Persona 4 Golden: How To Defeat Shadow Kanji

Quick Links

  • Shadow Kanji's Stats And Attacks
  • Shadow Kanji Battle Strategy
  • Nice Guy And Tough Guy Battle Strategy
  • How To Deal With Rage And Poison

At last, you’ve reached the final floor of the Steamy Bathhouse in Persona 4 Golden and are ready to take on the fight against Shadow Kanji. You’ve listened to him waffle on his sense of self due to his more traditionally-feminine hobbies, and now, it’s time to help Kanji accept who he really is.

But this won’t happen without a pretty tough fight, though – not only is Shadow Kanji strong on its own, but the reinforcement it calls in will scramble your battle tactics right at the end of the fight. For help defeating Kanji’s Shadow in P4G, read on ahead.

While we're focused on helping you win the fight, this guide may contain spoilers for the story of Persona 4 Golden.

Shadow Kanji's Stats And Attacks

Before heading up to begin the fight against Kanji’s Shadow, be sure your team is in good health. Teddie, as always, warns you when something powerful is lurking on the current floor, so heed his warning, heal up, and head on inside to help Kanji face himself.

We recommend being around Lv. 25 for this fight. In Persona 4 Golden, Shadow Kanji is Lv. 24, and the cronies he’ll summon to join him are roughly the same.

Attempt the fight at a lower level, and you’ll likely struggle to keep the team in good health against Kanji's onslaught, so be sure to train before the fight.

To help you prepare, we’ve got an affinities and weaknesses table for Kanji’s Shadow below.

Persona Affinity Table Key

Label

Explanation

Str

This shadow is strong against this element, and attacks of this element deal less damage.

Wk

This shadow is weak against this element, and attacks of this element deal more damage.

Rep

This shadow will repel attacks of this element, reversing the damage onto you.

Nul

This shadow will nullify attacks of this element, and as such, they deal no damage.

Drn

This shadow will gain health from attacks of this element, so attacks of this heal the shadow.

Attacks of this element deal normal damage to the shadow.

Shadow Kanji Affinity Chart

Affinities and Weaknesses

Phys.

Fire

Ice

Elec.

Wind

Light

Dark

Almi.

Drn

Nul

Nul

Skills and Attacks

Assault Drive

Light physical damage to one foe

Swift Strike

Light physical damage to all foes once or twice

Zio

Light electric damage to one foe

Mazio

Light electric damage to all foes

Fanatical Spark

Medium electric damage to all foes

Red Wall

Gives fire resistance to one ally for three turns

White Wall

Gives ice resistance to one ally for three turns

Spirit Drain

Drains 30 SP from one foe

Power Charge

The next attack dealing physical damage will hit 250 percent harder than normal

Revolution

Greatly increases the chance of all allies landing a critical hit for three turns

Forbidden Murmur

Inflicts poison to all male foes

Roar of Wrath

Inflicts rage to all female foes

Not only does Shadow Kanji have an arsenal of moves, but part of the challenge of the Shadow Kanji fight in P4G comes from the fact that it’s against not one but three powerful shadows.

To begin the fight, Kanji’s Shadow summons two goons – Nice Guy and Tough Guy. For the most part, Tough Guy will be attacking your party, while Nice Guy focuses on healing Shadow Kanji and boosting the opposing team’s attacks.

Below are full affinity tables for Nice Guy and Tough Guy as well.

Nice Guy's Moves And Weaknesses

Affinities and Weaknesses

Phys.

Fire

Ice

Elec.

Wind

Light

Dark

Almi.

Nul

Wk

Str

Nul

Nul

Skills and Attacks

Tarukaja

Boosts the attack of one ally for three turns

Rakukaja

Boosts the defense of one ally for three turns

Heat Riser

Boosts the attack, defense, hit, and evasion of one ally for three turns

Re Patra

Heals one ally when knocked down or dizzy

Red Wall

Gives fire resistance to one ally for three turns

Tough Guy's Moves And Weaknesses

Affinities and Weaknesses

Phys.

