#honestly she is the reason why i love tae takemi from persona 5

[irenetheeadler]

2010 and 2017 (i tried to emulate the art style Atlus use)

[welcometomy20s]

March 8th, 2020

Persona 5

Review

A fun rollicking adventure.

Okay, for a such a loved installment of a loved franchise, I shouldn’t end the review like this, but I really do think the above sums it up pretty well.

I mean, just everything about this game screams ‘a fun rollicking adventure’, from the music, to the design, to the mechanics (sort of)... the game invites you to let down your worries and just hangout with pretty fun characters.

You know I don’t care much about mechanics as much as the narrative and themes, so let’s get down to the nitty-grity of the plot... well, not really.

The story of Persona 5 is a start-up story. You know what it is, The Social Network, Silicon Valley, Steve Jobs, even Citizen Kane can be described as a start-up story. What makes a start-up story as compared of coming-of-age or coming-of-life is that it’s about the development of a brand, not a being.

And so the overarching story is bunch of high schoolers trying to build a brand for themselves. There’s... not much else to it. Since the overall story is not that complicated, the intricacies comes from the character and the specific plots.

I don’t want to make this a really long analysis of everything, so I think I’m going to consult a tarot and go through the confidants and list them one by one. 

Again, there’s not much I would tell you without spoiling the game, although actually there’s not much I will talk even with spoiling. Let’s just say if you like fun rollicking adventures and if you are not sick of JRPG mechanics, this is fine.

Now for the list of confidants.

(Akira Kurusa) as The Fool - Of course, the confidant is Igor, but it makes more sense that he’s the Fool. The Fool represents basically creativity, with the free spirit and the madness that it presents. As with the fool’s journey, Fool is usually the protagonist, and so it is here. The Joker here is snarky and insightful, there’s a bit of character here than in other games. Why is he the leader? I think it’s because he’s a decisive person. He can sense the rhythm of the world within.

Morgana as the Magician - In the Fool’s Journey, he’s the initiator and fittingly Morgana initiates things. Morgana tries to find the drive in things, perhaps the reason he’s so enamored in treasure. But this drive present the creature as a child, which he is, I suppose. As with character of this type, he’s annoying, but since the characters get crowded, he has less lines and so that’s good.

Makoto Niijima as The High Priestess - Represents hidden powers and patience and here it’s portrayed the Student Council President, who basically gets roped into the team. There’s violence in her, which is atypical, but she has the smarts to back it up, and also she’s very strict to herself. Having her as the Priestess indicate the violence inherent in this game. They are thieves after all. 

Haru Okumura as The Empress - Kind of an Ascended Fangirl? She supposed to be the motherly character, but I don’t know about that. She seems forced to be in that role, her intrafamilial knowledge seem to mainly come from her background and her gardening feels more used for separation than nurturing. Yes, she is ‘aloof’ but it’s also one of childish aloofness, in order to sanctify herself as a Phantom Thief. I don’t know, she’s fine, but it’s a bad fit...

Yusuke Kitagawa as The Emperor - Rude assistant turned bumbling aspiring artist. The character that gets lighter as he moves away from the target, and therefore becomes more likable to many. This is great, I always like seemingly mean person that turns out to be a doofus. One of my favorite tropes.

Sojiro Sakura as The Hierophant - The Authority figure, he probably is not the best authority figure, but he has good in his heart, even through his troubles. Or even perhaps because of his troubles. I think he’s one of the more well-written characters and I think it really adds a good mellow taste in this game.

Ann Takamaki as The Lovers - The main lover of the story. Ann is an active lover, one with ambition and heart, maybe too much of both. Having a model character is pretty interesting, and her storyline is... more hilarious than lovely.

Ryuji Sakamoto as The Chariot - Represents willpower and determination, but one who is headstrong as such. Ryuji fits this to a T, but he’s not more than that. But he doesn’t need to be more than that. He’s a good friend and why not?

Goro Akechi as The Justice - We’re looking at Lawful evil here, although he gets better, apparently. Akechi is one with promise, which apparently carries in the prequel, midquel and the sequels that this thing is surrounded by. 

Futaba Sakura as The Hermit - Well, she’s a likable character. So likable, she gets a lot of ship despite her age and frailty. I don’t know if I want more of her, or would that spoil her broth? Anyway, gives a good balance to the team.

Chihaya Mifune as The Wheel of Fortune - And we move away from the actual team, to this little needed character. She’s fun, but she’s an interesting addition to the game overall. Her story routinely follow the ruin of past theme here.

Caroline and Justine as The Strength - Really interesting couple, or are they a couple? Anyway, I really don’t care for the supernatural plotline so... PASS!

Munehisa Iwai as The Hanged Man - I know he kind of has to be a confidant, but man why would he take The Joker? His plotline is dark and wistful, which make sense given the character, but man, does it not fit with the overall story at all.

Tae Takemi as Death - The Doctor of the story, who is little bit mad, little bit sentimental and overall a fun character to be with. I don’t know how she exist though, her storyline is pretty out there, although this is a Persona game.

Sadayo Kawakami as Temperance - Homeroom teacher... is a maid? Strangely her love line felt okay, because I always felt she was child stuck as an adult. She has a instinctive need to be pretty and respectful and perhaps caring, but in a child way, forceful and not really wise. This is an interesting character for sure.

Ichiko Ohya as The Devil - Very bizarre devil, certainly. Character tend to be obsessive and she is obsessive with... I mean, what? She’s a mess, I tell ya, least Kawakami can clean up, she just stuck in the gutter and that’s a pity.

Shinya Oda as The Tower - Sudden change is the name of the game, so why choose a child game prodigy? Tower feels old and reserved, Shinya is the opposite of that. Although he certainly grew up fast. I don’t know about this.

Hifumi Togo as The Star - I mean she should be the Tower, seeing her fall was quite mighty and her perseverance adds to the perseverance of the ruins. But she’s a Star, she wants to endure, and that’s good. Man, Hifumi does not get a wind in her story. She’s like Candy, she is only focused on one thing, but that’s the point of the Arcana... so there’s that. She seems fine, otherwise.

Yuuki Mishima as The Moon - If Yusuke became more likable, Mishima is the opposite, he is the empathetic victim in the first arc and then slowly get worse and worse as the story progresses, which adds to the bitterness of the game. 

Toranosuke Yoshisa as The Sun - One of favorite minor confidants. Why do we have a politician in the story, I don’t know, but he’s great and gives great hope at a time I need hope in politics. He just has a great story arc, honestly.

Sae Niijima as Judgement - She’s pretty great, even if she’s a bit underutilized. Like I want to see her more, just doing cool prosecutor stuff? I don’t know...

And finally The World, which I’m going to interpret as... the World. Tokyo in Persona 5 is a good one. Tokyo feels like a dizzying metropolis most of the time, but here it feels like... a lived place. And that’s what makes this game so great. Being in a lived city makes one just let themselves go and enjoy your life.

That’s it. Go home.