#idk but if you like the protagonist of p3 you might like him

[yuseirra]

Ah...aghh...I'M SHAKING, I love that novel. It's finally getting SOMETHING. Maybe there's a chance of it getting an anime series and it's definitely going to get translated into English right? I can say for SURE that it's one of my favorite fantasy novel I've ever read e v er, it has several parts (it's ongoing) and I like the second part the most so far because the protagonist for that section is really unique. He's one of the sweetest character I've seen, I like him because he's a good boy. Although that's not all there is to him though. I can't wait to see that part being turned into a comic. Now everybody will be able to see how interesting and endearing of a character Josua is, he's very artistic, fragile, complex, naive, insane, sweet, lonely, caring and strong-willed, the whole plot was a journey of self-acceptance and growth and love. A lot of fun things happen there and the fantasy elements of the story was intriguing too!

Some time ago, I got an ask asking what this novel is like after having drawn a fanart of the novel, I held it off to reply back to it properly when I had the time but I ended up never getting back to it (I'm so sorry ;v;) well, if it gets a webtoon it should get an english edition right? so now you'll know why I love it so much!! I'd love to share a lot of my thoughts on it when it comes around. I really hope it goes well because the original work is very good. It's so worth it, I thought the piece was written beautifully and the lore was compelling. It's STILL incomplete though, this series has been going on for over 20 years with like a 10 year hiatus in between (thankfully I picked it up AFTER the hiatus was over.)

I'm glad there's something I will be able to look forward to seeing!! I HAVE to see Demonic being animated. It will suit that story so well. If the webtoon turns out to be a hit, I feel it'll have a solid chance for it to have one because it was like, my favorite thing!!(I have A LOT of favorites!!)

[watashime-ciel]

insomnia may be strong but i'm stronger. so here are the Just Dane dances and coaches i'm assigning to my rhythm heaven scrunklies because nobody asked but i want to post this anyways for science purposes

starting with the holy lemon, DJ Yellow:

definitely, his favourite dances are the three hatsune miku ones, but besides that, he's probably going with a good old jason derulo dance or Get Ugly, as his first option to warm up. Circus extreme version, Hey Mama and Daddy are probably his next options

now, a coach thats perfect for him is P3 from All About Us in JD17

they radiate they/them queer vibes AND the colours are literally Yellow idc hes dressing with those colours and slaying in the process

for Blue i'll go with something more simple, but at the same time groovy. and whats more groovy that Groove by Jack & Jack

he's not the one that likes to play JD, but he enjoys watching the videos like a toddler watching five little monkies jumping on the bed. Groove is the only one that he might dance. but other songs he enjoys are Rave in the Grave, Tumbum, Leila, Instruction, Spectronizer and Built For This, all because of the colours

and the coach i'm assigning is the Instruction teacher from JD18

the colours are vibrant, and the clothing quite simple but attractive. perfect for an artist's eye like Blue's

oh boy for J.J i got very creative

that was sarcasm

did you know JD added Bring Me To Life to one of the latest games? i literally just found out while playing JDNow lol. definitely his favourite to dance with Cecil, even if the move in "Save me!" is impossible for them two. theeeey need a bit more of movement

J.J would also like whatever avril lavigne song there is in the game. idk if theres more, but Girlfriend is his jam so don't bother him for the next 3 minutes while he dances

for the coach, i mean literally Blake and Liv from the BMTL fit him. you tell me why

just like me, Cecil can't let go of his childhood favourite song, and that's Spectronizer. little Cecil would enjoy jumping around pretending to be a power ranger or something. and his favourire coach is the one i am assigning to him

literally perfect. live laugh love yellow ranger

with Connie i have a problem called "she fits most of the songs i like so this is going to be endless". but i am mainly assigning Tumbum for the second coach and her "protagonist" role, Smile by IOWA for the clothing and energy, and Adeyyo for the clothing aswell. literally all outfits from these would look good on her-

but here are two specific coaches that are literally her

the Smile coach is literally her but in purple and blue, and the Adeyyo coach because IH MY GOD... /pos

Jenna is simple. she also loves miku, one of the favourite songs is Love Ward, its on JD18, so what else could she ask for?

to be Love Ward JD Miku of course

i promise you im drawing her like that

Debbie is the kind that dances to everything she possibly can, and enjoys it more when its some stupid dance like Daddy, Dragostea Din Tei, Juju on The Beat, Sayonara, Chiwawa... i could go on. she also enjoys overly happy or active coaches, always being the first one to get a star and the crown

theres no other coach more perfect for her than Suzuka from Atarashii Gakko

Christmas' over, that means that Halloween is near for Mako. she adores all Halloween related dances; Ghost In The Keys, Time Warp, Rave In The Grave, Magic Halloween, you name it and she loves it, having a specific coach she always wants to be

but her favourite coach and therefore the one i am assigning is the Magic Halloween witch

also the colours are some i believe she would use for a Halloween outfit, and she loves stars so the skirt was what got her for sure

surprisingly, So'ra can stand up from that pink car and can also dance. she likes something... uh. i. dont know the exact word. but not so much to follow, or maybe a lot but the background helps and doesnt makes it hard. Hey Mama, Black Widow, Circus extreme version, Gibberish and others, in that order, is her dance list

the coach i decide to assign is the Black Widow

the dance gives a bit mysterious vibe, and the moves are fast enough to be in perfect sync with the beat. its perfect

do you ever wonder if someone could have some sort of crush in a JD coach? ask Peach, as she fell in love with the P2 in Tumbum. its not that in assigning her to Peach, but rather making a connection?

shes like Blue, watches JD dances like a visual stimulation thingie. and when she watched Tumbum, inmediatly focused on the P2. how. i mean, you cant see their faces yet. oh well-

okay guys insomnia is winning okay i promise i am also normal about just dance !!

