First Impression – Persona 4

We are living our lives~

Hearing the announcement of a Persona anime was enough to spur me on to play both Persona 3 and Persona 4 over the summer so I’d be ready. I don’t regret a single moment of it because the games were amazing and I can only hope the anime will be just as good. After all the hype, it’d better…
Usually I don’t even dare to touch anime adaptations of games, (all the ones I’ve seen up until now have made me want to punch children) but for persona I’m going to make an exception. It’s reputation has me optimistic for the series and I’m willing to give it a go!
Ohohoho, so Persona 4 finally airs! While I’m still trying hard to get my hands on the game (despite my siblings denying my requests), I guess I’ll settle for the cheaper choice of watching the anime. Nothing beats free anime, am I right?
Persona has to be my favourite series of games ever, so even before watching this, I am convinced that this is going to be the greatest anime of the season. Yay for bias! I’m warning you all now, there is going to be a ton fangirling from me, so if I start coughing up blood or something (because just a nosebleed isn’t enough), you know why.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room.” Similar to how the game opens, Persona 4 starts off with a man with an abnormally long nose sitting in a limo with a blonde woman. He introduces himself as Igor and the woman, Margaret. After talking about what sounds like a bunch of cryptic nonsense for a bit about destiny, the two bid farewell.

It’s around this time that Narukami Yuu wakes up after falling asleep on the train. He arrives at his destination and is soon greeted by two people. The man is Dojima Ryotaro /Yuu’s uncle and the loli is his cousin/Dojima’s daughter Nanako. Introductions are to be had and we learn that Yuu is moving in with his uncle. On the way to his new home, Yuu and his family stop at a gas station. There, an attendant (who either has the lowest voice for a woman EVER, or they switched genders when they localized the game here (because I swear the attendant was a woman when I played the game)) welcomes him to town and shakes his hand. Dojima comes back and suddenly Yuu starts feeling dizzy.

After Yuu unpacks, he finds his old uniform and flashes back to when he left his old school. It turns out that his parents are working abroad (just like every other set of parents in anime this season), so he had to move elsewhere. Exhausted, Yuu falls asleep. When he does, he has a dream about a distorted voice/shadowy figure asking if he wants to find out the truth.

“Do you care about finding the tru-hey! Listen to me! Stop ignoring me, it hurts my feelings ;_;”

The next day, Yuu transfers into his new school, where his teacher (who needs to see a dentist VERY BADLY) starts bitching him out just because he can. Yuu eventually gets to sit down thanks to a girl wearing a green sweater. Yuu notices that it’s foggy outside.  Around that time, a girl wearing a uniform from the same school Yuu goes to is walking outside and notices a dead body hanging from an antenna.

I still can’t decide which one is scarier

After class, there are rumours flying around about the Midnight Channel, but Yuu ignores them and an announcement comes on asking all students to head home immediately. The girl who sits next to him and her friend introduce themselves as Satonaka Chie and Amagi Yukiko respectively. Hanamura Yosuke, another guy from their class, gives Chie back a kung fu movie he borrowed, but Chie trips him and notices that he broke the DVD inside. Chie walks off mad with Yukiko and Yuu just decides to ignore him. Meanwhile, wt the place of the dead body, Dojima inspects the scene (he’s a policeman). However, his partner Adachi throws up after seeing the dead body.

The next day, Yuu helps Yosuke out of a trashcan and so Yosuke decides to treat him to food. However, Chie tags along to make Yosuke pay her back for the broken DVD, so they go to the local department store Junes. As Chie and Yosuke argue because Yosuke was too poor to afford two steaks, Yuu watches the TV in the food court. It turns out that the body found yesterday was identified as Yamano Mayumi, a television announcer.

This episode is brought to you by Yosuke’s ass

Chie eventually starts talking about the Midnight Channel. According to rumour, if you look at a turned off television at midnight while it’s raining, you’ll see your soul mate. Chie suggests trying it since it’s supposed to rain that night. Around then, the girl who found the dead body walks nearby and Yosuke calls her Konishi-senpai. After talking for a bit, she leaves. That night, Yuu tries the Midnight Channel rumour, not thinking that it will actually work. However, when the clock strikes midnight, something DOES appear on the screen and Yuu hears voices in his head. In the confusion, Yuu touches the TV screen and it tries to eat his hand.

