Reviews

May 20, 2014
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have played the Persona 3 video game and will probably mention minor spoilers about the storyline and characters.

After what felt like a eternity for me the first Persona 3 movie has been release on bluray for all to enjoy. Does this movie live up to the famous and popular game. Well in one word yes, But it definitely isn't perfect.

Story
The Story line covered in the first of four movies covers up to Fuuka's recruitment into S.E.E.S. The movie follows the original game almost completely, but because of it's one and a half hour run time alot of smaller scenes are skipped and the pacing of the movie is very fast. thankfully this doesn't really detract from the movie, but if you have a favorite side character they will only be given one or two lines or will just be placed into the background. The movie changes from action scenes with the S.E.E.S members fighting shadows and scenes where the characters are at school or other dramatic parts. The fighting scenes are handled very well having the character switch from fighting with weapons to using there evokers to summon there personas. unfortunately the fight scenes aren't quite as epic as I thought they would be. They aren't bad by any means, but at the same time they could be better. The scenes focusing on school or other drama are also handled pretty well, but also have there share of problems. The highlights probably being the couple of scene's with Yuki and Pharos. These scenes do a really good job of adding a eerie vibe. Many of the other scenes are unfortunately clunky and a little awkward. The worst of the bunch probably being the scene near the end where Fuuka is talking to her friend during a battle. all of the scenes I am referring to also have a similar feeling of being out of place and kinda sudden. I am guessing these problems will be fixed as more movies are added and they figure out how to do the fighting and drama scenes better. One other thing that needs to be addressed with the storyline is that the movies should probably be a little longer, so that they can add more scenes and give more context to whats going on and more time to get to know the characters.

Characters
The characters also remain faithful to the source material keeping there original personality's, but unfortunately many of the characters don't get very much screen time and there is only hints about what there characters are like. Also because of the short run time of the movie and the amount of the story that is covered character development is at a minim, but this is the first out of four movies so this is to be expected.As I stated above all the side characters are barely given any screen time and are only there in passing. This is probably for the best though, because it allows more screen time for the main characters which are much more important anyways. Junpei and Yukari are both given alot of screen time and you get to see both of there characters develop alittle, but unfortunately Akihiko and Mitsuru are given far less. Atleast the few scenes they are in give a good foundation for future movies, but I still would have liked to see them more. Shinji is Only shown briefly but it is the same in the game so it isn't a problem. Fuuka receives quite a bit of screen time and is shown through out the entire movie. There are also some added scenes so that you have a sense of who she is by the climax. Now we get to the most important character of all the Protagonist who in this adaption has been name Makoto Yuki. I was really worried about how they where going to handle Yuki, because in the game he is purposely not given much of a personality so that the player can make him into the character they want. I actually really like the direction they decided to go in. Yuki's character is a completely uncaring person and basically will do whatever you ask him to. He doesn't even really care that much if he lives or dies. This allowed him to be able to really develop and he is already starting to change by the end of the movie. It also make me really excited to see how he is developed as more movies are added. The only real problem I have with his character is that he hardly ever talks. If he had just been given a couple of more lines per scene I think he would of made a much better character. Overall the characters are in a good position to develop and grow throughout each movie.

Animation
The animation does a perfect job of capturing the look and feel of Persona 3. Backgrounds are dark and creepy, characters look great, and the combat looks awesome. The highlights definitely being any scene that takes place during the midnight hour. The only complaint I have about the animation is that in a few scenes the characters look alittle awkward and the details in there cloths aren't there as much, but overall the animation is amazing and fits perfectly.

Sound
Anyone who has played a Persona game knows that the game has amazing music and the movie adaption doesn't disappoint. Almost all of the songs are just slightly different versions of the original songs from the game so fans of the game will enjoy hearing there favorite track.

Enjoyment
Overall the first Persona 3 movie was a very enjoyable movie. After finishing the movie I almost wanted to watch all over again. It also made me very excited for upcoming movies.

I can easily recommend this movie to anyone. Fans of the original game will enjoy that the movie remains true to the source material and newcomers won't have any problem following the movie and enjoying it themselves.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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