Recommend reading: "The Japanese Way of Justice: Prosecuting Crime in Japan" Davi T. Johnson. It lays out the process of investigation, arrest, interrogation, trial, conviction and sentencing. While the the 99% rate is _true_ there are mitigating factors: prosecutors are appointed, not elected, so they don't have the pressure of a punishment-hungry electorate, prosecutors are given vastly more time and resources to conduct investigations then their American counterparts and, crucially, prosecutors are the only officials that can press charges; if a prosecutor doesn't think they're guaranteed a victory, they don't prosecute. Finally, a failed prosecution will derail a prosecutor's career, which hopefully acts as a deterrent to bogus or frivolous prosecution. But... if an innocent person gets charged, prosecutors will go to extreme lengths to protect their career, and the reputation of the Japanese procuracy.

Hahaha, you hate Japan's court system, but you fail to see the tremendous problems with the USA/Western one......That is called leftists ignorance. Is it OK to JAIL a single MOTHER for 14 months for DOWNLOADING MP3s for her kid from a torrent site?

That's after the fact. Joker was most likely not beaten after the Shido incident as we would have been shown or told like what happened after Sae's palace. Joker signing the paper was just normal anxiety regarding signing his initial confession to the assualt of Shido.

@@loserinasuit7880 I didn’t say he was beaten, I said he was abused. There’s mental abuse too, you know, which is how police in Japan get people to sign confessions regardless of whether or not they’re guilty. And what would even be the point of mentioning a past incident of police brutality when we witness it happen, twice, in the present by the time Sae's dungeon is done?

His first Persona *was* Arsene Lupin, after all.

Eh that is the 1st impression i have.

It is said in the game that your metaverse appearance is a representation of what you see as a rebel.

@@k3salieri and akechi kinda proved it wrong..? By saying that his prince attire is how he thinks a hero of justice would look like?

​@@kitukun the prince outfit was exactly that, an outfit. his crow outfit was a part of his true rebellion

"Silent protagonist" and "voice" is an oxymoron, but works perfectly in the case of joker

@@goldenbunnies4143 yes I agree. I can see how reading that comment without the context of P5 would sound confusing. The thing with Joker though is the fact he isn't a blank slate, like a pokemon mc or even early interpretations of Link from LOZ. Joker has a personality unique to him but has enough leeway for someone to imprint him or herself onto him.

@@duke0salt717 Lmao ikr. And exactly!! It’s crazy how much depth he has while still allowing the player to impress themselves onto him. The writers really did do a great job.

@@duke0salt717 Joker feels a lot more human and alive than the P3 and P4 protagonists just for this reason. He's got some personality traits and quirks that shine through regardless of your dialogue choices, as well as a personality and flair that can't help but shine both inside the Metaverse and in the real world. The fact he gets the occasional voiced line in cutscenes makes this even more apparent.

@@Foxxie0kun I'm currently playing through P 4 and I agree the P4 protag has a great design i think he looks cool but damn he's kinda a plank of wood

Well, because I played Ace Attorney, my dad actually told that prosecutors win 99% of the time in Japan because of the laws in Japan. The only way you can be brought into a trial is when it's not really sure that you are the perpetrator.

The main takeaway is: *DON'T* screw up in Japan. Doubly true for foreigners.

If you end up going to court in Japan, you more than likely headed to prison

when doing research on Phoenix Wright, I actually learned that one of the most successful defense attorneys in Japan had a wopping 4 cases he won. 4 cases. Over multiple decades. And he was considered the gold standard.

@@Dragon_Lair The most realistic aspect of Ace Attorney is that the protagonists need some sort of supernatural aid or super-sensory gimmick to win as many cases as they do.

Oh man, I'd love to hear more of your stories. The injustice of the hostage system is frankly infuriating to me, but I guess that's the Western Individualist in me lol

You had your own morgana lol

You’re right about Ace Attorney. It was one of the things I thought of too since I got a bit obsessed with the games. I saw some videos with real defense attorneys talking about the first anime episode or the first case of the game, but I had an issue since they were AMERICAN lawyers. Which is fine and an interesting look into the legal world, but ultimately ineffective at grasping the point. There was no jury in Japan, you were guilty until proven innocent, and you were basically screwed because prosecutors didn’t lose (not ti mention the first case is tutorial so Phoenix being unsure is partially a way to tell a player “you may not know how to do this, but...”). This gives specific and neuansed motivatiobs people overlook, but I won’t go into detail because spoilers and because I’d be here for hours. While the game is localized in America to make puzzles easier and some details are lost, I think it holds strong to it’s core meaning. I hear people complain about how the police aren’t helpful and how defense attorneys should stay out of crime scenes and this is also a culture gap. It’s a satyr so parts are exagerared, but it really holds to it’s idea of showing just how dumb the legal system was. An analysis like this for themes and characters in AA would actually be very fascinating honestly. Same as I hear people complain how harsh people are of Joker’s record, but that’s the point. A lot of that was mentioned in the video though.

