Following his appearance, he has received a positive reception, mainly due to his eccentric and socially awkward personality and his passion when it comes to art, as well as the voice acting by Sugita and Mercer respectively.

Yusuke was created for Persona 5 by character designer Shigenori Soejima, going by the Phantom Thief nickname Fox to avoid giving away his identity.

[5] His outfit for this game was designed by Kabayashi to be something that was cool, yet could also be made fun of by his friends, choosing a leather jacket adorned with spikes to accomplish this.

He is first introduced after the Phantom Thieves, consisting of Joker, Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann, have taken the heart of Suguru Kamoshida and began to target Ichiryusai Madarame, Yusuke's teacher and adoptive father, who is rumored to abuse his students and take credit for their work.

When they eventually invade Madarame's Palace, represented as a golden museum, Yusuke is pulled in as well, realizing various truths of him, such as that he uses and abuses his students, as well as allowed her mother to die of a seizure in order to steal her art and create forgeries to sell.

He noted, however, that Yusuke does behave inappropriately and disrespects boundaries, stating he would not defend that aspect of his character, choosing instead to view his post-Awakening self as a different person.

Fanbyte weiter Kenneth Shepard discussed how Yusuke was "emanating queer energy," specifically in the boat scene between him and Joker.

[12] The Mary Sue writer Madeline Carpou noted the discussion about how he should be a romance option for Joker, echoing Shepard's feelings about his sexuality.

She felt that the connection between him and the protagonist was both "obvious and well-written," arguing that them as a couple made more sense than half of the romance options in the game.

He also noted how this manner of speech emphasizes Yusuke's tendency to draw comparisons between "mundane situations and profound concepts," suggesting that his artistic nature informed how his characterization manifested.