7 Most Selfish Persona Characters

As a JRPG series, Persona is home to countless heroes who are ready to risk it all and save the world. With the power of persona at their fingertips, and the ability to manifest their psyche in physical form, these unique people are burdened with the safety of the world and its people, which creatures known as shadows threaten.

But for every hero, there is a villain, and for every selfless person, there are those who are more self-serving, indulging in their desires no matter the cost. Even if they aren’t all deserving of the title of villain, there is no doubt they are selfish.

7 Yuko Ayase (Revelations: Persona)

Hypocritical When it Comes to the Misfortune of Others

A major character in the first Persona game, and can join the party after she escapes the school and flees to the abandoned factory. By doing this, Yuka awakens to the power of persona and becomes an integral party member, but perhaps not one players will savor accompanying them due to her divisive personality.

Yuka demonstrates a very shallow personality, professing her desire to live on ‘easy street’ by marrying a man who will be the breadwinner. She seems to have no care for the suffering of others but is all too quick to lash out when she is inconvenienced, showing a very selfish and self-centered personality.

6 Rise Kujikawa

Selfishly Possessive of the Protagonist

Only idols can understand how difficult their lifestyles are, always presenting a happy and energetic front while performing for the masses. Part of their job is to keep their fans happy, even at the expense of their own. This sounds like a tiring and selfless job, yet Persona 4’s Rise isn’t entirely an altruistic person.

Taking a brief break from her career in Inaba, Rise meets the investigation team and quickly latches onto the protagonist to a rather obsessive degree. She acts shamelessly flirty towards him and even forbids him from complimenting another girl, even if the player has not made any notions of romance with her. She also isn’t above shedding crocodile tears to manipulate those around her, which is childishly selfish of her.

5 Takaya Sakaki (Persona 3)

A Misanthropist Who Can’t Summon Care for Anyone

The mysterious trio seen throughout the duration of Persona 3 is headed by Takaya Sakaki, a deranged and dangerous gun-wielding man who isn’t above murder, and even makes attempts against SEES members. He has an obsession with destiny, believing he and SEES are fated to be on opposite sides, but beyond that, Takaya seems to care little for anyone else.

He selfishly only seems to care about himself, and even his companions are given little regard for him. Just because he believes he has little to live for, that doesn’t give him the right to treat others as though their lives are expendable.

4 Kunikazu Okumura (Persona 5)

Believes He is in the Right to Use Others for His Own Benefit

Though most will think of Shido when thinking about selfish Persona 5 characters, there is another that comes to mind: Kunikazu Okumura. Father to one of the Phantom Thieves and a successful businessman, Okumura hasn’t made his fame and fortune through hard, honest work.

He steps on anyone and everyone while pursuing his next dollar, callous of the pain he leaves in his wake. His workers are subjected to unsafe conditions and brutal working hours, and he even believes he is in the right for manipulating his daughter Haru, subjecting her to all sorts of misery. His selfish wants and needs are almost completely unrivaled in Persona 5.

3 Tohru Adachi (Persona 4)

Willing to Kill His Way Towards His Goal

Set in a small rural town called Inaba, Persona 4 follows a series of gruesome murders gripping the citizens in worry, while the Persona users investigate these murders through the Midnight Channel by stepping through television screens. The pursuit of the murderer is spearheaded officially by Dojima, and the culprit himself hiding in plain sight.

Posing as an incompetent officer and comic relief character, there are very few that would suspect Adachi of his true intentions until the shocking twist is revealed towards the twilight hours of the game. His actions showed a brutal lack of empathy for his victims, as he strung up their bodies as though they were spectacles, all because he viewed the world as ‘unfair’, and wanted it to change purely so he could benefit. And his actions proved he didn’t care who he had to kill along the way to fulfill his goals.

2 Masayoshi Shido

Cares About His Ideals and Beliefs Only

Shido is a villain who haunts the protagonist straight from the start of the game, as Joker is arrested and sent to live in Tokyo after pushing a man away from a young woman he was trying to abduct. Joker’s heart was in the right place, but unfortunately for him, that man was the rich and influential Masayoshi Shido, who pressed charges after he was injured in his fall.

This man would go on to be the Phantom Thieves’ most difficult challenge, as this corrupt politician won’t let anyone stand between him and his seat of power. Most of the general public falls for his passionate speeches about change, but Shido is the one in need of change the most. His arrogance, self-inflated sense of worth, and warped perception of the world place Japan in great peril. His selfish desires would put everybody in jeopardy.

1 Nyarlathotep (Persona 2: Eternal Punishment)

Orchestrates Apocalyptic Plots

Named after one of the great and terrible entities from HP Lovecraft’s works, Nyarlathotep is a persona that has its own personality and ambitions, and unfortunately for humanity, they are just as great and terrible as outlined in the Cthulhu Mythos.

After his bitter defeat in Innocent Sin, Nyarlathotep returns in Eternal Punishment, hellbent on seeing his plans for humanity’s destruction come to fruition. Rather than doing it with his own hand, he would rather have the pleasure of watching humanity undo itself by implementing thoughts into victims’ minds, pulling the string from behind the curtain. The earth is essentially his playground and humans are his toys. And though his ambitions are always lofty, his reasons aren’t always, as sometimes they are something as little as wanting to win a bet.