The Persona 5 cast is easily one of the most memorable band of unlikely heroes in any JRPG ever. Watching Joker's story unfold along with a number of the Phantom Thieves is incredibly entertaining, and shows the power of a good main cast in any game. Every person has their favorites when it comes to choosing the best character in Persona 5, but one can't deny that the person with the biggest impact on the story — well, aside from Joker himself — is Morgana.
Initially seeming like nothing more than a cat with cognitive power, Morgana quickly transforms into one of the most intriguing characters in the entire party. Witnessing him striving to find meaning in his own existence is quite a rousing tale... which ends with some mind-blowing revelations to boot. Here are the answers to ten of the most pressing questions fans have asked about Morgana time and time again.
10 So... Can Morgana Turn Human Or Not?
One of the biggest questions surrounding Persona 5 was whether Morgana was just a cat or actually a human. After finishing the game, the player finally gets an answer — neither. Morgana was the personification of human hope that was created in order to aid the protagonist on his journey to free the hearts of everyone in the world. This explanation helps answer the next question as well...
9 How Does He Have So Much Knowledge About Mementos?
As a person whose origins lie in the collective subconsciousness of people, it's only a given that Morgana would also be a product of Mementos as well. This means that he has unlimited knowledge about this space... even though he has never personally been in Mementos all that long anyway.
8 Why Does His Persona Have No Arms?
Zorro is the antithesis of Morgana's design, being incredibly massive as compared to the small Morgana. However, the designers decided to tweak his design somewhat to reflect Morgana's mind. Just like Morgana thought something about him was missing, Zorro also reflects this by having no arms — a rather on-the-nose design choice, but an effective one nevertheless.
7 What Was The Concept Behind Morgana's Design?
One thing that most people might not know about Joker is the fact that he's meant to resemble a cat of sorts. So, it was only fair that the protagonist's partner would literally be a cat. However, there's more to Morgana's design than just this little tidbit of information...
6 Was He Designed To Be A Mascot From The Get-Go?
It goes without saying that Morgana's endearing design would make him fit to be the mascot of the game, and this is not something that was thought of on the fly.
Shigenori Soejima was the art director for all three Persona games, and always used a similar color palette for the mascots he designed for every game — the "toy color" set of red, yellow, and blue. This rule was consistently applied for the designs of Aigis from Persona 3, Teddie from Persona 4, and (obviously) Morgana from Persona 5.
5 Is There A Story Behind The Shape Of This Mask?
Another interesting thing to discuss regarding Morgana is his mask. There are two questions surrounding this part of his costume that shed some light on this character as well.
For starters, Morgana's mask design was a deliberate design choice by Soejima, who loved the show Perman and wanted a mask like the one in the anime to be present on one of the characters. This honor was bestowed upon Morgana.
4 Why Is Morgana The Only Character Who Can Summon His Persona Without Ripping His Mask Off?
Keen-eyed players might've noticed that Morgana is the only character in the game who doesn't have to violently rip off his mask to summon his Persona. While the reason for this has never been explained outright, one can still make some calculated guesses. The most convincing theory seems to be that the origin of his being means that he has no need to perform such a drastic action to summon his Persona.
Of course, it can also be true that showing a cat committing such violent acts wasn't something that Atlus was too keen on showing in their game, which is why this idea was quietly axed.
3 Why Does Morgana Even Have Any Secret Savings?
If the player somehow gets stuck in an area if he doesn't have the return fare, then Morgana can serve as a guardian angel of sorts. He decides to give some money out of his secret savings to help the protagonist go back to Cafe Leblanc.
However, is there any reason for Morgana to even have any secret savings? One can argue that perhaps it's his money that the Phantom Thieves use to get the materials for their calling card, but that sounds like too much of a stretch.
2 What Was His Line About People Viewing Cats As Buses A Reference To?
After reaching Mementos for the first time, Morgana transforms into a cat and mentions how people viewing cats as buses is a pretty popular viewpoint in Tokyo. This line is quite definitely a cheeky reference to the Catbus from the animated movie My Neighbor Totoro by Studio Ghibli, which is a classic and something that most people in Japan would've definitely seen.
1 What Are The Conditions That One Needs To Meet To Understand Morgana?
In the game, it's revealed that only people who've ventured into Mementos can understand Morgana. However, this rule is completely thrown out of the window for Sae, who does end up spending some time in the cognitive world but still can't understand Morgana, regardless.
The explanation for this was that only people who'd heard Morgana talk in the cognitive world could understand him in the real one, yet Akechi could perfectly understand Morgana without hearing him speak in the other world. It's a plot hole that has become infamous among fans of Persona 5.