Persona 4 – 07
I know that feel, bro.
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It’s Persona tag team time! Your favourite thing! Or at the very least, NOT your least favourite thing! I bet you can hardly wait, even though the post has already started! (Can you tell I just had sugar? I just had sugar.) |
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I take back everything bad I said about Kanji’s story before. This episode… AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA this episode. I have no words yet here I am writing about it. |
Velvet room, Margaret, bonds, DAT NOSE, etc (are they seriously going to do this every episode?). Though this time they also talk about a disaster coming up in Yu’s future. However, they say that Yu has the power of sexy glasses to fight back now. So yeah, Kanji is on the Midnight Channel and he has more …character than the rest of the investigation team combined. Luckily, Yu recorded it (LMAO).
“I’m gonna make mad cash off of the fujoshi market with this. The next step is for us to make a video!”
So the team goes into the TV, but Kuma can’t locate where Kanji is because he’s too busy having an identity crisis. He asks them to get something of Kanji’s and they visit the textile shop, where they learn that Kanji actually beat up a motorcycle gang since his mother couldn’t sleep. They also learn that Kanji helped out a kid who lost his friend’s phone strap. Yeah, the pink bunny from earlier was something that Kanji handmade. Everyone is shocked since this doesn’t fit Kanji’s image …were they even paying attention to the Kanji’s display on the Midnight Television?
So they borrow the phone strap from the kid and meet the blue haired boy from the previous episode in Junes. It turns out that all the boy did during the talk yesterday was ask about what Kanji has been doing recently. He also figures that Kanji may have a complex. That aside, Kuma leads the team to a sauna type place that Yosuke and Yu reaaaaaaally don’t want to go in thanks to Kanji’s… I don’t even know what that was.
Everyone loves hot spring episodes! What could go wrong?
They meet Kanji’s Shadow and everyone wants to beat him up immediately for one reason or another. However, he runs away and Yukiko uses her Persona for the first time. Meanwhile, Kanji wanders the sauna while hearing voices talk trash about him. His Shadow appears and says that the delinquent act is all a lie. The team makes it to the room where Kanji is, but nobody wants to open the door since they just KNOW that they’re going to see something mentally scarring. They were right. All I can say is that I didn’t think selfcest was even possible. …and then the writers realised that they were probably losing male viewers, so they threw in a completely random fanservice scene of Chie and Yukiko. …and then Yosuke and Yu have a brief hand holding moment.
Kanji has a conversation with his Shadow about how Kanji is always being judged because he does things like sewing, so he likes guys better since girls are scary. Kanji’s Shadow changes forms and gains two equally charismatic buff sidekick…things. Yu and Yosuke didn’t stand a chance and are mentally scarred while the girls get pissed off. Anyways, Shadow Kanji moves on to attack the real Kanji, but Yu uses himself as a human shield to block the attack. It looks like all hope is lost, but Yu has the power of deus ex machina on his side and through the Velvet Room, he merges two Persona into a powerful one.
THE POWER OF PHALLIC OBJECTS COMPELLS YOU
Kanji notices that Yu dropped the phone strap he made and expects Yu to make fun of him. However, Yu says that it’s cute and Kanji’s Shadow overloads or something. It takes one punch from Kanji to bring his Shadow down and he accepts it as part of him, but says that he’s afraid of rejection from everyone and gender doesn’t matter. Kanji gets a Persona and collapses. Later, when Kanji is better, he joins the investigation team. After that, Dojima asks Yu why he was near Kanji’s house and asks if he’s involved with anything bad. However, the conversation is dropped due to Nanako.
Ahhnnnnn, Kenshin-samaaaa~~!!!
Bonus Flamboyancy:
“This dungeon isn’t gonna turn us gay or anything, right, Yu?” “It won’t have any effect if we’re already gay, partner.“
I’ve got the weirdest boner right now…
Yosuke, we do not appreciate your homophobic depiction of a “flaming homosexual”
Unfortunate camera angles: they happen.
