#chtype:intj

[mbtiofwhys]

Yusuke Kitagawa

INTJ

Functional Order: Ni - Te - Fi - Se

Spoiler waring

This article will cover Yusuke’s analysis and there’ll be references to Persona 5 and events from his confidant.

Perceiving Functional Axis

Introverted Intuition (Ni) / Extroverted Sensing (Se) 

Given how Yusuke is a well written, three-dimensional character and how Ni is famous for its complexity, it isn’t surprising that it’s difficult to spot this function -even if it’s in a high position in the stack. 

Ni, when dominant, always delves deeper, looking for a meaning in a constant, underlying process of collection, evaluation and exclusion of data provided by Se. Yusuke does it by incessantly searching for a universal, comprehensive definition of art -especially regarding the subject of desire. 

His whole confidant revolves around his slump, and the inability to progress and be satisfied through painting. Dominant Ni, when underdeveloped, filters the world with a narrow view and spirals in a vicious circle where a person doesn’t search meaning as a lifelong journey of self-discovery, but rather as an ultimate goal to reach in order to truly feel at ease and satisfied. 

Yusuke’s immature Ni leads him to a process of trial and error: he first goes in Mementos hoping for an epiphany, a single answer to a complex question. But once he exposes it in an art exhibition at Ueno, things don’t go as expected and his art piece, ‘Desire’, receives criticism: the audience finds it ordinary and dull. Yusuke tried to grasp a complex and multifaceted concept as a way to find meaning in his art, but he only exacerbates his slump finding himself with more questions than before. However, Yusuke sees art as a way to express complex and abstract concept, thus when Kawanabe offers him his patronage he instantly declines, as he can’t accept to make art for materialistic purposes. 

Yusuke’s Ni is clearly paired with an underdeveloped Se. First, during Madarame’s arc -even if Yusuke knew what his master was doing, he finally accepts the truth and then awakens his persona only when exposed to reality. His Se couldn’t provide a distorted view of Madarame anymore, leading Yusuke to accept the truth, even if it’s a painful one, and then allowing him to move on.

His slump, his narrow-minded search for a single truth and his frantic process of trial and error are all signs of an unhealthy Ni/Se axis. Yusuke breaks this cycle by finally understanding how difficult is to find a subjective pattern with whom filter reality in our complex, multifaceted world. He then accepts reality as it is, compromising his vision with a clear and feasible future scenario. A healthy inferior Se, in fact, doesn’t hope for an idealistic, perfect future, but it rather aids Ni providing an objective view of the world, thus making possible for a Ni dominant to envision a concrete way to reach a goal. So, by asking himself what he really wants (tertiary Fi) and by clearing his mind with a reasonable view of reality (healthy inferior Se), Yusuke finally starts to use Ni to make small steps toward his goal, winning the art competition with a painting which represent what he truly finds meaningful.

Judging Functional Axis

Extroverted Thinking (Te) / Introverted Feeling (Fi) 

Yusuke has a rational approach to problems and his auxiliary Te is clearly visible during his confidant. As we stated before, Yusuke tries to grasp meaning in a trial and error process due to his underdeveloped Ni. He has a rational way to solve problems and sees his slump as a task to complete more than a process of self-discovery, thus he starts to observe people in an analytical evaluation of their behaviour. His search for meaning doesn’t start from within (healthy Fi), but it rather arises from a cold view of people and human emotions. Even if he asks himself what the meaning of desire is, Yusuke observes it from a logical point of view. His unhealthy Ni/Se makes him narrow-minded and his auxiliary Te deceives Yusuke by making him take apparently logical actions to find a solution to his slump. 

A more light example is his approach to the phantom thieves, where he shows little social awareness and crosses personal boundaries asking Ann to pose naked for one of his paintings. A direct, rational action to reach a goal in the most effective way. 

Yusuke’s Te is paired with tertiary Fi. Even if, deep down, he knew how pitiful Madarame’s actions are, he truly believed in him because he’s the one who raised him and he felt like he owes him his respect. His view changes only when he must face the truth, which leads him to lose faith in Madarame and to fight against his shadow. 

Yusuke can’t accept how Madarame has disrespected his mother’s painting and her memory, the counterfeited Sayuri also represents a materialistic view of art, merely based on gaining money and status. 

After acknowledging his master’s mistakes, Yusuke still has a place in his heart for him, as he understands the duality and complexity of human beings and sees also what Madarame did to help him. He then decides to let the protagonist take Sayuri, because he prefers to leave it in a place far from artistic competitions and worldly desires. What we see in Madarame’s arc is Yusuke’s strong resolve and how he doesn’t care about breaking social harmony. Even if tertiary, his Fi leads him to follow the phantom thieves in a mission to steal his master’s heart, the treasure of the man who raised him as an orphan, because the phantom thieves exposed Madarame’s true intentions. 

Also typed as: IxFP, INFJ

We think INTJ suits him well and, for the sake of discussion and to better aid our analysis, we’ll explain our take on what we think are common mistypes. 

