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[Sophia]

Just adapting the story of the games was never going to work, there's so much more than just the main narrative that any adaptation is always going to feel incomplete.

The P3 movies proved that it would have worked with a competent director + budget. Obviously they're not perfect (minor pacing issues) but it tells the story in a fairly complete way while improving

The first Persona 4 anime suffers from issues with the director (Kishi's forte is comedy, not drama, and it shows) and a low budget. Jun Kumagai wrote the script for some of the better episodes, and when he was given the chance to fly solo under better conditions with the P3 movies, the results were really good.

The Golden episodes seemed almost like a filler afterthought tho. Like they were meant to supplement episodes, but they failed at that because most of them were even worse in quality than the original anime. :\

The episode of P4A where they managed to fit in all the side-social links was really funny. I also thought the episode on Ai/Kou's social links was pretty funny too. Whole show felt pretty genuine to me. Also liked how they did Mitsuo's boss fight.

I just felt like they did a good job of nailing Yu's cool/goofy nature. As the protagonist of a video game, he really just doesn't give two fucks about anything. It's great.

Yeah, the anime had a pretty good writing team, and it's actually fairly faithful to the source material while providing it's own take on the protagonist. It's a shame the production values aren't higher. Seeing actual fight scenes in the P3 movies was a huge improvement over the "disembodied ghost does attack" style "fight" scenes that were present in the P4 Anime and Trinity Soul. Makes me wish we could get an Arena anime with some really awesome fights.

 

[Zolo]

It'll be interesting to see how Persona 5 handles it since it seems like the Persona here actually grant superpowerful feats.

 

[OranSky]

Man more figures coming out and I still have my eye on that Arena Aigis Figma hmm decisions decisions...

 

[Aadrian1234]

Speaking of Persona animations, P3 Movie 4 is gonna break me, i just know it. If the quality is kept up there's no way i'm not gonna need some time to myself afterwards

Man more figures coming out and I still have my eye on that Arena Aigis Figma hmm decisions decisions...

Well shit, i forgot I don't have the Arena Aigis Figma. My wallet is gonna be hurting

 

[Sophia]

It'll be interesting to see how Persona 5 handles it since it seems like the Persona here actually grant superpowerful feats.

It's kind of noticeable because Personas always had different powers and abilities over the course of the series. Persona 5, in this sense, is more of a return to the form of Persona 1 and 2. One character in Persona 2, Kenta Yokouchi, actually uses his Persona to assist with his business career.

Persona 4 is perhaps the oddball out in this regard. Almost nobody among the cast has any real special abilities with their Personas. The only one who does seem to have special abilities is Rise, acting as support.

Big P4 spoilers incoming:

Spoiler

There's the slight implication that the murderer's Persona must have some ability to keep him undetected, otherwise Persona Resonance and/or related phenomenon would make the plot over real quick, lol.

Persona 3, in contrast, wasn't nearly as much of an oddball. Mitsuru's Persona demonstrates multiple capabilities, Fuuka obviously has support abilities that go well beyond other examples we've seen,

Spoiler

Chidori's Persona emits life, which is something quite unique in the series

, and then you've Koromaru. >_>;

 

[Kazuhira]

Who´s the artist of this banners?
I want to shake his/her hand for including Naoto again.

 

[Lunar15]

Who´s the artist of this banners?
I want to shake his/her hand for including Naoto again.

Why, it's the OP himself: Dantis!

Check out his tumblr for more Persona art.

 

[CrimsonFist]

It's kind of noticeable because Personas always had different powers and abilities over the course of the series. Persona 5, in this sense, is more of a return to the form of Persona 1 and 2. One character in Persona 2, Kenta Yokouchi, actually uses his Persona to assist with his business career.

Persona 4 is perhaps the oddball out in this regard. Almost nobody among the cast has any real special abilities with their Personas. The only one who does seem to have special abilities is Rise, acting as support.

Big P4 spoilers incoming:

Spoiler

There's the slight implication that the murderer's Persona must have some ability to keep him undetected, otherwise Persona Resonance and/or related phenomenon would make the plot over real quick, lol.

Persona 3, in contrast, wasn't nearly as much of an oddball. Mitsuru's Persona demonstrates multiple capabilities, Fuuka obviously has support abilities that go well beyond other examples we've seen,

Spoiler

Chidori's Persona emits life, which is something quite unique in the series

, and then you've Koromaru. >_>;

The Personas in 4 don't really exist outside of the TV world anyway. The only effect they have in the real world is granting the ability to enter TVs.