Yes?

Bum Rap Rhiny sounds very Australian.

So that’s why the judge in AA is such an idiot

@@dragonwolftmaer5 I apologize for doing this, but it's Satire not Satyr. Satyr are mythological figures who take the form of a top half man and lower half goat nature spirit who serve as trickster figures. Satire is a work that Parodies another to show or explain features of the original work with context while showing how the author thinks about the original work.

I definitely intend to play Ace Attorney at some point! Another person left a comment about that Judgment game as well, so I've added that to my list! Good to know that it's kinda standalone. Definitely I agree with your take on Joker. He's obviously very jaded and distrustful of the authority figures who are otherwise just blindly trusted by society.

I mean it's similair in America, albiet more in the citizens.

@@LadyVirgilia The Yakuza series is pretty amazing as well, the best games are basically Action Films done extremely well with a mix of several interesting and unique types of comedy.

Apparently my brother thought about doing the same thing

I did a Deez nutz joke lol

It's the main reason I consider Sae to be an irredeemable monster. She harmed innocent people and should have been punished like other palace rulers.

May i ask what playthrough that was? I'm intrigued to see what they had to say

I'd say much worse on account I could get locked up with high possibility despite having done nothing wrong. At least in the US if that did happen the government would at least attempt to compensate for wrongful imprisonment.

@@thegrayone5666 I don't really think so. Keep in mind that the U.S. still imprisons the most people relative to population by far, and people who are wrongfully convicted all the time and given no compensation. There's also the fact that the militarization of our police force means you can get shot dead for acting weird in the street. Japan isn't a perfect place and certainly has its issues but trying to compare the experiences without fully going through both of them isn't useful.

@@Chameleonradio Yet in Americs I have legal protections thst even *exist on paper* to raise complaints. We seen many cases of people held for murder charges where they got the wrong guy. Lost 10-15 years of hos life. Now me I don't know if you could *ever* put money on that but the fact they try is something. In America they need more than just "I think". They need to place me, they need probable cause, to even get to trail. They have strict rules to follow and if not not only may if void any legal trouble because now it can't be told what is true and what is bs, but can cost *alot* of money. That's because it even exists as words on a sheet. Compare that to what I understand is nothing at all like thst. Just trust the authority it knows what it is doing. I will still take the US infinite out of infinite in that legal prospective so at bare minimum my chances at fighting something bogus will be better. Being pulled in for shoplifting and questioned isn't the same as being held with no court proving guilt of the accusation you murdered your child with no way to even get a lawyer. In the US at any point I can tell the police "I refuse to speak until my attorney is present"

Yes it's really heartbreaking to hear Aoki Keiko talk about her experience trying to adjust to "normal" life after being locked up for 20 years. I highly recommend watching the entire Guilty Until Proven Innocent documentary to hear more from her. It's less than 30 minutes long~

@@LadyVirgilia actually this reminds me of how this bad situation, (joker getting unlawful probation because of shido) is something that can often happen in real life but can eventually turn around for good in the end, like the story of joseph in the bible who was framed for harrassing a woman but it was the woman who coming on to him and he ran away since he would be sinning against God by having relations with a married woman, basically like it says also in the bible "all things work out for good to those who love God"

@@alexm7627 Bible also says that cursing at your parents means you need to be killed. Among other things, I think it's a pretty funny read.

@@pancakepop680 The person who wrote the bible was a psychopath that probably eat babies.

@@pancakepop680 yet another person who fails to understand context and doesen't dig deeper in the bible, what else is new?

Thank you! I really love putting P5's themes and narrative into perspective!

Wow great comments on the "silent RPG protag" and the player/character dissonance. When you put it this way, you can really see how Joker (especially in Royal) is a great balance of this, since the "main story" for the P5R true ending has much better narrative execution, in large part thanks to all the new confidants (Akechi, Maruki, Kasumi).

