Naoto Shirogane

"People can't live alone. If you give in and sever your ties to human society, it will naturally become hard to live in it. Yet you refuse to face life and admit your fault, running from your own humanity like a coward. And though you claim to find life troublesome, you caused nothing but trouble for many others! Your twisted logic is that of an immature, egotistic brat!"

- Naoto to Tohru Adachi, Persona 4

Naoto Shirogane is a playable character in Persona 4. The fifth generation of the famed Shirogane detectives, Naoto arrives in Inaba to help investigate the murders, and enrolls as a first-year student at Yasogami High School.

Appearances

 * Persona 4 / Golden: Playable Character; Fortune Social Link
 * Persona 4 (Manga): Major Character; Fortune Arcana
 * Persona 4 The Animation / Golden Animation: Major Character; Fortune Arcana
 * Persona 4 Visualive / the Evolution
 * Persona 4 Arena / Ultimax: Playable Character/Navigator/Protagonist (Naoto Story Route, Episode P4)
 * Persona 4 Arena (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena Stageplay
 * Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (Manga): Major Character
 * Persona 4: The Ultimax Ultra Suplex Hold Stageplay
 * Persona 4: Dancing All Night: Playable Character
 * Persona x Detective Naoto: Protagonist
 * Persona x Detective Naoto (Manga): Protagonist
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Playable Character
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P3: Supporting Character
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth - Side:P4: Major Character
 * Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Playable Character
 * Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth Roundabout Special
 * Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight: Cameo (DLC)
 * Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight: Cameo (DLC)

Design
Naoto is the shortest member of the Investigation Team. She is androgynous in appearance with short blue hair and gray eyes (blue in The Animation and Arena). She wears Yasogami High's gakuran, with the exception of one optional occasion in which she wears a seifuku-style school uniform. Naoto is often seen wearing formal clothing such as blue shirts, ties and her trademark blue cap. On days off during winter, she wears a dark blue double-breasted cardigan coat (which she says is custom made) with a light blue bowtie (on her white dress shirt underneath) and yellow buttons and plaid blue pants. Naoto's summer outfit, however, is reminiscent of the clothing of Kyouji Kuzunoha and consists of a light blue shirt and a yellow necktie.

In Persona 4 Golden during the ski trip in the winter, she wears a snow suit with a white hooded sweatshirt, light blue snow jacket, dark purple gloves, dark pants and gray shoes, with a pair of goggles hanging around her neck.

In Persona 4 Arena, her appearance is the same as in the game (her winter outfit).

In Persona 4: Dancing All Night, she wears a combination of her Yasogami uniform and summer outfit, the only minor difference being the addition of black suspenders, a white tank top, dark brown boots and black fingerless gloves. She wears her tie differently, in a seifuku-style fashion.

In Persona x Detective, Naoto is seen with much longer, nearly waist-length hair. Her trademark cap is absent and she wears a gray suit with a white shirt and a blue tie.

Personality
"The need to change... And the desire to remain the same... They're mixed together... And it scares me."

- Naoto, Persona 4

Having lost both her parents in a car accident when she was very young, Naoto is an orphan who acts very mature in spite of her age. As a descendant of a respected lineage of famous detectives, she wears formal clothing and deepens her voice when she speaks in a sophisticated, stilted manner. She is generally very serious, focused and mission-oriented. She rarely jokes around which can make her seem like a killjoy or party pooper when the team is involved in silly antics. In Persona 4 Arena, Kanji calls her out on this, saying she is too "uptight" and it makes her seem distant and on a different wavelength. This has led to a lack of friends and while she does not show it often, she desires for friendship and a sense of belonging. As she bonds further with the team, she warms up considerably. In Persona 4 Arena, she notes the surprising difficulty in trying to balance her detective work with her newfound friends. In fact, she even expresses concern that she keeps putting work before time with them, showing how much her relationships with them have become to her.



Naoto is very intelligent and analytical. A running gag, however, is that she texts in all caps with abbreviations, for example, "SEE U TOMORROW? Y/N PLZ REPLY ASAP" and "I HAVE IMPORTANT INFORMATION 4 U, PLZ SEE ME TOMORROW AFTER SCHOOL." This gag, however, is exclusive to the localization.

Due to her desires to be seen as an ideal detective juxtaposed with her age and her gender, she has become quite insecure: she yearns to be seen as an adult, and expresses frustration at being treated like a child by the police force. She hates being looked down upon, and fears no one will take her seriously as a female in a sexist occupation field. The sexism Naoto tolerated and endured had made her self-conscious in regards to her femininity, trying to balance it with the image of an ideal detective. In response, Naoto disguised herself as a male from an age young enough to be able to fool most people around her, including wearing platform shoes. It is also implied Naoto began binding her chest to hide her breasts.

When she confronts her Shadow, she comes to the realization that her true desire is not in becoming an adult or a male, but to be respected for who she is as a person, including accepting herself as is. However, years of disguising herself as male along with her own personality quirks have her struggling to embrace her femininity after denying it as a part of herself. By the end of the game, due to her own will and with the protagonist's help, she accepts herself for who she is, and the fact she does not always need to change who she is to suit the world. In the epilogue of Persona 4 Golden, she has become more confident in herself, seen as in her no longer binding her breasts and growing out her hair, giving her a more feminine appearance. She is comfortable with not only who she is, but also that everyone else is aware that she is female.

