Summary

• Ann Takamaki is the easiest character to romance in Persona 5, with just a level 2 Kindness requirement.
• Kasumi Yoshizawa is the most difficult character to romance in Persona 5, with multiple Confidant deadlines.
• Many characters confer valuable combat/monetary bonuses during Confidant rank-ups, so romance can be practical, too.

Persona 5 is an action-packed, dungeon-crawling JRPG with a robust social simulation element on top of it, putting the player in the shoes of Joker and allowing them to both save the country and potentially romance one of its many star characters. There are ten unique women that Joker can date, but since each of them have varying requirements, some are significantly harder to romance than others. Knowing which characters are easiest and hardest to romance in Persona 5 can give players a good baseline on how to plan out their days during the social sim gameplay sections.

This article contains a brief mention of sexual assault.

Sadly, players are confined to heterosexual relationships within the game, as there aren't any men that Joker can date. This is certainly a missed opportunity on Atlus' behalf; not only would it offer much-needed representation for the LGBTQ+ player base, but it would also give the protagonist a chance at some fulfilling relationships in Persona 5, like a romance with Yusuke. While future additions to the franchise would do well to cater toward a more diverse audience, until then, Joker can find love (or attempt to find love) with the hardest and easiest romance options in Persona 5.

10 Ann Takamaki - Lovers Arcana

Persona 5's Phantom Thief, Panther

Ann Takamaki is one of the earliest party to the Phantom Thieves, awakening to her Persona as the stylish thief, Panther. As a survivor of sexual assault, she s the team for revenge on the teacher who abused her, Suguru Kamoshida. She's an incredibly useful party member, bringing a balance of healing and multi-targeting magic to the table. Since she represents the Lovers arcana, it's only fitting that she's the easiest character to romance in Persona 5.

Whereas most other characters require a higher Confidant level to be unlocked as romance options, the player only needs to achieve level 2 Kindness with Ann. This is a small barrier to overcome in comparison to other romance options, and many players will likely do it without trying, since it's rare to finish the game without having a few increases to each social stat. That makes Ann Takamaki the easiest and lowest-maintenance character to date in the JRPG, and an excellent option thanks to the depth of her character, which gets explored quite a bit thanks to her early introduction in the story.

9 Ichiko Ohya - Devil Arcana

Persona 5's Booze-Loving Journalist Confidant

Ichiko Ohya, unlike Ann, actually requires no prerequisites for her Confidant. She's important in the main story, but she becomes a regular Confidant after the third story arc. As a journalist frequently seen at the Shinjuku district bar, players can only meet with her at night, but this is the biggest obstacle that players will face when trying to romance Ohya in Persona 5.

In order to date the cynical paparazzo, Joker will need to complete a Memento Request for her, which involves a simple fight with a devil. Once he's defeated, players will be free to woo Ohya. She's representative of a bit of a larger problem some have with the game - she's clearly significantly older than Joker - so it's worth noting she might not be the most comfortable romance target for some players.

8 Hifumi Togo - Star Arcana

Persona 5's Shogi Prodigy

Hifumi Togo is a strategist represented by the Star Arcana and an expert Shogi player. Hanging out with her proves advantageous to Joker for combat - she can unlock different combat maneuvers as the relationship progresses, so players will want to try to focus on her either way. Like Ohya, Togo is only available at night in the church area, where players will need to spend time with her to slowly progress their romantic relationship options.

Togo's relationship progress can be especially beneficial at harder difficulties thanks to the bonuses it gives in combat - consider her as a romance option simply for practicality when playing more challenging runs.

Even though Togo is still one of the easier romance options in Persona 5, players will need to meet a couple of extra requirements to have a chance with her. They'll need a minimum Charm level of 3 to talk to her, and they will also need to have progressed through the first two ranks of Yusuke's Confidant for her to appear. On top of this, Joker will also need to take on her personal Mementos Request, "Upstaging the Stage Mother," to get past stage 8. It's a long list of prerequisites, but thankfully, none of these tasks are particularly difficult.

7 Chihaya Mifune - Fortune Arcana

Persona 5's Fortune Teller Extraordinaire

Like Ohya, Chihaya Mifune has no social stat requirements to start her route. She also has one of the best Confidant abilities in Persona 5, so players will want to complete her routes as soon as possible. She's not the most obvious choice of romantic option and beginning her chain of social interactions can be a bit obscured for new players, so romance isn't always in the cards for Joker.

To start Chihaya's romance route in Persona 5, the player needs to pay her 100,000 yen (which can be a lot of money, considering she's introduced quite early into the game), and he'll need to come and see her at nighttime, as that's the only time her schedule is free. The biggest obstacle to romancing her, though, is her Mementos Request, "Ending the Boyfriend's Abuse," which requires the player to defeat a tricky Shadow in order for a romance with Ohya to become available.

