Shout Out / Persona 5

Persona 5 has a large number of references to works by creators other than Atlus.

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Clothing:

• Ann's thief costume borrows heavily in terms of stylings and equipment from Catwoman. You can even reference this by suggesting that Ann's Code Name be Kitty Woman or to a lesser extent "Catgirl".
• Ryuji's thief costume is based on Hell Biker, the SMT franchise's homage to Ghost Rider, Skull Man, and the Hell's Angels motorcycle club.
• Makoto's thief costume is an armored biker outfit, with a long flowing scarf. Complete with a motorcycle and mask, Makoto outfit is essentially a homage to Kamen Rider, specifically the Showa Period riders.
  • Her leather ensemble also brings Mad Max to mind, which is lampshaded by Ryuji's nickname "Ms. Post-Apocalyptic Raider".
• Futaba's thief costume is a form-fitting black bodysuit covered in Tron Lines, referencing the costumes in TRON: Legacy.
  • Additionally, this being a Shin Megami Tensei spinoff, the pattern of green glowing lines on her costume will call to mind memories of the Demi-Fiend from Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
  • Futaba's casual winter appearance is heavily inspired by the default female Inkling in Splatoon, with long orange hair, a white t-shirt, black short-shorts, and oversized headphones. Her T-shirt even has an ink splat on the front. And to top it all off, after Sojiro finally confronts Ren and Futaba about the Phantom Thieves, Morgana comments that "the chief really did have an inkling all along."
  • Futuba's casual summer outfit includes a tank top depicting a game of Tetris.
  • Her laptop has a few stickers, with one row being squid-like versions of the Pac-Man ghosts, and another being an alien from Space Invaders. One of the ghost-like creatures also appears on Futaba's new sweatshirt in Royal.
• Futaba's father, Sojiro Sakura, sports the same nose shape, beard and haircut as the thief Daisuke Jigen from Lupin III. His casual clothes also include a white trilby based on Jigen's own black fedora.
• Masayoshi Shido's first Shadow form is a reference to Char Anzable from Mobile Suit Gundam, who was also voiced by Shūichi Ikeda and Keith Silverstein.
• Shido's final Shadow form references Senator Steven Armstrong from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, another glasses and dress suit wearing ambitious politician who transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles. In fact, Shido in general seems to have a notable basis from Armstrong, as a lot of their aspects can describe both of them if one leaves their names out of the description^note A Corrupt Politician who wears glasses and dress suit that transforms into a giant shirtless man in dress pants with massive veiny muscles to fight the protagonist, who's a Marathon Boss that will kick the ever-living shit out of you if you're unprepared, that has extreme patriotism towards his country, and also extreme rage towards the state of his country at the present, that has ambitions of leading his country at the head of government to a new future where he decides how it progresses and eventually gracefully loses to the protagonist, acknowledges their strengths (this last one is more for Shido's Shadow than Shido himself). Both also make analogies about not stopping to worry about "small" sacrifices, with Armstrong saying not to fret over every egg going into the "mother of all omelettes," and Shido saying not to fret over every ant crushed underfoot on the road to one's goals. Royal adds an extra phase where Shido fights Joker one-on-one in an arena surrounded by fire and debris, much like the final boss arena in Revengeance amidst the burning wreckage of Metal Gear Excelsus. Finally, both start out fighting you from a large mecha, the Chariot of the Masses for Shido and Metal Gear Excelsus for Armstrong.
• Haru's father's Shadow outfit is a cross between Darth Vader, Doctor Doom, and Buzz Lightyear, with some generic sci-fi bits to avoid copyrights. Furthermore, his shadow minions take the form of mini Death Stars and Daleks with the Serial Numbers Filed Off.
• Goro Akechi's school uniform consists a white dress shirt, a tie, a light colored button up jacket, and dark dress pants, a la Light Yagami's in Death Note. Very fitting for a fellow high school-age Villain with Good Publicity.
  • At one point, he mentions that he always buys apples for lunch. One wonders if they're for Ryuk.
• Chiyaha Mifune's design strongly resembles a one-shot Lupin III character named Linda from the third episode of Part 1.
• Game director Katsura Hashino stated Joker was based on elements from picaresque heroes that include Arsène Lupin, The Fiend With Twenty Faces, and Ishikawa Goemon.
• Akechi's Black Mask outfit greatly resembles the Berserker Armor, especially noticeable with their helm designs. Fitting given how he fights in that form, as well as his power to make people psychotic.
• While not a Whole Costume Reference, there is one item of the Phantom thieves clothing that is explicitly coded like the Super Sentai, their gloves:
  • Joker wears red gloves signifying him as the leader.
  • Morgana's white gloves, which are also a part of his fur pattern, and might be partially modeled after Sokichi Banba of J.A.K.Q. in that bother were instrumental in the forming of their teams and have more going on than initially thought.
