A reliable and serious character whose cold exterior masks his weaker, gentler self, Shinjiro's difficult past weighs him down, causing him to constantly push others away with a tough-guy act. Ever since accidentally causing the death of Ken's mother, he has given up being a member of S.E.E.S to live a normal life, even though there are only so many Persona-users and so S.E.E.S. needs all the help they can get, something even Yukari, who has no love for S.E.E.S. or the Dark Hour, has the sense to realize. As he points out to Akihiko, both of them are held back by the guilt of their pasts; they just have completely different ways of dealing with it.

Various parts of Shinjiro's personality are revealed in the different versions of Persona 3, and he is (like most other male characters) difficult to know when playing the male protagonist's route. In FES / Portable, the dorm recordings show an event regarding Shinjiro's "other side." He is revealed to love dogs, in particular Koromaru, who he spoils; in the same scene, he is shown to be an avid cook that enjoys learning from cooking shows.

In Persona 3 Portable, via the female protagonist's Moon Social Link, the player is able to see the most of Shinjiro. Progressively, he is revealed to be a kind and caring person, always worrying after the other members of SEES. He takes great pleasure in being able to help his friends (though he might not admit he even enjoys their company), and he doesn't want to see them make the same mistakes he might have made in the past.

In Persona Q, despite his normally calm and quiet demeanor, it is shown that he easily loses his cool whenever he's with his childhood friend, Akihiko. They often get into fights, usually resulting to childish banters. He is also often dragged into his friend's antics, mostly involving competing over just about anything. During those times, his competitive nature surfaces. He never really admits it, but Shinjiro also apparently hates losing.

No I do not have a preference