“Ahhhh, Yosuke~” “…W-what did you say.” “Uh..I said…Ahh…Yow…It’s Gay….<_<“
End Thoughts:
Persona seems to have really found its groove as a gag/comedy anime. The jokes just kept coming this episode at a rapidfire pace, keeping me grinning or outright laughing at all the chaos. Choosing screencaps was NIGH IMPOSSIBLE, they were all such masterpieces. This episode was practically a parody of the game, mocking Kanji and his flamboyant shadow to hell and back. Would I have preferred a serious adaptation if it were possible? Most likely, yes. Persona is a game that touches on both dark and light sides, so it’s not a far stretch to go that route. This doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying this alternative perspective though. My only concern is if they can shift the tone smoothly enough when they start going after the murderer more. The last part of the game is quite grim and tense, so I wonder if they’ll keep poking fun at things or if it will sober up all of a sudden. I’m guessing they’ll go for a nice mixture. Why leave out the comedy when they’re doing such a spot-on job of it?
I love Kanji. I always have. He acts tough to cover his cute side to avoid persecution…but ends up getting persecuted anyways for being a delinquent. He has two sides that society largely shuns, leaving him completely uncomfortable and vulnerable no matter which side he turns to. Then there’s the whole gay thing, which he kind of denies near the end. It’s nice to see anime characters (and game characters) struggle with their sexuality instead of being 100% straight or 100% gay (or just a slut). People in real life suffer from the same issues, so it’s a lot more realistic to see a character like that in..well…the media.
That being said, this episode isn’t to be taken seriously and Kanji is basically just there to make the other guys uncomfortable. XD Not that I mind, because the romp through his dungeon was quite the sight to behold. They even improved upon the system Teddie uses to find people. Instead of giving him facts as a basis for tracking the scent, they give him an object with the person’s scent. That makes wayyy more sense. Okay, so maybe it’s not the serious side of him, like what was done for Yukiko…but I’m happy with this. I’m also glad they included some aspects from his social link in the game, such as the little boy with the bunny. The more Kanji the better, because he’s just….too cute~~!!! \(ﾟ∀ﾟ) /
…So is anyone else confused as to which audience this episode was trying to appeal to? XD I have to give them credit for not discriminating though. I wasn’t even mad when they threw in that out of place fanservice shot of Chie and Yukiko since it only seemed fair at that point for the male viewers. I also have to say that the comedic twist on this was probably a smart idea, as I remember the game version of this being more serious and thus making it kind of awkward to sit through. Or maybe that was my complete lack of interest. Either way, adding the comedy made this easier to sit through. Plus this TOTALLY explains Yosuke’s behaviour in the next episode (assuming that they show it, though they more than likely will) since the game kind of made him a homophobe for no reason whatsoever. HE HAS A REASON NOW.
D’aww, okay fine. I’ll admit that I approve the shipping of Kanji and Yu. THERE I SAID IT. How could I not? That scene with the rabbit and Yu saying that it was cute was ADORABLE. That aside, with Kanji in the team now, I wonder how they’re going to do the dungeon exploration now. Like OC addressed last episode, 5 people running around isn’t that odd now, but when the team expands again, it will be awkward to have 6+ people all at once. Will they start having characters unable to go for one reason or another? Ah, game mechanics. The Persona combining was pretty strategically placed. Though like I said before, it was pretty deus ex machina. If he had done that in earlier episodes, we probably could have avoided half the drama during the Shadow fights. Even if he didn’t have the priestess arcane yet, he could have easily combined his other ones. Oh well, even if Yu doesn’t have a personality, at least he has a last minute powerup.
…Is there even anything left to talk about? (Though I could probably go on for a bit about Adachi and his cabbage.) This episode had humor, awkwardness, and that’s about it. Kanji’s problems were pretty much overshadowed (lol, see what I did there?) by his completely out of control Shadow. Though they did make a point to include his speech about gender not mattering, I’m pretty sure the Shadow made an impression too deep to be forgotten. Hell, even I wasn’t convinced after all of that. Anyways, next episode includes swimsuits and horribly dressed teachers.
