Matador, lit. "Bullfighter" in European Spanish and Portuguese, is derived from the late Latin word mactator, which means to subdue or kill. It is also the name of the toreros (sometimes called "toreadors" in English-speaking territories due to the influence of Carmen) that perform in the bullfighting events famous in Spain. Matador is one of the toreros, and the word literally means "killer," as it's the matador's job to kill the bull.
Prior to the modern day evolution of bullfighting, however, the matador wasn't the star of the performance, but the picador. Their decline in popularity was due to matadors adding more flair into their trades, as well as the general gain of importance of commoners, as early picadors were usually nobles.
"A Spanish Grim Reaper born from the pursuit of aesthetics killing. With his terrifying sword Espada, he now preys on humans rather than bulls."
—Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne compendium
Matador appears as a boss in the updated release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, titled Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax. He is first mentioned by a Manikin in the Great Underpass of Ginza, where he is known as a "Grim Reaper." The Demi-fiend must defeat him in order to reach Ikebukuro, headquarters of the Mantra. Upon approaching the demonic presence, the Demi-fiend was forcefully summoned into another realm by Matador, where Matador claims that a weak being like him doesn't deserve to hold the Candelabrum of Sovereignty, but knowing that he will not give in without a fight, Matador engages the Demi-fiend in a battle.
He appears as a skeleton dressed in a bullfighter's costume, and speaks of fighting for an audience with style and flair, even though their present environment (a desolate wasteland dimension, used by all fiends) is lacking the aforementioned. After defeating Matador, the Demi-fiend gains the ability to fuse him by fusing any two demons whose fusion will result in a Yoma race demon, during a 1/8, 2/8, 3/8 or Half Kagutsuchi phase. Such a fusion requires a Deathstone, an item found only in the Labyrinth of Amala.
When fought, Matador will engage in constant usage of Red Capote to increase his agility and evasion to max. This is further compounded with his abuse of Taunt to make the Demi-fiend's team susceptible to his multi-hit attacks. Casting any debuff spell but Sukunda will cause him to use Dekunda and casting Sukunda to decrease his agility more than twice (or using it after a single use of Fog Breath) will result in him recasting Red Capote to undo the debuff spell, but there's no way for him to remove your team's buffs as Matador doesn't have Dekaja in this encounter and he won't use Red Capote if you lower his agility by two stages or less. As such, the best way to approach this fight is bringing at least 1 demon with Force immunity (or equipping the Hifumi Magatama to get it on the main character, but don't use Tornado as Matador is immune to Force) so that Matador's second press turn gets immediately wasted if he uses Mazan, and at least 1 Sukukaja user (the earliest possible one being Preta), as Sukukaja buff is permanent in this game and can compensate Red Capote if used 4 times (which you should do before everything else, especially if you're using physical attackers, as every missed hit results in two press turns wasted).
It's also heavily recommended to fuse Ame-no-Uzume from Jack Frost, as she nulls Force and can inherit Dark Might, which guarantees a critical hit with the basic attack during the new Kagutsuchi phase; this can allow for extra press turns if her basic attacks hit, which can be guaranteed by passing her action or healing with Media if necessary until Sukukaja is fully set up. Other very good picks for this fight are Nozuchi (unlocked at level 14, drains Force, with some leveling gains guaranteed hits with Counter and the ability to buff defense with Rakukaja), Nekomata (unlocked at level 18, drains Force, has a good magic stat and can inflict Stun) and Momunofu (unlocked at level 20, can inherit Anti-Force if fused from Zhen and a level 7 Kodama and naturally resists Physical, natively learns Focus and Lunge for heavy physical damage).
Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE[]
Matador appears as a boss on the twenty-seventh floor of the solo instance Denshi Kairo, branching pathways depending on whether players kill him or the Nandi that spawn alongside him first. Matador is also an optional boss in the Suginami Tunnels (Bronze) dungeon if you use an Ultimate Summon Orb, replacing Great Beast Garm.
To acquire Matador the player must fuse him by acquiring his plugin from exchanging five hundred Essences of Yetzirah that are obtained by clearing Hack Chip α dungeons. He cannot be contracted.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey[]
"A master sportsman who entertains the audience in exchange for his own life: one mistake can mean his death. Some believe that matadors who die while performing remain in this world."
—Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey compendium
Matador appears as the resident Fiend of Sector Carina, and must be defeated in combat to unlock his fusion. After his defeat, he will drop the Red Capote Forma, only obtainable by beating him.
Shin Megami Tensei IV[]
Matador has a 1/256 chance of appearing in the Toyosu Shelter, at the small vent near the center of the shelter. (see below). Most of the time, he will buff himself with Sukukaja as much as possible while debuffing with Taunt, while also attacking with his basic attack or Hades Blast, although he will not use the latter if there is a party member that resists Physical. And if the entire party resists Physical, he will spam Antichthon and Energy Drain, also using the latter to kill off demons that are at low HP. He also has Crushing Wave, but he mostly will only use it if he was not debuffed on the previous turn. Upon defeat, he drops the Capote Earring, arguably one of the best accessories in the game, providing a Draconic Reaction passive for Flynn.
Location
Screenshot
Minimap
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse[]
Matador, along with all the other Fiends, is encountered in Twisted Tokyo. Matador is encountered on B5F and drops the Aiki Staff second cycle onwards, and is fought at level 922 on cycle 9.
