Persona 4 the ANIMATION

[thornofcarrion]

Pyro Jack wasn't a catching summoning. I was expecting something more epic *sigh*.

[riki]

Whoa, episode 4 was really intense!

It looks like this episode focus mostly on saving Yukiko, which makes sense since her life was in danger. Chie is still gung-ho on saving her even after what happened the last time. Luckily she has her persona, Tomoe, to help out this time.

I like how they showed how Yukiko developed her shadow self. She must be envious of Chie and her classmates since they seem have "freedom" to decide what to do with their lives. I think when she heard Chie said that it couldn't be helped that she is the heiress of the Amagi Inn, it devastated her and made her wish that a "prince" will save her from her fate. Luckily, Yu and Chie convinced her otherwise. I love how the two girls admitted that they were jealous of each other but they did value their relationship. I also like the insert song that was being played during that scene. All I have to say is that Chie and Yukiko's friendship has strengthened after this event. ^^

As for the battle, I think it was more intense than in the game. At least we didn't have to worry about a flying chandelier, melting wax, a moving rug, or a burning room (though Shadow!Yukiko was probably using a fire spell). The fight really show how dire the situation was and how it was important that they save Yukiko. Yu's using Ara Mitama to protect Chie even though he would get injured was pretty badass and it was clever of him to summon Pyro Jack since that persona absorbs fire attacks. I like how they ended the battle with Yu, Yosuke, and Chie teaming up to defeat Shadow!Yukiko.

The ending scene was pretty light-hearted. It was nice to see Yukiko relax after the whole ordeal she experienced even though it was to Chie's expense. Oh, and it looks like Yu didn't have a new arcana, which makes sense since he didn't establish another friendship in this episode.

It looks like Yu will have a break from fighting in the next episode. He seems to join the Basketball Club though he may be considering in joining the Soccer Club as well and...

... meet Ai Ebihara, who seems intend on making the moves on him. I bet he will get the Moon Arcana next.

[phio_chan]

I've just seen episode 3. So late, yeah. And it's hard to ignore riki's long post about episode 4.

I agree with thorn that Pyro Jack was not an interesting summon. I was happy, though, to see that he changed the persona. I watched this episode wondering if I would see him change the persona someday and I got my answer. XD I was also happy that a duet of Agi and Garu was made on motion! I am now really tempted to continue playing P4 again. XD

The next 'boss' would be Yukiko. From what I heard, she sounds quite a hard boss for starter? I'm expecting an interesting battle. ^^

[riki]

The anime is doing very well in the DVD/Blu-ray sales, which is very impressive.

[Skyguardian]

For the player sof the game this anime has its weaknesses. But well it's done nicely. It has the potential for a long long show. But I doubt it'll be more than 24 or 25.

Just guessing. Will this go on till Izanami or are they cutting it of after the Adachi-incedent?

[riki]

According to Sentai Filmworks which licensed the anime, it will have only 25 episodes.

[thornofcarrion]

Having watched all the episodes so far, monotony is what comes to my mind. Perhaps, they are just setting stage for the upcoming episodes.

[phio_chan]

Having watched all the episodes so far, monotony is what comes to my mind. Perhaps, they are just setting stage for the upcoming episodes.

I can understand. From what I remember from the game, the beginning is indeed slow because basically we have to 'gather' more persona. And so is what we see from the anime. Perhaps the game is more interactive because you can control the character walk around the town or do something else, but in anime you can't. Now the basic team is completed, I think, and from the trailer of the latest episode it seems like we're going to get more. ^^

[riki]

^Agreed. Since Yukiko is now safe, the animators are going to focus on Yu's school/social life and the Investigation team's attempt to solve the murder mystery.

Anyway, it looks like we might have another trailer coming up soon.

Based on the events, it will air on the day that Nanako shows up on the Midnight Channel

---------- Post added November 04, 2011 at 12:29 AM ---------- Previous post was November 01, 2011 at 09:43 PM ----------

Man, episode five was pretty entertaining.

Since Yukiko is still recuperating and no one has been missing/killed, it's a perfect time for Yu to make new friends and receive new social links. ^^

I feel sorry for Yu since everyone volunteered him to do the dirty deeds (the anime was probably parodying the fact that he's a helpful guy in the game). First, Chie, Kou, and Daisuke pressured him to join the Basketball Club. Then Ai wanted him to find out Kou's crush and used him as a "rebound" boyfriend after she found out that the basketball star likes Chie. Finally Adachi volunteered him to make the obento boxes for Dojima and Nanako. Yu definitely needs to boost up his Courage stat real soon so he can be brave enough to say, "No". At this rate, he probably wondered if all the stress was worth getting two new social links.

Being forced to be Ai's boyfriend looked like an ordeal for our protagonist. Skipping classes (and getting trouble for it), trying to please her every whims, and having to hang out with her 24/7 must be stressful for him especially since he couldn't help his friends investigate the murders and kidnappings. Ai really got him whipped. I love how he used the Game Over song from Catherine as his ringtone for her; it fit his situation perfectly. Of course, he is still a snarky deadpanner though more subtle this time. Chie was the only smart one to realize that he was miserable while Yosuke is too dense to realize it and thought his best friend was a ladies' man, which is another game reference the anime poke fun of.

I do have some complaints though. Even though the events in the episode took few days (I think four but I don't remember), I was surprised that Ai's social link was over all ready. Her character development seemed rushed but I guess the animators wanted to finish her as soon as possible. Another thing was why didn't any of the basketball players try to stop Ai and Chie from cat fighting? You would have thought they would notice and try to rush over and stop it instead of continuing playing. In spite of that, I hope we'll see Ai, Kou, and Daisuke again (especially the latter two).

