Akechi is a playable character in Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. He is a local celebrity investigating the Phantom Thieves of Hearts for his fans and the media. Although he keeps his appearance of trying to bring down the Phantom Thieves, he does cooperate with the Phantom Thieves under the guise of Crow in Persona 5.
How to unlock Justice Confidant in Persona 5
You don’t have to go out of your way to recruit Akechi in persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. You will automatically recruit and start Akechi’s Confidant on 10th June. It occurs during your visit to the TV station for your Social Studies trip.
Similarly, Akechi’s Confidant will automatically rank up as you play through Persona 5, and you don’t have to make any over-the-top dialogue choices to progress the confidant’s ranking.
Where to find Akechi and his availability
Akechi is found in the Penguin Sniper Lounge. It is the place where you can play darts. In Persona 5, Akechi can be found in the lounge every day except Sunday. He will show up regardless if it is raining or not.
Akechi can be found in the Penguin Sniper Lounge only in the evenings or at night. You will never find Akechi in the lounge during the daytime in Persona 5 Royal.
What abilities to unlock at each rank
| Rank | Ability | Description |
| 2 | Sleuthing Instinct | Chance to reveal one enemy’s affinity at the start of the battle. |
| 4 | Smooth Talk | If negotiation with a god-like Shadow fails, you can try again. |
| 5 | Sleuthing Mastery | Chance to reveal all of one enemy’s affinities at the start of the battle. |
| 6 | Follow Up | Chance to perform a follow-up attack if Joker’s attack does not down the enemy. |
| 7 | Harisen Recovery | Chance to cure status ailments inflicted upon party members. |
| MAX | Endure | Chance to withstand an otherwise fatal attack with 1 HP remaining. |
| MAX | Protect | Chance to shield Joker from an otherwise fatal attack. |
| ROYAL | Second Awakening R | Fuse with the mythological Trickster, awakening its true power. |
Best dialogue choices for each Persona 5 Justice Confidant rank
A matching persona is always a plus, as it allows you to get extra points while talking to the confidant in Persona 5 Royal.
Rank 1 – nothing
The rank is automatically unlocked. The dialogue choices do not matter.
Rank 2 – Sleuthing Instinct
“I had some free time, so I hoped to find someone to play against.”
- You always seem so busy. +2
- Do you have no friends? +0
Oh, my apologies. A break ace.”
- Is that your win? +0
- Not bad. +0
“Not bad. Everything’s riding on your next shot, though. How will you handle this?”
- Shoot very carefully. +2
- I’ll go for a power shot. +2
“Is something the matter?”
- You used your right hand. +0
- … Aren’t you left-handed? +0
“I’m rather dextrous with my right hand. I can even use chopsticks with it. Frankly, I didn’t expect you to see through it.”
- Maybe I’ll be a detective. +2
- No holding back next time. +2
- I see a lot of things. +3
“I think you’d be an interesting influence on me. If you’re so inclined, we could go out again sometime.”
- Sure. +0
- I’ll think about it. +0
- As rivals? +2
Rank 3 – nothing
You need to have Rank 3 Charm for this.
“The cake here’s fairly popular. I’ve wanted to try it myself.”
- Got a sweet tooth, huh? +0
- Come here often? +0
“Uh-oh. It looks like I’ve been spotted.”
- Should’ve figured. +3
- Your life must be so hard. +2
- I can shoo them away… +0
“We should go.”
- You’ve done nothing wrong. +0
- Why the rush? +0
“A shame I don’t have glasses like you. Maybe I would have been able to get out of this situation.”
- How about we find out? +0
- Come here a sec. +0
“I suppose I’d better learn to watch what I say around you.”
- You looked great. +0
- It was a necessary evil. +0
- I should’ve taken a picture. +0
Response 6 – “I saw firsthand what happens when I’m too careless with my words around you.”
- That was careless, huh? +0
- Wasn’t it fun? +2
- I can always dress you up again.
Rank 4 – Smooth Talk
“It’s nice to take some time off when we can, don’t you think?
- What kind of place is this? +0
- This looks shady… +0
“It’s just a jazz club. You get to hear some great performers here.”
- Do they have coffee? +2
- But I’m underage. +0
- Now this is my kind of club. +3
“Well then, why don’t we get some drinks?”
- Any recommendations? +3
- Anything’s fine by me. +2
- An ice-cold beer for me. +0
“Whew… How relaxing. I really do like coming here.”
- It’s a great place. +2
- I feel a bit nervous. +0
“I guess you could call it my go-to place. Do you have anywhere like that?”
- A run-down cafe. +0
- A shop with great coffee. +0
- I live there, actually. +0
“That reminds me, do you cook?”
- Pretty frequently. +3
- I can use a microwave. +3
- All I need is curry. +2
Response 7 – “There’s something about that strange, erratic synchronicity… It’s a euphoria like when I manage to solve a case.”
- What are you talking about? +0
- I kinda get it. +2
- You really are having fun. +0
Rank 5 – Sleuthing Mastery
“Do you normally play games like these?”
