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  1. Jan 2023
    1. Ai Ebihara is the kind of character that you expect to hate from the get-go, but her struggle surprisingly becomes one of the better links in the game. Ai is pretty and rich, and she knows it – something that makes her insufferable at the start. She is always stroking her own ego, keeping up appearances, and spends her time being generally self-centered. But it takes a form of rejection to show Ai is dealing with some heavy feelings, even suicidal thoughts. What I loved so much about Ai’s social link is that it’s unpredictable – a rollercoaster of uncertainty. Every time you think you know where you stand with the girl and make progress, you get slapped in the face with an unsettling event or revelation. The question the link poses: Is there a redeeming quality about her? Can a kind soul be all it takes to save someone? Watching it all unfold is beautiful.  

      "The question the link poses: Is there a redeeming quality about [Ai Ebihara]? Can a kind soul be all it takes to save someone?"

      This is a beautiful write-up of the Ai Ebihara social link in Persona 4. I would be curious what the author thinks the answers are to the two questions presented. In my view, Ai's redeeming quality -- that is the quality she uses to redeem her character in the end -- is the same quality that drove her unpleasant personality early in the arc -- introspection. The player "saves" Ai by giving Ai the courage to save herself. Part of the beauty of the link is that the rest is for Ai to figure out as she goes forward.