Suguru Kamoshida: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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==Appearances==

Suguru Kamoshida appeared in ''[[Persona 5]]'', as well as its re-release, ''[[Persona 5 Royal]]'', as its first antagonist. He is the volleyball coach of Shujin Academy, having won gold at the [[Olympics]] in volleyball, which made him a powerful figure at the school. Kamoshida routinely abuses students, including members of the volleyball team he coaches. Before the events of the game, he goads [[Ryuji Sakamoto]] into acting in such a way that Kamoshida could assault him and claim self-defense, breaking his leg, so that he could get the track team Ryuji was on disbanded. He accomplishes this by spreading rumors and leaking people's details, namely Ryuji's family history. He also has a history of sexually harassing female students, including [[Ann Takamaki]]. Attempts to speak up about this behavior were curbed by the school's principal, Kobayakawa, who provided protection for Kamoshida.

Suguru Kamoshida appeared in ''[[Persona 5]]'', as well as its re-release, ''[[Persona 5 Royal]]'', as its first antagonist. He is a former Olympian and current high school volleyball coach whose reputation allows him to abuse students with impunity. Before the events of the game, he goads [[Ryuji Sakamoto]] into acting in such a way that Kamoshida could assault him and claim self-defense, breaking his leg, so that he could get the track team Ryuji was on disbanded. He accomplishes this by spreading rumors and leaking people's details, namely Ryuji's family history. He also has a history of sexually harassing female students, including [[Ann Takamaki]], protected by the school due to his status. He comes to dislike the protagonist, [[Joker (Persona)|Joker]], spreading word of his criminal past. Joker and Ryuji accidentally venture into something called the Metaverse, another world created from the will and manifestations of people in their world. In this world, a castle is discovered, occupied by someone they are later told by a talking cat named [[Morgana (Persona)|Morgana]] is a Shadow version of Kamoshida, and the castle is his Palace. Joker, Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann eventually team up to take him down after he punishes Ann for rebutting his advances by driving Ann's friend Shiho Suzui to suicide and threatening to get Joker and Ryuji expelled. They eventually defeat his Shadow self by stealing his Treasure, causing his real self to become guilty and admit his crimes, upon which he is arrested and loses his job. Kamoshida's confession leads to a public relations disaster that haunts Shujin Academy for the rest of the game due to Principal Kobayakawa's refusal to protect the student body from him. Shadow Kamoshida is later encountered in the final area of the game, Mementos Depths, where he is located in a prison alongside the other antagonists of the game. It is revealed that they, along with all other people, originally had their Shadows in this prison, and that most of the Palace Rulers, including Kamoshida, became apathetic husks rather than genuinely reforming.

~~He also appears in adaptations~~Adaptations of ''Persona 5'', including a manga and anime, feature him in a similar capacity.{{citation needed|date=April 2024}} He also appears as an early antagonist in ''[[Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth]]'', where he is depicted as a superhero named Kamoshidaman. When he is fought, he transforms into a monstrous rabbit. It is later discovered that Hikari became disillusioned with teachers as a whole when her elementary school teacher poisoned the class' pet rabbit by ~~feeding~~providing ither and two other students unsuitable food to feed it with and scapegoated her when the rabbit died because she happened to be the one who spoke out about the food. This took the form of Kamoshida when the Phantom Thieves became trapped in the cinema because he happened to be the founding members' worst experience with a teacher.▼

Near the beginning of the game, Kamoshida comes to dislike the protagonist, [[Joker (Persona)|Joker]]. Rumors of Joker's criminal past began to spread, with it revealed eventually that they spread through Yuuki Mishima, who was under duress by Kamoshida. Shortly thereafter, Joker, having befriended Ryuji, discovers something called the Metaverse, another world created from the will and manifestations of people in their world. In this world, he and Ryuji discover a castle in the school's place, occupied by a man they are later told by Morgana, a talking cat, is Shadow Kamoshida. This version of Kamoshida is wears a cape and a crown, but also wears nothing else but a speedo. They are nearly killed by this Kamoshida, but Joker manages to awaken to his Persona, gaining the power to defend himself, and they manage to escape to the real world. They also discover that the real Kamoshida is unaware of the Shadow version.