Players will get their 100,000 yen back after they finish rank 8 of Chihaya's confidant progression.

6 Tae Takemi - Death Arcana

Persona 5's Problematic Doctor

As a doctor with a particularly dark sense of humor, Tae Takemi is one of the more interesting (and slightly more difficult) Persona 5 romance options. Players will benefit from having her at their side as her Confidant ranks offer a lot of health items and discounts at her shop. To get that far, there are a few hurdles to leap over, not the least of which is coming to grips with the fact that Joker needs to subject himself to shady experimentation in order to win the doctor's heart.

Players will need a level 2 Guts score to begin Takemi's romance arc. This is pretty easy to accomplish in the early game, but the level 4 Charm requirement that provides another social stat check after rank 7 will require a bit more effort and planning. They'll also have to complete her Mementos Request, "Bad Medicine," which entails a somewhat tough battle against a Thoth that can also be a good measuring stick for player progression in leveling up their team.

5 Futaba Sakura - Hermit Arcana

Persona 5's Loveable Shut-In Gamer

Futaba Sakura is a ionate techie, introverted genius, and the navigator of the party. She s the team after the summer vacation arc, and as such, she's only available to romance in the second half of the game, which means players will be behind from the start when compared to other options that present themselves earlier.

Having less time to hang out with her already makes her one of the more difficult characters to romance in Persona 5, but this isn't the only obstacle players will need to overcome in order to get Futaba to open up to them. To hang out with her, Joker will need a high skill level of 4 in Kindness, which can take careful planning to build up to coincide with the time period Futaba becomes available to romance. Even her Mementos Request, "Daughter's Just a Meal Ticket," features two Shadows to fight instead of one, though it's simple enough provided Joker has a good Persona roster.

4 Makoto Nijima - Priestess Arcana

Persona 5's Straight-A Student Wonder

Makoto Nijima is one of the most iconic characters in the game, and many players are interested in gaining the affection of the over-achieving class president. However, the list of requirements for romancing Makoto will bar most players from achieving a relationship with her, as she is one of the harder characters to romance in Persona 5.

To start her Confidant rank, players need a Knowledge rank of at least 3. In order to actually seal the deal, players will need a Charm of level 5 as well, which could leave them running up close to the end of the game depending on their social stat progression. Players can also make sure they spend additional time with her during non-confidant rankup times, such as school hangouts in the library.

3 Haru Okumura - Empress Arcana

Persona 5's Most Underrated Romance Target

The last character to the Phantom Thieves is Haru Okumura. Also known as Noir, she has the least screentime of the main party . For this reason, unlocking her romance route requires players to act quickly, and it makes her one of the more difficult romance options in Persona 5.

She can be found tending to the plants above Shujin Academy after she s the party. In order to hang out with Haru of the Empress Arcana, Joker needs level 5 Proficiency, which can be tough to achieve if Joker hasn't actively been trying to raise this stat throughout his adventures. The difficulty of her romance arc is, thankfully, offset somewhat by the lack of a Mementos Request, and she's available often once unlocked if players focus solely on engaging with her. As one of the rarer romance options, she's especially appealing to returning players.

2 Sadayo Kawakami - Temperance Arcana

Persona 5's Teacher-turned-Maid-turned-Romantic Interest

Sadayo Kawakami, despite being the protagonist's teacher, doesn't start her Confidant arc in the classroom. Rather, the protagonist and his friends hire a maid service and are shocked when she appears in the guise of "Becky." It's a fun surprise - but unlocking her romance in Persona 5 is significantly less amusing, with a lot of hoops to jump through that othe characters simply don't share.

Players need level 3 Guts to hang out with her, which is already tough enough to get early in the game, which makes it difficult to start until after spring. What makes her especially difficult, though, is that many of Kawakami's Confidant ranks are unavailable during the summer. The player either needs to finish her route quickly or wait out the summer break if they hope to romance her. Add in her Mementos Request, and Joker is faced with one of the trickier characters to romance in Persona 5.

1 Kasumi Yoshizawa - Faith Arcana

Persona 5 Royal adds plenty of new content to the original version of the game, and one of its best changes was introducing Kasumi Yoshizawa. This skilled gymnast is one of the most memorable characters in the series, but it's easy to inadvertently miss out on her Confidant arc, as she's the hardest romance option in Persona 5.

Unlike other characters, Kasumi's romance features multiple deadlines that can prevent players from finishing her Confidant rank. If players are careful and meet the complex list of conditions for romancing Yoshizawa in Persona 5, they can begin dating her quite late in the game, in the third semester - but sadly, not many players will get to spend the extra time with her. That's especially brutal since, for many, Persona 5 Royal is a replay title where they want to explore the new content.