Well, what do we have here... two idiots who are completely blind to the bullshit gender double standards we especially see a lot of in the "filler" episodes. "What do you mean with you got scared?!" - "Hey, she's a girl, remember?" - "Oh... oh yeah, I forgot." Because, you know... a guy isn't allowed to be scared, right? Only girls are, right? Fuck off. -_- And that's without even mentioning how they try to make it funny how the girls are physically abusing the guys every now and then.
Did I happen to mention that only girls can be scared? No I don't happen to support nor defend Persona 4 in this regard , as the gender roles were one the unlikable parts of the show. But if I happen to find the show funny in this regard doesn't make me an idiot. It just makes me a horrible person.
Theshowcommentman - ... fair enough. I'm mostly bothered with the reviewer not even bothering to mention it in his review. It's thanks to that I got pissed off watching it knowing everyone left it out.
I watched the anime first, then played P4. I loved it, and it made me want to get P4 Golden(Though to be fair, I hadn't heard of the Persona series since 3 years ago, and that was when I got P3P).
***** In terms of gameplay? Not really. In terms of story? Depends on your tastes, if you like dark stories (Persona 3) or light-hearted/happy-ish stories (Persona 4). I for one prefer the Persona 3 story. The cast was much more better in Persona 3, exccept for Yukari... she was, is and will forever be the biggest annoying bitch I've ever seen in fiction. (A.K.A The Queen of Bitches) However... Everyone has different opinions.
Am I the only one who thought the anime was actually really good and nearly cried because some episodes were actually really nice and good? And I laughed the most at this anime than any other ever, I love it. Maybe it's because I played golden first? And rate it as the best game I have ever played.
Just about if not 100% similar to me, I played Persona 4 Arena with a few buds awhile back, it was okay, nothing too special. However, fast forward to January 2016, I got a PlayStation Vita and heard about Persona 4 as one of the best games ever, I thought that was some huge claims, since my favorite game at the time was the Original Dark Souls. However, as soon as I started playing it (ironically mostly in Highschool) I got HOOKED, like I just couldn't stop, only stopped when I needed to go somewhere. I eventually beat it, decided screw waiting for P5 to come out, I didn't want to stop stuff on Persona, so I bought P3P, P2IS, and watched The Animation and Golden... 3 times each, as well as the P3 Movies. And yes I also think that the scenes were good too, since they adapted most of the amazing choices from the games.
Kanji's not actually a homosexual, though he does get teased for what his Shadow did by the others throughout the entirety of the game itself. No, what he wanted was acceptance, to be himself. As a child Kanji was constantly made fun of for doing things that were considered girly, including sewing, knitting, and all that stuff. He also has a soft spot for kids and things that are small, cute, and furry. Anyways, Kanji adopted the "Punk thug" look in order to scare anyone away from even thinking of trying to mess with him, but it still did not grant him the acceptance he so desperately wanted, and when he befriended the main cast, he had finally found that acceptance.
spikeharusame i think you're the only person in the entire world who has gotten kanjis character spot on. (however i think he isn't exactly the straightest character, but then again definitely not completely gay)
spikeharusame Yeah, you're pretty spot-on with this. I do feel like he MIGHT be gay or wouldn't mind it if people didn't make it a big deal over it. His attitude around Naoto and his reaction to finding out Naoto was actually a girl tells me that. He doesn't seem to mind either way, and it feels like he has a thing for her from the start. In the end, he does just want to be accepted, but I feel like he wouldn't care who or what accepts him as long as he actually likes who they are.
spikeharusame Well, Troy Baker(Kanji's voice actor for the eng.dub) has gone on record saying that Kanji actually is gay, but honestly, I don't think he's entirely sure, like the rest of us. It seems obvious that he is at first, and one could lean towards, "Yeah, I think he's gay" throughout different times in the show, but his behavior when it comes to Naoto is what kinda' throws it off. He seemed to like her when he and everyone else thought Naoto was a guy, now granted, he also misunderstood Naoto's actions for being for romantic reasons, when it was actually just detective research, but it's even after they find out that Naoto's a chick that Kanji seems to like her. Geez, idk; you know what, Kanji's confused, that much is for sure. I think he kinda' had a thing for Yu also, lol!
MikeyLee Senpai He might very well be bisexual, or, given his personality, he might just enjoy being around people while being completely asexual, who knows? I wouldn't really rely on the word of a voice actor to say a character's back story, that's really more up for the creator of the series
Chance507 Having never played the game, I really liked the show! That was a bit off in places (mostly to do with the Velvet Room), but I had a good time overall.
Speaking of Persona 4, you should definitely watch the Hiimdaisy Persona 4 Comic fandub if you haven't already. It's hilarious, well voice acted, and well edited.
Mellow Online1 Golden is not a standalone adaptation, though, it's a sequel to this anime. As such it's perfectly reasonable to require you to have seen this anime before watching its sequel. You're right that having to play the game beforehand is more of an adaptation failure, but it does fill in some less important extra bits; the sheer difference in runtime makes it impossible to include everything. I think overall they did do a decent job of selecting what to include and what to omit, so you *can* get by without playing the game, you'll just miss certain things if you do so.
I got into the Genre Because Of Persona 4 Actually. From finishing the Third one, and the Fifth one, what an Awesome Experience, Especially Playing the 4th one years later On The PC 🔥 And getting into the Shin Megami Tensei Games as A Result thx to this Very Gem of an Anime ❤️
No, he is literally just saying Kuma ( bear ) at the end of his sentences. The localization added the bear puns in because it wouldn’t really work in the west with teddy just saying bear. I mean yeah he still makes shitty puns but they aren’t bear focused
(Spoilers Ahead!) Having just beat the game. I thought it was a really great adaptation. I agree that the first episode is slow, just like the game's first hours. But what I did like were most of the changes. Lets take the story/shadow fights for example. In the game, a shadow would mostly just talk and then fight like in the anime. In the game, its just a boss fight. In the anime, they try to mix it up more with visual representations of said character, and somehow implement some of the games mechanics into it. with Yosuke: Jumbotrons with people talking bout how annoying he is Chie: She is taken to Yukiko's room and then Everything turns red because of what she said as a kid, (also something about blu mask?) Yukiko: She is put into a cage like a bird, fire is all around, chie tries to help, and yuki breaks the cage Kanji: I found this one weak, because they focused more on comedy, Nice And Tough Guy are the ones that cast Forbidden Mumur (poison to boys, when they touches their eggs) and Roar of Wrath (rage to girls, and they talk shit to the girls) [Gotta love that Troy Baker!] Also, Kanji really isn't gay if you payed attention in the game (the anime did do this part well) Rise: Sorta weak, but mostly Shadow Rise starts kicking their asses, Teddie: Teddie is put in some abyss, and the fight foreshadows Ameno-Sagiri (Speaking of Bear puns, the main cast hates them too, and I think that Sho Minazuki, who is in P4U2 [Persona 4 Arena 2, which hasn't been released to consoles yet], has worse puns that even Teddie hates) Mitsuo: (copycat killer) I LOVE THIS ONE. It shows him rejecting his shadow, and then the fight just skipped to after they won and the team has a party. As time goes on, Yu looses contact with his friends, and eventually gets ready to leave Inaba. Then Shadow Mituo makes his attack, and literally almost killed Yu because no bonds= No persona. Then he is saved by Yosuke and the fight wraps up. Naoto: Has more of a Laboratory-us feel to it, and Yosuke Yu and Teddie get turned old which was pretty funny Namatame (suspect): Like in implement the games mechanics in a new way, Kunino cast Control DIRECTLY on the the Protagonist or Yu. (Yu also have Beelzebub by this point, ouch) But mostly remains the same. Adachi (Murderer): Instead of fighting Real Adachi as a team, only Yu does that, and the members of the team have to fight the Reaper (which can only be fought in New Game + in the original game, This was changed in Golden) And this is also where Yu's really gets a personality. Now about the OVA True Ending. It made more sense in the game because it had more time, but I did like what they did with it. Now in this Yu and the gang have a farewell Party, and Yu notices that the day keeps repeating itself, (an idea carried over from P3Fes's The Answer) Yu confronts Izanami, and then instead of prepping and going into the TV like in the game, HE IS ACTUALLY UNCONSCIOUS FIGHTING IZANAMI AND ALL HIS FRIENDS ARE SINKING TO THE ABYSS! I like in the OVA that Yu actually gives into Izanami, and rather have fake friends rather than no friends at all. Then Margarets Bitch slaps him, and they have a fight (Margaret can only be fought in New Game + on 3/20 after you max the Social Link) And during the fight, Yu gets encouraging messages from his friends, and accepts his own shadow, and defeats margaret, gets the Orb of Truth (in the game, you get this before you talk to the gas station attendant, and in the velvet room) And then He gets back up, Faces Izanami, and Fuses Izanagi No Okami, and Myraid Truth's the heck outa her! Arkada, I know you haven't played the game, but its a Damn good JRPG, arguably one of the greatest, and I highly recommend you play it (and hell, give the entire series a shot!) I promise that you will see how great of an adaption it really is.
