The Persona franchise is rich with memorable characters that stick with you long after the game is finished. The group I like most is the cast of Persona 4. Persona 4 is set in the small Japanese town of Inaba during extreme unease after discovering a dead body. I think this humble setting paired with an initial extraordinary event allows for the personalities in the game to shine through, especially Chie.
Chie Satonaka, the kung fu loving, hard kicking bundle of energy on Persona 4’s Investigation Team, stands out as my favorite character, possibly in the entire franchise.
She genuinely cares about the protagonist, Yukiko, Yosuke, and the rest of the crew. She doles out punishment when she sees fit, as evidenced by the first interaction we see between her and Yosuke involving one of Chie’s kung fu DVDs. Her fighting abilities are top-notch as she can become one of the most powerful physical attackers in the game.
In this Chie Satonaka guide, I’ll take a look at the most important information to know about Chie and her role in the Investigation Team. I’ll go over key plot points involving Chie’s character, her relationship with the protagonist and other characters, and her capabilities in battle.
You just might end up appreciating Chie as one of the most well-rounded characters in both gameplay and story in all of Persona like I do.
Bottom Line Up Front
- Chie Satonaka is one of the main characters in Persona 4, a game developed by Atlus.
- Chie has a relationship, or Social Link, with the protagonist. She is also one of the 8 romanceable characters in the game.
- Chie and her Persona, Tomoe, focus on physical attacks to do most of their damage, in addition to ice-type spells.
Overview
Note: This guide contains spoilers.
Chie Satonaka appears in the Persona 4 line of the Persona video game franchise. You can find her in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Persona 4: Golden, Persona 4 Arena, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth.
Chie can be summed up in 3 adjectives: protective, strong, and sensible. She’s an extrovert who helps the other characters in Persona 4 come out of their respective shells at key moments.
At numerous times throughout Persona 4, we can see the unspoken kindness Chie shows the other members of the Investigation Team. One of our first interactions with any of the party members is with Chie as she saves us from Mr. Marooka, the homeroom teacher, and his rant on the dangers of young love.
As the story kicks into high gear after the murder of Mayumi Yamano, a TV announcer, it is Chie who initially pushes the group to watch the Midnight Channel. The protagonist, or Yu as he’s referred to in the anime and other Persona 4 spin-offs, discovers that he’s able to enter TVs after this initial viewing.
Chie, Yu, and Yosuke inadvertently enter the world of the Midnight Channel, and here we can first see cracks in the armor that Chie wears around her fears. She is uneasy at the prospect of an alternate universe where people are being murdered – the sensible emotion in comparison with Yu and Yosuke’s relative adventurousness.
Her caring nature is quickly proven again after her sobbing upon Yu and Yosuke’s second journey into the Midnight Channel after the death of fellow Yasogami High student Saki Konishi.
A lot of Chie’s bluster can be attributed to caring deeply and acting protectively toward others, often to a fault. Nowhere is this more clear than in her relationship with Yukiko. The loud, brash Chie acts as a motivating force for the quiet, reserved Yukiko. In an early conversation with Yukiko after defeating Shadow Yosuke, this is confirmed, as Yukiko mentions:
Chie’s very supportive, you know. It’s always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year, too, and I still remember how we’d cut class sometimes.
Maybe cutting class isn’t the most, shall we say, admirable of examples, but we can see the roots of friendship between the two. It’s a strong friendship, but one that is dragged down by unspoken issues that lead to key moments in Persona 4.
Chie sticks around in my party not only for the interactions between her and other Investigation Team members but for the sheer amount of damage she brings to the group. Her weapons of choice are the shoes or greaves that cover her feet since she relies on kicking her Persona enemies.
Tomoe, Chie’s Persona, excels in physical attacks, just like her kung-fu obsessed partner. In particular, Tomoe’s penchant for physical attacks that hit multiple enemies is great for clearing random encounters quickly.
Appearance
Chie’s appearance can be described just like her personality: loud and a bit out-of-the-ordinary. She wears her light brown hair in a bowl cut. Her brown eyes match her hair color. Like the other main characters in Persona 4, Chie wears a variation of the Yasogami High School uniform.
