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If only she knew the meaning behind that name...

Before I share my impressions of my playthrough, let me highlight two important points.

First, I approached this game series with some prejudice. This is due to the fact that:
- Console exclusives sometimes tend to generate a lot of hype around themselves, which later, upon release on PC, doesn't quite live up to it (subjective example - Detroit). The same applies to iconic franchises in general, regardless of platform (subjective example 2 - Final Fantasy).
- I had come across screenshots - uneven UI elements, its overall design, and character designs seen in the GBF collab didn't exactly spark much desire to play.

Second, two factors coincided that physically prevented me from trying this game: 
- I don't have a console, and after the port's release, nobody cracked it and apparently has no plans to.
- A couple of years ago, wanting lower prices on Steam, I changed my region, which turned out to be a mistake given recent events. 
So on one hand there was no way to buy it, and on the other, a pirated copy simply doesn't exist. The situation resolved itself last month when a buddy offered me to play from his account. For that, of course, many thanks to him.

Those were the circumstances surrounding my introduction to this game. Now I won't beat around the bush and will say right away that it was really cool. Even just from a technical standpoint - the game allows you to play practically every day over a very long period of time. During this period you can engage in a wide variety of activities - spending time with friends and acquaintances, studying, reading something, playing video games, and all sorts of other things. At the same time, all activities are limited by time and certain other constraints, and each character has their own schedule, so you get the impression that there's some level of life in the world, and you have to plan your actions a bit. Along the way, together with progressing through the story and building relationships with other characters, more and more new mechanics unlock, and right up until the very end you keep encountering something fresh. The city as a whole and its individual locations in particular are very well crafted — there are all kinds of little shops, entertainment venues, and such everywhere — and you can interact with all of it. I especially liked the school, even though there wasn't too much content there — but the very fact of its detail couldn't help but please. The subway is also worth highlighting — probably the first time in my life that its concept evoked anything besides gloominess in me — you board these trains not out of desperation but so they carry you on the wings of the wind toward something interesting or pleasant.
Another amusing thing — during the brief lessons the protagonist attended, I probably learned more interesting facts than in a decade spent at a real school. Speaking of the protagonist — aside from being able to live through almost every single day of his life, I really liked how the guy meets new people, builds connections, makes friends, finds love, and grows as a person. He doesn't say much, being a "self-insert," but his role among the characters and within the story is clearly visible. As for the other characters — the main group is very harmonious; each member has their place both within the group itself and against the backdrop of larger events. Nobody was just tagging along like a sidekick or serving as an accessory to the protagonist. Non-playable characters are interesting and likable to varying degrees, especially the confidants (heh). It's a bit of a shame I couldn't max everyone out and thus see each individual scene, but maybe someday in the future I'll fix that. By the end of the game, the ranks looked like this, by the way:

Header

Fool: 10
Magician: 10
Priestess: 10
Empress: 7
Emperor: 4
Hierophant: 10
Lovers: 10
Chariot: 3
Justice: 10
Hermit: 9
Fortune: 1
Strength: 0 (dragged her all over town, but the task completely slipped my mind... later during the game I found out I'd cut off potential functionality for myself)
Hanged Man: 5
Death: 10
Temperance: 10
Devil: 4
Tower: 1
Star: 10
Moon: 10
Sun: 4
Judgement: 10
Faith: 7
Counsellor: 10

The hierophant and the magician deserve special mention from me. The former is something of a father figure, while the latter is a great friend and helper who's always by your side. Both help you cope with life's difficulties and mold yourself into a better version of yesterday's self. Well, at least that's how I saw it. That said, this applies to all the other friends as well. Regarding the girls, I already mentioned above that when I encountered their designs in the past (GBF event, screenshots, various merch like figurines), my eyes weren't popping out of my head with enthusiasm, but in reality most of them (or at least those I got to know more closely due to the "event point" limit) are superb. Seriously ranking them in this situation wouldn't be very smart, especially considering I haven't seen all the scenes, but I'll do it anyway for fun: 

Header

1. Star.
2. Lovers.
3. Priestess.
4. Death. 
5. Empress.
6. Hermit.
7. Strength.
8. Faith. 
9. Temperance.
10. Fortune.
11. Devil.

Regarding the character outfit designs and their personas, I could say I'm not particularly a connoisseur of what was presented here, but since it all served as a reflection of their inner selves, accepting these looks in a positive light wasn't hard for me, especially if you view the cognitive world in the same vein as dreams — where the human subconscious simply seeps outward without asking our opinion. The same can be said about the "palaces" — each was unique and interesting in its own way; I'm even curious what my own would look like, or those of certain people in my circle of acquaintances. 

Throughout the game, many philosophical questions were raised regarding the morality of various deeds, and I liked that each vice had a clearly established root cause, while the villains' rationalization of their actions was quite respectable, and I perceived the Phantom thieves' raids not so much as their fight against obvious "evil" but rather their following of their personal sense of justice — so even if one might occasionally wonder whether their "social reform" carries a willful and somewhat selfish character, often stemming from their personal issues with society, I saw no problem in that. And speaking of society, I especially liked how well the mechanism of public opinion was depicted.

Header

The final boss deserves a special mention due to his altruistic nature and goals. There's understanding and respect between him and the game's heroes, and ultimately it all comes down to a clash of perfectly viable yet contradictory beliefs on both sides. The only thing I regret somewhat is that although I can agree with the game's message, the more I look at the world and think about where it's heading, the more reality keeps defeating that message day by day and makes me think that this character's ideas aren't so bad after all. Though, of course, calling it "happiness" would be a stretch:
 
(Ironically, that's exactly where we're headed)

All in all, I'm even sorry to part ways with someone else's account — that's how much I enjoyed the game and how polished it is. If Utawarerumono nearly made an alcoholic out of me, Persona 5 made me seriously consider getting into coffee on a slightly deeper level. 

Lastly, the persona I used for most of the game: 

Why? Just thought it looked cool despite its plain appearance. Here's what skills I taught it: 
Attachment 70097
Closer to the end of the game, of course, plenty of other powerful/cool ones appeared.