really loved your comment, you should write an essay about it. really fucking awesome. you showed so much good stuff that I liked about both the game and the anime (the game is one of my abosulte favorite rpg of all time) especially the part with mitsuo and namatame. loved it when mistuo was playing with his mind and namatame taking control of Yu, since it never happens in the game, only to his friends. loved the time loop in the ova too, really good.
SonicKick I kind of didn't like what the OVA did to Yu, since I felt that made him a bit of a hypocrite, especially after spending like two and a half boss fights going over how humans really do want the truth no matter what, only to immediately go back on everything he said the minute things got tough (I mean, yeah, that was traumatising and disturbing as all heck, but still). Plus, that kind of defeats the whole idea of how bonds between people is the true power and we're stronger together when he finishes off Izanami alone.
You're BEARy good at giving reviews. (I'm sorry for the pun). By the way, did you think the music was good? I didn't hear you talk about it. Music has always been one of the big things in Persona 3 and 4, and their anime and movie adaptations. The OST's of P3 and P4 have really good music if you want to give it a listen to if you're bored or want to hear something interesting
***** i think i remember him saying in his stream ( or in one of the podtakus i am not sure :p ) that he will review code geass when he gets a hold of its copy.
As a fan of the game and anime, it was most enlightening to have a listen to what a person who HASN'T played the game thought about this anime, thank you. I'm a little sad you didn't actually say much about the sounds in this series though... but everyone's different of course :)
Kanji is not a close homosexual. He likes cute things and handcrafts plush animals. So people bullied him into something which he is not. He says that in the episode (and game) on the school trip that he likes girls.
In persona Q there is a hint of a love interest with Teddie and he kisses Yousuke. In the game and anime it shows him having a crush on someone even though he thinks he's a dude. Yeah, Totally not Homosexual
***** But after that "dude" reveals her true gender to the main cast, he is still attracted to her. He's not really homosexual; He's just confused. In fact, that's one of the reasons why he's my second favorite character in the series.
Homosexuality, alongside flamboyant effeminate behavior make a very clear point to connotate submissiveness and weakness for Kanji. He thought heavily of homosexuality assuming that's what a weak person like him should turn to, when in reality, he just has a really big fear of being rejected from other people which is why he constantly pushed everyone away from him. I think actually, the fact that his fear of other peoples' judgement and rejection goes forth with one of the major themes of the series, the fact that we all choose the realities that we'd like to see as opposed to the actual truth. In which case, it makes sense that general demographics originally see Kanji as a homosexual male character before evaluating his real issue, not that he is afraid of homosexuality, but is simply afraid of rejection and/or contact from other people. Because of this, i don't really treat Kanji as an open bisexual and/or homosexual male character at all. The function of presenting homosexuality as a repressed characteristic that he had was not to say "look, a closet homosexual/bisexual male." It's actually a statement about just how out of hand his fear of other people had really gotten. But it seems like in regards to behavior, he doesn't really care for the societal conventions of sexuality, he'll just do what he wants.
Don't worry Arkada, the puns are in the game too ... for better or worse, I don't remember. Although I recommend to play the game over this SO MUCH, I mean the game is claimed to be one of the best RPG series, which I agree with.
"These puns are...well, let's just say that they're some of the worst puns I've heard in a long while." Good sir, you completely missed a perfect chance to describe them as "unBEARable."
While I would agree with you Arkada, I think the way they did Yuu was a really interesting transfer of a game mechanic to the anime. In the game you can develop your personality traits, so that Yuu started out as a blank slate and later became more of a character at the end was a really cool nod to the game mechanic imo.
*Slowly dieing after being hit with dozens of bear puns* Me: Please, no more, I just can't take it anymore... T.T Teddie: *Pops his head out from around the corner* Oh no Sensei, that's not a Bear-y good reaction! Me:FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!
Arkada probable is no going to review hellsing ultimate because the last episodes are not even dubed and he said that he even skiped a 2 hour panel for just to not get spoiled abuot its ending
As someone who has played many Shin Megami Tensei games with the Persona series being my favorite, I would like to say that this is a very good review especially from someone who has never experienced the source material. Good Job Arkada:0
No! NO NO NO! Narukami was an awesome, quirky character who really put across the idea of an outsider, growing and becoming more expressive as he gains more and more friends over the course of the story. His moments of weird, off humour gave him far more personality than the regular old blank slate character that so many video game adaptions fall into. Also? Your denouncement of the holy sacred bear puns has surely created pandamonium in the comments.
you failed to mention the amazing music. also the velvet room is explained in the anime later where yu mentions about having really fade memories about it, implying that he barely has any recollection of the velvet room
Agree with most of your points. For Yu's character I have to say he's actually one of my fave characters because, well, no scene with him felt boring. And the club episode. SO MUCH SWAG. And I can't believe you didn't mention the soundtrack or writing, which were two of the best things about this adaptation.
This is the first video of yours I've seen, and I gotta, this review was really necessary. I feel like a lot of people who try to review the anime are too blinded by how great the game was to accurately critique the show on its own. Your video was really entertaining and I agree with everything you went over. Thank you for going over the anime! As a huge fan of the original game, I'm glad someone like you was able to put into words why I didn't enjoy the show as much as the game.
As a person who played Persona 3 before watching the series but not persona 4, I can say that all your points are accurate and as an adaptation it can stand on its own. I also think you gave it a perfect score for what it is.
Arkada, seeing as this is an adaptation review would you consider watching another one like Danganronpa? I just finished watching while never having played the game and i enjoyed it. You can tell that there are a few game mechanics that are referenced but the story, i found, is really interesting but can be formulaic. Anyway i would love to hear your thoughts on it.
