Alternative TitlesEnglish: Persona 4 The Animation Synonyms: P4A Japanese: ペルソナ4アニメーション
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 25
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 7, 2011 to Mar 30, 2012
Duration:
25 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.871 (scored by 11170 users)
Ranked: #5972
Popularity: #419
Members: 28,776
Favorites: 408 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisPersona 4 takes place in a rural town named Inaba. There have been mysterious murders occurring whenever there was fog after heavy rain. There were also rumors about a channel on television airing only at midnight called Mayonaka TV, during which it is said that one can see his/her "other half" when staring at the TV screen.
After hearing about a recent unsolved murder which occurred during the fog, the characters—Narukami, Chie, and Yosuke—discuss how each of them had attempted to watch the mysterious TV channel and witnessed the murder victim. The protagonist later realizes that during midnight when the channel is on, his body can phase into his television set as a gateway to enter another world infested with shadows.
After discovering this, they all decide to explore. When first completely entering the world, dazed and confused, Narukami meets Teddie. Mayonaka TV and the town murders seem to have a connection. The murder victims may be merely victims of Mayonaka TV. Everyone decides that they will together try to solve the mysterious murders by exploring the hidden world of Mayonaka TV. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Persona 4
Alternative setting: Persona: Trinity Soul
Sequel: Persona 4 The Animation: No One is Alone
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Sorrows_Neptune
12 of 27 people found this review helpful
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25 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
6 |
| Animation |
8 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
4 |
| Enjoyment |
6 |
The majority of people seem to praise Persona 4: The Animation for its faithfulness to the source material, calling it “the best game-to-anime adaption ever made.” As someone who finished their first playthrough of the game while the series was almost halfway through syndication, I’ll agree, the series is certainly faithful. And game-to-cinema adaptions don’t really have a high standard anyways, so this is probably the best adaption also. However, this is ultimately one of the main reasons why The Animation fails to be as good as the original game. (And since the original game’s story was merely “good” in my eyes, this causes The Animation to sink down into mediocre.)
There seems to be misconception that if an adaption is faithful enough to the source material, than it’s garanteed to be good-so long as the source material was good in the first place. This is incorrect because when a story is written for certain medium, it tends to work best in that medium because that’s what the story was designed for. Persona 4 fundamentally works best as a video-game, because that’s what it was written for. You could still make a good television series out of it, but in order for that to happen you have to actually change stuff and play around with it.
The first of these problems is the pacing. Persona 4 is a game where you live out the player-protagonist’s highschool life day by day, with trips to the TV world every few weeks. It takes about 60-80 hours to beat, and features a very slow pacing. For a 25 episode television series, they of course would need to compress the overall story.
For example, it’s not until a whole hour into the game until the player-protagonist actually gets to fight some Shadows. Since fighting Shadows is apart of the show’s premise, you of course need to include that in the pilot. Therefor, the writers had to rush through the first hour of the game and compress into a 20-minute episode, which results in an overtly fast pacing.
Secondly is the formulaic structure that comprises the majority of the plot. It roughly goes something like this: “Episode A: The heroes find out who’s on the Midnight Channel, and try to gather information on them so that they can save them from the TV world –> Episode B: The heroes go into the TV world, and rescues the victim. The victim then joins their party and helps out in the next story arc–> Episode C: Filler episode –> Repeat.”
The formula was no problem in the game, since the slow pacing made it so you barely even noticed the formula in the first place. However, since the formula goes through a mere three episodes of the anime, the quicker pacing makes it seem more repetitive.
Lastly, there’s Yu’s ability to summon multiple Persona’s, and acquire ”Social Links.” In the video-game, these are only briefly explained, but it’s no problem because it makes sense in the context of a video-game. But with The Animation, they still don’t bother to give an in-depth explanation, and it no longer makes any sense because it doesn’t have the context of a game to back it up. In the game it makes complete sense from a game play mechanic, but in The Animation it serves absolutely no purpose other than to occasionally show off some of the obtainable demons.
This is one of those shows where it starts out rather nicely; even though the first few episodes suffered from such overtly-fast pacing, they were otherwise rather enjoyable and of decent quality. After episode 4 however, the series started to steep deeper and deeper into mediocracry, and it wasn’t until episode 21 (near the end of the series) that it finally started to be of exceptional quality. This is partially due to how the series quickly starts to focus less on the mystery aspects of the plot, and more on the formulaic nature of rescuing people from the TV world and forming Social Links. In other words, barely anything interesting actually happened for a large part of the series.
When each character is introduced in their respective story-arcs, they are indeed compelling characters with a good amount of depth to them. However, as soon as they face their inner selves and are rescued from the TV world, they quickly degrade into flat one-dimensional characters. They’re all still likable to a certain extent, but not enough to make slice-of-life episodes (i.e. the filler episodes) worth watching.