Spoiler

That could explain away Persona resonance not giving away the killer

 

[Aadrian1234]

It's kind of noticeable because Personas always had different powers and abilities over the course of the series. Persona 5, in this sense, is more of a return to the form of Persona 1 and 2. One character in Persona 2, Kenta Yokouchi, actually uses his Persona to assist with his business career.

Persona 4 is perhaps the oddball out in this regard. Almost nobody among the cast has any real special abilities with their Personas. The only one who does seem to have special abilities is Rise, acting as support.

Big P4 spoilers incoming:

Spoiler

There's the slight implication that the murderer's Persona must have some ability to keep him undetected, otherwise Persona Resonance and/or related phenomenon would make the plot over real quick, lol.

Persona 3, in contrast, wasn't nearly as much of an oddball. Mitsuru's Persona demonstrates multiple capabilities, Fuuka obviously has support abilities that go well beyond other examples we've seen,

Spoiler

Chidori's Persona emits life, which is something quite unique in the series

, and then you've Koromaru. >_>;

I think we just have to accept that every iteration has it's own rules imposed on how everything functions in it

 

[FluxWaveZ]

I think we just have to accept that every iteration has it's own rules imposed on how everything functions in it

Except for Persona 1 and Persona 2, where they function the same way and are also gained the same way.

 

[CorvoSol]

The P3 movies proved that it would have worked with a competent director + budget. Obviously they're not perfect (minor pacing issues) but it tells the story in a fairly complete way while improving

The first Persona 4 anime suffers from issues with the director (Kishi's forte is comedy, not drama, and it shows) and a low budget. Jun Kumagai wrote the script for some of the better episodes, and when he was given the chance to fly solo under better conditions with the P3 movies, the results were really good.

The Golden episodes seemed almost like a filler afterthought tho. Like they were meant to supplement episodes, but they failed at that because most of them were even worse in quality than the original anime. :\



Yeah, the anime had a pretty good writing team, and it's actually fairly faithful to the source material while providing it's own take on the protagonist. It's a shame the production values aren't higher. Seeing actual fight scenes in the P3 movies was a huge improvement over the "disembodied ghost does attack" style "fight" scenes that were present in the P4 Anime and Trinity Soul. Makes me wish we could get an Arena anime with some really awesome fights.

I just finished the movies, and the second one was a lot better than the first. The first had some, I dunno, scene issues? Like, scenes happened that to someone who had no knowledge of Persona would make no sense. Especially Velvet Room stuff. Early on in the first movie there's little in the way of Persona action, too. Like, Hermes, sure, but Orpheus mostly just stands and screams.

I'll be rewatching 4 soon so that I can recall how fights were done there. I do remember Izanagi's intro in Golden being a neat fight, which is probably where the rest of the show's budget went.

Anything's better than Trinity Soul, though. You can't even get a good look at Personas in that show.

 

[Pachimari]

I just started playing Persona 3 Portable and I am very surprised, that it plays that differently to Persona 4 Golden, in the sense, that you don't control a character, but rather a move a cursor around.

 

[KenjiGlove]

Was the reason for why the bodies are hanging from antennas ever explained? It never made any real sense to me.

I just started playing Persona 3 Portable and I am very surprised, that it plays that differently to Persona 4 Golden, in the sense, that you don't control a character, but rather a move a cursor around.

Yeah it's the biggest downgrade if you compare it to FES. Some people like it though.

If you aren't already, pick the female route, she gives better experience compared her male counterpart.

 

[NCR Redslayer]

Was the reason for why the bodies are hanging from antennas ever explained? It never made any real sense to me.

Because thats where TV world signals are received?

 

[Pachimari]

But should I play FES or P3P first?

 

[CorvoSol]

I just started playing Persona 3 Portable and I am very surprised, that it plays that differently to Persona 4 Golden, in the sense, that you don't control a character, but rather a move a cursor around.

It's cuz they downgraded the visuals to make it playable on PSP. Why they didn't at least opt for a player sprite, though, boggles me to know end.

 

[KenjiGlove]

Because thats where TV world signals are received?

So does the body just get sucked through the TV wires and suddenly pops out of the antenna?

But should I play FES or P3P first?

Both version have their merits, P3P has improved gameplay and better S-links (if you play as the female protagonist) while FES has a better presentation. It's all debatable though.

Since you're coming from P4G just go ahead and play the portable version. The clunkiness of the original version is going to be really frustrating for someone who's used to Golden.

 

[NCR Redslayer]

So does the body just get sucked through the TV wires and suddenly pops out of the antenna?

