I just want to answer some common Persona related argument I often hear from people who push back against my claim that Persona is cacophobe-positive, just so they're out of the way:
"What about Igor? Don't the games portray him in a positive way?"
Igor is interesting, because I think he's an example that proves the games are cacophobic.
First of all, it's important to note that Igor in Persona is a generic stock character. First originating from Frankenstein, the character has since become a stock character who embodies the traits of "an odd-looking assistant with a hunchback, who is clouded in mystery". Obviously, the Igor from Persona is something of a twist on this character.
However, this was not at all without intention. I think that having the primary imagery of the franchise be one of an typical stock ugly dude who metaphorically "chains" beautiful women to him as his servants is entirely intentional-and I think it ties into the cacophobic messaging of the franchise. Think about it this way: do you actually know anything about Igor? What he is? What he does? No, he's a complete enigma. You don't know if he's good, if he's bad, you don't know a thing about him, nor any connection he has to the Velvet Room.
When you think of the Velvet Room you don't think of Igor, you think of Elizabeth, you think of Margaret, etc. In a way, I feel like this was an intentional choice; although he purposes himself as the one who is their master, in effect, they are the ones who hold actual authority over him. In that sense, the presence of the Velvet Room represents, within itself and it's operations, the core cacophobia message of the series of beautiful-looking individuals taking their ownership away from ugly individuals who wish to suppress them.
Igor is the central cacophobic representation of Persona-and his "servants" are the representatives of the theming of beauty fighting back.
"Do you consider Adachi attractive? What do you make of him having a big fanbase, despite not being attractive-looking?"
I honestly never even paid this that much thought until fairly recently. However, I do think that there's something inherently vile about this.
Okay, so I said in a previous part of this 'story' that I don't think Adachi is ugly-and while I think that's true, I do, nevertheless, think that Persona 4 tries to do a lot of it's cacophobic messaging via Adachi. It just doesn't do it with an ugly person, it does it with an incredibly dull, unbelievably average looking man. Nevertheless the central theme is still there.
I don't think that Adachi having a fanbase, despite being not-attractive looking, is a particularly relevant point, though. I've made the point over and over again that I think this entire fandom is batshit insane, and full of nonsense. This is just another aspect of that. Even ignoring the cacophobic aspect for now, I don't grasp the attraction to Adachi, and I never will do. Which is ironic, since people often compare me to him, but he's about as typical whiny bastard as you can get.
Quite purposefully so on the game's part, I might add.
Adachi represents the whining of the inferior people; which is why I think he's so popular. I think that this ties into the overal cacophobic messaging of P4 to an extent, but more broadly it's a message about not being a whining creep, which is something a lot more of you could stand to grasp.
"What about Kanji?"
Since when is Kanji ever said to be ugly? He's not, and even if you take the artstyle out of it, he's not, either. He's hulky and burly, which doesn't make him ugly. If anything, he's more or less considered to be someone who'd look nice, by the standards of a gay crush, which is part of the reason for the conflict of his character in the first place.
The only time I recall him ever being called ugly was in Blazblue Crosstag Battle. Which, depsite being official, is not canonical, and it was also said by an extremely bratty and annoying character (bare in mind that just after this, the same character goes on to accuse the entire P4 cast of being pedophphiles, including the girls).
"What about Junpei?"
I actually somewhat agree with this to an extent; although he's not exactly ugly, I would say he's supposed to be your typical unattractive guy-dork. But I also think it's true that this is conscious on the game's part and entirely intentional cacophobic-framing, and I think that his relationship dynamic with Yukari is the byproduct of this.
I purposefully have Yukari & the Shadow Operatives fuck over Junpei in my Operation Ugly Eradication story for this reason.
"What about Morgana?"
Morgana is not human. Thusly applying human beauty standards to him is ridiculous and pointless.
That's about all there is to that.
Yes, I understand that Morgana has an entire thing in the game about body image issues, but it's absolutely absurd to try and apply this to some broader body-positivity/anti-cacophobia idea. It's simply his insecurity over not being human. Please, STOP bringing this up like it makes any sense as an argument.
"If Hanako is meant to be bad because she looks bad, wouldn't they have made her more likable, personality-wise?"
I don't even need to explain what's so stupid about this logic.
I'm just moving on, because it's circular it's making my head spin.
"Didn't the Investigation Team express sadness when King Moron was killed?"
Very middling sadness, and I hesitate to even call it sadness. More like, "glad that ugly bastard is dead, but man...the serial killer still existing sure sucks, huh?". That was the extent of the sympathy they showed.
Again, this does not at all disprove any cacophobic messaging.
"Wasn't Ann's entire character that you shouldn't judge by appearance?"
No, Ann's entire character is that she was getting abused because of her beauty, because her beauty was a passive by-product that she wasn't making a conscious aspect of herself. She makes it a conscious aspect of herself, and thus it stops being used to abuse her. If anything, the message is that physical appearance should equate to a person's worth and personality, because otherwise people will use it to manipulate and abuse you.
"Mitsuru's grandfather was ugly as hell"
And he was an evil bastard. What's your point?
"Mitsuru's father wasn't attractive"
I'd say he was more just "old". And besides, he was killed off so that his more beautiful off-spring could take his place, so again, I don't see what point this is making.
"Chidori was a beautiful girl, and she was a villain"
She is also one of the most sympathetic "villains" the series has ever had. And the most sympathetic in P3, by a country-mile.
I mean, she literally has a side story about self-harming, for fuck's sake.
Again, this seems to confirm my theory, more than it does debunk it.
Thanks for reading, and I hope I cleared up your questions