Despite her mature nature, Naoto has a shy side to her, as she refuses to wear a bikini at the Yasogami Beauty Pageant, but still manages to win despite dropping out of the swimsuit part because of her endearing popularity among voters. She also becomes embarrassed during the Investigation Team's visit to the Amagi Inn, when the schedules for the hot springs' use were confused. During the ski trip in Persona 4 Golden, Naoto appears to be afraid of ghost stories, and when in a state of fear and/or panic, her voice becomes more feminine than usual, possibly meaning that she affects her voice to sound more masculine. Unlike the other girls, she is shown to be a decent cook as she helped create an edible and delicious cake for Nanako's recovery celebration, though this was mostly down to her insistence that she and the other girls follow the recipe and admits that it took them three attempts to get the desired result.



Naoto is uninterested in romance, and seems easily flustered, embarrassed or dismissive when the topic arises. When she possibly receives a love letter, Naoto claims romance is "entangling" and she has no time to be "dilly-dallying with callow love affairs" and almost throws it away. Despite this, she shows a growing interest in the protagonist if one chooses so in her Social Link. It's implied her lack of interest in romance seems to be tied due to not wanting to be distracted from her work along with fear and insecurity in becoming close to someone in such a manner.

Persona 4
A well-known detective, Naoto was dubbed the "Detective Prince" by the media. She is first mentioned when the department which Ryotaro Dojima works has no lead upon their investigations for the bizarre murder case, resulting in Dojima's superiors employing Naoto to assist them, an action which greatly disturbs Dojima. Furthermore, Naoto claims that the only reward she wants for solving the case is the truth, and wants no assistance from other departments, further annoying Dojima.

Naoto first appears on-screen during the Investigation Team's investigation of Kanji Tatsumi as the potential next victim. Incidentally, Naoto was also able to deduce that Kanji would be the next victim, and tries to seek clues by speaking to him. During that time, Naoto expresses interest in the case, though Kanji mistakes it as Naoto being interested in him.



Naoto later enrolls at Yasogami High School, immediately attracting the admiration of others. However, her serious nature often leads to her ignoring her admirers and classmates.

During one of the Investigation Team's meetings regarding the suspect in the case, Mitsuo Kubo, Naoto appears and chastises the Team's efforts, deeming their investigation as nothing more but a "game." She tells them that their game is about to end, and that Yasoinaba will soon return to its peaceful, rustic self. Annoyed by her words, Rise Kujikawa tells Naoto that she is the one who was treating the case like a game. Surprised by the idol, Naoto reluctantly accepts that what Rise said might be true, lamenting that detectives are just employed for the time being, and once the case has been solved, they are simply pushed aside.

After the arrest of Mitsuo Kubo, the first suspect in the case, Naoto remains suspicious and decides to become bait to lure the culprit. She is interviewed by a TV show and subsequently kidnapped and thrown into the Midnight Channel. Through the Team's efforts to gather clues, they found out that Naoto, despite her professional personality, is actually a workaholic who chooses to ignore the police department's advice and work alone. As such, she is often deemed a kid trying too hard by the officers.

If Naoto isn't rescued by the 10/5 deadline, Kanji will call the protagonist and tell him that they found a body, it was Naoto's. Kanji angrily demands what's going on and why this happened before the protagonist drops his phone, blacks out, and is summoned to the Velvet Room, where he was given the choice to go back a week later by Igor.

The Investigation Team eventually manages to detect Naoto's location in the Midnight Channel, an industrial secret laboratory, and sets out to rescue the detective. The Secret Laboratory symbolizes Naoto's insecurities, that she fears being ratted out as a woman and getting her reputation sullied in the police force as a result.



The Investigation Team eventually finds Naoto, along with her Shadow, who is busy preparing for a "body-altering operation." Shadow Naoto taunts Naoto, saying that in reality she is nothing more than just a child trying to play "superhero," and that if Naoto doesn't become a "grown big boy," then Naoto will never find a reason for living. Confused and surprised, Naoto denies the Shadow's claims. However, the Shadow then reveals a secret: Naoto was born female. It clarifies that the "body-altering operation" was to be a sex-change operation. Fueled by Naoto's rejection and internal suffering, her Shadow transforms and attacks the party.



Naoto's Shadow is a robotic doppelgänger equipped with large toy-like laser guns, rocket feet and a jetpack, representing Naoto's resentment towards being treated like a child and not taken seriously, as well as the pressure she feels from working in a sexist occupation dominated by men who don't take women seriously. It can also be something of a split personality, as it can talk seriously one minute, and act helpless and innocent the next.

After defeating the Shadow, Naoto reveals that her parents were detectives as well, but were both killed in one of their investigations. She acknowledges her parents' passion for their job, and wishes to become a "hard-boiled" detective, inheriting the title of "Shirogane," but fears as long as she herself is a girl, she can never achieve her dreams. She eventually realizes that what she wanted was not to become a man, but to be accepted and respected as her true self, and her Shadow acknowledges her resolution, transforming into Sukuna-Hikona, her Persona.



For the remainder of the game, Naoto's detective skills prove to be a great asset to the Investigation Team. She arranges for the Investigation Team to visit a doctor for a physical check up, due to concerns about being in an otherworld filled with potentially poisonous fog having possible ill side effects. She also manages to win a beauty pageant despite not appearing for the swimsuit part. After Nanako's kidnapping, Ryotaro Dojima begs Naoto to save his daughter. After Nanako "dies," Naoto is extremely upset, feeling she was at fault for making Taro Namatame talk instead of rescuing Nanako back in Heaven when Nanako said she couldn't breathe.

When the real killer, Tohru Adachi is found, in response to his misanthropic ideas, Naoto tells him people cannot live alone and that they need each other in order to survive, and notes it would only be natural for people who remove themselves from human society to find it difficult to live in it, but since Adachi throws away his own humanity as well, he claims to find life troublesome while at the same time causing trouble for others, stating that his logic is that of a immature, egotistic brat.

