Teddie Husbando

Teddie, known as Kuma in the Japanese version, is a playable character and the former deuteragonist in Persona 4. Being a textbook mascot character: Teddie is usually bubbly and cute and is known to lighten the mood when investigating the case, much like Chie. Possibly due to being a Shadow unfamiliar with the human world, or perhaps due to being a cartoon bear, Teddie has a lot of childish naivety, innocence and is pure of heart. He doesn't know a lot of human customs, does not know what "scoring a hot stud" means or what a "manwhore" is. This results in him having a lack of social boundaries, such as when he flirts with Chie and Yukiko, although he fails every time. He's also given a lot of people nicknames for himself to remember. In the beginning of Persona 4 The Animation, he acts much like a coward when Shadows are near, but changes his ways as the story progresses. Regardless, later on Teddie begins to play dumb on purpose even if still oblivious to many things, all the while deeply caring about the protagonist and the Investigation Team deep inside, as pointed out by Yosuke Hanamura. Although the rest of the group work together to establish the importance of finding the truth and working together, Teddie gives an optimistic and lighthearted mood to the team. Because of his circumstances, early on during the story he fails spectacularly at being cheery as his personality is hollow and he refuses to acknowledge it. He would try to impress the members of the Investigation Team with bear puns, but not even the impressionable Yukiko Amagi was swayed. Even then, his words would very often get lost in translation and come across as incomprehensible and outright speaking nonsense, making him an annoyance for even the valiant Chie Satonaka. Because of this, he often puts himself into positions that only enforce him being socially ostracized. Behind his disposition at first he suppresses ultimately overwhelming existential dread surrounding his mysterious origins, identity, meaning and isolation, which eventually manifest in Shadow Teddie. Teddie's metaphorical mask sometimes slides off with bouts of sadness and confusion from thinking too much. His biggest insecurity is his own identity and potentially having no reason for existence. Throughout the story, similar to Rise Kujikawa, Teddie struggles to find out his own self and his place in both the TV world and the real world, as he has lost his own memories. As the story progresses, Teddie begins to develop a fear that he perhaps has no "true self" and that he has no memories to recover, but continues to search for them regardless. Being in denial of being a Shadow and having no self, Teddie at first has extreme misconceptions about the truth, emphasizing on undeniable facts to a severe extent. After slowly facing himself and his confusion surrounding not knowing who he is, Teddie becomes more curious of the real world and begins to be genuinely impressive with his personality even if slowly. Aside from growing a human body, he does develop a charisma and a witty way of speaking that reflects his personality, making him a kind of a prankster. Although having an effective innocence to the real world, Teddie is especially perverted, making various inappropriate remarks about the others and himself. Although treated like an annoyance by the Investigation Team, it's done on purpose as even then they consider him one of their own: with Yosuke explaining that the group's unifying point is that just like Teddie, none of them are anything special and at the same time are trying to find themselves. Additionally, they genuinely appreciate the positive vibe he gives to the group's team dynamics. He does become loved by locals too, as according to Rise Kujikawa during a December investigation, she took notice of how many people actually remember him after he's gone missing. Once Teddie remembers he's a Shadow and confesses to it to the team, the party considers him to be the same as humans, as he's developed an ego. In the end, Teddie becomes comfortable with his place in the group, and does not mind being ignored, and may even make himself the butt of the joke for the cheeriness of the others. He idolizes and respects the protagonist, to the point of calling him "Sensei." In the Japanese version, he has a verbal tic, adding "-kuma" after every sentence, while in the English version his speech is filled with dozens of bear puns, like saying "Bear-sona" while summoning his Persona. Even then, he does care much about his friends, but he's at first unaware of that side of him, such as when he lost control of himself to save his friends from Shadow Rise, manifesting an almighty power from within himself. He seems to care a lot about Nanako Dojima and calls her "Nana-Chan," even when she's in a near-death state after being kidnapped by Taro Namatame. After Nanako's death, Teddie's forced to confront his inability to help her in grief by realizing his optimism is a facade, causing him to finally remember he's a Shadow. After being told by the protagonist that Nanako's still alive thanks to his encouragement, he realized the true importance of the truth: even if he's a Shadow, there's still hope to change things and support others: additionally, even if he's an unknown being, the way he can change is unknown. After defeating Izanami and restoring the TV World to its former state, he vows to protect the TV world while living with the Investigation Team in the real world. In Persona 4 Golden, Teddie's selfish side is emphasized on, having a playful side, sometimes at the expense of annoying or angering others, even at his own personal expense. Regardless, when the protagonist spends time with Teddie at Okina Beach, Teddie, wanting to become independent, musters the courage to tell the protagonist about it, worried that he would abandon him if he heard: Teddie comes to terms with his sorrow of the protagonist leaving before awakening to Kamui-Moshiri. Also, Teddie shows sympathy towards Marie after learning her true identity, since they both have a similar problem.