  • Ryuji wears yellow gloves with his role as The Big Guy being common for male yellow rangers.
  • Ann, despite wearing a red catsuit, has pink gloves, common for the "girl ranger".
  • Yusuke wears blue gloves and follows the more recent trend of Blues being serious members of the team.
  • Makoto also wears white gloves and is modeled after more recent white rangers being the smarter team members.
  • Futaba's fingers on her costume are bright green, when a green ranger is part of the main team they tend to be eccentric inventor types and comic reliefs.
  • Haru seems to be modeled a lot after Yayoi Ulshade of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger. Both come to the team with knowledge of the latest enemy plot and cannot use their full power until overcoming some personal family issue, incidentally both have purple colors as well.
  • Akechi may well be a whole-plot reference to Mikoto Nakadai, a.k.a. Abarekiller, as his specific white gloves can attest to, being the closest thing to a Sixth Ranger and a Sixth Ranger Traitor that the game really gets.
  • Leblanc being a coffee and curry house doesn't hurt the Sentai reference either.

Names:

• The most obvious reference is Ann's codename being a reference to The Pink Panther about a valuable diamond being stolen by a Gentleman Thief aptly named "The Phantom".
• The protagonist shares a moniker with the sworn enemy of the Batman, with the protagonist being a name-it-yourself entity as well as dialogue options to craft his personality tying into the Multiple-Choice Past of the clown prince of crime.
• Futaba shares a name with Futaba Channel / 2chan.
  • Futaba's original Code Name is Navi, an abbreviation of her role as team navigator and a reference to the Mission Control in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, which similarly took the form of a glowing, floating... thing with a Genki Girl voice that accompanies you on your explorations. Her English codename, meanwhile, along with her red hair, glasses, and non-combat nature, is a direct reference to Barbara Gordon / Oracle. Unfortunate Names come into play regarding the protagonist's moniker of "Joker" and how the Batman villain paralyzed and tortured Barbara Gordon.
• Goro Akechi is named after Kogoro Akechi, a famous Japanese Expy of Sherlock Holmes created by novelist Edogawa Ranpo in 1925. When he's revealed as The Traitor, his surname becomes a reference to Akechi Mitsuhide, a Sengoku Period samurai that betrayed his norm-defying Lord, Oda Nobunaga.
  • His name being that of a famous fictional detective with the first syllable removed also recalls Osamu Tezuka's recurring character Rock Home, whose most famous "role" (to modern audiences) is also a young, brutal enforcer to a charismatic politician with grandiose ambitions involving fantastic technology.
  • Akechi's evil costumed identity is known as the Black Mask, the codename of Batman villain Roman Sionis.
• Yuuki Mishima, representative of the Moon arcana, is named after Yukio Mishima, a preeminent author in post-World War II Japanese literature and writer of a number of Picaresque stories. In fact, his first novel was titled Thieves. Atlus had similarly based the character of Gotou on Yukio back in Shin Megami Tensei.
• Yusuke Kitagawa takes his name from Utamaro Kitagawa, an 18th-century Japanese painter who among other pseudonyms went by Yusuke.
• The Protagonist lives above a coffee shop named "Café Leblanc", a reference to Arsène Lupin creator Maurice Leblanc.
• Lavenza, Justine and Caroline's true name, is a reference to Elizabeth Lavenza, the eventual wife of Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (which also makes it a Call-Back to Persona 3, where the velvet room attendant was named Elizabeth). Justine is a reference to a maid for the Frankenstein family who was framed for murder and executed by hanging, while Caroline was Victor's mother.
• Takemi's epithet in the English translation "Dark Physician" is a pun on Dark Magician.
• Every DVDs you can rent in Shibuya references a popular TV Show:
  • "Bubbly Hills, 90210" references Beverly Hills, 90210, and has plenty of Soap Opera, Love Triangle hijinks being discussed when you watch it.
  • "Wraith" is a reference to Ghost Whisperer, in which a kind-hearted woman helps ghosts move on to the afterlife.
  • "Guy McVer" references MacGyver, featuring such things as using chocolate to stop an acid leak.
  • "The X Folders", a reference to The X-Files. Aside from an imitation of X-Files' iconic theme tune, you also get some Agent Scully and Agent Mulder banter about whether aliens are real or not when you watch it.
  • "Not-so-hot Betsy", a reference to Ugly Betty. The joke, as the title suggests, is that this version's protagonist is merely Hollywood Homely.
  • "ICU" (Intensive-Care Unit) is a reference to ER (Emergency Room).
  • "Jail Break" references Prison Break.
  • "The Running Dead", a reference to The Walking Dead.
  • "D. Housewives/Disparate Housewives", mirrors Desperate Housewives.
  • "Mouse MD", is meant to be House.
  • "31", is a parody to 24.
  • "Tee", is meant to be Glee, except about golf.
