09 | Mitsuru Kirijo

Also known as Redhead Other Girl Noble Female Student (The Answer) Lady Mitsuru (The Answer) The Imperious Queen of Executions (P4A) Mit-chan (by Teddie) Execution Queen (PQ2) Team Fencing Occupation Student Council President Date of Birth May 8th, 1991 Age 20 Zodiac Taurus Height 166 cm (5'5") Blood Type O Melee Weapon One-Handed Swords (P3) Rapiers (P3P) Arcana Empress Persona Penthesilea Artemisia Appearances: Mitsuru has waist-length red hair (the hue of her hair can sometimes appear vivid red or dark red) that has bangs covering the left side of her face with a wavy mid-back length hair strand resting on her left shoulder and her eyes are brown, although they have sometimes been portrayed with hints of red. At school and in Tartarus, she wears the Gekkoukan High uniform with personal effects: no jacket, a white blouse (long sleeve in winter and short puffy-sleeve in summer), a black skirt that goes above her knees, and black knee-high high-heeled boots. On the weekends and days off, she wears a short black peacoat, a white scarf, and white pants, along with black knee-high heeeled boots. In the summer, however, she wears a white sleeveless turtleneck shirt and black pants with a belt. As with the rest of SEES, Mitsuru wears a swimsuit during the excursion at Yakushima. She is seen wearing a kimono at numerous appropriate occasions. Personality: You see, I had overestimated my ability to handle everything alone. Few people can be that strong... There are times where we cannot stand without the support of others. Mitsuru is calm, confident, mature, responsible, wise and very intelligent despite being a high school student. However, she may be interpreted as slightly arrogant, conceited, cold-hearted or overconfident. As events unfold, this may be a front of maturity, due to her assumed role as the leader of SEES. Her Persona Arcana is the 03.0Empress, which fits with the "motherly/older sisterly" role she plays in the group.

Mitsuru has a streak of strict conduct. Per formal Japanese culture, Mitsuru is the only member of SEES who formally addresses her fellow club mates by their last names (e.g. Yamagishi). Akihiko Sanada is an exception to this, as the two are good friends and have known each other since junior high. Eventually, she becomes more familiar with the other SEES members and refers to Yukari Takeba on a first-name basis, and the others' on occasion. Mitsuru is also very insistent with the team keeping their grades up, going so far as to sign them up for summer classes behind their backs. Mitsuru is also outspoken and has little to no tolerance for prejudice. For example, when the female protagonist is elected leader and Junpei Iori is annoyed because "he's the only guy in the group," Mitsuru sternly tells him that "Whether one is a man or woman doesn't factor into it. The responsibility falls to those who have the gift. And let me add, if you ever say or do anything to condescend to her because she's a woman..." Despite her often getting annoyed at Akihiko's eagerness to fight, Shinjiro Aragaki claims in Persona Q that she "enjoys fighting just as much as he does, if not more." With Junpei noted that she get easily riled up then Akihiko and occasionally shown excitement in trying new things that she is not familiar with such develop a interest learning what a group date is. Mitsuru also appears to be afraid of ghosts and horror while in the Evil Spirit Club. Her sheltered upbringing and wild imagination often cause misunderstandings. One example occurs during a video recording, in which she believes Junpei's room has been ransacked due to how messy it is. After calling over Officer Kurosawa to investigate, she is surprised and embarrassed when Junpei arrives and explains that his room "always looks like this." Another example is when the team needs to break into Gekkoukan High at night in order to find Fuuka Yamagishi in Tartarus.

When discussing how they'll get in, Junpei claims he has it "all set to go" and Mitsuru misinterprets this as him setting an explosive, though he merely unlocked a door earlier.

Mitsuru is shown to be quite awkward when dealing with normal social situations and can be rather shy at times, as she blushes when complimented by Yukari and Fuuka or when Yukari exclaimed they can take a bath together at the Hot Spring as they have nothing to hide now, likely due to her upbringing. It is implied that she has never eaten various common foodstuffs due to her family status, such as burgers, ramen and takoyaki as shown in her Social Link events with the protagonists. It is noted by her father that she has difficulty trusting others, and at one point he tells her that she can only do so much on her own and reminds her of the Kirijo Group's guiding principle, "Two in harmony surpasses one in perfection," which Mitsuru takes to heart. She also secretly likes to read teenage fashion and is interested in it as seen in the video recordings in FES and Portable. However, she doesn't know much about it unless she hears Yukari talk about it. In the same video recordings, she tends to break habits that she wouldn't normally do at her home like walk around with just a towel in her room. In her Social Link, it is revealed that she desires to run away from the Kirijo Group but stays because she loves her father and wants to continue living a normal life like the rest of the SEES members. Although she asks the protagonist to run away with her, her heart's not in it, as she claims it would be very selfish of her. She dislikes her fiancé but is aware that their marriage would benefit the Kirijo Group. As her Social Link progresses, she begins to understand what truly matters to her: her friends, not her company. In The Answer, during the dispute over what to do with the keys, Mitsuru sides with Yukari, much to Akihiko's confusion. Her reason for doing this is not revealed until after the conflict is resolved.

