Ever since Persona broke through in the West, the series has exploded in popularity. It went from being a relatively popular spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei series, to rivaling its popularity in just a few short years. The worldwide release of Persona 5 in 2017 caught the attention of plenty more JRPG fans who have since fallen in love with the series. Popular for its likable characters, intriguing visual style, gripping story and unforgettable soundtrack, Persona 5 has taken an extended victory lap with the releases of Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers.

Dancing in Starlight is a simple rhythm game that didn't add much in terms of new story content, but Persona 5 Royal became the definitive way to play Persona 5, as it updated plenty of features and added more content in the form of new characters, another dungeon and an additional school semester. Strikers released worldwide earlier this year and serves as a sort-of sequel to Persona 5 transformed into a Dynasty Warriors Musou game. There has been so much Persona 5 content over the past several years, and yet, Haru Okumura still hasn't been given the character development that she deserves.

Spoilers for Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers ahead.

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The Original Problem with Haru in Persona 5

Haru Okumura's Confidant in Persona 5

In the base version of Persona 5, Haru is the final member of the Phantom Thieves that player-character Joker meets during his time at Shujin Academy. While there are plenty of other memorable characters in Persona 5, both in and outside the Phantom Thieves, there wasn't much attention paid to Haru. Some fans simply thought that she wasn't as compelling of a character as the rest of the bunch, but she was just as deep and interesting as the other Phantom Thieves on paper. In-game, her late introduction in the story did her a great disservice.

Because players were already invested in other Confidants, and Haru's introduction was paired with the unpopular storyline following Morgana's exit from the Phantom Thieves, hanging out with her didn't seem like it would be all that interesting. Additionally, players had most likely already made up their minds on who to pursue a romantic storyline with, so Haru just sort of fell to the wayside. The players who did decide to see her story through to the end understood that she's just as interesting as the rest of the characters in the game.

Unfortunately for all Haru fans, she just doesn't have much time to shine in the original Persona 5 because of her late induction into the Phantom Thieves. It's not that she's underwritten, she just lacks the hours and hours of screen time and bonding that characters like Ryuji, Makoto and Ann have as initial characters in the game. While most members of the Phantom Thieves get to have multiple character arcs throughout the game, Haru essentially just gets the one associated with her father's palace and her Confidant story.

Haru in Persona 5 Royal

haru in persona 5 scramble

When Persona 5 Royal announced additional semesters coming to the base game, fans of Haru were excited. Finally, she would get more screen time and have more going for her than her initial character arc. While she does get more screen time, Haru's character arc in Royal still leaves quite a bit to be desired. Her entire arc in the base version of the game surrounded her father, his death, dealing with her unwanted potential spouse and trying to be the head of Okumura Foods. In Persona 5 Royal, she just gets more of the same.

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In the third semester, Maruki alters reality to make it so that Akechi never caused her father to have a mental shut down and die. Because of this, Haru is manipulated into spending quality time with her unreal father. After denying Maruki's false reality, Kunikazu Okumura disappears one final time. Haru spends her time with Joker dealing with the death of her father once more.

The problem is that it seems like the potential to add more to Haru's character in Persona 5 Royal was acted on solely to rehash parts of her that the audience already understood. There's no real new information being presented or any new, deeper levels to Haru's character development that are being highlighted. While it does more to directly address the impact her father's death had on Haru, Persona 5 Royal doesn't add anything significant to further flesh out Haru as a character.

The Persona 5 Strikers Problem

The pseudo-sequel to Persona 5Persona 5 Strikers, also had a big opportunity to give Haru more to do, but again the series fails her. Haru isn't the only character who got the short end of the stick in Strikers, but as she continues drawing short sticks, it seems like she may never get the development fans are looking for. The problem with Haru in Persona 5 Strikers is shared amongst the Phantom Thieves: there are a few too many voices in the group for anyone to say anything particularly meaningful.

While Persona 5 Strikers is still a solid spin-off in the series, it's been pointed out that because all the characters have already gotten their arcs, they didn't have anywhere to go from there. This is especially true with Haru because of her weak relationship with Mariko Hyodo, the game's third boss. Haru knows Hyodo from her childhood and now that Hyodo is the mayor of Sapporo, she's become corrupt and the monarch of a jail.

The Sendai and Sapporo jails are the two weakest in the game because they aren't really connected to the Phantom Thieves, other than for superficial reasons. Haru's connection to Hyodo is weak as the two don't really know each other, considering they haven't spoken since Haru was a young child. Their relationship is strictly defined by her relationship with her father, once again treading old ground.

Haru's Future

It's unfortunate that Haru hasn't ever gotten the character depth she deserves. She was introduced in Persona 5 at a disadvantage, but her subsequent appearances haven't added anything substantial to her character development. It seems like there's potentially more Persona 5 content on the horizon, but it seems unlikely that much time will be devoted to giving Haru more character development. It's a shame because the rest of the members of the Phantom Thieves are defined by the things that they do, but Haru is oftentimes defined by the things that happen to her. Hopefully, she'll get just a little more exposition in what's potentially coming in the future.

Persona 5 Royal is available now for PlayStation 4.

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