Soejima is the artist behind Persona 5 Strikers and the wider series it belongs to. His work extends beyond character design into the graphic language of the interface itself, where menus, transitions and typography use the same aggressive shapes and colour blocks as the characters, so the whole production reads as one design.
He joined a Japanese studio as a young artist and took over character design for its best known series from an established predecessor, developing a distinct style from that foundation. Fashion illustration and graphic design inform his approach at least as much as animation does, and his characters are built around silhouette and clothing rather than around facial detail.
Recurring subjects: identity expressed through clothing, characters designed to be readable in a single colour, and a graphic sensibility drawn from print rather than from animation. His palettes are limited and aggressive, and his illustration work uses texture and brushwork that survive being reproduced at very small sizes.
The visual identity he established for the series is studied as an example of interface design carrying tone, and it has been widely imitated across the medium. His character designs have generated an enormous body of merchandise, animation and fan work, and they are a substantial part of the series' international appeal.
For players who notice how a menu is designed. Suited to anyone who played the role playing series, and to those interested in graphic design applied to interactive media.
