#and making her maruki’s daughter is Fun.

[hypogryffin]

ok but like so you know how portable had that one yukiko cameo. so like OBVI the remake is going to have p5 characters appear also <-straight copium. anyway here are my pitches

Image ID:

Three pages of rough sketches with colour blocks. Image 1 has Maruki (coloured blue) standing awkwardly with a seemingly nervous smile on his face, looking younger and wearing Gekkoukan High School's uniform. A smaller drawing next to him shows himself and Rumi (red) smiling and laughing together. The text next to them reads "If Maruki was school-age at the time of P3's story he'd be about 22-25 years old [during P5 canon]". The number 22 has an arrow pointing to it that reads "1st year HS", and 25 has another that says "3rd year HS". The text continues, "Since he's supposed to be older (I think), it wouldn't make sense for him to show up". A wailing emoji with its hands up in the air is added next to the block of text. From there, an arrow with the caption "But!" points to another sketch of Ichinose (green) in Gekkoukan's summer uniform. The message continues next to another drawing of Ichinose, this time in the regular/winter uniform, "I do think Ichinose is probably the right age for it! Definitely not because I've been wanting to draw her recently nope no siree". Further notes continue down, reading "One or two [ear] piercings, none on the face" with a drawing of an earlobe, "Shorter hair" with a dotted line and a sketch of scissors depicting that her hair is about shoulder-length, and finally, "She'd still be in her stoic era so no smiles here, LOL." Additionally, back near the drawings of Maruki, there is another sketch of Rumi in Gekkoukan's uniform, with a note that says, "Were Maruki and Rumi canonically high school sweethearts? Or did I just hallucinate that information"

Image 2: A drawing of Zenkichi (dark blue) in an unbuttoned suit. He has his hair in a ponytail, and his arms folded behind his back. The text next to him reads, "Zenkichi, approximately mid-to-late 30s. / He can't be aware of the Dark Hour for [the sake of] continuity in Strikers, obviously, but he could still be reasonably(?) involved? I.E. assisting Kurosawa with something? Maybe related to a request from Elizabeth, a social link story(???), or main story things like [A block that reads "Spoilers" in all capital letters]'s death or Fuuka's "disappearance". I don't know, man." There are a few asides written next to it, reading "Maybe [he and Kurosawa are] friends" and "Investigating Apathy Syndrome?" respectively. Then the text continues, "Could be [Public Security], or maybe a career police officer (as in pre-promotion or something, I don't know I'm not a pig, myself". An additional doodle has the information "Akane would be about 7 years old" alongside a drawing of Zenkichi blabbering senselessly about his daughter, showing off a set of pictures, to the Persona 3 Protagonist (light blue), who looks awkward and has "Go away" written behind him as his internal thoughts several times.

Also, there is a sketch of Mitsuru (red) in plainclothes, smiling as she holds up two tickets, saying "I have received tickets to a gallery by Madarame Ichiryuusai, I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me there." The next drawing is of Yukari (pink) smiling and looking up from the book she's reading, though visibly apprehensive. She says, "Uh, yeah, sure, that sounds fun!" While her inner monologue yells "That sounds so fucking boring holy shit". It then cuts to her gripping the protagonist's shoulders, saying, "I need you to come with me to this stupid ass art museum I can't say no to Mitsuru-senpai." The protagonist says, "I, like, could not want to do anything less-" but is interrupted by Yukari adding, "I'll buy you dinner after and you can bring Aegis." The protagonist says, "Deal."

Image 3: A drawing of the lobby of the dorms. The protagonist (blue) sits on one of the couches with Koromaru (grey) sleeping with his head in his lap. The TV is on, showing a picture of someone standing at a podium with microphones pointed at them, and blares "Diet member Shido Masayoshi makes bold new proposal on foreign policy..." The protagonist watches, seeming disinterested. The next drawing is of the Big Bang Burger logo, with someone saying, "'Big Bang Burger'?", getting the reply, "Yeah, they just opened a shop last week. Wild Duck's got competition now, I guess." The next panel is of Ryoji Mochizuki (teal) and the protagonist standing together, revealing Ryoji to have been the first one to speak, now continuing, "Eeh, wow, that name is so lame!" as he smiles genially. He then turns to the protagonist, pointing to himself as he says, "Hey, you wanna try it? I'll pay!" The protagonist shrugs and says, "Sure."

End ID.

[nami-moittli]

Uh, more spoilers for like, persona in general. So yeah, be warned

Okay, so this is technically from a spin off but my favorite awakening is Zenkichi <3333 I love him so much and his awakening is SO GOOD idk if you know his story so I’ll keep it light, but you’ve got to trust me it’s great! Plus blorbo points, but that’s neither here nor there

Akechi’s ‘awakening’ is also amazing!!! Tbf all of them are, except maybe Sumire’s? Idk it kinda fell flat for me tbh, but oh well. Yeah all of them are so good though <33

I may not be fair for asking this one bc I don’t have an answer (plus I haven’t actually played the game so idk the gameplay mechanics 😰) so it’s more for the story for me, so I’d have to say Futaba (I love her, just want to wrap her in a weighted blanket yk?) Sae (vibes for the most part lol) and… Maruki? Because Maruki is SUCH a bastard and his palace is SO GOOD at showing that. It feels so sanitized/derogatory if yk what I mean

Again, me not actually playing the games bites me in the ass so I can’t really say anything for p4 but yeah. Can’t really say anything about it sadly so I’m skipping that part 🥲

P5) ZENKICHI I love him so so much. Pathetic man. Love him. His daughter hates him, his wife is dead, he lowkey hates his job. What a man. By extension I also love Toshiro a lot. P5T is LITERALLY his game, he deserved his own pt gear.

Crazy that I love Ortho sm but Sophie got beat by Zen lol. ALSO!! AKECHI!!! Akechi you fucking bastard I love you

I love all of them, honestly 😭 they’re all so good!! But I was on a Mishima kick literally yesterday, so he gets an honorable mention

P4) uhhh, I really need to rewatch the anime (I watched it once and remember zip. I think I must’ve turned my brain off or smth) I also probably need to actually play the game too, but uhhhh Naoto? Idk I think her journey with gender is cool (she/they/he, but prefers she/they) Kanji’s cute too, and I see where you’re coming from with Kou!

P3) Minako and Minato! Fun fact, I actually cosplayed Minako once! It was fun! I’ve also cosplayed Futaba and Ortho before so yeah. Tbh most of my knowledge of these characters comes from an Akechi time travel fic I’ve been reading, so my perceptions may be kinda skewed, but Shinjiro and Misturu too! Maybe Ryoji too, just a silly lad (with unimaginable horrors within)!

(I will probably make some fanart of that fic, so when I make and post that, there’ll be a link to it!)

P2s: SUOU BROTHERS <33333 gods favorite (in the way an author tortures their blorbo) and cat lover who’s allergic to cats who just wanted to open a bakery

The sillies <33

P1) Idrk, I’ve read most of the manga, but I’m not sure. I guess, Nanjo? Silly guy who love the number 1

Hm. Persona’s been on the brain recently, so I kinda want to talk about that, but idk

Questions!

1) Favorite awakening?

2) Favorite palace? (Or maybe p4 dungeon or whatever they’re called)

3) Favorite character?

OHHHH favorite awakening? Damn that’s so hard…

Umm P5 spoilers/talk under the cut just Incase ☝️

UGH. Let’s see. I ABSOLUTELY ADOREEEE Ann’s awakening! I think the emotion is amazing <3 she is sick and tired of being treated like shit by Kamoshida!!! And she’s so so fucking badass while being summoned!!! <3 it’s amazing

But then!!! I also ADORE!!!!! Akechis second ‘awakening’ it’s so fucking amazing…. The insanity of it all…. AOUFH it’s wonderful!!!

Special mention to Makotos and Yusukes awakenings!!! They’re both super badass!!! I especially love when Yusuke scratches his nails on the floor and they bleed…. It’s so augfhfhfjfjfjf

I also really like Jokers awakening! Its cool <3

Favorite palace? HM. I like Kamoshidas because of the story!!! Especially Ann like damn <33 that ending !! Absolutely amazing! OHHHH AND THEN FUTABAS AHHHHHH FUTABAS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING <33 I enjoy the gameplay! The story is heart breaking and the SOUNDTRACK?!!! So fucking good. ☝️☝️ top tier

Now for persona 4 I’m not too far along BUT!! I really like Yukikos dungeon…. I think the princess thing is cool….