In the real world, Ann is suffering due to Kamoshida's actions. She and Ryuji, in Kamoshida's Palace, eventually awaken to their own Personas; the latter because he wanted the strength to defy Kamoshida, and the former because of her anger over her cognitive counterpart in Kamoshida's Palace. The four become members of what would eventually be named the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. After Ann continues to refuse Kamoshida's advances, he takes this out on Ann's friend, Shiho Suzui, causing Shiho to attempt suicide by jumping off a building. Joker and Ryuji go to confront Kamoshida, who, after an altercation, informs them that he intends to have them expelled at the next school board meeting. Despite initially being concerned about whether Kamoshida would survive having his treasure taken, Joker and Ryuji elect to change Kamoshida's heart by helping Morgana steal his treasure. Ann, enraged over what happened to Shiho, follows them into the Palace because she suspects they are planning something and wants to join them, leading to her Persona awakening.

Because the treasure isn't initially manifested, the group leave calling cards threatening to expose Kamoshida, which causes the treasure to manifest in Kamoshida's Palace, and for Shadow Kamoshida to increase his defenses. The four return to confront Shadow Kamoshida, battling him in a large, monstrous form which depicts him eating pairs of women's legs. During the fight, they are able to keep Kamoshida distracted until Ryuji or Morgana succeeds in stealing the treasure. After defeating him, Ann forces Shadow Kamoshida to admit guilt, which causes the real Kamoshida to change his ways and eventually admit his own crimes in front of a general assembly, being arrested and losing his job in the process.

Kamoshida's confession leads to a public relations disaster that haunts Shujin Academy for the rest of the game due to Principal Kobayakawa's refusal to protect the student body from him. A tabloid later implicates the entire faculty in covering his crimes up, forcing the school to assign third-years to chaperone a trip to [[Hawaii]] so they can cooperate with an investigation. When student council president [[Makoto Niijima]] begins to investigate the Phantom Thieves prior to joining them, Ann accuses her of being complicit in Kamoshida's abuses, and she later admits to suspecting his true colors but feeling powerless to intervene. In ''Royal'', as part of his scramble to mitigate the damage Kamoshida caused, Kobayakawa hires Takuto Maruki as a student counselor to give the appearance of considering students' mental health, which fools nobody despite Maruki's popularity, and organizes a trash cleanup day in [[Inokashira Park]], which the students consider a boring PR stunt.

Shadow Kamoshida is later encountered in the final area of the game, Mementos Depths, where he is located in a prison alongside the other antagonists of the game. It is revealed that they, along with all other people, originally had their Shadows in this prison.

▲He also appears in adaptations of ''Persona 5'', including a manga and anime. He also appears as an early antagonist in ''[[Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth]]'', where he is depicted as a superhero named Kamoshidaman. When he is fought, he transforms into a monstrous rabbit. It is later discovered that Hikari became disillusioned with teachers as a whole when her elementary school teacher poisoned the class' pet rabbit by feeding it unsuitable food and scapegoated her when the rabbit died because she happened to be the one who spoke out about the food. This took the form of Kamoshida when the Phantom Thieves became trapped in the cinema because he happened to be the founding members' worst experience with a teacher.