When Yuu tries to tell his friends about it, they don’t believe him and laugh saying that he should try a bigger TV. …So they go to Junes (minus Yukiko because she’s busy). There, Yuu proves them right and they all accidentally fall into the TV. Inside, they find themselves in a yellow foggy world. Before they can do much though, they see a shadowy figure and run away. They end up in a creepy room with a bunch of posters with the face torn off and a noose. However, it’s not long before the shadowy figure catches up to them. It’s a bear thing.

The bear thing gives Yuu a pair of glasses and tells them to leave because of Shadows (while making bear puns), but they have no idea what he’s talking about.  When Yuu puts on the glasses, things get significantly less foggy. It’s around then that Shadows appear and the bear runs off. The three try to run away, but soon the Shadows surround them.

Chie’s “act like a deranged squirrel” technique was not found to be very effective

Just before they attack, Yuu hears voices in his head again. A blue card floats down from above, and Yuu shatters it while saying “Persona”. Suddenly, a black cloaked figure appears and begins to fight the Shadows.  The battle ends with an awesome cut in and Yuu saying that Persona is his new power. As for what a Persona actually is, that explanation will have to wait until next week.

OC’s screencaps of awesome:

Some high old man starts telling you about your future in a fancy limo. Feels good to be gangsta.

Yep, dat bitch be dead.

Every now and then I just cover him up so I don’t have to look at him. Even when he’s awake.

I can’t tell if his bear-oriented verbal tic is more annoying in english or japanese…

 

That was just an amazing love letter written to all the rabid fans of the game. The music is the same, the script is almost the same and there are a hell of a lot of nods to game mechanics. I made a noise that halfway resembled a screeching possum and an airbag suddenly inflating in excitement when the calendar showing the weather for each day popped up. Similarly, the battle scene showed a close-up of Yu’s face when he used his lightning skill to land a critical hit. I actually did not expect them to follow the game so closely, as I immediately assumed having a lot of the same mechanics would be horribly tedious. It’s wonderfully integrated however so that game fans will squeal and non-game fans will just see it as a cool part of the anime.

It follows the events so closely that I was squirming around on the couch. I was anticipating everything, and the story just couldn’t move fast enough for me. The pacing is fine, but when you know everything that is going to happen, you start getting antsy. The anime is does follow a good pace and moves faster than the game, which likes to blatantly point out the suspects and victims in your face with GLOWING RED, BOLD FONT. The mystery element will be a lot harder to guess for the newbies to the series if it keeps this up, which is good. Less talking and more showing is how it’s going to have to be, because Persona 4 probably has a script the size of the Bible.

The one thing I wish they hadn’t kept from the game are Yu’s responses. He pretty much only speaks during parts in the game where you’re given a dialogue option or when he’s having inner thoughts. Which is like never. The main character of role playing games are usually blank slates so the player can easily slip into the role, but that doesn’t work for an anime where you’re watching everyone in the third person and expecting them to be autonomous. He has no personality, and if they stick to the script this closely, he’s never really gonna get one…We’ll see how they deal with him as the anime progresses and if more diversions from the real storyline arise. Other than totally sick battles, which are, if I didn’t already mention, TOTALLY SICK. If you couldn’t tell, I’m coming back next week to blog this sexy beast to death alongside my fellow Persona fan, Karakuri. It’s a match made in heaven, so come back next week for our masterpiece! *pose*

Right off the bat I think I should mention I’m one of those people that’s jumping on the Person 4wagon by watching the anime without having played the actual game (my brothers are console-hogs all right?). Honestly, I couldn’t take the first 15 minutes of this seriously. I guess it’s because I came into watching this thinking it would have a more serious mood, but instead there was this casual, comedic tone. It didn’t even feel mysterious to me. Of course, not that I mind; it was quite entertaining anyway. The fast pacing also added on to me not taking this seriously. It was transfer in, meet new people, no time for real bonding so just end up going along with the crowd, go to some new dimension together randomly at the store, get this cool Persona power or whatever, and BAM, end of first episode. To me it just felt really ridiculous.