Favorite character??? AHHHH YOU CANTTT DO THIS TO MEEEE AGHHHH

OKAY. P5- AKECHI☝️☝️☝️ ANN☝️☝️☝️ HARU☝️☝️☝️ JOKER ☝️☝️☝️ ( theyre in my polycule) GOD I FUCKONG LOVE MISHIMA!!!! OH AND I FUCKONG LOVE YOSHIDA HES MY EVERYTHING <333 IM HIS BIGGEST FAN 💞💞💓💗💓💞💝💘💖💞💕 ryuji is also really close I adore ryuji. Same with yusuke and Futaba

P4- YUKIKO <3 YOSUKE <3 the rest are cool but those two <33 ohhh Kanji is also hella cool <3 ummm very silly but I really like Kou 😭😭😭 he’s so stupid and silly

P3- AKIHIKO ☝️☝️☝️ JUNPEI ☝️☝️☝️☝️ (now I’m not finished with P3 either but shinjiro 😍😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰)

[artekai]

Hay I had this idea between Maruki and Rumi imagine if Rumi's parents were killed that incident never happened. And her and maruki ended up getting married and had kids what kind of parents do you think they'd be and do you think they'd have a son or a daughter?

I can see Takuto being a very doting father! He buys lots of snacks for his kids, prepares their favorite foods, and can never say no to them, something that they definitely take advantage of, because they know that, if they have puppy eyes and insist very sweetly, Takuto will eventually cave in, haha. Rumi has to put order around the house, so he’s the one enforcing the rules, to the point where Takuto starts resorting to saying “go ask your mother” when their kids make a request to avoid being swayed lol.

I can imagine their kid being more of a daddy’s boy/girl/child because of that, but that doesn’t mean Rumi isn’t a great mom! In fact, she’s a fun mom!

While Takuto is very protective and more adept at helping their kids out with emotional issues, I can see Rumi trying to support them in ways that are more “out there,” like driving away bullies and cheering loudly at sports games. She’s also more openly affectionate, which might be embarrassing for their kids as they grow up, but she’s playful and spontaneous as well, so they have lots of fun with her, even if she’s better at maintaining boundaries than Takuto. After all, she can even turn chores into games, so it’s not that bad.

You know how some children’s friend groups have that one mom or dad who tends to plan play dates and such until they end up becoming the group’s honorary parent? Well, I can see Rumi and Takuto becoming that to their kid’s friends. Due to being the fun mom, Rumi is popular among them, while Takuto cares about them as if they were his own children, so I don’t think they would mind, haha.

[raguna-blade]

So this just occurred to me to think about but shared symbols in the persona series. I’m sure there are others that I miss, especially relevant to the first two games, and right now i’m looking at just the one, but there should be SOME right?

And in this case the one i’m thinking about is glasses. So in persona 4, the glasses the characters wear are used specifically to be able to see through the fog in the other world, that is to be able to better navigate the world that is hidden and obscured right?

Heck, a critical scene in the game shows the absurd difference wearing them makes early on and Narukami hot flinging them away in the final scene is an indication of him more or less coming to fully understand the situation and having “true” sight of what’s going on around him. Which is cool!

But what’s interesting is that none of the Investigation team actually wear glasses in their day to day which is fine really. It’s as much a design thing as a story beat but what i’m getting at is going into persona 5 then, there can be this expectation that if one is wearing glasses they have a degree of special insight/ability to see things as they really are right? Not strictly, but as part of the same story family it’s not like those symbols disappear as a thing in play strictly, they just wouldn’t be emphasized because that’s not really the theme here.

So it’s interesting to me then that every single character who wears glasses normally in this game (with normal including their metaverse selves should they have one) demonstrably has special insight into the world or events going on, or else just general insight. Literally all of them, i’m not joking.

We’ll go in order here, Phantom Thieves>Allies>Foes>Maruki, and there’s probably more i could go into here but for the moment it’s kinda idle thoughts so forgive that.

Protag: So the thing to note is that his glasses are fake right so that may off the bat give you the vibe that this is wrong but well, that literally doesn’t matter for our purposes here. That Protag definitely has special insight into the world and events however is inarguable. Having been cast out of the standard safety net of society he gets a front row seat to a lot of weird things that aren’t immediately obvious. He see’s through the masks of all of the targets to some greater or lesser degree (admittedly not unique to him, but the thieves as a whole), get’s to understand to workings of the world and how it specifically fails outcasts, has inside knowledge on several of the major players (Shido, Maruki and Akechi most notably) that isn’t immediately obvious that they themselves aren’t aware of all the time, and as seen through the Confidants specifically he’s a remarkable judge of character and an expert and understanding people, something he does consistently.

That his glasses are fake actually, now that I think about it, is actually an interesting trait here. They exist solely to put him under the radar, which actually works so there’s that element of understanding appearances, but the fact that he really DOES NOT actually need the glasses to “see” the world accurately perhaps rolls back to his Designated Role as the Trickster (or at least one of them, We will get to Akechi in a second), and his ability to understand how the world works or specifically does not.

Akechi: Akechi is interesting here because in the real world he doesn’t wear glasses, as Prince!Crow he doesn’t either. So...Where does he wear glasses?

As Black Mask. And notably, they’re red tinted lenses, which actually lines up with another thing here. He does have true insight (and he’s sharp as hell we can’t possibly deny that) but he also, notably, has a crazy distorted view of things. As was kinda pointed out during his whole mental break down in the boat, he didn’t have to do like...any of the fucked up things that he did to achieve his goals. Even if he still wanted to kill his dad or just ruin his life he didn’t have to do it the way he did. He’s, one, literally seeing red, but two for all that his vision is keen it’s also more than a little distorted.

But also, as the other Trickster, the more destructive one at that, he also has keen understanding of the world and how it works, breaks down, and utterly screws over those who fall outside of it. Indeed, his insight is miles better than Our protags given he was more or less kicked out of the system from the get go due to family matters and had to actively claw his way back into the system in the first place. But of course, going back to his red lenses, as opposed to Akira who more or less rejects the system and wants to see it broken down one way or the other, Akechi desires to be part of it despite knowing intimately it’s copious failings. He has the vision and the ability to see but also fails to act on it (a thing he explicitly states more or less)

Futaba: Futaba is perhaps the most straightforward here. Does she have inside knowledge of events? Some, given her understanding of Cognitive Psience for sure, but her talents lean specifically in computer stuff, and the varying ways of getting information and such there. Of everyone here her glasses as symbol match up the cleanest with the Persona 4 use, in that her clear view vision is related to the world of cyberspace and how all of that works. That they carry over into her Rebellion outfit likely has to do with her understanding of cognitive psience as well, which while (relatively) basic is still far better than pretty much everyone else in the cast save 1 or maybe 2. It’s worth pointing out that, if I recall things correctly, she basically was the one who put together that entire escape plan for Joker to not get hot shot in the face.

Sumire: Now here’s a fun one! She doesn’t get her glasses until the very very end of the game, when she stops being Kasumi and starts being herself. Another straightforward one in two ways. One, she is able to actually accurately percieve herself as herself indicating clear and unobstructed vision for her self. Easy peasey, but also, of the group she’s the one who most understands what Maruki is doing and why. Despite having issues with his end game, she also makes it abundantly clear that if it weren’t for what he did she probably would have killed herself. It’s an understanding that the others have a little of, but they also don’t have quite as deeply for as long as it went on with her.

Ohya: Straightforward again. She’s an investigative reporter, and a damn good one. She was on her way to cracking something with Madarame, before the story even began she and her partner had some dirt on Shido (which seems on one hand easy cause Shido is kinda sloppy, but also considering the range of influence he has even getting a bit is wild), knows Kaneshiro as a mafia boss despite him not really being arrested, and yeah she just get’s it. She’s sharp.

It’s also noticeable that her glasses are also distorted, in that they’re sunglasses.That’s not “clear” vision since they shift colors. Obviously, she’s going to see things a bit off, and in her case it’s less general insight and more specific to her present circumstances. Relating to sunglasses, at the start of confidant she’s stuck working entertainment stuff which she hates and isn’t fond of, but she doesn’t feel she has other options or the ability to follow her true passions in journalism. And she’s not...really wrong actually. She does have a correct view of the situation, because if she doesn’t stick to what’s what, she’s going to lose her job, but at the same time the degree of resignation is well also wrong, as she get’s into pretty quickly. She still has options, but at the moment she couldn’t really see em.

That they are amber sunglasses and she’s seemingly a depressed drunk i’m sure has no relation.

Sojiro: Sojiro is straightforward really. He understands the world, how it works, how it breaks down, how various things look, has a keen insight into people and events in general, and has insight on the main villain specifically. He’s not exactly trying to upset things no, but he’s made the system work for him to have a peaceful life with his daughter and ward, which is perhaps super impressive given how absolutely obnoxiously petty Shido is.