Fire

Ice

Elec.

Wind

Light

Dark

Almi.

Wk

Nul

Str

Nul

Nul

Skills and Attacks

Sonic Punch

Light physical damage to one foe

Rampage

Light physical damage to all foes once or twice

Shadow Kanji Battle Strategy

With Nice Guy so insistent on healing Shadow Kanji, you’ll definitely want to take out Nice Guy first. You won’t make much progress chipping away at Shadow Kanji’s health with Nice Guy consistently healing him, so do away with Kanji’s support early in the fight for an easier time.

While it’s certainly helpful, you don’t have to defeat Kanji’s goons to end the battle. As soon as Shadow Kanji is out of HP, the fight is over.

You do gain extra EXP for defeating the other shadows, though, so plan accordingly and go for it if you can!

While Nice Guy and Tough Guy are both wild cards with their attacks, Kanji’s Shadow attacks in a pattern. He’ll use Power Charge first and then reliably follow it up by using Swift Strike.

There are a few ways you can handle Swift Strike. By default, you’ll want to have the party guard, as the boosted Swift Strike will deal an increased amount of damage if it lands.

If you’re able to use it, Tetrakarn reflects one physical attack back at your attacker, making it arguably your best support skill for this fight. Not only does it keep the party safe, but it also deals the same damage back to Shadow Kanji.

In Persona 4 Golden, Tetrakarn only covers one ally, so choose wisely when you cast it!

Nice Guy And Tough Guy Battle Strategy

Your best bet for dealing with Nice Guy and Tough Guy is to use magic against them. Aim your ice magic at Nice Guy, and focus fire magic on Tough Guy for increased elemental damage.

Nice Guy and Kanji can both cast Color Wall skills, which provide cover from the element correlating to that color.

Nice Guy can only use Red Wall, but this provides fire resistance to Tough Guy. Exploit this weakness before the wall goes up!

Shadow Kanji, though, can use both Red Wall and White Wall, providing both fire and ice resistance to his teammates, who happen to have innate weaknesses to said elements.

The only good news about Kanji’s Shadow using these moves is that it’s not an offensive move made against your team.

If someone is covered by a Color Wall skill, focus on another enemy until the effect is removed unless you have something else that's super-effective.

How To Deal With Rage And Poison

After Kanji pauses the battle for a bit of a speech about how he just wants to be accepted, you’ll notice he begins using his more targeted attacks.

At this stage in the battle, you’ll likely end up with teammates that have status ailments. Shadow Kanji can use Forbidden Murmur to poison the males in the team, while Roar of Wrath will enrage your female teammates.

Because of where you are in the game at the time of the fight, your team will be evenly split between male and female party members. As such, it’s wise to have items or spells at the ready to deal with these ailments.

Rage sees your party members refuse to take orders, always defaulting to melee attacks. In addition, their offense is doubled, but their defense and accuracy are halved for the duration of the affliction.

Meanwhile, poison will cause the afflicted party members to lose a bit of HP after their turn, while at the same time halving the damage they deal during the affliction.

Because of this, it’s best to come prepared with items and spells that can counter rage and poison. You’ll find solutions to these ailments in the table below.

Skills And Items That Heal Rage And Poison

Rage

Poison

Item

  • Sedative
  • Me Patra Gem
  • Dokudami Tea
  • Amrita Soda
  • Patra Gem

Skill

  • Me Patra
  • Patra

The fight is tough enough as it is without your team actively working against you, so be sure to cure these ailments as soon as possible.

As long as everyone is in good shape, continue the pattern of attacking Shadow Kanji and dealing with his goons until you’ve dispatched the central enemy in the fight to finish the dungeon once and for all!

If you’re trying to defeat Nice Guy and Tough Guy for the extra EXP, be aware that the fight is over when Shadow Kanji goes down.

If you’re aiming to defeat his goons, too, do so before defeating Shadow Kanji himself.

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