• Movies titles you can watch in theaters also reference other works both with their names and sound clips as you watch them:
  • "Tanktop Millionaire" references Slumdog Millionaire, featuring a young boy with an Indian accent being interrogated about his miraculous luck on a game show. The interrogator even refers to him as a "slumdog".
  • "The Cake Knight Rises" references The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, with Batman and Joker replaced with bakers and murder replaced with talk of pies and cakes. The Protagonist and Morgana both lampshade how ridiculous these changes make the movie.
    The Baker: Do you wanna know why I use pies? Cakes are too quick. You can't savor all the little [beat] taste sensations. You see, when forced to choose, cake or pie, people show you their true taste!
    The Cake Knight: I am nothing like you. You're a psychopath who bakes for money!
  • "About Midnight" references Before Midnight.
  • "Mes Miserable" references Les Misérables (2012), being an over-the-top musical about an ex-prisoner being chased by his old jailer. Except this time, the bishop turns the main character over to the police instead of covering for him.
  • This film may also serve as Foreshadowing to Persona 5 Strikers, where the newest Phantom Thief Zenkichi Hasegawa/Wolf gains a Persona based on said ex-prisoner, Valjean.
  • "Soraemon" meanwhile is another Doraemon reference.
  • "The Good Father" references The Godfather, telling the story of a mob boss who just wants to spend time with his children.
  • "Back to the Ninja" is a reference to Back to the Future, about a guy who travels back in time to learn Ninjutsu so he can save his friend from dying.
  • "Admission Impossible" references Mission: Impossible, and is about a man tasked with breaking into his own high-security apartment to get his keys.
  • "The Duhvengers" references The Avengers (2012), involving the world's most pathetic superheroes trying to fight an alien invasion.
  • "Pach-Saw" is a reference to Saw, with two people locked in a room with a killer elephant by a mysterious person who calls it a "game".
  • "Clean Hard" is a Die Hard reference, about a janitor who's forced to work overtime cleaning a skyscraper on Christmas.
  • "Merry Christmess" references Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, with the nationalities of the prisoners and jailers reversed.
  • "Like a Dragon" references... well, Like a Dragon, or Yakuza at the time of the original Persona 5's release. Like a Dragon is the name of the franchise in Japan (before the franchise itself was renamed to its original title in the West in 2022) and the plot synopsis and dialogue references the events of the first game. This is also the only film you can see that most likely isn't a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo, since Atlus is a subsidiary of Sega. When Makoto invites Joker to watch it with her, she points out how it was directed by a really prolific director, referencing Takashi Miike, who directed the actual movie based on the game.
  • "Love, Possibly" is a reference to British Rom Com Love Actually.
  • "March of the Sheeple": the title refers the popular documentary March of the Penguins, while the plot is based on The Silence of the Lambs.
• The tune that plays at the Airgun shop is named "Layer Cake".
• There is an equipable accessory that increases your agility named "Sonic Socks", that according to its description; let's you "run as fast as a hedgehog".
• On a certain day, Futaba asks you to play video games with her, and specifically mentions a game named Power Intuition.
• One of the melee weapons you can buy for Akechi is called a Quasar Saber.
• One of the items you can buy as a gift for a female Confidant is a Greatest Hits Album from KGB49, a parody of AKB48.

Persona and Shadows:

• The heroes' starting Persona reference various fictional and historical thieves:
  • Joker's main Persona is Arsène, as in Arsène Lupin.
  • Morgana's Persona is inspired by Zorro.
  • Ryuji's Persona is based on Captain William Kidd.
  • Ann's Persona is based on the eponymous thief and smuggler of the opera Carmen.
  • Yusuke's Persona is based on Ishikawa Goemon.
    • Considering his association with Joker, he may also double as a reference to Ishikawa Goemon XIII.
  • Futaba's Persona is called Necronomicon, but instead of a book, it's a huge UFO. UFOs are infamous in rumor and fiction for abducting people and livestock.
  • Haru's persona is based on Milady de Winter, a spy in The Three Musketeers tasked with stealing two English diamonds for Cardinal Richelieu of France.
  • Makoto's Persona is based on Pope Joan, a rumored Sweet Polly Oliver from the Middle Ages who "stole" the role of a priest by pretending to be a man, and thanks to her talent eventually rose to become The Pope.
  • Goro's Persona is based on the British folk hero Robin Hood, the leader of a band of men who stole from the wealthy and gave to the poor, culminating by crossing blows with the avaricious Prince John.
    • Rather than being clad in green, Robin Hood in this game has a design inspired by the iconic comic book character Superman.
  • Kasumi's Persona is Cendrillon, the main character in French writer Charles Perrault's 17th century retelling of Cinderella. Between the yellow "hair" and the blue dress, Cendrillon bears a number of similarities to Disney's version of Cinderella. This also ties to Kasumi, or more accurately, her real identity as Sumire; Cendrillon got her wish of going to the ball granted by the fairy godmother, although the magic will fade away at midnight. Sumire was given the "Kasumi" identity to cope with her inferior self and Survivor Guilt, and she can only live in the illusion for so long.
