| Yu Narukami | |
|---|---|
| Persona character | |
 Yu Narukami in Persona 4 Arena accompanied by his Persona 'Izanagi' | |
| First appearance | Persona 4 (2008) |
| Designed by | Shigenori Soejima |
| Voiced by | EN: Johnny Yong Bosch[1] JA: Daisuke Namikawa[1] |
| Portrayed by | |
| In-universe information | |
| Weapon | Katana |
| Relatives |
|
Yu Narukami (Japanese: 鳴上 悠, Hepburn: Narukami Yū) is a character featured in the Persona series developed by Atlus, debuting as the protagonist of the 2008 role-playing video game Persona 4. In the game, Yu is a silent protagonist whose thoughts and actions are decided by the player. He is portrayed as a high school student who moves to the countryside region Inaba away from his city home, to live with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima and cousin Nanako while his parents are busy working. Shortly after arriving in Inaba, Yu starts investigating a murder case involving victims killed in the mysterious TV World, where he awakens his "Persona" — the physical manifestation of his subconscious spirit — in order to confront and defeat the "Shadows", the creatures who murdered the first victims. Yu has also appeared in other works related to Persona 4, including an anime adaptation, Persona 4: The Animation, a manga version, and several spin-off games. For these works, Yu received his own characterization and development in the stories.
Yu was designed by Shigenori Soejima who aimed to create an ambiguous character who could appeal to most players by way of reflecting several feelings towards them and through his mannerisms. For the anime, director Seiji Kishi expressed difficulties in giving the character emotions without damaging what the original staff created. The character is voiced by Daisuke Namikawa in Japanese and Johnny Yong Bosch in English. Both actors expressed difficulty in voicing him with Namikawa finding his social life challenging while Bosch also had to voice another major character in the anime.
Yu has been positively received by critics, with his characterization, social life and being the subjects of praise due to his portrayal as a mostly silent teenager whose few lines are related to the plot and in some cases, a source of witty comedy. However, his anime adaptation with more soul and more lines was also received well as a different, less lifeless take on the character while staying true to the original Yu seen in the game.
- ^ a b "Yu Narukami Voice - Megami Tensei franchise". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
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