- All the time. +0
- I’m not great at them. +0
- Have you played any? +0
“Phew! My fingers are going to be sore tomorrow. What a realistic game.”
- Are you used to gunplay? +2
- You took that seriously, huh. +0
“All this reminded me of running around the house with it, playing hero…”
- You wanted to be a hero? +3
- Very interesting. +2
- Hard to imagine. +0
“So? Which of those two fits more with your conception of a hero?”
- Sticking to your justice. +0
- Doing what people want. +0
- Neither, really. +0
“Hopefully I didn’t come off as too much of a novice. I wish I’d played better.”
- You did fine. +2
- You’ve got a long way to go. +2
- You were getting cocky. +2
Rank 6 – Follow Up
“Ahh, this feels wonderful… It’s been a while.”
- So relaxing… +2
- Seeing you here is weird. +0
- A while, huh? +3
“My mother worked at a nightclub. Whenever she had to bring a man home, she’d send me off to the local bathhouse.”
- That was horrible of her. +0
- … You’ve been through a lot. +2
“Actually, are you all right? I know the hot water can make people dizzy…”
- This is nothing. +3
- I’ll stay until you’re ready. +3
- Are YOU okay? +2
“Oof… I think I feel a little lightheaded.”
- Same. +3
- I’m just fine. +0
- Guess I win. +2
“I’ve never told anyone else about my family situation, either. I wonder why I told you? Curious indeed.”
- Because we get along. +2
- Because we’re similar. +2
“We’re both victims of the adults who unfairly impacted our lives.”
- I think you’re right. +3
- I don’t know about that. +0
- Can I put my clothes on? +2
“If they saw how I was acting today, perhaps they’d say I wasn’t acting like the Detective Prince.”
- True. +0
- They’d probably love it. +0
- My bad, I guess. +2
Rank 7 – Harisen Recovery
Rank 4 Knowledge is required for this.
“You can’t simply strike the ball you’re aiming for You have to be indirect, but precise to land it in the pocket…”
- Yeah, it’s convoluted. +2
- That’s why it’s so fun. +3
“You eliminate your target without ever directly connecting yourself to it. I don’t suppose that rings any bells?”
- The psychotic breakdowns. +0
- What’re you getting at? +0
“Even then… do you still intend to play this game?”
- I’ve made up my mind. +0
- I won’t miss my shot. +0
“Even if it was with my self-imposed handicap, I’m impressed that you beat me. You’ve become quite skilled.”
- It’s thanks to you. +2
- I couldn’t let myself lose. +3
“Yet I’m doing so as a detective, and you’re acting as a Phantom thief. Our stances couldn’t be more different.”
- But we’re teammates now. +0
- Want to join us? +0
“Why not join me instead…? All you’d have to do is abandon the teammates you have now. How about it?”
- I’ll think about it. +0
- I’m not doing that. +0
- You’re my rival. +0
Followup
- Do I? +0
- I don’t know. +0
- We’re rivals, aren’t we? +2
Rank 8 – nothing
“Well, this place should do nicely…”
- What’d you want to discuss? +0
- Why are we in Mementos? +0
“Remember what I told you? If you ever won against me using my right hand, I’d take you on with everything I’ve got.”
- I thought you meant in pool. +0
- You want to fight? +0
- But why, though? +0
“Thus, I’ve built up this urge to duel you without holding anything back.”
- All right. +0
- Let’s do this. +0
“You’ve caught up to me on this front already, too…”
- Are you satisfied? +0
- Was that all you got? +0
- Do you want to keep going? +0
“In all honesty, it’s to the point that I’d be relying on you in a pinch.”
- I’d say the same for you. +0
- The feeling mutual. +0
“By the way, about that duel—if we had fought to the end, do you see yourself winning?”
- I definitely wouldn’t lose. +3
- I don’t know. +0
- Probably. +0
“… You’re the one person I refuse to lose to.”
- Same here. +0
- Really hate losing, don’t you. +3
“Should the opponent accept the glove, the duel is also accepted.”
- I accept. +0
- Let me think about it. +0
Rank 9 and Rank 10 – Endure, Protect, and Second Awakening R
Rank 9 and Rank 10 are automatically triggered after completing Shido’s Palace. You do not have to go through dialogues to unlock these ranks.
Best gifts to give to Akechi
The best gifts to give to Akechi in Persona 5 are:
| Gift | Price | Location | Boost |
| Luxury Aroma Set | 3800 | Body Chop | +3 |
| Omni Vitamin | 4500 | Rocinante | +3 |
| Electric Toothbrush | 29800 | Akindo | +3 |
| Robot Vacuum Cleaner | 44800 | Akindo | +3 |
| Wrist Weights | 6800 | Sports Shop | +2 |
| Sports Sunglasses | 12000 | Sports Shop | +2 |
| 48 Sided 3D Glasses | 3200 | Mran Mran | +2 |
| Fountain Pen | 8000 | Otaku Goods Store | +2 |
| Leather Pen Case | 12000 | Stationery Store | +2 |