I don't know if I had liked this series without playing the game but as a huge fan of the game I was very pleased with it. The artstyle was very close to the design of the game and they managed to include not only the main story but even most of the side quest stuff rather well. Still one of the greatest games I've ever played and this was a nice adaption of it.
I thought the fact that Teddie made horrible bear related puns was the joke. I didn't think they were supposed to be funny, I thought it was the characters reactions (usually what the viewers reactions would be to such terrible puns) was actually the meat of any joke revolving around his puns.
Why should an adaptation stand alone? It can be fanservice (no I don't mean that kind of fanservice). If you are a fan of the game, you might want to soak everything up that relates to it in some way. Not that I don't understand your viewpoint, it's perfectly fine to rate the anime the way you did and I agree with your review except that there is nothing wrong in making an adaptation that isn't for the purpose of drawing in a new audience but just to please the fans.
An adaptation, by definition, is meant to be a standalone piece. You are taking a story in one medium and bringing it to life using a different medium. In order for an adaptation to truly be good, it needs to know what it can and can't carry over from the previous medium. I'm not saying P4 animated was a bad adaptation (in fact, it's one of the better ones out there), but there are alot of points where they try too hard to fit in the game mechanics when it would've been better to just leave well enough alone. Let's take the persona fusion example. In the game, it was a critical gameplay mechanic, in the anime, it comes off as a deus ex machina more than anything else. The entire aspect of Yu using multiple personae feels very forced throughout the series and just doesn't work with regards to the narrative. Don't get me wrong, it's fun seeing the other personae in action but the way it was handled just didn't feel natural. As a fan of the persona series, I feel like this aspect of the game could have, and should have been left out to strengthen the story a bit more. I mean, they left out the fact that they use weapons, why was the persona fusions so important?
mymom1234 It actually is the original definition of adaptation. Adaptations are meant to be stand alone and expand and improve where they can due to being another medium, but also leave out where it does not fit. You don't need to read the original novels by Tolkien in order to understand The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit movies, if you need an example.
FrostBandanaDude Again, where can I find this definition. I am prepared to admit I'm wrong - but not without some sources that say an adaptation is exactly that.
mymom1234 www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-adapted-screenplay.htm There you (somewhat) go. It pretty much perfectly sums up the problems with adapted screenplays for movies. In order to make the movie, or in this show the anime work you have to decide what mechanics and plot devices are needed for the show to make sense for the viewer. The human mind naturally searches for patterns when watching a show (although many times subconsciously). If the plot of the show for whatever reason doesn't work due to things beeing left out of the show, the writer is obviously doing something wrong. And a viewer is often very quick to pick up on things like that. An example on a movie where the adaptation was horrendous is: The mortal instruments. Due to movies beeing a completelydifferent medium compared to books(/manga) it is necessary to view them as standalone works. You cannot fit in everything from a book into 1 movie, you simply cant. Instead you have to choose what components are necessary to adapt in order to make the story work? Mortal instruments for an example, failed in that regard. "Objectevly" speaking, it ended up advocating incest. Sure, in later books it is revealed that in fact, it really was not incest. But hey, I have never read the books, I only watched the movie and I was so disturbed because of this detail in the plot that I had to look it up immediately afterwards, and I even discovered that I was far from the only one beeing confused by the same thing, namely the "romance" In other words, A movie adaptation HAS to distance itself from the source material. Otherwise the movie won't work. I've read both movie science for 2 years, and atm I am reading literature science, and I can tell you, although the mediums are similar in many ways, they are also extremely different. Try to also read up on the incidents that the movie who won the academy award last year for best picture "Argo" is based on. You will find the movie and the actions that really took place vastly different. And the same thing goes for almost all adaptations out there. This is because, in order to work, and in order to reach a broader audience they have to be regarded as separate, although inspired by the original work. Sorry for my lackluster knowledge in English. It's not my native language since I am from Sweden. But I hope you got through my small rant and written down thoughts about the matter. Didn't really bother structuring things up and just wrote everything down as it came into my mind. :p
Anyone who liked the idea of this - PLAY THE GAME!!! It's an absolute classic, and all the voids left by the anime are filled by game mechanics. If you think the characters are a bit boring - there's a system in the game called the Social Link system. You upgrade a social link by spending time with a character. Needless to say, this is how the character development REALLY happens in the story. And there are 22 OF THEM! You can pick up Persona 4 Golden for PS3 or PS Vita and it is more than worth it, even if the game is half JRPG and half visual novel.
I just finished the game--which has increased my number of all time favorite JRPGs from 4 to 5--so I was curious to see how the anime ended up. It actually sounds pretty good. I can get past the game-y vestiges in it just fine, and I already know the story, so any missing or confusing material will not be a bother to me. Good review! (Also, I actually find the bear puns to be bear-y funny...)
Since you beat the game I guarantee that you will enjoy the hell out of the anime, but if you played golden none of the extra stuff is in it because well, the anime came out between persona 4 and it's rerelease
As someone who has played the original, but has not watched the anime yet I found your opinion and insight quite interesting Ark. I do need to get round to watching this at some point though you highlighted a number of issues I had a feeling this anime would have because of where it came from and some of the design decisions that were made when it was adapted. Out of curiosity will you be watching the Persona 3 movies when they either get dubbed or are made available for streaming?
I was curious to see what someone who hadn't played P4 thought of the anime on its own. I'd say you did a pretty fair job reviewing it. Another great job!
I actually remember myself asking you to review it in past video's, I must say you reviewed it beautifully considering you haven't played the actual game, In the game itself you are presented more freedom to develop the characters, and that's why the director as I must assume has to give a bit of a blurry story to the main character, but with all that in mind still lacking a few great things. As of always nice review and keep being awesome :)
not a bad review, and i can see your points, having played the game first though, i'd like to point out a few things. in the game, yu goes to the "velvet room" to fuse more powerful persona's with igor's help(an ability he appears to have on his own, in the anime, though it still implies igor helps, which means his "deus ex" powers are through igor just as much as himself). during this, you simply face outward much like it does in the anime. this is the biggest issue. the second is that looking more closely yu actually DOES have a lot of character, but if you just glance over the anime, it is VERY easy to miss. at the part where chie, yosuke, and yu see kuma in the shadows for example, you'll notice he's the first to rear up and run. his personality is spoken more through the actions he takes then any dialogue or face, however small. again, less of a problem later. still, he's better than people make him out to be. third, the "true ending" is a lot more confusing than the ending of the game had it. in the "true ending" there are 3 scenes that take place repeatedly, with small changes here and there. one is a hallucination(i'll give you a guess which), and 2 are fights, one of which is a secret fight from the second playthrough. one in the subconscious, and one in the fore, very much so real. one thing they never explain very well in the anime is that the "velvet room" is a space between conscious and unconscious, between reality and dream. in other words, its part of the subconscious of whichever character holds a "contract" with it at any one time. who has the contract is entirely decided by fate though. here's hoping these things help whoever watches the anime, but not plays the game.
agreed, and with Yu being "human" are missed but still noticeable if you look more closely. for example: during the parts during nanakos kindnapping. When Yu was angry and wanted to go through the tv in the truck and everyone tried to stop him, or the part with him trying to throw nanatame through the tv in the hospital, or with Yu crying while its snowing when nanako is in the hospital and yosuke lends him his shoulder to cry on. that was some few examples of him showing his emotions he didnt show in the game. which was brilliantly made.
