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| “ | Have you finally pieced it all together? Case closed... This is how your justice ends. | „ |
| ~ Akechi revealing that he is the traitor to Joker. |
| “ | Shut up, shut up, shut up! Teammates!? Friends!? To hell with that! Why am I inferior to you...!? I was extremely particular about my life, my grades, my public image, so someone would want me around! I am an ace detective... a celebrity! But you... You're just some criminal trash living in an attic! So how!? How does someone like you have things I don't!? How can such a worthless piece of trash be more special than me!? | „ |
| ~ Akechi's breakdown before he faces the Phantom Thieves. |
| “ | I Decide the Truth! | „ |
| ~ Black Mask's All-Out Attack Quote |
Goro Akechi, codenamed Crow while in the Metaverse and also as Black Mask, is the secondary antagonist of the Persona 5 sub-series within the Persona series.
He was a detective investigating the Phantom Thieves of Hearts case, before becoming a member of the Phantom Thieves himself temporarily. It is later revealed that he works for Masayoshi Shido, the main antagonist of the game, and is the real culprit behind the psychotic breakdown and mental shutdown incidents. He's the arch-rival and foil of Ren Amamiya.
In Persona 5: Royal, Akechi is given more focus and depth in the expansion, particularly with his bond with Ren. He later became the deuteragonist during the third semester, where he aids the Phantom Thieves in battling Takuto Maruki to restore their original world.
In Japanese, he is voiced by Sōichirō Hoshi. In English, he is voiced by Robbie Daymond, who also voices Chrollo Lucilfer from Hunter x Hunter, and Toneri Ōtsutsuki in Naruto: The Last. In the stage play, he is portrayed by Yoshihide Sasaki.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Heinous?[]
- Causing countless car and train accidents that led to him taking the lives of possibly 100 people in the process.
- Using his Persona, Loki, to take down important people connected to Shido by forcing them into psychotic breakdowns and mental shutdowns. Using this, he killed at least two of the parents of the Phantom Thieves, being Kunikazu Okumura (Haru's father) and Wakaba Isshiki (Futaba's mother).
- Joining the Phantom Thieves to capture and kill their leader, Ren Amamiya/Joker, all the while deceiving the other members before actually bonding with them. And this was before he had any intentions of doing so.
- In the game's bad ending, he kills Ren and outright wins the game.
- He ambushes the Phantom Thieves in Shido's Palace and attempts to kill them to ensure they don't change Shido's heart before the election, which would ruin his revenge plan.
- In spite of the Persona series' incredibly high heinous standard, Akechi still stands out due to his lack of resources (compared to other villains such as Masayoshi Shido, Yaldabaoth and Tohru Adachi) but still managing to commit some truly malicious acts. Plus, while all of his crimes were technically done under Shido's orders, Akechi willingly approached him and let him recruit him as his underling (and illegitimate son), making his worst acts a matter of personal agency.
- Additionally, despite Shido committing much worse crimes, he would not have been able to get as far as he did given his lack of intelligence, and he couldn't have even run a campaign to become Prime Minister without Akechi's help and his knowledge of the Metaverse, making Akechi stand out even further.
What Makes Him Inconsistent?[]
- He’s genuinely tragic, as his own father, Shido, had a scandalous relationship with his mother, who was a sex worker who later got pregnant and gave birth to him. After this, his mother shamed him for having a child like him out of wedlock and committed suicide, and he never had any genuine friends as a child. When he was older, Shido later treated him as a puppet to kill others and later said that he was planning to kill Akechi after he became the next prime minister of Japan.
- As a result of his tragic past, upbringing, and loneliness, he has insecurities that are played for sympathy, as he wants attention and validation, as well as genuinely wishing to have friends, which is why he is a bit hesitant in his quest to dismantle the thieves. Although they explicitly state that they do not condone his actions, Ren and the other Phantom Thieves acknowledge his situation and even feel sympathy for him, with the thieves even showing anger towards Shido for manipulating and betraying Akechi, as well as for the fact that he was plotting to have him killed anyway.
- He ultimately redeems himself by sacrificing himself to save the Phantom Thieves.
- Helps the Phantom Thieves defeat Maruki, who was going to rewrite reality, which would have undermined all of their achievements. This stands out even among the other thieves, as while most of them would have gone back to their ordinary lives, Akechi doesn't know if he is even still alive in the original reality and is thus willing to sacrifice himself to save it.
- One of the main reasons for his goal is that, deep down, he genuinely wants to make amends for all of the horrible things he did for Shido and ultimately, for his own selfish desire to kill Shido. He even shows genuine regret and remorse for everything he did, and he feels that Maruki's world denies him the opportunity to own up to his actions and the damage he caused and would rather face punishment than live in a world of lies.
- He has been shown to have sincere moral standards:
- He criticizes Sae Nijima's willingness to use illegal methods to win cases.
- He is disgusted when Maruki tries to use Sumire as a meatshield and sets her on Joker, even stepping out of the fight to make sure he won't hurt or kill her.
- When he comes to the conclusion that he died in Shido's Palace and Maruki brought him back from the dead, Akechi is adamant that Joker refuse Maruki's deal on the basis that he does not want to live as a puppet.
- In the Thieves' Den, he actually shows his disgust towards Kamoshida and Madarame for their actions, even admitting he would've killed them for their crimes.
- In Tactica, he was legitimately shocked and disgusted to see Guernica slaughtering numerous Mouscots (who are effectively cognitive versions of her dead older sister, Luca), & openly dislikes manipulation attempts, as he told Jerri.
- He shows care for certain people:
- Ultimately, despite attempting to kill Ren and admitting his hatred and envy for him, he legitimately respects him and regards him as a worthy opponent. If Ren dies during the third semester when Akechi is the navigator, Akechi is genuinely distraught and angry. Additionally, he acknowledges that he wishes he and Ren had met earlier because he thinks they would have genuinely become close friends.
- It is interesting to note that Akechi will have the Protect skill when he rejoins the Phantom Thieves if his confidant is finished by the third semester in Royal. This confirms that, regardless of what happened between them and how much he envies him, Akechi still cares for Ren to the point of taking a fatal blow for him.
- Despite his jerky interactions with them, Akechi truly developed a genuine affection for the Phantom Thieves and even bonded with them, which made him a bit hesitant to dismantle them. When it was thought that he had "killed" Ren, he actually stopped Shido from going after the rest of the thieves, persuading him to spare their lives. There are also some special examples of this that showcases Akechi's affection and care for the Phantom Thieves, such as:
- Placing a hand on Makoto's shoulder to comfort her just before the battle with Sae Niijima starts, reassuring her that they will save her sister.
- In the Third Semester of Royal, he actually hangs out with the Phantom Thieves to participate in group activities such as darts and billiards.
- He has a degree of care for Sumire, sincerely complementing her when she does well in battle and showing concern for her if she is afflicted with a status effect in the third semester. When Maruki drives her insane and has her attack Joker, Akechi steps back, not wanting to harm her.
- Ultimately, despite attempting to kill Ren and admitting his hatred and envy for him, he legitimately respects him and regards him as a worthy opponent. If Ren dies during the third semester when Akechi is the navigator, Akechi is genuinely distraught and angry. Additionally, he acknowledges that he wishes he and Ren had met earlier because he thinks they would have genuinely become close friends.
External Link[]
- Goro Akechi on the Villains Wiki
- Goro Akechi on the Heroes Wiki
- Goro Akechi on the Megami Tensei Wiki
- Goro Akechi on the Inconsistently Admirable Wiki
[]
 Inconsistently Heinous
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