LogFAQs > #895548257

And Yosuke knows this. And hates it. I think the moment I knew that Persona 4 was going to be really good was when you met Yosuke's shadow, because it immediately cut super deep into his personality. The mere suggestion that one of your heroes is subconsciously using the murder of someone he cared about to prop himself up as a hero - or even worse, just because he was bored - is not something that's allowed to be said. Like, in general, for any media. Yosuke also attaches himself to Yu really quickly, immediately calling him partner and trying to become the best of friends. Yu actually reciprocates but it's pretty clear that he craves attention and validation. But it's okay, because Persona 4 is about accepting all parts of yourself, even the bad, and attaining inner peace/strength by doing so, right?

Nope! Persona 4 Arena continues Yosuke's character arc and it's actually where I started to 'get' Yosuke's character. By Arena, pretty much everyone has made peace with their inner demons. They aren't gone but they don't let themselves be dragged down by them anymore. Yosuke is the exception. Now that the murder incidents are over and he has no more any distractions, Yosuke is forced to face the fact that he's still Yosuke. Persona 4 Arena uses a silly storyline about forcing the cast to fight each other via a 1 v 1 tournament, invisible barriers, and overdone illusions of them insulting each other so they'll get angry. Every person outside of Yosuke sees through the illusion, because they all know their friends would never say stuff like that to them. Yosuke does not, because he CAN see his friends saying stuff like that to him, because he doesn't like himself either. The conclusion of his Arena storyline isn't that he overcomes his weaknesses - it's him acknowledging that he'll probably always have that weakness, but it's okay as long as he continues to fight it (and allow himself to rely on the people who care about him sometimes). It's not at all the character arc I was expecting when I bought a spinoff fighting game, but it was definitely a very satisfying one.

To me, Yosuke isn't just a flawed character, but an extremely realistic one who is shockingly well-written. I don't even find him very likable outside of him being your best buddy when playing as Yu, but he's a character I think about a lot, and one that I found myself rooting for way more than I thought I would. Sometimes that matters more than being the best, or cool, or badass, or a genius.
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Black Turtle did a pretty good job.