Persona 4 Anime, **** Yes

So the Persona 4 anime aired in Japan today, and the Simulcast just finished airing. I thought I’d take the chance to say a few quick things about it.

First of all, almost everything made the fanboy in me jump for joy. The fact that the show used a lot of the same music and even graphics as the game were incredibly fun touches. Some highlights are the calendar scroll showing the weather forecasts, the “entering the TV” sequence, and the Social Stat eye-catcher. Sad that Narukami is starting at nil for everything. 😛

I’m a little sad that the Junes song was translated as the literal “Everyday Young Life Junesu” instead of the English version’s “Everyday’s great at your Junes” and that the “Trial of the Dragon” (now even more famous through hiimdaisy’s comics) wasn’t also brought forward into the translations. There were some minor plot differences (in the game, Chie isn’t around to see any Persona action until the first dungeon [not even counting what will happen in episode 2], for one), but nothing too major.

One thing I can’t remember about the game is if Teddie gave the Protagonist his glasses before or after the first battle. It COULD explain the sudden emergence of Izanagi (though for those of you who don’t know too much about the series, I won’t say much more what I’m going toward). Another thing that I’m pretty tickled pink about is the main character’s name: Narukami. It’s a reoccurring name in the series, being used for spell and Persona names. I’m also amused by its Japanese meanings (at least phonetically). “Naru” in a general sense means to change or to become. “Kami” is, to cut a long conversation down short, a Japanese god. That means we can view this in two ways: Become a god (Izanagi is one of Japan’s oldest gods), or a god that brings change (which, surprise surprise, happens in the story. Again, Izanagi is a god).

Overall, the transition was handled nicely. I’m certainly going to keep up with the anime, and I’m really looking forward to the English VAs getting their teeth into the project again.

Assorted relevant link(s):

The Anime Network’s Simulcast: http://www.theanimenetwork.com/Anime/Persona-4/Watch

~ by buncythefrog on October 6, 2011.