5 life lessons taught to me by Persona 4

In case you hadn’t noticed, I have been going on a bit of a JRPG binge. This overindulgence has inevitably led me back to Persona 4. In my opinion everyone should be forced to play Persona 4 in the same way that school children are forced to read Shakespeare, because it is that good! And more importantly, it is filled with life lessons that will make anyone a better human being. Here are five of the most important lessons taught to me by Persona 4:

(See: 7 life lessons learned from Final Fantasy X characters)

1. If you don’t know which of your friends is the asshole, it’s You(suke)!

Not sure it’s accidental if you plan it in advance.

It is impossible not to love Yousuke, but it’s also impossible not to cringe at everything he says. I think everyone has a friend like this; he’s the guy who makes the awkward joke that silences the whole bar; he guy who thinks he’s being suave but is actually just a little too creepy for comfort; the guy who talks about his female friends in a way that makes them want to pull his eyeballs out of his head.

Cringe!

All that being said, Yousuke is a loyal friend, capable of great depths of feeling. He’s loyal, proud, and would do anything for his friends.

(See: Conception II could be the perfect example of everything that’s wrong with Japanese gaming culture)

He may be an asshole with a lot of sexual harassment awareness seminars in his future, but he’s our asshole, and we love him. If you’re looking at your social group and thinking, we haven’t got anyone like that, you better have a look in the mirror.

2. Don’t judge a book by its cover (or a bear by its fur)

Is there anyone in this game who is what they appear to be? There’s Kanji, the tough, biker-gang-bashing punk who is confused about his sexuality, Naoto, the child detective who despite his outward maturity, struggles with his own childish impulses. And my personal favorite, the giant talking bear, aptly named Teddie, who one day just decides to not be a bear anymore.