Anime: Persona 4 The Animation

[Kaji Motomiya]

Differences(?) Review 4 - Episode 5

Episode 5 - Would you love me?
[hide]-What a way to start. This might be one of those things where I have to connect the end with the beginning or something...I fucking hate those.
-Chie introduces Yuu to the basketball club. In the game, you voluntarily do it yourself. That's probably because, unlike Daisuke, Ichijo has a connection with one of the main characters. You'll have to play the game to figure that out, though I haven't done it myself. XD
-Ai Ebihara, the Strength team's manager (she's either the Basketball or Soccer team manager) is introduced the same time as the Strength Social Link. In the game, you meet Ai Ebihara later during a Strength Social Link up.
-The manga and game touches about the Golden Week thing a little more, emphasizing on Nanako's and Ryoutaro Dojima's relationship as father and daughter, where the two make a promise. The anime just wizzes right through it.
-lol ATZRBUCKS COFFEE. I think an anime I watched called Nichijou also made reference to Starbucks too. I love it when anime do **** like that.
-As you can tell, Ai's affection changes from either Ichijo or Daisuke, depending on who the Strength link is. The conversation remains the same, even if you pick a different person.
-One reason why I like Souji Seta/Yuu Narukami/Banchou Protagonist is that his fringe easily hides his eyebrows, which in turn hides his expressions. Speaking of expressions, no Status Rank Up today...
-Again, Ichijou's and Daisuke's answers on who they like differ depending on who you take. But this time, they're not linked. While Ichijou says he likes Chie, Daisuke says that he's not interested in relationships. In the case of Ai, the result is still the same. Poor girl...
-Y'know, the game made Ai's attempted suicide seem much more traumatic than the anime. Probably because it wasn't animated, and thus less funny to look at. Also, probably because of the BGM. And finally, it was probably because SHE WAS ALREADY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE FUCKING GATE.
-Oh wait! They DID put it there! Fucking Hulu, fucking with the commercials thing again...BTW, going to the Strength athletic club usually raised your Diligence. It's no surprise it went up.
-OMG THE ANIME MAKES THE MOON'S LOVER'S ROUTE THING HILARIOUS AS ****!! The fucking ring tone and his expression...I almost pissed myself...I never went the Friend's route, so I wouldn't know. I called it the Friend's Route for a reason; I'm going to finish this episode before I elaborate.
-Not also gonna comment anymore on Ichijo's route. I never took it. This is what makes doing this review hard. Another example will be the Death Arcana.
-Okay, time to explain. When Ai tries to kill herself and opens herself to you, you are give two choices: one evokes the Friend's Route, and the other the Lover's Route. Now, there's a catch. While they are called the Friend's and Lover's Routes, they are actually the opposite of their title. To pick the Friend's Route, your choice must be the one that makes you two boyfriend and girlfriend. In the end, well, you see what happens; Ai learns from this and breaks up with you, leaving you a momento. To pick the Lover's Route, you have to reject Ai's offer of being in a relationship. You two will still hang out, but in the end, Ai will confess that she really has fallen in love with you. You can choose again to be her lover (I recommend it, since there's no repercussions of having multiple lovers when the Link isn't finished).

Yuu Narukami Stats Cut-In since previous episode
Courage - Reliable (Rank 3)
Knowledge - Average (Rank 2)
Expression - UP, Decent (Rank 2)
Understanding - Basic (Rank 2)
Diligence - UP, Persistent (Rank 3)

Yuu Narukami's Completed Social Links
The Social Link ends when the SL Character's problems are resolved, and they give you their momento.
The Moon - The Picture Stickers[/hide]

Also, a tidbit. Kanji is voiced by Toshihiko Seki, aka Momotaros. Some food for thought.

 

[Icefish]

I suppose I might as well chime in with my two cents. Overall, I think this is a solid series. It was a little weird at first to hear everyone in Japanese, but it's something I've gotten used to. I'm a little bummed that it didn't stick with Pursuing My True Self as the opening, but what they have now works well enough. The rest of the soundtrack seems to be lifted straight from the game. It's a nice, if somewhat low effort, way to link the two.

I'm really liking how they're handling Yuu (does anyone else think Souji's is a better fit?). With the exception of this last episode, he's had a rather minimal speaking part, which I think really helps to bring along the feel of the silent protagonist over from the games. I also like the fact that they brought over several of the smartass lines, and I hope they continue to do so. They also managed to handle the whole Wild Card thing pretty well. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other personas (personae?) Yuu pulls out of his subconscious.

They've done a pretty good job of incorporating some of the more gameplayish aspects. The social stats for the eyecatches and the inclusion of the social links are obviously aimed towards those who played the game (especially the social stats), but it still makes things easily approachable to people who never played the game or even know what the franchise is about. I'm a little worried that the social links might suffer a bit from compression due to having to cover all of them in a limited number of episodes, but from what we saw with this last episode, I doubt there's going to be much of a problem.

Really, there are only two gripes I really have with the series so far, and one of them's not even all that serious. First, there's a disappointing lack of Jack Frost. I know we've got the bulk of the series ahead of us, so he better show up. Second...Yuu, for the love of YHVH, GRIND KNOWLEDGE! ALWAYS MAX OUT KNOWLEDGE FIRST!

There's a lot more I could say in regards to the game/anime relationship and the franchise as a whole, but Kaji seems to be doing a lovely job of that, so I won't step on his toes. However...

Also, a tidbit. Kanji is voiced by Toshihiko Seki, aka Momotaros. Some food for thought.

 

[Kaji Motomiya]

The rest of the soundtrack seems to be lifted straight from the game. It's a nice, if somewhat low effort, way to link the two.

