The Character I Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love

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EDIT 3/1/25: I uploaded the video essay above, so this article is kind of outdated…

It’s time to out myself as a quirky “low-key” hipster and talk about one of my favorite characters in all of the stories I’ve experienced. Often, there will be times where I have find something I really like, but cannot find the words to truly describe why I like the thing. This is the post that will hopefully make it clear to myself on why I really love Marie from Persona 4 Golden.

So… what is it that makes me gravitate towards her when I think of all time favorite characters?

Is it the distinct combination of being a rocker girl with emo clothing?

Is it the rocker girl vibes and straight facts she spits when given the opportunity to cook?

Or maybe it is something deeper?

Is it cause she does some cringe things which I relate to as I’m actually cringe despite trying not to be but futile cause being weird is actually cool (when not trying too hard)?

I think that it is actually all these things: the underlying ideas of her story/design resonates with me to my core. I’m definitely over exaggerating here, but at the end of the day, there’s something about this character that has stuck with me ever since I played Persona 4 Golden.

Foreword

Back in the summer of 2020, I was coming off the super stressful 2nd year of university where I was trying to complete all the final assignments. To make things short, let’s just say that stacking 6 classes (average being 4 classes) for the semester was a decision that caught up with me. Luckily, I was able to survive and not fail any of my classes; however, I realize in hindsight, that this was the beginning of my spiral towards suppressing my emotions.

League of Legends, Warframe, Realm of the Mad God, Roblox. These games were some of the things I played during this time. Although I have fond nostalgia for how fun these games were, I realize that a lot of the time, I used these games to avoid thinking about the future and the mistakes from the past.

Then, out of nowhere, I saw that Persona 4 Golden was released on Steam. I had played Persona 1 Revelations before, but never experienced a modern Persona game till then. Obviously, if it wasn’t obvious from my favorite character in fiction, I really love Persona 4 Golden. This game, although didn’t change my life immediately, has become an important piece of art informing how I want to pursue things in life.

Mystery Rizz

Not gonna lie, I might have a thing for mysterious girls with a secret to hide. This is coming from me in hindsight, but a few examples of female characters I enjoy following this trend are Toko Fukawa from Danganronpa, Tharja from Fire Emblem Awakening, Reze from Chainsaw Man, Brunhilde from Record of Ragnarok, and Ai Hayasaka from Kaguya-sama Love is War. Upon writing this, I notice that it may not be mysterious girls I’m interested in, but actually goth-like girls that are secretly crazy…

Going back to the topic at hand: Marie’s clothing style immediately catches the eye. Looking past the obvious velvet room attendant accessories, the two main features to her style that stand out to me are:

1. The use of red, black, and white colors between her striped sleeves, stockings, and skirt

2. Gold lock choker and gold heart belt.

It’s hard to pin down the reasoning for the design choices for Marie. I cannot find a single interview related to her design and I am unable to read any Japanese (for now). Luckily, we can glean a bit of her design from what we see from the Persona 4 Golden game and the anime’s ending theme “Dazzling Smile”.