Persona 5 Strikers has fans incredibly excited as they play through a whole new experience set in the Persona 5 universe. A unique combination of Dynasty Warriors and Persona, Strikers offers loads of rich gameplay and a new story for players to explore.
One of the exciting parts of the new series is a newcomer to the Phantom Thieves: Zenkichi Hasegawa. This police inspector in charge of investigating a recent Metaverse accident eventually joins the party and offers a unique flavor to the team. While he doesn't have hidden ulterior motives, there are some secrets about him many fans have yet to notice.
10 He's The First Adult Party Member Since Persona 2
It has been 21 years since an adult Persona user last joined the main party in the series, which is wild to think about. In Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Maya Amano was 23, making her one of the first party members to not outright be a teenager at all, let alone a Persona user.
It will be interesting to see if the developers consider more adult Persona users as the series goes on.
9 His Similarities To Ryotaro Dojima
A lot of players have been making comparisons between Zenkichi and Ryotaro and it makes a lot of sense. Both of them are widowers, serve in the police force, and have daughters who create realities of their own within shadow worlds.
Not to mention, those realities were both inspired by the grief of losing their mothers. Seriously, these two might be long-lost twins or something!
8 His Design Has French Origins
Zenkichi's Persona is named Valjean, which is a reference to the famous 1862 Victor Hugo novel Les Misérables. Yes, the one that was made into a stunning musical. In the book, those who broke the law would be called a wolf, which is where his codename derives.
Zenkichi's outfit is a unique reference to France. It is based on outfits worn in Le Pacte des loups (Brotherhood Of The Wolf), a period French action film that released in 2001. It's a uniquely obscure nod that only the amazing developers at Atlus would come up with.
7 He's The Oldest Playable Character In The Series
In the game, Zenkichi claims to be 40 years old during some of the dialogue. This would make him the oldest playable character in the entire Persona series. To put this in perspective, previously that record was held by Maya Amano who was 23 years old.
Considering Joker is only 16, there's a serious age gap between the crew in Persona 5 Strikers.
6 He Shares A Name With A Persona 3 Character
Zenkichi Hasegawa, alongside his late wife Aoi and his daughter Akena, has a last name that long-time fans of the series will recognize. Saori Hasegawa first appeared in Persona 3 Portable as a supporting character for male protagonists and as the Hermit Social Link for female protagonists.
There are no other notable ties between the two characters just yet, but maybe they will come up in a future storyline.
5 He's A Libra
That's right, Zenkichi was born in October — on the first to be specific. What really gets interesting is trying to pin down his birthday a little bit further. While the date on the calendars of Persona 5 says it's the year 20xx, clever fans will notice the calendar matches up with the year 2016.
This would mean that, in theory, Zenkichi was born on October 1, 1976. Talk about a game theory!
4 He Does Not Possess An Ultimate Persona
An Ultimate Persona is the most powerful Persona a user is capable of summoning. These are only possible to summon when a user takes up a strong resolution in their heart. Unfortunately, Zenkichi is unable to summon one himself.
Zenkichi isn't the first character to not be able to do so, however. In Persona 3, Metis, Koromaru, and Shinjiro Aragaki do not possess Ultimate Personas. This might put these four characters at the bottom of the power tier list.
3 He Always Starts On The Team In New Game Plus
It's incredibly fun to see new content pop up in a game's New Game Plus mode, but this one gets a little weird. Despite Zenkichi being introduced later in the game, when players start a New Game Plus run, he will still appear in the part and is available for players to use.
It certainly makes the storyline a little bit goofy but doesn't actually affect the canon in any way.
2 The Meaning Of His Name
Zenkichi has a curious name when translated from Japanese. Zenkichi (善吉) translates to "good luck" while Hasegawa (長谷川) translates to "long valley river.
While other characters have names with small nods or jokes related to their Personas or designs, Zenkichi is an outlier in this regard. Still, it's a great name and potentially makes him a good luck charm for the team.
1 The Differences In His Persona Reveal
It's hard to forget the awakenings of all of the Phantom Thieves. They are iconic moments with amazing animations that are spellbinding, to say the least. Still, a lot of players didn't notice that Zenkichi's reveal differs slightly from the rest.
While all of the other Phantom Thieves tore the whole mask off of their face, Zenkichi actually breaks his mask into two pieces. It's a unique way to stand out and it will be interesting to see if in the future they use this in some way as part of the story.