After Inaba is saved, Naoto visits the protagonist at his departure.

Social Link
The protagonist creates the Fortune Arcana Social Link with Naoto after rescuing her, and teams up with her to solve a challenge given to the Shirogane clan by the "Phantom Thief." The protagonist needs maximum Knowledge and Courage stat to initiate the Social Link, and the earliest opportunity to do so is on October 21st. Despite the lack of time to develop this Social Link, Naoto's is one of the few that can be advanced on rainy weather, when most other Social Links are unavailable.

Simply attempting to talk to Naoto while she's in school will not start the Social Link. The protagonist first needs to talk to a man in black at the North Shopping District while it's not raining. The protagonist will then receive a card which causes the Link to start when presented to Naoto.

In the events of their investigation, the Phantom Thief's identity is revealed to be Naoto's grandfather, who wishes to help her get back her passion of investigating cases for the truth, rather than investigating for the sake of the Shirogane name.

By the end of the Fortune Arcana Social Link, Naoto acknowledges her passion for investigation, and thanks the protagonist. Having recognized the change in her psyche and resolution, Naoto's Persona, Sukuna-Hikona, transfigures into Yamato-Takeru.

To pursue a Lovers Route with Naoto, the protagonist must initiate the Rank 6 & 8 events. During Rank 6, the protagonist must choose "I'm glad you're a girl" as their 3rd answer. During Rank 8, the protagonist and Naoto will arrive at the Shopping District where Naoto claims that someone has told her that the Phantom Thief has been sighted around said area. They will then head to the shrine where a man brandishes a knife at Naoto. The protagonist will have three options; Protect Naoto, Fight alongside Naoto or Do nothing. Doing the first one will at first cause a negative reaction from her; the second will cause the same thing, but she'll be less frustrated; the third will simply agitate her.

Afterwards, the protagonist will be given a choice of whether to pursue a relationship with her or remain her friend. Choosing the top option ('Because I love you') will cause her to become embarrassed and conflicted; she'll even state that because the protagonist has said that, she can no longer look him in the eye. This will advance the link to Rank 8, and cause Naoto to run home.

In the Rank 9 event, Naoto will read off the final challenge from the thief and ask the protagonist where she likes to be; for the most positive reaction, answer "Somewhere high." She will then ask herself something she can't stand doing. Again, for the most positive reaction, answer "Throwing things away." Provided the protagonist pursued a relationship with her, she'll blush and ask if she mentioned it before.

She and the protagonist then go to the hill and investigate the trash can, where she will obtain the final item, The Detective's Pocketbook. She will begin to curse her grandfather for scheming the entire event and sit on the bench with the protagonist. Once again, the event differs depending on the relationship that was chosen. During the Lovers Route, after Rank 9 has been reached, she will confess her love to the protagonist.

Her reward item for reaching Rank 10 is the Detective's Badge, which allows the protagonist to fuse Norn.

Should the protagonist choose the second option, which results in the protagonist replying that he prefers Naoto's voice to be higher, Naoto will wear a seifuku (female school uniform) on December 24th to meet the protagonist, should the protagonist accept her invitation to spend the night together. Her gift for him is a handmade watch that notifies him of the distance of her location, reading Distance <1m. In the Japanese version, Naoto instead asks the protagonist whether it is weird for her to use male pronouns to describe herself.

Golden
In Persona 4 Golden, the addition of bikes for the Investigation Team introduced a unique new way of obtaining skills for party members. By going on special forms of dates with each party member, involving the use of the bikes, one is given the option of either having the party member in question learn a brand-new skill or relearn any old skill that they have forgotten. The bike skills available to Naoto are listed below.

Additionally, like with Rise Kujikawa in Persona 4, each party member is able to learn new skills upon the protagonist's progression of their Social Link. The Social Link skills that Naoto learns upon development of her Social Link are also listed below.

Naoto can also perform a Tag Team attack with Kanji called "Beauty & The Beast" when the following requirements are achieved: Naoto and Kanji are both in the active party and an "All-Out Attack" is performed, but an enemy remains. When performing "Beauty & The Beast," Naoto and Kanji will both run up to each other and summon their respective Personas. Bones will surround them and the enemy as a skull appears from the ground. The skull will emit a bright light from its mouth, damaging the enemy.

During the months of January and February, if Naoto's Social Link is maxed out, the protagonist may spend time with Naoto to obtain her 3rd tier Persona, Yamato Sumeragi. Yamato Sumeragi learns Shield of Justice, a 160 SP unique skill that protects the party from all incoming damage for one turn. Naoto now also repels Light and Dark and nulls Fire, an upgrade from Yamato Takeru's resistances (Resist Fire, Null Light and Dark).

Persona 4 The Animation
Her role in the animation is similar to that of the game. In the anime, the bond between Naoto and Yu is represented by the Persona Atropos. She also teams up with Kanji to take out the first Reaper, but gets injured by it.

Persona 4 Arena
Naoto's story stands unique compared to the other members of the Investigation Team, since her story is more involved with the Shadow Operatives, rather than the Investigation Team itself. Her story mode begins a day before the hijacking, after she is contacted by a man in the Japanese Self Defense Force to help them investigate Mitsuru Kirijo, the inheritor of the Kirijo Group.

When she asks why she is needed for this, the man reveals that this involves both Shadows and Personas, piquing Naoto's interest. It seems that they have been working with an almost invisible group still under the government's support called Shadow Operatives, mainly because of their job to exterminate Shadows (creatures this same man had seen in the past) and because they work in the shadows.