I will definitely check this series out! After your stellar review of Future Diary, I was not disappointed after watching it! If you want just a silly anime thing to review, may I suggest "Rosario + Vampire" It would be cool if you did a review of like three episodes. But thats just me being greedy! Keep em coming! I love these reviews!
Honestly, I have finished the anime, never played any of the games, (with the exception of Persona Q) and watching this review of the anime is pretty spot on. I have watched part of the walkthrough and even still you present the right information on this franchise! C:
Nice review Arkada. It's refreshing to hear this form someone who didn't play the game and I agree with your score. Everyone I know who has watched this has either played the game before, or after the anime (because they liked it so much). I think Yuu's unattachment was hillarious, though. Also, as far as I can remember, the game doesn't really answer that many questions in the true ending anyways. But I noticed that's a flaw with all Persona games. Still a good game, though.
About the Main character: Since the third Persona game (Unfortunally I never played the first two) the main character became the wilder of the "Wildcard" which allows the protagonist to summon multiple personas. The "Wildcard" is everything and at the same time nothing (like a void space). And if you know that a Persona is a manifastation of ones personality it does make very much sence that the main protagonist also acts "blanc".
(after watching the review) I agree with most of his opinions except the teddie dub because the puns made him more endearing towards me (probably because I am known for using bad puns commonly IRL.
A common opinion is that people prefer the story of Persona 3 and the characters of Persona 4. This makes sense, as P3 has more serious and less linear story, but P4 is later in the series with bright characters and in-depth arcs. As of this post, you can watch the first and second P3 movies (Spring of Birth and Midsummer Knight's Dream) online with subtitles. The third (Falling Down) will be out on DVD/Blu-ray in october, and the last (Winter of Rebirth) is unannounced.
I'd say it was a good adaptation considering how your entire review (the ups, the downs, and everything else in between) is uncannily similar to the reviews the game received back in the day. No, seriously. It was like reading an IGN article minus the paragraph about the gameplay.
A really well done and fair review (and this is also coming from someone that LOVES Persona 4). A video game to anime adaptation sounds almost impossible to me. Oh, and unfortunately, Teddie uses bear puns all throughout the game...dammit. Keep up the good work!
Yu is comedy gold in this series. Kings Game.
OMFG Noooooo that scene got me laughing for sooo long!!
Hahaha
Yu in the anime is pretty much the main character from school days. What a dumpster fire.
Number 2, my lap is yours
And thus, Chad Yu was born
The puns are quite, Sensei-tional.
That killed me
Hahaha hahaha (grabs evokes (bang)) junpei: I don't think he tried to use a persona
ahahaha hey nice one ,there genius
I think he found them quite unBEARable.
The 'filler' episodes I thought were some the best out there, but it's an opinion.
The kings game man...
THE KINGS ORDERS ARE ABSOLUTE!
Well, what do we have here... two idiots who are completely blind to the bullshit gender double standards we especially see a lot of in the "filler" episodes.
"What do you mean with you got scared?!" - "Hey, she's a girl, remember?" - "Oh... oh yeah, I forgot."
Because, you know... a guy isn't allowed to be scared, right? Only girls are, right? Fuck off. -_- And that's without even mentioning how they try to make it funny how the girls are physically abusing the guys every now and then.
Did I happen to mention that only girls can be scared?
No I don't happen to support nor defend Persona 4 in this regard , as the gender roles were one the unlikable parts of the show. But if I happen to find the show funny in this regard doesn't make me an idiot.
It just makes me a horrible person.
Theshowcommentman - ... fair enough. I'm mostly bothered with the reviewer not even bothering to mention it in his review. It's thanks to that I got pissed off watching it knowing everyone left it out.
Persona has no filler episodes.
The Teddie puns were very bearable.
The Bear puns were Bear-y Bear-able.
CursedWithinChaos The Bear Bears were BearBearBearBearBearBearBearBearBearBear
GamerGuardian Did you mention the bears
ChibiCreeper Bearly.
These bear puns are too GRIZZLY for my taste...
Am i The only one that actually LIKES the anime and the game?
nope.
The game, totally, the anime, not really
I liked the anime at first, but when I played the game I felt as if the anime was bad...
I watched the anime first, then played P4. I loved it, and it made me want to get P4 Golden(Though to be fair, I hadn't heard of the Persona series since 3 years ago, and that was when I got P3P).
***** In terms of gameplay? Not really.
In terms of story? Depends on your tastes, if you like dark stories (Persona 3) or light-hearted/happy-ish stories (Persona 4). I for one prefer the Persona 3 story.
The cast was much more better in Persona 3, exccept for Yukari... she was, is and will forever be the biggest annoying bitch I've ever seen in fiction. (A.K.A The Queen of Bitches)
However... Everyone has different opinions.
Did you SERIOUSLY not even mention the soundtrack?!?!?!
+Firelaf I know right? That was weird. Its definitely the highlight of the show and part of why you would watch this anime.
Leave him alone, man. He's just living his life (...abound with so much information)
@@NormalGayBro BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY BABY
Renato Reyes That’s Persona 3.
HE HAS COMMITTED MANY CRIMES
Am I the only one who thought the anime was actually really good and nearly cried because some episodes were actually really nice and good? And I laughed the most at this anime than any other ever, I love it. Maybe it's because I played golden first? And rate it as the best game I have ever played.
youre not the only one man i dont even play the game and i still loved the anime
+Belody Epic No, because I did the same when I watched it. Spoilers: I cried when Nanako was hospitalized
+Belody Epic A-are you me? Same here, the king's game always cracks me up
Just about if not 100% similar to me, I played Persona 4 Arena with a few buds awhile back, it was okay, nothing too special.
However, fast forward to January 2016, I got a PlayStation Vita and heard about Persona 4 as one of the best games ever, I thought that was some huge claims, since my favorite game at the time was the Original Dark Souls. However, as soon as I started playing it (ironically mostly in Highschool) I got HOOKED, like I just couldn't stop, only stopped when I needed to go somewhere. I eventually beat it, decided screw waiting for P5 to come out, I didn't want to stop stuff on Persona, so I bought P3P, P2IS, and watched The Animation and Golden... 3 times each, as well as the P3 Movies.
And yes I also think that the scenes were good too, since they adapted most of the amazing choices from the games.
Belody SPOILERS
I found Yu thinking about the future in ep 12 really depressing
Play the Persona games NOW!!!
Well he has now I believe at least persona 5
Kanji's not actually a homosexual, though he does get teased for what his Shadow did by the others throughout the entirety of the game itself. No, what he wanted was acceptance, to be himself. As a child Kanji was constantly made fun of for doing things that were considered girly, including sewing, knitting, and all that stuff. He also has a soft spot for kids and things that are small, cute, and furry. Anyways, Kanji adopted the "Punk thug" look in order to scare anyone away from even thinking of trying to mess with him, but it still did not grant him the acceptance he so desperately wanted, and when he befriended the main cast, he had finally found that acceptance.
spikeharusame i think you're the only person in the entire world who has gotten kanjis character spot on. (however i think he isn't exactly the straightest character, but then again definitely not completely gay)
spikeharusame Yeah, you're pretty spot-on with this.
I do feel like he MIGHT be gay or wouldn't mind it if people didn't make it a big deal over it. His attitude around Naoto and his reaction to finding out Naoto was actually a girl tells me that. He doesn't seem to mind either way, and it feels like he has a thing for her from the start.
