Ryoji Mochizuki

Ryoji Mochizuki is a non-playable character from Persona 3. He is a transfer student who enrolled into Gekkoukan High School later in the story and became known for his flirtatious nature.

Appearances

 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Major Character
 * Persona 3 Portable (F ): Fortune Social Link
 * Persona 3 (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 3 The Movie: Major Character
 * Persona 3 Portable Dear Girls Comic Anthology
 * Persona 3 Portable Dear Girls Comic Anthology
 * Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade -Souen no Kesshou-/ Chapter 4: Ai no Seiyaku/Final Chapter: Hekikuu no Kanata e
 * Persona 3 Portable Drama CD Volume 2

Design
Ryoji has black, swept back hair, blue eyes, and a beauty mark under his left eye. He wears the school uniform of Gekkoukan High School, with the added detail of folded black sleeves. He also wears black suspenders, a watch with crossed straps on his left wrist, and a yellow scarf. He is never seen without his scarf except in Kyoto.

Personality
Without his memories as Death, Ryoji is very flirtatious and lively in both the male and female protagonist routes, though the latter route reveals a far better understanding of him through his Social Link, fully revealing his kind, gentle, caring and empathetic personality. However, like Junpei, Ryoji can be very perverted at times, especially in the Hot Springs trip in Kyoto.

During the female protagonist's route, Ryoji initially flirts with her, yet his demeanor quickly changes when she's around. He seems to enjoy her company and he will outright turn down any other girl to be with her; he also proves to be very romantic and if the protagonist shows interest, he will reveal a more melancholic side and fear of losing her.

Persona 3
After the defeat of the twelve Greater Shadows, followed by the exposure of Shuji Ikutsuki's deceit and his simultaneous death, Ryoji arrives as a transfer student, claiming his parents are working overseas. Ryoji's flirtatious personality immediately gains people's attention and his frequent antics with Junpei causes him to often get on Yukari's nerves. Aigis continually expresses an unknown feeling of hostility toward him and repeatedly warns the protagonist to keep his guard up around Ryoji.

Despite the warnings, Ryoji later befriends Junpei and Yukari, along with the protagonist and the other members of SEES. He proclaims to be from a rich family, and is apparently very popular with his classmates. During a school trip, Ryoji, Junpei, Akihiko, and the protagonist attempt to get in a hot spring with the girls by "mistaking" the time. Eventually, Yukari, Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Aigis show up in the hot spring, much to Akihiko's panic and fear. Depending on the protagonist's actions, he could either escape from the girls' vision or get caught for being a "peeping Tom." Should the protagonist successfully avoid the girls, Ryoji and Junpei will faint from staying in the hot springs for too long.

Ryoji's true past is revealed after Aigis eventually senses who he really is. She confronts him one night during the Dark Hour on the Moonlight Bridge. At first, Ryoji can't remember what led him there, or why Aigis shows such hostility toward him. Aigis explains what she really is and her true purpose as an Anti-Shadow Weapon. She claims to have fought against Ryoji at that same location 10 years ago. This triggers his memories of his true identity, the anthropomorphic personification of Death, and Ryoji easily halts Aigis' assault, heavily wounding her. He faints after SEES arrives, but explains his true identity the next day.

Ryoji reveals that he was sealed inside the protagonist's body 10 years ago by Aigis, after she realized Death can not be defeated. Being locked away within the protagonist's body, he manifested as the form of a child known as Pharos, and defeating the twelve Shadows manifested him further into the real world as Ryoji Mochizuki. He explains that he is the "Appriser" of Nyx, and is destined to be the harbinger of Death (ultimately becoming the Avatar of Nyx). However, he feels misery and guilt because of the bond between the Protagonist and his other identity, Pharos. Thus Ryoji offers SEES the option to kill him, instead of facing Nyx, but gives them a month to think about it.



On December 31, Ryoji asks for SEES to make their decision. He invites himself into the protagonist's room and sits on his bed, where he issues an offer where the protagonist could kill him, so the memories of the Dark Hour (the cause of all of SEES' pain and suffering) can be erased, allowing them to live their lives as normal high school students until the inevitable arrival of Nyx on the promised day. In a further attempt to persuade the protagonist to kill him, Ryoji takes on his true form as Death.