I must give some good points for the animation~. While not the most GLORIOUS looking animation (with the exception of that last scene where the Persona (?) comes out and there’s that tiny battle sequence), it was still nice with very fluid movements. THE EYES FREAK ME OUT THOUGH, MAN. I don’t know what it is about them; the beady pupils, the full color eyes, the fact it looks like they don’t blink, just SOMETHING about them makes me feel really weird. I don’t know if I can get used to it. Anyway, this first episode overall had that typical-new-student-comes-and-a-murder-happens-at-the-same-time, typical mystery story vibe that makes me quite iffy still. I’m willing to give this a try though because doubt I could really judge Persona 4 on its first episode, based on what I’ve heard from the players of the game. As of right now, I am incredibly confused, find this very weird, and yet intrigued enough to continue this series.  So let’s go Persona 4, show me what you got~.

 

Don’t you just hate it when the TV tries to swallow you? Oh God, I laughed so hard when Narukami told his classmates about it the next day. Luckily they all had something weird happen to them too otherwise his first impressions would have been terrible! They would all think he was a loony. I really love their uniform designs, they are pretty slick and, you know…not ridiculous. I thought the Opening song was nice, though having it over what was actually happening felt a bit cluttered. The ED is equally as good (one of the favorite things about new seasons is new OPs and EDs).

I’ll admit that I’m not familiar with the story exactly, but is it supposed to be so…thrown together? There didn’t seem much established, or built up. Granted the pay-off was awesome, but the majority of the epiosde had me bored. I do know Adachi, though! Wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear him throw up several times…but, still! Narukami is also awesome. Well, he wasn’t at first, he was pretty dull, but the fight at the end gave him a sorely needed personality injection (he’s also a megane now, hnng!)

On the other hand, I really hate Hana. And I mean really. He is so fucking irritating that I just hope he dies real soon, probably won’t but I have my fingers crossed. The “shadows” are awesomely designed too. I’m tempted to make a “in Soviet Russia…” reference but….aw, why not, I will; “In Persona4… gumballs lick YOU!” The animation was fairly derp until the end when Narukami summoned his whatsit and things got awesome (he also started randomly undressing, which was cool) and that last scene alone is what sold me on continuing this. But, really, it’s repuation does the selling for you, despite the fact that this episode was fairly standard until the end. It’s Persona! You are at least going to give it a few episodes!

This much blood loss can’t be healthy. For the sake of all that is GAR and BAMF, Yuu’s awesomeness knows no bounds. That fight scene was too short in my highly biased opinion. Ugh, this was difficult to summarize. Knowing the entire game plot, I don’t want to leave out anything important, but at the same time, I don’t want to give anything away. In the end, some minor things were sacrificed, but I didn’t want to leave you all with a wall of text. Overall, the pacing seemed okay. I’m not sure how someone who’s never played the games before will react, but I found it highly enjoyable even without my bias. What they covered here in 30 minutes took me an hour game-wise to complete (with distractions), so I’m glad they sped things up.

I had to fangirl a bit every time they incorporated one of the game mechanics into there. Like the calendar change and the cut in when Yuu used his Persona. Or the character stat chart shown during the eyecatch. Those were AMAZING and I hope they do the cut ins EVERY EPISODE EVER. Also, THE MUSIC. The music had to be arguably one of my favourite things about the game AND THEY KEPT IT IN HERE. THEY KEPT THE GAME OPENING. THAT MEANS STRIPTEASE IS GOING TO BE IN HERE. I WISH THIS FONT COULD GO BIGGER TO SHOW MY ENTHUSIAM. I also liked the ending as well. Also, differences from the game: I don’t find Teddy (the bear thing) annoying anymore. Same goes for Chie (or maybe that’s just my love for Horie Yui speaking). It’s amazing how one seiyuu can change my opinion on a character completely.