Matador's attacks are all physical, and are augmented by Phys Pierce that allows them to bypass all resistances and even Tetrakarn. Considering the high number of hits his signature move Andalusia can do, there is a very high chance Matador can get a crit, smirk and gain extra turns, which can then produce a problem if he depletes a party member's MP with Soul Drain or dishes out even more damage with his other party-hitting attacks. Without resistance to reduce the incoming damage, buffs and debuffs become the only reliable way to endure Matador's attacks and deplete his Press Turns. Bear in mind that even if he gets a few crits off with Andalusia, if any one of those hits misses, he loses turns and does not even get to smirk. Be mindful of excessive buffing and debuffing since it may cause him to use Dekaja and Dekunda to purge it all.
Shin Megami Tensei V[]
Matador, along with the other Fiends that held Menorahs and the Demi-fiend, is available as part of the Return of the True Demon DLC pack. As before, defeating Matador unlocks the ability to fuse him.
The battle is relatively similar to the Nocturne encounter, with the same moveset but an Electric weakness that can be exploited to end the battle quicker.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance[]
Matador, along with all of the DLC demons available for the original version of Shin Megami Tensei V, returns for Vengeance, and will come prepackaged into the game.
Persona 3 Reload[]
Matador is a Persona of the Strength Arcana. He is needed as material in the fusion recipe of Pale Rider.
Persona 4[]
"A master sportsman who entertains the audience in exchange for his own life: one mistake can mean his death. Some believe that matadors who die while performing remain in this world."
Margaret wishes to see a Matador that has inherited the skill Mahama as the second request in her Social Link. This will grant a new rank in the Empress Arcana and can be done through several fusion options. Firstly, the protagonist may opt to merge a level 19 Anzu with a Berith or a Yaksini in a simple fusion. Second, they may opt to perform a triangle fusion that will meld either a Power or a Principality (Principality must be at least level 21 to be viable, however) with an Oberon and a Saki Mitama. Finally, they may opt to perform a triangle fusion with a Power, an Andras and an Omoikane.
Persona 5[]
"A master sportsman who entertains the audience in exchange for his own life: one mistake can mean death. Some believe that matadors who die while performing remain in this world."
Caroline and Justine want a Matador that has inherited the skill Magaru as the third request in their Confidant. This grants a new rank in the Strength Arcana and can be done through several fusion options.
One of the earliest ways to get this Persona is by fusing a Mokoi and a Regent, both available in the Madarame Palace, the latter encountered as a tutorial. The other method is to fuse Obariyon with Nekomata, the latter having Magaru as a base skill (which also gives Matador a Gun skill from Obariyon in the form of Snap to complement his Trigger Happy skill). Now that Matador has inherited Magaru and the Confidant has ranked up, the protagonist can use the Lockdown mechanic in the Velvet Room.
Royal[]
When itemized through Electric Chair execution, Matador will yield the Blood Red Capotearmor for males, which has 120 DEF, 20 EVA and gives the wearer +3 Agility. During a fusion alarm, Matador will yield the Bloodied Capote armor instead, which has 130 DEF, 20 EVA and gives the wearer +6 Agility.
Persona 5 Tactica[]
Matador is a Hypno type Persona and is one of the three Personas needed to summon Hell Biker through special fusion.
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 120 power on a Single Enemy with 40% chance to inflict Mute.
Innate
Evade
Auto
+20% Phys evasion rate.
Innate
Andalucia
Auto
After evading an enemy's physical attack: Inflict Phys (physical) damage with 50% crit rate on all enemies 4 times. Counter effects will not work on this skill. Power: 30
Innate
Taunt
3 MP
Increases ATK and reduces of DEF of All Enemies by 20% for 3 turns.
Common
Hades Blast
5 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 120 power on All Enemies.
Aragami (Awaken)
Deadly Mute
Auto
+30% damage to Muted enemies.
Aragami (Gacha)
Agile Cry
7 MP
Reduces all enemy EV/AC and increases own parties EV/AC by 20%. (3 turns)
Protector (Awaken)
Speedster
Auto
+50% to own affect on Battle Speed.
Protector (Gacha)
Great Aim
Auto
+20% to Phys hit rate.
Psychic (Awaken)
Vorpal Blade
7 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 140 power on All Enemies.
Psychic (Gacha)
Repel Ice
Auto
Adds Ice Repel.
Elementalist (Awaken)
Taunt
3 MP
Increases ATK and reduces of DEF of All Enemies by 20% for 3 turns.
Elementalist (Gacha)
Quotes[]
"You hold a candelabrum... Then, like me, you must be seeking supreme power. That I cannot allow. Only the greatest warrior is worthy of such power. It is meant for a master swordsman... One who, amidst blood and applause, has put an end to countless lives... That warrior is I, Matador. It's unfortunate that we have no spectators, but I believe this will be an excellent show regardless, as you and I contend for the candelabra. I'm sorry to say, but it seems you are rather weak to be in possession of a candelabrum. You should give it to someone more deserving, like myself... But, since it's unlikely you'll heed my advice... I challenge you to a duel!"
Matador's distinct physical attack, "Andalucia" is taken from "Andalucía," an autonomous region of Spain famous for its bullfighting events.
Matador's sword, Espada, literally means sword in Spanish, Portuguese and Galician.
Matador's "Capote" is a "Muleta," a bullfighter's cloak used to hide his sword. In traditional bullfighting the red Muleta is used during the final round of a fight, replacing the fuchsia-colored "Capote de Brega".