Toranosuke Yoshida Guide

Toranosuke Yoshida Guide: Persona 5 Sun Confidant Explained

One of the best parts about Persona 5 is the Confidants. The updated version of the social links is a supporting cast of characters who add wonder and uniqueness to the plot. Optionally, of course. In my more than 250 hours of playing Persona 5, there are a few Confidants that still stand out to me. One of those is who I am going to be focusing on today in this Toranosuke Yoshida guide.

What I love about Yoshida is that he is so unique compared to the other members of the cast. He is not some young lady that the Joker can romance, nor is he integral to the success of the Phantom Thieves like in the case of Iwai and his weapons shop.

He is just a lonely older man who has had some troubles in life and is looking for a friend to help him in his goal of being a politician. Usually, I’d say forget this character for being a politician, but he is one of the few good ones out there. As such, I think he is worth your attention in this Toranosuke Yoshida guide.

Bottom Line Up Front

Toranosuke Yoshida is a Confidant in Persona 5, representing the Sun Arcana. He is a middle-aged man who was previously a politician with a troubled past, and his goal now is to redeem himself in a new campaign.

Unlike other politicians, he is a kind and lonely man with a tragic and heartwarming storyline. As Joker, players can optionally choose to assist him in his campaign speeches and his way to earning a seat in the Japanese Diet. He is well worth spending time with, given his impressive skills related to negotiations in battle.

Toranosuke Yoshida Overview

There are so many Confidants that you can hang out with in Persona 5 that it can sometimes be overwhelming. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if some players played the entire JRPG without ever meeting Toranosuke Yoshida. I think that would be a darn shame, too, as he is one of the best social links in the title.

He is a middle-aged man who has had a rough life. Like many of the characters you meet in the game, he represents the themes of shackles, freedom, and second chances. What I like about Yoshida is that he is not a clean-cut person like you would expect in a game like this.

He made his mistakes in the past, and he owns up to them. Yoshida wishes that he could have a second chance at being a politician. I found his story so heartwarming and a near tear-jerker without being too overly depressing like some of the optional Confidant characters.

Yoshida is, in my mind, the most underrated Confidant in the game. Everyone focuses so much on the ladies that you can romance, and the characters are more tangentially related to the main plot. Since Yoshida is so hidden within the game, it is easy to miss him.

But you shouldn’t ignore him since he is a sensitive teddy bear who needs some love and a second chance at life. And if his heartwarming storyline is not enough for you heartless people, he offers some fantastic gameplay benefits that I highly recommend.

Appearance

Toranosuke Yoshida has the least flashy look out of the entire Persona 5 cast. There is nothing special about his design; honestly, he appears like a regular Japanese middle-aged man. He looks to be in his 40s, perhaps 50s, with a full business suit.

Toranosuke Yoshida
Image from Fandom

The suit has nothing going for it, appearing like standard business attire. If anything, the only thing that I can see that is intriguing about his outfit is the red tie that he wears, but even that is grasping at straws for something fun and interesting.

However, I think that his white gloves and green sash is fun enough. The sash is typical for someone running for office in Japan, and, in this case, it is there to signify his slogan. The slogan that he runs with is “kind society, bright future.” This shows the motto that he runs on and gives a little glimpse into his equally kind and warm personality.

Key Moments

Unlike the politicians out there with the backing of millions of dollars and people, Toranosuke Yoshida is the perfect example of grassroots campaigning. When you first meet him in Persona 5, he is running for office once more, but not that successful.

The sad reality is that not many sticks around and listens to him when you find him in Shibuya, and it is a heartbreaking situation. At the time, you know little about his character and why he is so unsuccessful. But it turns out that he is in need of some assistance, and Joker can do just that.

Joker is the physical and emotional support that Yoshida needs in his frequent speeches leading up to the elections in November. Over time, the player begins to learn about the tragic but understandable backstory of Yoshida.

This is not his first time running for office, as he was a Diet member decades ago. However, he was involved in three scandals that resulted in his removal and infamy. 20 years later, he is a changed man and wishes to show that to everyone with a second chance.

But it turns out that most people do not think of him fondly if they even remember him. Thankfully, if the player can spend enough time with Yoshida, his confidence and popularity builds, eventually leading to the elections.

Toranosuke Yoshida
Image from Fandom

In the end, he is an excellent asset to the player, even fighting on behalf of Joker when he is arrested for being part of the Phantom Thieves. The topic of whether or not Yoshida wins the election in the end is uncertain. I have played the game twice, which never fully confirms what happens.

However, Yoshida does hint at one point that he doesn’t think he will win, but that doesn’t matter to him now. Personally, I like to think that Yoshida did win the election in the end and has a second chance to prove himself. Also, there is the fact that he supports the Phantom Thieves.