Kunikazu Okumura: Very simple, he knows exactly who’s involved with the conspiracy. Also tied with that, as he’s also a member of the conspiracy, is a knowledge of how the world as it is works, for better or worse. Like...It’s fucked up, but unambiguously everything he does do actually does advance his goals. As much as it hurt people, as much as it hurt his daughter, it worked. It’s awful, but it worked.

Shido: So...Shido is interesting. He’s especially interesting in comparison to the last glasses boy Maruki, but Shido is interesting especially because well...

Shido is right? Like, his view of the world as it is is kind of unambiguously correct. People in power have the ability to manipulate and reshape the world as they please, avoid the consequences of their actions, the world really is going to shit, and he has the ability to save whoever he wants, and he has connections and power that would allow him to basically reshape things as he see’s fit.

He’s unambiguously correct in this. He understands the world and the systems at play intimately. He understands the people he works with Intimately, to the extent that not only are their cognitive forms almost indistinguishable from absolutely normal humans, but they behave in ways that don’t even necessarily benefit him even in their assigned roles in the cognitive space. I mean look at the Cleaner. He damn near let the phantom thieves walk if Yusuke would have agreed to be his personal artist, and the moment he got his ass whooped he just left.

It is, frankly, a terrifying amount of insight.

But again, his glasses are off color. His view of the situation is, in some way, incorrect, despite this insight. So where does he go wrong?

Once again, as seems to be the case with all of the tinted glasses now that i think about it, the issue lies in self reflection. His view of the outside world and such is correct, but where he makes his biggest mistake lies in both his view of himself as untouchable (he’s not) and that his method of salvation is at all the only one available, or even perhaps tenable.

The second point is perhaps the more critical one. Had Shido used his connections, insight and knowledge for good he could very easily change the situation that was leading to the disaster that he saw himself saving others from. He could make things better if he wanted to, if he thought to, but his failing is that he didn’t and perhaps couldn’t. And critically, his belief that he and his would be able to be safe on that ship for any period of time when the world around it has been utterly devastated is well...short sighted.

Maruki: Last but not least, Maruki. While his insight isn’t perhaps as broad about things, what he knows and what he talks about is...Well. It’s another version of Salvation for sure, but it’s one that the phantom thieves and I think the players have to argue with. Maruki says it extremely clear, it’s better for you to overcome your hardships yourself, it’s better to face your problems head on and fix them that way....But sometimes you can’t. Sometimes you really just cannot do it, you cannot surmount the challenge no matter how much you may need or want to, sometimes you’re just going to be broken and hurt and in incalculable pain and that’s extremely fucked up.And if that’s the case, if that’s how the world is, shouldn’t it change? If the system is broken, if the way the world is is wrong, shouldn’t it be changed?

It’s not unlike the phantom thieves, although the direction and end goal are different.

[icipersona5-pricefamily]

Who are your Top 5 fave Phantom Thieves of Hearts?

It could be just one or two, but sometimes you can't help it, but to love all of them. But there's always a fave or two and sadly a dislike. But let's focus on the top faves. Honestly for me... it's hard to chose. I mean I have my two faves, but do I have my top 5 faves? 🤔 Hmm... well, most do share the same spots... And please don't be mad at choices! 🙏 We all can't like the same the thing or person after all. Anyway! I will expose my top 5 and be warn, there are spoilers, so I advise you not to look at the list until you played the games or seen the walk through. If you like to spoil yourself, go ahead....

5. Sophia/Sophie. Why her? Well, she's adorable and an AI who has a Persona. She's not the first technology thing to have one, of course. But I like her plot and how she's trying to learn what a heart is. She has YoYo as her weapon which is cool and despite many let downs, she had learn from her teammates and understand what it means to be a Phantom Thief of Hearts. As the story goes, she was slowly losing her robot like voice and to find out how she was created! I like it! I'm gonna miss her...

4. Futaba Sakura/Oracle (Navi in Japan). Why? I just like her personalities and how she's a great hacker while trying to be outgoing. (You can do it, Futaba!). She's funny and I love her siblings relationship with Ren/MC and Yusuke. Her past was so sad and I just wanna hug her. I am glad she has an adopted dad like Sojiro and how she was willing to change her heart to save him. I'm really glad in Royal she has her victory pose after the all out attack. I just wish she'd had one in Strikers when things are looking bad, she actives her showtime to fully heal the HP and SP. PS, I love her UFO like Persona!!

3. Yusuke Kitagawa/Fox. I love this dork! He is beautiful, such a soul of an artist and kinda gullible in most things. He's a sweetie and never miss an opportunity to art. What happened to him in the past and in P5, I wanna protect him. I'm glad the Phantom Thieves came in to help and he becomes one. His relationship with Futaba is funny. They're like siblings to each other (Sorry to those who shipped them!). And he's sort of the first for Futaba to interact with. I do worry about his money situation, but he seems to be doing okay. I really wish Atlus added that you could date guys, I mean they made you date older women, but not a guy at close age to? O.o Anyway, Yusuke is a funny and sweet guy, kinda naive but a good guy. Kudos to the voice actors, both English and Japanese.

2. Morgana/Mona & Ryuji Sakamoto/Skull. Eh? Two?! Hey, it's hard to chose, okay? =3= Now why? Let's start with Morgana... He's a talking cat and he's adorable! (Morgana: I'm NOT a cat) Hehe... Anyway! He's like a mascot yet he's strong and wise in most situations. Despite being a cat in the real world, he still hangouts with the team to join in the fun. I love how he's smitten over Ann yet acts like a gentleman (sometimes) towards her and the fact he can become a bus (and helicopter in Royal) is awesome! I feel bad about when Morgana started to feel useless to the team and no one notice it until Haru appears as a thief. But I am glad he'd came back and to learn his past, wow! I nearly cried at the end of P5. I kinda wish he a human form like Teddie, but at least he kinda did in Royal. And I really wish his cat sprite has more reactions and stuff. The fact his Persona is Zorro... pfft X3c It's like Puss in Boots in Shrek! Now, Ryuji... He's such a good boy with a temper, but he has reasons why. Despite that, he's a good friend and never abandons his friends. Thanks to the MC, he slowly becomes who he should be and I'd a funny guy. I feel bad that his track team treated badly because of what happened and I kinda get it, but still... Anyway! He's like the loyal friend who got your back and is willing to stand up for his friends, even his life to save them. He even didn't judge the MC and becomes his first friend of Shujin Academy. Now, why both on the top fave 2? Well, they always bicker at each other yet they kinda get along sometimes. They both are close to the MC and they're funny like Yosuke and Teddie in P4. Glad their relationship had grew in Strikers and the fact that they are not afraid to blunt insults to each other. At least they're good friends.

Now, the top most fave(s), drum roll please........................

1. Ren Amamiya/Akira Kurusu/Joker & Zenkichi Hasegawa/Wolf. Again another spot is share! And before Strikers, Joker is still my top fave then Zenkichi came in, it's a tied. Let's start with Ren. Ren is handsome! He's cool and mysterious! The plot for him is perfect and how his Persona is Arsene is even more perfect. The background of his shows how hard life is, despite doing something good, he get punish in the end? That's bull crap and everyone treated him like he's a bad boy when he's not. Thankfully, he made friends and people around soon learns he's not a bad boy at all. Ren is charmer and he's still the guy who is willing to help those in need, of course that's up to the player. I do wish in Strikers that it kinda shown his distrust and trauma of the police. I would protect him and make any cops stay a safe distance from him. (Sorry Zenkichi) At least he kinda got his life back thanks to his friends and allies. Did I mention I like him? Seriously I do! 🥰 He's handsome and his smile... Sorry! Now, Zenkichi... This guy is a goof ball, the only adult of Phantom Thieves of Hearts and is a cop! Well, PubSec. He's like Dojima and Sojiro in one, sort of. At first, I did distrust due to he's a cop and all, plus you know in P4 and with Goro. I wasn't sure about him until I had watch the walk through and when first seeing him and when he'd laughed, I thought 'I might like this guy, but let's wait and see'. Now, I thought he would be a comic relief which he sort of is while still not trusting him until we learn he's a dad and how he'd lost his wife which 'Wait! He's a dad and had a wife who was killed in hit and run? Dojima 2?!' OwO I was surprised. Of course, not exactly the same, but similar plot. We get to learn about his past, his relationship with his daughter and why he was using the Phantom Thieves for such case. I start to feel bad for him and his daughter, heck even the Phantom Thieves felt bad. At some point, I did started to like him and Zenkichi was starting to bond with them and they even started to think as him part of the team. Once Zenkichi reveals why he'd hadn't caught the killer, I truly feel bad and understand why he let the killer go. Then boom! He has a Persona that fits him perfectly and such a cool Phantom Thief attire! 😳 That's when I fallen for him 'Dang it! First Joker now him!' He became like a dad of the team, always reminded them that despite what happened to the Monarch, it's still wrong what they're doing now. Despite how old he is (He's in his 40s) he can still fight and is cool! Still a goof ball good looking guy. Now, why both on the same spot? .....I love both them equally! 😍 They're both cool, good looking and those smirks... How dare Atlus did this to me?! I love their Personas. I wish we could see them having bonding moments though. *clears throat* Anyway. Because how I like them, as always I had created OCs to be with them. Hehe 😅

Now, for the rest of Phantom Thieves of Hearts. I do love them all, truly. Makoto is cool and she's the mom of the group. Ann is good friend to hangout, plus she's caring about others who had suffered. Haru is a sweetie who has scary side to her (Do not let her drive). Goro is someone that you wish he had saved sooner and yes I did hate him but I feel bad for what happened to him. Sumire, I wasn't sure about we had learn her background and wow! What a twist. I did call her a hypocrite while I can see why she thought that the people don't help themselves when reality the thieves gives courage and they done something to move on with some help, unlike what she did but I get it and I do like her persona.

