Yoko Hiromine is the new character who dramatically changes the story of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance if you choose the Canon of Vengeance path. Her philosophy is questionable, though, and players keep poking fun at it.
Yoko plays a thematic counterpoint to Tao; she prefers chaos over order because she sees order as maintaining a status quo in which many people suffer. The philosophical struggle between chaos and order defines the Shin Megami Tensei series, and many SMT games present solid arguments for and against both sides. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, but the way Yoko approaches speaking her mind has made her the center of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance memes.
Early on in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, Yoko responds to Amanozako’s curiosity about cars by detailing that they should never have existed because millions of people died in them. Some players agree with her, saying “She’s right. A bit extreme, but she’s right,” while another commenter sarcastically calls her the “Least unhinged chaos rep.”
Her “anti-car” monologue immediately draws comparisons to Takaya in Persona 3 Reload, who has a similar moment where he asks the protagonist why he fights Shadows when 5,000 people die in car wrecks every year in Japan. One commenter says, “Persona has Takaya, SMT has Yoko. Metaphor: ReFantazio needs a car-hating character, and the trilogy will be complete.”
There are other parts of the game when Yoko’s response to everyday issues feels a bit extreme, like her opinion that everyone in the protagonist’s school who bullies others should be executed. If nothing else, she embodies her role as the “Chaos rep” in a way that really lives up to the name.
