Persona 4 The Adaptation results
"Persona 4 The Animation" is based on the PS2 Game "Persona 4", and adapts the plot it in 25 episodes, covering it untill the normal ending (the game has multiple endings, and the "True ending" will come out as an OVA later).
[If you have not played the game and are interested in playing it, I recomend you to do so before watching so you won't kill the 60 hours+ gameplay's suspense, where the plot is much more detailed. The game is much better, really.]
People look to this anime in 2 ways: comparing it to the game, or looking at it independently.
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I will try to put things in both perspectives, but I can not deny the game keeps advantage by far in quality.
The story progression analysis
>Intro (Quite good)
The story begins when Yu Narukami (canon anime name of the game's nameless silent protagonisti) moves to his uncle and cousin's house in the "peaceful rural town" of Inaba, to stay for a year while his parents work aboard. Then, after his arrival a series of bizarre murders start to happen.
The first episode speeds up the slow game intro events into a wise way, merging part of the two first times they enter into the TV world into one, thus allowing an action sequence in it.
The scenes with the velvet open the episodes keeping track of the evolution of Yu's arcana powers by linking to other people. That was an aewsome idea and fitted very well the anime to represent the protagonist's visits to it (alongside some scenes with it during some episodes).
>First major change (Kind of upsetting)
Then the second episode made one of the major changes from the game (that became more clear as new episodes came out), the persona users would not use weapons nor fight directly agains the shadows. The combat in The Animation is fully by summoning, and if the casted personas take a hit, it's master will fell the damage.This second point is interesting and a good addition, but the lack of weapons helped to kill the action, even thou making sense (once in the game, even after the police oficcer issue they still carried weapons to Junes by "hiding" them and a lot of armors into their school uniforms, and we never saw any backpack...)
>The Action sequences (Bad)
If you have played the game you might be a little upset by now with this change (removing the weapons), but even the new audience may think the combat is dull, lacking of action and in most times "to easy" to win. Party members other than the protagonist are most of times useless and most of the job is done in seconds by him.
The animation in battles even in the bluray versions (that fix some weird animated points) doesn't help a lot, it's just not exciting.
>Social links (Good, well made for just 25 episodes)
In the game the "social links" were some sort of simulation date event's to raise the friendship level with someone, powering the arcana that represents it's life dilema thus making the protagonist more powerfull to summon personas of that respective arcana, and by it's max level allowing him to summon it's signature ultimate persona.
Without a guide and a new game+, most people will not master all the 21 social links, the anime covered that by shortcuting what takes to master or even the concept of really mastering them. It's hard not to be expectiong a game that can take more than 80 hours to finish to not be rushed in 25 anime format episodes. In that point, Persona 4 The Animation was good, but seeing how Persona Trinity Soul (weird and boring anime sequence to Persona 3) got twice episodes makes me wonder that this anime could have used the links a lot more, beeing even able to make fillers about side stories withou it beeing non interesting once these plots are really relevant for the game.
Mixing social links like with Strenght and Moon in one episode was a good Idea as well, that made the event's not that acurate to the game but turned it in the kind of "filler"/ modification that makes sense.
The first ending showing the obtained arcanas of the episode falling to Yu's hands was brilliant.
>The plot suspense (Bad)
Due it being rushed, the storyline had only a few moments to focus on beeing tense and create a heavier mistery atmosphere. That along with most of the humor scenes apearing among the investigations made it sound like joke or superficial. Even that simple the plot twists and suspense seemed a lot more intense in game then in the anime adaptation.
If you haven't played,once the plot is very rushed and it doesn't have a lot of episodes, you might watch it beeing ok to it due the lot of information they will be throwing at you (not that much).
>Humor (Sorry, but it was funnier in the game once it didn't seem that much like a joke most of times)
For the ones who played, most of the funny parts are in The Animation, but it's not that funny 'cause the rushed plot made it sound like the same jokes were beeing told again in short periods of time.
If you haven't played the game you may still notice a lot of humor sequences, I do not guarantee they will succeed, but there are some funny events.
>Silent Protagonist personality traits and power evolution (Ok but too rushed half of time)
The protagonist in game was silent and almost only talked by choices given to the player. With hiis personality becomes more strong by making friends and raising traits and that can be seen in the anime, where his trait status apears in the between break scene. Again that is something that apears to be too much focused in comedy, when sometimes he stands in a way players would not imagine (this akward moments are kind of funny for the ones who played, talking about fun who want to talk about murders? I mean, about the moment he falls in the river with the most "silent protagonist" face).
As he gets stronger bonds he is able to summon and fuse more powerfull personas, what gets kind of rushed for him to be summoning high level stuff in what should be the second dungeon of the game for instance.
>Audio (Ok, a lot from the original game sound track with some reencarnation remixes and good new ones, but many times missplaced)
I guess everything was too rushed to make some relevant sound tracks apear for a decent time (noes Heaven plays for only like 8 seconds).
The dub had a lot of actors who dubbed the game and that a very good thing.
>The Animation (Bad, lol)
Apparently the studio was having some issues among the cast and it not end well. Some of the animation was fixed to the bluray version but it doesn't save the action scenes just because they may look better in graphics.
>The Design (Good, downgraded in the anime)
The game's original Atlus' design looks more elegant, the old animated cutscenes from it are simple and the characters barelly move on them but the art style was "darker" even in the "everything is yellow" concept of the game. As I said, I don't think the animation keeps up with enough suspense.
In the animation the boys seem a little too "big / large" maybe because the way the uniform was drawn.
>Conclusion
Played the game score: 5 of 10
Haven't played the game score: 6 of 10
If you have played the game you may have a lot of complains but it's still enjoyable to watch to review the facts. If not it's quite a regular show but I still recomend you to play over to watch it if you have a chance.
Persona 4 The Animation had everything to be a great anime with more episodes, and the social link aspect could be used to creat cliche happy-go japanese anime schoolife fillers that would even be sort of fun to watch. Too bad it was so rushed and the combat so nerfed, being utopic here I would like to see a Persona 4 The Animation: Goldenhood (only the smarts wil get).
Apr 12, 2012
Persona 4 the Animation
(Anime)
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Persona 4 The Adaptation results
"Persona 4 The Animation" is based on the PS2 Game "Persona 4", and adapts the plot it in 25 episodes, covering it untill the normal ending (the game has multiple endings, and the "True ending" will come out as an OVA later). [If you have not played the game and are interested in playing it, I recomend you to do so before watching so you won't kill the 60 hours+ gameplay's suspense, where the plot is much more detailed. The game is much better, really.] People look to this anime in 2 ways: comparing it to the game, or looking at it independently. ... |
