So yeah, the Niijima Palace... I encounter a lot of new Personas there. At the time of writing, I've actually almost completed the palace itself and probably would finish it in a couple of days, but this is probably half of the new Personas I've encountered and/or fused in that palace? I'm not sure. I think part of it is because I feel like my party levels up a lot in this palace compared to the previous couple ones, or maybe we just get a whole new influx of brand-new Personas in the mid-50 levels. I think the first time I've been bombarded with so many new Personas at once might be when I unlocked fusion at all?
Anyway, we get Yuuki Mishima as the eyecatcher here because I ran out of official Persona 5 artwork for the Phantom Thieves. I'm saving up Yusuke's civilian art for when I unlock his second Persona (like I did for Makoto here), and I assume Akechi and Kasumi will both be more relevant down the line. I could use the Royal or Strikers art, but then we'll just be rotating around the same characters. So after deliberating about this for probably longer than I should, I ended up deciding to use the Confidants -- or, well, at least the ones that are major enough. I don't know if we'll run through all of them!
Anyway, this article will have a bunch of the Personas I got from fusion, as well as a couple of the minibosses in Niijima's Palace. The next article will have the rest of the end-dungeon minibosses and Niijima herself!
Anyway, in the midst of the Niijima Palace, because I'm forced to do the boss fight basically near the end of the month, I've been going through a lot of the Confidants! I maxed out Makoto and Kawakami to 10, I maxed out Akechi and Maruki as far as the game lets me (which I need to do), and I'm pretty close to getting Hifumi and Chihaya to 10. I really did wish I did Chihaya a bit earlier, so that I can get access to her 'pay 5k yen to make sure the next meeting increases the confidant level' ability, but eh.
In contrast, I've barely experienced poor Yusuke, Futaba and especially Shinya. Futaba and Yusuke will be easy for me to do since I've cleared out Maruki (who's been occupying all my day slots), but man, I really don't care about Ohya and Shinya and I bet they will be the last ones I clear out.
____________________________________
Anat
- Monster Name: N/A
- Arcana: Priestess
And we'll cover another 'ultimate' Persona, this time of Niijima Makoto... who, last we remember, has a motorbike for a Persona. And at Confidant 10, she transforms her bike into... a goddamn Autobot! A robots in disguise, more than meets the eye! This was so absolutely unexpected but in retrospect a gloriously fun upgrade. It's a pretty simple motorbike robot, with the seels being still pretty visible. The head previously encased within the windshield of Johanna is now exposed and has been repainted with some extra horns. I do like the aesthetic of transforming robots, so I'm a huge fan of Anat here!
It really is pretty fun to see that the Ultimate Personas for Ann and Ryuji have been designs that look different but share the same silhouette. Meanwhile, Makoto's Persona is her 'base' Persona but literally transformed!
Anat is a goddess of war and wild animals, as well as love and sex, from Semitic and Canaanite mythologies. She's famous for having a violent temperament and for taking joy in slaughter. Anat is highly involved in the Baal Cycle, where she supports Baal (identified as her brother) as he rose into prominence as the chief king and god in the land. Anat would remain a staunch ally of Baal. When Baal was killed by Mot, Anat would rise and kill Mot to avenge her brother, and enact a ritual to bring Baal back from the land of the death. Other texts identify Anat as Baal's wife instead, and due to the variations of the religions in the area, Anat has been conflated with various other female goddesses. Whatever the case, Anat is always identified for her martial prowess and her ability to wage war. One legend has the human prince Aqhat, who has a very valuable bow that Anat desired. Not only did Aqhat refuse to give the bow to Anat, his refusal was extremely disrespectful, implying that women have no business with weapons. This enrages Anat, who engineers a a chain of events that would lead to Aqhat's death.
I did find Anat to be a bit of a weird oddball in terms of the 'mythological tricksters' chosen for the ultimate personas, although I guess the Anat/Baal tale fits with Makoto's intense protectiveness of her older (and 'stronger' in a societal manner) sister, as well as her refusal to be defined by others, as in the Anat/Aqhat story? Or the designers could've just picked a cool war goddess name to give to Makoto out of the demons that they weren't planning to use in the game. Regardless, bike robot!
