Who Was Yosuke Hanamura? || P4G Analysis

[@HidinginPrivate]

Okay! We are officially into the main character segments! This is a weird one if I'm honest- due to Yosuke's polarizing nature and what I think it factual, I'm afraid irrational Yosuke Haters as well as homophobes may be irritated by parts of this video. I'm caught between two opposing groups I'm afraid. I hope at least my perspective will get across here and maybe help people understand Yosuke differently than they did before. Oh, and I hope YOU have a great day!

[@jasminesidney8174]

Yay my favorite character and bestest boy!

[@nicola7021]

Your perspective definitely got across & u were very balanced & eloquent! Nice job :D

[@theshellderinslowbrostail5422]

You did him more justice than his defenders and haters tbh

[@alexeyshcherbakov5371]

7:47 Well, I heard that Magician might mean rejection of traditions, and in his text messages Yosuke definitely rejects the rules of grammar

[@ThiccFurryBoi34]

I find it weird to romance yu and yosuke when their personas are kinda like father and son

[@theaa47]

Can't wait to analyze the deep lore behind Yosuke's trashcan dance

[@HidinginPrivate]

I'll leave that to you

[@basiliosz]

@@HidinginPrivate I'll have a quick stab: it was a visual hint to his self-loathing, his self-doubt. Despite his efforts to be outgoing and friendly, he thinks he's rubbish. I like Yosuke, and can't help feeling sorry for him, despite his faults.

[@laravioliiii2832]

@@basiliosz However, it also goes into the lore of shadows, as this is the yosuke after his shadow fight, so he accepts how bad he is, which shows how happy he is now, and him throwing the trash can away shows his growth as now he is trying to have better self-esteem

[@Falsereign26]

​@@laravioliiii2832wtf

[@xiniti8185]

One thing I noticed about how Yosuke treats Kanji in the second half of the game (minus how much more reasonable and friendly he is to him) is how he sorta switched from targeting Kanji’s sexuality to sorta telling him to let down his tough act. The first time I noticed this is when he says “So you’re still hung up on what Naoto says?” Kanji gets flustered and he says “it’s all right, we all understand.” Chie gets mad at him but I thought it odd that instead of being outright malicious, he sorta implied that he wanted him to be a bit more honest. Like, even at the culture festival, he pushes Kanji to get Naoto in the pageant for no personal gain whatsoever. I think what makes me think this is when Kanji puts out his thoughts when Nanako is hospitalised, and Yosuke says something to the effect of, “never thought I’d hear you say something that courageous.” I don’t think this is notable enough to go on the video though lol.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Nah it's a good additional thing to point out. Thanks for the comment! I think people undervalue the good things Yosuke says to support him and honestly I could have highlighted a couple of those examples

[@xiniti8185]

@@HidinginPrivate I agree with you

[@ThePoshboy1]

Something to note also is that when they're staying in the hotsprings Yosuke shows no discomfort with sleeping in the same room as Kanji, I'm guessing that as they both got to know each other their dynamic changed.

[@mamabriel]

And yet, Yosuke haters seem to convenently "forget" that, and say that he has no character development

[@wadosk_NB]

I've always loved Yosuke since my first playthrough of P4, and I always really get surprised when I hear people say that Naoto's the "only one in the group with a brain" or "the group's leader", with just how essential being a leading actor in the Investigation Team is a part of Yosuke's character. He's the one always making the calls when things show up on the midnight channel, he's the one always making the plans and he's always the one most determined to step up and take action. Early in the game, when he says he's "fine with playing second banana", that somehow always felt like a half-truth to me. I feel like if P4 didn't have you as the player making the choices of when to go and do your missions, Yosuke would be the one calling the shots, I think. He's a good lad, i love this goober

[@Amarant127]

Exactly, the brains of the group are the three thinking in who the killer was: Yosuke, Yu and Naoto. I think too that he would like to be the leader, he wants to play the role of the hero after all but he knows that is too much for him. I read somewhere a great comment saying that Yosuke is justs like his father, a manager in charge of all the team just as his father does with Junes and Yu is the CEO. The IT has two leaders: one make plans and the other executes them, Yu and Yosuke always take decisions together.

[@MoonLitChild]

When playing, I got the impression that he's okay playing second fiddle because of what he learned from facing his shadow: that the 'hero' mentality was partly an artifice and that the responsibility of actually being the leader is too much; so he lets Yu take point. It's an admission that his desire to "be a hero" didn't come from a *good* place inside him. He's the idea guy, and Yu trusts him and challenges him when necessary. That's my favorite thing about him. What he takes away from facing his shadow is probably the most complex out of all the lead characters. The hardest thing to admit is the road to hell being paved in good intentions, especially if that road is *your* road.

[@kagekun1198]

I concur. Later in his route in P4 Arena and the tie-in manga, we see Narukami Yu taken out of commission and Yosuke taking up the hero's mantle. I have to say, it suits him quite well.

[@imgayyyy2213]

I wholehearted agree. There's a reason that he's outside while you, him, and Naoto discuss the killer.

[@genderenigma8276]

Yosuke was originally the "Kid I already know and he's just alright i guess" to a guy I related *way too hard to.* The desire to be special in an otherwise 'normal' life, the outsider trying to welcome another one in. He surprised me with how much I could understand.

[@brandonmiller7389]

More fun facts about Japanese Persona 4 media (and also trivia): In the Persona 4 Club Book, a trivia/fan art collection officially released by Atlus, they specifically mention that a lot of Naoto's personality is hidden in the dungeon dialogues. You know how you can talk to your party members in dungeons? There's actually new dialogue for every social link rank, with special dialogue depending on what characters are paired up. They're honestly like mini social links themselves, or maybe like supplementary material to the main links. Anyways, point is, Naoto actually has a sense of humor, and teases her party members. For example, in Teddie's rank 5 link with Naoto (that doesn't appear in-game due to a bug I'll explain at the end), Teddie says; "When times are tough, I remember that great feeling from the night of the school trip..." Naoto: "...It was interesting indeed." "I was suppressed when I was there, but... I should've taken video footage at the time." Teddie: "What a pity! Then I could've enjoyed it again and again..." Naoto: "No, no... It would've made for effective blackmail material." Or during Chie's rank 7, she'll zone out and say she was thinking, to which Naoto will respond "Chie-san... was thinking!?" The dungeon dialogues are really underdiscussed and under documented. Regardless, they're really interesting. These are like two out of the 250-270 that exist. Some actual Japanese fun facts, English Yosuke's voice acting is pretty much 1:1 with JP Yosuke, except for the fact that JP Yosuke's voice sometimes cracks when he gets excited. Also, JP Yosuke modulates his speech. For example, when he's working, he uses keigo, which is formal speech used when doing customer service. So, when he's working, he uses 'watashi' to refer to himself, when he's with the IT he uses 'ore,' but when he's around adults like Dojima and pre-hunger Adachi, he uses less masculine speech, and especially in front of Mitsuru in arena, where he uses 'boku.' More trivia, they use real brand names in the JP version. For example, they mention ”赤いきつね" (akai kitsune, red fox) ramen, they talk about "Home Run Bars" instead of topsicles, etc. (To explain the bugged dialogue, how the dialogues work is certain characters have priority over others. Like Chie + Yukiko has more priority than Chie + Kanji. So, because of that, Teddie with Naoto, vice versa, and Teddie with Kanji, vice versa, are inaccessible. However, since they bring attention to these lines in the club book, I think it's fair to deem them canon. Kinda like the unused Naoto rank 3 umbrella scene).

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thanks you! All of these are very interesting insights! I love Naoto

[@dededeletethis9940]

Okay, allow me to question that bit on the dungeon dialouge a bit. If teddie’s dialouge with kanji and naoto are inaccessible due to the priority system, that implies that there is something that takes priority. I know teddie can appear with yosuke and the fox, and i know that kanji and naoto can appear together. Of these, the only one that seems to be an issue is the fox. For the others, you can simply take the character into your party, but the fox isn’t a party member. When i played the game, i usually used one of two team compositions, namely either yosuke/chie/yukiko or kanji/naoto/teddie. In my playthrough, the dungeon pairings i came across were chie/yukiko, kanji/naoto, and teddie/fox. This means that the fox has higher priority for teddie than kanji or naoto. Now, here’s my idea: what if you never recruited the fox? According to the wiki, the fox social link is started automatically on may 5th. If there was some way to skip that part of the game, that might allow us to see teddie’s dialouges with kanji and naoto

[@brandonmiller7389]

@@dededeletethis9940 Uh, maybe that'd work? IDK if the fox operates on a date system or a flag system though. I don't really think it matters all that much though since the bugged lines are documented on Dunkelzahn1, and all of Yosuke and Naoto's mains are finished on Bssv Vt Mfss. (I have most of the other conversations recorded, I just gotta edit them).

