimes even dismissing their opinions outright. But this little touch of humanity makes your video a cut above the rest. I would not complain if this ranking-style video became a series on the channel, whether it’s for other characters, Personas, or even dungeons. You’ve created such a nice community that I’m not terrified to have opinions that conflict with others’. All in all, this was a fun one!

[@GrapefruitVodka3]

Man I wish I saw the poll to participate. Really fascinating video! loved seeing everybody's opinions on the cast. I would love to see it done again with the other persona games! to give my thoughts here on a few characters from p3. Ken: I feel like a lot of hate Ken receives also stems from the fact that he is a kid. I've seen a lot of people complain that it's a trope to have a kid party member. Some people say that they hate the fact that a kid is part of the story. Calling it "the writer trying to force empathy from players bc its a kid and thus more innocent and tragic." This part i feel is really surprising bc i dont think that was the point of ken at all. I feel like Ken's story was to show that stuff like death/su*cide/mental health can affect the lives of even a kid. It's not exclusive to teens and adults. I mean hell, ive had those thoughts from a young age like Ken did so for people to call it unrealistic just seems wrong. even kids can understand those serious topics. I've also heard about the FeMc thing and i think that's partially thanks to the fandom never not letting it go. eventually people find out about it and it just leaves them with a weird look at Ken. I've even heard people call ken's character "bait" for those kinds of weird people...even though he was part of P3 OG and Fes which was before that Femc social link even existed... Mitsuru: This is my least favorite character in p3. i really dont like her which is strange because i typically like this archetype. I feel like it usually works in other stories, even p5 with makoto, because those characters show emotions or a soft side. i guess mitsuru kinda has a soft side but it's nowhere near as cute as makoto p5 lol. but that aside mitsuru genuinely feels so boring. throughout most of the game she barely reacts to anything. her voice is mostly monotone (no hate to the VA thats just the direction of her character), and i understand she's supposed to be stoic but i just think it falls in line with being boring. akihiko/shinji can be stoic at times but he still has a fun side. and the part that makes me dislike her the most is at the end of the game where everybody is crying to greet you and mitsuru is the only one NOT CRYING LIKE CMON DONT YOU FEEL ANYTHING?? 😭😭 MC: i feel like the criticism for p3 protag not having a personality is so strange bc i feel like both him and joker has a clear personality and purpose in the story. the cutscene at the train full moon where he grabs junpei and stares at him is just the coolest thing ever and i love it. the way he walks in tartarus, after the mission is done, the way he fixes his clothes. it's all done so subtle and meticulous. p3 protag is so cool. joker is cool too but like in a completely different way. p4 protag though is easily the most bland im so serious when i say that guy doesnt do anything special the entire game 😭

[@IHitTheWater]

The biggest outliers are Mitsuru and Makoto, my #2 and #1's respectively. I would have their positions swapped around if I wasn't kinda depressed and apathetic when I played Persona 3.

[@dachking6657]

I kept track of each ranking as I went (my own, yours, and the general audience) to compare at the end. My biggest point of departure from yours was Junpei, albeit not because I hate him or anything; I just genuinely liked five other characters in the game more than him. Everything else was either exactly the same or only two places off at most. Probably more interestingly, my biggest discrepancy compared to the community was absolutely Aigis. I had her quite low compared to the community's ranking, putting her at eighth overall. Once again, this is not because I vitriolically hate her or anything; I love and enjoy all of these characters to some extent. However, I really just never completely understood the hype around her. I enjoy her character growth and progression and find her to be likeable and charming, but when I reflect on her I really just remember the beautiful final scene in the Journey and not much else. I don't really care about her feud with Ryoji (honestly, I probably like Ryoji more than her overall, too) and definitely don't seem to be quite as moved by her social link as most other people. To be honest, I think my problem with her is that whenever she is around to do something important in the story, something else is also happening that I tend to care about more, with the only exception obviously being her monologue at the end. Yakushima episode? I care about Yukari's story. Moonlight bridge? I care about Ryoji and his revelations about MC. Even convincing her to take heart and find something to fight for is a struggle that I preferred seeing other characters work out, both on their own and with the MC's support. In other words, I see her do something or make a decision and think, "Oh, that was cool/cute," and then I'm immediately running to the next thing. The AI/robot becoming man story is very effective, but it definitely feels more flat to me than basically any of the other character struggles happening around it. I found observing already developed characters develop further far more interesting than watching someone without character get one to begin with, even if the change is effectively more drastic. I guess I also ranked Mitsuru really high compared to the community, but that can mostly be boiled down to the fact that I can relate to her in a number of ways; I had a pretty traditional, strict upbringing and am very blessed to be quite gifted in school. In general, I get looked to as a leader in a lot of things because I seem "well put together" (my successor as president of my high school band unironically called me a "golden child" once), even if, in reality, I feel as though a lot of my skills are purely experiential and can be classified under "booksmarts" that really won't be of much help in the "real world." Further, my friends are still introducing me to pretty common and normal types of hobbies and events that are mostly foreign to my incredibly introverted and -- let's be honest -- sheltered self. Given the choice, I would rather down black coffee and work on some sort of assignment or productive activity by myself than hang out with friends; it is extremely weird and I am trying to work on it, and Mitsuru's own struggle with that -- being seen by basically everyone in SEES as a leader, but not a friend -- is immensely relatable. The biggest difference in terms of this kind of thing is probably the number listed in our bank accounts...I'm working on it.