In the end, he does just want to be accepted, but I feel like he wouldn't care who or what accepts him as long as he actually likes who they are.
spikeharusame Well, Troy Baker(Kanji's voice actor for the eng.dub) has gone on record saying that Kanji actually is gay, but honestly, I don't think he's entirely sure, like the rest of us. It seems obvious that he is at first, and one could lean towards, "Yeah, I think he's gay" throughout different times in the show, but his behavior when it comes to Naoto is what kinda' throws it off. He seemed to like her when he and everyone else thought Naoto was a guy, now granted, he also misunderstood Naoto's actions for being for romantic reasons, when it was actually just detective research, but it's even after they find out that Naoto's a chick that Kanji seems to like her.
Geez, idk; you know what, Kanji's confused, that much is for sure. I think he kinda' had a thing for Yu also, lol!
MikeyLee Senpai He might very well be bisexual, or, given his personality, he might just enjoy being around people while being completely asexual, who knows? I wouldn't really rely on the word of a voice actor to say a character's back story, that's really more up for the creator of the series
Yeah, I mean it makes more sense to Kanji's character actually to not have a gender preference.
GR Teddie's puns are suppose to be bad. Lol
Hopping Gnar I think Teddie's puns are great...
jinxlynx They are BEARly BEARable
Hopping Gnar no...j-just...no leave the bear puns to teddie.
DOCTORWHOFAN32 ik lol
ignoring one of the best soundtracks to ever exist
oh
okay
I loved this anime extremely but.. I could never image watching this anime without playing through the game itself, would give an extremely odd view.
IDK I've never played the game a I've been enjoying the show
Chance507 Having never played the game, I really liked the show! That was a bit off in places (mostly to do with the Velvet Room), but I had a good time overall.
The Game is enjoyable, and the anime although it some mistakes and parts where it could have proved to be better, still was pretty much Amazing.
Speaking of Persona 4, you should definitely watch the Hiimdaisy Persona 4 Comic fandub if you haven't already. It's hilarious, well voice acted, and well edited.
Persona 4 Golden had a reference to it even!
Alex Hopkins thats awesome
Todd Coward when
Adri Acts in Marie's social link, if you tell her that steak is short for beef steak, she says it should be should fsteak instead.
I love the persona animes, but I will admit you really need to play the games first in order to fully enjoy it.
That's even more true for Golden. It really makes no sense at all unless you're seen at least this anime, and ideally played the game.
Mellow Online1 Golden is not a standalone adaptation, though, it's a sequel to this anime. As such it's perfectly reasonable to require you to have seen this anime before watching its sequel.
You're right that having to play the game beforehand is more of an adaptation failure, but it does fill in some less important extra bits; the sheer difference in runtime makes it impossible to include everything. I think overall they did do a decent job of selecting what to include and what to omit, so you *can* get by without playing the game, you'll just miss certain things if you do so.
Well, that wasn't my comment, but ok, I understand.
I got into the Genre Because Of Persona 4 Actually. From finishing the Third one, and the Fifth one, what an Awesome Experience, Especially Playing the 4th one years later On The PC 🔥 And getting into the Shin Megami Tensei Games as A Result thx to this Very Gem of an Anime ❤️
Um, Teddie is actually making those puns. It's not a translation thing.
yeah it's the same in the official English sub.
No, he is literally just saying Kuma ( bear ) at the end of his sentences. The localization added the bear puns in because it wouldn’t really work in the west with teddy just saying bear. I mean yeah he still makes shitty puns but they aren’t bear focused
Arkada reviewed Persona 4
Devil Survivor 2 and Danganronpa reviews confirmed XD
Don't forget Persona 3 The movie ! DVD release is on May 14 (Japan)
Raiho Has there been any word for when Americans can get their hands on it? Or at least somewhere to stream it?
Half Life 3 CONFIRMED !!
Raiho RAIDO JACK FROST I LOVE YOU.
Hoenn Remake Confirmed!!!
The first few episodes act like a BEARrier to newcomers
To be fair, the repetitiveness at the beginning of the game did also give me paws.
OMG everyone stop saying unbearable. You've bearly scratched the surface of the bear puns. Seriously people.
Yes the lack of creativity is truly grizzly.
Should not bearate people for bad puns, it will make you a grizzled persona-lity
Just got to grin and bear it...
Those puns are unbearable.
DjKGames That was a beary bad pun, sry.
(Spoilers Ahead!)
Having just beat the game. I thought it was a really great adaptation. I agree that the first episode is slow, just like the game's first hours. But what I did like were most of the changes. Lets take the story/shadow fights for example. In the game, a shadow would mostly just talk and then fight like in the anime. In the game, its just a boss fight. In the anime, they try to mix it up more with visual representations of said character, and somehow implement some of the games mechanics into it.
with Yosuke: Jumbotrons with people talking bout how annoying he is
Chie: She is taken to Yukiko's room and then Everything turns red because of what she said as a kid, (also something about blu mask?)
Yukiko: She is put into a cage like a bird, fire is all around, chie tries to help, and yuki breaks the cage
Kanji: I found this one weak, because they focused more on comedy, Nice And Tough Guy are the ones that cast Forbidden Mumur (poison to boys, when they touches their eggs) and Roar of Wrath (rage to girls, and they talk shit to the girls) [Gotta love that Troy Baker!] Also, Kanji really isn't gay if you payed attention in the game (the anime did do this part well)
Rise: Sorta weak, but mostly Shadow Rise starts kicking their asses,
Teddie: Teddie is put in some abyss, and the fight foreshadows Ameno-Sagiri
(Speaking of Bear puns, the main cast hates them too, and I think that Sho Minazuki, who is in P4U2 [Persona 4 Arena 2, which hasn't been released to consoles yet], has worse puns that even Teddie hates)
Mitsuo: (copycat killer) I LOVE THIS ONE. It shows him rejecting his shadow, and then the fight just skipped to after they won and the team has a party. As time goes on, Yu looses contact with his friends, and eventually gets ready to leave Inaba. Then Shadow Mituo makes his attack, and literally almost killed Yu because no bonds= No persona. Then he is saved by Yosuke and the fight wraps up.
Naoto: Has more of a Laboratory-us feel to it, and Yosuke Yu and Teddie get turned old which was pretty funny
Namatame (suspect): Like in implement the games mechanics in a new way, Kunino cast Control DIRECTLY on the the Protagonist or Yu. (Yu also have Beelzebub by this point, ouch) But mostly remains the same.
Adachi (Murderer): Instead of fighting Real Adachi as a team, only Yu does that, and the members of the team have to fight the Reaper (which can only be fought in New Game + in the original game, This was changed in Golden) And this is also where Yu's really gets a personality.
Now about the OVA True Ending. It made more sense in the game because it had more time, but I did like what they did with it. Now in this Yu and the gang have a farewell Party, and Yu notices that the day keeps repeating itself, (an idea carried over from P3Fes's The Answer) Yu confronts Izanami, and then instead of prepping and going into the TV like in the game, HE IS ACTUALLY UNCONSCIOUS FIGHTING IZANAMI AND ALL HIS FRIENDS ARE SINKING TO THE ABYSS! I like in the OVA that Yu actually gives into Izanami, and rather have fake friends rather than no friends at all. Then Margarets Bitch slaps him, and they have a fight (Margaret can only be fought in New Game + on 3/20 after you max the Social Link) And during the fight, Yu gets encouraging messages from his friends, and accepts his own shadow, and defeats margaret, gets the Orb of Truth (in the game, you get this before you talk to the gas station attendant, and in the velvet room) And then He gets back up, Faces Izanami, and Fuses Izanagi No Okami, and Myraid Truth's the heck outa her!