Dakini
- Monster Name: Bloodthirsty Demonness
- Arcana: Empress
A Dakini (空行母, Sky Going Mother) is a type of female spirit in Hinduism and Buddhism, and it's one of those concepts that varies a lot between traditions and religions, going from a spirit associated with one of the chakras, an embodiment of enlightened energy, a type of fox spirits, a goddess called Dakiniten, or, as what Persona 5 is adapting -- the original Hindu and East Asian Buddhist version of the mythology, which is a race of female demons that eat the flesh and/or vital essences of humans.
In Buddhism, the Dakini are described as eaters of human flesh, and are the offspring of the carnivorous King Kalmasapada -- born after a human king mated with a lionness. They were subjugated by the Buddha Vairocana, who took the form of wrathful deity Mahakala, who summoned all the Dakini and swallowed them all. Mahakala only allowed the Dakini to leave if they swear never to consume human flesh, but the Dakini protested, for they would die of starvation. Mahakala then allowed them to consume the vital essence of deceased humans. Thus, the Dakini learned of a mantra that allowed them to know of a person's impending death six months in advance. Thus, the Dakini learned of a more benign way and embraced the path of Buddhism.
In Japan, specifically, the legends of the Dakini would inspire a cult around them, causing the creation of the single goddess called 'Dakiniten', which emerged independent of other religions. The cult flourished and the rapid rise of certain noble figures to prominence was attributed to the Dakiniten. These legends also associate Dakiniten with a shape-shifting fox.
Anyway, I really don't have a whole ton to say here. Some of these spirits change so much between mythological interpretations. The Dakini in Persona 5 sure is a lady in Hindu-Buddhist garb, with two swords and masks hanging off her hips.
Mishaguji
- Monster Name: N/A
- Arcana: Hierophant
Oh, right, the original joke was that Shin Megami Tensei's demons had a lot of ding-dong-dick-penises, and... so far it's only really been Mara and Mishaguji here. Mishaguji doesn't even look that phallic at first glance, looking initially like a sleek, slimy lizard-man of sorts until you realize that eyeless head is meant to resemble a phallus. Mishaguji's earlier SMT designs were even more hilariously phallic, with one artwork having it literally be a snake with a penis head.
The actual design, sleek penis head with black hair around it aside, is pretty neat for a more 'alien' feel. The purples, red and white work pretty well and brings to mind a taller Frieza from Dragon Ball Z, and, again, other than the dickhead, it's otherwise a pretty neat design!
Mishaguji is an indigenous god from the region of Shinano, before the Yamato took control and turned worship of the Mishaguji into a taboo. The exact nature or even spelling of Mishaguji is subject to debate, due to how little information survived, and there is also evidence of the term 'Mishaguji' being used as an alternate names for other indigenous gods. Mishaguji is noted to be possibly deities of fertility, agriculture, of sacred rocks and trees (mentioned in the description) or of borders. However, the biggest inspiration of this Mishaguji is the findings of phallic stone rods that seem to be employed as sacred objects in Mishaguji shrines.
Barong
- Monster Name: Dancing Lion
- Arcana: Emperor
Oh! I have lived in Bali, and am very familiar with the legend of the Barong. The Barong is a beast-like protector deity (often associated with lions) in the mythology of Bali, Indonesia, and is the king of spirits, and leader of the hosts of the good. The battle between Barong and his eternal enemy Rangda (who I'll cover below!) is featured in the Barong Dance, which is done in many occasions in Bali. Barong is often portrayed as a lion with a red head, prominent tusks, covered in thick white fur and is adorned with jewelry around his head... but each region within Bali has its own slightly different version of Barong.
