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Much like the early games in the Persona franchise, Persona: Trinity Soul doesn't get much love from fans of the series or even Atlus. In fact, unless you already own the DVDs or are willing to shill out a lot of money, there doesn't appear to be any currently LEGAL means of watching the show. But does the anime deserve such a brutal fate? Well, I decided to take a look and see for myself.

The series follows Shin Kanzato, a young high school student returning to his childhood home of Ayanagi City alongside his younger brother Jun to live with their elder brother Ryo, the ... local chief of police. Ryo, however, makes it clear that he'd rather they live just about anywhere else, and as cold as his treatment of his brothers is, he sadly may have a point. Teenagers throughout the city are being targeted for mysterious reasons, their bodies turned inside out and the police assigned to protect them left alive but unresponsive to the world around them. Before long, Shin himself is attacked, but awakens to a strange ability that enables him to defend himself: the power to summon another being tied to his personality called a Persona. Now irrevocably involved, Shin strives to find out what's going on, all while trying to restore the bond the brothers once shared in their youth.

Story: Trinity Soul actually has a rather compelling story, with some pretty neat twists and turns. Unfortunately, it is only executed somewhat competently. Not helping is that any version of the show I've been able to find never have great translations, with typos and bizarre wordings often making it hard to understand what characters are talking about when discussing exposition, of which there is a LOT. And while the source material can also get a bit exposition heavy in just about any of the games, these translation issues make it all feel a lot clunkier in comparison.

Art: The art of the series is easily one of its best aspects. The characters are physically consistent throughout the series, the designs of the Personas are absolutely incredible, the locations are all pleasant to look at, and every Persona user has a very distinct design. That being said, sometimes Personas are too transparent to get a good look at during fights, only a few characters who aren't Persona users have memorable designs, and some scenes it's all too clear to the well-trained eye that they were cutting corners with how characters move around.

Sound: The music in the show itself isn't bad, but most of it isn't too memorable, either. That being said, the first opening theme, "Breakin' Through" by Shuhei Kita, gets me pumped up every single time I hear it.

Characters: The heroes are all pretty likable, with Shin easily being one of the most expressive Persona protagonists outside of (and possibly even including) spinoffs. Both of his brothers as well as their circle of school friends are also pretty interesting, with some really engaging backstories, motivations, and depth. Unfortunately, only a handful of the antagonists and side characters receive similar treatment.

Enjoyment: For the most part, I did enjoy the series, with a handful of episodes in the second half really hitting me emotionally in a great way. Unfortunately, there were two key factors that prevented me from completely enjoying myself.

First is how Trinity Soul attempts to tie in to the Persona series as a whole. Specifically, how it fails to do so with one key reveal: adults cannot naturally have Personas, nor hold onto ones they had in their youths. True, this anime came out several months before Persona 4, where an adult is later revealed to have a Persona of their own. But one need only take a quick look at the Persona 2 duology and they will immediately realize that this idea is utter nonsense. Not only will a lot of modern Persona fans find it hard to take this plot point seriously, it also serves as quite possibly the most blatant example of Atlus disregarding any Persona game prior to 3. And the fact that a few of the characters bear a startling resemblance to certain Persona 2 characters just makes the discrepancies with how Personas work even worse. Admittedly, as of this review, I have yet to actually play Persona 1 or either entry in the Persona 2 duology, but not only do I actually intend to, I actually acknowledge that those games, as well as their characters and stories, exist and are worth experiencing at least once.

