I was able to get Persona 4 watched what seems like a long time ago now. I honestly don’t even recall around what time it was. So this is a little overdue, but I wanted to share it anyways, because I thoroughly enjoyed Persona 4.
For whatever reason I decided to give Persona 4 a watch. It was one of those franchises that I heard a little bit about but nothing major. I never played any of the games but regardless, I came cross the series for a pretty cheap price on a RightStuf sale and decided to give it watch.
The story starts out with our hero, Yu, moving in with his uncle and daughter while his parents are away for work and there is a rash of murders in the small town. Over the course of the first several episodes, Yu starts to build friendships and his alliance is built for the series. The introductory episodes are quite nice and do a pretty good job of giving each character some background.
My only complaint with the series from a story perspective is I feel like it loses track a little after the midway point. The first half of the series mixes these character introductions with some comedy but we also get a nice progression to the case to finding the murderer. The second half of the series seems to wander a little until we get to the final third or so of it. The story at that point starts to string together some solid episodes and brings a resolution to the series. At a story perspective, when Persona 4 stays on track with the main plot, it is a pretty engaging series that mixes action, comedy and character development since all of the characters are forced to confront their insecurities or things they don’t want people to know about them. But when the series starts to wander just past the half way point, it leaves you wondering. What could have they done if they took out a handful of the “wandering” episodes and replaced them with more impactful episodes towards the end of the series or even for the build up to the ending?
The art of Persona 4 doesn’t offer anything special. There are some fun and impactful animations when the characters are in the TV world, but if you are looking for new types of animation or something unique, you aren’t going to find it here. Which isn’t a knock on the series, because it is animated about the way you would expect. Not every show will be done in a certain studios style or risk-taking venture.
If you are a fan of video-game series or the perhaps the slice-of-life type series, Persona 4 may have enough of a cross over to find it appealing and worth a watch.
Personally, Persona 4 has introduced me to the franchise and I have been slowly starting to check out more areas. Most recently, the manga and one of the video games, Arena Ultimax. After I get my “to watch” stack watched more, I would like to check out the follow-up Persona 4 the Golden Animation.