Takeharu Kirijo is a supporting character from Persona 3 and a minor character from Persona 3: the Weird Masquerade.
Appearance[]
Takeharu is a middle-aged man in his 40s with black hair and gray eyes. He wears an eyepatch over his right eye and wears a gray suit, red tie, and black vest. He has the appearance of a grizzled businessman, bold and resolute, and his appearance often makes others tremble at first glance.
Personality[]
Takeharu is firm and bold in everything he does, which scares people who meet him for the first time. Although he is particularly hard on his daughter, he has been shown many times to have what is best for her.
He feels especially guilty that her daughter has inherited his mistakes. Mitsuru later reveals that he has shame and guilt, which puts a burden on him, and she fought to alleviate this burden.
History[]
Aegis: The First Mission[]
At the time, he was the head of the Kirijo Group and ordered the team training Aigis on Yakushima to refocus on annihilating the out-of-control Shadows in order to protect civilians.
Persona 3[]
Takeharu is Mitsuru Kirijo's father and Koetsu Kirijo's son. The current head of the Kirijo Group.
SEES first meets Takeharu during summer vacation, when Mitsuru offers to take her to a relaxing place owned by her family. At first, he seems to be a scary person, but gradually his kinder side begins to show. After some time, he explains how the Dark Hour occurred and the fate of the researchers who caused it. This includes when he showed the tape of Eiichiro Takeba's farewell words to a party. As a result of his account, Takeharu appeared to be the only adult survivor of this 10-year-old incident.
It is then revealed that he knew the recordings had been tampered with by Ikutsuki all along. After Aigis has already restrained the party, Takeharu confronts him, but is ultimately killed at the hands of Ikutsuki, though not without firing on the enemy. He died in his daughter's arms in Tartarus, and the determination Mitsuru gained after her father's death caused her initial Persona, Penthesilea, to evolve into her ultimate Persona, Artemisia.
Persona 3 FES[]
Mitsuru's past flashes back on the 25th floor of Ptolomera. He is shown to be the leader of the Kirijo Group Squad that ventured to Tartarus, and witnessed firsthand his then-infant daughter Persona defeating Shadow. While his colleagues are happy at this prospect, Jōharu is dissatisfied with Mitsuru becoming a Persona user. Because Mitsuru becoming a Persona user meant that Mitsuru, who was supposed to be carving out his own path and becoming his own person, would have to shoulder the burden of his family.