Oh, at least we got to meet the new character, Aika. Hopefully we'll get to know more about her soon. ^^

The ending was great when Yu and Yousuke gobble up the girls' food though we didn't see them do so. That was a great scene in the game.

Anyway, it looks like the investigation will continue and a new victim will be introduced.

[phio_chan]

I've just seen episode 5~

One sentence: Poor Yu.

Getting tricked like that by friends and a stranger you have just met... Such a pain being the nice Yu, haha~ But that is his characteristics after all. That ringtone is so classical, I have heard that before somewhere (not in the game). It is interesting to see how they tried to develop two social links at once. I guess it means Yu would join the basketball team for sports then? Chie and Yousuke played nice role as well, it added more fun to the whole episode.

About the social link, I think it spanned for more than 4 days, as the days scroll by pretty fast, but I could be wrong. Still, no social links could be mastered in such a short time so I can understand why you feel rushed, riki. Does it mean we won't see Yu bonding with her again in the future? Maybe we will, so that doesn't mean that the development of Ai's social link stops here? I also agree about the cat fight; I find it even stranger that they made such a fuss but only Yu cared to stop and told them to stop. XD

I'm quite satisfied with this break for social links, but it's time for the heroes to kick some ass as well. Look forward to the next episode!

[Crude]

I've also just seen the episode. It was good to see the anime focus on the other social links and Yu's daily life, a nice break from the sense of urgency present in the past few episodes. I actually joined the drama club when I played the game, but I remember some of the Ai scenes featured in this episode. I can't really remember, but was it possible to join more than one club, or at least still create a social link with Ai? The animation in this episode was a bit sloppier compared to the last few, though it wasn't bad. I think you can tell the quality of the animation by looking at the colours/gradients used for the main characters. Next week will be the start of a new arc, one centered on someone who I think was one of the best characters in the game. Can't wait!

[riki]

I can't really remember, but was it possible to join more than one club, or at least still create a social link with Ai?

Yes, I think it was possible though you need to manage your time well to max out all of your social links.

According to the anime twitter page, the prologue is now over. ^^

---------- Post added November 07, 2011 at 07:24 PM ---------- Previous post was November 06, 2011 at 12:30 PM ----------

Sentai Filmworks confirmed that they will dub the anime... but they haven't confirmed if the original cast will be back.

[Skyguardian]

Episode was great. The gag with Aiya was awesome. Didn't see that comming... XD

Next scent will be the weirdest of them all...

Somehow I wonder how they'll get to the real Game End within 25 episodes... They did a great job till now... Hope they don't screw this up...

[Rowel]

Episode 6:
Margaret here is much more eager to make acquaintance with the MC than ingame. Huh, Yuu's Expression is still at Rough, but he's clearly smiling and putting more emotion into his voice.

Holy crap at the amazing size difference between Kanji and Naoto.

They skipped the little debate about who does what when tailing Kanji. Ingame, Yuu gets asked to choose who to team up with. It ends up being Yukiko anyway, since Chie doesn't trust Yosuke with her.Yuu pulled off the phone number exchange smoothly, just staring right at Yukiko while asking.

LOL at the chase, Yosuke trying to convince Chie to be a hero, and Aiya's food delivery.
The card at the ED is still the Magician, even though two Social Links were established today: Empress (Margaret) and Priestess (Yukiko).

They actually showed Bad, Bad Bathhouse, without any coverup! We'll likely get to see more of Shadow/Kanji next episode.

[riki]

The card at the ED is still the Magician, even though two Social Links were established today: Empress (Margaret) and Priestess (Yukiko).

Actually they showed the Priestess Arcana. Yu didn't really formed a social link with his cousin yet so that why he didn't get her card yet though I thought he would based on the scene, in which he got her Arcana card in the game. I think the animators just wanted to show that he's starting to establish it.

Anyway, the comedy was great in this episode. I was chuckling the entire time from Yu's usual deadpanning to Yukiko's blatant jabs at Junes much to Yosuke's chagrin. Chie and Yosuke made an awesome couple due to their hilarious interaction with each other. Their spying is so bad but entertaining. Not to mention the chase scene was great especially the part where Aiya drove by to drop off Chie's meals.

And now we met the next victim, Kanji Tatsumi. Even though he seems to be a tough guy, he got really flustered after he met the mysterious boy, Naoto. I like how the animators added the beginning scene when he accidentally dropped that bunny key chain and how Yu gave it back to him. It gave the viewers a nice subtle hint about Kanji. Kanji should be glad that Yu was the guy who found it since the latter didn't make fun of him about it, but then Yu doesn't really know much about the legendary Kanji and his bad reputation.

Speaking of the mysterious boy, it seems like he's suspicious/interested in Yu and company. Of course, it didn't help that the group was caught snooping around. >.>

The scene with Nanako was so sweet. It was thoughtful of Yu to decide to spend time with his little cousin instead of hanging out with his friends. Good thing that Chie invited her as well which made things easier for the MC. Seeing Nanako's happy face put a smile to mine. She is the little sister that everyone wants, which is why the gamers adore her.

Oh, and Margaret is such a flirt!

The only grips I have are the animation and editing were pretty bad. Hopefully, next week's will be better.

BTW, I have two questions for you guys:

1) Which personas do you think Yu will summon from the Priestess, Moon, and Strength?

2) What scenes from the game are you looking forward to? (for those who played the game obviously)

Mine is...

- Yu's telling everyone to calm down during that scene
- The group's field trip to Iwatodai City and King's Game!
- True ending
- Hopefully a fight between Yu and Margaret