Persona 6 fan theory may have just solved one of the cast’s greatest mysteries

Fans finally got their first look at Persona 6, the next installment of Atlus’s hugely popular RPG-meets-social-sim series, back in June at Xbox’s summer showcase event. While the trailer was extremely light on details about the cast, setting, and storyline of Persona 6, it was heavy on vibes. In contrast to the vibrant urban centers seen in Persona 5, the trailer for the sequel is unnerving and gloomy, with a disorienting series of images flashing the phrase “who are you” and culminating in the protagonist touching a headless statue in a rainy, overgrown graveyard.

Atlus hasn’t shared any more official details in the weeks since the reveal, but that hasn’t stopped fans of the series from cooking up some ideas of their own. In a buzzy post on the Persona 6 subreddit, fans discussed what the game’s mascot character will be like. The last three games in the series — and their various spinoffs — have all included at least one non-human character as a party member. Persona 3 has the android Aigis and the adorable shiba inu Koromaru. Persona 4 has Teddie, the pun-loving bear mascot from the world inside the TV. And Persona 5 has Morgana, the sassy cat who loves telling you to go to bed early when you don’t feel like it. Each one of these characters embodies the broader themes of their story — it’s why they’re the mascots of a given installment.

Given the spooky setting, what can we expect from Persona 6‘s mascot character? Several people on reddit predicted ghosts or gargoyles, and both are fun ideas that would be in keeping with the theme. However, the most popular suggestion — and the one that has me convinced — is some kind of ensouled object, like a living doll.

“It’s allegedly not an animal and not a ghost. It’s probably still something spiritual though. Maybe some kind of possessed object,” posits one redditor. Within the “living object” camp, a doll — particularly an Alice in Wonderland doll — seems to be the most popular choice. Alice has consistently appeared as a collectible demon in pretty much every single game in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series since 1992. She’s always wearing a blue dress and an unnerving thousand-yard stare. Sometimes she’s depicted in the games carrying a rabbit doll, evocative of the one she follows down the hole to Wonderland in Lewis Carroll’s original story.

In SMT / Persona lore, Alice is a spirit who gained extreme magical power that drove her to madness. She visits naughty children at night and “befriends” them by murdering them and bringing them to the afterlife. An Alice doll — or even a rabbit plush possessed by Alice — wouldn’t stand out in daily life scenarios like a ghost or a gargoyle would. Plus, the idea of somewhere like Wonderland as a realm of subconscious exploration is in keeping with how dungeon crawling works elsewhere in the series. It’s a long shot, but I love this idea.

Then again, as other redditors point out, “possessed object” could mean something entirely more mundane, like a talking umbrella or teapot. There’s actually a centuries-old precedent for this in Japanese folklore — such entities are called tsukumogami — and you see the concept brought to life in the designs of object Pokémon like Chandelure, Klefki, and Carkol. While I love the idea of an Alice doll party member for Persona 6 because of the broader story implications it could have, I must admit I would be completely delighted by a talking umbrella, though.

Persona 6 will launch on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X. It does not yet have an official release date.