PLAYER INFORMATION Name: Shannon Personal Journal:adachi Age: 20 E-mail/contact information: DW PM is fine.
Character INFORMATION Name: Tohru Adachi Age: 28 Canon: Persona 4 Point taken from canon: Post-true end.
Personality: If one were to describe Tohru Adachi with a single sentence, your best bet would be "there's more to him than meets the eye". He's a classic trope of a minor character becoming a major character, of a nice guy becoming a villain, of an incompetent cop. And yet, despite his transgressions, he's a tragic character, too - a man who had a decent life but threw it all away because it just wasn't enough.
From the first time he appears in the game, it's evident that Adachi has a lot to learn in his new line of work - police investigation. A seasoned cop wouldn't even bat an eye at the murder scene of Mayumi Yamano, yet it appears to affect Adachi to the point of physical illness, immediately giving the player the impression of a guy who doesn't really know what he's doing. His superior, Ryotaro Dojima, never fails to remind the player that Adachi is a rookie, either. Adachi seems to resent his position ("I'm [...] the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring"), but his attitude is carefree and lighthearted nonetheless. Besides assisting Dojima at crime scenes and in the office, he's also the errand runner and often gets stuck with the grunt work, something he usually complains about when he encounters the protagonist around town, but despite his complaints, he's able to joke around with Dojima and takes his orders with good nature.
That's not to say that Adachi does his tasks well, because one of his defining traits is being a royal screw-up. Somehow, the investigation team is always randomly encountering him around town, and Adachi can't seem to keep his mouth shut when it comes to details on the murder case. His behavior prompts more than a few headaches for Dojima, who chides him to take his work more seriously and not leak details on the case to his nephew and friends, even if they are people he trusts. It's suspicious, how he keeps making the same mistake over and over; it's almost as if Adachi's trying to push the team toward a certain end, and despite appearing oblivious, it's obvious to the player that he picks up on the investigation team's true involvement quickly and appears to gently nudge them or let them know what's going on. You'd think this would strike a chord or two in the protagonist or his friends...
But he's just an idiot, right? A forgetful, overeager rookie who can barely remember what his superior likes in his morning coffee. And despite his cringeworthy mistakes, Adachi becomes someone the protagonist - and player - can trust. He was purposely given endearing traits, like his goofy sense of humor and loose lips. When the topic of conversation is something other than the murder cases, Adachi is usually found wearing a smile on his face, and he is fairly talkative, if a little rushed and in a hurry when the conversation turns in a direction he doesn't want to go. This lighthearted attitude gets him in trouble at times, especially with his boss.
Along with everyone else at the time, Adachi seems convinced that Namatame is the killer they've been seeking for months, and is content to close the case with his arrest. However, the investigation team is hardly satisfied with this answer, and shortly after Nanako makes a miraculous recovery from a near-death state, the pieces fall together, and suddenly the kids realize that Adachi's habits are rather suspicious indeed, and a haughty confrontation with him in the hospital gives us our first glimpse of his true self.
It turns out that every kindness, screw-up, and endearing little quirk are part of an elaborate facade to cover his tracks and the fact that he's the killer. The real Adachi is a far cry from the blundering nice guy he pretends to be. Perhaps the most interesting trait he hides is his intelligence. While he admits that the original murder was an act of spontaneous rage and that scapegoating Namatame was part of a mere stroke of luck, he was smart enough to use his job to his advantage and convince Namatame to do his dirty work - not to mention the fact that he's apparently a good enough actor to pretend like he's absolutely clueless. Adachi weaves a tangled web of lies without doing much at all; once he figures out the extents of his power, he uses it and is able to successfully cover his tracks. He's far from an evil genius, though, and eventually, his own slip-ups become his downfall.
Adachi actually resents being treated like he's less than his colleagues, and a lot of that bitterness comes from his transfer to Inaba, which we find out was a disciplinary action for a "mistake" he made while working with the police in the city. Whatever that mistake may have been, he clearly thinks his skills and value are far beyond what a small town can offer him. And truthfully, he's got a big ego problem, particularly when it comes to work and women.
