| Futaba Sakura | |
|---|---|
| Persona character | |
 Futaba Sakura, as she appears in Persona 5 | |
| First appearance | Persona 5 (2016) |
| Designed by | Shigenori Soejima |
| Voiced by | EN: Erica Lindbeck JA: Aoi Yūki |
| Motion capture | Ayumi Miyazaki |
| Portrayed by | Mei Fukuda (stage play) |
| In-universe information | |
| Affiliation | Phantom Thieves of Hearts |
| Nationality | Japanese |
Futaba Sakura (佐倉 双葉, Sakura Futaba) is a fictional character in the 2016 video game Persona 5 as one of its main characters. She starts the game as a shut-in who does not go to school, leave her house, or have any friends, due to the grief and self-loathing she experienced over her mother, Wakaba Isshiki, seemingly taking her life and blaming Futaba for it. She is adopted by Sojiro Sakura. She is first anonymous, seeking to utilize the protagonist and his group, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, to cure her of her issues, which included suicidal ideation, which is accomplished somewhat by discovering that her mother did not commit suicide. She eventually joins the Phantom Thieves, and is one of multiple female characters the player-character Joker can date. While the others are directly playable, she serves as a navigator who assists them in combat.
Futaba has appeared in multiple sequels and spin-offs of Persona 5, including Persona 5 Strikers, as well as various cross-series promotional works. She has also appeared in non-video game adaptations of Persona 5, including through anime, manga, live performance, musical, and others. She was originally designed with black hair and a goth aesthetic, and is voiced by Erica Lindbeck in English. Lindbeck was told to come up with her own voice profile to avoid sounding too much like the Japanese voice actress, leading to her portraying her as an "outlandish" character, grounded by portraying her as if she was on the autism spectrum. Since her original appearance, she has been generally well received, receiving multiple pieces of merchandise. She was the fourth highest-rated character in a PlayStation poll, and was regarded as a role model by multiple critics due to her depression and the path she took to overcome it.