Something I never mentioned in the differences reviews, since there's going to be an anime OST, is that there are SOME new added soundtracks. For example, there was a new vocal track sung by Shihoko Hirata during the basketball game. I love the Persona music, so I downloaded the OST (unlike P3, there's only one). I like that a lot of the Shin Megami Tensei BGMs have vocal tracks. Even the anime has it.

I'm really liking how they're handling Yuu (does anyone else think Souji's is a better fit?). With the exception of this last episode, he's had a rather minimal speaking part, which I think really helps to bring along the feel of the silent protagonist over from the games. I also like the fact that they brought over several of the smartass lines, and I hope they continue to do so. They also managed to handle the whole Wild Card thing pretty well. I'm really looking forward to seeing what other personas (personae?) Yuu pulls out of his subconscious.

Really, it's how you perceive it. While Souji as the P4 Protagonist (I call it P4 Protagonist because he was originally nameless until the manga gave him a name) can be made into whatever you want, Souji Seta and Yuu Narukami has set personalities that make themselves similar and different from each other. For example, Souji Seta talks a lot less in the manga, but has a certain air around him. Yuu Narukami seems to be A BIT (just a bit) more active and is actually showing a growth than a set form that represents the game. It's the fans that turn the P4 Protagonist into this god-like pimp that overshadows P3's Minato Arisato. And honestly, I like how godly Souji/Yuu is made out to be. I mean, even as a girl (crossdress, not genderbend), he was depicted as a gang leader (yankii), much like how Izanagi has a banchou look about him that reflects the type of person Souji/Yuu is. It's fucking hilarious.[/quote]

I'm a little worried that the social links might suffer a bit from compression due to having to cover all of them in a limited number of episodes, but from what we saw with this last episode, I doubt there's going to be much of a problem.

Tell me about it. The Moon would usually take months on end, but they finished The Moon and nearly half of Strength in just one episode in a span of a few days. I'm curious to see if Daisuke will get more screentime as the other half of Strength, but since Yuu joined the basketball club, I dunno...I think Yuu might go for the music club since Ayame was featured in the first few episodes.

There's a lot more I could say in regards to the game/anime relationship and the franchise as a whole, but Kaji seems to be doing a lovely job of that, so I won't step on his toes. However...

Dude, don't worry about it. My memory in this department is so hazy, I'm trying hard to do these. Episode 5 proved to be mad difficult because I took the Lover's Route and Soccer Team while the anime went the Friend's Route and Basketball Team. I couldn't do a conclusive review based on my own experience, so at times like these, I could use a lot of help. And I'm juggling between the game, anime, and manga (which kinda skips social links), so I'm rereading some chapters as well.

Dude, I love you. I fucking love you. This...this made my day.

 

[Icefish]

Nice to know my shitty, ten minute Photoshop job went over so well. I never did anything with the Moon, but I did do Ichijo's route (albiet a while ago, so most of this is shamelessly taken from the Megaten wiki), so I can say a few words on that.

The Other Side of Strength
In the game, Kou was actually adopted. His foster parents didn't have anyone to take over the family business, so they adopted him to get an heir. Funnily enough, shortly after that, his mother gives birth to a daughter. This gets Kou off the hook for inheritance, but as time goes on it also leaves him feeling a bit detached from the family. He eventually stops giving a **** about basketball. This leads Daisuke to reignite his passions by having a practice game, essentially the same one we saw in the anime. He loses, but regains his interest in the sport.

There's more to it, but I'll leave that out for now in case the anime decides to cover it. I really should consider picking P4 back up and playing through it so I can keep doing stuff like this.

 

[Yellow Stranger]

Oh man, I'd hate to be that guy, especially since it spawned a chuckle inducing photoshop but:

Kanji is NOT voiced by Toshihiko Seki. He's voiced by Tomokazu Seki who is currently yelling out Sentai team names in Gokaiger. Also his hand is burning red or something.

 

[Icefish]

Dammit, now I have to break out Photoshop again...

e: Domon, why is your hair so big?

 

[Kaji Motomiya]

Oh man, I'd hate to be that guy, especially since it spawned a chuckle inducing photoshop but:

Kanji is NOT voiced by Toshihiko Seki. He's voiced by Tomokazu Seki who is currently yelling out Sentai team names in Gokaiger. Also his hand is burning red or something.

I KNEW IT! I put Tomokazu Seki, but then I switched back to Toshihiko, thinking that was the correct one. I should've went with my gut feeling...

Dammit, now I have to break out Photoshop again...

e: Domon, why is your hair so big?

**** IT. I am NOT changing my HJU sig for that! Momotaros saying that is too funny for me to ignore.

*places that picture as my Gaia sig*

 

[KaitoTheRamenBandit]

Episode 6
[hide]
- Oh god I lol'd soooooooooooo hard @ Kanji, especially when he's voiced by the same guy as Domon
- Strange? You saying I like men?
- I'm sad that there's no "awkward position" for Yosuke and Chie
- Hella funny chase scene "And then there was a wacky chase scene"
- And then there was that one chick from Aiya, "Oh let me do everything while we're getting chased by Domon"
- IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR MOM'S DEAD OR ANYTHING
- The lack of "All your yens, yip yip yap" made me sad
[/hide]

Preview
[hide] I expect Erupting Burning Fingers from Kanji [/hide]

 

[Galaxian]

That was the funniest episode yet :anime:

Loved the "Yosuke's seat" sign, the "radio" conversation, and Yu's reaction to Kanji channel :laugh:

 

[Icefish]

Oh my god, that delivery service. That freakin' delivery service.

I think I've already posted everything I can about this episode.