• The heroes' ultimate Personas similarly reference mythological figures that rebelled against the heavens and stole from the gods.
  • Joker's ultimate Persona is Satanael, the equivalent of the Devil in Gnosticism, who in some traditions rebelled against his creator in a bid to seize the heavens, and in turn his own freedom.
  • Ryuji's ultimate Persona is Seiten Taisei, better known as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King from Journey to the West, who stole the secrets to immortality from the gods after they slighted him.
  • Morgana's ultimate persona is Mercurius, aka Hermes/Mercury, the Messenger of the Gods and Patron of Thieves from Classical Mythology. His very first act as a toddler was stealing Apollo's cows, he'd later be given the duty of Messenger. Notably unique in that although he did steal from the gods, he was never cast out and was given a greater purpose instead when he grew up (likely chosen to allude to Morgana's true nature).
  • Ann's ultimate Persona is Hecate, the goddess of magic in Classical Mythology who stole from Hera, queen of the Greek gods.
  • Yusuke's ultimate is Susanoo, god of the seas and storms in Japanese Mythology who destroyed the possessions and killed the servants of Amaterasu, ruler of the heavens, and was cast out to wander the lands. To differentiate Yusuke's Susanoo with Yosuke's Susanoo, Yusuke's is named Kamu Susanoo.
  • Makoto's ultimate is Anat, a Sumerian goddess of war who stole back a bow meant for her from the son of a judge who questioned a woman's right to hold a weapon. She also steals back her brother Baal from Mot by killing him.
  • Futaba's ultimate is Prometheus, a Titan in Classical Mythology who stole the secret of fire from the gods and gave it to mankind, thus gifting them with the ability to create technology; as punishment for this, the gods tied him to a rock face in the Caucasus where an eagle — an animal symbolic of Zeus — eats his liver every day, and said organ regenerates every night.
  • Haru's ultimate is Astarte, the goddess of love and war in Mesopotamian Mythology who in one of her earliest myths stole from the god of mischief and knowledge, and was eventually cast into Hell in Christian myth.
  • Goro's true/ultimate Persona is the Trickster God Loki from Norse Mythology, a god/jotunn who alternates between helping and antagonizing the Aesir. Loki not only ties to the "stealing from the gods" motif that the others follow (one particular story involves him cutting off and stealing the hair of Thor's wife Sif), but his trouble-making ways make him a pain in the neck for the rest of the gods, tying to the fact that the rest of the thieves dislike him and suspect him being The Mole the second he joins them, as well as the "Gods" of Tokyo, The Conspiracy also suspect him as The Mole for themselves. Loki was also fated to help bring about The End of the World as We Know It from the time of his birth, similar to how Goro winning Yaldabaoth's "game" would mean the destruction of the world. Unlike how modern fiction usually depicts him as, Loki is not an inherently evil entity, only chaotic, much like Akechi is not really on the side of anyone, but himself. Finally, Loki is often made as an analogue to Satan, further paralleling him to the protagonist's own Satanael. Akechi's third-tier Persona, Hereward (based on Hereward the Wake, a real-life figure which might have inspired the Robin Hood stories), echoes Robin Hood in its design but also takes visual cues from Batman instead of Superman.
  • Sumire's Ultimate Persona is Vanadis, a name for the beauty and love god Freya from Norse Mythology, who is one of the most celebrated deities in said myth and receives half of the dead from battle, as well as lending assistance to the other gods, including Loki for one time.
• Royal's 3rd-tier Personas revert to being based on the original fictional or historical thieves:
  • Ryuji has William, which was Captain Kidd's first name.
  • Morgana had Diego, after Dom Diego de la Vega, the Secret Identity of Zorro.
  • Ann has Célestine, after Célestine Galli-Marié, an actress known for portraying Carmen.
  • Yusuke has Gorokichi, which was the birth name of Ishikawa Goemon.
  • Makoto has Agnes, an alternate name given to Pope Joan.
  • Futaba has Al Azif, which is the original name of the Necronomicon.
  • Haru has Lucy, after Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, the real life inspiration for Milady de Winter.
  • Goro has Hereward, after Hereward the Wake, the real life inspiration for Robin Hood.
  • Sumire has Ella, which was Cinderella's birth name in some versions of the story.
• The Boss Shadows are based around various monsters, demons, and angels from Christianity, and each represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Many further this by referencing characters that embody those sins, often the traditional Seven Princes of hell, by giving the Thieves' targets a representative middle name that appears on the battle screen. The game also includes two non-standard sins from older or less popularized traditions, and a few non-Christian gods and monsters.
