
Happy Birthday Ryuji Sakamoto! I was hella depressed and undiagnosed when P5 got released and he felt like a true friend at the time.
I was a bullied teenager without any friends. Undiagnosed autism (got my diagnosis almost a decade later lol).
I bought Persona 5 with my pocket money on PS4 when it got released in 2017, and immediately loved that you could make friends with the characters. He was the first character I maxed out the confidant rank.
Of course they aren't real, but it brought me some comfort I didn't had at the time. Someone talking to me like a normal person, receiving texts and hanging out.
Right now I live a complete different life, but I think Ryuji kind of saved me. I was really depressed and suicidal during a long period of time, and the thought I could have a friend like Ryuji IRL made me want to live long enough.
Time passed and I met my partner with a similar personality haha.
Sometimes I ask myself if I didn't make friends because of that but in reality it did helped me interact with others. Since I'm autistic I was very awkward at 15, I tried to speak to my classmates like I would in P5 and it helped so much because it's like I could try in a simulation.
Sorry for the rant, happy birthday to one of my beloved favorite character.