[@yuantheblue]

This was very interesting to see, even if some of the rankings hurt. Ken and Koro deserve better. My brother even bought a Koro plush to eternally guard over his car :) Anyways, it would have been nice to able to participate, but thems the breaks. It was a nice insight into just a small portion of the fandom's opinions. As you said, to each their own!

[@MaxusFox23]

I think that, just like you pointed out in your P3R video, both the audience having matured/reflected upon her characterization in The Answer AND giving Heather Gonzalez more accurate voice direction helped Yukari A LOT in this poll. Tbh, she was in my party for 90% of the game, including the final fight. Yeah, I liked her a lot, even after learning how Ken's second Theurgy BREAKS THE GAME IN HALF. I can kiiiinda see where that one comment about Aigis' "as they say" is coming from, but that's more of a translation thing since "-de arimasu" simply adds formality to a sentence in japanese rather than being an affirmation like in Reload (on top of being a canon adquired thing from Aigis: The First Mission).

[@allyrose9494]

57:17 Defo Ken, he's my third fave overall and it always hurts when I see people hate on the kid. His arc is great, he's very sweet but still one of the few braincells in SEES, but you understand that he had to grow up too fast and that led to his misguided attempt to kill Shinji, which he eventually grew from and decided to keep living for his sake. I love it so much. For the record, my overall ranking is this, but note that I love everyone, like that one Yukari disliker comment everyone here is a B at worst 10. Koromaru 9. Fuuka 8. Shinji 7. Junpei 6. Minato/Minako 5. Aigis 4. Junpei 3. Ken 2. Akihiko 1. Yukari

[@tuff2baunicorn]

Please do this again with persona 4! It was so fun to watch this video

[@papabear6611]

The MC is probably the best silent protagonist in a game that I’ve ever seen. However being silent still drags him down a lot. When I watched the movie (I’m only on the first one) his character is exactly how I imagined him. He’s really great but silence speaks volumes in some ways more than others

[@ShadowOfMassDestruction]

I prefer manga Makoto to Anime Makoto, the movies act like depression is his only character trait when he's much more well rounded then that.

[@TheDGBgamers]

My biggest outlier on the list is definitely Aigis, I'd still put her 6th though. It's exactly as you described, I totally understand her narrative relevance and why the fandom loves her so much, but I just simply don't connect with her story personally. Also, when I first played P3FES, I found her character arc very predictable and a bit too on-the-nose. However, aside from Mitsuru, who I don't really care about that much, I really like all the SEES members. Really well written cast.

[@TheInferno0099]

I feel the same way about aigis there's nothing about her that I dislike her personality just kind of blends into the background when the whole group is around so you don't really notice her too much for 80% of the game but there's just isn't a lot that I love about her character but characters like her will always be placed high because she will not go against the protagonist like yukari and jumpei which for some reason will just make fans not like the characters anymore even if it makes sense for their arcs

[@TheDGBgamers]

@@TheInferno0099 Yeah, exactly. I feel there's not enough conflict in her character arc to take it to the next level for me. There's also a lack of flaws with Aigis that bothers me, her arc is well-told but it's played too straight for my taste. Which is why I love characters with realistic flaws to overcome, like Yukari or Junpei.