The most disturbing things about Adachi are not all the lies and deceit, but rather, the methods and circumstances behind the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. He deludes himself into thinking that a television reporter he's never met would be interested in him, to the point where he tries to force himself on her when she rejects his advances. With the first attempted rape and murder, we get to see a glimpse of his lust, and one thing that sets him off: rejection. His tongue is razor sharp and he proves just how much of a cynic he is: he's convinced that the reason Mayumi and Saki turn him down is because he's not famous or wealthy. (It couldn't possibly be that they would have no reason to be attracted to a man they don't know who has about as much skill in seduction as an angry bull! His narcissism is showing.) He's got some serious anger issues concerning the fairer sex, perhaps the result of some negative experiences in years past. However, it'd be unfair to say that he's a horny sex fiend; while he certainly had sexual interest in Mayumi and Saki, it's clear that his rape attempts were more about gaining power and control than finding a quick and easy way to get off.
Adachi feels like he lacks control in his own life, when in reality, he has as much power to change his situation as any of us do. Dojima certainly gives him a hard time, but he is not constantly breathing down Adachi's neck giving orders - and hell, Adachi's job would be a whole lot easier if he hadn't started this damn thing in the first place. He feels trapped, smothered by the expectations society seems to have for someone like him, and the murders are his way of lashing out and sticking it to The Man, proving that he's got power over his own life and the lives of others. And maybe it's because of this that he has an air of superiority about him, especially when he talks to the investigation team. He's only ten years older than they are, but he insists that they could never know anything about what the "real world" is like for adults. According to Adachi, the "real world" blesses only a lucky few with talent and wealth, and the rest of us are doomed to a life of boring mediocrity. Adachi's contempt for boredom is what started his whole "game", as he calls it - after the initial shock of having killed someone wears off, he decides he likes the way events are unfolding and that it'd be fun to watch these bizarre deaths happen over and over while he lurks in the shadows. At the climax of his "game", he squeezes the last bit of fun out of the team by trapping them in his dungeon's labyrinth and throwing obstacles their way. Even when he was playing up the nice guy act, he enjoyed his laughs; they only become cruel later.
If you want to reduce him to fewer words, Adachi's a selfish, aggravating, entitled, misogynist jerk with a hunger for power. Power in his career, power through sex, power in the TV world; he wants it all and honestly believes he deserves it. But is he pure evil? Hardly. In the true ending of the game, he surprises the investigation team with a letter urging them to explore the deepest secrets of the mystery and offers them as much help as he can from his current position in prison. Adachi is not heartless. He is a human being who succumbed to the worst parts of his personality, leaving him a shell of a man and more unsatisfied than he was when his game began.
Despite his resentment for Inaba and its residents, Adachi does have a certain fondness for the Dojima family. In fact, Adachi's relationship with Dojima may be his most important one in the game - and it's one of his only ones that we get to see. They're partners, and while Dojima is constantly chiding him for his mistakes, it's obvious that he trusts Adachi; they banter back and forth, exchanging ideas and theories, and Dojima thinks him capable enough to take care of his work while he's in the hospital. This professional relationship becomes personal, and Adachi gets somewhat involved with the family, spending time with them outside of work at family dinners and the like. He never meant for Dojima or Nanako to become victims of Namatame's antics, and in the bad ending, the guilt over Nanako's death is powerful. All of the other victims were strangers, but being indirectly responsible for the death of his partner's daughter is something he never wanted. It begs us to ask him why it's acceptable to waste away the lives of strangers and not the lives of people he might actually care about, but it's enough proof that somewhere deep down, buried under a whole lot of issues and anger, he has a heart.
Persona Type: Magatsu Izanagi and his accompanying skills.
First-person Sample: [voice] Hey, is thing on? [ A frustrated male voice rings through the receiver as he fumbles with it. ] – There we go. Y'know, this is a pretty nice place and all – when you compare it to where I was before – but I'm looking to get this damn thing off my neck.
[ He laughs quietly to himself. The voice becomes eerie and unpleasant. ]
Never mind how I got here, though I don't really care if I ever find out. Don't wanna jinx things by asking too many questions. You could've tossed me into a cage of lions and it'd be better than that place.
Nah, like I said before, my main gripe is this little bastard collar. It's weird, I can't seem to get it off, so I'd really appreciate it if someone would share the trick. I'm not really into the idea of looking like I'm someone's dog.
Third-person Sample: It's been a long time since he woke up from a dream with a grin on his face. Even if he could force positive thoughts, there was minimal joy to be found in the confines of his cell; the atmosphere kills it.
It's been an equally long time since he woke up in a bed that didn't feel like a rock with a blanket tossed over it. Upon regaining consciousness from his sleep, Adachi doesn't really want to open his eyes, since it had been such a nice dream, featuring a woman who lacked a voice, if he remembers correctly. Mutes can't say no, he thinks to himself. He's not up for being rejected in his fantasies, since there's plenty of that in his waking moments.
