Fans of the Persona 5 franchise can rejoice: the release of Persona 5 Strikers means a new entry in Joker’s story. The Phantom Thieves are back on a quest to change the hearts of baddies all over Japan. With a new combat system in place, the team sets off on a road trip set six months after the original game’s events. Jails start appearing around the country and people start acting strangely where they arise.
These Jails function differently than palaces in that they allow the owner of the facility to influence those around them. The first Jail ruler or “Monarch” that Joker and the Phantom Thieves encounter is Alice Hiiragi.
This idol steals the hearts of her fans throughout Shibuya in more than just a figurative sense. Alice, though a bombastic villain who seems superficial, is a multifaceted character with believable motivations that some players may have overlooked.
10 She’s Able To Change People’s Hearts
When the Phantom Thieves first encounter Alice, they’re shocked to see how her fans treat her. Some sell their belongings to support Alice’s brand while others take out a loan to purchase her collectibles.
The group is shocked and, when they accidentally venture into her Jail, they find that she can steal desires as they can. While they used this power to deal with palace rulers in the past, Alice uses this ability for her own selfish reasons.
9 EMMA Lets Alice Brainwash Her Victims
Persona 5 Strikers introduced fans to EMMA – the concierge app that’s also an artificial intelligence. Like something out of a Black Mirror episode, the app provides creepy advice that is entirely too accurate. It’s doubly unfortunate for anyone Alice decides to target.
The idol uses EMMA’s more supernatural functions to enchant and hypnotize people. Fans must friend her on EMMA using the “Wonderland” keyword. This is how Alice steals people’s desires and making them thralls, essentially.
8 She’s A Walking Alice in Wonderland Reference
This character is a blatant reference to the classic Disney interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s novel Alice in Wonderland in both the real world and the Metaverse. Her eccentric fashion line in the real world and her Metaverse attire are coated in neon, playing cards, and a host of references to old English attire.
Her real-world attire is more modest and traditional whereas her garb in the Metaverse represents the more twisted aspects of the psychedelic aspects of Wonderland. With a massive hairpin representing eyeballs and feathers lining her back, it’s a great contrast to her first outfit’s gentle colors.
7 She Rose To Fame After Establishing A Clothing Line
Alice may be the talk of Shibuya when the Phantom Thieves find her, but she wasn’t always famous. After digging through her Jail, Joker and the others find out that she only rose to fame after her clothing line found success in Japan. She even made the cover of the popular magazine UN.UN.
Her clothes were the start of her rise to stardom, but the more popular she got, the more twisted she became. EMMA merely became a tool to amplify her lust for affection and fame.
6 She Only Targets Men
Even though Alice holds the power to change the hearts of any who add her as a friend on the EMMA app, she only uses her power on unsuspecting men.
She often hands out pamphlets with her contact information in crowds, finding the boys she wants to manipulate. Her decision to focus on men relates to the past trauma that she experienced as a teenager.
5 She’s A Shujin Graduate
When Alice was a teenager, she attended the same high school as the Phantom Thieves: Shujin Academy. She was far from popular in her adolescence, often ridiculed and ostracized by those she attended school with.
Because she’s so embarrassed by the person she was in high school, she’s done her utmost to hide her past from the public eye. Only the police like Zenkichi Hasegawa can dig up this information.
4 She Was Bullied Terribly By Girls Her Age
Alice wants to hide her past so desperately because of her history as a victim of bullying. Though initially a shy introvert, a popular boy admitted his interest in her. This led the more popular girls to become jealous and bully her. They would make her life in school miserable and it drove her to a dark place.
She originally wanted to inspire others with her popular brand to inspire girls who went through the same thing that she did. Unfortunately, she became warped by the negativity that bullies subjected her to for years. In time, she lost sight of her original goal and focused instead on how to get back at the girls who tortured her.
3 She Envies Beautiful Women
Due to her negative experiences at the hands of her peers, Alice resents other beautiful women. She assumes that popular and pretty girls are just like the ones who hurt her and deserve to suffer. She sees Ann as a threat because she’s both beautiful and happy.
Though she feigns contentment, Alice is clearly still suffering. She uses her control over men to attack women who are happy indirectly. It’s a subtle trick that shows she still harbors a fear of opposition from the women who wear the face of her trauma.
2 Her Album Is At The Top Of The Charts
Alice may be getting recognition for her fashion line, but she’s also a successful musician. When the Phantom Thieves find her, she’s got one of the most popular albums in Japan. Though it isn’t ever stated, the similarities between the character and the real-life persona Poppy are startling. She also released albums, is fashion-oriented, and has somewhat of a dual personality.
Alice’s work originally inspired Ann, so this hits Panther harder than other members of the group. Moreover, there’s the aggression and jealousy Alice holds against Ann that hurts her even more.
1 She’s Physically and Mentally Abusive To The Men In Her Life
Instead of working through her past experiences and moving past them, Alice lashes out by abusing those around her. She does so with insults, defamation, lies, and even physical retaliation to unfavorable circumstances.
She’s actually become a far worse person than the girls who hurt her. She’s so blinded by resentment that she can’t see how awful her actions have become. Thankfully, the Phantom Thieves aren’t so blind and refuse to let her continue abusing others.