Of course, because going into a TV made sense too.

 

[Sophia]

I just finished the movies, and the second one was a lot better than the first. The first had some, I dunno, scene issues? Like, scenes happened that to someone who had no knowledge of Persona would make no sense. Especially Velvet Room stuff. Early on in the first movie there's little in the way of Persona action, too. Like, Hermes, sure, but Orpheus mostly just stands and screams.

I'll be rewatching 4 soon so that I can recall how fights were done there. I do remember Izanagi's intro in Golden being a neat fight, which is probably where the rest of the show's budget went.

Anything's better than Trinity Soul, though. You can't even get a good look at Personas in that show.

The Golden had one or two cool fight scenes, but most of the regular fights in the P4 anime were of the "User points or does some dramatic pose and their Persona goes up and attacks" variation. It's pretty lame.

And yeah, all the Velvet Room scenes in the Persona 3 movies are kind of dumb. That was my main complaint with the first one. They're clearly compensating for the fact that Igor's actor passed away, and as a result they make no sense if you haven't played the games in any fashion.

Except for Persona 1 and Persona 2, where they function the same way and are also gained the same way.

The biggest difference is, honestly, a lot more people have Personas in 1/2. In Persona 3 and Persona 4 most of the supporting cast don't have one, and it's treated more as a rarity. Contrast this to the first two games, where a large number of supporting characters are walking around with one.

 

[Zolo]

Didn't Tatsuya's scenario in P2 remake explain why the world is the way it is in P3 and P4 more than what it is in the first two?

 

[cj_iwakura]

The biggest difference is, honestly, a lot more people have Personas in 1/2. In Persona 3 and Persona 4 most of the supporting cast don't have one, and it's treated more as a rarity. Contrast this to the first two games, where a large number of supporting characters are walking around with one.

I'm guessing since Nyarlathotep lost the game, he stopped handing them out like candy.

Until the Kirijou group just had to go and screw everything up.

Half surprised there isn't a Time Castle shop where he can troll the cast from.

Didn't Tatsuya's scenario in P2 remake explain why the world is the way it is in P3 and P4 more than what it is in the first two?

Different writer, so it might not really matter. I think it boils down to Nyarlathotep's defeat.

 

[Zolo]

Persona 2 Remake: This is why there are only shadows now!
Persona 5: Uh.....demons are back as well now!

 

[danthefan]

P4G question, if it could be answered in a spoiler-free manner that would be great...

But does the pacing of the game change as you get on? I seem to have just discovered who the culprit is, and I've read that you have to have your social links all done by a certain date, so does it skip days or have enforced encounters or whatever as you reach the last third-ish of the game?

I'm about 40 hours in now and I'm totally hooked on everything but the dungeons which I just find tedious. But not enough to spoil things, and I'm now really excited for P5, it's gone from a passing interest to day 1 into my veins.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

Persona 5: Uh.....demons are back as well now!

Hashino:

There are reasons behind why Personas appear as the enemies the cast are facing, however Hashino is remaining silent on that point, as well as where the protagonist’s fights take place.

 

[Sophia]

Didn't Tatsuya's scenario in P2 remake explain why the world is the way it is in P3 and P4 more than what it is in the first two?

I don't think so. At least, not based off what was translated. That being said, some of the concepts it expands upon are consistent with the P3 Club Books, Arena, and related materials.

Hashino:

I think one of my most anticipated aspects of Persona 5 is how they'll play with or subvert the themes they worked with in Persona 3 and 4. Especially now that we have a clearer idea as to where they're going with it.

P4G question, if it could be answered in a spoiler-free manner that would be great...

But does the pacing of the game change as you get on? I seem to have just discovered who the culprit is, and I've read that you have to have your social links all done by a certain date, so does it skip days or have enforced encounters or whatever as you reach the last third-ish of the game?

I'm about 40 hours in now and I'm totally hooked on everything but the dungeons which I just find tedious. But not enough to spoil things, and I'm now really excited for P5, it's gone from a passing interest to day 1 into my veins.

For the most part, no. There's one specific social link that needs to be completed to unlock new content in P4G, and one specific spot where you'll be sped ahead, but otherwise you have mostly all of the game time to yourself.

Slightly more specific info, if you don't mind very minor spoilers such as dungeon names:

Spoiler

Marie's social link must be completed before finishing the boss of Magatsu Inaba (in December) to unlock a new dungeon called the Hollow Forest. Also you'll automatically skip past through December once you defeat the boss in Magatsu Inaba, so try to finish that dungeon as close to December 22nd as you can. Don't finish Magatsu Inaba on the 23rd, or you'll miss the Christmas Eve event. Once you hit the final day of the game, you will no longer be able to advance any social links. You will however have some time to advance them in January and February.