Yusuke is sometimes typed as a Fi dom. This is no surprise, because as an INTJ he still has Fi in his stack. Yusuke’s Fi shines in Madarame’s arc and it’s easy to understand why it may seem a higher function. However, as we stated above, Yusuke has a logical and rational approach to problems and constantly searches for meaning in what he does. He shows clear sign of how a J approaches tasks and life in general: as an INTJ his main focus is to understand meanings and patterns, and he does it in a methodical and analytical way (aux Te). He seeks meaning as a way to gain certainty and structure in his life, a typical J trait. 

As a Ni dom, Yusuke’s burning passion for art may lead one to think he’s a feeler. Even if he shares the Ni/se axis with the INFJ type, he has a concrete and logical approach to his search for purpose, as we stated in the section above. Yusuke prefers a direct and simple way to solve a task (Te), rather than a slower process aimed to reach the root of the problem (Ti). Yusuke also doesn’t care for social harmony and always does what he feels right, a clear sign of Fi over Fe.

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[mbtiofwhys]

Griffith

INTJ 

Functional order: Ni - Te - Fi - Se

Spoiler warning                                                                            

Griffith is, along with Guts, one of the main characters of Kentaro Miura’s Berserk. He’s a pivotal element in the story, especially in the ‘golden age arc’ where he leads the ‘Band of the Hawks’. This long flashback is the foundation of Berserk and gives us context about his motivations.

Perceiving Functional Axis

Introverted Intuition (Ni) / Extroverted Sensing (Se) 

Griffith pursues a dream, and his actions are all tied to his vision. He possesses a rich symbolism, which he uses to create a concrete association between the tangible and the intangible. The castle and the hawk are the main metaphor to consider. The castle is a symbol of the kingdom he wants to create and the white hawk is a representation of his team, purity, strength and the possibility to fly and stand among other men. 

Griffith can foresee the outcome of a battle and counterattack properly. He’s always one step ahead of the enemies - for example, he predicted how to interact with Midland’s aristocracy as a tool to gain status. As a member of the ‘God Hand’, Griffith/Femto had enough power to realize his dream and create Falconia, an utopia where men and monsters live together in a society based on cooperation and advanced technology.

His inferior Se is well developed. He uses it as a tool to balance his dominant Ni by taking action, and he always knows when and how to act. Griffith gained status and power through a series of concrete actions to actualize his vision, like battles and social climbing. He can improvise and he doesn’t ruminate on the future, but acts in the real world and obtains tangible results. 

Griffith acted on impulse when he lost against Guts and slept with Charlotte, a sign of impulsive inferior Se.

Judging Functional Axis

Extroverted Thinking (Te) / Introverted Feeling (Fi) 

Griffith lives for his vision and the way he implements it into the world is through logical and practical actions. The end of ‘The golden age’ arc is a clear example of his Te. Griffith sacrificed the ‘Band of the Hawk’ to become a member of the ‘God Hand’, and thus gained the power he craved to realize his dream. All the steps he took to fulfill his vision were rational and based on the most efficient and fast way to obtain what he wanted, like the collaboration with the king of Midland and all his schemes at the royal court. Even Guts, the only person he cares about, were a tool for his plan. He used him as a powerful asset in battle and as an assassin when he started his social climbing. Griffith sees people as weapons he can use to shorten his path, be them friends or enemies.

Griffith doesn’t care about social harmony and he always obey his moral code. Even if he accepted all kind of soldiers in his squad and created a merry group of mercenary, he put his own desires above his team. Griffith built the flourishing kingdom of Falconia following his dream and sacrificing everything, first and foremost his teammates, because that’s what he cared most about when he had to take a decision. Griffith Fi can also be seen in his relationship with Guts. When they first met, Griffith asserted dominance winning against him in a duel. Later, when Guts leaves the ‘Band of the Hawk’, Griffith challenges him again in an attempt to control him, losing to him. Guts isn’t only a tool in Griffith’s team but also the only person he cares about, a loyal servant. Griffith couldn’t stand the defeat also because he cares immensely about social hierarchy and, as a leader, defeat is not an option. 

Also typed as: ENTJ

Griffith is sometimes typed as ENTJ. As a High Ni and Te user, ENTJ may seem the type that better suits the character. I couldn’t find a tertiary loop (Ni/Fi or Te/Se) or an inferior (Se or Fi) grip. That’s because Griffith is shown either in his optimal and healthy state or tortured and injured. Those kind of traumas can’t be compared to tertiary loops or grip experiences, they’ve got a much deeper impact on human mind and they don’t affect cognition, only the resulting begaviors. In the end I chose INTJ over ENTJ. Griffith doesn’t use Ni to support his logical and practical approach to problems (Te + Ni), he instead uses the most efficient solution to aid his vision, to reach his goals faster (Ni + Te). Griffith is nothing without his dream and his actions are just steps to reach what he desires. He undoubtedly has high Te, but it’s his auxiliary function and he uses it to support is dominant Ni.

#berserk #griffith #manga #anime #mbti #mbti of whys #intj #ni dom #te aux #fi tert #se inf #chtype:intj #chtype:griffith #typology #character analysis #fictional characters