With the conclusion, or so-called “conclusion,” which will become clear shortly, of “Persona 4: The Anime†there are many things needed to be said.
Lets start off simply: “Are you kidding me”?
This is in reference to the “final†episode. It’s not that the episode is bad per-se. The fight with Adachi and Amenosagiri, every character getting their evolved persona and Yu doing an epic looking fusion were some of the best scenes in anime history. The “are you kidding me?†parts come from the fact that Yu fussed Lucifer of all persona. Yes, he is the most powerful persona at this point in the game and Yu can’t use Izanagi-No-Okami since he hasn’t gotten him yet but that’s just absurd. The second is that, according to Anime News Network, fans need to wait until August 22 for the “True End†episode on Blu-ray (although it’s currently Japan only).
That may sound absurd at first, but when you remember that “Persona 4 Arena†comes out August 4, 2012 that’s a good marketing gimmick. Persona fans now have two things to look forward to in August.
As for the anime as a whole, it actually exceeded all expectations. The main story was handled very well and stayed true to the source material. It did not drag at all and had a nice flow to it. The main character’s plot points were fleshed out much better than in the game. One of the better ones was Yukiko’s story. Her story was better in the anime than in the game.
The big fan favorite scenes that everyone wanted to see were pulled off exactly how fans wanted them too. The best of these was the “King’s Game†scene in the night club. Yu unbuttoning his shirt, putting on his glasses and acting like he was drunk just made the scene funnier than it was in the game.
The artwork is brilliant. The studio managed to take Atlus’s game and make it into a full anime series without making it look cheap. The characters have a very fluid flow to them that makes them look more natural than in most anime today.
One smart thing the anime did was make the personas do the fighting like in ‘Persona: Trinity Soul.†This makes more sense and looks less goofy. Web comic artist Hiimdaisy made fun of this in her “Persona 4†parody comic where in the game Chie makes the suggestion of hiding the weapons under their schools uniforms when they’re in the real world and in the next panel the weapons are making a lot of noise under their clothes.
The bad thing about the anime is how rushed the social link characters stories and the main story near the end were. Yes, these characters may not be that important to the plot but they were important to the whole forging strong bonds theme. The anime should have focused a little more time on their stories because anyone who has not played the game will say these characters are pointless. Rushing the main story near the end seemed like a bad idea and they could’ve added in the Christmas party and the “True End†if they weren’t in such a hurry.
As “Persona 4: The Anime†comes to a close fans eagerly await for the Blu-ray release just to see the ‘True End†episode and the Christmas party they’ve wanted to see but never got. Not to mention August brings “Persona 4: Arena†so Persona fan’s wallets will be feeling the pain this summer. Will the Blu-ray come to the US and will also be available on DVD? Only time will tell. For now, the Velvet Room is closed.
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