Great character design is important for any animated show.  Character design gives subtle context clues on how a character will be portray in either his or her role and personality throughout the series.   Small details can draw a viewer to a character, possibility relating to said character on a deeper level.

On a Shin Megami Tensei/Persona group I’m a member of, there was a “Who’s your Persona 5 Waifu?” topic (I’m trash I know).

I chose Tae and Chihaya based on the information their character design gave me, despite not yet playing Persona 5. I love Tae’s darker, edgier alternate style while I enjoy Chihaya’s more laid back, mellow, and carefree design.

Plus their subcultures that the two portrayed (Tae’s alternate style and Chihaya’s hippie style) are consider “weird” and “strange” by modern standards and I’m a man who is attractive by the weird. There’s that to factor in.

Let’s take Tae’s design (plus I don’t have much time to analyze Chihaya before work):

The immediate visual clue we see in her design is her lab coat and clip board in her left hand.  This gives a hint to the viewer that there is a great chance that she is involved with the medical or science field.
If we were to analyze her details further, we can see that she sports a stubbed chocker,  dark eyeliner, a necklace with a metal capsule attached, a kinda low-top dress (dunno what they’re call I ain’t a fashion guru) that is high above her knees, a red belt with metal open circles, and platform sandals with exposing straps.  Her hair is unkempt and short, colored with a combination of dark blue and black with jagged edges and blunt bangs.

From this, we can assume that Tae is into the alternate scene. The dark hair, eyeliner, and choker can support my claims.  We can also guess that  she may have a sharp, blunt, and aggressive personality.   All details that  lured me into her character design.    She is also liberal in her fashion despite working in a professional field such as the medical industry.

To think I could figure this woman out from just analyzing her character art and I haven’t Persona 5 yet. I’m proud of myself!

…if I am wrong please correct me about this theory and analyze on Tae.

Character design is important and done right can easily lure a viewer to a character that fits their niche(s). Small visual details and clues can tell much more about a character than words and prior information could provide.
REFERENCE:

Super Eyepatch Wolf – What Makes a Great Character Design

Pretty much influenced me to write this post.