The skirt, socks, and shoes of the school uniform are still there, but in addition, Chie sports a green and yellow track jacket, complete with various pins (the most iconic being the smiley face pin).
Green is a constant in Chie’s outfits. Even during the summer, the jacket is part of her school ensemble, albeit tied around her waist. When it’s not a school day during spring, Chie wears a different, high-collared green jacket, complete with a white top and black undershirt, plus a short blue dress as the base layer underneath. She combines this with green boots.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night features some of Chie’s best alternate outfits in the extended Persona 4 series. Some notables include holiday-specific themes like the Pumpkin Dress and the Santa Dress, the Person Classics Akihiko outfit, and my personal favorite, the Kill Bill-like Track Suit.
Key Moments Persona 4 and Persona 4: Golden
Yukiko’s Castle
I’ve only just scratched the surface of the friendship between Chie and Yukiko. The depth of caring between these best friends is apparent from the moment Yukiko stops showing up to school.
Chie begins to panic after seeing Yukiko on the Midnight Channel on April 16th. Already worried after fearing Yu and Yosuke were gone forever after disappearing into a TV to look for clues regarding Saki Konishi’s death, she thinks that a similar fate may soon befall her best friend. Unable to reach her through texting and calling, Chie becomes increasingly worried at Yukiko’s absence.
Chie meets up with Yu and Yosuke at the police station after the pair has an incident with some cops at Junes. It’s confirmed that Yukiko is missing and Chie leads the next charge into the Midnight Channel to rescue her.
At the entrance to Yukiko’s Castle, Chie runs in alone. This turns out to be a predictable disaster. The protagonist and Yosuke chase after her, only to find that Chie’s shadow form has appeared and is getting ready to attack. Shadow Chie clues us in on the worst of Chie’s emotions, from her feeling like she controls Yukiko to her dealing with an inferiority complex when compared with her best friend.
After successfully confronting and defeating Shadow Chie, the battle with Shadow Yukiko is next up. Defeating Shadow Yukiko results in a touching cutscene where Chie fully admits all of her feelings to Yukiko:
I was always jealous of you, Yukiko. You had everything that I didn’t… That jealousy was like a wall, and I was so lonely…!
Chie goes on to say that she needs Yukiko more than Yukiko needs her. Yukiko admits to her own unfair expectations of Chie, allowing her to accept her Persona. With their friendship stronger than before, Yukiko fittingly leans on Chie for support as they leave the castle together.
Social Link Rank 9 and MAX
The event that takes place when leveling up Chie’s Social Link to level 9 is another example of Chie’s protective urges. Chie and the protagonist overhear some local bullies trying to take money from a kid in an alley. This is the same gang of misfits that steals money from Chie’s childhood friend in the Social Link Rank 8 event.
Chie is able to drive away the bullies and help the crying child. After the incident is resolved, Chie confesses that she wants to protect the protagonist. You are given the option to enter into a romantic relationship with Chie.
If you choose to remain just friends, the MAX Social Link event will show the pair going to the river bank to train like normal. Otherwise, Chie goes to the protagonist’s home after spending some time together. She admits to him that she’s still searching for her good points and wants to search with him instead of alone. Chie then gives him matching wristbands, a symbol of her promise to stick by him.
This moment results in Tomoe’s transformation into Suzuka Gongen. It’s a sign that Chie has overcome many of her insecurities. This evolution gets rid of Tomoe’s Fire weakness in the original Persona 4 and grants more Agility plus the Evade Fire ability in Persona 4: Golden. In a touching end to the scene, Chie thanks the protagonist for her new power and says those three special words: I love you.
Haraedo-no-Okami Event
Speaking to Chie to hang out any time after January 10th will trigger this event. In it, Chie reflects on how much she’s learned over the past year. The events of the case and her friendships in the Investigation Team have changed her outlook on life.
Chie’s growth is reflected in Suzuka Gongen evolving into Haraedo-no-Okami. This Persona absorbs Ice, blocks Light, and is weak to Fire. Provided your Social Link with Chie is maxed out, Haredo-no-Okami will also learn Dragon Hustle, a skill that increases the party’s Attack, Defense, and Hit/Evade stats.
