Shujin Academy
Image is everything.
The students at Shujin Academy learn quickly that its administration cares little for their futures as individuals, only how their talents may best be exploited to elevate the school's status in the public eye. Honors students who can't meet heavy expectations quickly lose their scholarships and support from the administration, and clubs can be disbanded purely on the whims of teachers who don't like them.
No one illustrated this better than Suguru Kamoshida. A former Olympic gold medalist and Shujin alumnus, he was hired on as a volleyball coach and had the respect of teachers, students, and parents alike. Unknown to the public, though, he treated the school as his own castle and was guilty of the worst power abuses, from crippling students he didn't like, to abusing his own team to force performance, to sexually assaulting students that he desired.
This all came out after a member of the volleyball team attempted suicide by jumping off the school roof; during a school assembly about it, he got up on stage and remorsefully confessed his wicked deeds. Students were quick to notice this came right after notices were posted on the school board from the so-called Phantom Thieves of Hearts saying they'd make him admit to his crimes with his own mouth, something that had initially been dismissed as a weird prank. Afterwards, Kamoshida was summarily arrested and fired.
Now Kamoshida is on record as the first Change of Heart, and Shujin has gained notoriety as the site of the first target of The Phantoms. While the tension has been somewhat alleviated by his confession and dismissal, it still hasn't fully lifted. While a guidance counselor was recently hired to give emotional support to the student body, that hire is strictly temporary. The administration otherwise still makes it clear it's business as usual, and no one else has been punished for the conduct that enabled Kamoshida's abuses.
Instead, Principal Kobayakawa is conducting an investigation of where the Phantom Thieves came from and who they are, not only because they caused a scandal that tarnished the school's image but secretly also at the behest of his contacts within the New World Order.
Why the New World Order has interest in Shujin Academy is unclear, but it certainly goes beyond merely the possibility that the Phantom Thieves of Hearts come from this school.
School Uniform
Primary Schooling
Shujin Academy has a middle school associated with it, though it isn't in the same building. It's also known as Shujin Academy; it's simply the middle school section. People who apply for a character who attends Shujin Academy are free to establish in the app that they've been attending since the start of middle school or that they transferred in from a different school system at some point.
Campus
Located in the Aoyama-Itchome district of Tokyo, Shujin Academy consists of a three-story classroom building linked to a two-story practice building by a lush courtyard. Cherry blossom trees abound, making certain the students witness the atmosphere of spring during that season. There's an adjoining gymnasium that also serves as an auditorium, and until recently, this was the exclusive domain of the volleyball team.
Other amenities include a school store where the yakisoba bread is almost always sold out and a cafeteria that few students choose to be regulars of, instead opting to bring lunch or buy from the school store and/or the various vending machines around campus. The library is a popular study spot for students who aren't leaving for cram school after classes.
The school rooftop is strictly off-limits by order of the Student Council to deter delinquent activity. This rule does not necessarily get respected, especially since rumor has it there's at least one exemption.
Classes
There are up to six classes per grade, proceeding from 1-A to 1-F, 2-A to 2-F, and 3-A to 3-F; only classes with known students are listed here. Contact staff to have your character listed in a specific class!
1-B
1-C
2-A
- Kanae Fuyuki
- Isabeau Fontaine
- Ryuzaki Kurama
- Homeroom Advisor: Ms. Chouno
2-D
- Ren Amamiya
- Ann Takamaki
- Yuuki Mishima
- Homeroom Advisor: Ms. Sadayo Kawakami
2-E
Prominent Students
- Makoto Niijima - The third-year Student Council President, often held up to the other students as a role model for how they ought to act. The top of her class, but with an image of being so strait-laced and obedient to authority that it can be off-putting to her classmates. Some even make fun of her for being a "robot"--never to her face, of course.
- Kasumi Yoshizawa - A first-year honors student on a rhythmic gymnastics scholarship. Known for having a bright, positive attitude and an athletic grace to match, she has many admirers amongst even her upperclassmen and the envy of more shy, introverted girls who believe they could never be her. Gossip about her thus is either effusive or bitter with little in between.
- Ryuji Sakamoto - A second year who was once a track star with a promising future but supposedly tried to assault his substitute coach, Kamoshida, and ended up with a broken leg. Ever since, he's become a consummate delinquent, dying his hair blonde and violating so many school rules. Even the recent scandal surrounding Kamoshida hasn't been enough to restore his reputation among his former teammates on the track team, who blame him for it being disbanded.
- Ann Takamaki - A 'hafu' or "half"-Japanese girl (more accurately of mixed ancestry, specifically Finnish and American), second-year Ann had a troubled reputation at Shujin for both standing out as a model--her flashy beauty makes the popular kids hate her and the shy kids avoid her--and for rumors that she was sleeping with Kamoshida. Fortunately, those rumors were dispelled by his recent confession, leading to some girls apologizing for thinking the worst of her, but not before things took a dark turn with her best friend Shiho Suzui attempting suicide as a result of Kamoshida's mistreatment.