Speaking of seiyuu, if you’re going to hire Namikawa Daisuke, THEN USE HIM. Just because Yuu never talks in the game doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to remain silent in the anime. Though I had to laugh at his reactions to things though like ignoring Yosuke. I’m pretty sure the things he did were all options you could pick in the game. Anyways, this was AMAZING and tagging this weekly with OC is going to be the greatest thing EVER.

Preview: One Yosuke and one awesome Yosuke. That’s all I’m saying.

All those ass shots were trying to warn us of something!

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We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
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63 Responses to “First Impression – Persona 4”

  1. Even tho I’m only maybe halfway through the story of the game, I did enjoy the first episode of the anime. I liked what bits they’ve kept from the game and enjoyed most of the Japanese voice cast over that of the English dub that I’m used to from the game. I did love the calendar, Yuu’s status screen for the halfway point of the episode, and the eye catch-thingie for using the weakness on the enemies. My 4 year old son loved the falling into the TV and the Izanagi battle at the end of the episode. (lol, yay~ I’m raising a future otaku…?)

    So far, I think it’s great as an anime based off a video game. But once we get more episodes, I hope it’ll still be faithful to the game. And yay~ can’t wait for episode two! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY but I love Yosuke. Wished there was a female main character for the Vita port, The Golden, just so I could date him in-game. XD

    • Karakuri says:

      Lol! Yes! Raise a next generation of otaku! I think it was a pretty good adaption to say the least. Overall, I’m liking the Jap seiyuu over the English dub as well. Nanako is so moe~. Though I wonder if Yuu’s stats will increase as it goes along…?

      THAT VITA PORT NEEDS A FEMALE MAIN SO BAD. Though if that happened, they might have pulled a P3P and make it so Yosuke’s not dateable (though he doesn’t really have the same reason that Junpei had, I still haven’t quite forgiven Chidori for that).

      • lol, I want to be evil and dress my son up in cosplay, but I’m not that~ evil most of the time. XD Tho… I’m pretty sure Yuu’s stats will raise with the anime. It won’t be fun if it didn’t. D:

        Even tho Atlus/Index already said there won’t be a female main, if there was, I’m sure Yosuke could have been a romantic interest. Unlike Junpei, Yosuke lost his crush early on in the game. Show ▼

        Anyways, I would go on about how it could work out with Yosuke… But I haven’t played the game since the release, so I forgot most of the events from his social link. Tho, I’m sure it could have lead to a romance with Yosuke, if they had a female lead. If not, then a cute puppy dog crush on the main character while he gets jealous of her other romances. lol (And I agree with a few people.. an Adachi romance would have been interesting too.)

        • Overcooled says:

          AHAHAHA That would be so cute though. Little kids in cosplay is adorable~

          Yosuke should totally be a romantic interest. Junpei can’t because of the reasons you stated, but Yosuke is pretty much free Show ▼

          .

  2. Metalsnakezero says:

    It a pretty good first episode that had lots of touches from the game like the calender and Yu’s Stat screen in all of the right places. I think the pacing is a bit too fast and doesn’t allow development of some characters or the atmosphere but it is early so I expect them to improve it soon.

    • Karakuri says:

      Hmmm, maybe the characters will develop as Yuu forms Social Links with people…? Or at least that’s how I remember it working in the game. Though those took a looooong time to complete, so they’ll probably cut most of that out here.

    • Overcooled says:

      The pacing is definitely fast, but I prefer this to brooding on the mystery. I think they just wanted to make sure everyone knew this was about falling into TVs and being badass just as much as it’s about a murder mystery. If they include some of the social links, the other characters will have more than enough development.

  3. BlackBriar says:

    No good can come from having conversations with monsters that are talking about contracts and your future. We’ve already learned that from C.

    Normally people would freak when they realise they can put their hands through a TV screen but Yuu didn’t see it as much of a big deal.

    This is looking good so far, there’s not much to say Yuu though so I gotta watch a few more epsodes. The train he took to get to town reminds me of the 3D trains out of the recent Pokemon games. And I was getting Digimon Season 3 nostalgia seeing Yuu with his partner, that card and his glasses.

