Persona 4: The Animation: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''So I'm stuck here for a whole year?''|'''Yu Narukami'''}}

 

 

Both of the game's character designers (Kazuma Kaneko and Shigenori Soejima, Shadow/Persona designer and human designer, respectively), the game's soundtrack composer (Shoji Meguro), and the majority of the main Japanese voice cast ([[Daisuke Namikawa]], [[Showtaro Morikubo]], [[Yui Horie]], [[Ami Koshimizu]], [[Tomokazu Seki]], [[Rie Kugimiya]], [[Kappei Yamaguchi]], [[Romi Paku]], [[Unsho Ishizuka]], [[Akemi Kanda]], [[Mitsuaki Madono]]) are on board. It is not yet known if the original English voice cast will be returning, though [http://www.animevice.com/news/persona-4-the-animation-english-dub-imminent-voice-cast-tbd/5603/ it has been confirmed an English dub in the works.]

** Rise's Personas get a moment of badass in Episode 25. Note that in the game proper, Himiko and Kanzeon have no attacks and are glorified [[Mission Control]]. In the anime, Himiko and later Kanzeon join the other Personas in directly attacking {{spoiler|Ameno-Sagiri}}.

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]:

*** For example, the third episode shows [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|the start of Chie and Yukiko's friendship]], something that was only mentioned in passing in the game.

*** Episode 9 shows Rise letting her manager knowing she's done being an idol and even lets us hear one of her songs (in lieu of an Opening).

* [[The Anime of the Game]]

* [[And the Adventure Continues...]]: Despite the series' supposed end with Episode 25 (The battle against {{spoiler|Adachi and Ameno-Sagiri}}), the final episode/s will be released when the full DVD set gets released this upcoming August. Events confirmed are {{spoiler|the final battle against Izanami and the bonus fight against Margaret.}}

** What was once a throwaway line in the game about cabbage became Adachi's signature item thanks to the fandom. And that meme became immortalized in the animated adaptation.

** Also, the line {{spoiler|"Bitches and Whores"}}, a line misattributed to Adachi courtesy of a fan edit to a Persona 4 [[Hentai]] doujinshi is now actually said by him in a plot centric piece of dialogue in Episode 24.

'''Teddie and Yu''': [[Heroic BSOD|AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA]] }}

* [[As Long as There Is Evil]]: {{spoiler|Ameno-Sagiri comments that he is a manifestation of the collective unconscious of humanity.}} As long as there are people who want him, he will reappear again.

** Episode 19 is also a breather, focused entirely on the cultural festival and coming right after a comparably tense episode dealing with Nanako's feelings about her mother's death.

** Episode 20 as well, which focuses on the Investigation Team's night at the Amagi Inn. {{spoiler|Episode 21 is Nanako's kidnapping, and the first time we see the usually lighthearted Yu ''completely lose his shit.''}}

** Episode 6; The delivery scene.

** After seeing Shadow Yukiko on the Midnight Channel, Yu states that he wished he recorded it. By episode 10, this has turned into a running gag. This includes Yu rapidly hitting the record button while Rise is "showing her stuff", and then immediately trying to view it after the Midnight Channel ends. Unfortunately for Yu, it doesn't turn out as planned.

* [[Butt Monkey]]: The guys for some episodes, with Yosuke taking the brunt of it.

** Played for laughs in the 15th episode, when a drunk Yukiko and Rise tell Naoto all about the Personas, but the latter flatly refuses to believe it.

** Played seriously in episode 21 when {{spoiler|Yu is being interrogated at police station by his uncle. Again, he explains about Personas, but Dojima just doesn't believe him.}}

* [[Censor Steam]]: Episode 20 makes liberal use of this in the Hot Springs scenes.

* [[The Character Died with Him]]: Subverted. Igor's role is diminished because of the death of his seiyuu, but his archived dialogue from [[Persona 4|the game]] is still used to keep the character in the anime.

* [[Combat Sadomasochist]]: The two [[Macho Camp]] flunky Shadows alongside Kanji's Shadow ''really'' enjoy getting hit.

* [[Continuity Cavalcade]]: When the Investigation teams visits Gekkoukan High in episode 15, all the background music changes to ''[[Persona 3]]'' tracks.

* [[Continuity Nod]]: Although the anime is much abbreviated, attentive viewers can note specific bits from the games that are still present.

** [[Video Game Interface Elements]] are featured during transitions, fight scenes and the mid-episode [[Eyecatch|Eye Catches]].

** Various Social Link characters are present in the background of scenes they have no involvement in.

* [[Death Glare]]: Several examples:

** Naturally, Kanji [[Face of a Thug|has one of these by default]].

** ''The entire Investigation Team'', plus Dojima, in episode 24. (Yosuke, of all people, manages to pull this off quite well).

