#but yeah they are literally just fucking around and i feel like the artstyle captures that perfectly

[fuyovt]

by @agrimmbrothersgrimmestgoose

I mean, I really don't wanna to be that guy but this shot is from the 6th movie, which to this day has (in my opinion) the most expressive animation one piece ever had. Its directed by the guy who did summer wars and the girl who lept through time and yeah this is a haha goofy shot (no this is not a smearframe, they hold on this), but the loose and gesture focused artstyle really is a deliberately choice and not the typical time saving measure caused by crunch or missing budget.

ok but what is sanji's pose and how are zoro's legs supporting him

[dornishsphinx]

So, I'm around 15 hours in and P5 has been hitting me with Big Emotions. 

 Spoilers up to the official formation of the Phantoms (or, in my game, Rocamboles, because I am nothing if not pretentious and there wasn't enough space for "rocambolesque". Also, my Joker is called Akira Kurusu, after his manga name. I can't deal with unofficial names in my Persona games. 

 Maybe part of it is that this is the first Persona game I'm playing both without knowing the plot in advance and in the same time period it's supposed to be set - which, can I just say, it has captured perfectly. I'm not even talking smart phones, I'm talking more about the atmosphere of malaise - people knowing shit is going downhill and that they can't escape it. It first clicked with me when I overheard a snippet of conversation between two NPCs who were speculating that the derailment of the subway car was actually a terrorist attack - that exact wording - and I just realised, oh yeah, this was originally meant to be set in 2016 and that's just where your mind leaps when you hear about massive human tragedies nowadays. 

 That said, I also love how basically your role is trying to do something about it, and I adore that feeling of optimism which sprouts up regarding a change within that society once you reform Kamoshida and people start thanking you. I think a big part of what is sucking me in is that message of rebellion as a just act - or as I like to think of it, FUCK SOCIETY'S BULLSHIT. (Also, is it just me or do they swear a hell of a lot more in this game than they did in previous ones?) It's such a breath of fresh air for the series. Like, there is more contempt for the status quo in the Joker's pinkie finger than there was in the entire party of P4 combined. 

 I am loving the structure too, with the interrogation. It's so crime drama literary device 101, I adore it. Gosh. And it adds tension, knowing someone is gonna betray you and your ideals. 

 The main thing it's been dealing with, up to the point I'm at, is abuse and rape culture and how people just do not acknowledge them, especially when those acts are committed by those in power. I know it's kinda iffy, considering you can only play a male protagonist, but I kinda love how the beginning of his journey is literally him recognising that he HAS TO fight against it even if it doesn't personally affect him and how his Persona awakens via his reaffirmation that helping that woman Was The Right Thing To Do even if his corrupted society didn't recognise it as such and is still punishing him for it. P4 also had elements of it, via Adachi, but it never really went into how society props it up, since, you know, he was actually arrested for it. 

 Speaking of villains, fucking Kamoshida. I hate him so, so much - when Ryuji was like, "I hope we don't actually kill him" I was sitting there like CAN'T RELATE, SON and I am glad the game gave me options to express myself as such. Abusive, rapey, ephebophilic, misogynistic, controlling FUCKHEAD. I would rather MARRY Adachi than piss on Kamoshida if he was burning. At least Adachi was influenced by Izanami, what's YOUR excuse, you piece of SHIT?? 

 By which I mean to say that I dislike Kamoshida rather intensely. Generally this game is generating a lot more intense feelings in me than other games, even from the previous Persona titles. Mainly, I HAVE TO GET TOP MARKS SO I CAN RUB IT IN THE DUMB, STUPID-ASS FACES OF THE SHUJIN STUDENT BODY. FUCK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONSTANT DEMEANING COMMENTS AND LAUGHING AT ME, I'M NOT A DELINQUENT. SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR TOP PLACES. I have never started studying earlier in a Persona title. 

 Also Ryuji is basically just Anna Yoshizaka, with the whole fallen track team star with a masked secret identity, isn't he? So many P2 parallels. So many. Ann and Lisa; Joker and, well, Joker; finding a cat in a person's soul; demon negotation; listening in to rumours. At the very least, I have the deep suspicion that we're finally gonna see the return of Nyarlathotep and, slightly less, Philemon. I'm throwing this out there, but I have a mad theory that Morgana is kinda Philemon, in the same way Marie was part of Izanami? He is very insistent on "I'm totallllllyyyy a human, guys, there's nothing else I could be" too much, after all, so like I'd be shocked if he is actually one. Though I do think he's more likely to be one of those soul cats from P2. 

 Anyway - I'm LOVING the return of demon- sorry SHADOW negotation. THANK YOU. Though nothing really beats the version of it they had in P1/2, I'm glad it exists in some form again. I'm THRILLED about the dungeon layouts and the system for guns. The animation and artstyle is amazing - I must say, I FREAKING ADORE the animation Joker does with his gloves when he's running, that little movement where he adjusts them, it's just. PRECIOUS. I love this boy. Igor's new voice is disconcerting. I know his old VA passed away but. Couldn't they at least get someone who sounded even a little like him? 

 So yeah, overall, I ADORE THIS GAME AHHHHHHHHHHHH