Preview: Swimsuits.
About Tag Team
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.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
I have to say this episode was pretty good and it didn’t use the formula of the game. And hell yea, camping trip!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The anime seems to be finding some interesting way around the game mechanics. I approve!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
I will say I like how Yosuke dragged Protag down with him into the lube when Yu grabbed his hand.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Best friends do everything together XD.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I don’t understand the Arcana thing. I guess it has something to do with getting the power of people you meet in the real world, but it isn’t clear at all to me what it is or how it is used. I guess that is something that would make more sense if I had played the game.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, they’re not making it very accessible for people who haven’t played the game. I don’t even think they explained that Yu was fusing them together, it just kind of showed him waving his arms dramatically until a mass of writhing snakes appeared.
Basically, each time Yu gets close to someone, he unlocks an Arcana. You can think of it like an element (fire, water etc.) and he can then use persona of that element. The more people he gets close to, the wider variety of different element-type persona he can use. The anime is more focused on other things (like just pure action) than explaining it though, as things tend to get…wordy.
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
Wow, coincidence that I find out one of my closer friends was gay after watching this? XD Hilarity ensued in this episode, with the lighthearted innuendos, and ‘subtle’ hints of ecchi-ness. And for that title ‘I’ve got the weirdest boner right now’…I’m assuming you’ve seen the video on youtube; if not, well…curiosity already compels you to DO AN INTERNET!
As for the impromptu fusion of Personas, I get why the studio decided to do it in the midst of battle, which would have been awesome in the game, but now the Velvet Room kinda has no other purpose than being a long-nose man’s rape dungeon (and his silent slave) 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Whoaaa, that’s quite the coincidence! Even more so if it’s a guy!
Huh, I didn’t know that meme stemmed from a video, just that…it was a meme. I shall research this and become more of an expert in this interesting field of study! XD
I prefer Yu’s switching and fusing on the fly. I mean, no one else can see the door. It’d be weird if he suddenly just…went in. <_<
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Eh there is??? Wht does it call again??
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I was grinning like a complete idiot while watching this episode. Damn, this is my favourite Persona story yet. It was so wrong yet so good.
Also, I appreciate this! xD
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Agreed! And you can never have enough Sengoku Basara references in posts! 8D
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
The animation has become much worse in this episode. Compare the fluid animation at the end of episode 6 (kanji on the midnight channel-which was also in the trailer) to the choppy looking animation of the shadow throughout the episode 7. The manga version of this section was much more serious and actually had an emotional impact. It also shows a flashback of a young Kanji being bullied by girls/losing the girl he liked/beating up another boy/running away from middle school and then becoming a delinquent. The manga version did not have the boys whine about wanting to go home, either. There were no complaints about “losing your male virginity.” Kanji’s shadow also got angry, like in the game, whereas the anime version have the same stupidly happy look throughout the entire episode. the shadow’s cry for acceptance was also supposed to be desperate, but the anime turns it into a complete joke by making him run smiling stupidly/which seems like how a homophobe would see Kanji’s situation (simply creepy and not meant to be taken seriously). So many people across forums do not realize how unfortunate this episode really was, even though Kanji isn’t necessarily gay. Something was definitely lost with the transition from game to anime.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oh wow, I didn’t know that the manga went into even more depth than the game. I’ll have to check that out. I really appreciate what the game was trying to do by making Kanji’s plight a very realistic one of a boy who felt he could never be himself. It was my favourite shadow confrontation, aside from maybe the retro-gaming dungeon, so I get your attachment to the feeling that was conveyed in that arc. However, the anime did not want to go that route, so it just made everything a gag. Seeing as the anime has been adopting this tone for a while, I don’t think it’s a bad decision. It was a good episode, but in a funny, superficial way…not a moving way. It is a bit sad that some people will now just write Kanji off as “the gay one” given this episode, but most of the characters in this show are being reduced to “just for the lulz” types anyways. Just look at Yu!