Who would I want to be part of the team? Hmm... Hifumi since she was gonna be part of the team, but sadly that was cut off. She would've been better as a thief. Maybe Mishima, maybe! Sojiro... What?! It would've been cool, although he isn't young as he use to be, still. Lastly Maruki. I am surprised he doesn't count to be part of the team, but I guess it's because his Persona was kinda controlling him (I can't remember 😅) and didn't join the team. He would've been a neat addition to team, being a dad/uncle of the group. I feel bad for the guy and I get why did all that yet what about him? Doesn't he deserve to be happy to? Also... what happened to his girlfriend after the Metaverse vanishes in Royal? Anyway, he still like a sweet guy to me and I kinda wish Royal was mentioned in Strikers, but Strikers is technically a sequel/spin off to P5 since Strikers was part of P5, but it was too long and got cut. Hence of no mentioning of Royal.

Whew! Anyway! No hate on this, not everyone agrees with my choices and it's different from everyone opinions. But what about you guys? Got top faves and wish who would've been part of the team??

[razzbberyl]

ok gamers what do we think

thinking abt kagepro au for p5,,, head full

[chrismerle]

what’s up i spent way too long typing up a post about my thoughts on P5S, and it isn’t even all encompassing. i guess if you’re curious about anything i didn’t mention in this trainwreck just ask.

my spoiler-heavy thoughts/pseudo-review below the cut

THINGS I LIKED:

The characterization, broadly speaking. If you, like me, loved the Thieves in P5/P5R then you’ll be pretty happy with them here. There are a couple moments that made me roll my eyes (lookin’ at you, hot springs) but on the whole, the main cast are unchanged.

The new characters. Sophia and Zenkichi are great. Sophia is precious and Zenkichi straddles a very fine line of ‘realistically out of the loop, but gives as good as he gets.’ I don’t even care how silly their costumes were. Sophie looked like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, though I did like her little emoticon visor, but also she had no pants. Wolf’s mask was badass but the fact that his stupid pointy hat was riveted to the top of his stupid disco high collar killed it and I wanted to see someone grab his hat and pull it back to see it fling back into place like a drinky-drinky bird. Even so, the characters were great, and when I noticed that all the attacks for Sophie’s initial pseudo-Persona had question marks after them (Kouga? Dia?), it made me laugh, and Wolf’s a good all-purpose party member because he hits like a fucking truck and nothing is immune to Almighty. Plus in some of his post-battle dialogue he calls them all ‘kiddos’ and they consistently call him Gramps.

The gameplay. I mean, yeah, it’s VERY different than P5, but you all know that. And hey! The game no longer immediately ends if Joker gets knocked out (unless he’s the only one left in the party, obviously). It ran pretty smoothly, there’s something weirdly charming about the other Thieves showing up perched on cover points, and the only consistent issue I ran into is that in segments where the camera gets forced into a certain angle, it can switch back so abruptly at the end that you accidentally go walking right off a ledge.

I’ve never really played a Dynasty Warriors-type game before, so it took me a Jail or so to get used to it, but then I was just cackling as I mowed down swarms of Jack Frosts like a weed-whacker in a flower field with a knife the size of Joker’s torso. Honestly, it took me the longest to get used to the fact that the circle button became the all-purpose ‘interact’ button than anything else.

Actually, that’s a lie. It took me the longest to get used to the fact that if I left a Jail, I wouldn’t be losing any time. I’m very used to Persona games having the calendar constantly counting down, which wasn’t the case here.

The story, broadly speaking. It had some hiccups and some issues, which I’ll get into, but for the most part, it was fun. I’m...not going to outline every detail of the story here, but it felt very P5-y and I enjoyed it.

THINGS I LIKED BUT THAT NEEDED WORK:

The writing. It was a little inconsistent, beyond just the usual weirdness that I have accepted comes along with Persona games. (//patiently clicks through numerous conversations of the gang going ‘did this super obvious thing that this memory threw in our faces happen? Let’s debate about whether the most likely answer by a huge margin is the answer’ and several conversations of ‘are we sure this person is bad? We saw them playing nice, like literally every other villain we’ve faced’) A lot was great! Like, the bit with the Okinawa locals breaking into the RV while the kids hide in the bushes? Genuinely unsettling! Akane’s Jail and the fake Thieves was fun, and seeing Zenkichi scuttle from hiding place to hiding place without Thief powers was funny, and his Shadow’s glowing eyes watching him before becoming his Persona was both badass and unsettling. The realization that EMMA was actively lying to Konoe was nice. Character interactions were great and I loved that Sophia went with Ichinose at the end. There was a lot that was good. But there were also a lot of missteps.

Like, it kind of felt like the direction for the writing changed partway through. It started out as if each member of the Phantom Thieves was going to get their own time to shine, identifying and empathizing with a Monarch. Ann realized she could have been Alice. Yusuke realized he could have been Ango and also saw redeeming him as sort of like redeeming Madarame by proxy. Mariko was a link to Haru’s childhood and her father. The ghost Jail on Okinawa lured Sophie in and by the end she realized how much she meant to her friends ryuji said fuck. Akane was Zenkichi’s literal daughter. And then it went to Konoe and then EMMA, so Ryuji, Futaba, Morgana, Makoto, and Joker didn’t get a chance to shine in that regard. The switch from ‘a Jail for everyone to identify with’ to ‘whelp here’s the decoy and the end boss’ felt like they came from two separate drafts of the script, and it’s not like they had to watch the time; I got through P5S in about a third the time it took me to get through P5R. It took me about 35 hours. Considering the game kind of relies on you having played P5, they already knew their target audience has a longer attention span than that.

Owada was talked up as kind of a big deal, but he had like two scenes on-screen and otherwise was an entirely off-screen character. There’s a lot of mid-combat dialogue that is very difficult to focus on, which was sort of annoying when some of it was actually relevant. Ichinose’s reveal as a villain is very info-dump-y.

Plus, Joker wasn’t utilized particularly well as a silent protagonist. He’s got more implied personality than basically any other Persona protag. Which means he’s actually pretty expressive throughout the game, but I can probably count his lines of dialogue outside of combat with fingers left over. No one expects Yu Narukami to actually react to anything, so it doesn’t feel odd when he doesn’t. But the combination of Joker being reasonably expressive and having a demonstrated personality means you’re perpetually EXPECTING and WANTING him to say something about the shit going on, and when he doesn’t it feels like mentally missing a stair.

THINGS THAT I DIDN’T LIKE:

The cut corners. Like, a lot of things just seem lazy. There were scenes that really should have been included that weren’t, like how the Thieves escaped from the hotel after the police showed up; it cut from Zenkichi warning them and getting arrested to them arriving at the temporary hideout, so we never even got to see how the Thieves reacted to realizing the cops were outside. Requests to bond with the other Thieves only got a couple of text boxes, when they could have shown a tiny scene of them hanging out like they had all over P5. Rather than having Sae actually on-screen for her brief scene, the camera instead very unnaturally switched to an angle as if it was from her point of view, which was literally the only time the camera did that in the entire game. All of the Sentries look the same from Jail to Jail, instead of being unique to each Jail. Igor is completely absent for the entire game, and other than a throwaway ‘my master can’t be here’ from Lavenza it’s just not really acknowledged.

The missed opportunities. Like, there is no way to look at this except to assume that Joker was a horrible friend to literally everyone in this world state. Like, I can pass off the fact that everyone has their baseline Personae as being because they haven’t had access to their powers for a while, but when you combine it with the fact that NONE of Joker’s other confidants show up or even know he’s back in Tokyo, it leaves little to assume except that in this world, no confidants got maxed out. On top of that, the Personae are all basically pointless. They could be Pokemon or Stands or Digimon or fucking YuGiOh cards, and it wouldn’t make a difference; NOTHING about the game says ‘these entities are integral to this world and important to these characters.’ Also they could have had Akane actually realize who the Thieves were and it would have been hysterical, but that’s just my personal sulk.

