Persona 4 the Golden Animation

Watch Episodes 6 & 7, Persona fans! As for the rest, well, my (first) review.

The Golden Animation, simply put, is all the scenes from the updated rerelease from the game, animated and stretched out a bit.

As opposed to the strange combination of social life, school days, and vigilante-Shadow-fighting-crime-solving that was Persona 4, Golden, when taken at face value, comes off as a typical Slice-of-Life with a mystery sub-plot that isn't even explained well. Which is admittedly understandable, though it doesn't improve the series.

Our returning characters have their previously established relationships hinted at, as with their slightly more complex personalities, but they're mostly shoved to the ... side to make room for the amateur poet amnesiac with enough tsundere to give Ms Rin Tohsaka a run for money, Marie(a.k.a. canon love-interest). The series has no direct focus, but Marie's story in context of this expansion, translating to giving the girl some memories that might jog her old ones.

Cue the beach.

As a fan of Persona 4, I can admit that I found it enjoyable to watch, though that might have been somewhat mitigated by the conscious knowledge that I was supporting the ludicrous overmilking of Persona 4 that still continues with its yet to be released PS3 port and Rhythm Game spinoff. Even if the new artstyle took a moment to get used to, they were the guys who did the cutscenes for the game and they weren't too shabby here, either. Props, Madhouse.

I say watch the aforementioned episodes because they have direct relevance to the original Mystery/Reach Out For The Truth story by offering a look from the killer's eyes through the whole story; from before the murders to his inevitable defeat by the heroes.

Aside from that, though, I can only recommend this to someone who has already seen or played the original story and wants the canon equivalent of a fanfiction added on. I have no malice for this series, no anger with it that motivates me to give it a low score. But it just doesn't do anything noteworthy aside from the moment in its midpoint where it briefly returns to its source material to do what one might have wished at least half of the episodes had done. Perhaps it's for the best, though. Golden did have a happy & satisfying alternate ending, though.

Live long and prosper! :)

Persona 4 Golden seems a bit intimidating to watch at first. Based off of a highly popular game for Playstation Vita, there may be high expectations when it comes to adaptation. And why shouldn’t there be? The franchise is already popular and the concept of Persona itself should be enough to hit a few chords. The only catch is that Persona 4 Golden isn’t necessarily a sequel or spinoff. Instead, it’s a remake of the original series with the addition of a new character. Rebounding back with the story of the original series, Persona 4 Golden is far from a golden egg.

Even when coming into ... the show as an anime only viewer, it’s easy to say that the foundation of the show is built on knowledge of the Persona world. In other words, the producers assumes you’ve at least know some aspects of the show. If you’re coming into the series completely point blank fresh, then confusion might be a factor to endure. The first episode begins with doses of mysterious concepts as we meet protagonist Yu. He comes into contact with a strange avatar dubbed as the Persona and fights even more mysterious monsters. However, what’s really strange to me is the way the first half of the adaptation that came following the pilot episode. There’s little to no explanation regarding the events of what has happened. Instead, the show transits into slice-of-life formulation with the introduction of a variety of characters. The most prominent of them is Marie, the new girl in town that we meet in this remake. And to be honest, I’m not that impressed.

For a show that has both a smart and intriguing premise, the first half of the series leaves me with a bit of disappointment. It feels bleak and the slice of life aspect builds on repetitive teenage-esque drama rather than supernatural phenomena. When you hear of the word “persona”, what you may think would be something along the line of “just what is that”? Sadly, patience would have to play a key role if you want to find out. The questionable decision to adapt the show this way leaves me wondering what the slice of life purpose really is. Furthermore, some of these questionable episodes feels rushed and leaves moments that are easily forgettable. These may include beach episodes, shopping sessions, and even forming a band. It takes roughly half the series to once again focus on the concept of Persona again. That’s just a whimsy shift and inadequate decision.

As being foretold as an alternate continuation, the series still takes place in the town of Inaba. A major difference is the introduction of Marie, whom Yu befriends early on in the show. The two aren’t very compatible when it comes to their personalities. Their strange relationship can’t be depicted as romantic either since Yu doesn’t seem to show feelings for her or vice versa. To say the least, I could describe them as more of acquaintances. Portions of the story focus that is expanded in this adaptation seems to be focused Marie. As we find out, she has a case of amnesia so this show begins to unravel more secrets about her character. In essence, it creates a modern-life journey for her to recover those memories. Her relationship with other characters is mostly minor except for Yu whom she interacts with the most. As such, we only see most of her true colors during their times together. But for such a key character in this series, there’s not much appeals with Marie. She is reserved but not always shy to speak out her thoughts. Her lack of common sense on occasions is played out as a joke along with her tsundere-like tendencies. The plus side is that she isn’t a girl that causes trouble but just doesn’t seem to be able to catch a viewer’s interest despite the focus on her character.