Arkada, I know you haven't played the game, but its a Damn good JRPG, arguably one of the greatest, and I highly recommend you play it (and hell, give the entire series a shot!) I promise that you will see how great of an adaption it really is.
really loved your comment, you should write an essay about it. really fucking awesome. you showed so much good stuff that I liked about both the game and the anime (the game is one of my abosulte favorite rpg of all time) especially the part with mitsuo and namatame. loved it when mistuo was playing with his mind and namatame taking control of Yu, since it never happens in the game, only to his friends. loved the time loop in the ova too, really good.
SonicKick I kind of didn't like what the OVA did to Yu, since I felt that made him a bit of a hypocrite, especially after spending like two and a half boss fights going over how humans really do want the truth no matter what, only to immediately go back on everything he said the minute things got tough (I mean, yeah, that was traumatising and disturbing as all heck, but still). Plus, that kind of defeats the whole idea of how bonds between people is the true power and we're stronger together when he finishes off Izanami alone.
You're BEARy good at giving reviews. (I'm sorry for the pun). By the way, did you think the music was good? I didn't hear you talk about it. Music has always been one of the big things in Persona 3 and 4, and their anime and movie adaptations. The OST's of P3 and P4 have really good music if you want to give it a listen to if you're bored or want to hear something interesting
So he finally yielded to the fans and made a Persona 4 review.
***** i think i remember him saying in his stream ( or in one of the podtakus i am not sure :p ) that he will review code geass when he gets a hold of its copy.
you could say, you couldn't bear the puns?!?
FUCK YU.
Minato_Mori Buy me a drink first ;)
Akaki მაქაცარია I said fuck yu. It was a pun on the main character's name.
+Akaki მაქაცარია Does it make him grizzly?
Maybe he thought that they were unBEARable
Are the character dubs the same as the ingame ones? Either Persona 4 or Persona Arena?
Also Teddie's bear puns are suprisingly bear-able.
They're the same as Persona 4 Golden (the Vita re-release), but they changed a few voices form the original PS2 version.
What? Fucking dropped.
Jimpiedepimpie They're better for it, trust me. Chie and Teddy were the only 2 that changed.
Oh well who cares about those. Only Nanako's was horrid though, the rest was considered passable.
***** naoto also changed
As a fan of the game and anime, it was most enlightening to have a listen to what a person who HASN'T played the game thought about this anime, thank you.
I'm a little sad you didn't actually say much about the sounds in this series though... but everyone's different of course :)
still wish you could have mentioned Shoji Meguro's soundtrack
it took me a while to realize that when he was saying 'yuu' he was not saying 'you' and not referring to me
8:50
Was anyone else expecting him to say that the puns were unBEARable?
That would've been too predictable.
Kanji is not a close homosexual. He likes cute things and handcrafts plush animals. So people bullied him into something which he is not. He says that in the episode (and game) on the school trip that he likes girls.
In persona Q there is a hint of a love interest with Teddie and he kisses Yousuke. In the game and anime it shows him having a crush on someone even though he thinks he's a dude. Yeah, Totally not Homosexual
***** But after that "dude" reveals her true gender to the main cast, he is still attracted to her. He's not really homosexual; He's just confused. In fact, that's one of the reasons why he's my second favorite character in the series.
GoldenHibiki I like to personally think that he is Bisexual or Pansexual, But most people just call him Homosexual so...
can we all stop arguing and just go with bi?
Homosexuality, alongside flamboyant effeminate behavior make a very clear point to connotate submissiveness and weakness for Kanji. He thought heavily of homosexuality assuming that's what a weak person like him should turn to, when in reality, he just has a really big fear of being rejected from other people which is why he constantly pushed everyone away from him. I think actually, the fact that his fear of other peoples' judgement and rejection goes forth with one of the major themes of the series, the fact that we all choose the realities that we'd like to see as opposed to the actual truth. In which case, it makes sense that general demographics originally see Kanji as a homosexual male character before evaluating his real issue, not that he is afraid of homosexuality, but is simply afraid of rejection and/or contact from other people.
Because of this, i don't really treat Kanji as an open bisexual and/or homosexual male character at all. The function of presenting homosexuality as a repressed characteristic that he had was not to say "look, a closet homosexual/bisexual male." It's actually a statement about just how out of hand his fear of other people had really gotten.
But it seems like in regards to behavior, he doesn't really care for the societal conventions of sexuality, he'll just do what he wants.
Don't worry Arkada, the puns are in the game too ... for better or worse, I don't remember. Although I recommend to play the game over this SO MUCH, I mean the game is claimed to be one of the best RPG series, which I agree with.
The velvet room is like a dream, it doesn't happen in actual reality. Therefore he doesn't talk about it.
"These puns are...well, let's just say that they're some of the worst puns I've heard in a long while."
Good sir, you completely missed a perfect chance to describe them as "unBEARable."
While I would agree with you Arkada, I think the way they did Yuu was a really interesting transfer of a game mechanic to the anime. In the game you can develop your personality traits, so that Yuu started out as a blank slate and later became more of a character at the end was a really cool nod to the game mechanic imo.
The person who voices Naoto also voices The Major from Ghost in the Shell, Cornelia from Code Geass and FUCKING NINA WILLIAMS IN TEKKEN YES
really thats cool
well for the puns you just have to bear with it :p
I think they are Un-Bear-able!
beary good pun
Im Going To Slap Kuma With My BEAR Hands
The Cool Guy On The Left This is OverBEARING!!!
*Slowly dieing after being hit with dozens of bear puns*
Me: Please, no more, I just can't take it anymore... T.T
Teddie: *Pops his head out from around the corner* Oh no Sensei, that's not a Bear-y good reaction!
Me:FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!
He hasn't Played Persona 4!?!? Quick, Someone mail him a PS Vita and a copy of Persona 4 Golden!
Chin Chin Since when?
Arkada, get a Vita. As soon as you have the money to spare. Then get Persona 4 Golden and Danganronpa.
You'll be satisfied for life.
I think the bear puns are meant to be terrible xD
that is part of his charm afterall
what a barey good call , best to hibernate before winter comes, oh to late,
stupogo0
*hibearnate
only if he had of known that the puns were in the game too
RhySin wait wait ? Fantasic planet PB ?? Or however that bizzar movie was called ?
I guess you could say the bear puns were... unBEARable.
Yes, the bear puns are indeed awful.
Yes, that is exactly why everyone loves them.
I'm kind of mad he did not say, "I'm going bearserk" in Rise's dungeon in this anime.
Glad to see you back, was hoping you were still doing Anime reviews. Keep em' coming!
Flashback to GR: Top 25-ish Recommended Anime, "Hey Ark, Can you review Hellsing Ultimate, Code Geass, Persona 4." Well one down, two to go.
Arkada probable is no going to review hellsing ultimate because the last episodes are not even dubed and he said that he even skiped a 2 hour panel for just to not get spoiled abuot its ending
3achau3 I actually haven't seen Hellsing I was just making a joke, but thanks for the info.