The Requests. I liked the Mementos missions in P5/P5R. They felt like they had a point. Requests in P5S are all basically just fetch quests. ‘Go to Location A, fight so many of Enemy B to get so many of Item C. Turn in Request.’ Hell, one of them bugged out on me, I swear. There’s a Request to teach Zenkichi how to cook a simple meal, and Haru gives you a recipe including beef. I had no beef on me at the time, because if you want SP restoratives you gotta cook a fair amount and I used it, and I could find literally no beef in the city I was in at the time so I had to abandon the Request. On top of that, outside of getting food or a few moments where another character specifically asks for Joker’s attention, character-specific Requests mostly replace the ability to bond with the other characters individually.

The restoratives. Or, more specifically, the disparity between HP restoratives and SP restoratives. There’s essentially one cookable recipe to restore SP for every four recipes to restore HP. Even if I stopped at every store and vending machine, I’m pretty sure there were a couple cities where I could find NO SP restoratives for sale, while most stores and vending machines had at least two or three HP restoratives. And while it is true that you can go in and out of a Jail whenever you please to restore SP, that doesn’t help you if you run out during a boss fight you weren’t expecting (mini-boss encounters are virtually identical to regular monster encounters) or during one of the times where you CAN’T leave the Jail for reasons XYZ.

The final boss, and not just because I died and had to start over a few times. As a concept, EMMA could be cool, but in reality she just seemed like the writers threw Yaldabaoth and Maruki in a blender and poured the results into the game. Like Yaldabaoth, she is a false god who seeks to control humanity, claiming it’s what they want. Like Maruki, she seems genuinely deluded into thinking it’s for the best and that she’s not doing anything wrong. Her Jail looked like a slightly sci-fi reskin of the Depths of Mementos. The shtick with the multiple platforms and getting to actually SEE an all-out attack at the end were nice, but for the most part the fight itself was nothing special. Ultimately, EMMA had nothing unique going for her except her name.

Plus, EMMA’s entire rationale was that the majority of humans want someone else to control their lives for them, essentially out of convenience. And she’s presented as being more or less right, but that just being one of the hurdles of being human. It seemed a little dour and far-fetched. Like, the Thieves repeatedly point out that struggling allows people to grow, and they’re right, but in my experience, I’ve never actually met anyone who, upon hitting a roadblock, decided ‘Jesus take the wheel.’ Considering the greed with which her weird tentacle arms snatched up the solidified Desires, the pettiness of the complaints she used as a “gotcha,” and the fact that she just kind of reiterates her ‘people want to be controlled’ point over and over, I think it would have felt a bit more true to life and given her more agency if, instead of presenting her as largely correct, it instead acknowledged that everyone at some time or another hits a wall and wants someone to tell them what to do and had her capitalizing on those individual brief moments to hook people in, despite her having reams of data that for most people, those moments are temporary.

[starlight-phantom]

That guy with the brown hair and glasses and the blonde daughter (I'm guessing?) Looks a lot like Maruki huh?

(Yes that girl is his daughter) Yeah, ikr?

He's from one of my favourite series, Amaama To Inuzuma. I always go back and rewatch it when I'm having a really bad day. It's sweet and relaxing.

It's basically about a widowed teacher who isn't very good at cooking, learning how to cook better meals for his daughter with a student of his who wants to keep her mother's restaurant open after her mother became too busy with TV appearances to work there.

Each episode shows their everyday lives, them figuring out a new dish they want to try, and then them making said dish. It's simple but it's so comforting to watch. And there are some scenes that made me cry. It's just so good, please watch it.

Also, little fun unimportant fact, this series is what inspired my characterisations of Takuto and Ren in my Takuren Family AU.

[twilightknight17]

Today on P5S, our quest for ~*supple tentacles*~ reaches a thrilling conclusion.

Just in case anyone thought I was joking.

So we went on a grand adventure to fulfill a few requests, not just the one to let Sophia kill a bunch of Mothmans for their nonexistent tentacles. When we did go to kill Mothmans, it didn’t take long at all! And the other quests got me some nice new weapons.

He... He doesn’t ask what they are. Sir, I am so sorry. I can’t tell you what you’re touching. You wouldn’t believe me.

This quest was totally worth it, though, because Sophia is just the cutest thing ever.

Anyway, now that we’ve done that, it’s time for the final push up the castle to the cage! Which means awesome music and a bunch more pictures of how awesome this Jail is. Unfortunately, the Jack Frosts are gone, though.

Y’know, walking around in the castle courtyards, there have been some strong shadows, and not a lot of places to hide. And I just have the weirdest feeling that I’m being watched. I don’t know what could be watching me here, thoug--

The Dapper Death Snowmen are still hysterical. XDD

The thing that I find really weird, though, is that we’ve done an entire ice Jail, complete with snowboarding, but there hasn’t been a sliding block puzzle. It would be fitting. Like, you know, one of those Zelda-style ones where you move the big blocks around and they bump into rocks sticking out of the ice...

.........oh. Okay.

And now we’re into the castle for the proper climb. This one wasn’t too bad. I took the right people along for the shadows’ weaknesses. The two cage guardians were tricky, but I still had time to take a selfie. :P

It was pointed out to me that Joker doesn’t smile in the metaverse anymore, which... That’s so sad. He loved being a thief. He had his cute little cat smile. And now he’s been dragged back into all this with no chance to deal with his trauma. Poor thing.

Speaking of poor things...

So I was wrong. It wasn’t the mayor’s daughter. But it was one of her employee’s fault that the girl died. And a corrupt councilman who used that fact to threaten her. God, that’s... That’s horrible.

God, if I could beat up your shadows...

The kids go back to reality and get into a debate about where the blame actually falls. With the mayor, for not noticing the shoddy construction? The city employee, for taking the bribe because “everyone else does it”? The company doing shitty work, who offered a bribe in the first place? It’s not a black and white issue, and it was honestly refreshing to see the kids having to grapple with that kind of moral question. They don’t think the mayor bears all the responsibility, though. And then Zenkichi shows up to call them naive.

Oh, is that why I went into the interrogation alone? :/ And why should a leader always be responsible for their subordinates’ actions? You can’t control other people so that they always act how you want, no matter how good a leader you are.

The kids throw a fit at this, though. They’re not stupid. They know that they have to stop Hyodo. And insisting that they’re just playing at being heroes after everything they’ve done is just insulting, sir.

And as retribution, they basically guilt him into delivering the calling card for them again, despite his objections. One of Akira’s dialogue options is, “Might as well say yes”, and ...yeah. When my friends get it in their head that someone has to do something, they don’t change their minds. Now you know how I feel. X’‘‘D

Before we send the calling card, I decided to cook a ton of stuff. I’ve been buying out the grocery stores because having SP items is incredibly valuable. And these kids are great. Ryuji loves the ramen I made~

Haru’s very stressed about this whole thing, still, so she asks Akira to come out and talk for a bit before bed.

Me and my wife had a lovely conversation at the fountain. And I’m feeling a lot of parallels to the dream world? Haru talks about how Hyodo is basically forcing her version of what’s best on other people. Which sounds very familiar.

“When you take away someone’s Desire, you rob them of their agency-- their ability to make their own decisions. Isn’t it better to let them arrive at their own conclusions, to follow their own hearts?”

This would be really interesting in the context of having already dealt with Maruki, since they’ve seen something very similar to this scenario already.

And this quote by Shadow Mariko just reinforces that.

:|

Shadow Mariko had this cool Disney-villain design. I didn’t get a good picture, unfortunately, but she absolutely looked like an empress. I still don’t think Gluttony suited her whole situation, though. And... she didn’t turn into a cool ice fae monster. X’‘‘D

...could we have gotten the supple tentacles from her?

That was a hell of a boss fight, though. There was a part where she summons a blizzard in the room, and you have to go turn on a heater to clear it. But it’s one specific heater in one specific corner, out of four, and the blizzard for some reason slows down your movement to a crawl. So I got killed twice because I couldn’t get away from her attacks, because I couldn’t move. :/ The blizzards outside didn’t work like that, so that seems kind of unfair.

After the fight was over, we all went back outside, and the kids decided they wanted food.

.......Morgana, I cooked that for y’all before we left for the boss fight. Everyone said it was incredible. I feel so forgotten and unloved. :’(

Our Quality Yusuke Moment of the Day is Yusuke outing me for spending time with my wife.