  • Asmodeus - Lust
  • Azazel - Vanity^note  One of the original eight deadly sins from Evagrius Ponticus before it was rolled into Pride.
  • Baal - Gluttony^note  traditionally Beelzebub
  • The Sphinx - Wrath^note  Not Christian, traditionally Satan
  • Mammon - Greed
  • Leviathan - Envy
  • Samael - Pride^note  traditionally Lucifer
  • Mementos - Sloth^note  traditionally Belphegor
  • Yaldabaoth and Satanael - all of the Seven Deadly Sins ^note Both units harness all the sins through different means. Yaldabaoth through battle and to represent how humans are self-destructive. Satanael combines the seven together for Sinful Shell, killing Yaldabaoth with them to represent how the sins can be a force of good as well as bad.
  • Azathoth/Adam Kadmon - Despair/Sorrow^note  Not Christian, nor one of Peter Binsfeld's standard sins.
• Maruki's ultimate Adam Kadmon is named for the biblical Adam. But its metallic skin, head fin, light powers and towering size actually make it a reference to the original Ultra Series hero, Ultraman. This contrasts with the Phantom Thieves being themed after various western and eastern superheroes and antagonists.
• Kasumi's Persona awakening is a shot-by-shot scene inspired by the iconic transformation sequences in Sailor Moon.

Others:

• The "crude" Phantom Thief Logo◊ the Ryuji creates in his calling card to Kamoshida is itself an homage to Kaito Kid's Iconic symbol◊. Ryuji's differs in that he traded the monocle for a domino mask, and the toothy grin on his symbol has shark teeth.
• One of the wrong answers in class to "what is the phenomenon that causes humans to believe a second hand stops moving on a clock?" is "The World", a reference to the time-stopping stand from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. (Only in the original Persona 5 and was patched out of Royal.)
  • The game as a whole could be a huge reference to Part 5: Vento Aureo (most obviously that they both star the most fabulously dressed criminals ever), but the prison motif of the game also brings to mind Part 6: Stone Ocean.
  • Not to mention, Makoto's Personas Johanna and Anat are very similar to Kyo's stand Born This Way (which debuted in Part 8: JoJolion), a guardian entity who resembles a motocycle.
• When asked what is in the hand of a famous statue of Hawaiian King Kamehameha one of the answers is a Dragon Ball.
• The roof of the castle Palace places Shadows that will almost always spot you, to recreate an iconic rooftop searchlight set piece from Lupin III.
• During her Rank 3 Confidant event, Ann said that she loves and admires a female villain from an anime she watched as a child. She said that she was beautiful, strong, sincere, and sexy, and that she said whatever she wants, do whatever she wants, and knew what justice was for her. Considering all the Lupin III references, this could be a reference to the series' female thief Fujiko Mine (although "sincere" is most definitely NOT a word you'd ever associate with Fujiko).
  • Ann may be referring to the specific version of Fujiko from The Castle of Cagliostro, in which the less savory aspects of her and most of the other main characters were toned way down.
• The ina bauer figure skating maneuver the Protagonist performs in the opening is the signature move of Yuzuru Hanyu, the 2014 Olympic figure skating gold medalist.
• Team cat Morgana using wagahai (a pretentious, archaic form of "I") is a reference to early 1900s Japanese satirical novel, I Am a Cat.
  • Interestingly, the novel was also famously referenced in Azumanga Daioh, which also has a main character who considers Fujiko Mine a role model.
• Whenever the team needs transportation, Morgana can transform into a cat bus. He mentions it's because "cats turning into buses" is an extremely widespread belief, in a nod to the famous Japanese children's film My Neighbor Totoro.
  • Right before transforming into a cat bus for the first time, Morgana strikes a Kamen Rider transformation pose and shouts "Transform!" Using the optional Japanese audio really drives it home when he times the pose to the iconic "Henshin!" call.
  • When Morgana explains that he can only transform into a car, Ryuji complains that he doesn't have more gadgets prepared, prompting Morgana to retort that he's not some sort of robot cat.
• While waiting for Ann and Morgana to change Madarame's cognition of the locked door, Ryuji prefixes his direct question about their success with the words "To be blunt". While this might sound out of character for a student like Ryuji, it fits if you've read Haruki Murakami's Trilogy of the Rat books—specifically Hear the Wind Sing, in which the narrator's best friend, a college dropout nicknamed "the Rat", tends to regularly prefix "To be blunt" when he's about to...well, be direct.
• Medjed, the hacker collective that threatens big corporations to reveal their secrets, and its entire subplot in the game is a massive shout-out to the plotline of the first season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
  We are Medjed. We are unseen. We will eliminate evil.
  • The name "Medjed" is itself a reference to real life internet culture; an ancient illustration of the Egyptian god Medjed became a rather popular internet meme in Japan after it was exhibited in Tokyo's Mori Arts Center Gallery in 2012.
