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KanNao is the het ship between Kanji Tatsumi and Naoto Shirogane from the Persona fandom.
Canon[]
Persona 4[]
The very first time Kanji and Naoto appear in person, they are talking to each other. Naoto approaches Kanji and asks to speak with him as part of her investigation into the serial murder case in Inaba. She states that she wished to see him again and invites him to go for a walk, which Kanji misinterprets as asking him out. Since everyone was under the impression that Naoto was a guy, Kanji is initially conflicted about his feelings for her at the time. He sheepishly agrees to go on a walk, only to be tailed by Chie and Yosuke due to his appearance on the Midnight Channel. When he discovers them, he becomes defensively aggressive once Chie accidentally insinuates that he might be gay.
The two interact a few times between their respective additions to the Investigation Team, the most notable being the school trip to Tatsumi Port Island. On the second evening of the trip, the IT runs into Naoto at Club Escapade. Before Naoto agrees to join them for the evening, Kanji spends the entire conversation hunched over behind the others to avoid awkward eye-contact.
Out of the entire Investigation Team, Kanji is clearly the most concerned about Naoto being kidnapped. When she initially shows up on the Midnight Channel, Kanji is the first to call the protagonist in reaction, in spite of the role typically going to Yosuke. He shows clear frustration toward her actions once the group realizes she made herself a target on purpose, making no effort to keep secret how upset he is at her recklessness. He frequently calls her an idiot and rhetorically asks why she would do such a thing until she is rescued.
Kanji holds an exhausted Naoto
When Naoto is about to reject her Shadow, Kanji stops the Investigation Team before they can keep her from doing so. He explains that she'll keep hurting if she doesn't face it, prioritizing her mental well-being over avoiding a boss fight. In the anime, the scene is elaborated by having Kanji rush from the group and bust down the door to where Naoto is being held with his Persona. After Naoto's rescue, Kanji scolds her for being so reckless and blushes at Rise's insinuations of how worried he was about her.
When Yosuke signs the girls up for the Miss Yasogami Beauty Pageant, Kanji pushes Naoto to enter so he can "clear up a few things," begging she do it to "make him a man." During the pageant, when Naoto refuses to come onstage for the swimsuit portion, Kanji proudly backs her for trying her best (in addition to getting a bloody nose). The beauty pageant is also the first time the other characters see Naoto without her signature hat on. When she steps out on stage, Kanji is verbally stunned at how she looks without her hat.
During the awkward group date café, Kanji sheepishly admits that he likes mysterious girls who come across as strong, but are nice deep down. Yosuke quickly points out that sounds exactly like Naoto.
If the player has obtained Naoto's female school uniform as an alternate costume, Kanji will comment on it when the player chooses to talk to Naoto, if both are in the party. Naoto will say she's still getting used to the uniform, and asks if it looks strange on her. Kanji will sheepishly say, "No, you don't look strange! Actually, you look really cu-cu-cu..." and he doesn't finish the sentence. Naoto will reply, "Don't force yourself, Kanji-kun. A tough guy like you pretending to get weak in the knees over me is beyond the pale." Showcasing that Naoto assumes Kanji getting flustered over her is just him pretending. Kanji also has a unique reaction to Naoto wearing the maid costume. He will get flustered and tell Naoto not to come too close to him while she's wearing that, causing Naoto to react with silent confusion.
Persona 4 Golden[]
Since Golden follows the same story as the original P4, Kanji and Naoto's interactions throughout the main plot are the same, aside from several events added to the extended game.
Naoto falls on Kanji during ski lessons
One particular event added to the game is the IT's trip to a nearby ski lodge in February. During the trip, Kanji attempts to teach Naoto how to ski, upon learning she does not know how. During the lesson, Naoto accidentally lands on top of Kanji, to which they both get flustered. Naoto sheepishly apologizes, while Kanji faints with a nosebleed.
Later in the trip, the group argues over who gets to spend more time with Narukami, as his year in town is ending soon. Rise points out that Kanji clearly wants to hang out with Naoto, which easily gets a flustered rise out of him.
In terms of game mechanics, all playable characters except Yu and Rise are able to perform a Fusion Spell when in the party with a specific member they are extremely close to. One of the three Fusion Spells is performed by Kanji and Naoto, called "Beauty and the Beast."