The fight scenes were also underwhelming, usually feeling rushed. They barely have any tension to them, and usually ended far sooner than you would have liked them to. A few times they tried to mix up the fights by adding in some zany element, such as the male characters turning into old men, or the a hot liquid appearing on the floor that impaired the characters movements. Sometimes it worked, but other times it was just added a bit of stupid and unnecessary comedy.
If there’s anything that saves this show from being terribly mediocre, it’s the final four episodes that manage to pull a few plot twists and make the whole mystery plot actually interesting.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
For the most part this is a mediocre series, but it had enough saving qualities for me to rate this as “above average.” For a short while each character was compelling and complex, and the last four episodes were of exceptional quality.
But even so, I highly recommend you avoid this series, and just play the original video-game. I wouldn't call the game a masterpiece or anything, but it's certainly better than The Animation is virtually every way. read more
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artist-retired
76 of 176 people found this review helpful
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25 of 25 episodes seen
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| Overall |
7 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
7 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Can any of you actually say there was a good video game based anime series? Seriously, the majority of them are... er, bland, and that's just saying the least about them. Regarding the Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 based anime, I think I speak for every fan of the persona series when I say that it was nothing that we were expecting in the worst way possible. Yet, not all of them get a rare second chance at redemption like the Persona series, and the Persona 4 anime could very well be the best video game based anime we'll ever see to date, but of course it has it's share of problems.
STORY: In the backwater town of Inaba, mysterious events from strange murder cases to midnight showings of people in ways they have never been seen before begin to arise. But fortunately a transfer student with strange powers is on the case with his slowly growing group of friends.
With my dose of sarcasm out of the way, Persona 4 The Animation is based off of the popular (Not in sales numbers but in fandom) Playstation 2 game, Persona 4 (The name gives it's self away). As video game based anime go, this could honestly be the best in very many aspects.
For starters, the anime is very true to the source material. Character models are close to original as they will ever be, the adaption doesn't take very many liberties with the story so fans shouldn't be disappointed, and it even goes beyond and takes many elements from the game to add oh so many charms and lovable quirks like the critical hits animations. It's all great, but, this anime may be just too faithful to the game it's based on.
And then there's elements that any the fans of the game will understand, like the main character's ability to swap Personas when the rest of the cast can not, the best explanation that non fans can think of is that he's the main character and he is special.
As for the characters, the main character, Yu Narukami (Which isn't his real name, but Protagonist isn't an actual name so anything would've worked, even Fluffy Puppy would work because you can name him whatever you want, and yes that's what I named him in my game), is the biggest blank slate of a main character I've ever seen. And, unfortunately, it's understandable, a main character who acts according to your commands in the game, will never be a deep and interesting character with your commands now stripped away, but at least the dialogue that comes from him is hilarious at times. But it feels like you're watching him on cruise control, that is if you played the game. Okay, he isn't a complete blank slate, at the very least he has a stoic personality and emotes well when the occasion calls for it, especially in the later episode where you'd start to think he's making up for lost time, but he's using what he has left very well.
But the rest of the cast is so much more animated and filled with with more life than the game, which is to be excepted. If they weren't, they wouldn't be animated. Bad pun... but it's also about as funny as the humor is, which is an abused amount of overreactions from each other and an out of no where and dragged out cartoony chase scene that is uncomfortably shoe horned in.
Then we have the pacing, the pacing is very questionable at times, though I myself agree with the sped up beginning (Which in the game, what took the anime one episode to do, took the game literally four hours to accomplish before any actual gameplay would begin), several episodes tries way to hard to cram back story of characters into them and to conclude what took many hours for any player of the game to finish one dungeon and rescue one character, all done in a single episode or two. The pacing often feels awkward and rushed, but strangely enough these episodes actually add on to characters, that the game itself neglected to do, in a small amount of crammed time in single episodes.
For example, the characters Chie and Yukiko are friends as soon you see them, but the anime goes into how they met, in a very limited amount of time, however.
But, the way the story progresses is understandable if you think about it like this: The whole let's go to a dungeon to save someone and have them join up rinse and repeat is not the anime's fault, but the game itself. That's because, even though the story is very anime appropriate, there's the challenge of turning (As a fan of the persona series I'll admit) repetitive dungeon crawling into a cohesive ongoing story. It's easy to do short term by filling those moments with heavy action sequences and forced comedy, but it's going to be repetitive in the long run because of how faithful the anime is inspiring to be.
But there is one more thing that still transferred over from video to anime extremely well, the mystery that grabs the anime initially. It's take some sharp turns without cutting the corners, and the twists are awe inspiring and never makes you feel it was pulled out of no where, and the end result reveals to you something that, unless you played the game to the very end, someone was never who they appeared to be.
