Persona 5 is an expansive JRPG full of things to do. But the core of the series is going on dates and hanging out with your friends in order to power up your summonable monsters. These relationships, called confidants, require you to invest your time and attention into a character in order to earn valuable skills. Play your cards right and it can also lead to romance. One of the more complicated and important relationships in the game is that of the protagonist and detective Akechi. Here is everything you need to know to rank up his confidant.
Akechi’s Confidant start date
Akechi’s confidant will automatically unlock through Persona 5’s story. Starting on 6/10 after story events, the player can begin working on the Justice confidant for Akechi. In the original release of Persona 5, Akechi’s confidant ranked up automatically throughout the story. However, in Persona 5 Royal Akechi was fleshed out to be a full-fledged confidant to spend time with and rank up.
When and where can you find Akechi?
Akechi can be found outside the Penguin Sniper Lounge (where you play darts) in Kichijoji. He will show up regardless of whether it is raining or not, but he will only be there during the evening, so plan your days accordingly.
He is likely to be available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Hypothetically, he takes Sundays for himself to relax and decompress.
What upgrades do you get by ranking up Akechi’s confidant?
Like all confidants in Persona 5, ranking up with Akechi will give you access to a set of useful abilities. Most of the skills gained help with understanding an opponent's weakness or protecting party members in danger.
- Sleuthing Instinct (Rank 2): At the start of battles, there is a chance to reveal one affinity for one enemy.
- Sleuthing Mastery (Rank 4): At the start of battles, there is a chance to reveal all of one enemy’s affinities.
- Harisen Recovery (Rank 7): There is a chance to cure status ailments inflicted on party members.
- Protect (Rank 10): There is a chance to shield Joker from an attack that would otherwise be fatal.
- Endure (Rank 10): There is a chance to be left with 1 HP during an attack that would otherwise be fatal.
Akechi confidant key dates
There are some special things that players will need to keep in mind when trying to max out Justice. The first obstacle in Akechi’s confidant process comes during Rank three. In order to initiate this interaction, the protagonist must have at least rank three in knowledge and charm.
Once you reach rank five with Akechi, you will not be able to progress to rank 6 until 9/3. Rather than his usual haunting grounds of Kichijojii, Akechi can be found in Café Leblanc.
Once 9/3 does come around and you reach rank six with Akechi, you will have to wait again until 11/2 to reach rank seven. However, that’s not all. In addition, the protagonist will need to have at least rank four in Knowledge to initiate the interaction. When the dialogue option “You’re my rival” is presented, choose it, or else you will not unlock Akechi’s ultimate persona.
The rank eight interaction for the Justice confidant is unique to Akechi. Rather than a hangout with simple dialogue choices, the protagonist must fight Akechi as Crow (his Metaverse identity) in Mementos. This fight is not easy, requiring the player to get Crow down to at least one-third of his health in under three minutes in order to progress through the rest of the event. After the battle you must choose “I accept” or Akechi’s ultimate persona will be locked out.
You must finish this battle and reach rank eight with Akechi’s confidant by 11/17 in order to get the true ending of Persona 5 Royal.
There are some other requirements for the true ending as well — check out our full guide here.
Rank nine and ten are both automatically reached on 12/3 if the player has reached rank 8 by 11/17. However, on the evening of 12/3 you will be given several dialogue choices, some of which will lock out Akechi’s progress. If you choose to forget, then Akechi’s ultimate persona will not be unlocked. If you choose to keep your promise, the ultimate persona will unlock.
In the third semester of Persona 5 Royal, there is one more dialogue choice to be made that will impact Akechi’s confidant. On the night of 2/2, Akechi will meet up with the protagonist. Choose the dialogue option “We’re stopping M——” and Akechi’s persona will transform.
Persona 5 Royal is now available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