Mariko Hyodo held a press conference and told everyone the truth, and decided to start over again with some encouragement from the little girl’s mother. It was really sweet, actually. And so was her talk with Haru. She apologized for what she’d done, and promised Haru that if she ever needed anything, she just had to ask, because she was as good as family. Which, I’m glad, because Haru deserves a good adult family member. Other than Sojiro.

...............................are you listening, Maruki?! Oh man I could have fun with this as an aftermath to Royal.

Anyway, it’s now evening; we’re waiting for Zenkichi at the moment, and I have no idea what city is next. It’s time to go do one last walkaround, clean out the grocery store, look for trinkets for my car...

Hm? What’s that Morgana? There’s a ferris wheel? Oh, that could be fu--

NOPE NOPE NOPE TOO IMPORTANT A DECISION TIME TO STOP FOR NOW.

Maybe if I leave the save file here, I can do everyone’s?

[kirbychan234]

Now here's the big question.... ultimate talents for the P5 gang?

ah yes, thank you anon for indulging me. as if i haven’t thought about this constantly for the past three weeks :D

a lot of these are no-brainers but some i would like to go into detail!!! the idea of these kids attending Hope’s Peak is extremely intriguing (never mind the fact i like imagining that Hope’s Peak is a thing in the Persona 3,4,5-verse)

Akira Kurusu - SHSL Lucky Student (honestly i feel like this fits him perfectly. Morgana says constantly about how lucky Akira is, and come on, dude needed some SERIOUS luck to survive the aftermath of Sae’s palace. i feel like his luck is sort of a combination of Naegi’s and Komaeda’s, in that he can’t really control it the way Komaeda can, but it’s definitely not as passive as Naegi’s is

after he’s arrested, he receives the letter from HPA. the police are kind of hesitant to let him go to such a prestigious school, especially after he was just expelled from his last one, but HPA insists that Akira attend. after all, if someone under probation is lucky enough to get picked to go to their school, they definitely want to study that! (hell they’ve got criminals going there anyway (Kuzuryu, Hoshi)). Akira almost wants to decline anyway for kind of the same reasons Naegi almost did (i.e. incredibly overwhelming), but his parents insist he go to help restore the family name, etc)

(rest are under the cut)

Ryuji Sakamoto - SHSL Track and Field (early in the school year, he gets his leg broken by Kamoshida...but that’s for later)

Ann Takamaki - SHSL Model  (very similar to canon: modeling was never really something she thought she wanted to do, it was more of just a hobby for her. later on in the school year, thanks to a certain other bitchy and jealous model, she starts taking it more seriously)

Yusuke Kitagawa - SHSL Painter (honestly he’s shocked and honored to be the first student of Madarame’s to be recruited to go to HPA. Madarame is also thrilled, but well...we’ll get to him later too)

Makoto Nijima - SHSL Student Council President (she’s got a lot of pressure put on her, not only from the school, since the last SHSL Student Council President became so successful after graduation, but by Sae. her sister was never recruited for HPA, but their father was, and she pushes Makoto a lot to keep up her studies. she thinks she’s being supportive and helpful, but really it’s just stressing Makoto out even more)

Futaba Sakura - SHSL Hacker (Sojiro pulled a few strings to have Futaba be in online classes at first. it’s only when her heart is changed and she starts following Akira around that she slowly starts to get more comfortable to come to the actual school)

Haru Okumura - SHSL Gardener (the daughter of the founder of Big Bang Burger attending Hope’s Peak Academy? oh it’s absolutely perfect, although Okumura would have preferred her talent not be so...”useless”. but it’ll make his company look good, and her fiance is more than happy to say that he’s engaged to someone who goes to HPA. Haru is...less than enthused about that bit, but she’s happy to make friends and is glad that her gardening hobby has suddenly earned her some respect)

Goro Akechi - SHSL Detective  (he’s definitely a lot more charismatic than the other detectives at school, and he’s definitely got the brain and observation skills to be the detective the school says he is...but there’s something off about that smile. nevertheless, he enjoys conversations with Kirigiri and Saihara when they get the chance to talk (and of course Akira too))

“Kasumi” Yoshizawa - SHSL Gymnast (i’ll be honest, i really didn’t want to put Yoshizawa on here because i don’t care for her character in the slightest, but people would probably be upset if i didn’t. ugh.

i imagine it actually is Kasumi at first who goes to HPA, but after she dies in the accident, strings are pulled by a certain someone to make it seem like it was Sumire had died instead, and Sumire takes her sister’s place in HPA. it takes a while for people to notice)

as for the targets, most of them are alumni of HPA

Kamoshida is the Former SHSL Volleyball Player, and works as a teacher at HPA now. he’s still as scummy as ever and still breaks Ryuji’s leg

Madarame is the Former SHSL Artist, and uses his status to bring in more artists to steal from. Yusuke is his first pupil to be recruited for HPA as well, and it’s better for him too since the school won’t do anything to their alumni

Kaneshiro is the Former SHSL Fisherman, something that has absolutely nothing to do with crime. he was born poor but was thrilled when he got picked to go to HPA. however, he was made fun of a lot for his talent, and in turn scammed other students (especially Reserve Course Students) out of their money. he was expelled for this, but he uses the connections he made during his time to scam more people and become the mob boss he always wanted to be

Okumura is the Former SHSL Businessman, which led him to revive his father’s dying business and transform it into the huge corporation it is today. but he becomes incredibly jaded over time and craves more power

Shido is the Former SHSL Public Speaker. he’s the one that uses all of the connections he can from his school, and has everyone else under his thumb, even HPA itself at times. he was the one who put forth the idea of the Reserve Course in the first place, and he gets a share of the profits in return

And then Maruki. He’s the Former SHSL Counselor, but unlike the others, he’s actually a decent person. He works and Hope’s Peak now as a Counselor, and is part of the reason why Sumire is able to attend as Kasumi. it’s a part of the Hope Cultivation Project, which he is also a part of. he’s hesitant about the extremes the others to go but... 

Hope’s Peak knows a lot about their alumni’s crimes (especially Kamoshida’s) but they turn a blind eye because...it’s Hope’s Peak, of course they would

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: Persona 5 Royal Dub Actors Laura Post & Billy Kametz Steal Our Hearts

  Ahead of Persona 5 Royal’s release in the West, SEGA/Atlus threw an impressive event to hype up the release of the game. While I was there, I had a chance to sit down with Laura Post, who plays Kasumi, and Billy Kametz, who plays Maruki. Fans of THE PROMISED NEVERLAND’s dub will likely recognize Laura Post as Mama, and The Rising of the Shield Hero fans likely recognize Billy as the voice of Naofumi! No need to worry about the game's spoilers; we focused on the start of their voice acting journey and which RPGs are their faves. Read on to get the details, and then afterwards, check out our brief interview with Ari Advincula from SEGA/Atlus!

    Hello, and thank you for taking the time to talk with me today! Could you introduce yourselves for our readers?

Laura: I am Laura post, and I am the voice of Kasumi in Persona 5 Royal.

Billy: And I’m Billy Kametz, and I’m voicing Maruki in Persona 5 Royal.

So, Persona 5 Royal is almost here!

(Everyone cheers and rejoices!)

Could you tell us a bit about the characters you both play in Persona 5 Royal?

Laura: Kasumi is a transfer student to Shujin Academy, just like the protagonist, and she comes in right around the same time as the protagonist. She aspires to be a world-class gymnast. She’s really kind, very polite and passionate, and driven!

Billy: Maruki is the new school counselor brought in after the events that took place in Chapter 1 of the game. He’s a big ‘ol lovable goofball! He’s trying to fit in, he doesn’t do the best job all the time, but he just wants to talk about your feelings! (laughs)

Were either of you fans of Persona, or RPGs before working on this game? Do you have any particular favorites?

Laura: I like RPGs in general; Final Fantasy VIII is my favorite RPG of all time! But Persona 5 is a game I started playing before I played the role of Kasumi;  it was the first Persona game I’ve played, so it’s by default my favorite. Though I do know a lot about Persona 4, I’ve never actually played it.

Bill: It’s the same for me; I was actually introduced to the Persona series when 5 came out, and I grew to be a fan of that, so it’s also my favorite Persona game. I was a big fan of JRPGs growing up; Final Fantasy X is probably my favorite, and also, I’m a HUGE fan of the Tales games, so Tales of Symphonia is up there for me. Really good stuff! Love me some JPRGs!

All of those games are excellent! Tales of Symphonia? My favorite one; that’s my jam!

Billy: I knew I liked you for a reason!

(laughs) Why, thank you!

Alright, so how did you two get your start in voice acting? What drew you to that profession?