[@dededeletethis9940]

@@brandonmiller7389 wait, you have the dialouges? Nice! Can you tell me when that video is done? I am very interested in those dialouges, but there just isn’t enough documentation on it anywhere

[@brandonmiller7389]

@@dededeletethis9940 Sure, but there is a link to a text dump of all the dungeon dialouge on the bss-whatever channel, under the Yosuke video I think. Just use the wayback machine. I'd post the link here, but KZbin doesn't really like that.

[@falsesenpai]

Like Yosuke would say in Persona Megami tensei 2 Golden Punishment "I've been waiting for this"

[@HidinginPrivate]

His classic line!

[@dachking6657]

I thought that was Katsuya from the hit game Shin Survivor The Royal FES featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry Series…

[@makotoyuki345]

@@dachking6657 You’re thinking of Rai-ho Shirogane from Demi Digital Story: Hacker Bros.

[@danurahardja]

For real?

[@error404idnotfound3]

@@dachking6657 I think you mean Akemi from the hit game Megami Saga, the Royal NINE series.

[@djordjekrsmanovic]

I really love Yosuke it's a shame that he gets crapped on by a lot of fans nowadays for some of the stuff that hasn't aged well

[@P.H691]

Why can't they understand that other social commentary exist? Like Japanese commentary exists and despite not being Japanese, I still find it funny in a way. Yosuke is a pervert, yeah that's expected from Japan. Yosuke dislikes Kanji due to his speculated sexuality, Yosuke is a confused teen and shouldn't really be hate for him feeling confused.

[@firelordwaffle2987]

@@P.H691 people not enjoying certain aspects is not an issue of media literacy. You can entirely understand the commentary and still not enjoy it, which is entirely fine for a subjective experience. You may not even like the way they handled it, or many other things.

[@y2m3e.45]

@@firelordwaffle2987 Exactly, thank you. Idk why people think a character's lore should make you like them instantly...

[@Santoryu90]

@@firelordwaffle2987 I’d still say that hate for Yosuke is a bit much.

[@BlooperTanooki]

Like seriously. Yosuke is a typical 16 year old boy who behaves like a typical 16 year old boy and gets hate. While Akechi, a SPOILERS murderer has a gigantic fanbase. People are so weird.

[@zeveria7206]

One of my favorite characters precisely *because* he is flawed and a realistic teenager. My only problem with Yosuke (and to a lesser extent, Kanji) is how compared to some other members of the Investigation Team, his growth in his Social Link is criminally disconnected from the main story and it can seem jarring, watching Yosuke mature, only to watch him make an ass of himself in the story--even peeping on the girls as late as *February* . That and he doesn't feel as prevalent as he should in Naoki's Social Link IMO. Though I supposed this is more due to the limitation of the Social Link system than Yosuke's writing. Adding to his relationship with Rise, something Yosuke does a lot (especially early on) is call her "Risette" and obsess over her idol persona...and although Rise never comments on it, Chie does chastise him a few times for doing this because it should have been obvious to him that Rise's really insecure about only being seen as "Risette", especially by her friends. This is just a theory on my part, but I get the feeling that this is why Rise only fell for Yu, and not Yosuke even though they both warned her about the killer and both came to save her. It's kind of sad, in a way, that Yosuke might have ended up driving his dream girl into the arms of his best friend--the one who saw her as "Rise". (Sorry if this comment shows up several times, was editing and adding along as I watched and KZbin was acting...weird.)

[@IceQueen975]

I noticed the disconnect is VERY strong in Golden. In the original version much less so. WAY less. Imo P4G is the *inferior* version. Marie doesn't help shit at ALL.

[@Beebok_Beebop]

@@IceQueen975doesn’t that basically mean royal didn’t do shit either

[@MikulOnIce85]

My personal favourite quote from yusuke is the confrontation with adachi: "If we leave you here dying and a dead body eventually appears, then what? What does that accomplish for anyone? Your stupid game's over. We're taking you back. Live and face your punishment... that's how it works in our world." The deep seething anger he's feeling shows through in how he speaks but I can hear the triumph in it too.

[@Namingway248]

I think its really interesting to note (and pretty messed up) how even among the random student npc's you can talk to everyday, Yosuke is one of the only ones to actually have cared about Saki's death. I remember there is one student specifically who basically says its Saki's own fault she isn't missed because she was in with the wrong crowd. Like, bruh not only did this just happen but her brother still actively goes to this school; he easily could've heard that. And then the biggest irony is how its these same types of people who not only don't understand how Yosuke's affection for her was genuine (see: the June's part-timers from his link) but then actively chastise Naoki for not grieving the way they want him to. On a somewhat unrelated note, when I was much younger and first played persona 4 on ps2 I never even clocked half of what Yosuke said or did as being too harsh because of how much worse a lot of friend groups I saw at that time treated each other. Obviously in the modern day (and with the grown perspective of one who is now an adult) I can see a lot of the problems with his actions, but I think its because of his flaws and complexities that he manages to still stick out so much in so many people's heads. Whether you like him or not, he's on your mind, and that (to me) is the sign of a well written character

[@Dinker27]

Having grown up in the American South in the 90's, Yosuke seemed like someone I would have met where I lived. With all of his negative flaws. He's one of my favorites, warts and all. I honestly thought he was one of the more reliable confidants because of how much responsibility he takes on as the "planner" in the group. Thank you for noting the point of the media conflation. That's such a breath of fresh air. 😭

[@nathanblackburn1193]

I've always gotten bickering sibling vibes from Yosuke and Chie like with the constant back and forth payback for previous squabbles that just leads to a kind of never ending cycle of arguments.

[@HidinginPrivate]

I think that's the vibe they were going for. I can also see that as a cover for romantic tension idk. I think that's a valid way to see their conflicts

[@IceQueen975]

They are my OTP in this game because they are the Old Married Couple loool

[@Jimmeeehhh]

I was looking for advice, not some smartass response!

[@sebastianbarrios7288]

Pretty good video. I dont know if it was made on purpose, but I like to think that Yosuke also makes a good foil to Adachi, both came from the city unexpectedly, both hated their circumstances and believed that they were above all others, and felt special by gaining these new and strange powers, obviously the difference being that Yosuke was forced to face the shitty parts of himself and become better, while Adachi only used his powers to get rid of people he didnt like. Without his friends Yosuke may have come very close to becoming something just like Adachi.

[@ovensmuggler5207]

You know, I was thinking about this recently and I've realized Adachi isn't just a foil to Yu and Yosuke, he's a foil to every member of the team

[@schuetz600]