But for me, what was the most problematic part of the anime is the inclusion of a specific character from the Persona 3 video game, or more specifically, how said character is handled. This character is someone who, while far from perfect in their source material, was very likable and even admirable. Here, they are complicit in several government-sponsored schemes that are effectively what they and their comrades were fighting to correct (such as experimenting on innocent youths), and they are later shown to have used a child as bait in order to track down the antagonists’ hideout. True, they are rightfully punched in the face for this latter act, it is established shortly afterwards that it was the child’s idea and that they and their coworkers only agreed to it because they felt that they were out of options. And admittedly, much further down the line, when this scenario is brought up again, the character shows far more remorse on their face. Even so, I had to pause the episode where this scenario is revealed for over an hour once it occurred, and while I was later cheering when the character got punched, it wasn’t just for what they did, but that they were supposed to be the same character that I loved in their source material, someone whose end-game self would never agree to be part of this after what happened to them and their friends, and that their supposed remorse was only stated, not shown. All of this is behavior that the character in question was very much opposed to, especially by the end of the game, but this anime is supposed to take place 10 years after the events of the game, and none of that character development nor the expected reactions of this returning character are present. And to make matters even more infuriating, I’m in the middle of another Persona spinoff that came out much later where this character is also present, and while there are legitimate arguments for them and other characters being flanderized in said game, they and their personalities are still unmistakably RECOGNIZABLE. To summarize all this, a blatant attempt at fan service ended up doing FAR more harm than good.

Overall: Safe to say, Persona Trinity Soul is an extremely mixed bag. There are characters, stories, and ideas here worth checking out, experiencing, and even exploring in future Persona games. But the clunky storytelling, not giving the minor villains and side characters sufficient depth, and the failed attempts to tie into the series proper can easily make one wonder if it would have been better served without any blatant connection to the Persona series and just an entirely separate property that was openly inspired by it. All that being said, I don't think it would have too hard to successfully tie it in to the overall franchise without things that would wind up making the show non-canon by default.

All in all, Persona Trinity Soul deserves a fair shake, much like the Persona games prior to 3, even if it is extremely different to what people have come to expect. I legitimately feel that Trinity Soul and its merits should be acknowledged, possibly even incorporated into more official products of the series (Heck, I'd be happy just seeing more fan works of the series, even if it's primarily in crossover-type work with other Persona series). It does have some serious issues, though, especially with its poor attempts to tie into the mainline Persona series, and I won't blame any long time Persona fans for getting mad. After all, I know I did. In other words, if the opportunity presents itself, don't hesitate to give the series a shot and come to your own conclusions, but whatever you do, don't just pretend the series doesn't exist, regardless of its actual place in canon.

Restaurant to Another World has a pretty basic premise: Once a week, an ordinary restaurant from our world becomes accessible to a different world. Said world is home to just about everything one would expect from a fantasy world: sorcery and knights, elves and dwarves, treasure hunters and fairies, dragons and demons, monsters and royalty, etc. But every week, these many individuals of varying backgrounds come together at the Western Restaurant Nekoya and enjoy a good, heartwarming meal.

First, let's get my constructive criticism out of the way. As stated above, this series is not anything revolutionary. And if over the top action, drama, or comedy ... are what you crave, you're not going to find it here. In addition, the opening theme, while catchy, doesn't really capture the tone of the show as well as the ending theme or most of the songs used throughout the show. Most episodes are also pretty formulaic, and while it does get toned down more as the series progresses, there is a fair bit of fan service (something that I'll admit isn't bad in and of itself) that can feel a bit out of place at times.

Now that that is all out of the way, let's get onto why I adore this show so much. The art style is incredibly beautiful, with each character being distinct and a delight to look at. In addition, each character, while not complex, have memorable personalities and spark great chemistry with one another. The show is also really good at world-building, with each episode giving the viewer more insight into the history, politics, and culture of the other world that Nekoya is accessible to every Saturday. As for the food served in the restaurant...the attention given to the visual presentation as well as how each dish is described upon being eaten is reminiscent of Food Wars.

But whereas Food Wars is filled to the brim with crazy and intense competition, Restaurant to Another World is about anything BUT conflict. Sure, the customers can get a bit rowdy about which dish they think is the most delicious, but those arguments are easily quelled before they get out of hand. Rather, the restaurant serves as a place where people from different walks of life can come and relish in cuisine they are unable to prepare back home, all within the walls of a safe and relaxing environment. In fact, relaxing is the best way to describe this show. Between the ending theme and the soundtrack used throughout the series, along with the kind and understanding owner and employees of the shop, as well as lovely visuals, the show creates an atmosphere that can't help but put both the customers and the viewers at ease. Western Restaurant Nekoya is the sort of restaurant one would expect Studio Ghibli to open up in their museum: reminding one of the best aspects of their childhood, enabling them to relish their present, and giving them something wonderful to look forward to in the future.