Key Moments Persona 4: Arena
Fight with Yu (The Protagonist)
The Midnight Channel is not as Chie remembers it in Persona 4: Arena, turning some of her best friends against her. We get our first taste of this dynamic when Chie is forced to fight a hostile Yu at the beginning of the game.
Considering the gravity of the Social Link events with Chie and the fact that you could have entered into a romance with her in the original Persona 4 and Persona 4: Golden, this battle comes as a bit of a shock.
Yu’s verbal attacks cut Chie deep, as he questions her true reasons for wanting to become a police officer, which is her dream job. That’s more than enough reason for Chie to throw down.
After the fight, Yu reveals he remembers nothing of their encounter and even accuses Chie of saying equally hurtful things to provoke a fight. The confusion mounts, but Yu, unable to continue on because of the rules of the tournament, entrusts Chie with figuring out what’s going on and saving their friends.
Encounter with Akihiko
Akihiko of Persona 3 fame certainly knows how to make an entrance. He bursts his way into Chie’s story mode in Persona 4: Arena by punching Kanji through a literal wall.
Due to the Midnight Channel tournament, Chie and Akihiko have to fight, after which he implores her not to continue chasing Labrys/The President. Chie refuses on the grounds that she needs to understand and help Labrys. Akihiko is impressed, comparing her with his own friends from Persona 3.
In the scenes after the final fight with Labrys, we can see that Chie has real respect for Akihiko, even going so far as to refer to him as “Master.” Akihiko gives her advice for which she is grateful. A sweet moment at the end of Chie’s story reveals she is writing a letter to him, but in typical Chie fashion, she decides to put it off for another time.
Related reads: Complete Akihiko Sanada Guide.
Gameplay
Persona 4 and Persona 4: Golden
In the turn-based battles of Persona 4 and Persona 4: Golden, Chie and her Persona, Tomoe, damage enemies through physical attacks and Ice spells. Chie enters the party at level 6 with the skills Skewer (a physical attack that uses HP) and Tarukaja (a spell that raises an ally’s Attack for 3 turns). She learns her first ice spell, Bufu, at level 7. She can resist Ice spells but crumbles under Fire-based attacks.
As mentioned before, Chie’s true strength as a party member comes in the form of multi-enemy physical attacks. Rampage (level 20), Gale Slash (level 29), Heat Wave (level 46), and Agneyastra (level 74) all act to slash through swathes of Shadows that roam Persona 4’s numerous dungeons.
Kanji can do more raw damage to a single foe, but if you’re looking to spread the damage around, Chie is a solid pick to include in your party when the endgame rolls around.
Chie’s best weapon and armor in Persona 4: Golden can be found by defeating The Reaper, an optional boss. Her best weapons are the Moses Sandals and her best armor is the Godly Robe.
Persona 4: Arena
Chie’s aggressiveness is still intact in how she plays as a fighter in Persona 4: Arena. She’s built as a rush-heavy character, meaning that she excels in assertively attacking her opponent without giving them the chance to retaliate. Quickly backing an enemy into a corner and then wailing on them is Chie’s bread and butter as a fighter.
Chie’s two best moves from the main Persona 4 games, God’s Hand and Agneyastra, are included. God’s Hand can be used as a great end move for combos, while Agneyastra can be used for two purposes: to stifle an opponent’s movement options and to increase your damage on combos taking place in the air. Agneyastra can be cast mid-air, unlike God’s Hand.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Chie is a potential party member in both Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and its sequel, New Cinema Labyrinth. These mainline entry spinoffs include cast from both Persona 3 and Persona 4. It’s pretty cool getting to team up members from the different games.
The Persona Q games feature dungeon crawling and mapping similar to that of the Etrian Odyssey series and turn-based battles similar to the main series. Chie again excels as a physical attacker here with the ability to boost her chances at criticals, which increases her damage output. She sits among the top physical damage dealers in the Persona Q games.
Key Relationships
Yu Narukami (The Protagonist)
As one of the Social Links in Persona 4, Yu, or rather the player, gets to know Chie pretty well. Chie is also one of the 8 possible romances in Persona 4: Golden.