They suspect Mitsuru Kirijo to be doing this not only to exterminate Shadows and help people, but because there is some dark secret she is trying to hide, and they want to make it come to light. Naoto agrees, thinking it's for the best.

After meeting Mitsuru, she takes part in the escort team of a plane carrying something crucially important to the Kirijo Group, with a high security level, but the plane is hijacked and the cargo disappears. Naoto manages to put a transmitter in a suspicious van, and they track the signal to Inaba, where the cargo is supposed to be. Naoto is told by Mitsuru that she shouldn't get involved any further, and is asked to leave the case. Naoto understands Mitsuru is only thinking of the better good, but decides to keep on investigating.

The next day, she is contacted by the same man at the Self Defense Force, instructing her to meet with a person close to Mitsuru Kirijo called Detective Kurosawa. Later, she is also contacted by Chie, who asks if she's going to make it to their meeting.

Naoto meets with Kurosawa, and he gives her information about Mitsuru's group and their objectives. When Naoto asks him why he is working with Public Safety to dredge up the Kirijo Group's dirty laundry, Kurosawa replies that, no matter how much they investigate Mitsuru and her Shadow Operatives, they won't be able to find anything suspicious. He goes on to say that to understand this, everything she does has to be investigated in order to "eliminate those doubts." He claims it's better that "someone like" Naoto do the scrutinizing, rather than some official who could never understand.

He leads Naoto to where Mitsuru, Aigis and Akihiko Sanada meet, before entering a TV where they suspect the cargo is. Naoto decides to follow in order to keep on investigating, and to make sure everything is alright in that world.

She finds herself caught up in a strange tournament, which just so happens to contain the rest of the Investigation Team. As she comes to, she promptly runs into Yu who, after a fight, informs her of the events that transpired in Inaba during her absence. After General Teddie cajoles her into moving on by mentioning her "next opponent," she continues onward without Yu. Eventually she runs into Mitsuru and is able to defeat her. While she is still suspicious of Mitsuru, she gets a better understanding of who she is, and learns to trust her completely. Using Artemisia, Mitsuru helps Naoto get into contact with Rise, who reveals she is locked up in the announcement room; after defeating Akihiko as well, Naoto makes her way there.

As she breaks the door open, she finds Labrys after she has defeated Teddie with General Teddie in the room. Naoto correctly states that the general is actually Shadow Labrys and soon Labrys herself attacks Naoto. Even after subduing Labrys, she continues to deny her Shadow, which only makes Shadow Labrys become stronger. After defeating Labrys' Shadow, she and Teddie confront Labrys; they explain that just as Labrys cannot escape the reality that she is an android, Naoto cannot be a man and Teddie cannot become a human. But because of this, they can rely on their friends who will accept them no matter who they are. This helps Labrys accept her Shadow, and allow it to become her Persona, Ariadne.

Soon, Yu and the others begin to show up, and are surprised to see Naoto, and Mitsuru's group. Mitsuru covers up the fact Naoto helped guide Mitsuru through the TV World as part of her job. But when Labrys is taken over, Naoto realizes that the true culprit is someone different, and confirms it when she faces off against her own "shadow," which she correctly guesses should not happen, seeing as how she just used her Persona, thus revealing it to be the culprit.

After discovering the true mastermind, they decide to retire for the day. As the Investigation Team say their goodbyes to Labrys and the Shadow Operatives, whom the latter had just joined, Mitsuru pulls Naoto aside to give her blessings to the team. Although Naoto didn't immediately understand it, she confirms her suspicions when Yu and Yosuke officially reform the Investigation Team during their party celebrating Yu's return.

Later, she gives the report that Mitsuru and her Shadow Operatives group should not be considered a threat to public safety, and that Mitsuru only means to amend for her family's sins, though Mitsuru warns her that not everyone in the current Kirijo Group shares her desire. But Naoto realizes that though Mitsuru is not at all a malevolent individual, the Kirijo Group still hides many secrets that even Mitsuru does not know, and that this is only the beginning.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
The next night, Naoto begins to research the Kirijo Group's connection to the Dark Hour and late scientist Shuji Ikutsuki, starting from the incidents at the group's owned Ergonomics Laboratory. In the middle of her research, Naoto gets an emergency call from Labrys saying Mitsuru, Aigis, Akihiko and Fuuka suddenly went missing while returning to Inaba upon finding an abnormal Shadow. As Naoto tries to find the location of Labrys' chopper, the P-1 Climax suddenly begins in the real Inaba, bringing about the second coming of the Dark Hour. Naoto goes out and sees the strange tower in the center of Yasogami High School. After Naoto defeats the fake Chie, she is attacked by a red-haired young man named Sho Minazuki, who refers to himself as "Minazuki." Before Naoto is killed by Minazuki, she is saved by the arrival of Labrys, Yukari Takeba, Ken Amada and Koromaru, warning them of his involvement with the disappearance of Mitsuru’s team and P1-Climax. Once Minazuki leaves and calls forth the fake Naoto, whom Labrys defeats, Naoto uncovers information she received from her fake Shadow about Minazuki and General Teddie’s plan to collect the Persona fragments from P1-Climax fighters.

Play Style
Naoto is best described as a morphing character who is mostly played at medium-to-long range, but can shift to close range combat. As a payoff, Naoto has low health and has a hard time fending off against fierce opponents. Unlike her fellow keep away characters, her strengths lie in the ability to shift her line of fire swiftly as well as being able to utilize traps, along with her original Shield of Justice (Seigi no Tate) Reversal Action being a secondary counter. Naoto also packs lots of creativity in her combos when her setups are properly used, such as her traps being placed in specific locations and through one of her supers, is the only character capable of causing mute to an opponent.