As someone who has played many Shin Megami Tensei games with the Persona series being my favorite, I would like to say that this is a very good review especially from someone who has never experienced the source material. Good Job Arkada:0
No! NO NO NO! Narukami was an awesome, quirky character who really put across the idea of an outsider, growing and becoming more expressive as he gains more and more friends over the course of the story. His moments of weird, off humour gave him far more personality than the regular old blank slate character that so many video game adaptions fall into.
Also? Your denouncement of the holy sacred bear puns has surely created pandamonium in the comments.
You mean BEARdamonium
Juancarlosinc1995
Panda. PANDA. As in, the kind of BEAR.
Fergus Ager What and un BEARable comment
I agree narukami is a great character in the anime
Not really though
you failed to mention the amazing music.
also the velvet room is explained in the anime later where yu mentions about having really fade memories about it, implying that he barely has any recollection of the velvet room
Awsome review! And dude Yu is fucking hillarious xD
I've tried to watch other anime reviews, but none seem to be as good as Glass Reflection. thanks for another great review!
YOU DIDNT MENTION THE SOUNDTRACK HOW HOW HOW
THE MUSIC IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THAT AT LEAST DESERVES CREDIT
Agree with most of your points. For Yu's character I have to say he's actually one of my fave characters because, well, no scene with him felt boring. And the club episode. SO MUCH SWAG. And I can't believe you didn't mention the soundtrack or writing, which were two of the best things about this adaptation.
You haven't played persona?!?
Get to it then your wasting your life! You're young you still have time!
This is the first video of yours I've seen, and I gotta, this review was really necessary. I feel like a lot of people who try to review the anime are too blinded by how great the game was to accurately critique the show on its own. Your video was really entertaining and I agree with everything you went over. Thank you for going over the anime! As a huge fan of the original game, I'm glad someone like you was able to put into words why I didn't enjoy the show as much as the game.
As a person who played Persona 3 before watching the series but not persona 4, I can say that all your points are accurate and as an adaptation it can stand on its own. I also think you gave it a perfect score for what it is.
Arkada, seeing as this is an adaptation review would you consider watching another one like Danganronpa? I just finished watching while never having played the game and i enjoyed it. You can tell that there are a few game mechanics that are referenced but the story, i found, is really interesting but can be formulaic. Anyway i would love to hear your thoughts on it.
actually, the anime is just like watching someone playing persona 4 without the gameplay.
Which... in a way is a good thing... right?
Orpheus Bladesong
Considering the gameplay takes up most of the game. Eh I don't think so.
I don't know if I had liked this series without playing the game but as a huge fan of the game I was very pleased with it. The artstyle was very close to the design of the game and they managed to include not only the main story but even most of the side quest stuff rather well. Still one of the greatest games I've ever played and this was a nice adaption of it.
Yu is a great character to me like you said his nonchalant attitude is his charm
I was just thinking it'd be nice to see another review soon, and lo and behold, Ark delivered!
I thought the fact that Teddie made horrible bear related puns was the joke. I didn't think they were supposed to be funny, I thought it was the characters reactions (usually what the viewers reactions would be to such terrible puns) was actually the meat of any joke revolving around his puns.
Arkada, its good to hear a review from you again! Keep up the great work!
Those puns are unBEARable
.......
Danigt, someone beat me to it! XD
The bear puns are bearrific, they're beary funny and add grizzly enjoyment to Bearsona 4, the Bearnimation. I just did an all-bear-attack right now.
Rukasu Inoru
.......
I love the disclaimer, you know the internet so well.
Why should an adaptation stand alone? It can be fanservice (no I don't mean that kind of fanservice). If you are a fan of the game, you might want to soak everything up that relates to it in some way.
Not that I don't understand your viewpoint, it's perfectly fine to rate the anime the way you did and I agree with your review except that there is nothing wrong in making an adaptation that isn't for the purpose of drawing in a new audience but just to please the fans.
An adaptation, by definition, is meant to be a standalone piece. You are taking a story in one medium and bringing it to life using a different medium. In order for an adaptation to truly be good, it needs to know what it can and can't carry over from the previous medium. I'm not saying P4 animated was a bad adaptation (in fact, it's one of the better ones out there), but there are alot of points where they try too hard to fit in the game mechanics when it would've been better to just leave well enough alone.
Let's take the persona fusion example. In the game, it was a critical gameplay mechanic, in the anime, it comes off as a deus ex machina more than anything else. The entire aspect of Yu using multiple personae feels very forced throughout the series and just doesn't work with regards to the narrative. Don't get me wrong, it's fun seeing the other personae in action but the way it was handled just didn't feel natural.
As a fan of the persona series, I feel like this aspect of the game could have, and should have been left out to strengthen the story a bit more. I mean, they left out the fact that they use weapons, why was the persona fusions so important?
Which definition says so? I only googled a little but nowhere I found that an adaptation has to be able to stand alone.
mymom1234
It actually is the original definition of adaptation. Adaptations are meant to be stand alone and expand and improve where they can due to being another medium, but also leave out where it does not fit. You don't need to read the original novels by Tolkien in order to understand The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit movies, if you need an example.
FrostBandanaDude
Again, where can I find this definition. I am prepared to admit I'm wrong - but not without some sources that say an adaptation is exactly that.
mymom1234 www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-adapted-screenplay.htm
There you (somewhat) go. It pretty much perfectly sums up the problems with adapted screenplays for movies. In order to make the movie, or in this show the anime work you have to decide what mechanics and plot devices are needed for the show to make sense for the viewer. The human mind naturally searches for patterns when watching a show (although many times subconsciously). If the plot of the show for whatever reason doesn't work due to things beeing left out of the show, the writer is obviously doing something wrong. And a viewer is often very quick to pick up on things like that. An example on a movie where the adaptation was horrendous is: The mortal instruments. Due to movies beeing a completelydifferent medium compared to books(/manga) it is necessary to view them as standalone works. You cannot fit in everything from a book into 1 movie, you simply cant. Instead you have to choose what components are necessary to adapt in order to make the story work? Mortal instruments for an example, failed in that regard. "Objectevly" speaking, it ended up advocating incest. Sure, in later books it is revealed that in fact, it really was not incest. But hey, I have never read the books, I only watched the movie and I was so disturbed because of this detail in the plot that I had to look it up immediately afterwards, and I even discovered that I was far from the only one beeing confused by the same thing, namely the "romance"
In other words, A movie adaptation HAS to distance itself from the source material. Otherwise the movie won't work. I've read both movie science for 2 years, and atm I am reading literature science, and I can tell you, although the mediums are similar in many ways, they are also extremely different. Try to also read up on the incidents that the movie who won the academy award last year for best picture "Argo" is based on. You will find the movie and the actions that really took place vastly different. And the same thing goes for almost all adaptations out there. This is because, in order to work, and in order to reach a broader audience they have to be regarded as separate, although inspired by the original work.
Sorry for my lackluster knowledge in English. It's not my native language since I am from Sweden. But I hope you got through my small rant and written down thoughts about the matter. Didn't really bother structuring things up and just wrote everything down as it came into my mind. :p
Anyone who liked the idea of this - PLAY THE GAME!!! It's an absolute classic, and all the voids left by the anime are filled by game mechanics. If you think the characters are a bit boring - there's a system in the game called the Social Link system. You upgrade a social link by spending time with a character. Needless to say, this is how the character development REALLY happens in the story. And there are 22 OF THEM! You can pick up Persona 4 Golden for PS3 or PS Vita and it is more than worth it, even if the game is half JRPG and half visual novel.
those bear puns was pretty charming tho...