[@ThatGuy-kj4hz]

Before the Ranking: Aww, I didn't know you were running a S.E.E.S ranking poll. I would've participated if I could; however, looking at when you closed the poll, I wouldn't have been able to properly participate anyways even with notice because I only finished Reload for the first time like two weeks ago, haha. Anyways, my bet as to who won the poll is Aigis or Makoto. Aigis because she's a cute robot girl who is also arguably the heart of the game with her arc about embracing her humanity and appreciating the memories and experiences that make life worth it, and Makoto because he's the main character. After the Ranking: Yeah, Aigis getting #1 is what I expected. Not that I can disagree with the sentiment, haha; Aigis is awesome! Makato/Kotone/MC getting a more middling response threw me for a loop; I'm so used to seeing tier lists in which people rank the protagonists as their #1 that I expected it to be recreated here. Yukari getting #2 is not something I expected, but I'm here for it. I'm a big Yukari fan, and she was my favorite character for a while there. Honestly, I was surprised when I first learned there was a sizable number of people that disliked her. I'm a Reload baby, so I didn't even know there was a difference in how she was characterized at first, and to be honest, when I saw people talking about how she was so "mean," I was confused. "She's firey and headstrong, sure, but she's almost never outright mean." I was also similarly taken aback by the Ken reception. Again, I really loved Ken in Reload and wasn't aware how much the remake did to elevate him, haha. Anyways, just for fun, here's how I would rank them. Although a lot of those middle rankings are pretty fluid and honestly could change 30 minutes from now, haha: 1. Aigis - Like I said before, I think she embodies the heart of this game. I think By the river Styx put it best: Aigis finding her humanity is so powerful here because just how much death S.E.E.S. has to contend with throughout the course of the game. In spite of all that sorrow and having to contend with the existential dread she will outlive her loved ones, she's still able to find purpose in life and savor each and every moment she can with her friends. 2. Koromaru - Not a joke--I really do like Koromaru that much. He's cute and he's a good boy. Plus, in a group filled with people who are lost and dysfunctional, Koromaru stands out as an individual who knows what he is. Those linked episodes do an excellent job demonstrating his steadfast dedication to being the town's protector and carrying on the preist's legacy. He's a pillar of strength to all who meet him and I think having that sort of presence in this story is a good thing. 3. Yukari - Yukari's great! I think her spunky energy is fun and always adds some spice to the scene. Furthermore, I appreciate her inner kindness and how she's able to channel that through her brash nature. Early on in the game, she's the one person who is looking out for new recruits and trying not to pressure them. She's the one who push backs on S.E.E.S. lies by omission and demands the truth. She's the one who is able to reground Mitsuru with some tough love when she's so lost in her grief. I also find her complicated relationship with her mom after the death of her dad and trying to navigate that fascinating as somebody who has also experienced certain relationships firsthand becoming more volatile in the aftermath of a loss. 4. Shinji - Add me to the seemingly endless pile of Shinji stans. I really love the dichotomy between how he presents himself and what he's actually. He comes across as a cold and aloof presence with an intimidating air, but in actuality, he's a selfless nurturing softie who almost cares too much. And his story is just so tragic. He was so torn up by the death of Ken's mom that he felt like he deserved a slow, lonely painful death. And when he actually did die protecting the very person who wanted to kill him as revenge, he died thinking it's what he deserved and still hating himself. It's a tragic storyline and it really resonates with me. 5. Ken - I have a soft spot for Ken. My baby brother was around Ken's age when our mother passed, so I guess I do see parts of him in Ken's character. It's not easy dealing with loss so young, and the fact that Ken didn't really have anybody to help him through it when he needed it most is only an extra gut punch. Is it any wonder that he sustained himself on hatred and suicidal ideation for two years? I just feel for him; poor kid needs a hug. The way he tries to present himself as super mature and hide his childish side is adorable and makes for some fun moments, but there's also something sad in it because it's ultimately a trauma response. 6. Akihiko - At this point, we're getting to characters whose order could feasibly swapped around. If the first five were S-Tier characters who I could comfortably put in order, these next four are A-Tier characters whose order is a little more nebulous. Anyways, Akihiko is just cool. I appreciate the one comment that pointed out how Akihiko isn't just some dumb meathhead. He's an excellent boxer, but he's also gifted academically. Seeing him contend with what it means to be strong and coming to understand that it means fighting alongside those you love and not rushing headfirst with wreckless abandon under the guise of fighting for them was great to see play out. And I did appreciate seeing how awkward he could be whenever he was out of his element--very endearing. 7. Fuuka - Fuuka is such a sweetheart; it's hard not to like her. She's so perceptive and is always trying to build others up. The way she notes how Yukari's healing abilities are a reflection of her kindness, how Ken lacks a sense of belonging in the wake of Shinji's death, or how Junpei only lost his cool on Makoto about the Fall because he's choosing to face this situation head-on excellently demonstrates how in-tune she is with other people. I loved seeing her learn how to grant herself the same kindness she gives to others throughout her social link, and she's such a nerd about anything she's interested in and I love it. 8. Junpei - Junpei really grew on me. I think more than any other character, Junpei is looking for a sense of direction. He doesn't really know what to do with his life. At first, he thinks being a frontline fighter for S.E.E.S as a Persona user is going to be his meal ticket, but he's constantly being outshined by everyone else, including the literal messiah, so he's back to square one, more lost then ever. It's by meeting Chidori that he finally finds what he's looking for. On the surface, the two couldn't be more different given Junpei's happy-go-lucky demeanor and Chidori's sardonic disposition, but both are completely lacking a sense of purpose. However, getting entagled with one another allows both of them to learn that sometimes you don't need a grand purpose and that simply having somebody you really care about can be enough. It's poignant. After Aigis, Junpei's journey comes the closest to really embodying the spirit of the game. 9. Mitsuru - Mitsuru is pretty rad. I think that one comment put it wonderfully: she is the most stressed out and put-on character despite her demeanor. After all, the reason she even started fighting with her Persona in the first place was so that she could help carry the heavy burden her father carries post-the-incident. Out of all the Kirijos, she's unquestionably the most blameless for what happened yet with how she carries herself you would think she was the one who caused the explosion. And although she seems distant and aloof, she's actually a very warm and humble person. Once she starts opening up, it becomes very apparent just how sentimental she is with just how much she cherishes the memories she has made over the years (especially the promise she made with Aki and Shinji), and I appreciate how candid she is about the fact there's a lot she doesn't know about the day-to-day pf an average person due to her upcoming as an heiress to a billion-dollar company. Her desire to make herself more approachable so that people will recognize her inner warmth instead of being intimidated is also something I can relate to. 10. Makoto Yuki - Nothing against Makoto. He's got a neat design, and how he selflessy gives up his life so that the rest of the world isn't consumed by Nyx really resonates with me. However, at the end of day, he's just not nearly as defined as the other characters. I won't go as far as to say he's a total blank slate as you you do get semblance of personality, but he's ultimately a vehicle from which players experience the game. As such, he doesn't really endear me the way the rest of S.E.E.S does. I like all these characters, though. Trying to rank them is like trying to pick a least favorite child or something, haha.