The protagonist is not given a second chance to reconsider his choices in this event.

Accepting Ryoji's offer will result in a bad ending. The protagonist is shown pointing his Evoker to his head, presumably to summon his Persona and kill Ryoji, before the scene fades to black. All memories of The Fall are forgotten and rewritten if applicable. The date then advances to the 3rd of March, where Junpei, Yukari and the protagonist live their lives and attend Gekkoukan, meeting Aigis on the way. Junpei and Yukari do not recognize Aigis and her name is replaced by "Strange Girl."

The game then skips to the 5th of March, where the trio attend the third year's Graduation ceremony. Mitsuru steps up to the podium to hold a speech about last year, but the death of her father was seemingly rewritten without mentioning the Dark Hour and Ikutsuki's involvement in it, and similarly, Yukari omits the reason for her father's death. Unlike in later Persona games, the normal credits roll upon triggering this bad ending, but an extra scene post-credits displays Yukari, Junpei and the protagonist singing karaoke before the screen fades to gray, presumably implying that they were all killed by The Fall.

If the protagonist refuses Ryoji's offer to kill him, he provides the members of SEES with useful information regarding a confrontation with Nyx. When Ryoji leaves, he tells them to "look forward to the next year," presumably indicating that he himself hopes that they can put a stop to Nyx. The Adamah Block in Tartarus becomes available afterwards, the Fool Arcana Social Link maxes out, and the Judgement Arcana Social Link begins.



On January 31st, Ryoji appears at the top of Tartarus as the Nyx Avatar, bearing the potential and skills that the twelve previous Shadows possessed. Throughout the battle he shifts from one Arcana to another while explaining their motifs and purpose, up to his final final and true Arcana, Death. While arming an attack, he tells the protagonist not to regret anything, as this is the protagonist's "own decision."

After the protagonist manages to fend off the Avatar of Nyx, Ryoji laments that there should have been more people like SEES, then perhaps the Fall could have been avoided, and shrugs off the SEES' assault, and continues his summoning of Nyx. As SEES fall into despair, the protagonist rises upon the moon to face Nyx. Through the cheering of others, he manages to perform the Great Seal, thus stopping Nyx. Ryoji's voice reappears, commentating that the protagonist has found his answer to life, before fading away.

Portable
Ryoji represents the female protagonist's Fortune Arcana Social Link, which automatically starts on November 9th.

His Social Link, although short-lived, talks about his time as a human on earth spending time with the female protagonist. He is first introduced to her through Junpei, and they become fast friends despite Aigis' hostility towards Ryoji. As time goes by, Ryoji develops strong romantic feelings for her, but is also strangely saddened when near her. He considers their relationship to be "forbidden love." He leaves her before the next full moon, teary-eyed.

After maxing out his Social Link, Ryoji gives the female protagonist his Faint Glow Ring as a memento of his time on earth, enabling the fusion of Norn. He claims he will survive his heartbreak if she keeps it.

Ryoji's alignment with the Fortune Arcana is manifested when he lets SEES decide on how to deal with Nyx, as the Fortune Arcana represents deciding one's fate, as well as seizing the opportunities provided by it.

Etymology

 * The name Ryoji means "design" (綾) (ryo) and "time, hour, occasion" (時) (ji).
 * Ryoji's surname Mochizuki means "full moon" (望月).
 * It can also mean "wish, desire" (望) (mochi) and "moon" (月) (tsuki/zuki) separately.

Trivia

 * Ryoji's true form as The Appriser is Thanatos, "the bringer of death."
 * In chapter 18.5 of the Persona 3 manga, where Ryoji changes his hairstyle in order to confuse Mitsuru on which one was the real Minato, he bears a strong resemblance to him, possibly due to his appearance being based on Minato. Ryoji manifested Minato's looks due to him being sealed in him.
 * However, he doesn't resemble the female protagonist during her route, despite Ryoji being sealed inside her too.
 * Along with this is certain artworks of Ryoji and either male or female protagonist, he seems to be taller than both.
 * During one of the events in his social link, Ryoji states that he would love the female protagonist no matter if she were a boy or a girl.
 * Ryoji shares both his English and Japanese voice actors with the protagonist.