Unique to Naoto, her opponent is given a special Fate meter which she can deplete using several attacks. When it is depleted to zero (0), she has access to both Hamaon's and Mudoon's ability to instantly kill the enemy and, unlike most instant kills, is able to execute them in any round. Despite not being able to land possible OHKO's with her Hamaon and Mudoon, the former can be great for pressure as Naoto can conceal her mix-ups inside the light, and the latter can be used to extend combos quite well. This overall, along with Naoto having some meter to spare, gives her some of the highest damage potentials in the game. Some of her moves such as her jumping B and C can be used for long ranged pokes. In addition, her D moves cloak her Persona and when used again, her Persona appears and attacks from that spot and can even attack behind her opponent. Though a special glitch, Naoto is also able to perform a loop with her Niren Kiba (Double Fangs) B in the corner by breaking through Same Move Proration by performing 10 different moves on the opponent in one combo.

Her Aim/Sogeki Kamae (Sniping Stance) can enable her to fire her gun or cancel the stance right away. And the stance can also be automatically entered through her Double Fangs. Of course, in regards to her shooting, Naoto can fire her gun forward (Shoumen/Frontage), downward (Choudan/Springing Bullet) or upward (Taikuu/Anti-Air). The downward version is a unique case where it bounces off the ground to an upward angle, meaning can hit OTG and thus, finish Naoto's OTG combos off an A version Double Fangs most of the time, or can be used as an anti-air as well as a low attack mixup up close. All bullets can be super cancelled as well. For SMP loops, her final gunshot counts as a separate move from the rest of the initial ones, and removes a Fate Counter.

Firing bullets after firing all five of them will cause Naoto to attempt to fire her gun as usual, only clicking will be heard and no projectiles will appear. From there, Naoto is forced to cancel the stance and enter it again from there to fire bullets again; rise and repeat; while the Aim stance can be canceled with a normal D or 214A command, but the B version makes Naoto perform a cartwheel backward instead with plenty invincibility before she recovers from it, while the SB version makes her perform an invincible roll forward to enter the stance which can switch sides with opponents; both the B and SB versions if done during the stance can allow Naoto to automatically reload her bullets at any time without canceling her stance outright well while entering it again, enabling for some tricky gun defense.

A drawback of hers in competitive play as well, is that should one be too focused on her keep away, there's a chance she'll often have more Negative Warnings and Negative Penalties than most characters, severely crippling her — adding that with her already low health and some bad direct defensive options. What's more, despite her flexible playstyle, her zoning and offense can be overshadowed by others like Teddie for the former and Kanji for the latter. Thus, Naoto is often high risk but very high reward for a unique playstyle that's difficult to grip.

In Arena Ultimax, Naoto has not changed much in terms of her playstyle, though her approach on her auto-attack normals has, along with all the other characters. Naoto eventually gains a new move, the Blight (Venom Zapper in JPN), which is her new anti-air attack (and also counts as a Persona-based move), as well as a new followup to her Shield of Justice called Safety (named after the mechanic used on firearms), where she can backdash out of her R-Action. She can also now perform Double Fangs in the air, allowing her to finish her air combos with better follow up scenarios. Another new touch is that Naoto's gun can now "jam," which after firing all her bullets causes her new gun icon to show a gauge in the place of her bullet amount (which is 5 like the original game) which quickly refills during its cooldown period, and her bullets cannot be reloaded anymore via performing a B or SB version Aim stance while it's active, preventing her from spamming too much of her gunshots freely (thus Naoto after using up her rounds must reload via stance break and use her bullets more wisely).

On another note, Naoto's close range game has somewhat improved, especially with her new Blight move and a few other changes. Also regarding her gun attacks, Naoto can now use 6D to fire an exploding short-range burst that removes a Fate Counter (which does not use up any ammo but must still be used while there is any amount of ammo remaining), as well as the fact that her Raid now can only fire three bullets per time the super is executed. Her Anti-Shadow Rifles A version can now allow for an immediate B version follow up via an SB Super.

Naoto's theme/leitmotif is named "Seeker of Truth," and is named after the other name for the Investigation Team. The OST disc version features notably altered instrumentals in comparison to the other leitmotifs however, making use of extra alternated guitar chords and techno sounds.

Score Attack
Naoto is the second character faced in Score Attack. More moves in Naoto's arsenal now remove Fate Counters, and her SP Gain is increased.

Persona x Detective Naoto
Naoto is the protagonist in this non-canonical spin-off novel. Persona 4 Golden 's epilogue and Persona 4 Dancing, which take place chronologically before the novel, directly contradicts the novel. In the novel, Naoto continues to purposely present herself as male, but it is explicitly stated that she has shifted away from presenting herself as such. Additionally, Persona 4 Dancing has Naoto publicly performing in attire that does not conceal her gender, which conflicts with the public's perception of Naoto being male that is present in the novel.

The novel is chronologically set a year after Persona 4, where Naoto is in her final year of high school which would roughly set it in late 2012 or sometime in 2013. She is still in frequent contact with her old friends and even drops everything to come to Rise's aid when asked.

In the novel, Naoto is asked by an old detective friend, Touko Aoi, to help investigate the disappearance of two Yagakoro students. On her first day on the case, she encounters Sousei Kurogami who awakens her new Persona ability Amatsu Mikaboshi, which leads to them being partnered together despite their distinctly different personalities. To help in her investigation, she transfers into the school of the two students who had gone missing and soon discovers the Midnight Site and that the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the two students might be more complicated than she originally thought.