[@Hello-bg8hv]

The cast for P3 are so great that I don't want to rank them, So I wont. But I am glad to see P3 Reload get recommend more to new comers then P4G.

[@shelbybayer200]

I love Makoto Yuki but more so his Characterization from the MOVIES rather than the Games

[@TheRealJunpeiIori.]

Honestly it is cool to see the community's general consensus on the characters, still sad that da man didnt get top 3 tho

[@TheAmazingSpiderFan18516]

You got robbed bro😔

[@s-wo8781]

I never noticed this, but is that a David Bowie poster on Yukari's wall? 52:36

[@maskedsaiyan1738]

This video is definitely gonna be fun.

[@dysanics]

please do a Persona 4 version!

[@Megidolaon999]

Yeah Aigis wins 😂 😂 correct! Good job guys! Imma sleep nice and soundly tonight!

[@jillie_chan]

Oh, are you going to do this for P4 or P5R? I would love to see the results for that poll!

[@bradskag3007]

I get the Yukari peeps, I swear I can feel her VO giggling to herself about the mommy issues in her S link, very fun character

[@eShinobiYT]

I’m 2 months late but I’m here to shout into the void about Mitsuru being a fantastic character AND best girl. Her not being relatable because of her rich girl comments are fair, but her forced responsibility so young, burying her trauma (like her and her persona being experimented on???) because what good would talking about it do? As well as her rather matronly acceptance of power rather than flaunting it. She IS responsible for SEES, the school, and also the Kirijo Group, and all these secrets, but when it comes to the SEES members she really leans into looking after them and her role in their dorm life seems like the only burden of responsibility she takes on at least semi-willingly. I think lots of older siblings/naturally caretaking types of personalities can identify with her. Additionally, anyone with eyes and ears would like her on a surface level as well😂

[@notSpiritsend]