Love to hear it DP! I really liked how they handled Royal as well. The new osts are definitely bangers! And that's a good point about Joker's lines. I also wish he got to speak a bit more, especially in the new cutscenes in Royal. The anime Joker does seem to be less snarky and just more confident tactical leader-ish from what I remember ahaha. Glad this video did justice for your fav game! I'm sure you're excited for the eventual Ann one haha :P

LadyVirgilia But Joker acts all meek and unassuming on first impressions, which is a mask he wears just like his fake glasses. He is actually quite defiant and a gambler. And quite the gentleman, just like his Persona.

You need to look deeper to get someone who doesn't talk much. Big surprise But it is visible. I played the game just now after oc release, and paid close attention to joker in particular. It all makes sense, he doesn't break character unless you as the player decide that for him.

I got the opposite impression. You advance confidante not by being yourself, but by telling them what they want to hear. He is special in that he is very very good at putting on the appropriate mask and acting as a different person whenever the situation calls for him to manipulate others.

The whole world is very dystopian, and it's not going to get better anytime soon. We might be free of some of the problems of the past in some places, but we are not and never have truly been in a good and just world.

You have to be utterly evil to think that's ok That's dystopian shit

Ace attorney is one of those series where, as a westerner, you laugh because you think its exaggerating the flaws of your legal system... then you just stare in horror because you realize that it isn't, and that it's far too accurate. And then Spirit of Justice just showed how much worse it can get.

Love to hear it! ^^

I'm glad to hear you're interested in other kinds of analyses videos for Persona! Your suggestion reinforces this idea I have about analyzing the Velvet Room for *every* game, but first I have to finish Persona 1 and 2 duology!

@@LadyVirgilia I'm wondering how that'd work for Persona 4, as spinoffs fleshed out Yu Narukami's personality a lot, making him feel a bit generic in the original game by comparison. Via dialogue choices there's some vague hints at Yu being a bit of a weirdo (all the things he can eat in the fridge, being able to spend whole days talking to cats) but also very empathetic and a bit of an amateur therapist, as well as disliking being alone. But it's not as pronounced as it is in the anime. P3's MC meanwhile is supposed to be read as an apathetic loner at first who gradually opens up to other people, at least that's how I see it. How I've viewed P3's Social Links vs P4's. In P4's Yu is solving other people's problems. But for Makoto/Minato P3, it feels like the Social Links are the ones changing HIM.

@@BigKlingy I have a question because I haven't played persona 4 myself unfortunately. Where did this idea of Yu being a Chad come from in the fandom if the original game portrays him as the complete opposite? (Not a virgin incel of course but a very odd person)

@@brookeneeley396 Because 99.9% of P4 players pursue the harem route, and I hate it. (If you look at KZfaq S Link footage, you'd never know the platonic routes exist) Yu is always established as being very charismatic though, and all the girls are implied to have crushes on him either in the anime or at some point in their S Links. So it's not COMPLETELY off-base, but I still don't like that interpretation. There's also the anime's take on the King's Game scene, which I admit was hilarious.

Glad to hear you're enjoying them!

Thanks for your continued support Sabata! Glad you're enjoying the videos!

LadyVirgilia you are welcome

Those people don't really pay attention to what they're playing. They see memes and allow others who aren't as analytical to take over for them. Similar to what happens in the game.

@@nathanvertil7355 I believe when joker gets his perosna we hear his true feelings

@@nathanvertil7355 Because his perosna is the true feelings of his heart so his heart is literally crying out

@@KousakaHonoka12 I agree with that. Arsene rages against those who have done wrong, reassures himself that they will meet again, and asks himself to recall their bonds to seek the truth. It's honestly wonderful.

@@nathanvertil7355 I wish people would understand that goro is obviously a bad guy

his mask probably has prescription or something

His glasses are fake to blend in and keep low profile. It apparently hides the defiant look in his eyes, which kinda works when you compare him to Not Metaverse Non Glasses Joker. Of course, that hope to lay low at school was dashed thanks to Kamoshida.

From what I've seen, his mask has lenses in it. In his Metaverse dialogue portrait you can kinda see the light reflect off of them. Which seems weird to me because if he doesn't need glasses, why does his mask have lenses in it? Was this an intended detail or not? The only explicit statement that his glasses were fake was in Royal, so I have to wonder if that detail was a retcon, an accident or maybe something else.

