#mr. shimonuma

[p5x-theories]

Other Notable NPCs

(last updated 4/10/25!)

This post will be a quick rundown of all the other relevant NPCs introduced in the main storyline of the game so far. Note that Palace Rulers have been moved to their own post here!

School-Related

Mr. Hakozaki (left) is class 2C's science teacher. He's somewhat jumpy, and admits he doesn't spend a lot of time around other people, even idolizing a historical scientist who never shared the results of his research with anyone. Still, he seems extremely passionate about the science he teaches, even if he's anxious about actually teaching it to a group of students.

Mr. Shimonuma (right) is class 2C's civics teacher. He doesn't seem to have much faith in his students, and primarily enjoys when they don't know an answer, so he can correct them. He's stern in a slightly sadistic way, though he hasn't yet been seen to go so far as throwing chalk at his students (like Ushimaru does to Joker); it's all verbal.

Mr. Endo (left) is class 2C's English teacher. He's somewhat casual, with a slightly disinterested vibe, but he evidently know his subject, and doesn't seem to be slacking on teaching it. Still, he complains about the strangeness of English sometimes, and once mentions that he wishes the whole world spoke Esperanto.

Ms. Taniyama (right) is class 2C's world history teacher. She's friendly, and seems gentle with her students, while of course displaying a knowledge of and interest in her subject. She seems to have some interest in various forms of divination, though it only comes up offhandedly.

Mr. Nagara (left) is class 2C's literature teacher. He's very passionate and enthusiastic about his subject, and seems to generally feel emotions deeply. At the same time, he seems somewhat prone to tangents. He's the type to laugh at his own jokes, and is overall very reactive.

Kokatsu's Dean of Student Affairs is a man named Yamanashi (right). Yamanashi has a level of authority at the school, but he's still quick to become nervous if questioned or called out in any way, even if he stubbornly puts his foot down about whatever is under question. He tends to push any work he can off to Riko Tanemura (and then brag about how capable she is), and is quick to follow Akashi's new policies when they sound like they're in line with what the school wants, without much critical thinking.

His Shadow later appears in the third Palace, as Akashi's victim after Katayama, though his desires aren't strong or distorted enough to provide much power. Still, the Phantom Thieves manage to inspire a change of heart in him without stealing his Treasure, and the real-world Akashi resigns at the end of Chapter 3.

Other

Merope is Wonder's Velvet Room attendant. Though she has a very calm, collected, and straightforward demeanor, she is very dedicated to helping him however she can, including coming up with the idea of (and creating) the Phantom Idols that help him in combat.

She is also a Confidant of his, and it revolves around her "special project" to help improve his skills further. However, she is very interested in idols and idol culture- apparently believing them to be similar to the role Wonder plays- and much of her "special project" focuses on teaching Wonder more about idols, and how to be more like one. She is not only focused on being a good idol mentor towards Wonder, but also on herself being a proper idol fan, and refers to having done extensive research on the subject, though in practice she's evidently missing a bit of practical knowledge.

Merope seems to have a fondness for Wonder that may edge into romantic territory, though she's not romanceable. She casually refers to them doing things similar to what a couple might do- such as when they ride a ferris wheel together- and asks Wonder about it. However, as she tends to keep a very matter-of-fact tone, it's difficult to say whether she's actually flirting, or simply gauging his own reaction to understand him better.

More information about Merope's Confidant can be found here.

Marthym is a humanoid shadow that mainly dwells in Mementos. She is a self-described businesswoman, and notably runs the in-game store that takes actual money, as well as allowing players to buy gacha pulls.

Marthym's main story role seems to be her loose function as a guide to Mementos. She explains to the Phantom Thieves how to open up areas using tickets collected on that floor, and mentions that this benefits her as well as them, though she doesn't clarify how.

She also introduces the player to Paradise, which is an area where the player can see their guild, and includes special rotating boss fights that give extra rewards. Again, this seems to be explained as part of her business.