  • On another level, Medjed's history as being a powerful hacktivist group who was disbanded and its name appropriated by a phony is similar to real-life hacktivist group Anonymous. Once one of the most feared and powerful hacking groups on the Internet, it was eventually neutered after a series of international FBI raids in 2012 dealt major blows to it, and the modern members of "Anonymous" are far less effective than the original group and are considered to be just a bunch of wannabes who stole the name.
• P5 uses the French Tarot de Marseille for its arcana deck, with the French religious themed names (Tower is now La Maison Dieu / "The House of God", Hierophant is Le Pape / "The Pope", etc.) appearing in various Arcana Video Game Interface Elements. Additionally, the Death Arcana has no name on its card, much like it real world counterpart.
• April 12th's class lecture is on Plato's tripartite theory of soul from The Republic.
• A wrong answer the player can give during a question in the first exam period is Digital Devil Story^note The correct answer is The Devil's Dictionary, the novel that kickstarted the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.
• Yusuke breaks Futaba's Featherman action figures and tries to repair them. The ensuing poses of the action figures are that of the Ginyu Force, albeit not in its members' designed positions, whereas the suits and colors of the Featherman figures are evocative of Super Sentai.
• One of the battle quotes for the Shadows is "Only the good die young, kid."
• While fighting hostile variations of Atlus's Series Mascot Jack Frost, one of his battle quotes is distinctly pronounced as "Nee Ho, Nee Ho, Nee!", a corruption of his usual Catchphrase "Hee Ho".
• One of the messages from the Phantom Thieves fansite during loading screen include a Spanish sentence "Que es Fantom Thief?" which brings in mind the series of ARG game meta-wise in Overwatch before the release of Sombra, a Mexican hacker.
• A chat conversation about motorcycles after Makoto joins the party references the song "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi:
  Ryuji: It'll be just like the song! "I'm a phantom, on a steel horse I ride..."^note The original lyric is "cowboy" instead of "phantom" and the "steel horse" refers to a tour bus not a motorcycle.
  Makoto: Don't say such things. And for the record, I am most certainly not "wanted.".
• One of the many questions that can be asked during a negotiation is if love can bloom anywhere, even on a battlefield.
• When deciding who should look around the school for students who are being blackmailed by Kaneshiro, you're granted with three dialogue options; "I'll go", "Ryuji, it's up to you", and "Morgana, I choose you!". Doubles as an Actor Allusion—Morgana is voiced by Pikachu's VA Ikue Otani in the Japanese version.
• One of Ms. Chouno's lessons is about the fragility of life, mentioning that because a cat has nine lives they probably wouldn't die even if you killed them.
  • Expanding on this, after catching up with the In Medias Res sequence, Morgana will comment that you didn't die, even though you were killed.
• When you visit Kamoshida's Palace with a full party for the first time, you get detoured to the Velvet Room to discuss your rehabilitation with Igor. One of the dialogue options is "I never asked for this."
• Checking the inventory after buying the retro game console shows it's named the Famidrive, a mash-up of the Famicom and Mega Drive. The console physically resembles the Japanese Famicom however, down to the white and burgundy color scheme, the eject lever to push out the cartridge and the cradles on the sides for the controllers to sit in when not in use, though the Famidrive apparently has a third cradle behind the cartridge slot.
• Madarame's repentance scene is a shout-out to an real life example — Japanese Senator Ryutaro Nonomura crying for forgiveness in front of media for embezzling funds.
• Out of all the video games you can play, the most blatant reference is Punch Ouch, a retro boxing game where you fight from Cracker Joe to Mike Bryson.
• When the crown is knocked away from Asmodeus, it'll yell "NOOOO!!! My precious!!"
• The Mementos Paths are named after translations of the 'Qliphoth' - opposite to the Jewish Tree of Life. Even the Very Definitely Final Dungeon is called Qliphoth.
• A class question asks you to identify the pirate Captain Kidd; incorrect responses include Captain Hook and John Silver.
• When Okumura runs out of enemies to throw at you and tries to summon more, the battle text reads: "But nobody came..."
• When Kaneshiro summons his Piggytron, he says "Let's roll out".
  • One of the Piggytron's attacks is March of the Piggy.
• During Ann's Confidant link, she's invited by Mika to a photo shoot. One of the protagonist's dialogue options is "It's a trap!"
• At one point in her Confidant link, Futaba, overcome with anxiety, pleads with the Protagonist to help her, stating; "Help me, Protagonist; you're my only hope!". Possibly a Mythology Gag as Persona 4 made the exact same reference.
  • Futuba's Confidant in general contains quite a few references, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Pokémon, as well as a reference to The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask when she refers to "The Dawn of the Final Day" while trying to get the protagonist to come on a trip with her.
• Akechi paraphrases the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel when you begin his confidant quest chain.
