I don't understand Adachi at all man. When I first completed P4G, I had the impression that Adachi was just a sociopath who stumbled on a dangerous power. And that while he was a sociopath, the chain of events he started culminated in something larger than he ever intended. However, he was determined to own it for his own amusement and because he couldn't stand not being in control after spending so much time as a insignificant nobody in the middle of nowhere. However, the more I think about it the more confused I get. I figure there's a certain amount of plot holes here, but I'm hoping someone on PersonaGAF can shed more light or introspection on Adachi than I can manage.
The first thing on my mind recently is Adachi's relationship with the Dojimas. I have NEVER gotten the impression that he resented Dojima beyond what a subordinate would feel towards a boss at times, and that contrarily, he actually held some level appreciation for him as a mentor and friend. I've always had the impression that he valued/appreciated Nanako despite his sociopathic tendencies, as we never see or hear his honest reaction to the news of Nanako's plight and it's one thing he IIRC never needled Yu over during the game's finale. Am I baseless here? Wishfully re-imagining Adachi's character? Yeah it's not canon, but after having seen Adachi's portrayal in the Golden anime adaptation, I'm convinced he's less a sociopath(albeit still having tendencies towards it) and more a heavily depressed individual that's learnt to mask it. I'm convinced Adachi's been clinically depressed for years before the story took place. I don't think he didn't realize the efforts the Dojimas put into treating him like a family friend. I don't think he spat on their kindness either. What's currently bouncing around in my head is that as depressed and screwed up as he was for having masked his clinical depression for so long, he simply couldn't appreciate it. He was fucked up enough to look past their plights and project fault onto others, but not so far gone as to deliberately hurt them either. What landed both of them in the hospital after all, was something he set in motion but (IMO) not something he ever intended.
Next is Adachi's relationship with Yu. Going by the Golden animation(yeah, not necessarily canon, but it's probably the most detailed casting of Adachi we have for what he was thinking day to day), Yu's arrival was pretty much the death knell in Adachi rehabilitating himself past his mental issues with the Dojimas. Clearly Adachi was baseless in abandoning all hope in others as Yu matched the other Dojimas in treating Adachi as a family friend, but it's difficult to explain Adachi's mentality at all. I don't think he really intended to (actively) harm Yu himself, at least not until the very end. Even then I got the feeling he didn't really want to go through with it, as he pulled a pistol on him yet continued to monologue at him. Megalomaniacal bad guy trope? Yeah. But I felt it added to my idea of Adachi not being so committed to his evil dude routine.
Finally, the murders themselves. There's not much to cover, really. Adachi spontaneously decided to assault people, and it ended up turning to murder when he realized how easily he could get away with it through the use of the TV world. That's the part I'm least concerned about as I found it the most straightforward. Twisted individual + zero consequence = depraved behavior.
Anyways, those are my thoughts on Adachi. Anyone willing to share their thoughts, I welcome you. I still can't really figure him out beyond a pet theory and some blatantly stated facts. Adachi's the kind of person who I figure is lying to you at all times, even during his evil villain monologue. I'm curious what you all think.