Yamagoshi is the owner of the restaurants Toraiken and Ashouken, and has been running them for a long time, though his wife passed away at some point after their opening but prior to an elementary-school-aged Shun visiting. Miyazawa particularly harasses Yamagoshi, as he wants to be given ownership of Ashouken, especially after Yamagoshi fell ill.

Shun sees him as a surrogate father, and Yamagoshi evidently cares a lot about him as well, as he set aside an heirloom to be given to Shun when he turned 18. [In Wonder's vision, when Shun loses the competition and is declared a phantom, Yamagoshi dies of a heart attack.]

Yamagoshi seems to believe in teaching others, as he opened Ashouken specifically with the intention of it being a place for his employees to learn. He also believes in authentic flavor for his food, and is very proud of the restaurants' ramen's signature taste.

Masa is the person currently running the ramen restaurant Ashouken, though Yamagoshi actually owns it.

Masa is an apprentice of Yamagoshi's, and believes strongly in the same principles as he does. It's mentioned his dream is to open his own restaurant. He's familiar with Shun, and seems fond of him. Prior to the start of the game, however, Masa began to give into Miyazawa's demands for ingredient changes and bribes, even as it ruined Ashouken's food, because he didn't want Yamagoshi's restaurant to die completely.

After trying Shun's ramen in the competition Miyazawa challenged him to, he seems to have come to his senses, and becomes much more willing to stand up to Miyazawa, even if it risks his job. Masa is also the one to inform Shun when Miyazawa formally apologizes.

Masa later reveals that he and Katayama were friends in high school, and delinquents at the time. They seem to still keep in touch, as when Miyazawa got Shun fired from Ashouken, Katayama came to Masa to ask what happened.

[p5x-theories]

I found the voice lines for each of the teachers introducing themselves, but I'll admit, I'm having a bit of trouble with some of their names. If anyone else who knows Japanese is up for helping out, I'd really appreciate it?

This one should be their civics teacher's introduction, but I'm honestly having trouble telling if he even says his name here? If I remember right, the text in-game indicated this was his introduction, though.

This is their science teacher- he's pretty clearly Hakozaki.

I think their literature teacher says his name in here, but he talks a bit too quickly for me, heh.

This is their world history teacher, but I can't tell if her name is Taniyama or Tamiyama?

And their English teacher seems to pretty clearly be Endo.

[p5x-theories]

The teachers introducing themselves are:

1: Shimonuma : civics

12: Hakozaki : science

26: Nagara : literature

39: Taniyama : world history

51: Endo : English

Shimonuma's line: "これから一年お前らを受け持つ公民の下沼だ。チッ！最初に言っておくぞ…" "I'm Shimonuma, the citizen who will be in charge of you for the next year. Tsk! I'll tell you this first..."

Nagara's line: "いよっほ～！古典を教える長良だよ。シクヨロ～。フレッシュな若さ、ビンビン感じる、良い季節だね～" "Yay! I'm Nagara, teaching classical Japanese. Nice 2 meet U! I can FEEL the freshness of youth, it's a great season." *He tends to use old-fashioned, slightly casual language, like Okyann.

Ah, thank you so much!! Those transcriptions are extra appreciated; I'm definitely still learning, so that helps my brain break it down, haha.

Much appreciated, anon!

[p5x-theories]

Portraits for Wonder and Motoha's civics teacher!

There was also this portrait of his already assembled in the files:

It’s technically just his neutral one from above with the proper in-game gradient, but I figured it’s better to keep them all together haha.

Interestingly, he does have eyes underneath the glasses, but I'm not sure that's ever shown in-game:

[p5x-theories]

P5X School Questions

(last updated 11/14/24)

The questions teachers ask seem to loop once you've gone through all of them, so I'm just adding to this list as I see questions again! But I thought this might be useful for anyone playing.

