Goro Akechi was just revealed for Persona 5 Dancing Star Night, and Persona 5 are losing their minds over it.
Akechi has been a fan favorite among Persona 5 fans for a while. He’s a teenage detective that’s called the “Second Advent of the Detective Prince” in the game, and he eventually joins the Phantom Thieves in their crusade to change people’s hearts. Between the charming facade he puts up to his friends, his tragic backstory, and all that angst, he’s basically fandom catnip.
When the fandom first saw scans for Akechi’s appearance in Dancing Star Night as a DLC character, they were excited. Now that the trailer is here, they’re beside themselves. Akechi a character who is built as a deliberate foil to the Persona 5 protagonist—they’re both characters who have been unfairly maligned by society, but Akechi has been turned bitter where the protagonist is righteous. That contrast also makes them a fun ship, and they’re one of the most popular ships in the fandom.
Some fans in the YouTube comments and on Reddit have picked up on the special significance of having Akechi dance in Shido Palace, where Akechi’s eventual boss fight takes place. Other people are just happy to see their favorite pancake boy.
Over on Tumblr, fans are eating this trailer up. One particular screenshot of Akechi’s face in this trailer has already become a meme.
Persona 5 fandom is basically at peak excitement over this silly dancing game. It’s kind of making me want to fire up the original game and let Akechi break my heart one more time.