I'm actually glad that Teddy doesn't say Kuma at the end of every sentence. God that would of been un-BEAR-able.
I just finished the game--which has increased my number of all time favorite JRPGs from 4 to 5--so I was curious to see how the anime ended up. It actually sounds pretty good. I can get past the game-y vestiges in it just fine, and I already know the story, so any missing or confusing material will not be a bother to me. Good review!
(Also, I actually find the bear puns to be bear-y funny...)
Since you beat the game I guarantee that you will enjoy the hell out of the anime, but if you played golden none of the extra stuff is in it because well, the anime came out between persona 4 and it's rerelease
As someone who has played the original, but has not watched the anime yet I found your opinion and insight quite interesting Ark. I do need to get round to watching this at some point though you highlighted a number of issues I had a feeling this anime would have because of where it came from and some of the design decisions that were made when it was adapted.
Out of curiosity will you be watching the Persona 3 movies when they either get dubbed or are made available for streaming?
The puns were made to be unBEARable
Solid review, and a very nice channel. Congrats man, you really put effort into your reviews!
Yes, Teddie did make some BEARY bad bear puns. But other than that, I found this show to be pretty enjoyable.
i may be wrong because i havent played the game in a while but didnt he make pretty much the same puns in the english dub of the video game also?
I haven't played the game, so I can't really answer that question. I wouldn't be surprised, though.
mattbenz99 Yes he did, but not as much
The42gamer but he still used them
It was bearable though.
I'm not gonna lie, I look forward to the section where you explain how you tally up the score. One of the best parts of your review.
Guys, the tv tried to eat me.....
I was curious to see what someone who hadn't played P4 thought of the anime on its own. I'd say you did a pretty fair job reviewing it. Another great job!
Reading these comments, I feel beary alone on liking this show.
Tell me to never say that again...
PixelPerfect never say that again :p
Speaking of PS2 game adaptations, why don't you review Devil May Cry? I wanna hear your thoughts on that.
You should always keep puns to a minimum, "The Bear necessitates" so to speak.
I actually remember myself asking you to review it in past video's, I must say you reviewed it beautifully considering you haven't played the actual game, In the game itself you are presented more freedom to develop the characters, and that's why the director as I must assume has to give a bit of a blurry story to the main character, but with all that in mind still lacking a few great things. As of always nice review and keep being awesome :)
Teddie's puns are beary funny.
JackIntheBoxGaming im such a lonely bear sensei
Have you watched any of the anime Noragami? My friends have been recommending it, saying that it was surprisingly good
not a bad review, and i can see your points, having played the game first though, i'd like to point out a few things. in the game, yu goes to the "velvet room" to fuse more powerful persona's with igor's help(an ability he appears to have on his own, in the anime, though it still implies igor helps, which means his "deus ex" powers are through igor just as much as himself). during this, you simply face outward much like it does in the anime. this is the biggest issue. the second is that looking more closely yu actually DOES have a lot of character, but if you just glance over the anime, it is VERY easy to miss. at the part where chie, yosuke, and yu see kuma in the shadows for example, you'll notice he's the first to rear up and run. his personality is spoken more through the actions he takes then any dialogue or face, however small. again, less of a problem later. still, he's better than people make him out to be. third, the "true ending" is a lot more confusing than the ending of the game had it. in the "true ending" there are 3 scenes that take place repeatedly, with small changes here and there. one is a hallucination(i'll give you a guess which), and 2 are fights, one of which is a secret fight from the second playthrough. one in the subconscious, and one in the fore, very much so real. one thing they never explain very well in the anime is that the "velvet room" is a space between conscious and unconscious, between reality and dream. in other words, its part of the subconscious of whichever character holds a "contract" with it at any one time. who has the contract is entirely decided by fate though.
here's hoping these things help whoever watches the anime, but not plays the game.
agreed, and with Yu being "human" are missed but still noticeable if you look more closely. for example:
during the parts during nanakos kindnapping. When Yu was angry and wanted to go through the tv in the truck and everyone tried to stop him, or the part with him trying to throw nanatame through the tv in the hospital, or with Yu crying while its snowing when nanako is in the hospital and yosuke lends him his shoulder to cry on. that was some few examples of him showing his emotions he didnt show in the game. which was brilliantly made.
I will definitely check this series out! After your stellar review of Future Diary, I was not disappointed after watching it!
If you want just a silly anime thing to review, may I suggest "Rosario + Vampire"
It would be cool if you did a review of like three episodes.
But thats just me being greedy! Keep em coming! I love these reviews!
This deserves higher.
Good review Ark. The recommendations didn't make sense to me, but the actual review itself was good.
great review, spot on, but why did you not say anything about the music? it is one of the better done things about the series
Honestly, I have finished the anime, never played any of the games, (with the exception of Persona Q) and watching this review of the anime is pretty spot on. I have watched part of the walkthrough and even still you present the right information on this franchise! C:
Gotta Bearieve in yourself
Nice review Arkada. It's refreshing to hear this form someone who didn't play the game and I agree with your score. Everyone I know who has watched this has either played the game before, or after the anime (because they liked it so much). I think Yuu's unattachment was hillarious, though.
Also, as far as I can remember, the game doesn't really answer that many questions in the true ending anyways. But I noticed that's a flaw with all Persona games.
Still a good game, though.
Teddie's puns are still better than Shuji Ikutsuki
About the Main character:
Since the third Persona game (Unfortunally I never played the first two) the main character became the wilder of the "Wildcard" which allows the protagonist to summon multiple personas. The "Wildcard" is everything and at the same time nothing (like a void space). And if you know that a Persona is a manifastation of ones personality it does make very much sence that the main protagonist also acts "blanc".
i wanted to leave but i love you too much Arkada
Wow, after when this series aired and I told you about it Ark. I never knew you'd actually do it.
playing persona 4 will only make you think the show is rushed
This is why I hoped that Persona 4 the Animation was canceled in time to make The Golden Animation have 36 episodes instead of 24.
thank you for the definition of adaptation, couldn't explain it better
(after watching the review)
I agree with most of his opinions except the teddie dub because the puns made him more endearing towards me (probably because I am known for using bad puns commonly IRL.
hey captn, I just wanted to say i appreciated your review.
A common opinion is that people prefer the story of Persona 3 and the characters of Persona 4. This makes sense, as P3 has more serious and less linear story, but P4 is later in the series with bright characters and in-depth arcs.
As of this post, you can watch the first and second P3 movies (Spring of Birth and Midsummer Knight's Dream) online with subtitles. The third (Falling Down) will be out on DVD/Blu-ray in october, and the last (Winter of Rebirth) is unannounced.
Wolv21Creeper Wait, do people really find Persona 4's characters to be better?
+MizumiFox *excited
Loved this review, as you said Margret and Igor were just out of place if you've never played the game but without them the story wouldn't work.
I'd say it was a good adaptation considering how your entire review (the ups, the downs, and everything else in between) is uncannily similar to the reviews the game received back in the day. No, seriously. It was like reading an IGN article minus the paragraph about the gameplay.
A really well done and fair review (and this is also coming from someone that LOVES Persona 4). A video game to anime adaptation sounds almost impossible to me. Oh, and unfortunately, Teddie uses bear puns all throughout the game...dammit. Keep up the good work!
you should play the game :D it changes the view point you see about the story a lot
This was a great review. Thank you sir. I will check this one out!