F.O.X | Yusuke Kitagawa

Yusuke has dark blue hair with parted bangs slightly covering his left eye and gray eyes. His in-game character model is noticeably taller and thinner than those of other male characters. His fellow Phantom Thieves Ann Takamaki and Ryuji Sakamoto both describe him as a "pretty boy" on two separate occasions. Yusuke does not wear Kosei High's regulation uniform, unlike his fellow student,

---

Yusuke's entire life's passion is comprised of and surrounded by art. He searches for the aesthetic everywhere in his surroundings, from people to places. He sees every opportunity or challenge presented to him as a way to broaden his horizons, and primarily considers how it will benefit him greatly as an artist. He is captivated by the painting of "Sayuri," and seeks to capture the sense of beauty that it portrays. This passion extends to his mentor, Ichiryusai Madarame, who he believed created the painting and who took him in when he was young, completely ignorant that he is being used for Madarame's own profit. As such, Yusuke greatly admired and respected him to the point that he vehemently denied any of the rumors surrounding Madarame.

Even when he knows the rumors are true and finds actual proof supporting it, Yusuke claims that the abuse he faced was consensual as a means of keeping a roof over his head. Even after Madarame's fall, Yusuke still suffers from a serious case of Stockholm syndrome towards his former mentor and still desires for Madarame to revert back into what he thinks he is, even if it is pretty clear that all of Madarame's goodwill was lost right when he was born. In Royal, this is shown when Takuto Maruki's cognition-altering powers create his ideal life, wherein Madarame is an honest and sincere teacher who never took credit for creating the Sayuri and worked tirelessly for Yusuke's mother to receive her rightful acclaim, even putting the unaltered painting in a museum.

His passion for art is admired and respected by the group, though they also view him as rather strange. His mindset plays by the beat of his own drum, and his thought process can be erratic. At one point, Ann claims that he is "on a different wavelength than other people" before taking it back and saying he's just weird. However, Yusuke is well-aware that his mind operates differently from that of most people's, to the point of admitting that he's eccentric, and is shown to be downright offended whenever someone makes fun of him for it or even points it out.

However, because of Yusuke's work as an artist, Yusuke's detached from others' influence, and is rather prickly when stating that he's not interested in others' acknowledgement. However, in spite of his introverted approach to artwork, adamant that he needs no one else's guidance to carve his path as an artist, he doesn't exclusively paint for himself, and in his Confidant he begins to add a flair of color that others can appreciate, rather than being pushy with his own views of pure beauty, ones which Yusuke himself begins to think are lofty on their own. In short, he draws to purify, help and save others, but he does so in his own way.

Despite his eccentricities, Yusuke is incredibly level-headed. He sees no use in panicking or getting nervous, as it does nothing to help the situation at hand. However, when Madarame's Shadow exposes his true self, Yusuke doesn't hide that he felt betrayed and angered. He tends to be more sincere when dealing with subjects he admires from an aesthetic standpoint. For example, he is very direct and respectful when he approaches Ann out of a desire to paint her. However, this sincerity can make him appear pushy, showing that he has a very stubborn, headstrong side, which comes out when he is very inspired.

He displays a somewhat cold and haughty behavior towards people who are behaving in what he deems as an unseemly manner, or in ways that are against his personal aesthetic. This can be seen especially during his initial encounters with Ryuji and the protagonist, and during an encounter, he has two women who attempt to flirt with him. Additionally, he can be very sharp with people who make mistakes, such as when he calls out Ryuji for getting caught or when he chastises Makoto Niijima for being reckless. This even briefly extended to the rest of the group at the point when they're framed for murder, where he angrily states they shouldn't have rushed into things. Overall, he's been particularly analytical with the irrational and inhumane behavior of the general public.

Unfortunately, Yusuke's dignity is fragile, causing him to overreact whenever his status as an artist is threatened: taking a critique of the emptiness of his work to heart. Otherwise, whenever he's secure, Yusuke instead gets worked up over his craft out of passion, and may loudly monologue to himself. One of the most prominent issues for Yusuke is his reluctancy to admit the fraudulence of his mentor Madarame, as his pride as an artist is built on the dependency of the image of the mentor he admired: after facing the truth, Yusuke begins to detach from Madarame, but he still has the bad habit of referring to him as his Sensei, which he tries to fix. Yusuke's path to independence follows several patterns that stem from his attachment, as he worries that he'll either become corrupt like his mentor, or that simply by ignoring him he'll no longer have a fountain of inspiration to draw from. In the end, Yusuke settles with trusting his closest ones for support, securing his pride as an artist.