Speaking of characters, most of the original cast returns in this show ranging from cheerful Rise, the elegant Yukiko Amagi, tomboy Chie Satonaka, or clumsy Yosuke. Even Kuma makes his return that reminds us the show still appeals to peculiarity. Despite their lack of characterization, all of them get some moments to shine and a chance to interact with Yuu and Marie. The drawback is that there’s less prestige focused on their roles in the story. The plus side is their diverse personalities that leads to certain events that can be entertaining. But even taking this for granted, their performance is underwhelming filled with lackluster and stereotypical clichés that makes it all look bad on paper.

If you lasted over half the show, then the patience might pay you off. Despite the overwhelmingly saturated amounts of clichés in the first half, the latter part of the show becomes more plot oriented. Characters such as Adachi and Teddie get more highlight with their roles. The former stands out as a testament of suspicious deeds after it’s clear that Adachi is more than who he claims to be. The climax of his battle against Yu serves as a solid example of Persona should be. The endgame is that the show had weak buildup leading to such a powerful climax. Thus it created less anticipation but more so on resolution. On the other hand, Marie’s side of the story also becomes centralized regarding her amnesia. Although relatively short, it’s clear that there is a bonding relationship between Marie and Yu that is emphasized in the final few episodes. Challenging himself to his limits, Yu struggles to bring back memories of Marie and the girl he once knew. It also creates moments of revelations as we find out more about Marie’s identity, her role, and ultimately what she wants to do. Perhaps the two most noteworthy moments of this subplot are Yu’s search for Marie (especially in a snowstorm) and their reunion. Although relatively short, it captured a profound image of their relationship. On the other hand, other characters are seemingly left out in the dark with minimal roles while I have to wonder why they get involved in the first place. Ultimately, it creates the result of a rushed adaptation.

Creativity deserves some attention for Persona Golden namely with the action. Although CGI can be a bit distracting, it does pay off with the way it’s utilized. I give some credit for the way Personas are designed and the fluid action they are involved in particular with episode 11. Then, there’s the humor that is a mixed bag. While most of it feels forced or cheesy, there are some charming moments when the show delivers what it’s trying to do. And while the jokes are stale, the character interactions are genuine that defines what friendship is all about. However, the mechanics of the game remains stale. You’d expect some exposition but in the end, you’ll be left out stranded if you have no knowledge of the Persona world if you don’t pay attention.

A-1 Pictures pulls their strings and as the company involved with the anime production, I could only say that the visuals are moderately adapted. Taking a good look at the characters, their models look weird and unrealistic. The only decent character design I can take my hat off to would be Marie for her unorthodox way of dressing up. Backgrounds are also fairly blend except for the battlefields in the otherworldly arenas. It’s there that creativity deserves some props. But if you want to talk about praise, then most of it should be focused on the Personas. Indeed, they are designed with great peculiarity but also distinctive marks of intelligence. It’s hard to recall exactly a word to describe them but the Personas stole the show when it comes to visual dynamics. When combined with effective camera angles, Persona 4 Golden actually shines more than meets the eye only for that element.

Soundtrack has some influence but isn’t exactly a powerhouse. The OP song may be different (except for one episode that used the second opening song from the original season) but it still maintains the same tone. Its repetitiveness has no bounds either when it comes to its quirky OST. On the plus side, action scenes again takes control with its choreography; a sharp contrast to its easily forgettable SOL background music. For the character casting, most of them retains the same way of their mannerisms. I think I already mentioned Marie before but her tsundere-like voice can be borderline annoying and childish. However, Yu seems to have matured a bit with his much more confident voice as result of his max stats retained from the original show.

So, what’s the best way to enjoy Persona 4 Golden? I’d probably say patience. If you’re bored by the end of the first episode, then take heed and drop this show. The first half has that slice of life feeling where each episode almost seems like a different show. But once you get through that, it might pay off with the focus on Marie and the main story. Rewards worth reaping would be the action oriented scenes with solid coordination and tolerable soundtrack. And while the comedy in most aspects is dull, there are occasional moments where you’ll find yourself burst out laughing. Ultimately, Persona 4 Golden is short of achieving stardom when it comes to its end product. Rather, it’s more like one of those shows that tries to work on its own terms but didn’t achieve its end game.

First of all, I got to say as a Persona fans, I'm quite disappointed with this series. For you guys out there who haven't watch or play the game (at least Persona 4), don't watch this series yet. This series only emphasize on Marie, the new character from the golden version.

Story 3/10
The series is a bit messed up with characters after characters appear out of nowhere at the beginning of the episode without explaining how they got to meet the protagonist in the first place. The original story is pretty much non-existent here. I do understand they want to emphasize on Marie but at ... least they need to explain how the other characters get to know each other since this series is more of a remake / alternative version. Each episode from the first half of the series feels like a brand new story rather than a continuation from the previous episode especially with a new character coming out from nowhere.

Art/Sound: 6/10
The art doesn't change much honestly. But hey, the original ones is acceptable so I still give it a 6 (Yos****sune still looks badass) and for the sound, I still enjoy the battle theme from the game so I give it a 7 (Meh, quite biased right?)

