World of Figures: The Twin Wardens

Collecting anime figures is still a very new and enjoyable hobby for me. It started off small with pop figures, but eventually I started to crave something with a little more detail. I figured that since I had a well-paying job and didn't have a lot of major responsibilities like the traditional adults, I might as well splurge a little.

Meet Justine & Caroline, the twin wardens of the popular game Persona 5. The twins are quite tenacious, unnaturally strong beings within the game, and they help you with your rehabilitation. I always felt drawn to them, and maxing out their social link within the game was one of my favorite experiences.

Buying detailed figures of them was a no brainer for me, especially since their presence—despite their rather intense personalities in the game—kept me calm and sane during the times I felt anxious about my life. I don't have a lot of friends like most people, but I enjoy the feeling I get when I have my figures. I bought a display case for my room just so that I could see their faces every day when I woke up.

The Caroline and Justine figures are very well detailed, even if they are just Sega prize figures. From the detailed stitching of the golden V on their eyepatches down to their shoes, everything each of the figures have are exactly like in the game. I’ve always loved the characters for their individuality, and it shows through the figures.

To me, it feels like I'm going through the stages of rehabilitation with them all over again just by seeing their faces. Throughout the game, their cold attitudes changed to something softer and kind, they believed in me because I'd put in the effort to show them I planned to change the corrupted world the protagonist of the game lived in.

Caroline is the one with the double buns and the electric shock baton stick, and her hat has the letters XRMN, while Justine is the one with the single neat braid and notepad, and has the letters OOYO on her hat. When rearranged, the letters make the word "oxymoron." What I love about the Caroline and Justine figures is that I can feel their personalities emanating from the figures.

Caroline has always been the cold, mean-spirited type of girl, even when she gives a compliment. Her baton stick is not only a means to intimidate the protagonist, but also a way to protect her heart, in my opinion. The same can be said for Justine’s notepad; she scribbles everything down and is very calculative for someone so soft spoken and calm. Her golden gaze is sharp, and she never misses anything, an example being that she always seems to notice when Caroline’s heart is thawing the more the protagonist manages to display his strength.

I like the way they play off each other, I like the way they cheer the protagonist on throughout the game. Yes, most of the time, they treat him like a pet and inmate that’s up to no good, but eventually down the line, they come to care for him. The bonds within the game are the core of the game, and to me, the figures are the core to my own sanity and way to survive a rotten world. It also made me think multiple times: Do I really know who I am?

In this world, we all have multiple sides to ourselves, personas that we wear in order to survive the world we live in. As a regular day-to-day citizen, I constantly struggle with finding my place whenever I go about my day. The figures are a memory of a good time, before I lost my job and my sense of value to society. I haven’t given up on trying to start over, and seeing Caroline and Justine gives me the confidence to keep trying, even if everything currently seems hopeless.