Persona 3’s Koromaru proves Persona mascots are still lovable without anthropomorphic features
Before Persona 4’s Teddie (also known as Kuma) and Persona 5’s Morgana, the Persona franchise was notably lacking in the anthropomorphic party member department. This makes sense because even thoughthe games are full of fictional creatures like Shadows and Personas, they still want players to feel like they are living the life of a normal Japanese high school student.
To help bridge the gap between realism and fiction, Persona 3 introduced Koromaru – a highly intelligent Shiba Inu and a member of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (SEES). Much like Teddie and Morgana, Koromaru joins the party in exploring the Shadows’ world and can be given commands during battle. He also plays an important role in the overarching narrative. Unlike his successors, however, Koromaru doesn’t have human characteristics that creep out his friends, family, and onlookers.
Koromaru is a dog through and through
Being a Shiba Inu, Koromaru has certain animalistic quirks; the most important of which being that he cannot speak. His actions are vaguely interpreted by his human companions, save for Aigis whose robot nature allows her to understand him completely. When Aigis isn’t around, the rest of the SEES team voices his thoughts during their conversations. Koromaru’s voice actor, Shinya Takahashi, makes sure every bark, growl, and whine has some kind of emotion behind it, ensuring players know just how Koromaru is feeling in any situation.
That said, Koromaru is still prone to dog behavior. On regular days, he is shown to be taken on walks, brushed, and can be found wandering the strangest parts of Tatsumi Port Island. The way he waits at his deceased master’s shrine also pays homage to the real-life Shiba Inu Hachiko. He may not have as big a character arc as Teddie or Morgana, but Koromaru’s presence helps reassure his teammates both during and out of battle against the Shadows.
Teddie and Morgana tend to be more intrusive with their personalities
Compared to Koromaru, Teddie and Morgana are often seen as nuisances by their comrades. Teddie often makes bad puns while Morgana talks in his cat form to scare those who can hear him speak. These two often end up talking so much that they cause problems within their respective groups.
Another point is that Teddie and Morgana show less-flattering human characteristics. Teddie usually flirts with the female members of the Investigation Team and jumps at attention whenever Chie or Yukiko are involved in something. This becomes more questionable once Teddie gets a human body of his own and continues with his child-like antics. Morgana on the other hand is shown to be arrogant and overconfident when interacting with the Phantom Thieves. He constantly denies his nature as a cat and even leaves the team when he feels like he is of no use to them.
While their flaws give them more depth and room for growth, Teddie and Morgana don’t quite have the same appeal as Koromaru. Koromaru’s nature as a dog makes him a loyal companion and confidant to the other SEES members as he can almost always be found chilling in the lounge of the Iwatodai Dormitory waiting for his friends to return. He doesn’t complain about his day or annoy anyone with his antics.
It’s nice that the more recent Persona games have anthropomorphic mascots with just as much personality as the rest of the cast, but that doesn’t necessarily mean every entry needs to have one. Koromaru’s simplicity proves that a normal dog can be just as loved and compelling as an anthropomorphic bear or car (sometimes even more so).
