Why is this preface important? Well that’s because I have no idea what it would be like to watch this show without prior knowledge of the new plot elements introduced in Persona 4 Golden - primarily the new character Marie that is, as she is the entire focus of this series.
Persona 4 Golden the animation makes no effort to introduce (or in some cases re-introduce) it’s world and completely skips entire segments of the story that are not related to either of the new character sub-plots. Personally, I was able to follow the story as I’d both seen the original anime and played through the game multiple games for the platinum trophy, however, if you’re here for the plot and you don’t have prior knowledge, prepare to be confused.
Story: 3
Think of persona 4 Golden the Animation as the fillers of an anime, extracted from the main series and stuck together. I happen to like fillers, the beach events, the school festival events, the summer holiday events, ski trip events, swimming pool trips, hot spring events, etc, these things breathe life and relaxation into characters and are anime tropes for a reason. That being said, occasionally and eventually, sh*t does go down and when it does *spoiler alert* friend power saves the day. I can’t even get angry about this anymore.
Characters: 6
Listening to Hanazawa Kana voice the adorably tsundere new character Marie was probably my entire reason for watching this show, especially with Kugumiya Rie also present in the cast. During the intro sequence, you get a quick shot of the Main character with maxed out personal stats and throughout the show he seems to be trying his hardest to try to be cool and badass, it comes off a little forced but fortunately he doesn’t say much and is an otherwise decent blank canvas type character for viewers to project themselves through. The rest of the cast is all present, but receive neither decent introductions nor any meaningful character development.
Adachi does act as a reasonably interesting villain, presenting unique views on talent, success and social expectations… too bad he only gets to be in two episodes before being beaten by friend power.
Art & sound: 7
All very modern and clean. Some small amounts of fanservice that are present but not obnoxious. VAs do a great job and background tracks and music from the game are brought back, fitting in appropriately.
Enjoyment: 8
This is where I admit that I am biased, because I came into the series already in love with the world and it’s characters.
Overall: 7
If you’re already a fan of the series and you’re a fan of Hanazawa Kana, then let yourself relax and enjoy the show.