Naoto continues to dress and speak as a boy throughout the novel. She is mistaken as male by her classmates, teacher, online commenters, and other characters but does not correct them. She is even surprised to find out that Sousei already knows she's a girl. Additionally, the novel shows that Naoto is not completely reluctant to reveal her gender. At certain parts of the story, she wears a swimsuit to help Rise, and during the investigation, she briefly dons a female sailor uniform to obscure her identity.

Persona 5
Naoto is briefly referenced by name; if the protagonist watches the television broadcast on 4/29, the program will discuss the next Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, and directly reference her as the first Detective Prince. Goro Akechi is heralded as the second coming of the Detective Prince.

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Naoto and her team encounter SEES when they venture into an alternate reality of Yasogami High School. To escape the world, both groups decide to work together.

While venturing through the Group Date Cafe, Akihiko Sanada and Junpei Iori are shocked to learn that Naoto is female as she is wearing a boy's uniform.

Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
Naoto is one of the brains of the group alongside Mitsuru and Akechi. As she is the first Detective Prince, she gets along with Akechi well, which is difficult for other people to do due to his distant and cold personality. She learns a unison attack with Akechi after teaming up with him to solve a mystery.

Etymology
Naoto's first name means "truth" or "truthful person," quite possibly as a parallel to her yearning to discover the truth. Her last name, Shirogane, can be translated to "white bell/gong," a play on the other way to write Shirogane as "silver/white metal."

Battle Quotes
Persona 4=


 * "I sense the case in the making." (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "Let the investigation begin!" (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "K-Killjoy!? What is this? Who came up with this demeaning epithet?!" (In response to her title)
 * "What is this? What's going on?" (Starting Arcade Mode)
 * "Is this an army of idiots?" (in E3 trailer)
 * "I assumed as much!" (While performing Shield of Justice)
 * "Freeze!" (While performing Aim)
 * "I won't miss!" (While performing Aim)
 * "Steady…" (While performing Snipe [Front])
 * "Headshot!" (While performing Snipe [Ricochet])
 * "Fire!" (While performing Snipe [Anti-Air])
 * "Time to move." (While performing Cancel Aim)
 * "Ready … Burst Shot!" (While performing super move, Anti-S SP Pistol a)
 * "This one's special … Fire!" (While performing super move, Anti-S SP Pistol B)
 * "Here it goes! Be engulfed in light!" (While performing super move, Hamaon)
 * "Here it goes! Be consumed by darkness!" (While performing super move, Mudoon)
 * "Initiate! Hamaon!" (While performing super move, Hamaon)
 * "Initiate! Mudoon!" (While performing super move, Mudoon)
 * "I won't fall yet!" (Awakening)
 * "Here goes!" (While performing Awakening super move, Raid)
 * "It's over! That was too easy." (While performing Awakening super move, Critical Shot)
 * It's the end of the act." (After performing Awakening super move, Critical Shot)
 * "This is it!" (Instant Kill)
 * "Showtime!" (Instant Kill)
 * "Prepare yourself. That's what you get for not knowing your place." (While Naoto uses Sukuna-Hikona's ability to deliver the final shot during the Instant Kill)
 * "Farewell." (While Naoto using Sukuna-Hikona's ability to deliver the final shot during the Instant Kill)
 * "I will see for myself, the power of Kirijo." (vs Mitsuru)
 * "You'll pay twice over for that!" (Opponent's long string of combo ends.)

Victory Quotes
General Character Specific Persona 4 Arena Ultimax=
 * "Whew... I suppose that could've gone a little smoother."
 * "As long as you take me lightly due to my size, you will never defeat me."
 * "The results are as expected. Your movements are all in accordance with my assumptions."
 * "I went at you with everything I had. Rest assured that this is no game for me either."
 * Yu Narukami: "Having fought at your side for so long, I thought I would be prepared for your every move... but it was a tough battle nonetheless."
 * Yosuke Hanamura: "I've won, so you'd best promise to stop calling me "squirt"!"
 * Yukiko Amagi: "Elegant, yet aggressive attacks... If I let my guard down, I'll get literally burned."
 * Kanji Tatsumi: "Impressive, Kanji-kun. I managed to win this time, but you still seem to have an upper hand in combat experience."
 * Naoto Shirogane: "I will never be taken in by my own face, ever again!"
 * Mitsuru Kirijo: "Amazing. This proves that your current status isn't solely down to your family name..."
 * Aigis: "The anti-Shadow weapon I've heard about... Your performance vastly outpaced the rumors."
 * Labrys: "A man-made entity with a heart and a Persona... To be honest, my sense of what's possible has been forcibly expanded once more."
 * "Let's begin." (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "I will solve this." (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "Let the investigation begin!" (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "I sense the case in the making." (When chosen on character select screen)
 * "I dislike using force, but..." (Starting the round)
 * "I've already investigated you." (Starting the round)
 * "You're going to fight me then..." (Starting the round)
 * "If you resist, I'll show no mercy." (Starting the round)
 * "There's no need to hold back!" (Starting the round vs. Yu)
 * "Don't call me a squirt!" (Starting the round vs. Yosuke)
 * "She'll be a hard one to read." (Starting the round vs. Yukiko)
 * "To think that the two of us will fight..." (Starting the round vs. Kanji)
 * "I'm sorry..." (Final round loss)
 * "You're open... ahaha.." (First round victory)
 * "Why not give up?!" (First round victory)
 * "An army of idiots, hmm?" (First round victory)
 * "You don't stand a chance!" (First round victory)
 * "Thank you for the match." (Final round victory)
 * "Hmm... the expected result." (Final round victory)
 * "Every good detective knows how to fight." (Final round victory)
 * "Definitely not an opponent I expected to be fighting." (Final round victory)
 * "That's what you get for all the teasing!" (Final round victory vs. Yosuke)

Victory Quotes

 * General
 * "Power isn't everything. These results prove the point."
 * "I have friends who accept and depend on me. For their sake, I cannot lose."
 * "I see I underestimated your skills... I'll need to recalculate things again."
 * "Unfortunately, you still lack the training to best me. Come back when you've improved."
 * "You shouldn't judge people on how they look, else you'll be swept off your feet like so."
 * "On my family's honor, I can't lose! Hah... it's fun to bluster like that from time to time."

