This article contains MAJOR spoilers forPersona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royalis a game teeming with moral quandaries and tough choices. For most of your playtimeThe Phantom Thievesspend hours debating the morality of their actions. Most of the time they’ll agree on the same basic principles, even if their lines of thinking differ. However, the different ways the Thieves respond to injustice says a lot about their individual values.
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Sure, it would be easy to type-cast the Thieves as a whole as chaotic good, but what about when you look closer at their values as individuals? They all have their own sense of justice, but how do they follow through on it? And what do their individual definitions of “justice” say about them?
10Joker: Chaotic Neutral
Many people would jump to place Joker in the chaotic good category, and for good reason. He rebels against the rules of society to help those in need, often to his own detriment. However, reading all his actions as simply “good” does a disservice to his character, as many of his most important choices are more nuanced than simply being “good” or “bad.”
Arguably, Joker’s choice to fight Maruki is not necessarily “good,” as the general public was happy with the reality Maruki had created. If he had chosen to accept Maruki’s deal, a reality free from suffering would be guaranteed to every individual. Denying that for the whole public shows self-interest. Joker lacks the zealotry required to be chaotic good, instead opting to do what’s best for him and his in-group. Still though, he leans far enough into wanting good for others that he brushes close to being chaotic good. Not close enough, though.
9Ryuji: Chaotic Good
Ryuji, meanwhile, is the truest example of chaotic good in the whole ofRoyal. He has a strong moral compass that he’s unwilling to compromise, always sticking up for the weak. Anytime The Thieves encounter someone abusing their power and privileges, Ryuji is the first to act. He hates injustice more than any other Thief, often spiraling into passionate rants about corrupt adults.
His lack of respect for authority is tangible. ThroughoutRoyal, Ryuji has zero interest in listening to any authority figure whatsoever, preferring to rely on himself and his friends to guide his justice. His hatred of conformity solidifies him as thoroughly chaotic.
8Ann: Neutral Good
Although there’s an argument to be made for Ann being chaotic good, neutrality fits better with her character. While she shows no qualms with breaking the law, she’s not exactly distasteful of it, either. When her hand isn’t forced, she prefers to (mostly) play by the rules. For example, Ann’s first instinct with Mika wasn’t to change her heart but simply work harder to become better.
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However, Ann possesses the zealotry of a good character. She hates injustice and is never afraid to speak her mind when confronting the corrupt. Her goodness does have its limits, though! Although she chose not to kill Kamoshida, she only did so because she believed leaving him alive would be more painful for him. It’s safe to say she brushes a bit closer to true neutrality than your average good character.
7Morgana: Chaotic Neutral
Morgana’s alignment is relatively easy to place, even though his motivations shift throughout the game. He’s one of the most obviously chaotic characters. He’s a cat, after all, so he’s not exactly beholden to laws anyways. Even with the Thieves, he isn’t too keen on following the established rules of the group, demonstrated when he charged into Okumura’s Palace without a unanimous decision.
Additionally, he doesn’t really lean too far into goodness. He hates the corrupt, sure, but wanting to protect the weak isn’twhyhe’s a Thief. He begins his life as a Thief for his own personal gain, even openly saying it multiple times. When his priorities shift, he still isn’t really in it for the righteousness of their cause; instead, he stays because he feels like The Phantom Thieves is where he belongs.
6Yusuke: True Neutral
Yusuke is shown to not care much for law and order, but isn’t a zealot for trouble, either. He tries to use the police to his advantage when first meeting The Thieves but has no vested interest in upholding order. He also does not want to break rules simply for the sake of breaking them.
Yusuke has inherent goodness, but the way he approaches problems hints at neutrality. He tries to see the world from a neutral perspective in order to accurately capture beauty, and he struggles with his feelings for Madarame frequently. He condemns the wicked, but his justice extends empathy to the evil in ways a thoroughly good character couldn’t.
5Makoto: Lawful Good
Makoto has the most obvious placement of all the Thieves–you don’t even have to look that hard through the source material to know for a fact she’s lawful good. When maxing out her confidant, you learn that she wants to become a police commissioner in order to change the system from the inside. Since her first instinct is to follow the rules to change them, she is without a doubt lawful.
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Goodness is evident in her nature as well. She has a strong sense of justice and believes the wicked deserve to be punished. She works tirelessly to make society a safer place for everyone, not just the powerful.
4Futaba: Chaotic Good
What would the self-proclaimed Hacker of Justice be other than chaotic good? Even before joining The Thieves, Futaba goes out of her way to circumvent the law. She admits to hacking into various government protected sites and brings down shady corporations on the reg. Even when scolded by Sojiro for breaking the law, she stands her ground and insists she did the right thing.
She doesn’t really hack for no reason, either. Her whole MO as Medjed was to shed light on the goings-on of corporations who take advantage of their employees. She despises people who use their power for their own gain and goes out of her way to help an old acquaintance out of a dangerous situation. Futaba is good through and through, no doubt about it.
3Haru: Lawful Good
Haru’s a bit harder to pin than the rest. However, Haru being lawful good makes the most sense out of any alignment. Her goodness is obvious, as she believes in the righteousness of The Thieves' goals.
Haru expresses lawfulness in a more subtle way than Makoto, as she doesn’t seem to care about the fact she’s breaking the law. However, she works within the rules of society to change it. For example, hnot dumping her fiance and working with the VP of Okumura Foods are distinctly lawful, as she was following rules given to her.
2Akechi: Neutral Evil (But Wait, There’s More!)
Akechi’s status as neutral evil feels like an obvious one–he kills countless people for his own gain, but not out of malice or to uphold an ideal. He simply has a goal and the people he killed are just hurdles to the finish line.
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Things get a bit tricky towards the end of the story, though. Akechi’s goal is complete; he no longer has something to work towards, so killing becomes unnecessary. Instead, he works with The Thieves for his own gain. He has no regard for the law and only acts for his own interests rather than for revenge or revolution, signifying a new alignment as chaotic neutral.
1Sumire: True Neutral
Neutrality is evident in Sumire’s character arc. When she, Akechi, and Joker discuss The Phantom Thieves, Sumire expresses hesitance at the idea of The Thieves operating outside the law. However, when she finds out Joker is a Thief, she doesn’t really seem to care that much, showing a lack of value for order.
Although many may argue that Sumire is good, neutrality seems more natural for her. Although she admires The Thieves for battling evil, she’s more invested in her gymnastics than any lofty ideals. Additionally, she only joins The Thieves when her personal reality is affected despite having the opportunity to do so sooner.
