Josh Prime · @Mario__Bones
2nd Mar 2013 from Twitlonger
@carolynmichelle
Okies, figured the best way to type up a response to your Persona piece would be a twitlonger tweet :)
*MASSIVE SPOILER WARNING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T FINISHED PERSONA 4*
My interpretation of Kanji changed a lot throughout the game, but after getting to the true ending, this is how I finally settled on his character.
The Midnight Channel was created because humanity didn't care about truth, they're happy to accept their own reality regardless of its falsities. The Midnight Channel served as a 'window to view false images' (I forget the exact quote), people just see what they want to see. So in regards to Kanji, I saw his Shadow being stereotypically gay not in an offensive way, but to enforce the point that we stereotype people in our head, and don't see them for who they are. Kanji could easily be stereotyped as gay, he enjoys 'femminine' past times and he's a caring and compassionate character. He was made fun off and labelled as 'unmanly' because of this, and he's stereotyped by others. When he has feelings for someone he believes to be male, he begins to believe this himself, because he fits the stereotype.
Kanji's Shadow represents this, it's the further exaggerated stereotype which is supposedly who he really is, but it's a false image. It's not who he is. This is what Kanji comes to terms with. Yes, he has traits in line with that of a gay stereotype, but he's not gay himself. And that's what I believe this is illustrating, that gay people aren't just stereotypes, and it's wrong to pigeonhole people in that way. Just because someone may share similarities with a stereotype, it doesn't mean they're like that, they're an individual, and likewise, a stereotype of a group of people doesn't describe everyone within that group, we're all our own people.
*END SPOILERS*
But I will agree that Yosuke is a real douche though, the camping trip scene really made me think poorly of him. It wouldn't be so much of a problem if the game made a point of him being a douche, and that his behaviour is wrong, but instead it makes it out to be funny, like it's ok. That particular scene is even worse in the anime, where the protagonist joins in on his homophobia. It's not just homophobia that Yosuke shows, either, he's just a real douche of a character, and it's a bit of a contrast with the rest of the game.