After the protagonist's death, she swore an oath that if anything made Yukari suffer, she would put aside her own feelings and stand with her no matter what, as payment for her being there for her the year before. It's then that Mitsuru returns the favor; she tells Yukari that while losing someone close to you is agony, there's no need to suffer alone and that she and the others can be there for her when she needs it the most, and that that's the reason one forms such bonds in the first place. As I begin my term as Student Council President, I'd like to share with you my vision for this coming year. It is my firm belief that each of us must accept the responsibility of bettering our school. However, change cannot occur without sustained effort and an unprecedented level of commitment. That is why we must restructure our daily lives to accommodate this lofty goal. I'd like each of you to dig deeply into your well of motivation, and re-evaluate your convictions... ...To imagine a bold new future without losing sight of the realities around you. That is the key. I am certain that many of you have your own visions of the future... For us to reap the full benefits of our education, your participation, ideas, and enthusiasm are essential. Thank you. Mitsuru Kirijo is the only child of Takeharu Kirijo, the head of the Kirijo Group, and Hanae Kirijo. Although, Mitsuru is rarely spoken with her mother except in Persona 3 Drama CD: New Moon. Her grandfather, Kouetsu Kirijo, was the former head of the Kirijo Group, and died in an incident. Mitsuru is Gekkoukan High School's valedictorian and student council president, as well as a member of the school fencing club. She is one of the most respected and popular students at the school, as stated by students.

Before the protagonist joins, and even to a degree after he joins, Mitsuru serves as the leader of SEES due to her natural talent for leadership. The protagonist and Mitsuru have a good relationship from the start of the game, her even offering rewards to him for getting high test scores, as she pushes him, and other members of SEES, to excel.

Mitsuru has battled the Shadows longer than any of the other members of SEES, having been trained since a young age to use her Persona. From the start of the game, Mitsuru uses her Persona ability, aided with special devices, to provide battle information and support for the party on the early stages of exploring Tartarus. Even with continued conditioning and self-training, Mitsuru's support range eventually reached its limit, given that her Persona was primarily battle-oriented more than anything else. After the rescue of Fuuka Yamagishi, and her induction to SEES, Mitsuru returns to the front lines. She uses ice attacks, uses fencing rapiers in combat and is weak against fire. Mitsuru initially hides many details about Tartarus and the Dark Hour from SEES, due to her guilt over her family's involvement with creating them. Her grandfather's goal of triggering the Fall caused a majority of the problems that SEES must overcome, and Mitsuru feels she alone bears the burden of restoring her family's honor. On November 4th, 2009, Shuji Ikutsuki's betrayal and murder of her father destroys Mitsuru's will to fight, and even her will to live to a great extent. She feels that restoring the Kirijo family honor is pointless if she's the only remaining Kirijo. Mitsuru begins to beat herself up, believing that she was foolish for blindly trusting Ikutsuki and was partially responsible for her father's death.

During a school trip in Kyoto, Yukari manages to connect with Mitsuru. Mitsuru talks about her father, and her resentment towards herself for falling into Ikutsuki's trap. Yukari, in an effort to understand and help her, points out that she wanted to protect her father rather than atone for the Kirijo Group's past. Mitsuru, unable to let go of her past, adds that she tried to unburden her father from his guilt, but that's impossible for her to fulfill as he's now dead: she would bury herself deeper, insisting that exactly because she can't save her father anymore is why her life has no meaning, prompting Yukari to slap her. Yukari, bringing up how she's lived in her past and telling her how she lives now; to fulfill her father's wish to eliminate the Shadows and the Dark Hour, helps Mitsuru realize her role isn't over, and encourages her to make changes to her life. Her Persona Penthesilea then becomes Artemisia. Mitsuru resolves to become the new head of the Kirijo Group and to continue the fight with SEES. When the protagonist confronts Nyx Avatar's true form Death, Mitsuru's voice is heard wishing for the protagonist to be strong, and she offers her life for him.