His open support of the main characters of the game probably shot his popularity and recognition through the roof. I would not be surprised if that alone is enough to win him the election. However, we may have to wait for Persona 6 to find out the truth of what happened to him.

Voice Actor

Like the other Confidants in Persona 5, Toranosuke Yoshida is fully voiced. I played the game in the English dub, which I think is fantastic for a Japanese game, and Yoshida is just as good as the rest of the cast. In the English version, Yoshida is played by William Salyers.

Admittedly, before making this guide, I was not familiar with Salyers. However, it turns out that the 57-year-old voice actor is immensely talented in his roles. In fact, there are several series that I’ve enjoyed that he is involved in.

For one, there is the fact that he is the voice of Rigby in Regular Show, which is something that blew me away. Furthermore, this is far from his first video game; he played some of my favorite characters in certain ones. In Mass Effect 2, easily one of the greatest games ever made, he voiced the best party member there: Mordin Solus.

Toranosuke Yoshida

It is almost like he is only rising through the ranks, too, as he also voiced Doc Ock in the Marvel Spider-Man games recently as well as Governor Carl Regnitz in the Trails of Cold Steel games. It turns out that he may very well be someone you should keep an eye on.

On the Japanese side of things, Yoshida is voiced by the fascinating Keiichi Noda. Noda is another actor that I am not familiar with but what is surprising is how few roles the 78-year-old actor has done. Given his older age, there is not much he is doing these days.

Before Persona 5, he had not done a role since 2008. But he is a prolific actor in the history of anime and video games, dating back to the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, with some iconic roles in series like Devilman, Cyborg 009, and Saint Seiya.

Sun Confidant Explained

As I mentioned before, I think the Sun Confidant, Toranosuke Yoshida, is one of the best in Persona 5. With no strings attached like some of the others that are all about which girl you’re going to romance, I appreciate the straightforward and heartfelt storyline that Yoshida has.

In reality, I implore you to aim to complete all of the Confidants when you play the game, but if you have to pick and choose for whatever reason, Yoshida’s Sun Confidant is one that you should never miss out on. Unfortunately, the worst part about it is that it is pretty easy to miss.

Toranosuke Yoshida

And I don’t just mean because players will just ignore Yoshida completely. Atlus actually makes this one of the more hidden Confidants out there, so some players understandably miss out on him. Thankfully, that is where I come in.

The Sun Confidant features your relationship with Yoshida over the course of his journey to, hopefully, returning as a Diet member in Japan. The gist of the relationship is having Joker helping out with his campaign speeches. I find it to be a strange setup that revolves around politics but is actually quite good and worth experiencing.

How to Unlock and Schedule

Part of the reason why the Toranosuke Yoshida Confidant is so underrated is that not every player even unlocks it. For better or worse, there are some Confidants, or social links in past games, that are locked behind weird other prerequisites that you must meet.

Yoshida follows this same general pattern, requiring specific actions in order to unlock him. And, trust me, unlocking the Yoshida Confidant ranks is absolutely worth it. This is both for the excellent story that I have constantly praised throughout this guide and for the abilities, too.

Unfortunately, there are some steps that you must first complete before you can even begin this Confidant. So, before we jump into the nitty-gritty of Yoshida’s Confidant, here is what you need to do first. The earliest you can begin fulfilling the steps for Yoshida’s Confidant is May 6.

On this day, you will find that the Underground Passage in Shibuya Station will have some new job openings. This includes the beef bowl shop known as Ore no Beko, or roughly My Cattle/Cow (though there is a more common word for a cow in Japanese).

Toranosuke Yoshida Evening Tuesday

This is in the second wave of shops that have job openings in the game. Though you can unlock some part-time jobs as early as April 18, it will take until May 6 to get this one. Unfortunately, there is another requirement here. You must have at least level two Proficiency, or else you cannot take this job.

So, that is yet another requirement that you must have. Once you are good with that, then you can finally start working at the beef bowl shop. The general idea of this shop is to be a server passing out the right orders to each person.

This relates to Yoshida because he will frequent this beef bowl shop after his campaign speeches. You will likely get a glimpse of him on the first night you work at the beef bowl shop, and then after the second night of working there, you will automatically unlock his Confidant.

From now on, you will be able to meet up with Yoshida and rank up your relationship with him. At this point, his schedule kicks into place for when you can hang out with Yoshida, which is after his campaign speeches. Here’s his availability:

  • Tuesday: Night
  • Thursday: Night
  • Saturday: Night
  • Sunday: Night

Confidant Rank Abilities Explained

The great thing about Toranosuke Yoshida is that he does not have the weird quirk about him where you have to worry about picking the right choices and all that. Thankfully, just spending time with him will automatically upgrade his rank every single time.