    • Karakuri says:

      Ahaha don’t forget Madoka too. Though in this case, Yuu probably couldn’t have avoided it.

      Yuu has proven to have absolutely no personality thus far. Though in game he didn’t really care either.

      Whoa, I can totally see where you’re coming from with the Pokemons trains.

  4. Renn says:

    I’ve never played Persona 4, but I liked the episode. Loved the immense style and quick pacing. I’m a huge fan of Director Seiji Kishi though, so that was to be expected. xD

    The only thing I didn’t like was the lead. He couldn’t have less of a personality, and I didn’t see anything that indicated he’d get one. 🙁

    • Karakuri says:

      It’s good to know that people who have never played the game are enjoying this. I was wondering how they’d react since this kind of just throws the plot on you and runs.

      I hope he gets more personality as the anime goes on, but I’m not sure if he actually will.

  5. Reaper says:

    Oh, how I love Persona; in respect to Persona, the only thing that would be better than Persona 4 the Animation would be a Persona 3 the Animation…unfortunately, we’ll probably never see that (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! THE BLUE-HAIRED BOY!!!)
    Agreed, the little snippets they included from the game, from the music to the actual layout was hilarious, though I was a little peeved when they left out a certain critical hit to the nads…now, I’m justing wondering what direction they’ll take with the whole Persona-issue; is Bancho going to tear his way through with his hundred and eighty so Personas or is Izanagi just gonna kick all their asses? With help from the others of course… Oh, let Bancho have some more GAR soon! It’ll be like Shizuo but without the bus stop sign 🙂

    • Apparently, Persona 4 was listed on the results of a poll from last year about video games that should be adapted into an anime. They asked again this year, and Persona 3 is on the list (at the same position as P4). So, if Persona 4 does well, maybe Atlus/Index might consider P3 as well? (Especially since P3 has more related medias than P4 atm…)

    • Karakuri says:

      Yeah, my love for Persona 3 is greater than 4. Though it would be hard to incorporate the female main in there, so I don’t think I could forgive them if they left her out…

      LOL oh yeah! The Velvet Room is pretty pointless if Yuu never switches Personas. Same goes for Margaret’s Social Link. Maybe they’ll just use it as a plot device to drop cryptic hints or something.

      • Overcooled says:

        I was wondering about the Velvet Room too…Is he only going to go there when he’s forced to, or will he spend like half an hour fusing stuff together like what I did in the game? XD My bet is he’s just going to stick with Izanagi the entire time.

  6. Liza says:

    I was fangasming so much inside while watching this episode that my friends next door came in to check if I was okay since I was squealing so much. XD

    • Karakuri says:

      Lol, I made quite a few high pitched squealing noises as well, but from the sounds of it, OC had the greatest reaction of us all.

      • Overcooled says:

        lol and if we all watched it together, it’d be a symphony of squeals to keep the whole neighbourhood awake XD

        • BlackBriar says:

          Hahaha!! Just be careful you don’t get sued for disturbing the peace. I’m sure there are nosy neighbors lurking about. There’s no such thing as privacy these days.

  7. umi_no_mizu says:

    Having never played the game (although I have played the DS shin megami tensei releases) this episode was a bit… lacking =/
    I kinda wish they gave Namikawa Daisuke a few more lines and I found the whole battle at the end, while really awesome, was way to similar to a cut-scene I’d expect to see in a video game. I’d prefer the anime to have a bit more… erm… movie-like battles? sorta like how final fantasy did it with theirs.

    I’ll probably still keep up with it though… maybe i can get used to an expressionless main character and game-like battle sequences o.o

    • Overcooled says:

      Yu not having a personality is probably my biggest gripe with the series so far as well. Not everything from a game works in anime form..it’s a totally different piece of media. That being said, I didn’t find much wrong with the battle. It was very reminiscent of a cut scene, but what’s wrong it being like a cutscene? Cutscenes are cool!

      I’d say give it an episode or two and if you still can’t stomache it then just drop it. No need to suffer XD

  8. xochandaox says:

    Lol!! Ok. I felt the same as OC. Like.. It’s hard not to when you’ve played the game. Lol.

