![]() When parting Saori and the protagonist have a conversation about first love, which ends with Saori deciding that perhaps it is best that first loves don’t come true. She seriously looks at us and explains everything, finishing “As long as you understand, I don’t need anything else.” In a heartfelt moment after another wave of rumors about Saori washes through the school, she confronts the protagonist. Saori struggles to find the words to vocalize this to the protagonist in a way that feels true to anyone struggling to wrap their head around their own changing sexuality or gender identity. AtlusĮven if not consciously, Saori’s closeness to the protagonist is a relationship built on mutual care in which both parties want to make the other happy and be there for one another. The close bond between Saori and the female protagonist is one of unspoken love. Her fraught relationship with her parents who refer to her as the “shame of the family,” her disinterest in romance with boys, and even Saori’s own hesitation to get close to you because she doesn’t want people to “think the wrong thing if we started getting along well.” There is plenty to support a queer reading of Saori in the game’s text. ![]() There is something about it that only works as a story between these two girls in high school, both struggling to find themselves and reach out to someone else. It speaks volumes that this social link is only available to the female protagonist. Still, Saori’s relationship with the protagonist feels sapphic. The Persona series does not have a good track record with LGBTQ+ representation and Persona 3 Portable’s original release was in 2009. To expect Saori to be explicitly identified as a queer woman wouldn’t be reasonable. While it is never clearly said, there is an unspoken bond between the two - something more than friends, but not quite lovers. The absence Saori leaves in the protagonist’s life is large. With the help of the protagonist, Saori is able to stand up for herself. With a clear conscious Saori transfers, leaving the protagonist just as quickly as she came into her life. She seems happy in a way that you haven’t seen before. She finishes her broadcast and looks at you with a smile. She asserts herself for the first time, with you “grasping her hand tightly” as she explains everything from her side and how all the rumors about her are untrue. Saori informs the protagonist about this, saying “I don’t really like that I’m going to be separated from you.” The two break into the school's radio room and Saori broadcasts herself to the rest of the student body. The only person who stands by Saori is the protagonist, who comforts her without judgment and encourages her to be more accretive.Įvents lead Saori’s parents to transfer her to a new school to get away from this drama. ![]() Later, the boy’s girlfriend confronts Saori, calling her a “bîtch” and “skank” after which rumors spread that Saori is a rampant seductress who is sexually free with boys around school. A boy at school asks her to go to karaoke, which she accepts despite not having a romantic interest in the boy - she just wants some friends. Without any motivation or self-worth, Saori falls into a series of unfortunate events that make her recede even further into hermitage. Saori seeks connection at the cost of her own well-being. Her mature exterior is contrasted with a naive innocent interior someone who wants to help and please others with no care for how they treat her. Though people constantly ask to borrow her notes she has no real friends or connections to anyone. Having studied abroad previously she is two years older than the protagonist, and the oldest student at the school. To begin her social link, players must join the library or health committee.įrom first meeting Saori, it is clear she is an outsider at the school. The male protagonist will never encounter Saori. You must play Persona 3 Portable (one of three different versions of the game) and choose to be the female protagonist. ![]() Saori can’t be encountered by just any player. (How fitting for the character representing the Hermit arcana!) But even those who have played Persona 3 may never have encountered Saori Hasegawa. ![]() Atlus Forging the bondĭespite the growing popularity of the series thanks to the success of Persona 5 and the cult status of Persona 4, the third entry in Atlus’s social-sim / dungeon-crawling JRPG series continues to be underrated. Saori’s story is an underrated high point for the Persona series. ![]()
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