Hey everyone, Lin here with the first review for Symphonic Reverie, Persona 4 The Animation! I'll going over how I felt about various aspects of the anime, what could have been better, what did really well and more.
Just to give a little background, as most people know, this anime is based on the 4th game of the Persona series. It's a highly accredited game which I have yet to play (I know, shame me. Go on.), therefore most of my thoughts on Persona 4 The Animation is based solely on the anime itself. I have no prior knowledge of the plot, though had ideas of what the characters were like only because I've played a hefty amount of Persona 4 Arena. Since Persona 4 works like an JRPG-visual novel-dating simulator type of game, I pretty much expected that the anime will try to do its best to convey the same type of feeling that the game had, yet most likely fall short of the game itself.
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| Persona 4 Golden for the PS Vita was one of the top games to get when it first came out, but unfortunately I neither have a Vita or the game................FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU--- |
While I always understood this concept, I felt like it was a double edged sword. You see, when you make your main character have common, uninteresting physical traits, that character just becomes like a generic anime character. No one can really pinpoint where that character comes from because, many of them will look too similar due to the repetitive formula. This was the issue I had with Persona 3's male protagonist in particular. He didn't look interesting nor did it spark any curiosity to see what kind of character he would be. If Persona 3 were to end up an anime, it wouldn't seem interesting because the main character would just seem so boring.
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| He just doesn't look like he's got anything else going for him other than looking emo, just sayin. |
However, with Persona 4 the Animation, they had no issues with their main character, Yuu Nakamura. I personally think that, in terms of character design, Yuu is one of the most perfect physically relative characters without the detriment of a boring design. If his image was circulated around the internet, there would be people who are capable of recognizing him, even if he was made to relate to people who were playing as him.
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| Yuu is strong by being able to use multiple Personas, but like any good protagonist, he has his weaknesses too. |
On the topic of character design, even if Yuu has the ability to be more interesting than average voiceless protagonist, he still has a very neutral personality. His aloofness and indecisive nature still signals that he's being 'controlled' by the player. Nevertheless, this aspect is greatly balanced or even distracted by the other characters that are extremely colorful.
All of the rest of the characters are quirky in their own way. It may be their personality, way they handle things, has to do with their past, etc. This great colorful main cast that is still able to be relatable or just interesting and unique characters. And what's nice is that there is minimal fan service! If you manage to fall in love with one of the girl characters, it's not because she's flashed boobs at your face.
Character interaction was smooth, even if there were a few cheesy lines here and there. I could see how the directors were trying to mirror the original game's dialogue for many of the scenes, which sometimes made the dialogue seem out of place, awkward, or fake, but overall the interactions were okay.
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| Yukiko's laughing fits are not only creepy, but made me feel really awkward. Egh. |
The story itself is engaging and interesting though at times is cut by a random filler which may run for a couple episodes. I appreciate that sometimes they try to tie in fillers with the main story, but something doesn't really sit right with me when they do it. It doesn't seem seamless, just an excuse to return to the main story through the filler. Not to mention that it seems strange that though they are students, they rarely study or do school related activities other than clubs. I liked the mystery part of it and how the anime was throwing curveballs to show who the real culprit was...and it had done the whole "he was right under your nose!" tactic, which I actually didn't expect. I also liked that they allowed interaction with other minor characters that you can make social links with in the game.
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| Is it me or does this guy have that kind of face that's magnetic to punches? |
I think a large part of Persona's story is the message that comes behind it. The idea that every person has a dark side and to reject it is no way to go about it is an idea that's a little cliche...yet this idea is sort of saved by the characters that go through it. Many of the issues are ones that many teenagers endure to find themselves. The idea of feeling trapped in a road that's paved by others, having to fit into a society by removing who you are, death or denial are just a few concepts they address.
Now, my favorite part: the music. I don't know if you've ever heard any Persona 4 music, but it features some of the smoothest tracks I've ever heard in a video game. It's upbeat and jazzy, but not overwhelming. The main theme "Reach Up To The Truth" is popular and catchy, which is why there are many people who haven't played Persona (like myself) know the song alone. I can tell that the music director really worked hard on his soundtrack.
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| Thankfully it wasn't this chick playing the music. Seriously. |
In regards to the animation, I think it could be better, but it's not awful by any means. There are a few fight scenes that are average, but not enough to be considered a straight shounen. The animation seems like it was headed by a slice of life kind of team rather than a team that is used to animating action based anime. However, this is not a bad thing, as part of the game is social interaction. In the anime they simulate this as well and with the way that the animation is handled, it makes these scenes look good.
I would consider my score for graphics on the anime more about the style of the artwork itself. Persona 4 has this distinct art style for it's series that is simply awesome. It is both crisp and modern with brilliant vectoring and coloring that's vibrant and eye catching. I have actually seen people draw their own original Persona characters and it looks like they would belong in the world simply because they can replicate the same kind of art style.
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| I mean, come on. The art style made glasses look super fashionable. |
The anime did a great job doing the game's art style justice, though there were times when I felt like they cut corners. Comparing the screenshots and let's plays I've seen of Persona 4, P4tA seemed to have reverted to a standard building you see in anime rather then put textures or details that the game put into it.
Final Scores
Characters: 9/10
Dialogue: 6/10
Story: 8/10
Music: 10/10
Animation: 5/10
Graphics: 7/10
Overall 7.5/10
Many criteria that it had fulfilled as an anime were simply average or a little above average in criteria. However the amazing characters, story and music are a copy and paste from the game and not for people just getting into Persona without a background of those things. This anime is more of an appreciation for the game and is a supplement for fans out there. Therefore, I give Persona 4 the Animation a 7.5/10.