    Well anyways I know for sure I won’t slack on watching this anime. 😉

    • Overcooled says:

      Persona 4 is so easy to fangirl over when you’ve played the games. I’m a sucker for these kind of things too. n_n

  9. Dan-go says:

    Never played the game, although i know it was famous for it’s plot. Atari always is. However this first ep didn’t particularly impress. The translation from game to tv show didn’t really work out, suspension of disbelief absolutely everywhere, for instance, he just consciously works out his power and uses it to pretty good effect, and his friend just thinks “cool” as opposed to “HOLY FREAKING BAT BALLS WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?” The set up feels odd, and i guess i’m just missing bits having not played the game

    • Overcooled says:

      It’s not that different from most anime though. Boys gets given a power, boy uses power without a hitch. Yosuke seemed to just be making terrified and awed noises in response while Chie was unconscious too, their reaction was pretty accurate XD The odd thing was the switch from casually moving to a new town into WELL, THAT MEANS IT’S TIME TO GO INTO TVS.

  10. Foshizzel says:

    Awesome review! Yeah the characters eyes are damn freaky! I guess that’s why they all eventually wear glasses? I haven’t played the games before but I had fun watching this first episode <3

    Ohhh man I want the music for this so good :O

    • xochandaox says:

      Oh guys!!
      I just have to add there are no eyes out the more freaky than Haruka’s from Uta no prince. lol.

      • Karakuri says:

        If you think that’s freaky, you should see Syo’s and Ringo’s pink pupils in the actual game.

  11. Kitty says:

    I want to watch this….. but can someone tell me if I need to have played the games to understand it?

    • Overcooled says:

      Nope! You don’t need to know JACK about Persona to watch this. The anime follows the game Persona 4, which is completely separate from the previous games in the series. :3

      • Kitty says:

        Sweetness thanks OverCooled!! That’s another anime throw into my puree of flavor this season. Awesome sauce!

      • BlackBriar says:

        Thanks for the info, OC. Now I don’t have to worry about playing the games to understand the anime because I’ve never played any of them.

  12. Hato-kun says:

    The first episode was pretty damn terrible. Not the mention the animation was incredibly horrible up until the last 2 minutes. It was really all over the place and if it doesn’t clean its act up, it’s gonna get dropped.

    • Overcooled says:

      I’m horribly biased, but I can see how some people wouldn’t like it. I really do wish they paid more attention to the animation as well though.

  13. Kushi says:

    I liked this, you could just imagine what it would have been like as a game from the way the first episode was designed ^_^
    but the dramatization/acting of the main character is kinda painful to watch i.e. “this… is.. my power? Per…so..na…” dun dun dun~
    yup, painful
    other than that, it’s entertaining to see the characters develop

    • Overcooled says:

      Oh man, he really needs more lines. I’m down with following the game closely, but sometimes you need to have an artistic license with things!

      • Kushi says:

        well as long as the animation isn’t as bad as the Naurto vs Pain episode… oh wait, it’s pretty hard to beat that =_=;
        eh

  14. Joojoobees says:

    I have no experience with the Persona franchise, but I enjoyed things like the calendar. I thought that was a pretty stylish element. Other than that I’m not overwhelmed by the show, ATM, but will check out at least a couple more episodes to see if I get into it.

    • Overcooled says:

      Persona reeks of style, right down the character outfits. Let’s hope they make up for the inconsistent animation with that style <_< I'm seeing a mix of people either being lost or following just fine, this show is really splitting people up.

  15. Snowley says:

    “Every now and then I just cover him up so I don’t have to look at him. Even when he’s awake.”

    X’D I lol’d so hard. Everybody is scared of Dojima and don’t want to look at him XD

    As a big Persona fan, I’m glad such thing as anime showed up. But… OMG, Youske’s ass voice. It doesen’t have that lovable irony in it. What have they done to my favoruite character ;____; Actually it would be better is Namikawa voiced him, not MC (and MC having no voice at all, lol).

    Animation is kinda cheap, but I like how the fight scenes look (despite censored black blood). The pace of this ep was a bit too fast, they managed to put about 2 hours of gameplay into 20 mins. So yeah, I don’t like the direction at all.