Persona Q=
 * Character Specific
 * Yu Narukami: "I managed to win today, but it didn't go as I had theorized... Impressive skills as always, Senpai."
 * Chie Satonaka: "The fruits of your training are most impressive. Out of curiosity, how go your other studies?"
 * Kanji Tatsumi: "Kanji-kun, your face seems a little flushed... Were you winded in the fight?"
 * Teddie: "Your moves are always like watching the circus... I can't predict what comes next."
 * Labrys: "You've become even stronger. To be honest, I feel a little relieved."
 * Mitsuru Kirijo: "No wonder you lead the Shadow Operatives. Had I let my concentration wane for even a moment, I would have been the one to fall."
 * Sho Minazuki: "Overwhelming solitude... I can see it in your eyes."
 * Shadow Naoto: "Even when I try to remain calm, it's still unsettling to see you... I wonder if I'm still naive."
 * Tohru Adachi: "What is your purpose here? Answer well, or I'll show no mercy!"
 * "My weapon is ready." (Battle start)
 * "Give me your orders and I will follow!" (Battle start)
 * "Here I go!" (Battle start)
 * "Let's begin, senpai." (Battle start, with Persona 4 protagonist)
 * "Worry about yourself first." (Battle start, responding to Kanji)
 * "Easy does it, Kanji-kun." (Battle start, with Kanji Tatsumi)
 * "Ah, the familiar slime type." (Battle start, fighting Maya-type Shadow)
 * "An Idol type. Beware!" (Battle start, fighting Idol-type Shadow)
 * "It may look angelic, but it's truly vicious. Be careful." (Battle start, fighting Cupid-type Shadow)
 * "That's a Magus. Stay on guard!" (Battle start, fighting Magus-type Shadow)
 * "It's a Raven Shadow!" (Battle start, fighting Raven-type Shadow)
 * "A mist Shadow… They're rather mysterious." (Battle start, fighting a Rainy Brother)
 * "I-it's just a Shadow… Nothing to be scared of…" (Battle start, fighting a Rainy Pot)
 * "This one's a statue type." (Battle start, fighting a Relic-type Shadow)
 * "I believe that is a phantom-type." (Battle start, fighting a Phantom-type Shadow)
 * "That's a very Japanese-looking Shadow." (Battle start, fighting a Nyogo-type)
 * "That wheel… How is it constructed?" (Battle start, fighting a Wheel-type)
 * "It's big, as one would expect from a wrestler Shadow." (Battle start, fighting a Gigas-type)
 * "Watch out! It's a samurai Shadow!" (Battle start, fighting a Musha-type Shadow)
 * "We should respect our elders…but that doesn't apply to Shadows!" (Battle start, fighting an Okina-type)
 * "A castle? Seems to have some architectural flaws." (Battle start, fighting a Castle-type)
 * "A tank! Be mindful of its cannon!" (Battle start, fighting a Turret-type)
 * "Let's be cautious." (Fighting a rare Shadow)
 * "This isn't good…especially not now." (Fighting an F.O.E)
 * "I'm worried about what he means by that…" (When the Merciful Clergyman uses Vow)
 * "All that remains is the blue Nurse and the doctor." (Kind Doctor battle, Calm Nurse defeated)
 * "Yes… Let's put an end to this." (Fighting Chronos)
 * "Reloading." (During battle)
 * "The enemy's making their own plan…" (During battle)
 * "I'm…quite low on energy…" (Low on SP)
 * "I'm impressed that you noticed…" (Low on HP, responding to Kanji Tatsumi)
 * "Sorry… I let my guard down." (Low on HP, to Persona 4 protagonist)
 * "I'm worried about our leader's health." (When leader is low on HP)
 * "Prepare yourself!" (When attacking)
 * "Everyone's morale is high!" (Prompting All-Out Attack)
 * "Please leave it to me." (Prompting pursuit attack)
 * "I won't relent." (Prompting pursuit attack)
 * "We can defeat them now." (Prompting pursuit attack)
 * "Leave it to me!" (Prompting pursuit attack)
 * "Shooting requires careful precision." (During pursuit attack)
 * "I'll show you my strength!" (During pursuit attack)
 * "This shot is all I need." (During pursuit attack)
 * "I won't miss." (During pursuit attack)
 * "It's quite strong." (Unsuccessful follow-up)
 * "Impossible!" (Attack misses)
 * "It's no use." (Attack misses)
 * "Why won't my limbs respond?" (Paralyzed)
 * "I didn't expect them to resort to such tactics." (Magic Bound)
 * "This could be troublesome." (When Agility Bound)
 * "The culprit is…is…? …Is me…?" (When asleep)
 * "Kanji-kun!" (When Kanji Tatsumi is unconscious)
 * "How dare you!" (When Persona 4 protagonist is unconscious)
 * "It's over." (Battle end)
 * "Perfection!" (Battle end)
 * "Well played, Leader." (When leader is victorious)
 * "Just as we planned." (Victory via All-Out Attack)
 * "We've done it." (Victory via All-Out Attack)
 * "We settled that quickly." (Result)
 * "We owe this to your sound tactics." (Result)
 * "If only all opponents were this easy." (Result)
 * "That was close. We need to be more careful." (Result)
 * "Good, we won. Continue to work hard!" (Result)
 * "I've grown even stronger." (Level up)