- Ren Amamiya - A transfer second-year student from the sticks with a criminal record of assault. Most students give him a wide berth, especially as he was said to be picking fights with the former volleyball coach Kamoshida. Terrified rumors of his many crimes ran rampant early in the year, and while they've slowed down ever since Kamoshida's confession, Ren still bears the stigma of being a juvenile criminal.
Known Clubs
- Student Council - Led by Student Council President, Makoto Niijima
- Volleyball Team
- Track Team (currently disbanded)
- Rhythmic Gymnastics Team - Members: Kasumi Yoshizawa, Kazusa Motojima
- Basketball Team
- Lacrosse Team
- Dance Club
- Kyudo Club
- Newspaper Club
- Home Economics
- Literature Club
- Science Club
- Science Fiction and Fantasy Club (disbanded since 2008)
- Tennis Team
Prominent Faculty
- Principal Kobayakawa - A petty, small-minded authoritarian that jumps to threatening anyone who he believes would tarnish the school's image and isn't above extorting students to do his dirty work. Secretly on one of the lowest rungs in the New World Order, and is currently in hot water with them due to the Phantom Thieves.
- Vice Principal Kawazu - Kobayakawa's heir-apparent in every way, he holds the reins on the various scholarship programs at Shujin and is quick to try to snatch them away if students don't perform up to his expectations. Has particular interest right now in trying to find a "star" sports team to replace volleyball after the scandal that tarnished Shujin's image. (He has no name in canon; staff has given one to him for the purposes of Velvet Room MUSH.)
- Sadayo Kawakami - A Japanese language teacher and homeroom teacher for Class 2-D. Ms. Kawakami strikes most people who pay attention to her as chronically fatigued and detached from the lives of her students. There are suspicions among the faculty (mostly Chouno-sensei) that she has a secret second job, but no one has confronted her on this yet.
- Takuto Maruki - A clumsily charming temporary school counselor whose good looks and quirkiness immediately shot up his popularity. Brought on in the wake of the Kamoshida scandal, it's been made clear to the students that while the administration doesn't care about them, he certainly does. He always keeps his door open to students with sweet and salty snacks at the ready, and shows great interest in and compassion for their personal struggles.
- Ushimaru-sensei - An ill-tempered social studies teacher who is known mostly for his refusal to give up his old-fashioned teaching style, i.e. throwing chalk at students that annoy him. This reputation for being strict, combined with his use of corporal punishment, tends to make him one of the least popular teachers in the school.
- Chouno-sensei - Shujin's dark-skinned and accented English teacher is well-known for having her nose in everyone's business, but despite how it might seem, it appears to be out of genuine passion for teaching and belief that students should receive an educator's undivided attention.
- Hiruta-sensei - Shujin's biology teacher is known for his flamboyant teaching style with fashion to match, wearing an ascot to school each and every day. For all of his eccentricity though, he seems to truly love the material he teaches to his students. While students might roll their eyes at his earnest passion for science, they leave his classes more often smiling than not.
- Inui-sensei - Never meet your heroes. Shujin's history teacher has a reputation for trying to guide his students through modern life in Tokyo by holding up contemporary figures as examples for their daily life. He's currently batting a thousand on the people he idealizes getting targeted for a change of heart courtesy of the Phantom Thieves.
- Usami-sensei - Shujin's math teacher might seem like a severe figure at first by her style of dress, but is often appreciated by her students through her ability to communicate mathematical concepts through very memorable visual aids in her class lectures.
OC Guidance
While Shujin is a school meant to fit in with Persona 5's "outcast" themes, the way it fits is by being an environment where the leads are, well, outcasts. In other words, Shujin can be a very good environment for consistent high achievers who have no problems with the authority of a prestigious prep school. While many students can feel isolated for various reasons, very few are the rebels the Phantom Thieves are and go about their daily lives like normal, diligent students. Even some of The Phantoms appear superficially like good little children!
As such, while some members of The Phantoms may not join any clubs in canon, there are many clubs to join for the greater student body. Characters need not feel like being part of the 'Go Home' club is necessarily the spirit of Shujin, as clubs enhance many concepts by showing a character's participation in one's daily life. So one should not feel pigeonholed into making their characters disenfranchised loners if that's not what you're looking for!
But if your character burns to rebel against society, then Shujin can make the perfect backdrop for generational tension between adults with power and children without.
As noted earlier, New World Order has a presence at Shujin Academy, and sends a good number of its teenaged Persona Users here. They're told to remain model members of society, and the school itself does not grant them special privileges. Nevertheless, they're a source of considerable stress for Principal Kobayakawa.