Adachi's thoughts are cut short when he comes to his senses and realizes that the prison bed has never been this comfortable, and his eyes jerk open to a foreign sight. There's no bleak gray walls or bars on the windows, and no cellmate snoring on the opposite side of the room. In fact, it seems that he's completely alone, sprawled out naked on a bed in a well-lit room with lavish furnishings. By instinct, he stops to look down at his own body, touching himself all over to make sure this isn't another dream. He absentmindedly strokes his upper body, until his hand reaches his neck.
Adachi blinks and immediately grips the foreign object tightly wrapped around him. Feels like a collar. Some kind of tracking device? When he spots a large mirror across the room, he steps out of bed to look himself over. His body is as lanky and pale as ever, if not moreso, worn down from the time he's already spent imprisoned. The only difference is the black and yellow collar around his neck, striped in a manner similar to that of caution tape. He tugs at it – then tugs a little harder – and traces the outline of it with his hands. There doesn't seem to be a buckle or release of any sort. Adachi grins uncomfortably at his own visage. Bindings don't suit him, whether they're collars, handcuffs, or shackles, and the sight of his own entrapment is enough to prompt the stirrings of rage in the pit of his stomach.
When he looks around again, though, he can't complain too much. A quick glance out the window and he's nearly floored by the sight of a place that looks nothing like the prison grounds, the city, Inaba, or even Japan. He's got enough intuition to know not to jump to conclusions – though if he did, his first one would be that this has something to do with the TV world. He'd never been able to shake the suspicion that something larger had been at work the whole time, because how else would one explain the existence of Personae and “a world inside the television” anyway?
He locates his clothes in a neat pile on the corner of his bed and dresses himself. A bath would be ideal, but he's used to living in filth these days and he's not sure what his options are at the moment. Adachi approaches the door that must lead out of this room and lays a hand on the doorknob, twisting it and pushing the door open. With an unnerving grin, he thinks to himself, “"Whatever comes of that mystery, it's got nothing to do with me."
(Samples are borrowed from a previous app for amatomnes. Personality is from hometrail.)
sorry for this length ahhhh
Name: Shannon
Personal Journal:
Age: 20
E-mail/contact information: DW PM is fine.
Character INFORMATION
Name: Tohru Adachi
Age: 28
Canon: Persona 4
Point taken from canon: Post-true end.
Personality: If one were to describe Tohru Adachi with a single sentence, your best bet would be "there's more to him than meets the eye". He's a classic trope of a minor character becoming a major character, of a nice guy becoming a villain, of an incompetent cop. And yet, despite his transgressions, he's a tragic character, too - a man who had a decent life but threw it all away because it just wasn't enough.
From the first time he appears in the game, it's evident that Adachi has a lot to learn in his new line of work - police investigation. A seasoned cop wouldn't even bat an eye at the murder scene of Mayumi Yamano, yet it appears to affect Adachi to the point of physical illness, immediately giving the player the impression of a guy who doesn't really know what he's doing. His superior, Ryotaro Dojima, never fails to remind the player that Adachi is a rookie, either. Adachi seems to resent his position ("I'm [...] the guy who's been your dad's slave since spring"), but his attitude is carefree and lighthearted nonetheless. Besides assisting Dojima at crime scenes and in the office, he's also the errand runner and often gets stuck with the grunt work, something he usually complains about when he encounters the protagonist around town, but despite his complaints, he's able to joke around with Dojima and takes his orders with good nature.
That's not to say that Adachi does his tasks well, because one of his defining traits is being a royal screw-up. Somehow, the investigation team is always randomly encountering him around town, and Adachi can't seem to keep his mouth shut when it comes to details on the murder case. His behavior prompts more than a few headaches for Dojima, who chides him to take his work more seriously and not leak details on the case to his nephew and friends, even if they are people he trusts. It's suspicious, how he keeps making the same mistake over and over; it's almost as if Adachi's trying to push the team toward a certain end, and despite appearing oblivious, it's obvious to the player that he picks up on the investigation team's true involvement quickly and appears to gently nudge them or let them know what's going on. You'd think this would strike a chord or two in the protagonist or his friends...
