Persona 4 Revival producer Kazuhisa Wada has revealed that Yosuke will be subject to changes to make him a "bit more fitting for the world we live in now."
Speaking to Anime Corner, Wada explains that the team hasn't made many changes "about the story," how characters think, "or how they act or anything" in Persona 4 Revival, but that the changes are "mostly with Yosuke."
He adds that Yosuke is "a little bit insensitive in terms of how he treats outsiders sometimes. So we wanted to lighten that up and make it a little bit more fitting for the world we live in now."
Persona 5 may be the biggest game in the series, but Persona 4 is that guy. Almost 20 years down the line and the game everyone used to complain was being oversaturated during the wait for Persona 5 is coming back, with 18 years of discourse backing it up. Some story elements of Persona 4 are a bit controversial to this day, so many have been curious as to how the remake would handle some of these elements.
One of the elements of Persona 4 that is perhaps aged in the eyes of many is pretty much everything to do with Yosuke. As a character, Yosuke embodies the "bro" archetype and – as someone who was a teen when Persona 4 came out – was a pretty accurate portrayal of your average edgy teenage boy in the era.
Yosuke is a very insecure character deep down, but it manifests with him being a bit of an asshole to his friends, playing on their insecurities, and by-extension being homophobic, misogynist, and just a bit of a creep. Most infamously, he asks Kanji – who was having doubts about his own sexuality – if he and the protagonist are going to be "safe alone" with him.
We've already seen that the game has removed a fan-favorite line that shows how awkward Yosuke could be (as well as a change to the pageant scene). Some are also wondering if the seemingly cut romance option with Yosuke will be restored in the upcoming remake, with some feeling that his homophobia and creepy lines could be symptomatic of a closeted person projecting their own insecurities. However, given the word that the team hasn't made major changes to the story, I have my doubts this will be included.