Yosuke is easily one of the highlights of Persona 4 for me. Like you've said, he's a nuanced and realistic character that adds a lot to the group dynamic. Not only that, but I think he's one of the most relatable characters in the game and reminds me a lot of my friends. I see parts of myself and other people I know in Yosuke a lot. And his message of realizing you are special to at least one person and finding a place where you belong is something we could all do well to aim for. Sure, he can be a real dick at times, but I've always thought his positive traits far outweigh his negative traits. There's like 3 or 4 scenes of Yosuke doing shitty things in a 100 hour game so I don't come down too hard on him for that. But at the end of the day, I understand why some people don't like him and won't make excuses for his bad moments. One aspect to Yosuke that I've always found incredibly admirable was how he reacted to Saki's supposed perception of him in the TV world. Even before fully understanding how the TV world affects people's thoughts, he never felt anger or animosity towards Saki after her words in the liquor store. He's understandably hurt, but even till the end of his s link and the end of the game, all he wanted was to talk to her one last time and explain how he truly felt about her and Inaba. Hell, he vows to help catch the killer no matter what and states multiple times throughout the game that he's doing it to achieve justice for Saki. After all, she was the first person in Inaba to make him want to know more about the town and come out of his shell. Yosuke never gets to thank her for that. After his first accidental run-in with the TV world with Yu and Chie, he still goes back because he's worried about Saki. His life was never threatened after the first encounter and he very well could have steered clear of the TV world. Yosuke CHOSE to get involved in the case for someone who may not have even felt as strongly about him as he did about her. That's definitely something that makes Yosuke special to me. To add a couple more things I appreciate about him, he does a lot of the early detective work and critical thinking with Yu and deserves recognition for that. He also sets up a lot of the events for the group and is a good planner. I enjoy seeing how reasonable Yosuke is when he isn't overwhelmed by emotion and it's fun to see him be the voice of reason especially once Teddie makes his debut into Inaba. I'm kinda rambling about him at this point (sorry) so I'll just say Yosuke's my favorite Persona boi. He's a real bro and he's trying his hardest! On a more general note, I loved the character dynamic chart and discussion later in the video. I've always heard people say they enjoy 4's cast dynamic the most, but it was nice to hear someone break it down and explain more. Especially the teasing and negative reactions bit. Everyone gets teased or shit on at some point and it reminds me a lot of my friend group. I'm so used to dickish behavior and ribbing on one another at this point that I'm never completely turned off of the characters whenever they do bad stuff. I also never saw the teasing or other stunts as super malicious or intentionally hurtful as well. The group only does that stuff to each other because they're all close friends and are irrational kids. Still, Chie, Teddie, and Yosuke do cross the line for me at times that make some scenes pretty icky. Oh well. So yea the dynamic chart and discussion was fun and it's getting me more hyped to hear you talk about the rest of the gang. This is definitely the best Yosuke vid I've seen! Thank you for making such a great video on my boy!

[@rayvenkman2087]

You know that letter from Adachi you get in True Ending route which maxes out the SL? I wonder how a scene with a letter written by Saki before her death would be like for Yosuke and if it adds or takes away from his tale?

[@wave3954]

I played P5 before trying out P4. So when I first met Yosuke, I couldn't help but think he was just a precursor to Ryuji from P5. A slightly more annoying version of Ryuji. But as I played more and got to know Yosuke better, I found that he became one of my favorite characters. This is a great video.

[@HidinginPrivate]

All the persona games have a "bro" character. From ekichi to junpei to Yosuke to Ryuji. They have quite a bit of difference between them all though. Ryuji has elements of Kanji and yosuke mixed in

[@AdachiCabbage]

He's just a bro character in general. I'm guessing you never played Persona 1-3?

[@wave3954]

@@AdachiCabbage Yeah, you're right. I'll probably play P3 when it comes to switch though!

[@Limit02]

The “dipshit best bro” is probably the most blatantly reused character archetype in persona but they still all feel different to me and are all delightful characters in their own rights so I don’t mind lol

[@felixknowlton370]

@@HidinginPrivate you forgot my boi Mark 😔or does hidehiko fit the archetype better im not sure

[@royalcamel8167]

I think the scene I like most with Yosuke is the one where he admits that he's jealous of Yu and they fight it out. Logically, he knows that they are friends, but he still has this envy towards Yu who is such a likeable guy and that feels very human to me. But excellent job as always, I look forward to the other videos! Persona 4 is a great game, and you're really doing it justice with this. I've watched them all a bunch of times now. Lol

[@Amarant127]

Another misunderstood character. I love Yosuke, for me he´s one of the most realistic characters that I´ve seen. He is a jerk, teases his friends, has insecurities, do wrong things.. he´s just a teen. Not a hero, not a cool guy, a normal boy, just a 2010 teen in Japan. But leaving the bad parts behind, he´s a good boy that really care for his friends and wants to do justice for the victims, has a sharp mind being one of the brains in the team and is always bringing up ideas (good and bad). The majority of the funny events in the game are thanks to him (the pageant was Teddie´s idea by the way, he fooled Yosuke). He´s always behind making work his ideas. The comments towards Kanji.. I´m agree with the bi theory. For example, the IT boys doesn´t give a f. about the drag. Yu and Kanji want to be the manliest man in the manlyverse but they don´t shiver if they need to wear a dress, they´re pretty? is ok! their manhood isn´t going to be ruined by that, they´re pretty confident. Teddie sometimes is a miraculous boy and others a pretty girl like he says in Arena so he doesn´t cares.. but Yosuke? Yosuke panics easily and as you´ve said, his reaction is pure insecurity more than disgust. I think that he has a crush on Yu and any "weird" situation makes him enter in panic mode so he focuses in Kanji, you said it: projection. He even asks Yu to call Daisuke so people don´t think they two are dating for going together. This insecurity seems to be so obvious that Yu is aware of it and in Arena he enjoys teasing Yosuke with his taste in women and about how awful would be to lose against Kanji´s shadow making Yosuke enter into turbo panic mode. All Yu´s teases are focused in Yosuke´s sexuality, the spinoffs attacks this point. About the teasing in the IT.. I think that as they´ve seen the insecurities of each one and how they accepted their other selves they go for the roast. Why should them get angry by the truth if they already accepted it, their flaws and want to change? Let´s remember that they are teenagers, you can´t expect to see them having such info and acting in a mature way. However they´re great friends and have a strong bond, maybe that fights even make their bond stronger. For example Chie is always fighting with Yosuke and never says anything good about him but there is a dungeon dialogue where she and Yukiko talk about how well Yosuke and Chie undestand each other and that they complement pretty well. The more they fight the more they understand each other, the brawl in Samegawa is a proof.

[@nicola7021]

Man, the way u explained Yosuke’s loneliness in moving to the countryside really got me. I never totally processed how rough it must have been for him before the protagonist arrived, but this video drove it home. And the part about the murder of Saki leaving him at a crossroads is spot-on, I definitely agree that that event was kinda the main driving force throughout the first half of his social link, and shoehorning in a romance would have been detrimental. Plus I’m happy u acknowledged the English VA, Yuri Lowenthal’s work - I remember playing the game and becoming super endeared to Yosuke bcuz of the stellar delivery of his voice actor!! And like u said, he rlly makes the Namatame scene wayyyy more intense & unsettling. Plus the stuff about the Magician Arcana & the mythological background of Yosuke’s persona was soooo interesting, I nvr would’ve known about that if I hadn’t seen this - plus u explain it in an understandable way, so thank u!! And the teasing chart amongst the investigation team was low-key very interesting lmao, although I don’t think I ever saw Kanji trying to pet Teddy as him teasing - I figured it was just Kanji being cute lololol Aaaah I’m so excited to see the analysis videos on Kanji & Rise, my faves!!!! :)))))))))))

[@DKzCoolD2]

While Yosuke is only my 4th favorite party member in golden I feel confident in saying he is my favorite bro character out of 3, 4 and 5. Yosuke is, to me, a comfortable reminder of how friendship worked back before social media. And he is one of the biggest reasons for why the setting and group dynamics feel so cozy. P4G is truly my comfort game even if p5r is an upgrade in every way. I loved every bit of this video, especially the dynamic breakdown.

[@orlandoalessandrini2505]

This.

[@Ellowynforest]

36:10 Thank you for pointing this out!! Yosuke definitely shouldn’t be excused for his actions, but having that subtext is important in showing why he acts the way he does.

[@stuntmankelp3198]

Often some of my favorite characters in games like this are the “best friend” character. Sometimes in rpgs with romance mechanics theres too much of an emphasis on the romanceable characters. I felt a personal friendship with Yosuke as I was going through his social link. Something that was important to who I was playing in Persona 4.

[@TenkaiTheMixeon]

I've always personally identified with Yosuke ever since I first watched someone play P4G (... Holy crap that started only 3 years ago). We both lost someone close to us, we've both felt trapped in our circumstances, and we both manage to find a way to just put on a smile through it all. We both just wanted to be "special." Through our loss, we both learned that we define our own worth. That no matter what we feel, we're still special to someone. That being "special" doesn't mean standing out or playing the hero. It's about having people you care about. It's about finding where you belong, and only you can define that. Honestly, he's my favorite character in the whole Persona series. I thoroughly enjoyed his arc, especially in my personal playthrough once I got the game when it came to PC ^^

[@BrigandMarx]

"who was Yosuke Hanamura?" In the past tence? oh my god, i can't believe Yosuke is freaking dead!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Dead as far as you know. Truthfully ever since the events of persona 5, Yosuke hanamura has been trapped in my house

[@_ace_defective_]

Yosuke is a great character. There are parts of him and his actions that obviously haven't aged well, but he's such a deep character, and some of his story moments (December 3rd) are among the strongest in the game.