* [[Demoted to Extra]]:

* [[Fake Buzz]]: In the club of episode 15, half the characters start acting as if they're drunk, even after it's confirmed that there's no alcohol served there. Carries over to the next day, [[Your Mind Makes It Real|where the ones who acted drunk don't seem to remember much of the previous day.]]

* [[Fast-Forward Gag]]: Yu has one of these in episode 19 when explaining the importance of entering the school's beauty pageant to the girls.

** Taken further in Episode 15: [[Mr. Fanservice|Yu's]] [http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly4jxqHoek1qh9on7.gif pretty ripped].

** And after [[The Big Guy|Kanji]] shows up, he's often seen wearing a sleeveless shirt, which lets the animators focus quite a bit on his rather muscular arms.

* [[Final Exam Finale]]: Episode 12 / the mid season finale, where the entire team needs to work together and Yu needs to unleash all the Arcana he's gathered except Star over the past 11 episodes to take down Shadow Mitsuo.

* [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!]]: Yu pulls this trope on Yosuke during the fight with his Shadow. Yu [[Deadpan Snarker|claims]] that it was an accident, but turns it into a straight example with the lines he delivers after the punch.

* [[A Glitch in the Matrix]]: When Yu {{spoiler|is dragged into Shadow Mitsuo's [[Lotus Eater Machine]]}}, he catches on that something is up when he tries to put his hand in the TV and it no longer works. With the deception revealed, Shadow Mitsuo reveals itself and starts giving him one hell of a [[Hannibal Lecture]].

* [[Gratuitous English]]: It continues the trend.

** Nanako is a sweet young lady {{spoiler|with abandonment issues brought on by the fact that her father never seems to have time for her.}}

** Even Yu gets in on the act. Outwardly, he comes across as both [[The Stoic]] and [[The Ace]] with a ''really'' strange sense of humor (the audience isn't sure whether he's a [[Deadpan Snarker]] or [[Cloudcuckoolander]]; it's hard to tell). {{spoiler|In episode 12 we find out that even ''he'' [[I Just Want to Have Friends|just wants to have friends]], and is deeply afraid of being abandoned by the people he's close to}}.

** Episode 12 seems to have a lot of this between Yu and Yosuke. Yosuke pulls Yu out of {{spoiler|Mitsuo's Shadow's illusion}}, and they then look each other in the eye while in Jiraiya's arms. At the end of the episode, Yosuke calls Yu by his first name.

** Episode 15 and the Love Hotel, Chie, Yukiko, and Rise in the rotating bed having giggle fits. Something similar happens when Teddie, Yosuke, and Kanji end up in a bed together, except in that case the only one laughing is Teddie.

{{quote|'''Mr. Experiment''': Thanks for tuning in, all you curious kiddos! With the body of an adult and the heart of a child, lovely whiskers and gentlemanly ways, I'm Mr. Experiment! [...] In this corner let's try to solve mysteries found in your everyday lives!}}

* [[Mood Whiplash]]: Episode 22. It starts with {{spoiler|Nanako having to be rescued from the TV world before getting sent to hospital}} and just when things are looking up, {{spoiler|Yu gets called to the hospital, and the episode ends with Nanako flatlining.}}

** Yu's ringtone for when [[Clingy Jealous Girl|Ai]] calls him is Zigeunerweisen, also known as the [[Game Over]] theme from [[Catherine]], and his inner monologue after she calls plays out exactly like one of Vincent's.

** The OP Song for the episode when the gang goes to [[Persona 3|Tatsumi Port Island]] is none other than ''Burn my Dread.''

** Teddie conveniently recalling that Kintoki-Douji can cast Energy Shower, which (just as conveniently) cures Enervation ("old" status).

* [[Nosebleed]]: Kanji gets one of these in episode 8, and again in episode 19 during the beauty pageant.

* [[No Theme Tune]]: Episodes 23 and 24 open with just the title cards, no theme song. Epsiode 25 also forgoes the theme tune, instead showing the title card just as {{spoiler|Adachi is presumed to have shot Yu in the head}}.

* [[Pragmatic Adaptation]]: In an effort to condense a 90+ hour game into 26 half-hour episodes, the anime seems to be showing no class time and cutting out the vast majority of the dungeon crawling--basically showing condensed versions of the dungeon plots and then skipping straight to the boss battles. It seems that they will also be showing the very sidestory-ish Social Link plots, however. Similarly, the team no longer uses weapons, since it's a whole lot harder to convince viewers that the investigation team has been sneaking swords and chairs into Junes under their clothes when everything is being fully animated.

