Persona 5 Reverse Arcana Theory

Okay so I thought I’d actually make a proper post explaining why I think the arcana in persona 5 is not going to be the normal one’s we seen.





But rather the reverse.





(When you reverse a social link in P4 it turns red…Coincidence maybe? )

To start I watched the trailers again, and I found something interesting:

This little screenshot right here. It tells us the protagonists’ arcana

Oh good. So we’re dealing with the Fool arcana…but wait.





Why does it say Joker?





If you google ‘Joker Arcana’ It gives you the first page of the SMT wiki: The Fool

Which is good. However, all of our other protagonists were the fool, and none of them were called ‘The Joker’. (despite the fact that the joker/jester is on the card to begin with ) I think this isn’t like the others….could this be a sign saying that we are getting the reverse of the original?

Just to be safe and not get carried away-

Let’s dig a bit deeper.

Now when we look at the fool arcana we know that it represents a journey, and how it represents the number 0 and how we all have limitless possibilities….but what about the reverse arcana?





After doing some research I have found that the reverse fool is actually what the protagonist is like already.

The reverse fool ‘suggests that you are longing to be free but responsibilities and commitments weigh you down. You may feel trapped and come up with some hair brained ideas to find a way out of duty. When The Fool is reversed, now is not the time for spontaneity and freedom.’ - (Quote from x )



Wait so does that mean we shouldn’t be searching for freedom?





Isn’t that what the protagonist wants?





The answer to that question is yes. Now although it says to stay away from pursuing freedom, it has a caveat. Basically it means that you should deal with all things first, and then go after it. You shouldn’t try and work around it because that causes trouble.





Now when it comes to the protagonist, we know he wants freedom, however; we have also seen other types of behavior just by looking at the trailers. We’ve seen his recklessness:













and his apathetic attitude toward school (as well as being picked on by other people i.e. the teacher):





Both of these behaviors are signs of being part of the reverse fool.

Now although I could go into detail on other things and what feeling the reverse fool is like, I’m going to put it into simple feelings and ideas:

Pessimism



Can be considered annoying

Impulsive behavior

let opportunities slip through your fingers

feeling abandonment

break from the norm do something wild or outrageous

You do not trust yourself

Vanity

Being childlike

You have lost all faith in life

You have lost the meaning of life and are only focused on the past or future (Steal back your future? How ironic)

So with this in mind what should you do?

Well with the reverse fool arcana, it suggests that it primarily has to do with something that happened in your childhood.

Now this makes sense as to why the protagonist could be lashing out:

his parents abandoned him.

There could be other reasons too, but we know this one from the recent articles that the protagonist no longer lives or associates with his family.

Now what could this mean for his fate and the way we play the game? (If this theory is true? )

It would finally explain:

Why they go to a school for delinquents. They aren’t considered to be good since in reality the reverse arcana’s are not.

And why Painter Jun’s trailer quote is ‘Never Give In’, because if you do…

then what?

Why it’s still considered the fool arcana despite it being in the down position, and can be called such.

Why Social Links have been replaced with ‘Cooperation’. You wouldn’t see your friends as well friends. But rather tools to get to where you need to go. Since reverse fools have a hard time trusting people.

And finally:

I truely think that this is what could happen and it could not only work for the protagonist, but for all the characters since their are reverse arcana for every single tarot card.





And trust me, reading about the other reverse tarots is not pretty.

If this actually happens I can only say I hope we are all prepared for an emotional game like no other.

Now I think that’s all I have to say for now,if I have anything to add I will do so. Please feel free to tell me what you think.





If you would like to read more about this and see where I go the information from: Source