Overview

• The Subway Slammer debuted as Persona 5: The Phantom X’s first villain in its June 26 global release, revealed as disgraced ex-baseball player Takeyuki Kiuchi.
• His deliberate shoulder-barging attacks mirror Japan’s bumping-man (butsukari otoko) phenomenon, where men target women on crowded train platforms.
• A 2018 Shinjuku Station video that went viral and a 2024 Tokyo Weekender survey — which found 14% of respondents had been attacked — underscore the character’s real-world roots.
• Despite heightened patrols by Japanese train operators at major stations, bumping incidents persist in crowded commutes.
• Gaming and meme communities have cast the Subway Slammer as an absurdly overpowered figure, joking that he could 'solo' heroes from across pop culture.