[@falsesenpai]

Great video as always!! Love Yosuke, I believe him to be the best persona bro, he's the one that matures the most and has a story that is easy to feel compassion towards. Watching him grow as a person through out the game is one of the best parts of P4

[@HidinginPrivate]

Hi false! Glad you liked the video since you like him!

[@kagekun1198]

Always liked Yosuke, despite his stumbles. A few moments I'd like to highlight: first, his friendship with Yu. It's definitely a bond closer than Makoto and Junpei, even Joker and Ryuji. In the anime, after defeating Mitsuo's Shadow, the Investigation Team was celebrating in Yu's house, and there was a very real moment where Yosuke and Yu call each other by their first names (a very big deal in Japan when they leave out suffixes like -san or -kun). A threshold has been reached, one changing their lives for the better. Second would be in P4 Arena. In this video analysis, it is pointed out that Yosuke would not be out of place if he became the main character. In his route in Arena, he does. Narukami Yu is taken out of commission there, and to my delight, Yosuke actually measured up to the hero's mantle and wears it quite well. The P4 Arena manga covers his route, and it is one of Yosuke's finest moments.

[@battleranger8786]

Another fantastic analysis. Interacting with Yosuke is the most relatable character I ever came across. That wanting to be special to people, holding onto old contacts on the off chance they'll call/message again, loneliness, trying to put up a happy front of hiding some of the pain, his story really resonated with me. Even his faults, despite how wrong they can be, i cant help but feel some familiarity. Obviously I never done anything as bad as he did but I did say ignorant statements during my youth. You say the dumbest shit as teenagers but thats part of growing up. Thus looking back on Yosuke, you can see that maturity over the course of the game. Not perfect but its there imo. Though I do think for some, if not all, characters there could have been a few reconciliation scenes. Moments that truly show how much they mean to each other and how much they grow as people.

[@thekakeking9400]

Interesting on how the popularity of Yosuke and Ryuji are swapped when it comes to western audiences and japanese audiences. I find Ryuji being more ironic is his own game, mainly I've mostly played Royal, but also in regards to the themes of Persona Five.

[@GunmetalGator]

For me, Yosuke was instantly my favorite character when I watched the anime, an immediate connection... to the dancing spinoff, being my first human male crush. Despite what he said before in the series, I became gay with the guy who was a little homophobic. It felt conflicted and I do care about correcting that sort of behavior but he was a guy I look up to in his positives more than not. He became an inspiration for me to get a cosplay and with that, had my only costume ever be of him. Still have it to this day with even a summer outfit of his. He looks awesome, his care for Saki spoke to me, relating to his loneliness of trying to make ever lasting connections and when those you assume don't even talk back, it's haunting. I love how he is the perfect mix of selfless and selfish, someone who could even be a villain down the line in a few years if Yu or even Saki didn't drop in his life. And it is for that reason why Yosuke Hanamura is my favorite Persona character by far.

[@mim9000]

Thank you for speaking about Yosuke's sexuality. I've always seen that as an explanation for his behaviour, especially with the cut romance. I think they just cut the romance but potentially didn't go and edit the rest of the story for it in light of its removal. LGBTQ lady here. Every action I saw with Yosuke regarding the sexuality thing, the original focus on it from the p0rn references, the jokes- it's just a teenage boy, doing what teenagers do- but with his worry around Kanji, and the returned bullying of it, I always saw it as a coping mechanism, or the active denial of his own potential feelings around his own sexuality, a way of (not too subtly) showcasing who he was, while helping him come to terms with it. I wish that there was a way to ask him to apologize to Kanji, in a perfect world, I imagine his romance would have allowed that. SPOILERS FOR P3P BELOW I didn't quite think of the idea of the romance arc being cut due to his initial romance with Saki, since it was one sided (they made that cut in P3P with Junpei, since he had the full romance with Chidori), and Yosuke has shown to have moved on from Saki romantically in a lot of ways, I think his connection to her was more demonstrative of reinforcing his isolation - the one thing he thought he had hated him, then died, and his purpose was in fixing that - *therefore had a purpose* but now he wonders if that purpose is enough, if he can do it, does it matter, because MC is the one doing it but...MC needs *him*, right? And then the new purpose, the new goal, is being there for MC. I think tonally, the romance could have been far different than the conventional sort with the girls. Maybe they wouldn't have come out, maybe there wouldn't have been all the romantic overtures, but I think the emotional bond of friendship first (which I think is only truly explored in Chie's romance honestly) would have made the romance so much stronger, without the need for grandiose romantic moments. Of course, this could just be me crying about a lack of rep, and hating how they handled Naoto. THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU DO, YOU ARE MAKING AMAZING CONTENT!!!!!!

[@cerendaroth6414]

This is such an introspective comment, I really enjoyed reading your perspective! In my opinion, cutting the romance option was such a disservice to Yosuke’s character, it would have been a great opportunity to resolve the tension he had with Kanji and it makes sense in light of his moments of attraction to the main character. And I completely agree with your point on Saki, it always came across as one-sided to me and it’s clear he’s moved past his feelings for her based on the way he talks about her throughout the social links. Overall, I believe it’s hard not to see that they primarily dropped it because of fear of backlash. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on how Naoto’s character was handled? I would love to hear more!

[@mim9000]

@@cerendaroth6414 Aw thanks! Okay sure. So, regarding Naoto (and Naoto/Kanji), I think that Kanji's sexuality not being explicit (oh I'm bi/pan/I specifically like men and women) is a *good* thing, because I think Kanji's story is not about sexuality only, but about masculinity and associated stigmas. There's always an association that women are allowed to experiment with their sexuality; that it's far more socially acceptable than men doing the same, and even if Kanji IS straight (and we don't know that), the representation of him questioning in a (somewhat) healthy manner is something we need to see - it shouldn't be demonized, give the guy a break, he's a teenager experiencing feelings and we always need to remember, regardless of cultural context, of when this came out, that these are TEENAGERS and we can't attack them for not behaving like adults. But then with Naoto...again, some people treat this as an LGBTQ issue, which I do not agree with. I very much don't think Naoto is trans in any way, but that's just my perspective. Naoto's issues are issues with femininity and workplace misogyny, which has turned into internalized misogyny. While I reiterate that these are teenagers, as is the main character, I am always frustrated by how Naoto's romance is played out. Naoto is my 'best girl' as one says, but I refuse to romance her for two reasons- 1 - I think she and Kanji are cute together, and 2 - Her romance actively makes me feel uncomfortable. In order to romance Naoto, at multiple points you have to call out you are glad she is a girl, call her cute, and then, (I think it happens in Golden only) you get rewarded with 'Naoto in a skirt' for the valentines date. On a surface level this might seem fine - MC is attempting to acknowledge Naoto as female in a somewhat positive way, which is the games way of going 'Naoto being a girl is okay, don't worry Naoto, the group will talk about your bust size and stare at your legs, isn't being female great', but that's all it ends up being. Naoto being female isn't explored as Kanji's masculinity is explored. While this could be because Kanji is emperor arcana, which means it's the focus of his link, we still do see in the TV world, Kanji's insecurity is very much his masculinity/sexuality while in Naoto's dungeon it's specifically *how being female holds her back and how growing beyond herself is something she wants but only perceives she can do by negative transformation*. This negative transformation is REINFORCED by the romantic narrative, because while it allows Naoto the 'transformation' (so to speak) to a more feminine character, it only emphasizes SOCIETAL VIEWS of femininity, which was her major gripe to begin with. There's nothing about the strength of being female, the non-sexualized parts of it, Naoto is only appreciated as a woman in context of *sexuality*, and it happens time and time again- the swimsuit contest, the medical scenes, and, worst of all, in the romance which is supposed to be healthy for her. This only furthers her own perceived insecurities, but now she has to have the comfort blanket of the main character to make her think that her femininity is appreciated as itself, by itself, but never as her as a character in whole - Naoto is either 'the detective *prince*, smart and careful' or 'secret boobs', we never let both parts come together where her being female is just her gender, her pronouns, and not the entirety of the character, to the detriment of the rest of her. No wonder the poor girl wants to hide as a man at this rate. Again, the characters are teenagers, blah blah blah, but I think this is specifically a writing fault. I feel like if P4 had done a P3P and had a route redo where you played as a female MC for the game, the friendship with Naoto could have been so so beautiful, because it would have been about what is feminine without being in the male eye. I think it's a missed opportunity, and it's sad that Naoto is only equated with exploring what she represses in a sexualized manner.