As for the animation…yeah…it’s always been pretty inconsistent. Lots of derp and not to mention recycled animations of the persona. When it’s good, it’s good. When it’s bad it’s….oh boy. :/
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
The next episode will be even more unfortunate, as in the preview: the main character is acting as homophobic as Yosuke towards Kanji (I thought you accepted me/Not at night). This situation will be played for laughs, and I fear that Kanji will be a chew toy. That is to say, he’ll be kicked out of his tent, kicked in the groin by Chie, and then he’ll be pushed into the river for nosebleeding at the girls. He will be abused! If the creators thought viewers are supposed to relate to a homophobe, then that will be pretty sad.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I really didn’t like how Yosuke’s homophobia carried out in the real world long after they left that dungeon. Okay, I can understand being a bit freaked out and panicking in the moment when surrounded by butt-groping monsters, sure. But afterwards…bleh. I realllly hope they don’t ramp up the “ewww Kanji, get out of the tent!” thing in the anime. It just makes me sigh and see the characters as ignorant and unaccepting. D:
POWUH: and Yaoi Fangirl~ with 2320 comments
BEST EPISODE EVER
I will shoot those who disagree with me with Kanji’s awesome weapons. And his flowery boner
Also, wtf was that slippery stuff? …LUBE?
*google for KanjixNarumaki doujin*
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I…don’t know what that was…Lube sounds likely. Although, I would question why he has a bath tub full of lube. Wait no, let’s not go there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
….I had forgotten that it was all in a bathtub first. Thanks, OC. >.>
POWUH: 400-499 with 406 comments
Oh my god. I laughed so hard through this episode.
KANJI KDJGKFJKHS
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
I think most people did XD
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
At some point of this episode I just lied face down on the carpet, screaming “NOOOOO” until my roommate helped me get up after having a laugh spaz.
WHAT.
WAS.
THAT.
I don’t know why I react like this. Maybe cause it collides with my image of Atlus games being dark and schizophrenic.
But I got to say, Yu saying Kanji “it’s cute” – dude, you have a swag! 😀
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Ahaha that’s quite the reaction. Mine was more of pausing the video and laughing at regular intervals. This episode took me an hour to get through XD.
Whoa, yeah that’s my general image of Atlus as well (I blame Catherine for that) but this is being handled by different people, so I guess that’s where the image gap comes in.
Damn straight he does and NOBODY is safe from it~.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
As my roommate commented: Somebody finally cleaned the floor. =_=
As of the swag:
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKPKl4hpwv8 (sry link broke)
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Anime has it’s uses XD. And that is the single greatest thing I’ve seen all day.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
This was the weirdest episode yet. I was disturbed by Kanji’s Shadow video on Midnight Television at the beginning but couldn’t stop laughing when Yosuke said “hell no!” after Yu asked if he wanted a copy. Yu is blunt and clueless.
Yu has finally made me start laughing and Yosuke is awesome. Once they heard that commotion in the hot springs, it was like “Dude, let’s get the hell out of here!! This is no straight man’s land!!!” Instant homophobia. LOL. Yosuke is now my favorite character, I totally understand how he feels but he needs to pace himself or he’ll die an early death.
But Yu and Yosuke had absolutely no problems watching the girls fall down in whatever that stuff was on the floor. Damn it, Yu! You should have brought the camera!! Kono baka yarou!!! At least Kanji’s Persona is a lot more bearable than his Shadow.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Just wait until Rise arrivesAt least they’re making use of Yu’s personality now. Even if it is just for comic relief. Like I said before, Yosuke’s homophobia makes so much more sense in the anime thanks to this episode. But overall, I found this episode hilarious.
Ahaha well he managed to videotape Kanji’s Shadow. Maybe he’ll start bringing a camera into the TV. Yeah, I don’t think I could have survived another episode of Kanji’s Shadow without injuring myself from laughing.