(Untitled)

[madelineusher]

HEY HEY P4 LIKING PEOPLE HEY

A friend and I were talking about P4's True End on AIM and came to... interesting conclusions, and I figured I'd share and see what you guys had to say maybe? IDK

Comments

[dots]

Yeah I don't know if it's so much Souji himself being FULL OF HOPE as him having the ability to inspire hope in other people. His S. Links are by and large people who are absolutely miserable with themselves that he helps to overcome their difficulties and become better people. Ai is a great example of this, too, if you've ever finished her link, and from as far as I've gotten it, Naoki, too. And even the Devil and Tower links. I still have never gotten very far on Temperance because Eri is kind of an idiot but yeah, you get the point. Souji may not be FULL OF HOPE ... but he kind of is, actually. He doesn't say much, really, but he has a constant drive to do the right thing, to uncover the right answer, and faith that even if it's difficult, he will find that answer. It's brought up pretty early in game, iirc -- I forget whether it comes up in the Velvet Room or the club first, but Shadow Teddie asks you and Igor does as well, if you think you can find the truth even though it's masked in fog, and Souji's answer is pretty much "well, duh."

I think it's fair to say, in addition, that Adachi was a "force for despair" in the same way Souji was a force for hope. It's hard to say Namatame was a "force for emptiness" since a lot of his hollowness is very personal, but I think you could apply it to the bad ending where he's not killed but Adachi isn't caught. There are answers but not enough of them, and you leave town feeling just ... unsatisfied.

[madelineusher]

I feel like Souji might have a lot of hope for the world/the town/whatever, but what seems to lack for me and what keeps throwing me off is his sort of lack of hope for himself. "I'll have to move on after a year, can't let myself get too close" - that sort of thing. It might just be my imagination, but... But I guess even without that sort of personal hope his drive for good and his ability to inspire others still push him far enough. Izanami was just grabbing random kids at gas stations, man, she couldn't get picky.

Very true. That bad end is just... flat - Nanako's in stasis, all your friends are not quite sad and not quite happy... It does give a rather blank/empty feel.

[dots]

I think the message is also that Souji eventually overcame that urge to distance himself, in the true ending where Teddie is talking about everyone being connected no matter the distance. Souji looks at that photo with a lot of fondness. I think he's still probably somewhat of a distanced person because that's just how he is, but I think he overcomes his own fear of making connections, because he knows better than to think distance can break them, anymore.

God, that was cheesy, but so is the true ending...

[madelineusher]

D'awww, I hadn't really thought about that so much. It IS cheesy, but it makes sense. So in the normal ending he probably just is like OKAY DONE *FORGETS EVERYONE*, but True he probably does stay close to all of them and visit and he makes new friends wherever the hell he goes and yay.