Tarot Assignment

Like Nenilein says, the tarot card selection I have for characters are their current situation in life and their relationship to others. Because the Tarot card is flexible in its representation and quite literally every Tarot card fits every character or archetype, it really would be difficult to find a conclusive one. On that note, a Tarot Card would change if the character's situation changes as well. It is possible to have a male Empress/Priestess/Lovers and female Emperor; I do wish to see them in canon soon anyways because if the Persona series is innovative enough to discuss feminist issues head-on, then it's really bad if there literally is no male Empress/Priestess/Lovers and female Emperor. It's one of the things I wish to happen in a game series just as much as I want the other types as legendaries or finally made a gym in the Pokemon series. Please, Hoshino, you got a female Hermit Persona-user and a cat as a Magician Arcana on your team in P5; you can do it with a Male Empress/Priestess/Lovers and female Emperor. You got a freaking fox as a Hermit Arcana Social Link. And yes, this also translate to Social Link/Confidant.

Highlighted in the same sentence/paragraph are the character and their arcana.

The reason why I chose the Chariot for Yuuri Katsuki is because his anxiety disorder and depression makes him such an unreliable narrator, thinking that his friends and family's support and love for him was not genuine. He does have the strength (seen through his bursts of confidence throughout) but he doesn't fully grasp the full extent of that strength and love until his final Free skate at the Grand Prix Final. I didn't choose Moon because while he does have self-doubt and allowed it to overtake him (and indeed he does fit a lot with the Moon Arcana, reversed and upright), Yuuri is all about struggling and triumphing that self-doubt and his ambition to win. Even pre-character development, he had that hidden strength, judging by episode 1 alone. The fact that he was still thinking was something I completely understand. His relationship with others show that he have a lack of unity within himself, not finding much confidence in others and himself. His personal flaws overtook him, leading to imbalance. I took the well-hidden confidence that he didn't bother go into and considering his flaws, I gave the Chariot in the end. The Moon focuses too much on his anxiety and depression when there is much more to Yuuri's character. His ambitions and struggles with his self-doubt. Seriously though, Yuuri followed the 22 Major Arcana so well I have a hard time picking it.

I gave the Justice to Yuri Plisetsky (which is funny because, for the Tiger and Bunny cast, Yuri Petrov has Justice too) because his goals were to make his countrymen proud as a 'soldier'. It also plays out in his relationships with others like Katsuki and Viktor, not liking what they have done despite his admiration for them in terms of competitive skating.

As for Viktor Nikiforov, I was probably having more trouble, not even knowing his personal background. From what I can tell, he usually hides behind masks and gets quite easily into roles like the serious no-nonsense mentor, charismatic prince, and any role like a brother, father which is why I can see why the beach conversation affect him so. Underneath that lies an intelligent lonely man who when seeing something new, couldn't help but try it, just being himself. He doesn't seem to doubt his decision being with Yuuri or at Hasetsu at all but he seemed to allow other's expectations of him, usually Yuuri since Yakov or Yurio didn't bother him at all (hurt but he can get back up), overwhelm his decisions and force him to go back to something that he lost passion for. I think he doubts himself as who Viktor really is, being at the top when he knows what he truly wants. I do think Wheel of Fortune would be a better match than the Moon, not just for his love of surprises but considering how much of events like Sochi Banquet and Hasetsu and even meeting the few people in his lives would do in his life. Now, this is just observation; if YOI S2 tackles Viktor's long-awaited background, I will see if the card will change.

I don't give out The Fool Arcana to main protagonists all the time. I gave the main protagonist of YOI the Chariot for the love of Godoka. Speaking of Godoka, I gave the Fool to Madoka because her kindness extend well to others. I gave it to Eijun Sawamura primarily because how he affects everyone around him, forming bonds even though everyone (as in Terajima) treats him like dirt when he and Nori do the dirty work. Similarly, I gave the Fool to Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya precisely how he inspires everyone around him. The Fool was also given to Marinette Dupain-Cheng because she is getting out of her shell, extending hands to everyone but Adrien (out of shyness) and Chloe. I gave the Fool to Tsunayoshi Sawada as well as his ancestor Giotto because of their bonds with others with their endless kindness.

I sure as hell don't give the Fool to Light Yagami; that's the Tower. That's because his inability to reconcile with the flaws of the world coupled with his boredom of his perfection tipped the scale towards self-destruction. Seriously, Yotsuba!Light can be the Star and would have remained the star had he not tread down the path of destruction. I gave Lelouch Lamperouge the Emperor pre-character development and eventually the Death during character development. Yes, both of these guys used to have the same arcana at some point but in the end, Lelouch is the only one who changed in the end which is why his Arcana changes (by the mile). Hell, I rather have Lelouch as a Social Link than Light. Light desperately needs a Social Link but it would take hard work to even crack him. For Lelouch, I had difficulty between Emperor (exercise control) and Hanged Man (devoted to his sister, driven by the love of his loved ones, didn't like the thought of killing Euphie or Suzaku) so yeah Lelouch could potentially change to the Hanged Man pre-character development.

...You know for Furuya Satoru, I didn't know what to pick at first. I was thinking about how he's lonely at first and doesn't know how to reach other people. I would have picked the Temperance for him if he chose to make proper friends and rivals at the same time. However, he remained at his lonesome despite Eijun and everyone else bonding with him; even his mentality on the field is firmly on his preoccupation with himself. Then I thought of his wrong direction, all his flaws coming to the surface. I don't know why Terajima is exposing his favorite's flaws so easily considering he so favors Furuya as the ace despite evidence to the contrary. Out of frustration for Terajima, I gave Furuya the Devil because it's clear that his goal is to not only be the ace of Seidou but also Japan, his utter preoccupation with himself; he clearly thinks him front and center of a team sport, thinking the team should be relying on him instead of a symbiotic relationship and you know team sport. Canonically, he's the Devil Arcana. If he had taken the right direction by letting others be with him not just as a support on and off the field as well, I would have easily given him any other Arcana but the Devil or the Tower. I didn't give Furuya the Tower Arcana because although he is set up for self-destruction, he doesn't think of said self-destruction only when confronted with someone stronger than him...and even then, he will strive to beat that rather than look at himself.

Yeah, I still loathe the Furuya no Ace in a series that supposed to detail Sawamura Eijun's climbing of ranks til he is fully recognized as an exceptionally talented player on multiple ends.

But I digress.

I chose the Empress for Kuramochi Youichi because of his familial-like relationship with his teammates. He's observant (noticing Miyuki's injury and problems as captain) and deeply cares for his friends; it helps that his character development from an unruly player who ruins another's chances on the team became a responsible co-captain.

On the other hand, I chose the Hermit for Miyuki Kazuya because of how isolated he is. He is slowly reaching out to others when he gained the role as Captain and unfortunately filling in other roles. It wasn't until the Fool, Eijun Sawamura, got him out of his shell. The Tarot card befits Miyuki so well even during character development.

There is also pre-character development cards as well as character development cards. Above are both pre- and during character development like what I did with Lelouch. Shouto Todoroki was the Tower pre-character development because he is not relying on others, not just for teamwork but also for himself. He is essentially setting himself up for self-destruction and he knows that. His character development card is the Judgment because if his usage of fire, his behavior as a future hero, and his relationships with Inasa, Midoriya, and his family are anything to go by, he is self-reflecting.

I really have to do serious contemplation to even think of giving a Tarot Card representation to them. Like I prefer to have Themed Tarot Card decks actually aligning with the character in mind beyond superficiality....yeah I just want these cards to make sense in context with the characters.

...Admittedly this is basically a return to Persona.