Persona 4 Arena[]
Kanji realizes he wasn't dreaming
In Kanji's story mode in Persona 4 Arena, he accidentally falls into the TV World and is initially under the impression that he is dreaming the whole thing. By choosing a certain response, the player can follow an alternate series of events in which he only learns he is awake at the end. When Kanji is pitted against Naoto he admits to being surprised to see her in the tournament at first, but brushes it off because quote, "Oh right, it's a dream, of course you're here!" To which Naoto asks what he means. Kanji replies, "I just felt like I wanted to see you. It just popped into my head!" His inner thoughts then add, "But man, why did I start thinking about Naoto?" This makes him recall a previous conversation with Yosuke, where Yosuke asked him, "Have you ever been attracted to a girl?" Making Kanji remember that the reason he thought of Naoto was as a response to that question. When Naoto asks him again for an explanation, Kanji gets flustered and nervously tries to change the subject. Kanji's vision of Naoto also shows no hostility or intent to fight him. It's only after General Teddie appears on the monitor telling Kanji that he is acting pathetic around her with all his "foot-shuffling and tongue-tying" that Kanji gets any motivation to fight her for the tournament. (Which doesn't happen in Naoto's version of the fight.)
Meanwhile, if the player is following Naoto's story, Naoto is capable of seeing through the illusions that are making the characters fight each other, and she can tell that something is off about Kanji; because her vision sees him acting abnormally calm and casual around her. To the point where he refers to her as "Nao-Doll," which he's never done before. Her inner thoughts also show that she was most uncomfortable with having to fight him specifically, and shows deep concern for his injuries after the fight. But Kanji brushes off his wounds to make her feel better about being forced to hurt him.
After he is pitted against Naoto and defeats her, he states that he doesn't want her to use honorifics with his name, a gesture which signifies near-familial closeness. At the route's ending, Naoto sheepishly agrees to his request, to which Kanji panics at the realization that he made the request to her in reality.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night[]
In the Persona Dancing spin-off rhythm games, each song has four optional dance partners to perform alongside the main dancer during the Fever Time segments. Kanji and Naoto are an extremely rare, if not the only instance of two characters being available as Fever Time partners in all of each other's dances. Kanji also has special dialogue for his Fever Time segments with Naoto. After Fever Time concludes, he may get flustered and say "It's not like I think you're cute, or nothin'", or in an uncharacteristically soft voice may ask, "Dance with me again, okay?" He will also sometimes shyly tell Naoto that she looks good while dancing. During Fever Time segments, if Naoto is the main dancer and Kanji is the support, Naoto has special dialogue where she will playfully tease Kanji for blushing.
In addition, one of Nanako's responses to Kanji and Naoto dancing together is that she heard their interactions are what's called being "lovey-dovey." Rise also has a response insinuating that the two are a cute couple.
Fanon[]
KanNao is a beloved ship in the Persona fandom, thanks in part to Kanji's canonical feelings for Naoto. While the series typically leaves characters' romantic interests ambiguous to allow the protagonist to date whoever they choose, Naoto's behavior toward Kanji in his alternate Arena ending heavily implies that she has some distinct level of interest in him. The necklace Naoto wears after the post-game time skip in Golden is commonly mistaken for Kanji's bullet necklace, which he no longer wears in his updated appearance.
Oftentimes, KanNao is portrayed as beginning with the help of a misunderstanding or their friends getting sick of waiting and setting them up themselves, due to the awkward and somewhat oblivious nature of the two. Due to hints at Kanji's sexuality, as well as Naoto presenting as male at the beginning of the game, KanNao is sometimes shipped as a slash ship with Naoto being portrayed as a trans man. This flexibility of her character allows for this ship to be popular with fans who think that Kanji is gay, as well as fans that view him as bisexual or simply a straight man with more feminine hobbies.
KanNao is the second most popular ship in the Persona 4 fandom on AO3, with over 600 works. It is the most popular het ship, and the most popular ship for both Kanji and Naoto.
Fandom[]
FAN FICTION
- Naoto/Kanji tag on AO3
- Kanji/Naoto on FanFiction.Net