==Reception==

''Comic Book Resources'' writer Robert Crosby considered Kamoshida the most terrifying villain of ''Persona 5'' due to how realistic he was. He spoke of how other villains in ''Persona 5'' feel more fantastical, but Kamoshida is very real, something people deal with in sports, suggesting that he may be based on [[judoka]] [[Masato Uchishiba]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/persona-5-most-terrifying-villain-kamoshida/ |title=Persona 5's Most Terrifying Villain Is Kamoshida - Because He's Realistic |work=Comic Book Resources |last=Crosby |first=Robert |date=April 16, 2020 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=June 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607193904/https://www.cbr.com/persona-5-most-terrifying-villain-kamoshida/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Writer Jeff Vogel also noted how "believable," comparing him to more fantastical villains and saying that the fact that what Kamoshida, who he describes as a "serial rapist" and "one of the most loathsome characters [he's] ever seen in a video game," ~~did~~that could and did happen in the real world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/persona-5-cartoon-cats-depthless-evil-and-dating-your-teacher- |title=Persona 5, Cartoon Cats, Depthless Evil, and Dating Your Teacher. |work=Game Developer |last=Vogel |first=Jeff |date=August 4, 2017 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103185112/https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/persona-5-cartoon-cats-depthless-evil-and-dating-your-teacher- |url-status=live }}</ref> ''VG247'' writer Alan Wen discussed how Kamoshida is based on both the "corporal punishment" found in Japanese school sports clubs, as well as discussing how Kamoshida's sexual abuse of high school girls reflected the [[#MeToo]] movement that had gained prominence in 2017.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vg247.com/persona-5-trump-brexit-political-divide |title=How Persona 5 reflects Trump and Brexit, resonating with our generational political divide |work=VG247 |last=Wen |first=Alan |date=March 9, 2020 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103185120/https://www.vg247.com/persona-5-trump-brexit-political-divide |url-status=live }}</ref> Fellow ''VG247'' writer Caty McCarthy was critical of the game's handling of Kamoshida and his crimes, particularly for not calling it rape and for the fact that the game later sexualizes and objectifies Ann.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vg247.com/the-real-world-problems-behind-persona-5 |title=The Real-World Problems Behind Persona 5 |work=VG247 |last=McCarthy |first=Caty |date=May 5, 2017 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103185121/https://www.vg247.com/the-real-world-problems-behind-persona-5 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Writer Arnaud Bourdouxhe-Nélissen discussed Kamoshida's mindset of viewing the male students as toys for abuse and female students as sexually submissive slaves, discussing how this reflects a twisted version of his own reality. He added that Kamoshida represented the sin of lust, discussing both his sexual proclivities as well as his castle being filled with sexual imagery.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://matheo.uliege.be/bitstream/2268.2/11268/5/Bourdouxhe-N%c3%a9lissen%20Arnaud%20Thesis%20on%20Intertextuality%20in%20the%20Video%20game%20Persona%205.pdf |title=Intertextuality in the Video Game Persona 5 |work=Faculté de Philosophie et Lettres |last=Bourdouxhe-Nélissen |first=Arnaud |year=2021 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=June 6, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606042817/https://matheo.uliege.be/bitstream/2268.2/11268/5/Bourdouxhe-N%C3%A9lissen%20Arnaud%20Thesis%20on%20Intertextuality%20in%20the%20Video%20game%20Persona%205.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The Ringer'' writer Justin Charity described him as one of the most "breathtaking" villains in video games.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/25/16043018/persona-5-review-video-games-e6b82df16bc8 |title=In ‘Persona 5,’ the Biggest Monster Is Adulthood |work=The Ringer |last=Charity |first=Justin |date=April 25, 2017 |accessdate=January 4, 2024 |archive-date=June 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605084059/https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/25/16043018/persona-5-review-video-games-e6b82df16bc8 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Anime News Network]]'' writer Elliot Gay discussed the real-world contrasts in Kamoshida's story, discussing multiple similar real-world situations. Specifically, he cited a 17-year-old boy who committed suicide followed by routine beatings by his coach. While discussing how Kamoshida's peers handled him, Gay noted that this was handled realistically, citing a teacher who was found guilty of abusing 12 of his female students, but was only punished with a one-month pay cut.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-05-12/the-real-japan-behind-persona-5/.116021 |title=The Real Japan Behind Persona 5 |work=Anime News Network |last=Gay |first=Elliot |date=May 12, 2017 |accessdate=February 21, 2024 |archive-date=June 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630013134/https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-05-12/the-real-japan-behind-persona-5/.116021 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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[[Category:Characters designed by Shigenori Soejima]]

~~[[Category:Fictional bullies]]~~

[[Category:Fictional child abusers]]

[[Category:Fictional criminals in video games]]