Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
「I have amnesia, is it so bad?」
or
“The Obligatory Summer Episode.”
When I watch Persona 4 the Golden I am reminded of Tom Stoppard’s absurdist play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. For the uninitiated, R&G are Dead is based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet but instead of focusing on the titular character it follows the exploits of minor roles Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. There are hints of the Hamlet plot and Hamlet does show up now and then but Hamlet is really not the point.
In Persona 4 the Golden murders and investigations and even personae are implied, but they remain fully offstage. Instead it’s all subplot, all the time. With that in mind, try to keep up as Golden disposes of Marie’s routine bad poetry on embarrassing stationary, speeds past real life into August, casually drops Rise into the narrative, and jumps straight into what all the viewers at home have been eagerly waiting for: road trips on motorcycles!
…So that’s not really special at all, but we’ve got to work with what we’ve got. At the very least we can admire the attention to little details, like how Rise has a license but Kanji doesn’t. She’s a full seven months his elder! Now you know.
In any case, compared to last week where it was more or less pure comedy, this week we also have a measure more of introspection. As is common for summer episodes in anime, half of it is hijinks-on-the-beach and the other half is navel-gazing. There’s something about fireworks, I swear. What it means, though, is that our dose of development this week probes a bit further down into the philosophical core of our characters, unlike the vaudeville antics which remain only skin-deep. By which I mean there’s flesh. Lots of it. Enough for everybody.
There would be those of you who expect fanservice in an anime like this to be an entirely male-pandering affair, a parade of nubile girls suffering from various forms of wardrobe malfunction. You may be pleasantly surprised (or delighted, or horrified; I won’t judge) to know that the 21st century has no place for gender inequality. We must reach out to a wider demographic! Therefore this week’s titillation is provided by our very own hunk of cosmopolitan man-meat, Tatsumi Kanji! Embrace this brave new world, ladies and gentleman. It’s the second Renaissance.
Unfortunately, good times must end and we must meet our quota of soul-searching. To that end the second half is devoted to our characters (not just Marie!) talking about their internal conflict set to the backdrop of that symbol of transient happiness, fireworks. It’s a strange sort of thing to do when we’re only a quarter-way through because this sort of resolution is usually reserved for near the end of a series, or at least the end of the arc. It also means that Naoto, yet to appear, misses out on all this juicy individuation. But I suppose that they’re not really bubbling for our sake; after all the assumption is that the viewer is already experienced with Persona 4. If anything, this is a signal that the Investigation Team’s stories are essentially done and are being set aside. Instead, Marie needs to be spurred to seek out the truth about herself, especially by Teddie; you’d remember that ‘I have no memories’ was his schtick before it was Marie’s. In that case, we may be at a turning point in the series. I suppose all the reflective vibe was appropriate after all.
Reading the cards.
As noted last week we’re now at Episode 3, which is a good point for us to do a bit of reflection of our own. Has the series met expectations? Has it maintained your interest? Have you been given an idea of what is to come?
If there’s one thing I can definitely say about the production of Persona 4 the Golden is that it is very aware of who is watching. From the beginning it makes no attempt to cater to anyone but its core audience: that is, Persona fans. With only 12 episodes, this focus (perhaps out of necessity) has served the series well. I’m sure there would be those who would welcome simply having the original anime re-animated by A-1 Pictures but personally I consider getting through to new content to be the most important thing. So even though the narrative has been somewhat disjointed for it, I can commend the overall series composition. That said, being one of the targeted demographic I suppose I’m biased; I get satisfied just by fresh takes on Persona 4.
Looking forward, it seems that the plot is moving up a gear and once again finding some of that forward momentum. Introduced this week is a mysterious artefact in the form of an antique hairpin. This kind of thing is the bread and butter of amnesiac plots and hopefully Marie’s Forgotten Past™ will shake up the story. At the very least previews show that we’re returning to the Midnight Channel next week, which may be an indication that Stuff Will Happen.
Full-length image: 14. Of course.
Preview
 |
 |
 |
I always remember Noel`s Poem from Bururaji, when I hear Marie`s!
how they gonna make 12 episodes? now its august with only 3 episodes!
