Is Persona 4's Kanji Gay or Not? - The Espist

Contents:

• PERSONA 4: GOLN MOD RTOR GAY ROMANCE OPTN
• IS PERSONA 4‘S KANJI GAY OR NOT?
• WHY DO EVERYONE THK YOSE'S GAY????
• PERSONA 4 IS SO GAY
• HM. THAT'S DLY GAY. — PERSONA MANGA ARCHIVE
• GAMPOT SAYS PERSONA 4 IS ANTI-GAY

PERSONA 4: GOLN MOD RTOR GAY ROMANCE OPTN

By clearly raisg the ia the player's md that Kanji is gay and then rejectg that ia, Persona 4 sends the msage that homosexualy is shameful and should not be 's start wh Kanji. Here, I hoped, I would get a plex portrayal of a gay character, one who has sadly but unrstandably reprsed his sexualy rponse to societal prsure, who felt that he uld not be accepted as a tough guy if people knew he was also gay.

By clearly raisg the ia the player's md that Kanji is gay and then rejectg that ia, Persona 4 sends the msage that homosexualy is shameful and should not be accepted. Yose's attus about Kanji are problematic, and so is the game's way of handlg the story progrs, we're perdilly remd that, had he been gay, Kanji would not have been fully accepted by the other members of the vtigatn team, and, fact, some anxiety lgers later on about whether or not Kanji is tly straight.

" suggtg that Yose's md, if Kanji had been gay, he would also be prone to behave appropriately. Rather than addrsg Yose's negative perceptns of homosexualy, perhaps wh a character arc which his prejudic are challenged and he be more open-md over time, Persona 4 lets his view of homosexualy as somethg to be feared stand unchallenged and unremarked upon, treatg as normal and acceptable.

IS PERSONA 4‘S KANJI GAY OR NOT?

By troducg the ia that Kanji is gay and that Naoto is transgenr and then backg away om embracg those characterizatns, Persona 4 reprents a betrayal of s central theme about people learng to accept themselv and each other for who they are, and sends the msage that such sexual orientatns and genr inti are too sry to accept. While Persona 2: Innocent S was ahead of the curve, cludg a gay romance optn all the way back 1999, recent history has been more spotty, wh Persona 5 drawg cricism om LGBT+ groups for the cln of two particularly stereotypil gay characters who pop up ocsnally as a nng gag, to the pot of havg their l rewrten the English release of Persona 5: Royal. While had no nfirmed LGBT+ characters, do have one character, Kanji, who’s heavily hted as beg gay or bisexual, but looks like the game uld have gone a step further and clud a gay romance optn – party member Yose – an optn which has been ma available thanks to a mod of the PC versn of Persona 4: Goln, released earlier this year.

WHY DO EVERYONE THK YOSE'S GAY????

One of the most pellg parts of Atl’ Persona 4 is the qutn of one of s characters’ possible homosexualy. Persona 4 ma great stris the portrayal of homosexualy gam wh the character of Kanji, a rough-and-tumble lquent who may or may not be gay.

In Kanji’s alternate world, his other self appears as a near-nu, “gay” soundg versn of himself who habs a men’s bathhoe, strongly suggtg that the character ho homosexual sir. The game, however, never really mak ncrete whether or not Kanji’s gay or jt sexually nfed, which has trated some gamers. In this se, mak sense that, the end, the game is not tellg you what to thk about Kanji or even if he is gay.

PERSONA 4 IS SO GAY

“That flamboyance was also what the viewers of the Midnight Channel [a TV channel that shows what’s happeng the alternate world] wanted to see: a typil gay person on TV that people would lgh at. However, the game has long been ntroversial for the way handled two characters who are implied or perceived to be queer: Kanji Tastumi, who the game impli to be gay or bisexual, and Naoto Shirogane, who many fans view as eher a transgenr man or nonbary. The game strongly dit that he may be gay (or bisexual), and Kanji's Shadow -- signed as an credibly mpy gay stereotype -- outright says he prefers men.

HM. THAT'S DLY GAY. — PERSONA MANGA ARCHIVE

His Shadow tentnally plays to stereotyp and homophobic trop by makg unwanted advanc toward male party members and ditg his sexualy stems om hatg girls. On top of that, there are stanc where other characters make homophobic ments toward him, most egregly when Yose asks if he'll be "safe" stayg a tent wh Kanji.

GAMPOT SAYS PERSONA 4 IS ANTI-GAY

Many crics at the time noted the flaws his portrayal and wished to see him fively nfirmed as gay, but were nohels thrilled to have a character like Kanji exist. The extreme and disturbg parts of his Shadow uld have arisen bee the are the only reprentatns of gay people Kanji has seen.

Regardls of whether Kanji is gay, straight, or bisexual, his storyle has a clear msage about genr rol and expectatns that fs wh Persona 4's general theme of acceptance. The game lets you rpond wh a joke rponse to Ryuji that he has to basilly ’man up’ agast the unmanly gay men.

The scene is amed as beg reflectn to the boy’s attempts to h on women earlier, so ’s more or ls meant as a ”punishment” towards them wh the st of showg the gay men aga an offensive light. The boys manage to pe, and the two gay men are never referenced directly the game aga, unls you go out of your way to talk to them Shju, where they make remarks about another male character who is still a mor. This is basilly yet another example of a very troublome trope wily known as "All Gays are Pedophil".