With Persona 3 Portable, Persona series. Similarly to other JRPG franchises such as Final Fantasy and Tales, the Persona series has a wide variety of unique and well-written female characters.
While all of these characters have their fans, some of them are more popular than the rest. Based on comments from Redditors and the number of on each character's subreddits, these are the top two female protagonists from each numbered entry.
Yukino Mayuzumi
One of the party in Persona 1 is Yukino Mayuzumi, who is one of the students at St. Hermelin High School and an ex-delinquent. Because of help from her teacher Saeko Takami, she is now a level-headed, mature individual who looks after others and is trusted by the entire school. But, she can still be hot-headed and a little vulgar.
In Persona 2: Innocent Sin, Yukino returns as a 20-year-old assistant photographer and one of the party , and she is also a minor character in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. When considering all the female characters, BrotherhoodVeronica says Yukino is their favorite because "She's one of the few Persona characters I would actually want to hang out with."
Maki Sonomura
While there are multiple female party in Persona 1, the most significant character is Maki Sonomura. Maki is a quiet girl who is bedridden in the hospital because of her poor health. Her unhappiness and Takahisa Kandori's experiments lead to the events of the game. Eventually, her illness is cured and she becomes a strong, cheerful, and positive person.
Similarly to Yukino and Tamaki Uchida, who is Shin Megami Tensei If..., Maki reappears in several future games as a minor character who works as a therapist. Redditor aqfiscooliguess considers her the best Persona 1 character and says, "She is very interesting and I like how the plot is centered around her and therefore produces one of the better character developments in the series."
Maya Amano
One of the most important characters in the Persona 2 duology is the 23-year-old reporter Maya Amano, who is a party member in Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. Despite the struggles she experiences both before and during the games, she is a relentlessly optimistic and cheerful individual. Her comion for others and her emotional strength make her a natural leader.
Since Maya has two full games to develop as a person, she has one of the strongest character arcs. Redditor Denki-kun considers her to be one of the best characters in the entire series and says, "Maya is such a lovely, happy, positive girl and I really like her relationships with her team ."
Lisa Silverman
One of the other party in Persona 2: Innocent Sin is Lisa Silverman, who is a student at Seven Sisters High School. Lisa is a hot-tempered Caucasian girl who loves martial arts and is a fan of Bruce Lee. After her originally American father became a Japanese citizen, he wanted his daughter to be a "traditional" Japanese lady. To rebel against this, she tries to learn both Cantonese and English on her own.
As a kid, she was bullied by her xenophobic classmates, which caused her to be emotionally distant from others. Eventually, she learns to accept herself and gains more emotional strength. While discussing her, Redditor Mayanee said that they think Lisa is the best Lovers arcana character and that, "She was pretty deep and complex character and interesting to analyze."
Kotone Shiomi
Although the original PS2 Persona 3 only had a male protagonist, Persona 3 Portable allowed players to either be male or female protagonists. Like other Persona protagonists, the player can name her, but the official stage plays and the mobile game Puzzle & Dragons have given her the name Kotone Shiomi.
Unlike her male counterpart, who is extremely quiet and reserved, she is expressive, cheerful, and outgoing. Despite their outward differences, they are both dependable leaders who struggle with mental health. Redditor TheLalaWong41 said, "She basically puts on a smile to make others around her happy even though she isn't happy. I like that contrast because it shows a different side to how people deal with death and tragedy."
Aigis
Besides the player protagonist, the most important character in Persona 3 is Aigis, who is one of the party in the original game and the main protagonist in Persona 3 FES extra epilogue "The Answer." Built as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, she initially seems to be an emotionless robot when she first s the rest of S.E.E.S. and begins attending Gekkoukan High School.
But, as she connects with the other characters, she develops her own emotions and sense of self. While this initially confuses and scares her, she eventually grows into a kind and strong-hearted individual. In regards to Aigis, Redditor mendelsin said, "... when she comes back and is looking for her answer to life, it’s emotional seeing her view the world in search of understanding things that elude her."
Rise Kujikawa
Since many consider Persona 4 to be the best PS2 RPG, it's not surprising that the game has many beloved female characters. One of the main female protagonists is Rise Kujikawa, who becomes the main navigator when she s the Investigation Team. She's a popular idol who s Yasogami High School during her hiatus. Rise is mischievous, sassy, emotional, cheerful, and is always there to comfort and protect her friends.
Despite her fame, Rise was worried that people loved her idol persona rather than her real self, which led to her also worrying if she even has a "real self." Eventually, she realizes that all of those "faces" are simply different parts of her. Redditor ElJacko170 said that her arc, "actually managed to inspire me to re-pursue my own ion that I had given up previously due to my own personal issues."
Chie Satonaka
One of the main party in Persona 4 is Chie Satonaka, who's the protagonist's classmate at Yasogami High School that loves martial arts movies, meat, and practicing kung-fu. She's energetic, outgoing, competitive, and hot-headed. Also, she has a strong sense of justice.
Despite her fearless outward persona, she has many fears and worries that her brash personality makes her undesirable. When she learns that her best friend Yukiko relied on on and envied Chie's strong nature, Chie begins accepting herself more. By the end, Redditor Mickey_253 says, "she's confident in herself in spite of her flaws and is actively working to change herself for the better."
Futaba Sakura
Although Persona 3 and Persona 4 helped make the franchise more popular, Persona 5 fully made these games mainstream. Part of this success is due to the excellent characters, which include the major character and party navigator Futaba Sakura. She's a genius hacker who loves video games and the show Phoenix Ranger Featherman R.
Because of the trauma of losing her mother, Wakaba Isshiki, she struggles with depression and anxiety, and she's afraid to leave her room. With the help of the rest of the Phantom Thieves, Futaba slowly begins opening up, going outside, and overcoming her anxieties. Redditor 730Flare said that Futaba is their favorite because "Her quirky antics and how she's so full of life and excitement never cease to make me smile."
Makoto Niijima
Another major character in Persona 5 and one of the most popular characters in the entire series is Makoto Niijima, who is the student council president of Shujin Academy and a party member. She's intelligent, hard-working, and has a strong sense of justice. Also, she loves action movies and is trained in Aikido.
Although she initially is used by the corrupt adults around her due to her lack of self-worth, the rest of the Phantom Thieves help her grow into who she wants to be rather than what society expects of her. Redditor Scribblywitch_994 said that she can relate to Makoto and that, "I think she's a really nicely written female character whose strength and character isn't mocked because of her lack of feminine qualities."