  Akechi: Advancement cannot occur without both thesis and antithesis....
• In the Japanese version, when the team starts suggesting a code name for Makoto, Ryuji suggests "Conqueror of the Century's End" (changed to "Ms. Post-Apocalyptic Rider" in localization), which is Raoh's title in Fist of the North Star.
  • Makoto gets a few more shout-outs to Fist of the North Star in Royal. Ryuji calls her the "Fist of the Phantom Star" after she awakens her Persona, and her Showtime attack with him features Makoto using Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs while saying "ATATATATATATATA!" She even has a voice clip saying "You're already dead!"
• When observing the rules of the battle arena in the Casino Palace, Futaba remarks that it's like "the whole Challenger Approaching thing in Super Bash Bros". It's also a reference to Xander Mobus' role as the Announcer for the series. It adds an extra layer in Royal, since by the time the Updated Re-release was out, Joker was added as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
• At the end of the Devil Confidant, Ohya figures out that Joker is one of the Phantom Thieves. One of the dialogue options is for Joker to respond with "Lala-chan's the real phantom thief", to which Ohya will say that "Lala-chan's more of a... phantom menace".
• Before cleaning up her room, Futaba has a book with the Aperture Science logo from Portal on her floor. She also has a PVC figure of Catherine.
• On your first attempt at a workout routine, you wind up sprawled on the ground in exhaustion. The pose you make is Yamcha's iconic death pose.
• Ryuji has a gun called Mad Maximum, whose description reads "model gun with a post apocalyptic aesthetic".
• One of the prizes in the inaccessible crane machines is a black and white bear-like stuffed toy. Mona even comments that he has the feeling he's seen it somewhere before.
• At the start of her Confidant, Futaba drops the line "victory conditions met!" in reference to having the protagonist around. This is a slightly-mangled nod to one of the Catch Phrases of Jun Fukuyama's (Joker's Japanese voice actor's) iconic role as Magnificent Bastard Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass.
• Some of the Phantom Thieves' ultimate weapons, made by Itemizing certain Personas using the Electric Chair, are named after various sources' (but mostly books') mythological weapons:
  • Joker's ultimate melee weapon (made by itemizing Satanael) is called Paradise Lost.
  • Morgana's ultimate melee weapon is Claiomh Solais, a weapon from Irish mythology.
  • Ryuji has Ruyi Jingu Bang, the magical staff belonging to Sun Wukong/Seiten Taisei.
  • Makoto has a set of gauntlets named Sabazios, a horseman in Greek mythology. Furthermore, Sabazios was worshipped using bronze statues shaped like gauntlets.
  • Haru has Fleur Du Mal, named after Les Fleurs du Mal (lit. The Flowers of Evil), a 1857 volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire notable for being considered "an insult to public decency" and getting both the author and the publisher prosecuted.
• The online streaming service that aired Okumura's confession is a parody of Japanese streaming service Nico Nico Douga as can be seen by comments flying across the screen and a technical difficulties placard.
• Destinyland is a blatant parody of Tokyo Disneyland, although this isn't the first game (nor the second if you count "Coordinate 136", which is an obvious Shout-Out to both the former and the real-life park) to use that location. To wit, the station signifying it on the metro map is Maihama (which is the main access point for the real-life Tokyo Disneyland) the music sounds like the ones used at Disneyland's parades, and Ann, Ryuji, and Futaba wear animal headbands as a stand-in for the Mickey Mouse ear-hats. "Round mouse ears" are even explicitly mentioned as souvenirs of the place in Royal.
• We could probably dedicate an entire section to shout-out from Death Note alone. To wit:
  • Goro Akechi's appearance and unflappable demeanor is nigh-identical to Light Yagami's, right down to the two messy strands of hair near his forehead. The comparisons become even more appropriate once the full extent of his... extreme ideas for attaining justice are revealed - specifically, using a supernatural power to off his victims in a manner which resembles heart attacks in the real world, and aligning himself with the enemy to destroy their enigmatic leader.
  • Futaba's sitting posture is identical to L's, while her Xanatos Gambit to unveil the true mastermind's identity would make any resident of Wammy House proud.
  • The rise of the Phantom Thieves after the Medjed arc parallels the unrest Kira elicits to a T.
• Ryuji quotes Enter the Dragon in a Mementos skit:
  Haru: Hmm...it's so dark, I feel like my vision is getting worse.
  Ryuji: It might work better if you don't rely on your eyes. You know, like..."Don't think. Feel."
  • This doubles as a Mythology Gag, since Enter The Dragon was also one of Chie Satonaka's favorite movies, to the point where that same line was one of her victory quotes.
• The lyrics of "Beneath the Mask" mention "Poe's masquerade", referencing Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Masque of the Red Death". Interestingly, Masque has long been referenced in the series with the Velvet Room, which originates from the story.
• When you fight the twins with Futaba as your navigator, she says she wants to take them home with her.