I think the only reason I put Shinji top of my list was his impact on the entire team. EVERYONE is shaken by his passing. If you spend the few moments you can with him during September, you actually feel a little connected to him. He’s not just some punk who listens to Linkin Park and plays Reaper in Overwatch, he’s got a big heart and he cares for the others in his own ways. In some regard, his death is the pivotal moment for each person. Mitsuru’s dad dying was not nearly as impactful for the story in my opinion because you only see the guy twice. He goes out like a hero, but still hard to be connected to him. That being said, I think I’d probably rank everyone differently now than when I first voted. I think I’d probably go with: 1. Junpei Iori (deserves it because of the positive things you mentioned in this video.) 2. Aigis (is literally the tin man growing a heart from Wizard of Oz. Her realization of death being inevitable for her friends led her to beg and plead for them to kill Ryoji so they could forget and not have the anxiety. This realization for the cast shows them that she isn’t just a robot following orders but a true person.) 3. Shinjiro Aragaki 4. Koromaru (ranks high for me because his story is told to you through several different angles and is told well. For one, you first see him by the shrine by where the priest died. Koromaru continues to walk himself to that spot. It’s similar to how we visit graves of our loved ones. Then, Koromaru gets translated by Aigis and Koromaru’s true feelings come to light. Koromaru sadly has his second persona awakening off screen, but it also acts as a method of telling you that mechanic is in the game as well as showing you that he already had his growth. You get most of the fragments through meeting with Koromaru on his SL moments. He had a big impact on the community.) 5. Mitsuru Kirijo (she finally becomes vulnerable after her dad dies.) 6. Akihiko Sanada 7. Yukari Takeba (her early section of the game where she complains about Mitsuru a lot kinda dropped her low for me. I know it’s part of her story but still.) 8. Ken Amada 9. Fuuka Yamagishi 10. Makoto Yuki (only because it’s hard to rank a main character that you make the choices for)

[@floveury]

i spent so long in the trenches defending my girl yukari before reload i'm so glad public opinion seems to have shifted on her now!!!

[@theLogicblade]

Ah shoot, I missed the polls for this. Without going into too much detail I think I'd rank them like so: 1. Junpei. Goated with the sauce, never forget the banana. 2. Yukari. Absolutely the best representation of a teenager I've seen in a video game, and I love her conflict. 3. Akihiko. Great VA work, has perhaps the best scene in the series, yeah I gotta show my love. Top three for sure. 4. Aigis. Our little toaster grows so much over the course of the game. Love her for it. 5. Mitsuru. C'est magnifique! Mitsuru always felt like someone you could rely on in the early game, which is why it hit so hard when all the shit went down in the second half. I really like how her friendship (maybe more than friendship) grew with Yukari throughout the game. 6. Fuuka. Kind, sweet, a lethal cook, and always reliable. Anyone who hates Fuuka will get a taste of these hands. 7. Ken. Ken goes through a lot of shit, and I'm definitely empathetic toward him, but I hated using him in combat and he didn't feel like he belonged as much as the others in his age group did. 8. Shinjiro. Honestly pretty meh on Shinji, he's basically the waifu character who gets fridged to develop other characters instead. 9. Koromaru. Doggo! I love our fluffy friend, but you know, he's a dog. 10. Protag. Just a blank slate, so you know, whatever. I think him being a window into the other characters (or a... door, perhaps?) is to the games benefit, but not to his.

[@shielddrake42]

Commenting before I finish the video, but I am shook. How the heck is Koromaru not number one?! He is the best boy! He is already enlightened, as evidenced by his persona. He gets both fire and dark powers, which are super useful, and he is also physically powerful. Once he joins the team, he is always in my party. His social link is adorable and super relatable, missing his old master but also wanting to do right by him. And he is the most adorable of any of the “mascot” characters. He is number one in my book!

[@Joey-nc5cf]

I’m too tired to yap rn but here’s my list as someone who only played reload so no femc 1. Ken: his story is both super relatable and heartbreaking 2. Mitsuru: I find her to be super interesting (and hot) and romanced her. I love her duality of family and individual (kinda similar to haru now that I think about it) 3. Akihiko: nothing to say except he’s my goat 4. Yukari: I find her to be super interesting and realistic and I actually share some personality similarities, specifically the easily annoyed or “mean” part 5. Aigis: a robot learning to become human, while somewhat generic, really works within the p3 narrative and I liked her a lot 6. Shinji: I like his story and I absolutely loved his linked episode (ending made me shed a tear) 7. Protagonist: i like his backstory and character arc and he makes use of being a silent protagonist really well due to being apathetic (also loved his ending) 8. Junpei: I recognize that he’s a well written character and I appreciate it as well as his relationship with chidori, but I’ve never been a fan of immature characters. I also see him as the worst “bro” character compared to ryuji (never played p4 and ryuji happens to be my favorite p5 character along with Ann) 9. Koro: he’s only here because I dislike fuuka. Found his backstory pretty good when it comes to his characterization tho 10. Fuuka: I find her personality and social link to be boring and it doesn’t help that she is the least relevant S.E.E.S member by a longshot. I’ve also never been a fan of characters who have half their personality revolving around being kind. Not that I’m into characters who only have the personality trait of being edgy (it’s just as bad)

[@taxenofhearts]

1:23 💀💀💀 now I'm even more confused

[@Hyp3rSonic]

Great video 👍

[@MinhLe19303]

25:19 Really? If anything, I have a hard time understanding P4MC the most due to his more variety of dialogue options with different expression beside him being more extrovert.