As a note: it doesn't seem like it matters whether you actually get the question correct or not? From what I've seen, you'll get the knowledge stat points either way. Also, as always, this is just Google-translated text, but the answers are presented in the same order every time, so you really just need to know which to click, heh.

Under the cut because this is just going to get longer and longer, hah!

Mr. Hakozaki: What will happen if people drink too much water? I mean the worst case.

Wonder: Will become fat / Will make you sick / Can cause death

-

Mr. Endo: "Abduct", "only", "never". Among these three words, which word do you think is related to "1"?

Wonder: Abduct / Only / Never

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Mr. Endo: In your opinion, what is the common etymology of weekdays in English and Japanese?

Wonder: Celestial bodies / Meteorological / Natural objects

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Mr. Nagara: Among the cross-media works that depict the end of Atsei, which one is the most famous?

Wonder: Noh drama / Kyogen / Ballet

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Mr. Hakozaki: What is the solution for controlling mortality invented by Semmelweis and widely used in contemporary medicine?

Wonder: Drug reuse / Wash hands and disinfect / Build a good rapport with patients

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Mr. Nagara: What is the gender of the author of the Tosa Diary, male or female?

Wonder: Male / Female / Have no idea

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Mr. Endo: Do you know what dodgeball was called before? It actually uses a pretty scary English word.

Wonder: Heaven ball / Death ball / Same as now

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Ms. Taniyama: Which civilization has a name that can represent its terrain?

Wonder: Mesopotamian civilization / Indus Valley civilization / Nile civilization

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Ms. Katayama: A honeycomb is made up of many regular hexagons. Why do you think this is?

Wonder: Because it is handsome / Because it is easy to lay eggs / Because it can save materials

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Mr. Shimonuma: In the witch hunts, were there any suspects who were ultimately acquitted? If so, don't forget to name them.

Wonder: Biddy Early / Jeanne d'Arc / No

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Mr. Shimonuma: What would you do if you dug up buried gold?

Wonder: You can keep it all for yourself / You can only take part of it / The full amount will be confiscated

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Mr. Shimonuma: Confucius, who proposed that the Son of God is silent, has strange powers and confuses the gods, yet he studied and laid the foundation of divination. Is there a contradiction between these two points?

Wonder: Contradiction / Not contradictory / I have no idea

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Mr. Hakozaki: The theory of seismic motion is considered to be... for a certain field... well, a fatal problem... Which field do you think it is in?

Wonder: Literature / Religion / Home Economics

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Mr. Hakozaki: In order to better hunt, what special mechanism does the owl have in its ears?

Wonder: The ear holes are in the front / The left and right ear holes are not parallel / The ear holes are very large

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Ms. Katayama: Among the Nobel Prizes that recognize achievements in various fields, do you know which field is not within the scope of its recognition?

Wonder: Chemistry / Math / Literature

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Mr. Nagara: In order to save Kiyomori who was suffering from a fever, he poured water on him... Can you reason about what the water has become? Please answer!

Wonder: Frozen / Turned into hot water / Turned into sugar water

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Mr. Endo: "Hundred million", in Japanese, how much is it?

Wonder: 1000萬 / 1億 / 10億

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Ms. Katayama: How many years did it take for the cattle problem raised around 250 BC to be answered?

Wonder: 20 years / 200 years / 2000 years

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Ms. Katayama: Can you give me an example of a mathematician influencing history?

Wonder: The birth of mankind / Ending a war / Creating Japanese

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Ms. Taniyama: The original meaning of the word "melancholy" actually refers to the secretion of a certain organ of the human body. What organ do you think it is?

Wonder: Brain / Stomach / Liver

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Mr. Shimonuma: Please answer, in the "Encouragement to Study" chapter, how does it explain why you should study?

Wonder: To become smarter / To make money / To keep the promise

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Mr. Nagara: Do you know what this "extraordinary person" means?

Wonder: Crying person / Useless person / Fat as an eel

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Ms. Taniyama: Why was Magellan motivated by spices when he traveled around the world?

