Ryuji Sakamoto
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| Ryuji Sakamoto | |
|---|---|
| Persona character | |
 Ryuji Sakamoto, as he appears in Persona 5 | |
| First game | Persona 5 (2016) |
| Designed by | Shigenori Soejima |
| Portrayed by | Kouhei Shiota (stage play) |
| Voiced by | |
| Motion capture | Yu Jurry[a] |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Phantom Thieves of Hearts |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Ryuji Sakamoto (坂本 竜司, Sakamoto Ryūji; Japanese pronunciation: [sakamoto ɾʲɯꜜːʑi]) is one of the main characters in the 2016 video game Persona 5. He is one of the founding members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, after awakening to his Persona, Captain Kidd, adopting the Phantom Thief nickname Skull (スカル, Sukaru).
He is a bullied student, a victim of physical abuse by one of the game's antagonists, Suguru Kamoshida. He joins with the protagonist, Joker, after they both founded themselves entering another world and eventually gain powers to fight against corrupt people and abusers, including Kamoshida. His Persona eventually transforms into the Persona Seiten Taisei. He is portrayed by Mamoru Miyano in Japanese and Max Mittelman in English.
Since his role in Persona 5, he has received generally mixed reception, regarded as one of the less popular characters in the game, although some fans found it surprising that he ranked so low. His treatment as comic relief, particularly through comic violence, has been criticized, with writer Kenneth Shepard suggesting that the fact that he was a victim of abuse that is taken seriously in the story is undercut when he is so often the victim of such comic violence.
Ryuji Sakamoto was created for Persona 5 by designer Shigenori Soejima, going by the Phantom Thief nickname Skull to avoid giving away his identity. Director Katsura Hashino described Ryuji as having a "mischievous personality."[1] Artist Azusa Shimada found it difficult to draw Ryuji correctly, finding that he can be neither too handsome or too relaxed, and after drawing him, finding that he is unrecognizable. Soejima also felt him the most difficult to draw, stating that he created and provided Ryuji's design to the animation company in a rush, and when the concept art based on Hanako Oribe came back, he didn't recognize him.[2] Ryuji's Persona is Captain Kidd, which eventually becomes Seiten Taisei when Captain Kidd awakens. The decision to use Seiten Taisei as his awakened Persona was due to multiple factors, including his personality and backstory. They also included him because Seiten Taisei in his most famous Japanese depiction is that of the blonde monkey. The fact that Captain Kidd rides a boat and Seiten Taisei rides a cloud similarly was also a factor.[3]
He is voiced in Japanese by Mamoru Miyano and in English by Max Mittelman.[4] Mittelman did not audition for the role, but was given the opportunity by Atlus to voice for Persona 5, submitted for a role in the game. He was discovered by Atlus after he performed a role in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse as the character Hallelujah. Atlus felt that he would be a good fit for Ryuji, with him being told that no one else could voice Ryuji. Mittelman speculated that he would have been given only the protagonist, Joker or Ryuji, hoping that he would be picked for Ryuji. During the voice work, the directors allowed him to do what he wanted to do, though he was unsure if it was because they wanted him to do what he wanted or because he did a good job matching the Japanese performance.[5] Mittelman discussed how much he enjoyed voicing Ryuji due to how "explosive" he was, as well as how justified his anger. He discussed how he put a lot of himself into Ryuji, as he found Ryuji relatable.[6] When asked who of the characters he voiced he related to the most, he picked Ryuji, as he related to growing up with a desire to rebel against authority.[5]
Ryuji Scenario writer and choreographer Teppei Kobayashi for Persona 5: Dancing Star Night compared Ryuji to Junpei Iori from Persona 3, discussing how difficult it was to keep their dance styles from being too similar due to their similar personalities and the fact that Yu Jurry performed motion capture for both Ryuji and Junpei. Kobayashi discussed how Ryuji's personality was still relatively new compared to Junpei's, and the team discussed which traits they would develop in this game. They did not want to focus too much on him being a delinquent, as they worried it would be too similar to Kanji Tatsumi from Persona 4, also performed by Jurry in Persona 4: Dancing All Night. He described Ryuji as having the feel of a dropout, but still being earnest and passionate, wanting that to be reflected in his dancing. During a partner dance between Ryuji and Morgana, Ryuji air guitars; this idea was conceived by Jurry.[7]
Appearances
Ryuji first appeared in 2016's Persona 5 as one of the earliest members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. He also appears in Persona 5 Royal, the enhanced re-release. He later appears in multiple spinoffs, including Persona 5 Strikers, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Persona 5: Dancing Star Night, Persona 5 Tactica, and Persona 5: The Phantom X. In Dancing Star Night, Ryuji has multiple alternate outfits, including one based on Ryuji Goda from the Yakuza series and one based on Aleph from Shin Megami Tensei II, the latter requiring that they make a backside for the outfit due to one not existing in the game.[8]