[@mildcartoonviolence]

It’s very frustrating how sidelined Fuuka gets in the main story when it’s so obvious how she could’ve been integrated. Strega killed Aragaki and almost killed Ken BECAUSE OF HER. THEY WERE LOOKING FOR HER. I was totally expecting an entire arc for Fuuka of her realizing this and feeling guilty for indirectly causing that encounter. Like that story beat is set up SO WELL but atlus never acted on it. Oh well ig her personality is still super nice and I don’t mind her but she deserved better food (some she didn’t cook herself)

[@crunchy303]

Aigis and Yukari are just PEAK with how much relevance they have in the game. Yukari being the most consistent and Aigis being the most impactful

[@pkmindud73]

We Ken fans are crying

[@timerbunneh]

I wasn't around for this poll (woe be upon me, I only discovered your channel a few days ago), but P3 Portable was my first Persona game and I agree with *most* of this list. Aigis and FeMC are def at the top of my list, not sure why but it may be because FeMC was my first exposure to Persona and Aigis...idk, she's just cool. Shinji and Mitsuru are up there as well (I used to not like Shinji but that bumped up thanks to Reload, and Mitsuru is a badass). Least favorite is probably Ken but it's not outright hate, he's just meh. Also, since you brought up your FeMC ships...Ryoji x FeMC shipper here :D

[@hubterk]

I'm so late to this because of family vacation but I love this idea and wish I had seen it to vote. I would love this for P4 and P5R (so we can vote on Sumi)! Personally my ranking would have been: 1 Yukari - best story, best party member. Canon P3 best girl. 2 Mitsuru - great impact on story, but wasn't sold on the end of her SL 3 Aigis - I find Aigis's "modern speech" hilarious 4 Aki - goofy, awkward, loveable boy 5 MC - self explanatory 6 Fuuka - like her character but don't love her "stereotypically soft" VA, and the cooking SL is just a less interesting Yukiko imo 7 Shinji - not present enough 8 Koro - doggo but not enough character 9 Ken - unfortunately not a doggo 10 Junpei - can't rank him any higher when I spent 2/3 of the game hating his character lol. Annoying, prideful, jealous jerk for too long.

[@s-wo8781]

I didn't know he died at the end. I beat it, but wasn't clear. I also remember when Arena came out people were saying that Mitsuru was searching for him so how could he be dead?

[@SomeWastedLight]

Wish I voted to boost koromaru place! Aigis koro and Fuuka are my favourite 3. Aigis and koro for exploring humanity with someone who isn't human and fuuka for her growth from meek to becoming their own person

[@klaus.sfc01official30]

The 3 most devisive things in the SMT community - which is the better series SMT or Persona (answer: both are great) - which is the best game - who is the best waifu

[@a_viewer5386]

I would love to see more videos like this. especially for p5s cast as p5 is my favorite cast of the 3 games.

[@Yiazmat180]

I wish I knew there was a poll. Most of the time I’m on app based experience so I don’t see community posts 😢

[@pwitts]

I went looking for the comments about ken and Shinji not changing anything because it sounded like something I would write but couldn’t remember if I wrote it or just read it. I couldn’t find it anywhere, but I find Shinjiro useless because he shows up late and then dies. He also wasn’t helpful in combat because he isn’t unique and comes in under leveled. All told though, ps3 is my least favorite persona game as it seems like for the first half of the game no one has any real motivation to do the work other than “well we live in this dorm and I can do it, so I guess I should”

[@tenkakuch]

I don't think most people in your audience care too much about gameplay reasons or value it a lot less. If it were gameplay reasons this list would be something like Koro, Junpei, and Akihiko top tier because phys just wrecks magic so badly with all the amps, crit boosters, and if you use dlc, drives. Koro's especially a staple with party wide charge and revolution to up the crit rates. Aki's just well rounded period since you can stack strike and elec boosts so he'll always be able to attack no matter what along with his Theurgies being really fast to charge. I think Aigis could compete with Junpei on a consistency point and being overall beneficial to have around in longer fights. That being said, Junpei's number 1 in my books, I really did just like watching the guy go from brash to pretty much one of the few sane ones in the sequel dlc. I love that P3R made him less of an implied bro and more of a "yep, this guy is definitely a pal of yours". Overall, I do hope the link episodes come back in some form. Even though I had to scrape with 1 day left to get orpheus telos, it was absolutely worth it to hang out with the bros.