[@waynegilliam3335]

i heard originally yosuke was going to be gay but they trashed the idea which I always thought was a bit odd we don't have much proof but a few suggestive lines of dialogue

[@wolffster25]

Yosuke Hanamura is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal who has voiced a ton of notable roles including which include Sauske Uchiha (Naruto), Spider-Man (the ps4 game), The Prince from Prince of Persia, Ben in Ben 10 Omniverse and future iterations, and most notably for this video the Persona 3 protagonist.

[@Doll873]

I definitely feel like one thing I love about all of the characters in persona 4 is how their negatives can be seen in Adachi. Like how if they'd been given that power without the guiding hand of others that they could've easily became just like Adachi, It makes me sad that Adachi ended up the way he did.

[@RenaDeles]

Yosuke, my fav kid, a disaster bi of a boy ♥️ like I honestly like him *more* for how messy he is and how he's not the best person to start. I would have more of an issue with him if he wasn't a teenager, but he is

[@quil72]

Yosuke is definitely my favorite character in Persona 4. The first time I went through the game, I was pretty young, probably around 12 or so, so I don't think that I really understood why I liked and related to his character so much, but playing through it as an adult, it's really easy to see. Specifically in regards to the gay/bisexual subtext, I can see myself reflected so much - especially from when I was around 12 or 13 and being very confused about sexuality. I'm a lesbian - I didn't quite realize it at the time, but I know that now. I also definitely had a really big crush on my best friend. And my god, so many of the things that Yosuke says and does mirror my experience so well. The back-pedaling after saying or doing something that might be construed as gay, in particular. I remember there was a time when I was spending the night at my friend's house and I asked her if she wanted to cuddle with me - she agreed - and I let that go on for all of like 30 seconds because I was afraid her mom was going to come in and get mad. I just always remember pieces of his dialogue standing out to me because of that. I grew up in a pretty liberal area of the US, so I don't think I ever hated myself for it, but with the amount of fear and self-doubt that came along with it, it's really easy for me to see how someone could. What I feel like a lot of more recent fans of the series forget is that being gay is only something that has been recently accepted - even in the US. I was in high school when gay marriage became legal here - it still isn't legal in Japan. It makes perfect sense to me that if someone was gay or bisexual in 2011 in Japan that they wouldn't come out about it, even to their close friends. The analysis that a romance route wouldn't make sense with his character arc regarding Saki definitely makes sense, but I think that it's also realistic that, even if he did have a crush on the protagonist that he wouldn't necessarily say anything. I would have loved a romance route, but it makes a lot of sense to me that there isn't one. (The one thing that has always jumped out at me though is the fact that the lines are also dubbed in English - that means they took it out very late in development). There are also so many other aspects to his character that I think most people can relate to outside of the whole gay thing. The overwhelming desire to be greater than you are and the want to be special to others and be relied on. Sorry for rambling lol, basically I think that Yosuke is one of the most relatable and nuanced characters in the whole game and I really love him!

[@pika-azurill2465]

Main char analysis time!! I always felt weirded out by Yosuke, not because of the conveyance of his character, but more like the sudden bounceback of certain fans for how he treats other characters. And yeah, he can be mean spirited at times, but I think everyone in the story, sans like. Nanako and Kanji, do get to have their ribs in. But what scares me is that people can be so violent over their personal interpretations of characters;; ;

[@IceQueen975]

Yosuke is like Akechi in P5. Very polerizing in the West, beloved in Japan. And both characters are very nuanced and Not PC (if you will). I sense a trend... but what do I know. It's not like this same issue of hating grey/complex/not perfect but realistic characters keeps happening in all fandoms nowadays! /s (if ya can't tell, I'm bitter af how Yosuke is shit on)

[@ServiusSilver]

True. In fact, Yosuke like people are pretty much still common in my country (I live in certain country in Asia). And Yosuke was made to be a close to realistic Japanese person in 2011 (game year or 2008 real life year). It annoys me when they force their PC views on this game, but like my opinion wouldn't really matter on how they view the game anyway. I really dislike how they shit on Yosuke. And yes, Brosuke is my favorite Persona bro, since he can switch when he should act like other teenager among others and how he can be matured and deal with responsibility (like how he actually helped his father to manage Junes and mediate the people despite still being disliked by a lot of people), not just acting goofy all the time.

[@mewphos]

holy wow. that’s genuinely… all i gotta say. i’ve looking forward for this video, and i did not expect it to be this good. this video was so fuckin’ well-made and awesome!! Yosuke is my all time favorite P4 character, and honestly you just made me like him even more!! Yosuke gets a lot of hate due to his homophobia and his pervy-ness (which tbh i cant defend him on his pervy-ness) but i don’t think he is homophobic in anyway? i mean his jokes were definitely inappropriate, but i do think non-homophobic people can make homophobic remarks too. but i do think he and Kanji are on good terms. Because during the group date cafe, it shows that Kanji and Yosuke have talked about the topic of love and how Kanji mentioned that Yosuke said “There are many forms of love..”, which just kinda leads to me that he has apologized to Kanji and that he truly isn’t homophobic, but i mean i’m probably wrong.. and i just like to make myself believe that he did lmao, but i just think he doesn’t know how to handle situations like these and stuff, it was pretty much the same for me too, but it was mostly because i was deceived into thinking homosexuality is bad, but i’ve stopped those thoughts thankfully, and even found out that i am gay too which is a bit funny coming from how i acted, still i totally understand Yosuke a lot, and i just loved how you handled the homophobia part! either way, this really was an analysis and i loved it, especially the characters spreadsheet part! i’ll probably use it during other convos with my friends, but its really well made!! just wanna say that i mostly subscribed just to see the Yosuke analysis but after seeing how well this was im definitely gonna stay subscribed and look forward to the other analysis! especially Kanji’s, since i’m a big fan of his character too. i absolutely loved this analysis and will definitely share it!! keep it up tho!! please make sure to take care of yourself during the making of these videos and just know that you have many other peoples support!! i truly look forward for the next analysis(s)!! :))

[@firelordwaffle2987]

You don’t have to be explicitly or intentionally prejudiced to reproduce ideas that are prejudiced, and I think that’s exactly what’s happening with yosuke. His homophobia, if you choose to see it as such, is internalized. And as a gay person, yosuke is still my absolute favorite character. My reading of his characters has always been based on his cut romance as well, which adds another layer to an important message. He grows, and it’s important in any serious discussion to allow characters to be wrong and grow from some misguided thinking. For my experience, most homophobia is internalized, and a lot of people have a hard time recognizing that in themselves. Personally? As wild as this would sound out of context, give me more characters like yosuke that change the perception that homophobia is something only literal villains are capable of.

[@mewphos]

@@firelordwaffle2987 i apologize first, i definitely agree with you and i probably did not word what i said correctly, and i do agree with the internalized homophobia, but im mostly just referring to those yosuke haters that use the excuse “hes homophobic” as a way to cancel or shit on him, i do agree too tho, he grew out of the homophobia and learned better. my apologies again! english isnt my main language and im a bit shitty at it so i couldnt word it out correctly

[@bunnysammy_]

I randomly watched that old Yosuke video you mentioned when it came out and didn't make the connection you were the same person. I remember it showing me a new perspective on Yosuke and making him one of my favorite characters in the cast. You never cease to impress me with your research and attention to detail in all of these videos. Seriously love your work, please keep it up!

