#Sometimes research for a fanfiction is watching nearly 200 hours of the exact same thing over and over again in slightly different ways

[pr1ncesspopstar]

As of tonight I have watched/read/played every piece of media in relation to the base story of Persona 4 and here is just a random grab bag of thoughts from that experience. Spoilers abound, mostly for the animation and manga.

-the best way to experience the story outside of just playing the game, if you want to do what for some reason, is reading the manga then watching the Golden anime. The OG anime is a lot of mediocre to bad with pockmarks of good, not worth a full sit down.

-that said if you want to watch some of the OG anime go with all the episodes up to Yukiko being saved (1-4), mitsuo’s dungeon and the summer vacation duology right after (11-14), the justice and hierophant focused episode (18), and then all of endgame (21-26).

These episodes either do a really good job expanding on what was already there, introduce new ideas and scenarios definitely not possible within the constraints of a video game, do a super solid job covering and even improving upon iconic and memorable moments in ways only the medium of an animation retelling can provide, or just have fun or funny bits. My fave is def episode 13, where Nanako becomes a little detective trying to investigate Yu’s hectic life.

-I really appreciate how each version of Yu is wildly different in these medium’s. P4A Yu is kind of a dick and lame at many points, but has the capacity to be open hearted. Manga Yu starts as cold and distant but eventually becomes an emotional and expressive individual that fights for his feelings. And P4GA Yu feels the ‘manliest’ of the bunch with very strong convictions and a level-head with no fear to speak his mind or thoughts. A lot of tiny differences to enjoy.

-there is the consistent fear of abandonment and loss of friends in Yu’s character each series captures so differently but uses nonetheless. P4A Yu also abandons the truth because of his fear and even develops a shadow that represents that. Manga Yu goes between acting rashly and angrily or withdrawing and hiding his hurt when confronted with the possible loss. P4GA Yu gets emotional and trapped in the idea of what’s the point if he risks using everyone, feeling a burden of needing to protect those bonds at all costs.

-also the fact Yu is 100% ride or die for any wild scheme, even the ones he knows won’t work is a trait I’m glad exists in every version of him. He’s just happy to be involved.

-Also Adachi, the supplementary material really made me finally appreciate Adachi as a character. After interacting with him in the game I was never too sure how to feel about him, but the anime(s)/manga finally helped me grasp his character and how I feel about him. As well as why I see the various interpretations of him that I do.

-Marie being included in more things in the Golden animation was sorely needed and a welcomed addition. When the Investigation Team was saying how Marie is also their friend I could not help but think how the team as a whole had only met Marie around 5-6 times at most through her social link. By putting her in more major scenes this actually made her feel like an unofficial member of the group and I believed they were friends.

-I very much enjoyed the way P4GA handled the unification of Izanami’s two halves. I’m probably just a sap but I very much love concepts of accepting the rage and hate-filled parts of yourself and that binging them joy and peace, quelling that fury. Izanami can be quite the tragic character from interpretation to interpretation, so to see them take a stance where it’s not a fight but a comforting hug given by Marie to Izanami that defeats her, I’m a sucker for it.

-Yu needing to free Marie from a bamboo forest and the ultimate Persona associated with Marie being Kaguya is Good Symbolism and Foreshadowing™.

-while it was definitely only done for cool factor in the manga/anime, but within the context of game mechanics Adachi being able to control and get aid from multiple Reapers in his dungeon is mortifying.

-I have come to the conclusion Yukiko and Rise are mini-gremlins in two different fonts. Yukiko will do and say the silliest to the wildest things because it brings her joy. Rise is attention seeking in a pampered cat kind of way. I cannot expand on this sadly but I hope the vibes can be expressed.

-Naoto being very perceptive but socially oblivious and one track minded is actually quite funny and charming. This is best illustrated in the Christmas episode of which I will say no more, it’s a fun little experience.

-the ‘ame-no-sagiri’ in shadow Teddie’s head’ contributed nothing to the plot/story though. Kinda actually takes away from shadow Teddie tbh but that’s more a nitpick than anything.

-the anime shadow fights are good, but they are GREAT in the manga. They feel so much more personal and productive than ‘beat the thing so it goes back to normal so you can accept it,’ while also carrying they same wonderful flow and dynamics you can see in the animation.

I might post more thoughts if I have any later. I could do an analysis but tbh I would just be repeating what a lot of people have already gone over. I’d rather focus on my own projects because this means now my research is done and I can start writing my fanfiction! I’ll talk about that more later. Can’t wait to share it~