[@fe_three_rosses]

FELLOW AKIHAM AND YUKAHAM ENJOYER? LET'S GOOO Yukari is my favourite p3 character by far. p3 is filled to the brim with characters experiencing grief (and i'm a sucker for media that explores grief), but Yukari's is much more relatable to me. i've not played the Answer or Reload but she'd still my fave if i were to. i never go into Tartarus if she isn't free to come with that night. i'm just a sucker for all the Lovers tbh. i was expecting Yukari's social link to lean more into the "girlfriends, in the platonic way" aspect for Kotone, but Yukari magically not having a boyfriend "but that's okay because hanging out with you is more fun!" and her asking Kotone to go with her to the group date that her friends invited her to "so she'll feel more reassured"-- 🏳️‍🌈? my fave femc ship for sure and second favourite p3 ship behind Aikoto. tbh i just love either protag x Aigis/Yukari/Akihiko. Akimina/Akiham is another one of my faves

[@Jorgeofpeace]

My ranking, from lowest to highest: 10. Protagonist/MC 9. Koromaru 8. Akihiko 7. Junpei 6. Shinji 5. Mitsuru 4. Fuuka 3. Yukari 2. Aigis 1. Ken

[@queenmotherbug]

Maybe this should have been obvious, but it really wouldn't hurt to put a spoiler alert at the beginning and in the description of this video. I've played Persona 3 many times in all of its iterations except the Reload, so I know how it all plays out. My partner is playing it right now and in the middle of the game. He was surprised to hear how it ended. I don't think this will diminish his enjoyment at all, but had I been in his position, I would have been upset knowing the ending when I was still in the middle of the game. Also-- Mitsuru is my #1, Shinjiro #2, Protagonist #3. I also have a greater appreciation of Fukka now, in my midforties, than I did when I played Persona 3 for the first time in 2007, in my twenties. I relate to her lacking self-confidence, having genuine desire to be helpful, and her complete lack of cooking skills! 😅

[@thatll-do7606]

Personally, I like Junpei and Aigis the most. Not only are they the consistently funniest, they also get the most development and have a lot of issues that resonate with me personally.

[@brademix]

I really liked Akihiko in p3 and p3p. He had a cool older brother kind of vibe. The upperclassmen were so intriguing and mature in previous games. But if I had a dollar for every time he said ‘protein’ ‘regimen’ or ‘training’ in reload, I’d be rich. I think the magnification of his athletic side in reload served to make him come across more of a meathead, which is quite disappointing. He really lost his ‘aura’ imo. Same with Mitsuru, maybe to a lesser extent. But I could be imagining it with her.

[@crystalgreen5253]

Personally I think 1 and 2 I can switch between protag and Aigis 3 yukari 4 sanada 5 shinji 6 is the other party member.

[@sonicfan064]

LETS GO YUKARI GOT TOP 2 IM SO FUCKING GLAD. MY FAVORITE FEMALE CHARACTER IS FINALLY LOVE SHE DESERVES. Also Ken's at the bottom below the dog love to see it 😤

[@sonicfan064]

Updated ranking: 1. Yukari 2. Aigis 3. Kotone/Makato 4. Mitsuru 5. Junpei 6. Fuuka 7. Akihiko 8. Shinji 9. Koromaru 10. Ken for now and forevermore

[@katto4703]

While I rank Shinjiro and Fuuka as my top 2 and Ken as my last, I think all of the SEES characters are likable in their own way. I don’t truly hate any of them.

[@LittleMissZackyVee]

I cant trust ppl who hate Koro and junpei tbqh

[@dairyqueen8402]

Before watching, I’ll say Aigis takes first place

[@jessicacarr4933]

