*This page is a portrayal of not jut Sae Niijima, but also other varients canon and non. Please make it clear which one you would like me to portray.
~.*Standard - Sae Niijima, The Prosecuter*.~
Sae is intelligent, professional and serious, although her actual maturity is debatable. A workaholic, Sae is very strict in both her work as prosecutor and guardian for her younger sister, Makoto, constantly telling her to focus on her studies and such. With many responsibilities, Sae is always working due to Japan's work pressure, and is very stressed and exhausted. She must care for Makoto, almost putting her in a single mother's role. Her father dying in the line of duty and forcing her to raise Makoto acts as her very sore spot. She resents Makoto, as the Niijima sisters’ father throwing his life away in the name of justice forced her to raise her sister alone. The resentment is so horrible that when Makoto asks for her opinion on whether she would think the Phantom Thieves of Hearts were just, Sae snaps and says several cruel things that she instantly regrets, up to and including that she views Makoto as a burden, which hurts Makoto.
Because of her father's death, Sae views the concept of justice as meaningless. This has made her hyper-competitive and obsessed with getting ahead, to the point of telling Makoto that success is all that matters in life. This is to her detriment, as it results in many unjust prosecutions that she blatantly rigs in order to maintain the court's reputation, even if the people indicted by her are innocent.
- Sae has a habit, especially when a flash-forward occurs during a Confidant meeting, of using some variant of "Explain yourself!", "Answer me!", "Isn't that right?", "Spill it!" or "What do you have to say to that?"
- Sae enjoys motorcycling and kickboxing
- Otherwise, during the epilogue, Sae Niijima later speculates on the real form of her Treasure, calling it the "justice" she uses to protect those important to her.
- The prominent yellow roses in Shadow Sae's design and her tattoo of a dog head both represent her envy: yellow roses symbolize jealousy in Japanese flower language, and envy is often associated with dogs.
- The dog tattoo may also symbolize guardianship, ritual, loyalty and spirit. Wolves make quick and firm emotional attachments, and often need to trust their own instincts. This ties in with her undying loyalty to the Phantom Thieves.
~.*Queen of Envy - Shadow Sae, The Leviathan*.~
During the latter half of the protagonist's interrogation, Sae Niijima herself is revealed to be the Phantom Thieves' sixth major target. Leviathan, the demon of Envy, is Sae Niijima's Shadow, and she is in control of the casino Palace infiltrated at the start of the game. The casino Palace is imposed on a Tokyo municipal courthouse, with the police station not far away. The palace and Leviathan are manifestations of both the extreme pressure put on her from her job and her feelings of inadequacy in comparison to her co-workers and younger sister.
Sae, before her change of heart, represented envy. After her father's death, Sae became very envious of society in general and all the higher ups as her father's work meant nothing upon his death. She became obsessed with justice to the point where she was blinded by it. She also became very obsessed with getting a promotion, doing all she can to get it.
Sae's Palace is the courthouse, which took the form of the Casino of Envy in the Metaverse. This represents how Sae sees court as a game of luck that she must win, even if it means cheating. Sae's treasure is never revealed, however it is assumed to be her father's research notes according to Makoto.
- Sae's Shadow is the only shadow self (besides Shadow Futaba) to be referred to by the person's first name as the game calls her "Shadow Sae."
- Sae is the first major target (excluding Futaba who does not have a villainous role and neither does her Shadow) that is portrayed in a truly sympathetic tone, being motivated by insecurity instead of selfishness. This is later followed by Takuto Maruki in Persona 5 The Royal exclusively.
- Sae's Treasure is the only one that is never explicitly shown, either in the Palace or out of it. Prior to its materialization, however, Makoto theorizes that Sae's real world Treasure is their father's notebook on investigations he's done, as his death in the line of duty is the major catalyst of her cynicism.
~.*ACAU - Sae Niijima, The Phantom Ace*.~
Sae is an aspiring prosecutor in college who, much like her peers, is a workaholic. She might also suffer from a bit of loneliness since her sister, Makoto, is always busy as Chief Police Commissioner.
As a Phantom Thief, her codename is Ace, and her persona is a vehicle-based Persona similar to Johanna named Jeanne D'Arc. Her weapons of choice are tonfas and a Desert Eagle. Her elemental skills consist of Bless/Zio, and her theif costume gives off a Featherman vibe.
- She enjoys her coffee black.
- Her favorite show is Featherman (Even if she'd never admit it to anyone)
- She has a fondness for lolipops.
- Her drive for justice even strongly reflected in her Phantom Thief outfit, from her outfit all the way down to her persona.
- She spends a lot of her free time in Futaba's coffee shop, and that's how she met Sojiro despite being a college student.
- She's closest to Tae, due to them sharing a similar struggle of loneliness, as well as the struggle of being overworked.