 

[UltraGunner]

It'll be interesting to see how Persona 5 handles it since it seems like the Persona here actually grant superpowerful feats.

This is what I never got. So was like Yosuke always able to do Ninja moves, or was that just a byproduct of his Persona

 

[VegiHam]

I don't know about her personality since I haven't played P3P (yet), but I prefer her to the male MC just because she doesn't make me want to nag about her posture. I've had problems with my own back, so looking at Minato makes me think about chiropractors. And the P4 MC looks like hipster. :-\

Hahaha well that's a unique reason. I don't like the slouch either. I get that going from 'I don't give a fuck about anything' to

Spoiler

self sacrifice

is like his whole thing, but the initial state still grates on me.

She have bro relationship with Junpei, that alone already makes her the better protagonist.

She has really interesting connections with most of the cast tbf. Not so much Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuru I guess, but everyone else...

 

[Jachaos]

But should I play FES or P3P first?

I played FES first though it having aged a fair bit made me start it over at Easy. I don't mind that you can't control your party, in fact I often like that because it feels like every character's independence carries through from daily life to dungeon. Tartarus itself being the main dungeon throughout the game, the Tired-Healthy mechanic and the fact you can't choose what to inherit just were too annoying to keep progressing very slowly on Normal. I did it on Easy and then played P3P's Female route a few months later.

In that sense, if you're to play both I'd say do Female in P3P. I prefer FeMC but the male does fit the themes well.

 

[Lunar15]

Hashino:

Yeah, there's definitely a reason, as we see both shadows AND demons/personas.

I think it's fundamentally tied to the concept of "stealing". You probably steal personas straight from shadows.

 

[CrimsonFist]

Yeah, there's definitely a reason, as we see both shadows AND demons/personas.

I think it's fundamentally tied to the concept of "stealing". You probably steal personas straight from shadows.

(P5 speculation)

Spoiler

I think it's most likely that the knight "shadows" that we've seen turn into demons/personas when you engage them in battle, like the guards do in PV2

 

[danthefan]

For the most part, no. There's one specific social link that needs to be completed to unlock new content in P4G, and one specific spot where you'll be sped ahead, but otherwise you have mostly all of the game time to yourself.

Slightly more specific info, if you don't mind very minor spoilers such as dungeon names:

Spoiler

Marie's social link must be completed before finishing the boss of Magatsu Inaba (in December) to unlock a new dungeon called the Hollow Forest. Also you'll automatically skip past through December once you defeat the boss in Magatsu Inaba, so try to finish that dungeon as close to December 22nd as you can. Don't finish Magatsu Inaba on the 23rd, or you'll miss the Christmas Eve event. Once you hit the final day of the game, you will no longer be able to advance any social links. You will however have some time to advance them in January and February.

Oh thanks for the tip there on the December dungeon, would have had no idea and I've been doing the dungeons as early as possible on general.

 

[Zolo]

I hope there's an option to just steal the answers for your tests instead of studying for them. =p

 

[Weiss]

Yeah, there's definitely a reason, as we see both shadows AND demons/personas.

I think it's fundamentally tied to the concept of "stealing". You probably steal personas straight from shadows.

I'm guessing the enemies we'll be fighting are Personae that have been artificially extracted from people. They take the form of Shadows (the enemies on the maps, like those knights, or those masked guys in black suits in the second trailer) and then transform into their true forms for battle.

 

[A Dead Diehard]

I hope there's an option to just steal the answers for your tests instead of studying for them. =p

Yeah. It's called GameFAQs.

Or save-scumming how you felt after each answer.

 

[DNAbro]

Yeah. It's called GameFAQs.

Or save-scumming how you felt after each answer.

I looked up all the answers in P3/P4. Kinda happy i can't look up anything for P5.

 

[Modest Mauser]

One thing I'm not digging about Persona Q is how they seem to have replaced Kazuma Kaneko's illustrations of all the personas from P3/4 with these new ugly-looking renders. What's up with that?

The chibi style of everything else is pretty cute though

 

[Weiss]

So seeing all of your cool figures has finally driven me to getting some of my own.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B005UWK7A6/

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00WM1EEYS/

You guys are enablers.

 

[A Dead Diehard]

One thing I'm not digging about Persona Q is how they seem to have replaced Kazuma Kaneko's illustrations of all the personas from P3/4 with these new ugly-looking renders. What's up with that?