Laura: I have been interested in voice over since I was a kid. I realized that the same actor played Raphael from the Ninja Turtles and Mighty Max! I was sold on that profession for life, but I was so little, so I didn’t pursue voice overs until I was a teenager and I went to my first anime convention; there were a bunch of panels on voice overs and I was like, “That’s what I wanted to do when I was a little kid! I’m gonna go to all the panels, I’m gonna take notes, and I’m gonna try this out!” And right now I’m still trying it out!

Billy: You’re doing a great job!

Laura: Thanks! I’m glad you think so!

Billy: We actually have very similar stories! I’ve been wanting to be a voice actor ever since I was a kid, too. When I was watching Invader Zim, that’s when I realized “OhmyGOD, that’s Daggett Beaver! This is a job?! People are doing this and I wanna do that!” But also, I was a kid living in Pennsylvania, so I was like “okay, I guess I’ll just do theatre, that’s acting; this is doable.” So I did theatre for years, but it wasn’t until I got a job that brought me up to California, and I was like “ohmygosh, I can try to do voice overs now!”, so I started inhaling classes as soon as I got out here. And I’ve gotten to do some pretty cool stuff after all of that!

Both of you have done anime and game roles. Do you find one to be easier than the other?

Billy: Yes!

Laura: Yes, although I think our answers are going to be different here! (laugh) I actually find video games to be easier than anime, because you don’t have to worry about matching lip flaps most of the time. But it’s not a matter of “easier," it’s just a matter of “different.” I can’t say, “Oh, I prefer doing games over anime because it’s easier,” because I also really love doing anime, it’s just about the different experiences. I mean, doing original animation for broadcast is a totally different experience than either games or anime, so all of it is fun!

Billy: Yeah, I find that anime is easier for me; again, neither of them are easier, but with anime, you can hear the music, you can see the picture, you can hear what the Japanese voice actor is doing, and it immediately puts you in character of “okay, this is what I’m gonna do!” You get to practice the line one time through it so you’re right on track. But with video games, it’s a lot more work on your end; you need to make up exactly what’s going on in the scene, and again, you’ll have the director and the clients are there to kinda help you along, but you gotta really do more work of getting pictures in your head of “This is how far away I am from the person,” and “This is the tone that’s going on right now.” So it’s a little bit harder, I think, but it’s super rewarding when you’re done, and you’re like, “Man, I really accomplished something today!”

To wrap this up, I gotta ask: do either of you have a dream character you’d love to lend your voice to?

Billy and Laura: Oooohhhh…!

Laura: I do!

Let’s hear it!

Laura: I would love to play Barbara Gordon, whether she’s Batgirl, Oracle, or just the commissioner’s daughter, I don’t care, I just really want to play her just once! I know Kasumi’s a redhead, but Barbara Gordon is also my favorite redhead. I love her! I wanna play her just once!

What about you, Billy?

Billy: ...Anyone who ends up in Super Smash Bros.! (laughs) I just want to be a playable Smash character! (laughs)

An admirable goal! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today! Do you have a message for our readers before we wrap up?

Billy: I’m super excited for everyone to check out Persona 5 Royal on March 31st, and I hope you all like the new characters. Really proud of this, and we hope you enjoy it.

Laura: Yes, I agree, I hope Kasumi is everybody’s new best girl! (laughs)

After finishing my chat with Laura and Billy, I got a chance to sit down with Ari Advincula, the communications manager for SEGA/Atlus. We were both pretty excited from trying out the playable demo of the game and all of the other activities going on at the event, so we focused on all the new goodies to come from Persona 5 Royal, and I even got to ask her the most challenging question ever right at the end!

  Could you detail a bit about what players can expect from Persona 5 Royal?

So Persona 5 Royal is a whole new Persona experience. It’s a whole new “heist”, as the Phantom Thieves would say! And I think what’s been really fun about working on this game and everyone else who’s been working on the game is how much everyone's like, “I love the original Persona 5, but I love Persona 5 Royal even MORE!” And for me, personally, when I went through Persona 5, Akechi was definitely one of my favorites, and to see that character be fleshed out to the point that I wanted to see as a fan in Persona 5 Royal. I mean, besides that, there’s so many situations that you’re gonna see all the original cast be in that gives you even more about their story and their journey as Phantom Thieves. I know there was one criticism that was like “there wasn’t enough screen time for some of the characters,” but now there’s even more content, and there’s even more time to spend with this awesome cast of characters. I mean, who doesn’t want to go back to the metaverse and conquer all those palaces again?! I just think it’s such a great window for people who are new to Persona 5 and for people who have already loved and played Persona 5 before, like the Sega team working on it!

Definitely! I’ve always found it interesting that ever since Persona 3, there’s been a Persona 3 FES, and then Persona 4 to Persona 4 Golden; I really like this concept of going back and revisiting the game’s world, but with way more added into it. 

Right! And Persona 3 also had P3P! What it is, especially for Hashino-san, the director behind Persona 5, this is the extended vision, the truly “golden vision” for Persona 5, as we like to say. It’s the perfect time to become a Phantom Thief and relive that world, and also get the full extent of that world, and there’s even MORE to come! I mean, there’s a GRAPPLING HOOK, that allows you to be more Phantom Thieve-y! If you’ve ever played any of the Sly Cooper games, you’ll be all “This is my jam! This is so awesome!” It really gives it that “thief” feeling to it. Along with that, there’s a new palace, there are new characters, Kasumi and Maruki, who fit right into the Persona world, almost like they were there to begin with, because they were introduced right from the start, it’s a very fluid character development that we got.

It sounds like everything a Persona 5 fan would love wrapped in a nice package for them to open! 

Yeah, for sure! It’s incredible for Persona fans all over.

SEGA/Atlus have really been knocking it out the park lately with Persona, Yakuza, the SEGA AGES releases, and several others. Many of these have strong fan support; do you think that plays into why they’ve been received so well lately?

I 150% think so! It’s all thanks to the fans all the time. That’s even the reason why we’re doing this event; for this media event we have fan sites and community members! The way I look at it, the small little Ari who was playing Persona 3 on a PS2, that same person is the person that is here today. I can say the same for people here today who have played Persona since the first game! So it’s always because of the community, and the developers and everyone who’s worked on the games feel that way. I can’t thank everyone enough; it’s been such a joy to work on this game just because of that, too, and compared to any other community that I’ve worked with, the Persona fans are the best!

They’re one of the most passionate fans, for sure! 

  Let’s finish up with a fun question: If you had a Persona, which one would it be?

Oh my gosh... (laughs) It’s really tough for me, because with each Persona game, I start to stick with one main Persona and use that one as I go on throughout the game. I have to be really corny and say Jack Frost, just because he’s super cute.

YES!! He’s adorable!!

He’s SO adorable! I remember at AX 2017 being the first one to line up at Atlus’ booth to buy the Jack Frost plushie because he’s so cute and that’s my jam! He’s Hee-Ho man! And only because it’s so iconic, I always make sure to fuse him in every Persona game, even in the Shin Megami Tensei games, if I can come across him.

The SEGA/Atlus team were a total blast to talk to; I really appreciated the time that Ari, Laura, and Billy gave me to talk about Persona 5 Royal and lots of other topics. If you’re curious about whether you should pick up Persona 5 Royal, check out Carlos’ review here, and prepare your heart to get stolen once again when the game releases later this month! 

What would YOUR Persona be? Have you ever considered becoming a voice actor? Let us know what you think in the comments! 

  ----

Nicole is a frequent wordsmith for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[wildgoose97]

A Perfect Day First Draft

So I was going to post ‘A Perfect Day’ today, but I didn’t like what I had been writing so I decided to go in a completely different direction

But since I haven’t uploaded any new writing I might as well give you guys the first draft I didn’t like...Something just doesn’t seem right about it...It doesn’t feel like my best work, and I know I can do so much better

So for the final draft instead of it being Akira, Futaba, and Akechi going to Destiny World it will instead be taking place a the same day as ‘A Perfect World’.

Warning: The part with Kasumi coming in is unfinished but everything after that should be finished...probably

Akira had his face buried in his pillow, his covers thrown off the bad, his pillow soaked with drool and sweat. A pair of boots stomped up the steps, “Akira!” Futaba yelled as she stepped foot into the attic, her loud voice not disturbing the snoring Morgana who was fast asleep on the couch. Akira groaned and blinked, the sleep out of his eyes. “Come, on time to wake up!” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m awake,” He yawned and sat up, and rolled his shoulders back

Morgana’s snoring suddenly picked up in volume, “Jeez, how do you sleep in here with him?”

Akira sighed, “At least he’s not sleeping in the same bed as me anymore.” He grabbed his glasses and slipped them on his face.

“Morgana’s slept in the same bed as you?” Futaba asked, squinting her eyes.

“Yep, I used to wake up to him cuddling with me,” Akira sighed, reminiscing about his best friend’s weird sleeping habits. 

“Ooooh, I’m totally telling Ann about this.”