Wonder: Because the food will become more delicious / It can power his boat / It can make money

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Mr. Endo: Compared with the word "destiny", is fate more positive or negative semantically? Which kind?

Wonder: Positive / Negative / Actually it's the same

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Ms. Taniyama: Which of the following materials was not used to pace Roman streets? Here's a hint... this material was not durable.

Wonder: Wood / Rock / Cement

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Mr. Nagara: So, in the song "One Hundred People", what is the shortest word "jue"? Please answer! Boom!

Wonder: 1 / 3 / 5

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Mr. Shimonuma: Name me one famous smuggler from that time. As long as you have studied some French history, this question will be easy.

Wonder: Louis XVI / Louis Philippe / Louis Mandrin

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Ms. Taniyama: Great Wall, is there really "ten thousand miles"?

Wonder: It is / No / Depending on the era

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Ms. Katayama: Please answer, what geometric figure does "arbitrary triangle" refer to?

Wonder: Hexagon / Equilateral triangle / All triangles

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Mr. Hakozaki: It is said that the internet connects the whole world into a global village, but do you know what exactly connects it?

Wonder: Seabed / Mainland / Telepathy

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Mr. Endo: Where do you think the etymology of the word "wed" comes from? It might be better to put aside marriage for a moment.

Wonder: Love / Gamble / Promise

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Mr. Nagara: Besides red and blue, blood can be another color. What color do you think it is? Try to answer~

Wonder: Green / Orange / Brown

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Mr. Nagara: How many haikai stanzas did Saikaku Ihara write in one day? Consider this a legend and answer me~!

Wonder: 200 stanzas / 2,000 stanzas / 20,000 stanzas

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Mr. Hakozaki: There are parts of the human body that are harder than iron's 7 on the Moh's hardness scale. What are they?

Wonder: Permanent teeth / Rib cage / Skull

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Mr. Shimonuma: What did Diogenes value in order to be liberated from desire?

Wonder: Debate / Exercise / Doing nothing

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Mr. Endo: What I care about is sports uniforms. The "form" in "uniform" means form. So what does "uni" mean?

Wonder: Single / Official / Unique

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Mr. Hakozaki: What parts of the human body do you think are most likely to degenerate and disappear?

Wonder: Teeth / Eyelashes / Pinky toes

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Mr. Shimonuma: Encountering a flood in the desert. Is this possible?

Wonder: Possible / Impossible / Have no idea

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Ms. Taniyama: Which country's language do you think the word "beef" comes from?

Wonder: UK / France / USA

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Ms. Taniyama: What is the origin of the name of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean?

Wonder: There are many birds / There are many dogs / There are many people

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Mr. Nagara: What was the most popular thing about the world-famous playboy Hikaru Genji among the women at that time?

Wonder: Financial resources / Taste / Radiant charm

[p5x-theories]

Okay, that should be it for the portraits, but two final questions:

Minami appears to have a necklace on the base piece of her portraits, but it's covered by the piece that adds part of the gradient overlay. I don't remember seeing the necklace in-game, and it's definitely not on her official render, so I think it was removed during development rather than added recently- does anyone want to see the necklace anyway? Also, has anyone talked to her in-game since v3.0.1, just in case the necklace was added, haha?

Mr. Shimonuma (civics teacher) has glasses that completely obscure his eyes, but he does actually have fully drawn eyes underneath the glasses layer, though you never see them in-game. Is anyone interested in seeing his eyes anyway?

[p5x-theories]

Okay, here are the 14 intact portraits in the game files, just to get those out of the way! All the others (other characters and other expression for these characters) I'll have to put the pieces of together myself, but I'm working on it haha.

[p5x-theories]

The one of the teacher’s portraits, as shown in the trailer, plus some other guys? (The middle bottom one is probably lacking eyes and a mouth because this portrait’s a version where they move for talking/blinking/etc; the source has a lot like that even for P5 characters)