Tbh I find Ken more understandable than Shinji as well a 10 Year old kid would definitely see the incident in that way with a more black and white view on right and wrong and the resulting emotional toll we see on him is genuinely heartbreaking… no kid should have to suffer like that or be thinking like that… and as an autistic person myself I get the struggle to see the grey in the world, it can be genuinely that hard. And it doesn’t hurt that he sorta looks abit like and older version of my own kid so I guess I automatically go into mama mode with him lwhere as to me Shinji is sorta frustrating in how he almost views the incident in that same black and white light as Ken… they both blame him for it and seemingly miss the nuance of how intentions fit in to it… but as one of the older members of see’s and the one who’s persona went berserk he should be more aware of that than Ken. I get him not wanting to fight after that… who would! But the amount of times I was wanting to shout at him stop blaming yourself! You never went out intentionally to murder someone did you… the fact that it’s effecting you emotionally like this makes you both human and nothing like for example revolver Jesus. I guess I’m having the same reaction as Akihiko thinking about it 😅 I’m wondering if we had more clear information about the what and why a naturaly awakened persona like Shinji’s went berserk as that’s the only example of that we see and isn’t explained at all might change my viewpoint. Also maybe if Shinji had joined see’s a touch earlier so he was more involved in the 12 full moon bosses before he’s killed off might have made his death hit home harder? Not to say that it doesn’t hit hard already because by god does it, but more for how it really hurts the other characters… especially Akihiko (that speech is so hard to listen to without crying…) rather than it hurting for loosing him, which is a shame because I wanna like him more truly but there just isn’t enough to go off of in regards to his character development prior to joining for me.

[@starmaker75]

with me finishing reload here my ranking( was really hard for me as SEES has genuine become my favorite cast in series) 10:koromaru. okay looks he a good dog despite being the lowest. He simple but in a good way. like he became a good support member with revoultion and debilitate, and the likes. Also dark skills is nice for him but again he simple and that can be a disdvagnte compare to others. Again good doggo 9: persona 3 hero: Guy totally has the 2000s looks and the emo sub-culture and I love it. to me I see persona 3 hero(both genders) has having depression, with male putting a "stoic whatever" mask and the female being "bubbly/cheerful" mask. I like how they becoming more geuine freindly caring about life later in the game. Also kris dremmurr from deltarune looks like persona 3 male hero. I mean they even kinda act the same and have a god inside them. 8: Ken. despite the lower end of the ranking, ken got a nice glow for reload. in the orginal/fes he did suffer for only being revalnt for september and October and even it then was more on shinjiro and akihiko. the link episode and other side activies do help him alot. Gameplay wise he really improve. Just him getting kohu skills improves him alot. a good alternative for yuraki. 7: aigis. yeah going get hated for this. Nowdays aigis arc can be very standards nows and her arc being very late into game also hurts. Also I feel that aigis new voice actor sound too natural before her change. But i guess it reflects how AI improves. Despite her standard stuff, she does i pretty well and her link is nice. Like how it connect on finding meaning in life with game that discusses death. Also she really fun to use gameplay. 6: shinjiro: look I like the chill guy that contrast the hot and brash character. Love his design and voice for both version(despite the lisp he has in new version). he was so fun to use the limit time he has. Shinjiro just goes "smash everything and spam theurgy!". Also his death scence still got me and him dropping that f bomb was great. 5: fukka: The best glow up in the remake. the voice actor is way better and sound like a actual shy and at times raspy voice teen. She reminds me alot of me in high school despite being a different gender. Also her support are not only great, but alot more balance compare to futuba and golden rise 4: mitsuru: Look i get it out of the way, I think mitsuru is pretty, okay. despite that, I do like mitisuru is the leader of the game and how mature she can, while still showing her faults like not telling the other about some things despite her dad saying there no need to hide it. sadly gameplay wise, she not that good weirdly in reload. seriously no ice amp despite her being a magic attacker. Also aliment boost sounds great, but not that helpful in the practice. 3: Akihiko: Really like the old brother vibe he gives. It interesting how compare to others emperor character, he the most traditional masculine. I like how you see the tender but "while yes it suck, but have to get up" moments. Despite finidng his new voice actor a bit weird, he still did a great job, especially the grieving scene While he was nerf, but was denfinity need because it was stupid he had all the debuffs. 2 Yuraki: An character that I enjoyed more as I got older and replaying the game. While she can be cold and have some annoying stupid moments, her arc is nice. Also like junpei, she acts like average girl in a supernatural story. The new voice was nice. Her healing is nice, along with her trat reducing the cost. 1: junpei: still the best characther in the game to me. Zeno Robinson did a great job with junpei. similar like usuopp and shinji from Evangelion. he average teen/guy in a supernatural situation. he has the best character arc in the series. his romance with chidori is sweet. I still annoyed that junpei didn't power charge for reload, but the him getting crits boost is nice and gives some laughs.

[@phantommonarch6199]

akihiko maybe? edit: oh yeah, aigis, of course that makes total sense, should've guessed that