Takaya is the confident and charismatic young leader of Strega who was once experimented on by the Kirijo Group. He functions as the protagonist's foil, leading the rival group of Persona users and setting himself up as a false messiah. In battle, Takaya uses a five-shot revolver to strike down his opponents. Aside from Elizabeth and Fuuka, he is the only Persona user in the game who does not use an Evoker to manifest his Persona, instead summoning it "manually" by clutching his head and falling to his knees.