Yu Narukami
| Yu Narukami | |
|---|---|
| Persona character | |
Yu Narukami in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
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| First game | Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (2008) |
| Created by | Shigenori Soejima |
| Designed by | Shigenori Soejima |
| Voiced by | |
Yu Narukami (鳴上 悠 Narukami Yū?) is a fictional character introduced in Atlus's role-playing game Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4. As the protagonist of the game, Yu is a silent character whose thoughts and actions are decided by the player. He appears as a high school student who moves to Inaba to live with his uncle and cousin while his parents are busy working. Shortly after arriving to Inaba, Yu starts investigating a murder case alongside his school mates and explores an alternate dimension where he obtains a power known as "Persona" to confront the "Shadows", the creatures who have murdered the first victims. Yu has also appeared in other works related to Persona 4, including an anime adaptation called Persona 4: The Animation, a manga version, and several sequels and spin-offs to the game. For these works, Yu received his own characterization and development in the stories. He has been voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English.
The protagonist of Persona 4 was designed by Shigenori Soejima who aimed to create an ambiguous character who could appeal to most players by way of reflecting several feelings towards them and through his mannerisms. For the anime, director Seiji Kishi expressed difficulties in giving the character emotions without damaging what the original staff created. Nevertheless, Yu's characterization in the anime has been a subject of praise due to his portrayal as a mostly silent teenager whose few lines are related to the plot and in some cases, a source of comedy.
Character designer Shigenori Soejima made Yu with the idea that his entire personality be decided and portrayed by the player's in-game actions and decisions. As a result, he wanted Yu to look more ambiguous than Makoto Yuki, the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. Soejima compared Yu to the Blue Ranger from the Power Rangers franchise as such character tends to stand silent to follow the orders from his leader. His character design stayed relatively similar to its initial conception, with his tone and facial expressions changing the most. The feature Soejima focused on most was his eyes: he thought that having his eyes under the fringe of his hair would make him "look cool." The collar of his school uniform was made to stand a bit taller than other characters'. In order to emphasize his being from a city, Yu was given a distinct, stylish haircut to contrast with other citizens of Inaba, a small town Yu moves to in the game. While designing the character, Soejima noted "the main character needs to be well-rounded enough to be likeable, but also needs that extra little something to make him stand out from the rest of the cast." He made a "baby face" sketch of the character so that he and the staff could discover Yu's "special something" and discuss what would make him stand out as the protagonist.
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