Restaurant to Another World is not the most action-packed show, nor is it the funniest. It's just a simple, heartwarming concept that in my mind is executed brilliantly, simultaneously whetting my appetite and putting my mind at ease. To those who need a good pick-me-up, I cannot recommend this show enough.

As someone who's only grown even slightly comfortable with large amounts of blood and gore in the last few years, plus past experiences having reinforced for me the idea of trying as hard as possible to take hype with a grain of salt, for a while I didn't think this was a series for me. For one thing, just seeing the Colossal Titan, a creepy and massive giant without any skin, was pretty unnerving. But eventually, a bunch of my friends convinced me to give it a chance, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised.

From a psychological and sociological perspective, just the idea of ... a show where humanity is unquestionably no longer top of the food chain definitely grabbed my interest. How would seeing mankind's last bastion regularly endangered after a long period of relative peace and quiet affect our human society? Attack on Titan addresses that without pulling any punches, and I definitely respect it for that. As for the characters, the main trio of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin are distinct, likable, and complement each other well with their respective strengths as well as flaws. The supporting cast is a rather...interesting case in that those we get to know do wind up being rather interesting to watch develop and learn about. Beyond that, though, I can't say much else for fear of spoilers.

The art style, especially for the action sequences, is consistently strong throughout each episode from what I could tell, and the music...oh my goodness gracious, it is FANTASTIC! Both openings and closings are incredibly epic and memorable in their own ways, and I cannot do them justice by describing them here. If I had to think of some gripes, I can come up with two. One, however, is such a personal nitpick regarding a certain detail of how certain characters are drawn that stating it would result in a long, LONG tangent. The remaining issue relates to audio and writing. I've watched both the English subbed version on Crunchyroll and the English dubbed version on Toonami, and while the voice acting in both is phenomenal, the WRITING for the English dub is...strange and unnecessarily different. Had there been elements of Attack on Titan that would not really translate well from a cultural perspective, I could understand. But with how West-inspired the series itself feels to me, I think that many of the alterations in dialogue for the English dub are just plain odd. Maybe that's just me, though.

Attack on Titan is a fun series that is also pretty thought-provoking at times, which is really all one can ask for. But even if you're like me and hype and gore can be pretty big turn-offs, I still recommend giving this series a chance. Who knows? Maybe you'll be surprised like I was.

Pokemon: The Origin is a love letter to fans of the Gameboy games that started it all. The animation is pretty strong (albeit with a few hiccups here and there), the shout outs to the various elements of the games will bring a nostalgic smile to those who remember Pokemon Red and Blue versions fondly, and the soundtrack is full of remixes of some of the most recognized and memorable songs from those beloved games. And above all, it is a lot of fun to watch.

That being said, this series is not without its flaws. Despite being based on a pair of games that are ... fairly old by this point, ones that arguably are not exactly plot driven, this OVA was able to expand on certain aspects quite cleverly. However, at the same time, it also managed to feel rushed. Few Pokemon battles were shown in their entirety, with many of the Gym battles, as well as the Elite Four, and even the Championship battle being skimmed over. The pacing was rushed, and the villain's turn-over felt far too abrupt.
And this becomes even more apparent after one has read the Pokemon Special manga, also known as Pokemon Adventures. Because of this, I know that given even the bare minimum of its source material, this animated series had tremendous potential for not only the creativity of the action sequences, but for character and plot development along with the story narrative and the interpretation of the content of the games into a different medium. And had Pokemon: The Origin been given the length of a typical anime standalone series (approximately 12 or 13 episodes), this would definitely not have been much of an issue.

Sadly, for whatever reason, what should have been the equivalent of one season was instead produced as a four episode OVA. And while it does well what it can given that amount, its short length and the running time of each episode clearly works against it.

In the end, all I can really say is that this OVA is far from perfect. But even so, I would still recommend it for fans of the original games. It's a lot of fun, and the nostalgia factor is guaranteed to make older fans grin while they reminisce. It's no masterpiece, but it's still a great watch and will leave you smiling.