Trivia

 * Shadow Naoto says that "Naoto" is a "cool manly name" but it won't let her change sexes, which may give the implication that Naoto changed her name. However, extra information reveals that Naoto is indeed her real birth name her parents gave her. Her parents didn't name her that with the intention of raising her as a boy and hiding her real gender. They thought that 'Naoto' was a fairly androgynous name and since she might grow up to be a detective, and knowing the sexism in the profession, they should avoid girly names which end in "-ko." Examples of -ko names in the game include Yukiko, Nanako and Noriko (Hanako may be a parody of idealized femininity).
 * Shigenori Soejima, character designer and art director of Persona 4, stated in the annotations of Persona 4's artbook that Naoto was originally planned to be a boy.
 * One of Naoto's usable weapons, "Athena Kiss R" might be a reference to one of Aigis' weapons, Kiss of Athena, both which take the name of Aigis' ultimate Persona, Pallas Athena.
 * The gun left behind by the bonus boss in the Secret Laboratory is called Algernon, with its description stating that it was named after an experiment in finding happiness. This is a reference to the book .
 * Naoto is the last party member to join the Investigation Team, as Rise and Teddie both joined the party in the same dungeon.
 * In the Japanese version, Chie compares Naoto's family to the Kindaichi family. was a character in a series of detective novels that were popular in Japan and later spawned an unofficial spinoff named Hajime Kindaichi.
 * In a special conversation added in Golden, Naoto will compare the protagonist to the hero of a detective novel she read as a child, describing said hero as "a cool, tough private detective, who made frequently impulsive decisions when pursuing his suspects," and then mentions his name as "Sam." The name and description fit, protagonist of the classic novel and film . This is more explicit in the original Japanese version, wherein she says Sam's full name.
 * If Naoto is spoken to while equipped with her Winter Clothes in the TV World, she will comment that she had her coat custom made, as she could not find a male size that would fit her.
 * Naoto is the only party member whose Social Link can Reverse if the protagonist picks the wrong option during one of her Social Link events (the option that says "You're on your own." on the Rank 4 to 5 event), as well as having one of the two Social Links in the game that can be compromised in such a manner (the other being Ai Ebihara's Social Link).
 * Naoto, along with Kanji, are the only members of the Investigation Team whose Social Links don't initiate automatically with the story.
 * The TV world dungeons they're rescued from are also the only ones where there's just one occasion of the Team member's Persona awakening, which are their own (the protagonist and Yosuke in the liquor store, Chie and Yukiko in the Castle and Teddie sharing an occasion with Rise at the Strip Club).
 * In Persona 4 Golden, when wearing a Gekkoukan High School uniform, Naoto imitates Aigis' victory pose and says her lines.
 * In Persona 4 Golden, Naoto says that she has some experience playing a keyboard, since her grandfather suggested taking piano lessons when she was younger.
 * In Persona 4, if the party fails to complete Magatsu Inaba by the 24th of December, Naoto will call that night, saying that Shadows have overrun the town and that she can't control them. She will then be heard screaming as she is attacked and presumably killed by a Shadow while still on the phone with the protagonist.
 * In Persona 4, Naoto's critical attack is the only one to hit more than three times. While every other character hits the enemy three times when using a critical hit, Naoto hits four times (shooting three bullets and then kicking the enemy).
 * Naoto is the shortest character of the Investigation Team; short stature tends to be a notable trait of many characters Romi Park has voiced.
 * In Persona Q, should one choose Persona 3 at the start of the game, before she introduces herself Naoto is referred to as "Intelligent-looking boy."
 * In Persona 5, Naoto is mentioned on a TV special as, "the original Detective Prince" who was then succeeded by the "next Detective Prince."
 * During the skiing trip in Golden, Naoto has an Ace of Spades located on her hat, possibly as a reference to her being an "Ace Detective" as well as her aforementioned affinity for Sam Spade.
 * In Persona 4 Golden, during the ski trip when Yosuke tells a scary story, heavily implied to be the situation regarding Fuuka Yamagishi's bullying, Naoto recalls having heard about such a case before, implying she was either in Tatsumi Port Island at the time, or heard of it at some point.

Persona 4 Arena

 * Naoto's introduction line, "The body of a child-the brain of a genius," may be a reference to Conan Edogawa of Case Closed.
 * Naoto's ground throw is based on her Wake-Up Hit. Her awakening supers Hold Up!/Hands Up! (localized as Raid in the US versions) and Critical Shoot/Shot are both parts of her critical hit.
 * Naoto is the only character of the Investigation Team who doesn't wear their school uniform.
 * Naoto is the only character who does not use her Persona for her Awakening Supers.
 * She is the only character alongside Elizabeth to have an Instant Kill system (her foes' Fate Counters for her Hamaon and Mudoon spells which are supers) aside from the universal Mortal Blow/Instant Kill attack.
 * Naoto, Yu Narukami and Mitsuru Kirijo all have skills they cannot naturally learn in their movesets; Sukuna-Hikona and Yamato-Takeru do not learn Double Fangs, and it is portrayed as a non-Persona attack.