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Male News Anchor: ...and as a bit of a retrospective, today marks the 5th anniversary of the first known incident involving the infamous Phantom Thieves of Hearts, the anonymous group that claimed to change the hearts of evildoers and force them to confess their crimes.
Female News Anchor: The Phantom Thieves famously targeted Prime Minister Elect Masayoshi Shido, who confessed to being behind a series of mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown incidents, as well as the death of President Kunikazu Okumura of Okumura Foods. A year later, the Phantom Thieves were supposedly involved in a series of incidents involving the EMMA digital app, forcing Madicce CEO Akira Konoe to confess to psychologically manipulating the app’s users, as well as his responsibility in the death of Shuzo Ubukata, one of Madicce’s head researchers. Since then, there have been no reported incidents involving the Phantom Thieves, nor have any of their identities been revealed to the public.
Male News Anchor: The Thieves have undoubtedly left their mark on society. Phantom Thieves memorabilia is still commonly sold across the country, including an anonymously written and published memoir titled ‘Take Your Heart,’ allegedly written by one of the Thieves’ confidants. The Phantom Thieves’ exposure of societal corruption have also invoked a general public distrust in the government and police. This has led to several incidents involving masked vigilantes acting as self-appointed law enforcement, resulting in several injuries and arrests. Many of these vigilantes proclaim the Phantom Thieves as their inspiration, having lost faith in the police to deal with criminal activity.
Female News Anchor: This chaotic anti-authority movement has led to police and the judicial system cracking down more harshly on vigilante justice, with higher fines and longer imprisonment sentences for people found guilty of vigilantism. Additionally, a growing percentage of the public have expressed a desire for police to further investigate the Phantom Thieves’ case, believing the Thieves to have framed and brainwashed Shido, Konoe, and the other victims of their ‘changes of heart’ in order to cover up their own criminal actions.
Male News Anchor: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Superintendent-General Hiroto Yasuda has been a vocal critic of the Phantom Thieves since their first appearance, stating that vigilantes like the Thieves only contribute to mistrust and defiance of legal authorities, inciting chaos and rebellion. He insists that despite the Thieves’ prolonged absence, the investigation into their actions is still ongoing.
Female News Anchor: Regardless of whether or not they support the Phantom Thieves, everyone in Japan is wondering: where are they now?