The most famous legend is the Calon Arang, which depicts the eternal battle between the two. This tale is usually told in the form of a dance. When the evil spirit Rangda wreaked havoc and spread natural disasters and bewitchment upon the population, Barong and his priest would arrive and protect the people afflicted by Rangda, before Barong and Rangda engage in battle. Rangda would be defeated, and natural order would be restored. However, after the end of their fight, the fallen would be resurrected, leading to an eternal cycle.
Rangda
- Monster Name: Dancing Witch
- Arcana: Magician
There are various myths and origins about Rangda -- with various origin stories associating her with an exiled queen, a spiteful widow, or the reincarnation of the 10th century witch Calon Arang. Regardless of the origin, Rangda is always a powerful witch, and would menace the populace before being opposed by Barong.
I actually don't have a whole ton to really say here, because the legend of Barong and Rangda has a fair number of variations between the different regions in Bali. But I do appreciate that the design of the two are genuinely look unique enough that the SMT/Persona team can just basically take the design with minimal stylization and still have them look unique.
Norn
- Monster Name: Final Assessor
- Arcana: Wheel of Fortune
I am delighted to see the design of this! The Norn in the original Nordic myths aren't the most interesting characters or designs. Also known as Nornir, the Norn are a group of female deities (either goddesses or giantesses, depending on the story) that rule over the fates of the various races, with the three main Norns being Urd, Verdandi and Skuld, who live near a lake near the roots of Yggdrasil. They draw water from the well, and take care of the roots and branches of the tree so that they do not rot. Besides the three main Norns, the other Norns will appear at a person's birth to determine their future. There are certainly some parallels with the Greek Moirae, the sisters of fate, huh?
And I absolutely find this design to be fascinating! Three angelic figures cast in gold, surrounding a clock that symbolizes someone's 'time' and 'fate', with the end result looking like some kind of ornate, fancy classical clock? I've always liked the designs in this franchise that go for a more creative, abstract vibe! This makes Norn so much more memorable than just 'three angelic ladies huddled together'.
Nebiros
- Monster Name: Wandering Reviver
- Arcana: Devil
Persona's design of Nebiros is actually pretty stylish as far as a humanoid creature goes, considering how burnt-out I was with the many humanoids in this dungeon. I think it's the purple skin or markings, with a great little red cloak, as well as the stylish, somewhat Day-of-the-Dead inspired facial skull paintings? Also absolutely love the little tiny puppet doll on strings that Nebiros is holding on his side, symbolizing his 'necromancy' practices!
This guy appears as one of the minibosses in the palace!
Skadi
- Monster Name: Quaking Lady of Shadow
- Arcana: Priestess
Huh. Huh! Okay. Skadi is another Nordic goddess, specifically a Jotunn. She is associated with winter, as well as other aspects relating to winter, like icy mountains, hunting and skiing. She is the daughter of Þjazi (Thiazi) She is cold in countenance, and was impossible to make laugh -- something that became a challenge to the gods of Asgard, leading to a (this is actual myth!) sequence where Loki tied one end of a cord around a goat's beard and another around his balls, and the comedy that Loki was put when the goat moved his head caused Skadi to laugh. When her father Thiazi was killed during an incident where he stole Idunn's apples, Skadi barged into Valhalla to confront those that was responsible. In compensation, the gods put Thiazi's eyes into a pair of stars, and allowed Skadi to choose among the gods one to be her husband -- but Skadi had to pick from their feet. Thinking that she was picking the most handsome and beautiful of the gods, Baldr, Skadi instead picked the sea god Njordr. This marriage didnot last long, for Skadi longed for her icy mountains while Njordr wanted to return to the ocean.
And... it's very bizarre that her design in Persona 5 is this. A woman shrouded in shadow, with an ornate cape, and the most prominent designs being a head of white hair, shadowy 'horns', red eyes and lips. Turns out, Shin Megami Tensei's designers took inspiration from a different Skadi, the Irish Scathach, a different warrior-woman who lives in the Fortress of Shadows and is called as 'the Shadow', with there being little resemblance in actual mythology to the Nordic Skadi.
No comments:
Post a Comment