P5X Announces a Playable Grandma as New 4-Star Character — Oldest-Looking Waifu in Chinese Gacha History Has Players Asking 'Who Is This For?'

A gacha game actually adding a playable grandma to its character banner? That's exactly what P5X (Persona 5: The Phantom X) just did. The game teased a new 4-star character — a white-haired elderly woman who happens to be a stylish phantom thief. The original poster called her "the oldest-looking character I've ever seen in a Chinese gacha game," and the NGA forum erupted.

The comments section immediately fractured into factions. The first counter-argument came from Naruto Mobile players: "Doesn't Naruto Mobile already have Chiyo? She looks even older." But another commenter was quick to deliver the kill shot: "You could count Naruto as a gacha game — if you ignore that the community has already revoked its gacha game citizenship card (开除二游籍)." Apparently, whether Naruto Mobile qualifies as a "real" gacha game is a perpetual debate in Chinese gaming circles.

The skeptic camp was blunt: "Seriously, who is the target audience for this? I don't get it." This sentiment resonated with many, given that the core demographic for Chinese gacha games skews heavily toward young males — making a grandma character feel like an odd fit. However, others used P5X's star rating system to defuse the drama: "Phantom thieves go from 4-star minimum to 5-star max. This character is 4-star, and every 10-pull guarantees a 4-star. If she were 5-star, THEN it would be newsworthy." Translation: she's filler material, nothing to lose sleep over.

The fan camp wasn't small either. "She actually looks pretty sick, and since she's only 4-star it doesn't matter" and "Honestly pretty cool, grandma's outfit is trendy af" — these players were genuinely vibing with the design. One commenter added: "Actually fits the P-series aesthetic pretty well." For those unfamiliar, the Persona franchise has always embraced diverse and unconventional character designs, so a stylish elderly phantom thief isn't as out-of-left-field as it might seem.

But the comment section also harbored some juicier details. One player leaked that the game also features a storyline involving "a married woman who keeps treating a rich guy as her own son," and another quipped, "The neighborhood auntie wasn't enough for the protagonist, now he's fantasizing about grandmas in the park?" Looks like P5X is going places with its character writing that other gacha games wouldn't dare touch.

The discussion also branched into cross-game comparisons. Someone pointed out that the now-defunct Girls' Frontline: Dolls Frontline (重装战姬) had an elderly character too, complete with a screenshot for reference. Others were reminded of the controversy when Arknights (明日方舟) released a 6-star dog companion: "This reminds me of the 6-star dog from Arknights — did anyone else try to follow suit?" It seems unconventional character designs are always a lightning rod in the gacha community.

The phantom thief grandma hasn't gone live yet, so her actual story and combat performance remain to be seen. But one thing is clear: while other gacha games keep competing over whose waifu is more petite, fairer, and skinnier, P5X chose to zag. Whether you think she's "trendy af" or "who asked for this," at least this particular piece of watermelon gossip is sweet enough to chew on.