Alright Character, 5/10
Well, honestly, I haven't played the golden version so I find the new character to be quite interesting and probably the only reason I watched this series to the end. It brings a new spark to the old gang which is quite enjoyable. The problem lies with the rest of the gang. The main character is quite similar with the one from the original series (and the game, but this one talks!) but a bit livelier than before. The problem lies with the secondary characters (the rest of the gang), it feels like they are just... bland. Since they didn't explain how they got there in the first place, there's no progression or whatsoever from them.

Enjoyment and Overall 5/10
Overall, this series is quite a disappointment. I got a mixed feelings about this but I do like the new character and the comedy bits in this series is quite entertaining. It's really a shame that this is only a 12 episodes and the rest of the crews did not get properly introduced. For Persona fans out there who haven't watched this series, this series might be quite a disappointment to you Especially if you are looking forward to the actions and battle (which is pretty much non-existent). However, if you don't have time to play the game and want to know what happens in the Golden version, you might want to check this series out (even though I'm not sure how close this series to the game version). And again, Do Not watch this one before finishing either the original series or the game first!!

This is my first review so please be nice to me guys :)

I liked it.
 
10/10 even, based on personal enjoyment.
 
That said, objectively it was terrible. I can see why someone who's never played the game that jumped onto The Golden Animation as their first exposure to the franchise would be thoroughly confused (and indeed turned off).

Let me try to explain this in a way that people who have never played Persona 4 might understand.

Persona 4 is a unique game in that it has elements of your classic RPG, a slice of life anime, and a dating sim, all neatly packaged into one. The game's main motif is "Power of Bonds", that is to say, ... your connections are your source of power. So in-between saving the world and killing monsters, you still have to attend school every day and have a social life. That said, the RPG-element is still the primary plot of the game, everything else is only secondary.

What The Golden Animation does is essentially ignore the RPG-element of the game and focuses entirely on the secondary aspect, specifically the social link (what bonds are called) of Marie.

Now this is bad. The series is already assuming you have some knowledge of the overarching plot and therefore doesn't go into detail about events that are directly tied to the RPG-element, which is why the series makes no coherent sense. New characters are introduced every episode with no development, the calendar transitions jump back and forth between months with no explanation, and the first episode gives false impressions that it's an action genre when in reality it's a slice of life.
 
It was understandably done this way because the studio's goal wasn't to retell the original plot or rehash the original anime. Its goal was to fill in the gaps the game left with the introduction of Marie and flesh out her character. See, Marie wasn't in the original game, she's actually a new Golden-exclusive character, and the problem is that in terms of plot significance she's actually quite an important character, and that's what this series tries to highlight.

In that regards, this anime did an excellent job. To be honest (and I speak as a Persona 4 fan), Marie felt shoehorned into the game. Because the original plot (without Marie) was so nicely wrapped up, fitting Marie into it ended up feeling jarring at times because her social link makes it seem like she's super tight with the main group, but then she's not mentioned anywhere else.
 
This series suffers from the unfortunate drawback of only appealing to a very select audience. It's not enough to have played the original Persona 4 or have watched the original anime, you NEED to have played Golden. As a whole, and rated objectively, I have to give it a low score. If this was part of an OVA package, it'd be another story, but this is marketed as its own independent series which just doesn't work due to how much they cut out.
 
That said, I love that it brought some of the most memorable scenes from the game to life. Kanji's beach scene was fucking hilarious and makes me love the characters and the series even more. I thought it was hilariously well done in-game, to see it animated made it that much better! Chie fan-service? Who needs that junk when you got Kanji the man in all his glory? I also thought Adachi was very well written in The Golden Animation. The game does scratch the surface of what they were trying to make Adachi to be, but this series really highlights how Adachi is Yu's foil.

How can I possibly start this review without saying how much of a loss of time this anime was like? Because it is.
But let's start with something more simple. This anime is the adaptation of the remasted version of Persona 4, Persona 4 Golden, so I was expecting the plot of Persona 4 (maybe without many details, since it's a lot to put in 12 episodes) plus the story added in the Golden. I was really wrong.
This anime is completely a filler season. It's literally the Social link story of Marie, the character added in Golden that is really important for the story. For those ... who don't know what a Social Link is, it's the Friendships with the other characters in the game, that you have to level up meeting and chatting with them while you play to know them better. And it's okay when you have the entire game, but when you have ONLY the Social Link of a character, it feels pretty useless to make an entire anime about it. Also this isn't exactly stated in the plot, so at first I wanted to watch only this series without the vanilla one (and I didn't play the game). Luckily I changed idea, though I still wanted to watch them together, so I was alternating episodes and I got really big spoilers from the second episode already even if I was already past half the vanilla season. Yes because this series doesn't even care in giving you prompt of the story, already in the second episode you have the full cast together, without any explanation, when you should actually know them one by one. It was pretty rushed too, since the episodes are mostly one shot, and aren't pretty much plot-related if not for few chatting about the major plot point of the story.
At the end of the story, how could I enjoyan anime that was almost like watching a series only of "beach episode"? Only the last episodes are really plot-related, but this doesn't justify or help that much since I was really bored when I got there.
Also, I have the opinion that every media should be watched by itself, but in this case you should play the game of watch the vanilla season (and this is not a sequel, let's be careful with that) or else you wouldn't understand anything about it.