They will adapt all the new golden scenes, Marie’s social link, the new dungeon, the end of Marie’s story and the new Persona 4 Golden epilogue. Looks like more then enough for 12 episodes to me.
They have nine 24 minute episodes to cover:
– Marie’s social links (it’s like halfway done right now if I remember correctly)
– The new dungeon (i never watched p4a but I don’t imagine them taking more than one episode)
– Concert, new year, halloween, bathhouse, mother’s day (which are all the new content left to my knowledge)
– Epilogue (which took like 6 minutes for me)
IDK. They probably have to add some filler but it seems like enough episodes.
I agree about Maries dungeon, I think the more likely scenario is a cliffhanger that leads to her dungeon the following episode. So probably 1 and a bit episodes at most.
A part of me wish they would adapt or incorporate Adachi’s social link also.
Adachi’s Social Link is also a possibility.
I fully expect them to start slowing down a bit from now on, or at the very least once they pick up Naoto to complete the cast. And it’s not like there’s been a general ban on non-Golden material. I would still consider it proper to cover the climatic points in the story (by all means, write Marie into them if you must) if only so we can have some narrative cohesion.
looks like next week wel be dealing with the new dungeon in the tv world.
I’m liking it soo far, it’s definitely for the fans type of anime, as a standalone it would suck really bad. Kinda makes me wish they waited to adapt persona 4 golden as a whole ala a full metal alchemist brotherhood type remake. The last persona 4 anime was pretty fast pacing too, I wanted them to slow it down a bit and make a epic series with new golden scenes. I just want a nice complete anime package that you can remember the series for (doubt I’ll ever play the games again, takes too long). Persona 4 anime was also pretty popular in the west,I was expecting remake that would capitalize on that, what we got is enjoyable but ultimately gonna be forgettable.
As what to expect they will likely finish off all golden stuff with some filler story points from the main story maybe a new re-edited true end with more extended scenes from epilogue.
With how popular persona 4 has been since 2008, I wonder if we will get the persona 4 Arena sequels adapted. Especially since they provide more world building what with persona 3 characters joining in too.
If Arena gets adapted it will likely be as OVAs. I wouldn’t mind a movie personally.
It’s a possibility, there’s a manga for it already so there might be an anime down the line.
If there’s anything I’ve learnt about Japanese decision making it’s that the West matters very little to them. That said, Persona is a bit of a cash cow in Japan as well so it’s entirely possible that we can get even more anime. At the very least they can box the original anime and Golden together into a single set. If we’re feeling really ambitious they can perhaps fill in the blanks in the Golden anime later and call that Persona 4 Brotherhood. I wouldn’t expect a full remake unless smell-o-vision or something becomes all the rage and we really need an adaptation for that.
The video recording scene was a great addition not found in the game. It was nice hearing each of the cast reflecting on what they experienced inside the TV and how it made each of them better people after.
Glad to see that Rise is already around, so I don’t have to wait for a few months to wait for her to appear. And a beach episode too! I can never complain about girls on swimsuits.
Marie was definitely not in the beach events in P4G. In, fact her only interaction with the P4 crew was with her social link, and the extra winter events with her. Having her interact along with everyone else was a nice addition, so it actually makes it easier to swallow what our heroes would do for her on future events.
Most of the beach events are still intact from the game though, including Kanji’s speedo (and the apparent loss of it) . Don’t mind the buttmonkey moments Kanji, you’re still ten times more badass than Yosuke.
I’m pleased that they’re trying to do something with the adaptation. Since she’s playing such a central part it’s good that they’re taking extra effort to develop her ‘Social Links’ as well.
So far Golden has felt a lot like a visual novel adaptation with Marie as the heroine route (and let’s note how they turned Persona 3 into basically a visual novel with a dungeon for the PSP and nothing of importance was lost). It reminds me somewhat of the Clannad adaptation, if anyone remembers that. Write Nagisa into everything. It works.
Yosuke was great this episode.
I love how fun this series is, the first 3 episodes have made me smile each time. The method of storytelling in this series is absolutely spot on. They’ve nailed it perfectly.
I never thought I’d live to see the day where I witness the birth of venus….
“From the beginning it makes no attempt to cater to anyone but its core audience: that is, Persona fans”
arigatou, now i can drop this show…
The video ending was incredible – I was honestly moved…