The boy stood up from his bed, “Don’t, you know he has a massive crush on her.” Who didn’t know? Most of what Morgana ever talked about was ‘Lady Ann this’ and ‘Lady Ann that’. 

“That just makes even more fun,” She laughed.

Akira rolled his eyes, “I’ll be down in 10,” He said as he walked over to his clothes box.

Futaba smiled, “Better hurry our poor detective prince is being interrogated by mom right now!”  

Akira chuckled, as he heard the girl’s boots click down the stairs.

Poor Akechi.

-----

When Akira came down, he was greeted to the sight of nervous Akechi staring into his coffee, Sojiro standing behind the counter with a big smile across his face, Wakaba sitting next to Akechi with a stern look on her face, and Futaba sitting in a booth trying hard not to laugh.

“Good morning,” Akira greeted as he took a seat next to Akechi.

Akechi turned to him, a smile washing over his nervous face, “Ah, good morning, Akira.”

Wakaba without taking her eyes away from Akechi took a sip of her coffee, “Good morning.”

Sojiro laid a cup of coffee in front of Akira, “You got down right in time, I think Wakaba is about to scare off your friend.”

Wakaba sighs, “I was just making sure I can trust him around my daughter.”

“Mooom, I’ve hung out with Akechi like a thousand times,” Futaba sighed.

“He’s fine Isshiki-san,” Akira added, as he took a sip of his coffee.

Wakaba sighs and her face softens a bit, “Fine I guess, but only because I trust those two’s judgment.”

“But, no funny business you two, and you better keep her safe!”

“Yes ma’am!”

“Of course, ma’am.”

“Moooooooom!” Futaba stammered, blushing, Akira and Sojiro shared the same smirk while Akechi chuckled.

---------

“Have you ever been to Destinyland Futaba-Chan?” Akechi suddenly asked as they stood, waiting for the train.

“Oh yeah! Haru took us there after Okumaru’s Pal…-” Futaba stopped suddenly, a confused look spreading across her face.

Akechi tilted his head a bit, “Is something wrong?”

He and Akira stared at her as she stared down at the subway floor, “Ah, nothing.”

Akira had grown used to his friends doing that, every once in a while they would be talking about the past then suddenly his friends would just get confused or blank out...it was a bit weird, but none of them seemed to want to talk about it. Akira decided to change the subject, “Have you been Akechi?”

Akechi shakes his head, “Unfortunately not, I’ve always been far too busy.” He ponders for a moment before adding, “But there have been far fewer crimes this year, so I have quite the abundance of free time.”

Futaba smiles and turns towards Akechi, “Nice to see you can finally have some fun Mr. Snoot Snoot!” She exclaims as the train comes into the station

“Mr. Snoot Snoot?” Akechi said with a nervous smile.

“Yep! Mr. Snoot Snoot, McSnoot Snooter, Snooter Snooson, Snoo-”

“Ah, I think I get it,” Akechi chuckles nervously. He turns to Akira, “Do I really seem that ‘snooty’?”

“Yep,” Futaba answers without thinking. The train’s door opens and they board. Futaba sighs as they sit down, “You’re just way too uptight.”

“Uptight? I don’t think I’m that uptight,” He responds, “I can be fun,” Akechi turns back to Akira, “Right, Akira?”

Akira turns his attention to in front of himself and gives a small whistle, but doesn’t respond.

Futaba chuckled, “See?”

Akechi’s sighs, “Well I’ll try to be more ‘fun’ in the future.”

Akira smiled down at the ground, “We’ll see about that.”

--------------

“C’mon, hurry up!” Futaba exclaimed as she sprinted ahead, Akechi and Akira trailed slowly behind.

“So, do you have any more plans for summer break?” Akechi asked as he and Akira started to walk a bit faster to catch up to the girl.

Akira nodded, “I think we need to start preparing for our next Palace.”

Akechi sighed, “Really? More Phantom Thieves stuff?” They had almost caught up to Futaba when Akehci asked, “We did good last year, don’t you think it’s time for a break?”

“I do think it’s time for a break but...I just get this feeling that we need to prepare,” Akira’s stared at the ground as he walked 

“Why? We haven’t got a single Palace in 9 months, honestly I think our job is done, for now,” He sighed.

“I...know, but like I said I’m just getting this strange feeling-”

“You’ve been worrying me Akira, all this talk about ‘strange feelings’ is getting…” Akechi sighed, “No, forget it, we shouldn’t be talking about this on a day like this.”

“Yeah…” Akira looked up again, only to see Futaba yet again quite a bit in front of them. “Come on, we better catch up before we lose her,” He sends a smirk towards Akechi, it was met with the detective’s own as they took off in a sprint.

-----------

“Futaba-Chan I had no idea you had so much energy,” Akechi exclaimed as panted trying to catch his breath.

“Maybe it’s heavily condensed?” Akira remarked. 

Futaba turned back to him, “Hey-”

“Akira-Senpai!” A voice calls, as someone runs up to them.

Akira turned his head and smiled, “Oh, Kasumi!”

“Wow, I really didn’t expect to run into you three here!” Kasumi exclaimed.

Akechi nodded, “Yeah, quite the surprise.”

“You here alone?” Akira asked.

“Oh, no, I came here with my dad, but he got all tuckered out,” Kasumi sighed.

“How about you join us?”

-----

“How does that even work?” Futaba exclaimed a frightened look on her face as she stared at the red haired girl.

“Huh?” Kasumi let out as she laid down her third food wrapper on the table.

Akira chuckled, “That’s exactly why I suggested we call her ‘appetite’.” Wait when did he suggest that code name? Back In January right? He could have sworn they hadn’t had a palace since- Akira shakes his head and buries the thought in his mind.

-----

The 3 of them dragging Akechi onto a rollercoaster,

“Oh, oh, I’ve heard this is the greatest roller coaster in the park, come on, come on,” Futaba exclaimed as she sprinted to get in line.

Akira walked up behind her, “You sure you’re tall enough to ride?”

“Oh shut it-Hm?” Futaba looked behind Akira, Kasumi had joined them in line and seemed to be just as excited as Futaba, but Akechi had stayed behind. “Crow, what are you doing? Hurry up and get over here before you lose your spot!”

Akechi shook his head, “I’m not riding.”

“Don’t tell me you're scared of roller coasters?” Futaba chuckled from her spot in line.

Akechi shook his head again, “I’m not scared, I just don’t have the stomach for roller coasters.”

“Sure,…” She says as she rolls her eyes. “Mr. Snooty snoot,” she mumbled out.

Those three words really seems to get to Akechi, because he soon took his spot behind Kasumi.  Kasumi turned to look back at him, “Ah, Akechi-Senpai are you really sure you want to ride-”

“Yes.”

-------

“Hrk-hgghh!” Akechi released the contents of his stomach into the trash can, as Akira held some the boy’s hair back to make sure he doesn't get puke in it.

Kasumi chuckled nervously, “Wow he really wasn’t lying.”

“Hm, it seems like Crow has a weakness to roller coasters,“ Futaba remarked, “Noted.” Akechi glared at her from the trash can. ...Why did that glare seem so familiar?....

‘I’m going to be completely honest with you, I hate you.’ 

?

Akira shook the words out of his mind. 

---------

Kasumi eventually departed from them with the excuse that her dad might start worrying. After they bid her goodbye Akira speaks up, “We should probably get going soon too.”

“But why? Come on Akira we’re having so much fun!” Futaba exclaimed.

“It’s getting late, Sojiro and Wakaba might start getting worried,” Akira then gestured to Akechi who was sulking behind them, “Plus I don’t think Akechi is doing too good.”

Futaba sighed, “Fine, I guess you're right.”

“Thank god,” Akechi whispered from behind them, still clutching his stomach. 

--------

“Ah, my stomach is still not right,” he heard Akechi complain. He stopped and stared forward and spotted the 3 walking towards him. 

The girl next Akechi seemed to ignore his comment, “Can we go again next week? But with everyone else?” he hears Futaba ask excitedly. 

Akira smiled, “Of course, but maybe we should keep Mr. Sensitive stomach at home.” Akechi grumbled at the comment.

A smile spread across his face, as the 3 walked past him, “Glad to see you made the right choice,” Maruki whispered as quietly as he could.

------

“Glad to see you made the right choice,” The whisper stopped Akira in his tracks. That voice. Akira immediately turned around, but the owner of that familiar voice wasn’t there. He could have sworn he heard Maruki. 

“Akira?” Akechi called out. Akira turned back around to see Futaba and Akechi staring at him, “Is something wrong?” the detective asked. Akira’s mind for some reason wandered to a memory of Maruki standing in a plain white arena, snapping his fingers...The memory felt like a dream, Akira ignored it and shook his head