@@flameindigo8035 fake glasses have lenses lol prescription glasses work by bending light in specific ways to compensate for visual impairments but fake glasses just dont really do anything special with their lenses

So far,not so good

As well as Ace Attorney

Japanese society is really hypocritical in this aspect. They have an obsession with people "not causing or being an inconvenience" to their family or close friends but at the same time they do have a rather strong moral code that is imprinted in people from their youth on up. If you get in trouble, it is your fault and they can't be bothered to hear otherwise but if you do the same thing and win then everyone will more or less treat you like a hero. The mask and presented story matter more to the average Japanese then the truth in this type of thing. Something else that is related is how overworked Japanese people are. They have a word for it "Karoshii" and it translates to dying from overwork which is a very real thing over there. Many "Salaryman" as they call themselves often work over 100 hours a WEEK and this obviously leaves them with no time for literally anything else. Kamoshida says this during his breakdown but Japanese society will demand absolute perfection and many people break under the stress and are immediately discarded for someone, more capable. It is kind of a remnant from the Samurai era but when Japan wants to train someone they pretty much have only one method which is "conditioning" someone by putting them in constant stress with the expectation that they don't break or they will be deemed a failure and be discarded, which for many Japanese is equilvalent to a death sentence. It is like how blacksmiths would forge their Katana's by heating scum metal to sift out impurites to be discarded and then pounded and folded dozens of times, sometimes over a hundred times to get the core and seperate cutting edge just right. But if the blade breaks during forging, it is discarded and restarted from scratch. The Japanese are unsure about their culture because they are starting to wake up to the fact that their culture is toxic and self-destructive but they really don't know how to fix it in their current system which is under the foot of the USA after their fall in WWII. I will say though that despite all of their problems, when something happens which affects everyone, everyone will band together and do ANYTHING to weather the storm and survive as a family.

I'm glad you're enjoying this series! And I'm sorry for any confusion or offense regarding the terminology I use. By Western individualistic values, my intended meaning was regarding the culture/values associated with what's commonly referred to as Western civilization/the Western world in the field of cultural studies. Sorry this is a Wikipedia link, but this explains my intended meaning in the broadest way. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture and I find that this image is a nice reference of which distinctions I'm using, at least when it comes to my current understanding of cultural studies (though Sinic + Japanese have *many* similarities). I'm always learning new things though en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culture#/media/File:Clash_of_Civilizations_mapn2.png Latin American cultures are definitely their own thing! I can't speak from my own *personal* experience of course, but I'm grateful for what I do understand of it from Latinx friends. I will try to draw greater distinction in future videos by using the term "Western Eurocentric values" perhaps. Thank you for sharing this suggestion and your perspective! ^^

@@LadyVirgilia Thank you for your thoughtful response! The distribution map is really interesting and not really what we expect, at least coming from my basic education. I really had a different idea on that the term "western" entails.

It's even funnier when you see someone applying USA law to a fantasy world, like HCBailly mentioning the legal US drinking age when commenting on FF12, an entirely Japanese game with an entirely fictional setting.

@@TheWolfgangGrimmer plus, if we’re going by the localization, you should be looking at either Britain or the UK’s alcohol laws.

I doubt it. They're probably happy to up their numbers to either benefit in their career or to avoid getting criticism for not working hard enough. With collectivist societies the individual is only allowed to fit with the expectations of others. If others are convinced you're a criminal: who the fuck are you to question it? You're a nobody and the government/police/group-with-power are to be obeyed. *Edit: I wrote a few sentences here, but it didn't save? Whatever... I agree that an innocent being wrongfully accused is, of course, morally wrong. Even if we ignore morality and only care about the end result then innocents being wronged legally is still undesirable. However, if the idea of an individual's right being observed is not present, then the innocents will be put away with the guilty and that's that. Also, unfortunately, in any part of the world, the police's job is not to find truth. Nor is it the prosecutor's. The judge/jury are the ones that determine guilty/not guilty after examining evidence (in the American legal system). Of course, the prosecutor SHOULD avoid prosecuting those who are clearly innocent, though that seems to be a less popular opinion nowadays. America and Britain (at least, more than the rest of the world... it is getting worse in recent years) insist that the police use truth and evidence before making arrests and have trials using evidence and the judge/jury, in theory, is supposed to protect the rights of the accused from the inevitable mistakes or wrongs that will eventually happen.

Even if Japan is more collectivist than the US, that doesn't necessarily mean there aren't gonna be at least a few stragglers taking the Phantom Thieves' side