Chie and Yu get to know each other through trips to the banks of the Samegawa River. They train together there, getting stronger for the battles in the Midnight Channel. As we learn through the main plot, Chie focuses a lot on being able to protect others.
This becomes even more evident through her Social Link events, as we learn that she used to make groups in school (with matching cool names like the Allies of Justice), is intent on taking care of Yukiko no matter what, and will fight for people, even if she doesn’t necessarily know them.
Above all that, she learns to trust and rely on Yu, which helps relieve some of the pressure she feels on protecting everyone around her.
Yukiko Amagi
Yukiko and Chie have been best friends since childhood when Yukiko was having a disagreement with her family. They wouldn’t let her keep a stray dog, so she ran away. She was found by a young Chie, who cheered her up. The two have been nearly inseparable since that day.
But their friendship isn’t without its insecurities, as evidenced by both Shadows of the girls. Chie is jealous of Yukiko’s feminism and class, while Yukiko wants to escape from her duties as innkeeper and live freely like Chie. Defeating the Shadows brings the two closer together. After Yukiko joins the Investigation Team in Persona 4: Golden, they can perform a unique All-Out Attack called “Twin Dragons.”
Yosuke Hanamura
These two have a real bossy big sister/annoying little brother vibe to their friendship. Even though they argue a lot, they’re actually pretty good pals. Chie is close enough to Yosuke to lend him a treasured kung-fu film at the beginning of Persona 4 (though it doesn’t end particularly well for him).
They regularly bet meals on who is right, often to Yosuke’s disadvantage. In short, their relationship provides a little bit of comic relief to the heavy topics covered by Persona 4’s story.
Akihiko Sanada
Thanks to the crossovers featured in Persona 4: Arena and the Persona Q series, we get to see the two brawlers together in action. The OG physical fighter from Persona 3 is a bit standoffish towards Chie’s bold personality at first.
After the events of Persona 4: Arena, we see that Akihiko ends up being like a teacher to Chie as she continues to train and pursue her goal of becoming a police officer. Chie calls him “Master,” a true sign of respect.
FAQs
Question: Who is Chie Satonaka?
Answer: Chie Satonaka is a main character and party member in the video game Persona 4 and its spin-offs. She’s boisterous, loves kung-fu, and is a member of the Investigation Team along with Yu, Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, and Naoto.
Question: How old is Chie Satonaka?
Answer: It depends on the game. In Persona 4, she is listed as being 16 or 17 in Persona 4, but 18 in Persona 4: Golden.
Question: Who is Chie’s best friend?
Answer: Yukiko Amagi is Chie’s best friend. They’ve been best friends since childhood. They are polar opposites in nearly every way, other than the fact that they care deeply about each other. The two can team up to perform a special All-Out Attack, Twin Dragons.
Question: What is Chie’s best gear set?
Answer: Chie’s best gear is as follows:
• Best weapon: Moses Sandals
• Best armor: Godly Robe
• Best accessory: Space Badge
Chie’s strongest weapon and armor are rewards for defeating The Reaper, an optional boss. The best accessory for Chie comes down to preference, but I prefer the Space Badge. It heals its wearer for 6% of their HP every turn, which make physical attacks that cost HP easier to cost. This is great for Chie, who is most effective when relying on physical attacks.
Question: Is Chie different in the Persona 4 anime?
Answer: Not at all. Chie’s personality and character traits are the same in the anime as they are in the game. The only major difference is when her Persona, Tomoe, changes into Suzuka Gongen. In the game, Tomoe evolves after Chie’s 9th Social Link event. In the anime, Tomoe evolves during the battle with Ameno-sagiri.
Conclusion
Chie is easily one of the most likable characters in the Persona series. From the moment I saw her bopping around, getting ready to kung fu kick some Shadows, I knew she would be a permanent member in my party. Her insecurities about her friendship with Yukiko hit me hard on my first playthrough of Persona 4.
Defeating her Shadow and addressing her negative emotions made me feel like she had a little more depth than the other members of the Investigation Team. Ultimately, she’s my favorite of the Persona 4 bunch and I hope she continues to make cameos in new games in the series.
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