[@phoenix_2k]

he was the character that really hooked me on persona 4 i feel like, he was just some guy and i grew attached to his goofy and loveable nature. my favorite persona character for sure

[@becausesakamoto5938]

Going into this video, Yosuke is a character I think is particularly interesting until around when Kanji is introduced. After that, he's relegated to the "pervy best friend" role which really doesn't suit him, and he antagonizes all of Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, and Teddie multiple times. In particular, his sexualization of Chie, Yukiko, and Rise seems particularly out of character compared to his introduction, where he gets along with Chie and Yukiko fairly well. It just feels like the writers forgot what they wanted to do with him, and so his character development got sidelined for most of the story, only coming back a bit towards the end of the game. Ryuji in P5 feels almost like a watered down version of Yosuke, where he fulfills the same role as the protagonist's first friend and partner in crime, but he has almost no interesting interactions with the female party members, aside from some scattered ones at the beginning of the game with Ann. I'd really like to see them create a Persona game that can use that stereotype well and incorporate them into the party, because even though I think both Yosuke and Ryuji are flawed I think they had a lot of potential as great characters.

[@becausesakamoto5938]

Now that I think about it, Ryuji is pretty much just Atlus throwing Kanji into the best friend role. Ryuji and Kanji both fulfill the "thug" archetype, while Yosuke is stuck with the "loser" archetype, which he shares with Mishima. While Mishima is relatively inoffensive since he's not a party member, he doesn't reach any of the lows that Yosuke does due to the constant interaction with him- Yosuke would probably be a fun character if he weren't in the party, maybe replace him with afro riddle kid idk

[@y2m3e.45]

@@becausesakamoto5938 replace him with funky student xD now that'd be interesting

[@artsy3944]

Literally every time I reply P4 I get thrown off by how different Yosuke is in the beginning before Rise and Kanji show up 😭 like what happenddddd

[@illuminoeye_gaming]

my wedding : casual clothes 45 minute yosuke analysis:

[@HidinginPrivate]

Welcome in. A black tie? Ah yes your seat is over there

[@schwipsig]

yosuke is one of my favorite characters ever. love the series and i think you did a really great job on this video!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thanks! I tried to do him justice and give an indepth look at his character

[@MrBolioman]

Yosuke is not only my main in the fighting games. He actually is what made me keep going with Persona 4 after a long snd slow start in the game. Yeah... he is kinda obnoxious, and annoying... and got some tasteless jokes all over the place... but what teenage is not? I do believe he is relatable tho. As much as I love Kanji and still thinking he is my favorite character overall. My experience with Yosuke is much more relatable than with Kanji´s. For instance I never had to struggle with my sexual preferences. But I know how hard is to keep pushing an easygoing personality in order to be surounded by people. How scary is to move out of town... just to be forgotten by your so called friends back then. And how helpless it feels... you wanna change that by lying to yourself and lying to others... and somewhat having more and more friends until someone thinks you are special. The day a friend told me I was his best friend I literally cried... Yosuke is deep.

[@xbolt678]

Yosuke is a great character. I see a lot of myself in him and while he often frustrates me, I can't hate him for it. Great job on the analysis!!

[@Akira-xm9ck]

Great character analysis I've never played persona 4 or golden but I feel like I know yosukes whole personality now.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Ha ha well I'm glad you enjoyed it. Maybe you'll pick it up... one day!

[@VolticWind]

38:10 Yosuke definitely wouldn’t be emotionally available for romance until after closing the book on Saki’s murder which doesn’t happen until the point the original game originally ended the standard good ending where you apprehend Adachi and then the game skips straight to the day before you leave town.

[@isakjarlestedt2001]

Yosuke's definitely one of my favorite characters from the game, serious when he should and otherwise quite the goofy goober, truly our boy

[@PicassosSister-rj5zp]

The sheer amount of study, and work put into these analysis' is truly impressive.

[@Angelic_Materia]

BRO I can not thank you enough for covering one of my favorite characters in the series. The slander to the King of Junes has gone on too long and it feels wonderful knowing that there are people that get the guy.

[@jvever4904]

Loved this video, seeing the character dynamic on who teases who was a nice touch and contextualizes how the Investigation Team's dynamic works.

[@floatingpasta8099]

Damn, the later segments of the game made me forget how much Yosuke was in his A game in the case, especially when it was just starting out. The interaction chart you have with the investigation team was also really great. P4's group dynamics is something I thought it did best compared to P3 and P5, to a point where I could drop a jab on the whole team ,ie call them the Idiots of Inaba, and they wouldn't see it as a big deal as to burn bridges with me.

[@firelordwaffle2987]

Agreed! The group dynamics is why persona 4 was my favorite, inaba came to *life* for me as I experienced the story in a way p5 and p3 (p3 I admittedly don’t remember much of) didn’t for me

[@oreotaku4017]

When Yosuke Hanamura became special was the video that made me subscribe to your original channel. Fitting that I finally subscribe over here due to this video. Dispite his character flaws that get him in hot water over here in the west, he’s always been my favorite character. Most close friend groups I’ve been apart of tend to tease and rib them for embarrassing and personal stuff. That’s how it always came off to me.

[@josephscroggs5988]

Yu is the Robin to Yosuke's Chrom. If there are any Fire Emblem fans that would understand that analogy.

[@pixxyofice]

i'm gonna watch this later, i need to sleep, but (eyeing the pinned comment) you do mention that huh... yosuke may be iffy at times but he's still one of my boys... one of the guys ever...

[@HidinginPrivate]

I thought not mentioning it would be disingenuous considering the history of discourse and my effort to cover the full game/ the full story. I like Yosuke a lot. But I think the truth is more nuanced than "he did nothing wrong" or "he's a pervy homophobe"

[@lava3256]

I honestly thought P4Golden was just going to be like a decent game after playing P5R, but holy hell did it became my favorite game in the series 😭

[@silvignis2028]

Yesssss the best character! Yosuke became my favourite the second he came on screen. When he fell with his bike I knew he would be great...and I was right. I could relate to Yosuke a lot. Personality wise, to a point I actually think I share a braincell with a character. I am happy to see a lot of positive Yosuke stuff here, especially since a lot of newer players seem to despise him...I mean I get that he did bad stuff and I do not agree with these things he did but watering down his whole character to the tent scene? Idk I also love how PQ handled him with. He got an amazing moment where he goes up to Yu and talks about the team positively and how he feels they grew so much. PQ2 did him justice with the Yosukesaurus arc as well.

[@apollosdread]

I LOVE YOSUKE !!!! great video you did such an amazing job at covering his character! looking forward to the next ones :)

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thank you! My favorite ones are yet to come!

[@Daniel_Coffman]

I never did think of Yosuke possibly still actually being bisexual. Him not being comfortable with it, though, does make a lot of sense. As I'm sure everyone who is LGBT knows, it is very difficult to come to terms with especially when in a society that generally is openly toxic to them. In my personal case, being myself bisexual, it wasn't that hard for me because I've always known what LGBT people go through, and I rebel against that treatment. I don't care who would make fun of me or whatever, I will stand up for myself. Anyone who hates me and doesn't accept me can screw off. Japan doesn't tend to be as bad with the situation as America, though, with a lot of America outright villainizing LGBT people, but they still do, just like we see with how Persona 4 and 5 treat it, largely treat it as a joke; not as an actual thing. They're not killing or exiling LGBT people or anything there like they did Christians back around the time of the Sengoku Period and Edo Period, but that's because unlike Christianity, which originated in what today is the Middle-East, being LGBT has no "place of origin." Anyone, anywhere, at any time, can be LGBT. Even wild animals can be homosexual or bisexual. However, obviously, it still is not normal in a culture that probably even more than America about "fitting in." For a little bit of context on the comparison to Japan's treatment of Christianity for those who don't know, the reason why Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Ieyasu Tokugawa killed or exiled Christians is half because Japan has always had a big "us and them" mentality. Just as we see in Persona 4 and 5, though on a much larger scale way back in the Sengoku period, outsiders in Japan do tend to be feared and distrusted. Though, with Christians having tried to push their religion onto Japanese people as they do tend to, the distrust toward Christians was pretty understandable, as the other half of the reason for their treatment is that Christians were, as they do tend to, pretty much trying to push Japan's tradition and way of life out of Japan and replace it with Christianity, which, Japan has always also been very big on their tradition. Christianity's own treatment toward other religions and peoples of other religions would also quite likely be why the Abrahamic God is treated as a main villain who cast out the other deities and demons in most if not all mainline Shin Megami Tensei games. Now, obviously, I'm not saying that Christians deserve to die or that they are all closed-minded fools or any of that crap; simply putting history into context without denying religion's big involvement in conquest and hate. I did also have someone saying that Mitsunari Ishida couldn't have been bisexual as I'd heard he was because of how Hideyoshi treated Christians.