That said, if you want to be a good person and tend to his real needs, then it is best to go ahead and pick the right options anyways that he likes. Something to note, though, about this is that there is a reason that Atlus made his ranks so easy to level up.

Not only is it likely because of the stiff requirements to unlock the Confidant with him, but because of his schedule. He has a harsher deadline than almost everyone else in the JRPG, with November 17 being the last day that you can hang out with him.

If you miss out on the final rank for Yoshida, sorry, you’re sore out of luck. This deadline is realistic and meaningful for the Sun Confidant since he is running for office. The elections happen to be right after that date, which is why it is necessary that you complete his relationship ranks by then.

Toranosuke Yoshida

Should you complete ranks, you will find that Yoshida offers some brilliant gameplay options for helping in negotiations with demons and the like, which is fitting for his campaign speech storyline. Here are the rank skills that you can unlock and what each of them does:

  • Rank 2: Unlocks Diplomacy. This sometimes allows the player to get more items and even cash while negotiating with demons.
  • Rank 3: Unlocks Fundraising. The player will be able to request even more money while you are negotiating.
  • Rank 5: Unlocks Manipulation. Manipulation will sometimes help you out by having demons give you more rare items in battle.
  • Rank 8: Unlocks Mind Control. This is by far the most important of the skills with sometimes letting you acquire a Persona without having to negotiate at all.
  • Rank 10: The final rank unlocks Charismatic Speech. With this also powerful ability, you can negotiate with demons that are higher in level than you.

Both of the last two rank skills are what make this Confidant worth it. Negotiations can sometimes be so finicky and annoying in Persona 5, so bypassing it entirely is nice. Also, the level requirement is annoying, which is why it is excellent to unlock Charismatic Speech as early as possible.

In addition to these benefits, completing his Confidant ranks will also get you the Fountain Pen. This is necessary for fusing the ultimate Persona of the Sun Arcana, Asura, which is one of the most powerful in the game.

As you can see, there are a lot of positives to completing Yoshida’s Confidant ranks, and I highly recommend it, especially as early as possible, in your playthrough to get the most out of those benefits.

Fun Facts About Toranosuke Yoshida

Here are some fun facts about the Sun Confidant, Toranosuke Yoshida, that you may not have known about:

  • Yoshida is one of the only Confidants in all of Persona 5 whose ranks automatically go up when you meet with him. This is a benefit that is usually reserved for only certain party members and Confidants, such as Morgana and Sae Niijima.
  • What is interesting about Yoshida is that he has no Mementos request, which is on its own pretty unique for a non-main story character.
  • However, he also learns (spoiler warning) about the player being a Phantom Thieves member on his own. Usually, the other optional Confidants learn because their request comes true, but Yoshida is simply smart enough to figure it out on his own.
  • The Sun Arcana that Yoshida represents continues a trend that started with Persona 3, with the max rank of him allowing for the fusion of Asura, the ultimate Persona of the Arcana.

FAQs

Question: How do I unlock Toranosuke Yoshida?

Answer: This is the confusing part about Yoshida. Unlike some of the other Confidants, he does not just show up in the story or is easily found on the streets. Instead, to unlock his relationship, you must work at the beef bowl restaurant as a part-time job. Do this two times when Yoshida comes in the store, and you will unlock his Confidant.

Question: Is Yoshida a good Confidant?

Answer: Yes, he most definitely is a great Confidant! If I were to rank the Confidants in Persona 5, besides the core cast, he would surely be in the top 3. Not only is his character well-written, but his story is heartwarming and perfect for the game’s themes. The negotiation skills he teaches you are terrific, too.

Question: Does Yoshida win the election?

Answer: Persona 5 does a lot to reveal information about the fate of characters, but Yoshida is not one of them. I’ve played through the game twice, both the original and Royal, and neither reveals if he won or not. He hints that he will probably not win, but I like to think he did win, especially given his growth and support for the Phantom Thieves. Of course, if you ignore his Confidant, he most likely loses.

Conclusion

Toranosuke Yoshida is a character who I immensely regretted never finishing his Confidant in time when I first played Persona 5. Thankfully, I rectified that issue by completing his storyline my second go-around with Persona 5 Royal. Given that you can, technically, max out all of the Confidants in a single playthrough, there is no reason to miss out on Yoshida.

I think he is the most underrated character in the entire cast. His storyline is far too well-hidden and unassuming at first glance, but there is so much heart lying underneath. Yoshida shows that everyone deserves a second chance and the good that can happen when an actual politician with earnest goals in mind for the general public does something incredible. Suppose Yoshida impressed you as he did for me. In that case, I recommend checking out our Munehisa Iwai guide to look at another optional male Confidant with a surprisingly good storyline.

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