ANIMATION: Action scenes are spectacular and well animated, and the personas look great (And not ghost-like, like in that other persona anime). Character designs are diverse, and creatures and personas are very creative looking. There are animation quirks and even a lot of times where characters go off model, but it's not enough to fully shit talk about (And apparent rumors are apparently half right about the animation quality). The last episode however, makes me think they blew the entire animation budget, in a good way, and it's a huge upgrade to previous episodes.
SOUND: I love Shoji Meguro's stuff, and as a fan of both the game and his music, I'm ecstatic to hear that the original soundtrack is being used in full force. But it is probably the laziest thing about the anime on a whole. Unlike that other persona anime where it had it's own soundtrack to work with, it's clear laziness that the animation company used the original soundtrack from the game itself in order to be faithful. But it really helps that the soundtrack is great and incredibly catchy, and the opening and ending theme music (Which is the only original music made for the anime) are of that quality.
The Japanese voice acting is good, but as an english speaking subtitle reader, I'm waiting with baited breath for the english dub.
OVERALL:
The Good:
+ Decent animation with faithful character designs to the original.
+ Mystery from the game transferred over very well, keeping one hooked as it's pulls a unexpected surprising twist to those who never played the game or finished playing it.
Mixed:
+/- Faithful to the original source material / Faithful to a fault.
+/- Added character development that the game neglected / Too short of time to work with development, main character isn't interesting.
+/- Great music / Recycled music from the game is abused.
+/- Persona designs look cool. / Watching Yu switch from Persona to Persona on the fly will confuse those who are not familiar with the game it's based on.
As a fan of the game, I'm satisfied with the results, and I'm glad I'm not anal and nit picky like most stubborn fans. The Persona 4 anime is as good as it gets as game based anime is concerned. I'm personally happy how faithful it is to the game, but newer viewers are going to need to brush up on the game to fully enjoy the anime as a fan like myself has. read more
Recommendations
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Although these series are quite different in their mood and idea, they share the following two things:
(1) Protagonists in both series get in a mysterious parallel world and fight there using powerful "familiars" (actually, they're not usual familiars, but explaining them would be a spoiler, so let's leave it at that). The reasons for fighting and effect of the battle outcome are really different, but the process is pretty much the same: the familiars combat under their owners command invoking different technics and weapons, and that makes a really nice and impressive action.
(2) There is a mystery that protagonists are trying to figure out in both series.
Similarities:
*Both animes have two different worlds. In Persona 4 there is the normal world and the TV world. In C there is the normal world and the Financial District.
*Both animes summon monsters using cards. In Persona 4 they are known as Personas, while in C they are known as Assets.
Differences:
*The overall moral in both stories are extremely different
*The way each story progresses is different
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There exists a personification of your innermost feelings and thought processes. In Chaos Head it exists as a "delusion", something brought into reality, while in Persona 4 it exists as a "persona". If you aren't careful, you can be killed.
In both these series, the true potential of the protagonist are kept a secret. They eventually come to realize how strong and powerful they are.
Also, there are random series of murder which start making sense towards the end.
Both anime contain viable amounts of mystery and action and are worth watching!
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Opening Theme#1: "Pursuing My True Self" by Shihoko Hirata (ep 1)
#2: "sky's the limit" by Shihoko Hirata (eps 2-8, 10-12)
#3: "True Story" by Rise Kujikawa (Rie Kugimiya) (ep 9)
#4: "key plus words" by by Shihoko Hirata feat. Yumi Kawamura (eps 13, 14, 16-23)
#5: "Burn My Dread" by Yumi Kawamura (ep 15)
Ending Theme#1: "sky's the limit" by Shihoko Hirata (ep 1)
#2: "Beauty of Destiny" by Shihoko Hirata feat. Lotus Juice (eps 2-12)
#3: "Koisuru Meitantei (恋する名探偵)" by Loveline (Yui Horie) (ep 13)
#4: "The way of Memories -Kizuna no Chikara- (The way of Memories - キズナノチカラ-)" by Shihoko Hirata (eps 14-17, 19-24)
#5: "Honto no Kimochi (ほんとのきもち)" by Shihoko Hirata (ep 18)
#6: "Never More" by Shihoko Hirata (ep 25)
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Related ClubsAnime Video Game Club, Anime Power Rankings, Adachy~Baby Club, Role Players Unite!, On Goings Club, Nanako Dojima ~Persona 4~ Fanclub, Rikugou.org, Demon Lovers!, h, Tomb Raider Forums, The Kanji Tatsumi Fanclub, Daisuke Ono Fan Club!, Persona 4 Fanclub, Tomokazu Sugita Fanclub, Persona Fan Group, Mara Fanclub!, Police, The Awesome Club, Yosuke Hanamura Fanclub, Shiroku✰HighschoolShin Megami Tensei, Kappei Yamaguchi at All, Daisuke Namikawa Fan Club!, Risetteers! ~The Rise Kujikawa Club~, Mutirão Brasil - Ver. Spring Season 2012 see all
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