But he's just an idiot, right? A forgetful, overeager rookie who can barely remember what his superior likes in his morning coffee. And despite his cringeworthy mistakes, Adachi becomes someone the protagonist - and player - can trust. He was purposely given endearing traits, like his goofy sense of humor and loose lips. When the topic of conversation is something other than the murder cases, Adachi is usually found wearing a smile on his face, and he is fairly talkative, if a little rushed and in a hurry when the conversation turns in a direction he doesn't want to go. This lighthearted attitude gets him in trouble at times, especially with his boss.
Along with everyone else at the time, Adachi seems convinced that Namatame is the killer they've been seeking for months, and is content to close the case with his arrest. However, the investigation team is hardly satisfied with this answer, and shortly after Nanako makes a miraculous recovery from a near-death state, the pieces fall together, and suddenly the kids realize that Adachi's habits are rather suspicious indeed, and a haughty confrontation with him in the hospital gives us our first glimpse of his true self.
It turns out that every kindness, screw-up, and endearing little quirk are part of an elaborate facade to cover his tracks and the fact that he's the killer. The real Adachi is a far cry from the blundering nice guy he pretends to be. Perhaps the most interesting trait he hides is his intelligence. While he admits that the original murder was an act of spontaneous rage and that scapegoating Namatame was part of a mere stroke of luck, he was smart enough to use his job to his advantage and convince Namatame to do his dirty work - not to mention the fact that he's apparently a good enough actor to pretend like he's absolutely clueless. Adachi weaves a tangled web of lies without doing much at all; once he figures out the extents of his power, he uses it and is able to successfully cover his tracks. He's far from an evil genius, though, and eventually, his own slip-ups become his downfall.
Adachi actually resents being treated like he's less than his colleagues, and a lot of that bitterness comes from his transfer to Inaba, which we find out was a disciplinary action for a "mistake" he made while working with the police in the city. Whatever that mistake may have been, he clearly thinks his skills and value are far beyond what a small town can offer him. And truthfully, he's got a big ego problem, particularly when it comes to work and women.
The most disturbing things about Adachi are not all the lies and deceit, but rather, the methods and circumstances behind the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. He deludes himself into thinking that a television reporter he's never met would be interested in him, to the point where he tries to force himself on her when she rejects his advances. With the first attempted rape and murder, we get to see a glimpse of his lust, and one thing that sets him off: rejection. His tongue is razor sharp and he proves just how much of a cynic he is: he's convinced that the reason Mayumi and Saki turn him down is because he's not famous or wealthy. (It couldn't possibly be that they would have no reason to be attracted to a man they don't know who has about as much skill in seduction as an angry bull! His narcissism is showing.) He's got some serious anger issues concerning the fairer sex, perhaps the result of some negative experiences in years past. However, it'd be unfair to say that he's a horny sex fiend; while he certainly had sexual interest in Mayumi and Saki, it's clear that his rape attempts were more about gaining power and control than finding a quick and easy way to get off.
Adachi feels like he lacks control in his own life, when in reality, he has as much power to change his situation as any of us do. Dojima certainly gives him a hard time, but he is not constantly breathing down Adachi's neck giving orders - and hell, Adachi's job would be a whole lot easier if he hadn't started this damn thing in the first place. He feels trapped, smothered by the expectations society seems to have for someone like him, and the murders are his way of lashing out and sticking it to The Man, proving that he's got power over his own life and the lives of others. And maybe it's because of this that he has an air of superiority about him, especially when he talks to the investigation team. He's only ten years older than they are, but he insists that they could never know anything about what the "real world" is like for adults. According to Adachi, the "real world" blesses only a lucky few with talent and wealth, and the rest of us are doomed to a life of boring mediocrity. Adachi's contempt for boredom is what started his whole "game", as he calls it - after the initial shock of having killed someone wears off, he decides he likes the way events are unfolding and that it'd be fun to watch these bizarre deaths happen over and over while he lurks in the shadows. At the climax of his "game", he squeezes the last bit of fun out of the team by trapping them in his dungeon's labyrinth and throwing obstacles their way. Even when he was playing up the nice guy act, he enjoyed his laughs; they only become cruel later.
If you want to reduce him to fewer words, Adachi's a selfish, aggravating, entitled, misogynist jerk with a hunger for power. Power in his career, power through sex, power in the TV world; he wants it all and honestly believes he deserves it. But is he pure evil? Hardly. In the true ending of the game, he surprises the investigation team with a letter urging them to explore the deepest secrets of the mystery and offers them as much help as he can from his current position in prison. Adachi is not heartless. He is a human being who succumbed to the worst parts of his personality, leaving him a shell of a man and more unsatisfied than he was when his game began.