[@w1nther930]

The thing about Yosuke i love most is that loneliness and how he just wants to be special. Not special as in a talented person or prodigy, just special to another person in their eyes, not just another one in the crowd.

[@dpurut]

Great video but I can’t get over how the title makes it sound like somebody murdered him and this is his obituary 😭

[@HidinginPrivate]

Yosuke been real quiet since the events of persona 5

[@serenepastel]

Yosuke is such a deep character (I say as though this series lacks deep characters). He’s the best possible right hand to Yu and is such a good support for the team. Does he cross the line once or twice? Yeah, but we all have been there. All of the characters pull some stuff at some point. The relationship chart is such a clear display of what makes the dynamics so great. I think P4 has my favorite main cast dynamics of the 3-5 games. The SEES felt like coworkers a lot of the time and don’t get a chance to goof off like teenagers (+dog and child) a lot of the time. The Phantom Thieves have a few too many characters shoved to the side to capture their dynamics. But the fact that you can actually trace the IT’s “friendship bullying” as I like to call it really shows how well the writers set up the bonds between this ragtag bunch of kids who know way too much about each other. I really like your take on the lost Yosuke route. It would be weird to have a bereavement and flirting going on. I can definitely see him start working through his identity when he’s able to move past the mourning stage. All in all, a great analysis, per usual!

[@flan_fleemep]

hooooboy we're into the MAIN CAst already :0000 cant believe youre finally Here, This far into this project of yours feels like not long ago u only just started posting every other side character's links;; youve put such an Insane ENDLEss stream of Hard Hard work and effort into these videos,, im glad its all coming around finally!!!!!!!!!1!1!1! cheers mr public,, good work as always!1!

[@grandzenoh2966]

After completing the game recently, yosuke has been and will always be my favorite p4 character. I commend him for staying strong and positive with all the hate he endures in inaba. I don’t get how people can hate him like he’s literally one of the most fun and nicest person you meet In the game. Most of his hate is from him being the managers son of a superstore that’s taking business away from them, most local shops can’t compare to a company. the business world isn’t easy , there’s always gonna be competition that’s why you have to think of alternatives to combat your problems. His family got bills to pay , they gotta eat and survive somehow.

[@msmelissxo33]

Has no one else made a reference to Deltarune when he said "Big shot"? The only thing I could think of is Spampton sliding up to yosuke being all sly and asking him "Hey kid, so I heard you wanna be a big shot."

[@kaitlynmorgan8097]

I remember the first video i watched from you was your old yousuke analysis years ago so im very excited for this one Edit: id also like to add that not only does the main game challenge his sexuality in the spinoffs as well. The way he talks about yu in the arena games, the added scenes in the anime from nanako's death to the fight with mitsuo they added in some intimate moments. Whether you see yosuke straight or queer, the writers definitely want you to know how he strives to be the closest person to yu

[@statz3697]

Yosuke is one of my favourites if not my favourite character in all of persona. amazing video

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thanks! He's not my favorite (there are a lot of good persona characters) but I really like and appreciate him

[@hehehefunnyname9613]

I love youske he feels like the most human character

[@HidinginPrivate]

He's neat

[@jorgegracia5031]

That chart was so specific and smart man. Thank you so much for your hard work!

[@Force_Of_Habit]

"someone I cared about was killed, how dare you say this is a game to me?"

[@ryanhatfield8602]

Yosuke is my favorite best friend character in any story I just think he is so fun and interesting

[@MxPokirby]

Loved your part talking about the group teasing dynamics. I *_wish_* I could recall the exact quote, but I think I remember there being a specific line that hit me sorta hard in Persona Q, where someone in the Investigation Team explains to someone in SEES how they all recognize the rather personal jabbing they do with each other as something evident of how deep their mutual friendships are with each other. Also, while I _am_ a Yosuke defender, (he was sort of a bi+ awakening for me), I definitely agree with most/everything you said about his more uncomfortable moments. Loving this whole series you're doing, keep up the great work.

[@frogsrfriends]

this is a rlly great video that has helped me appreciate yosuke in a new light!! i wouldn't call myself a yosuke hater per say but im definitely not a yosuke lover lol since recently playing and finishing p4g on switch this year i've had complicated feelings towards him. i started off the game really liking yosuke, i found his struggle finding a place to belong relatable and his relationship with saki heartbreaking. but, since kanji is my fav out of the investigation team, yosuke's remarks towards him after his dungeon rlly rubbed me the wrong way. even when looking at it thru the lens of a 2000s teenage boy, i couldn't get over the writers constantly using him to make homophobic and perverted jokes for majority of the rest of the game. even when he had his moments, it was only a matter of time before he said something stupid again and it got on my nerves lol. i still thought his social link was well done but it was overshadowed by his character flaws for me personally. that being said, your analysis really made me think deeper about him and showed me just how well written and realistic of a character he is overall, flaws included (tho i do still think a lot of his jokes in bad taste were unnecessary). also, since finding out about the scrapped romance route, i've always been upset about its exclusion and thought that it would have made his character better. while i still believe that to an extent, i agree with your points as to why it could have taken away from his arc and that was something i hadn't considered before this vid. tho his "comic relief" side still annoys me and i cant forgive getting no apologies for the camping trip, i will say that i like yosuke more after this video than i did before it! rlly enjoying watching ur p4 vids good work :]

[@demonkiller8000]

Brosuke Homiemura is much deeper than he appears

[@HidinginPrivate]

So true

[@totallynuts7595]

Maybe I was just raised differently, but I am annoyed with everyone looking at the "inappropiate" or "gross" interactions and labeling them as such and insisting that they are out place or should not have happened... Have any of you people ever been around teenagers? That's how it is and probably how it always will be, even among friends. That's how me and my friends still are to each other, we take the piss out of each other every chance we get. I am thankful you note how those interactions are never meant to hurt and they never do.

[@Limit02]

Great video! Excited to see the rest of the main characters analysis. Yosuke was probably the character that I had the strongest 180 on throughout the game, going from a character who I thought was cringe to a character I still thought was cringe but also was one of my favorites from the game due to how he developed

[@zeo1087]

I loved this video, it might be my favorite so far! I think I might disagree with you on your suggested reasoning for why his romance was cut though. Yumi’s social link deals with grief in an even more personal and emotional way, but she is still a romance option. Also, because of Yosuke’s position as a team member and Yu’s canonical best friend, there is plenty of time within the game completely outside of Yosuke’s social link to establish flirting and a budding romance between him and Yu. The game already does this to some extent, like what you mentioned in the video with Yosuke saying how Yu would be the ideal guy. Yosuke’s potential character arc of accepting bisexuality in the main story could have been the primary place for this to happen, and the romance within his link could have been locked behind a certain date in-game in order to ensure the player has experienced those moments, which would not at all be abnormal for Persona social links. They could have also made it so that the entire story of him accepting Saki’s death and moving on happens within the first seven ranks of his social link. All that said, again this was probably my favorite video in the series so far, I really admire and appreciate the effort you’ve put into these videos despite knowing they might not do well, so thank you!

[@HidinginPrivate]

I think one major difference is Yumi is an optional link relating to grief that only surfaces from her link, and it's more of a trauma she had run from but is now finally overcoming after many years. With Yosuke, he is the first person you get to know, the anchor to the prospective player and the initial emotional tie to the story. He's the answer to "why should I care" which is much more important to get right. Yumi is someone you could play the game 3 times and not even notice exists- but yet that piece is somewhat conjecture given the evidence. I atleast think it is the more likely option than "atlus hates gay people" which I see thrown around as the only other explanation. Glad you liked it though! I appreciate the long comment! Hope my long response was an apt reply

[@danurahardja]

I really love how this channel popped up on my recommendations as i was replaying persona 4 golden. Great job as always man

[@HidinginPrivate]

I love that it popped up too! Glad you found me

[@zenronez1158]

Watching these videos feels like I'm relearning parts of myself. There is so much to take away from this that it is outstanding. I always looked at these an I thought to myself hey that's really good but never really putting it into action. Now I understand what they mean and what they were trying to say. Persona 4 Golden is amazing game. It may not my Favorite but I have nothing but sheer respect for it.