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]]: Applies to Yu and {{spoiler|Adachi}}, who are the Blue and Red Oni, respectively. {{spoiler|When they meet face to face in Magatsu Inaba, Adachi gradually has [[Villainous Breakdown]] while Yu [[The Stoic|calmly]] tells him to [[Shut UP, Hannibal]]. Also, Adachi's Magatsu Izanagi is primarily [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|red]] in contrast to Yu's Izanagi and its [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|blue]] aura.}} It could also apply in the game, but it applies more here due to the fact that Yu has a personality here.

* [[Red Herring]]: Like in the game, the in-universe version is {{spoiler|Mitsuo}}. For the audience, we also get {{spoiler|Naoto}} as a bit of a [[Red Herring]] early on. When Yu first sees him eerie music plays and the shot fixates on his eyes during a tense sideways glance. That's not to mention that he spends time with {{spoiler|Kanji, right before Kanji disappears.}} The [[Spoiler Opening]] ruins the latter example, though.

** Yu and his attempts to tape the Midnight Channel programs.

** Aika making deliveries/working in increasing unlikely places. Not only does she work at Aiya, make a delivery in the middle of a chase scene, and bring food to the protagonists on top of a mountain in the middle of the school camping trip, but she also has a job at a noodle shop at Tatsumi Port Island and at the Amagi Inn. They try to explain away the job at Tatsumi Port Island, but by the Amagi Inn episode, [[Rule of Funny|the writers stopped caring.]]

** In episode 9, Yosuke and Kanji while they're staking out the tofu shop.

* [[Sequel Hook]]: At the very end of the TV series, {{spoiler|Igor presents Yu with the Orb of Sight, forged from the strength of his bonds and which can dispel falsehoods}}. The late introduction of this element hints that there's one plot line left dangling...

** Episode 2 has Chie and Yosuke share a hug. She then knees him in the groin.

** Chie's acting disapproving of Ai and Yu's relationship cues [[Shipper on Deck|Yosuke]] to ship them in episode 5. Naturally, Yu/Chie fans like this one, too.

* [[Spoiler Opening]]: Just like in the game, the opening gives away {{spoiler|many of the}} kidnapping victims, as well as the identities of the full investigation team. If one hasn't played the game, the script and direction of the anime is clearly intended to make a [[Red Herring]] out of {{spoiler|Naoto}} (see above), but simply watching the credits pretty much tells you {{spoiler|she's a good guy all along.}}

* [[Spurned Into Suicide]]: Almost played straight ([[Suicide as Comedy|and for lulz]]) by {{spoiler|Ai Ebihara}} in episode 5. {{spoiler|After she overhears that Kou doesn't care for her romantically and likes Chie better, Ai is so distraught that she runs off crying to the roof of the school and prepares to climb over the fence and jump over the edge. Luckily, Yu gives chase and manages to talk her out of it.}}

* [[The Stinger]]: They tend to show whatever Yu sees on the Midnight Channel.

** Also, {{spoiler|The TV run of the anime ended with Igor handing Yu an "Orb of Foresight," hinting that things aren't quite over yet.}}

* [[Theme Music Power-Up]]: It is the dead of night. All hope seems lost. Yu is alone, beaten but not defeated. All his efforts have been in vain, and it seems nothing he can do will help him overcome. But then he stands, determination burning in his heart. He rallies his strength and summons the [[Persona 4|original game]]'s battle [[Theme Tune]], "Reach Out To The Truth," and he ''faces out'', he ''holds out'', he {{spoiler|[[Fishing Minigame|casts his fishing line]] and [[That One Sidequest|finally catches]] [[The Catfish|the Guardian]]}}.

* [[Technology Marches On]]: In the game, the cell phones used by the Investigation Team look rather dated by 2011 (Incidentally, when the story is set) terms, so the anime gives them smart phones. It's only a matter of time before this takes effect again, however.

* [[The Resolution Will Not Be Televised]]: The TV broadcast only covers up to the {{spoiler|"Good Ending," which deals with the confrontation with Adachi and the battle with Ameno-Sagiri.}} The production team has announced, however, that the storyline leading to the "True Ending" will be released as a separate Blu-Ray OAV.

* [[Title: the Adaptation]]

* [[Urban Fantasy]]

* [[Useless Useful Spell]]: Yu tries to use Mot to cast Mudoon on Shadow Naoto. It spectacularly fails to do anything of note. Bosses in the game are immune to Light and Dark attacks, since they're instant kills.

** When the viewer gets to see what Rise sees when she's under Himiko's visor, the screen is tinted and the same strength/weakness chart from the game is in one corner.

** We also see the characters suffer from various ailments, such as Enervation and Fear.

* [[Wham! Episode]]: Episode 21.

** Yu fishing in episode 14. {{spoiler|See [[Theme Music Power-Up]] above.}}

** Yu catching the King's Chopstick/throwing the dart in episode 15. The battle theme from ''[[Persona 3]]'' plays as the last button on his shirt falls open, and the a battle animation flashes across the screen when he reveals his command.