Despite his resentment for Inaba and its residents, Adachi does have a certain fondness for the Dojima family. In fact, Adachi's relationship with Dojima may be his most important one in the game - and it's one of his only ones that we get to see. They're partners, and while Dojima is constantly chiding him for his mistakes, it's obvious that he trusts Adachi; they banter back and forth, exchanging ideas and theories, and Dojima thinks him capable enough to take care of his work while he's in the hospital. This professional relationship becomes personal, and Adachi gets somewhat involved with the family, spending time with them outside of work at family dinners and the like. He never meant for Dojima or Nanako to become victims of Namatame's antics, and in the bad ending, the guilt over Nanako's death is powerful. All of the other victims were strangers, but being indirectly responsible for the death of his partner's daughter is something he never wanted. It begs us to ask him why it's acceptable to waste away the lives of strangers and not the lives of people he might actually care about, but it's enough proof that somewhere deep down, buried under a whole lot of issues and anger, he has a heart.
History: http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Tohru_Adachi
Persona Type: Magatsu Izanagi and his accompanying skills.
First-person Sample:
[voice]
Hey, is thing on? [ A frustrated male voice rings through the receiver as he fumbles with it. ] – There we go. Y'know, this is a pretty nice place and all – when you compare it to where I was before – but I'm looking to get this damn thing off my neck.
[ He laughs quietly to himself. The voice becomes eerie and unpleasant. ]
Never mind how I got here, though I don't really care if I ever find out. Don't wanna jinx things by asking too many questions. You could've tossed me into a cage of lions and it'd be better than that place.
Nah, like I said before, my main gripe is this little bastard collar. It's weird, I can't seem to get it off, so I'd really appreciate it if someone would share the trick. I'm not really into the idea of looking like I'm someone's dog.
Third-person Sample: It's been a long time since he woke up from a dream with a grin on his face. Even if he could force positive thoughts, there was minimal joy to be found in the confines of his cell; the atmosphere kills it.
It's been an equally long time since he woke up in a bed that didn't feel like a rock with a blanket tossed over it. Upon regaining consciousness from his sleep, Adachi doesn't really want to open his eyes, since it had been such a nice dream, featuring a woman who lacked a voice, if he remembers correctly. Mutes can't say no, he thinks to himself. He's not up for being rejected in his fantasies, since there's plenty of that in his waking moments.
Adachi's thoughts are cut short when he comes to his senses and realizes that the prison bed has never been this comfortable, and his eyes jerk open to a foreign sight. There's no bleak gray walls or bars on the windows, and no cellmate snoring on the opposite side of the room. In fact, it seems that he's completely alone, sprawled out naked on a bed in a well-lit room with lavish furnishings. By instinct, he stops to look down at his own body, touching himself all over to make sure this isn't another dream. He absentmindedly strokes his upper body, until his hand reaches his neck.
Adachi blinks and immediately grips the foreign object tightly wrapped around him. Feels like a collar. Some kind of tracking device? When he spots a large mirror across the room, he steps out of bed to look himself over. His body is as lanky and pale as ever, if not moreso, worn down from the time he's already spent imprisoned. The only difference is the black and yellow collar around his neck, striped in a manner similar to that of caution tape. He tugs at it – then tugs a little harder – and traces the outline of it with his hands. There doesn't seem to be a buckle or release of any sort. Adachi grins uncomfortably at his own visage. Bindings don't suit him, whether they're collars, handcuffs, or shackles, and the sight of his own entrapment is enough to prompt the stirrings of rage in the pit of his stomach.
When he looks around again, though, he can't complain too much. A quick glance out the window and he's nearly floored by the sight of a place that looks nothing like the prison grounds, the city, Inaba, or even Japan. He's got enough intuition to know not to jump to conclusions – though if he did, his first one would be that this has something to do with the TV world. He'd never been able to shake the suspicion that something larger had been at work the whole time, because how else would one explain the existence of Personae and “a world inside the television” anyway?
He locates his clothes in a neat pile on the corner of his bed and dresses himself. A bath would be ideal, but he's used to living in filth these days and he's not sure what his options are at the moment. Adachi approaches the door that must lead out of this room and lays a hand on the doorknob, twisting it and pushing the door open. With an unnerving grin, he thinks to himself, “"Whatever comes of that mystery, it's got nothing to do with me."
(Samples are borrowed from a previous app for