#anyone more educated than me about clowns feel welcome to contribute

[in-fair-verona-we-set-our-scene]

So Akechi’s Black Mask’s outfit is based on a Harlequin, a clown. While his Detective Prince persona is a dandy. This might be an intentional Doctor Who reference. “ So you're my replacements — a dandy and a clown!” And considering how big a sci-fi nerd Akechi is could be intentional on his part.

Potentially, though that also requires a good bit of specific cultural knowledge to make that connection so I'm not sure if it's intentional (though it is interesting regardless). It would require an understanding of what a dandy is, knowledge of Doctor Who, and knowledge of that specific quote which may or may not be significant to Doctor Who (I had to search up the definition for dandy and also I have not watched Doctor Who so I am not the person with any authority on this subject). However Robin Hood is explicitly meant to resemble Superman according to the design team so we know they're drawing off other Western archetypes beyond just phantom thieves, and some of Akechi's other aesthetic choices do seem to be based on Western sci-fi.

So I suppose the real question is whether or not Akechi has watched Doctor Who (or the game designers have and decided to make a reference) and if that line about the dandy and a clown was significant enough to Doctor Who as a whole or involved themes that resonated with Akechi's character enough to leave a significant impact on his psyche. Of course this also depends on what type of clown we're talking about, especially since the harlequin is hardly a fool in a necessarily insulting sense, or at least in how the quote seems to be invoking it.

(um, below is a largely unrelated rant that has little to do with the original question asked but I suppose it's interesting nonetheless and also I don't want to delete them and it wouldn't make sense of a separate post so here you go)

Though Akechi's Black Mask outfit could be considered a tragic twist on the harlequin archetype as a romantic hero or pursuing his own goals under the nose of his master* (or earlier iterations invoking it being a demon), so referring to him as a clown in a derogatory manner might still fit, but the quote itself still seems to be using clown in the shallow sense (though once again, have not watched Doctor Who I don't know the other context), shallow as in a fool that is nothing but a fool to be mocked and lacking depth and intent in their idiocy, while Persona in general tends to lean more towards the fool as an archetype. We see this in the tarots, yes, as in naivety, infinite potential and new beginnings, a meaning that has been corrupted for Akechi by society/Shido/Yaldabaoth (and Akechi's character also resonates with a lot of the reversed Fool's meanings as well), but the fool is also a trickster archetype and often used to subvert authority through mockery and disrupting society. The air-headedness is a facade (or when it's not, still hides surprising depths) and this illusion of harmlessness enables fools to get away with the a lot more, something they frequently due to undermine authority, society, social norms, and to challenge other characters. Which fits Akechi perfectly because he's a failed fool, befitting how the Black Mask outfit is a fusion of a fool's costume (a symbol that should be about a disregard for authority and society) and a prison uniform. He thought he was tricking everyone into thinking he was harmless and easily manipulated with the end goal of undermining authority, playing the role of the fool loyal to Shido, but Shido saw right through him and ended up manipulating him anyway (Yaldabaoth was pulling the strings from the beginning as well). So I suppose he ended up playing the fool in a derogatory sense straight all along.

Still, a modern clown specifically different from a general fool, I think, and very different from a harlequin (which in the genre of the harlequinade they were typically in opposition to the clown). Fool specifically is more naive and easily manipulated which... yeah, Akechi sorta is. But a clown is a different sort of fool from a harlequin or a jester. Clowns in a negative sense are silly and overexaggerated and illogical which is why they are derided, but not necessarily associated with being simple or easy to manipulate, and in a more positive sense there's incredibly precise intent and talent behind the show they put on for the audience. But also, this entire nitpicking about words in potential quote references in a Japanese game relies on said Japanese creators having the time to research and understand the linguistic nuance and history behind clownery.

Umm yeah. Clowns.

*typically these goals in conflict with his masters wishes is a romantic interest which... shuake? maybe? plz?