• After Yusuke joins the team, there is a conversation between two students that you can listen in on that references Rockwell's one-hit wonder:
  Friendly Female Student: Ikesugi-kun, are you free after this? Let's go hang out in Shibuya with everyone.
  Fair-faced Male Student: Sorry, but I've just been too tired lately. It always feels like... somebody's watching me.^note Delivered almost exactly like the song, too!
• One of the game's items is called Devil Fruit.
• A boss called The Cleaner in an area called "Arc of The Elite"? Hmm...
• Hifumi Togou's entire character concept as a stunningly beautiful high school-aged professional shogi player is based off of the gorgeous Manao Kagawa, who has been a professional shogi player since age 14.
• One of the handguns Joker can wield is the Gravity Gun.
• The overall plot and themes of the game bears many similarities to The Matrix. Both works feature a Badass Longcoat-wearing protagonist who leads a group of rebels in traveling between the real world and another that operates on Your Mind Makes It Real where they have special powers in order to fight an oppressive system. The subterranean Mementos even resembles the real world from The Matrix, especially the Prison of Regression in the Depths of Mementos where Holy Grail draws power from the masses imprisoned there, similar to how the machines harvest energy from the humans. The Gnostic themes present in the game's ending also invite comparisons between the two. That said, this could also be attributed to shared influences, rather than homage.
• During a Mementos conversation, after Ann complains about the tail on her costume, Futaba wishes that she had two, in reference to fellow Gadgeteer Genius and Baby of the Bunch Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog.
• The audio from the film Like a Dragon has the implied protagonist lamenting the murder of his boss by shouting his name three times in a very familiar manner...
• The Protagonist is caught on purpose and escapes from the police station thanks to a phone call being made, much like how the Joker escapes the Major Crimes Unit in The Dark Knight, albeit in the Protagonist's case, the phone call was made to Sae Niijima rather than a human bomb.
• One Mementos conversation about firearms has Futaba interested in getting one for herself despite her not physically fighting. She has a particular interest in a paintball gun, which, given her heavy resemblance to an Inkling, was likely intentional.
• In Royal, a reference to the notable Grumpy Cat meme is made thanks to Morgana stating that he is not a cat nor grumpy.
• In Royal, one of Yusuke's battle selection quotes is "How do you want to do this?"
• Again in Royal, when Maruki helps with the cooking at the park clean-up he reenacts the "Salt Bae" meme (and fails miserably).
• During Futaba's Christmas scene in Royal, Joker thanks her and commends her on never giving up. Futaba then explains how she was able to keep her cool:
  Futaba: What's my secret? That's easy: Never give up! Trust your instincts! Mweheheh…
  • During the same event, she remarks that the cake is tasty enough that if you were in a cooking anime, "this cake would be blasting people's clothes off!"
• The names of the Showtime attacks in Royal are references to films and television programs^note Western/Japanese:
  • Mona and Panther: Gun with the Wind/Phantom Clothings And Machine Gun
  • Queen and Skull: Max Moxie/Mad Mix
  • Skull and Fox: Inglorious Beefbowls/That Man Did This For a Beef Bowl
  • Panther and Fox: The Kabuki Kid
  • Mona and Noir: Drive Hard/Best Night Kid
  • Noir and Queen: PTE ThwackDown/Last Countdown
  • Joker and Black Mask: Bladed Runners/From Hell Till Dawn
  • Joker and Violet: Dances With Thieves/Dances With Phantoms
• In Royal, Futaba calls going out with Joker in her confidant storyline “Phantom Thieves IV: Chapters of the Thieves“.
• When she plays a pair in Tycoon in Royal, Futaba will sometimes say "Shall I give you this pair?", a reference to an often mondegreened line from Sephiroth in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
• In Royal, the trophy unlocked by officially forming the Phantom Thieves of Hearts is Phantom Thieves: Assemble.
• You make your contract with Ohya at a bar called the Crossroads. I.e., you're making a deal with the Devil At the Crossroads.
• When Yusuke has Joker model as Jesus as he suffered on the cross he calls Joker's pained expression "The TRUE Passion of the Christ".
• Futaba volunteers to speak to the Shadow IT President in Shido's Palace. She says it'll be like "that show where the kid goes shopping alone for the first time", likely referencing the Japanese reality show Old Enough.
• The chorus for "Rivers in the Desert" mentions "a heartbeat for a tin man".
• In Royal, if you visit the Velvet Room during a Fusion Alarm and pay close attention to the dance Caroline and Justine are doing just behind the barred door of Joker's cell, one of their dance moves is (fittingly) part of the famous 'Fusion Dance' from Dragon Ball Z.
• In Royal when infiltrating the mysterious palace on January 2nd, the palace ruler speaks to Joker and his companions over the loudspeaker; Akechi calls it a "big voice behind the curtain" act.

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