    • Overcooled says:

      It looked like Nanako was going to cover his face when I first watched it so…XD

      I’m usually not a fan of subs, but the acting in the dub was superb. Especially Yosuke. I do prefer Chie’s japanese voice though since it suits her a lot more, so it evens out for me.

      The pacing is incredibly fast, but I prefer it this way since I know what’s going to happen and I’m incredibly impatient when I already know how something ends :B The animation…well, no one is really happy about that…aside from the fight scene.

  16. Tofu says:

    So erm… what was the dead body supposed to represent? Did that person go in there and die or something? Is there a reason why the girl being interviewed showed up in the tv at midnight? :\ I guess this is one of those first episodes that introduces things but wants you to watch the second episode so whatever it introduces is explained…

    Other than that, I quite enjoyed the episode. I feel like it’s be better for me to play the game than watch it because in the first few minutes it felt like you were playing the game without playing the game (quoted from Hato) and like OC said, the main guy hardly has any lines… :\ But looks cooler with glasses (oh the power of MEGANE!!!)

    I will be continuing this but maybe I expected something more epic because of how big the hype was… oh wells ^^

    • Dan-go says:

      Well i like how its put up all these unexplained things. And i suppose ppl who’ve played the game understood more. it’s setting up stuff for future episodes, but so far i fail to see why persona is lauded for its plot telling. The world ends with you seems like a better premise from a game title

      • Overcooled says:

        They haven’t explained it yet, but the dead body is the work of a serial murderer who likes stringing up bodies in weird places. As for why the girl who got interviewed showed up in the TV, that’s a huge part of the mystery, and they’ll talk about it in the next episode. I know everything is all “whut” right now if you haven’t played the game yet XD Which is a shame, because it shouldn’t be necessary. They ignored explaining the mystery in favour of going into the TV world sooner in order to have Yu get his power faster. Let’s hope episode 2 offers more in the realm of explanations.

        Tofu, you’d probably enjoy playing the game more XD The storytelling is a lot slower and more methodical. I would actually say it’s just as good as the story in TWEWY!

        • Dan-go says:

          NO I LOVE JOSHUA TWEWY IS AWESOME. I LOVE CURRY AND PINK CUZ PINK IS THE COLOR OF HUMANITARIANS. NOT THE PHONES!

        • Tofu says:

          I’m actually getting the game today and I watched episode 2 so it’s all goods ^^

  17. Moni Chan says:

    lol I like this anime. It’s funny I enjoyed watching it in my anime club @ school. The fall anime season keeps on getting better and better

    • Overcooled says:

      I’m kind of “meh” over the fall season so far actually, but I’m glad there’s Persona to brighten my week =w=

  18. Alynn says:

    I thought that this episode could be a lot better. At first, I thought the animation was decent, but after a while it started to bother me.

    Even though I haven’t played the game (I WANT TO SO MUCH DAMN IT) I pretty much know the whole storyline from one of my friends. That being said, I thought the storyline presentation was alright. Though my opinion on this is not reliable since I haven’t played the game. (FFUUUU I really need to play this; I’ve been wanting to since it came out jadhfjer)

    • Overcooled says:

      Animation was off, but I’m still convinced this is one of the better first episodes of the Fall season. So much drama thrown at you all at once~

      I feel like you’re always deprived of the games you want to play D: I wish I could just lend you my games so you could experience the joy of Persona

  19. TheVoid says:

    I’ve always believed that the Gas Station Attendant is a man. Which is why I found it weird when a woman’s voice came out of that throat in the dub.

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    • Neena says:

      Fine by me *perv eyes kekeke

    • Overcooled says:

      It looks like it should be a man, but when you look at the final boss form, it’s quite..womanly. Her gender seems like a mystery almost based on the voices and androgynous human appearance. Aiyaaa.

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      • Karakuri says:

        I’m pretty sure that she’s a woman since she’s based off of Izanami, a goddess/counterpart to the male god Izanagi.

  20. Neena says:

    This.is.brilliant. And the art!The aaaaart!!! Can’t wait to watch it

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