'Persona 5: The Animation' (Review)

Name: Persona 5: The Animation

Number of episodes - 15 (so far)

Release date - April 7, 2018

Overall Ratings- 7/10

The Persona 5 Animation definitely has its work cut out for it. Anime adaptations of video games rarely impress, but the anime adaptation of Persona 5 seems especially daunting, considering it’s a 90+ hour role play action game with a tremendous amount of content. To say that this would be a challenging chore is a big understatement. And yet despite a few flaws in the first episode, I’m feeling very confident about the animation.

The Storyline: 8/10

The plot itself is a broken down version of the game. A lot of plot has been cut down so it can be censored for TV. Apparently, we can't say that Kamoshida the gym teacher is a pervert so we have to end up cutting his character in half. The overall storyline is this: The main character is a student that is on probation due to an alleged assault charge from a rape attempt by an older individual, and now he moves into the attic of a coffee store owner. While the protagonist is a student by day, he is later on in the series a heart sealing phantom by night. Basically, the protagonist has to recruit other thieves/accomplices, one of them being an adorable talking cat that is a little demanding about sleep. The phantom thieves don't steal hearts; they actually steal the evil and distortion that corrupts the society they live in.

Sound: 10/10

The sound in the anime has actually made me a little bit obsessed with Persona 5 as a whole. Most of the actors and actresses from the Japanese version of the game have returned for anime, but some, unfortunately, have passed away. A lot of the music from the game, both English and Japanese version, will give you that vibe of actually watching the right scene with the right track. I started singing along to "Life Will Change", "Beneath The Mask", and a new track for the opening "Break in to Break Out". I would give the music 10's, 10's 10's across the board!!!

Art: 7.5/10

The animation as a whole is pretty solid and actually better looking than the game, especially the cute scenes that were not in any battles. If there was one flaw, in particular, it would have to be all of the battle scenes. The all-out attacks were definitely lacking, unlike the game's AOA sequences.

Characters: 9/10

For some who haven't watched the first episode or played the game, then it would be a little too early to judge any of the main characters. I already knew what I was getting myself into when watching, however, some of the characters personalities were lacking but the persona's made me rethink everything since the main characters have their inner selves.

Final Thoughts

Anyone who watches or even gets a chance to watch this animation on their own leisure can very well have their own opinion on this adaptation. One like myself would be eager to see this series as a whole to place any more criticism on it. This not only goes for anime and gaming crossovers, and the very reason why I do this is I see that most animes are either being overlooked or being placed in a negative limelight.

Thank you very much for reading this review, but don't worry I will post my thoughts about each episode as I go along. If you like what you have read, don't be afraid to leave a tip!! And just remember, " If you hold on, life will change!"