The chibi style of everything else is pretty cute though

Some personas handle the art change better than others.

 

[daevious]

The best is of course

Spoiler

Trinity Soul

.

Not even as a joke will I ever accept that answer.

 

[Levito]

Thanks for still giving S.Link a shoutout in the OP, Dantis.

 

[Meia]

First P4 anime was solid. Great addition to Yukiko's shadow confrontation, both to her and Chie's benefit. Was hoping it would lead to improvements for the others, but not really. The summer vacation episodes were solid, as was the Dojima/Nanako social episode. I didn't really find anything "bad" about it(other than animation quality at times, really), unlike the horrid Golden Animation.

Best thing about both animations is probably the music, as some of it is damn good.

 

[DarkChronic]

This has probably been discussed to death, but why did they re do Chie's voice in Persona 4 Golden?

I'm watching Giantbomb's Endurance Run and I like the sound of her old voice way better.

 

[cj_iwakura]

This has probably been discussed to death, but why did they re do Chie's voice in Persona 4 Golden?

I'm watching Giantbomb's Endurance Run and I like the sound of her old voice way better.

She was a TV actress, or so I heard, and wasn't sticking around in the VA industry. I liked her better too, she sounded more natural.

 

[Meia]

She was a TV actress, or so I heard, and wasn't sticking around in the VA industry. I liked her better too, she sounded more natural.

Yep, she retired from the VA business apparently after that role, so they had to recast her.



Old Chie was a pretty chill voice, though I don't think it really matched what they were going for with the character(voice style was very different from the japanese VA as well). New Chie is closer to the japanese VA style I think, but early when she yells the voice is very grating(much better after this point).


Have a hard time picking which I like better, honestly. The mellower Chie fits most of the moments, while the newer one fits a lot of the moments where she's to be higher energy. Probably give it to the newer one slightly because of that.

 

[Sophia]

Oh thanks for the tip there on the December dungeon, would have had no idea and I've been doing the dungeons as early as possible on general.

Don't worry if you had no idea. I fell victim to it in my first P4 run, as well as in my P4 Golden run. >_>

 

[A Dead Diehard]

She was a TV actress, or so I heard, and wasn't sticking around in the VA industry. I liked her better too, she sounded more natural.

I think at times it sounded a bit too subdued.
Erin goes overboard from time to time, but overall I think she's more fitting.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I think at times it sounded a bit too subdued.
Erin goes overboard from time to time, but overall I think she's more fitting.

She sounded like a casual friend, I liked that she wasn't over the top like game/anime VAs always are.

Don't think, feel! Hehe.

She was great at nailing her when she was sad/frightened, too.

 

[CorvoSol]

The Golden had one or two cool fight scenes, but most of the regular fights in the P4 anime were of the "User points or does some dramatic pose and their Persona goes up and attacks" variation. It's pretty lame.

And yeah, all the Velvet Room scenes in the Persona 3 movies are kind of dumb. That was my main complaint with the first one. They're clearly compensating for the fact that Igor's actor passed away, and as a result they make no sense if you haven't played the games in any fashion.

I dunno, I really remember liking the moment in the Shadow Yosuke fight where Yu socks Yosuke in the face as Izanagi socks Shadow Yosuke in the face. I'm gonna start watching it again to see if it's any good, but I wouldn't be surprised if the fights don't hold up. The Aigis vs Tank fight was really good in Midsummer Knight.

Velvet Room scenes are all the more awkward because Makoto hasn't interacted with Elizabeth at all, and Elizabeth hasn't exhibited -any- of her personality from the game. It's just kinda weird.

 

[Zolo]

Elizabeth hasn't exhibited -any- of her personality from the game. It's just kinda weird.

Which sucks considering she's the superior sister.

Spoiler

=p

 

[Makio]

She was a TV actress, or so I heard, and wasn't sticking around in the VA industry. I liked her better too, she sounded more natural.

More like sedated ....

--------
And about the P4 Animation , i always loved the episodes 13 & 14 i think where they mix all "secondary" social links those are good.

And the series help me to some characters to grow in me like Yukiko (Ep 4 is the best of the series maybe) , Ai Ebihara (the episode with Kou) and the festival one the part with Ayane is great and make realize she is a good character besides her weird design. I always choose the Drama girl over her just for the first impression but after i see the animation i choose her social link (Ayane) and was pretty good.

Loved the orignal Animation , and actually liked the Golden one too just because Marie (not fan of her but no hater) and have some funny bits (like the Christmas episode).

Spoiler

Still mad about the concert episode