[@crapnuggets202]

Super glad I was awake to see this right as it went up. Like the man says, let's go partner!

[@HidinginPrivate]

Howdy! Glad you caught it early

[@RikkuX5]

44 minutes filled with quality content. Sweet~

[@HidinginPrivate]

And this is the standard investigation team length...rip

[@xartancebaldus6902]

I really enjoy this look on Yosuke, I never gave the more sleazy things much thought because he didn't seem really malicious (teasing, sometimes crossing the line but not evil.) Thanks for your great insights!

[@popcornastoria]

26:17 dude, your GRAPH OF WHEN EVERYONE'S INSECURITIES ARE ADDRESSED makes me wish i could like, triple-subscribe.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Lol you should of seen the long word document recording everything

[@lunarp056]

Thats one of the many things i really like about persona 4, the characters flaws and how much these flaws contribute to me as the player to relate and care about those characters, despite me as a gay man being really discomfortable whenever yosuke teases kanji for his sexuality (the example that gets me the most is at the camp scene when he basically provokes kanji to sneak into the girls's tent and claiming not to be his fault) and all the perv stuff and all, but besides that i really like yosuke, because every character in this game is annoying or has some major flaw in some point (Except kanji, kanji is perfect) and those exact flaws is what makes them feel so real and relatable.

[@VainerCactus0]

Jiraiya, toad guy? Like The Pervy sage from Naruto lol. Those three names should be familiar to anybody who watched that show. I always liked Yosuke, I think most people who don't like him have misunderstood him. I was not aware of the unused credits, but what you said about how Yosuke was possibly intended to be used in the story compared to how he actually was used makes a lot of sense. A good friend is somebody who wants you to be stronger, so even if he does things out of his own insecurity, Yosuke and the others teasing at each others insecurities is probably helpful in the long run. I know a lot of people including my friends will talk shit to your face but won't tolerate anybody slandering from behind your back.

[@spookieboogi6161]

Anyone else cry when he sacrifices himself for you?

[@manimifire8563]

Absolutely amazing analysis. I expected it to be a long one but by no means 44 minutes haha.. Regardless, I was hooked for the entire video and please keep doing god's work.

[@HidinginPrivate]

Thank you haha pretty much all the parts from now on will be this length or a decent but longer so watch put! I'm glad it didn't get boring for you

[@vilvile]

I was born and raised in Argentina. In the 90s, society was (and to an extent is) very heteronormative. I empathized a lot with Kanji’s character and the way that others like Yosuke would treat him. While I was overall happy to have some representation in the game as a gay person myself (if not clear enough by now) and I do have to understand how Japanese society dealt with LGBTQ issues, it still hurt how they brushed off some topics. Kanji reacted angrily part for humor and part because he felt personally offended, but not because the way he was treated was plain wrong. Said differently, just because someone is gay doesn’t mean one will try to force oneself to every other male person. I hope Atlus and the industry continues to evolve in their sensitivity how to portray these issues. Unfortunately looking at Catherine Full Body, it doesn’t feel they are evolving much.

[@wispywaspy]

I’m binging this series and I had no clue where to comment this but thank you so much for making it!

[@vwoeng7477]

It's years later that I come to appreciate Yosuke more. His parents though are quite MVPs too. They gave him responsibility at Junes so he's not just some spoiled city boy whose dad more or less own the small town's Walmart. His parents also let Teddie live with them but without freeloading off the Hanamuras. I feel that Yosuke would have ended up worse if his parents didn't have him help out at Junes.

[@genma1011]

Another great video, thanks a lot Hiding 😄

[@erikohman2294]

When facing of against Yosuke in the hospital I couldnt tell him to slow down, because I didnt belive he was capable of doing so. I didnt click with him. You where told by Margaret how important it was to make connections, so I leveled up the social links. It was some kind of beautiful to find that this was not enough. My lack of trying to understand and care for Yusuke really is the reason I failed.

[@pulsefireezk9097]

I know I would really like something about this guy just when I started the game. And through my grind (as of being in Naoto's dungeon), from battle to storylines, he's among those characters that never disappoint me

[@Chocokaylarobin]

I absolutely adore Yosuke ❤

[@stuffzluvverz_7665]

In all honesty Yosuke can be an ass by unintentionally rubbing people the wrong way but he still cares for all of them. Hell there's a dialogue option where Yosuke talk about picking up girls in motorcycles and one of them talks about Saki which if I remember was "So you finally got over her?" There's not a bigger dick dialogue option than that.

[@umbreonrogue6838]

After some deliberation, I think I'm ready to add a few of my own scattered thoughts in regards to Yosuke's sexuality sajkhdaghsjd. To start off with, I didn't get the cues of Yosuke being implied to be LGBT on the first playthrough, you'd really have to hit me with a metaphorical hammer like with Kanji's dungeon, so all of this is observation in hindsight. With the biggest hot topic when it comes to Yosuke, I don't think he's just bisexual (I don't think he's homosexual), but demiromantic. Demiromanticism is when you only develop romantic feelings for people you have a strong emotional attachment to. We see him being, uh, interested in women that are total strangers to him in that way. But out of the characters we see him having potential romantic interest in, Saki as you said was the one who actually welcomed him into Inaba, and eventually Yosuke became very good friends with Yu. I don't think him questioning his own sexuality would come up in his shadow, because *he hasn't yet*. At the time, he just met Yu, and I don't think it's impossible to have another insecurity pop up just as you resolved the last one. I think he started questioning it later in the game, maybe as early as Kanji's dungeon? Sorry man, you don't get to have your other self get the shit beaten out of him twice, you're on your own on that. I don't like how he treated Kanji at first, but it feels realistic. Like his dynamic with the group very much feels like what I'd overhear in other friend groups when I was in high school, with all the ribbing and the teasing. And that's in an American school, halfway across the world from this game's setting. I like that about him and this game's writing in general, it feels like I really could have ended up knowing someone like these characters. They're not written like video game characters, they're written like people. And hopefully that means Yosuke will eventually mature enough to accept himself and other people, but unfortunately we'll never get to see that since we're well past the Persona 4 era by now.

[@chioorochi]

Here's hoping we get a Yosuke AND Kanji route in the new edition

[@HidinginPrivate]

Idk when a new edition would be but yes. Atleast a Kanji route pls

[@chioorochi]

@@HidinginPrivate The Switch, Xbox and PC editions of P4G are coming this october, so let's cross our fingers 💖 Love your content as always!

[@darekpower]

Honestly people who can't understand that something was created in a completely different environment and setting are the worst. Not everything has to be viewed as if it happened in america in 2022. Its fine to point out these things as bad or whatnot like you do, but if someone seriously can't get over it even though in the original a scene or action was meant to be a light joke or something inconsequential, then they probably just shouldn't play games created by other cultures/time periods incase it makes them upset. We get this all the time with danganronpa over like 20 different things, most of the time without the person even knowing or understanding the basis of how these subjects get treated in other cultures.

[@bluebird1914]

Ngl, that chart made me realize that Naoto and Yu are the only ones in the friend group who are decent friends. Like imagine causally making fun of your friend's insecurities, big yikes. It is pretty realistic though, given that they're all 15-16 year olds with emotional baggage and no real way to get professional help.

[@Arkleo21]

This was a great analysis video to stumblr upon! I just finished P4 Golden for the first time, and these are grsat videos to go through and really understand the nuisances of the character! Amazing analysis!!

[@BubbyBoy]

Your videos made me want to replay the game all over again, and so I did. Three straight days gone, but man was it a trip! Really psyched you have a trove of content to binge

[@HidinginPrivate]

Well dang! I hope it was fun revisiting it! I've only got a few segments left!