[nono-bunny]

I have somehow never heard this before, but I thought it was interesting so I figured I'd share... I am currently reading the Obey Me! manga- which is a lot of fun, btw- and the MC has a name there! Which was news to me, because I never heard anyone refer to them by that! Zephyr is such a cool gender neutral choice, and it's how they're referred to in the manga, and it rocks!

I am a fan of and play some other games with a mostly nameless protagonist, but there the names they're given in the manga or anime that actually do tend to stick amongst the fandom and they usually start getting referred to by those rather than as MC. The Persona franchise for insance has multiple canon-ish names for the MCs, but most fans would know you're talking about the P5 protagonist anyway when you mention Akira or Ren (or, alternatively, Akiren)- it's easier to refer to them by a name when you have multiple games and multiple protagonists, and in general the different games have protagonists that tend to be perceived as having unique personalities even though you can choose their dialogue by virtue of them being silent protagonists (p3 has the emo one, p4 has the manwhore, p5 has the sassy one, no one talks about p1 and p2)

On the other hand, there's Love Live All Stars (rip), where you're entirely unseen like in Obey Me!, but the anime created a player proxy character named Yu Takaski as a result of a fan poll, which is a name that's essentially just various wordplays on this character being us, the player. She has a voice actress who became relatively active in the franchise alongside her character, and at this point she's arguably a different character than the one you play in the game, and she's generally quite loved anyway (which wasn't a guaranteed thing with the LL fandom, they're very possessive of the idols as might sadly be expected)

Zephyr definitely tends more towards the skeptical options you get in the game which is. Kind of the opposite of how I play, and they're stuck in the body of a sheep which is obviously NOT the case for the regular MC, but regardless of that they're actually so great! Like. They don't feel like I'm seeing my MC, but rather an MC, which is actually really refreshing and surprisingly fun, and its very funny to see that type of MC going through the story while also BEING A SHEEP, and like. While I don't necessarily feel represented by Zephyr, I'd also be 100% down for the fandom to start referring to MC as Zephyr, or just like.... Talk about them at all, because istg I never see them mentioned anywhere ever and it's a shame, actually, because the manga is really fun! I feel like Zephyr can and should exist and have a distinct personality like in Persona, and maybe also be a way for us to feature in a potential season 3 of the anime... And that WOULDN'T take away from them only being one version of the MC, similarly to how things shook out with LL! Idk I just. Felt like it's a shame how underutilized Zephyr is amongst the fandom and the franchise in general, justice for Zephyr ig lol

Also! I very much recommend reading the manga, it's so funny and a lot of fun! Also for my fellow Mammon fans (aka, everyone- is there even anyone who doesn't like him even if he's not their fave??) we get to see a lot of Mammon butt which is. Surprising but not unwelcome lol

[p5x-theories]

In the spirit of P3R, which thieves would get along with which members of the SEES the most?

(...if it's fine, it can just be like, Wonder, Soy, Closer, Cattle, and...idk. There's a bunch of thieves now)

Ooo, good question! Was wondering if you or someone else would eventually ask about SEES, considering the asks for P5 and P4 before.

(Okay, originally I typed "I'll go for one P5X thief for each member of SEES, I think", and then I ended up mentioning at least two for each of them. Yeah, wow, we really do have a ton of thieves now, haha.)

P3 Protagonist

For the male protagonist, it's a little hard for me to imagine him intentionally bonding with anyone, but you might be able to make the argument that, logically, the character he'd be most likely to spend time with outside of combat is Yui, given his own online video game Social Link proves he can and has bonded with someone over playing together online, haha? I do think he'd probably get along with Wonder as well, because especially early on they have a similar vibe of just sort of going along with whatever comes their way.

For the female protagonist, it's sort of the opposite problem- I think she'd more consciously bond with everyone. But I like the idea of her and Kayo bonding because they're both kind of upfront and outgoing? She'd definitely click with Motoha, Tomoko, Yaoling, and Leo too, though, I think, just on vibes.

Yukari

Honestly, Yukari's a little tricky to say, because I think she'd take a bit to warm up to anyone, and there's no one that she has enough immediate overlap to be likely to click with, like Ann. I think Kayo is the closest, but I also think Yukari'd be wary of her because of her issues with her mom. They might eventually smooth things over, but that's not really the focus here.

Really, if I have to pick one person, I think it has to be Leo. They're both interested in acting, and though Leo might come on a little strong at first for Yukari, I feel like she'd warm up to him faster than most of the other members of the Wonder Squad, especially because he's also kind of struggling against his parents (even if his situation is different from Yukari's). I think Leo's conviction in what he wants to do, despite how his parents feel, would also go a long way. There's a bit more similarity between the two of them than either might think at first.

Yukari and Yukimi might also eventually bond over conflict particularly with their mothers, but I think that would be a bit slower than her and Leo, because Leo seems more open whereas Yukimi's mentioned to have a cold exterior that Yukari might not see past immediately.

Junpei

Junpei and Motoha. I believe it. I know it. Baseball buddies. They're also both the kind of "charge in and solve the problem" types, and generally I think their personalities and outlooks are just very compatible. I'm sure they'd still butt heads occasionally, because they both have very strong opinions when push comes to shove, but I absolutely think they'd be friends.

As far as baseball goes, that'd probably also mean Junpei spends a bit more time with Tomoko, too, and I think he'd like her even if they might not quite click the same way as he and Motoha.

Mitsuru

Seiji seems like the obvious person Mitsuru would bond with if they spent some time together, haha? They have similar aesthetics, and based on the limited info we have on Seiji right now, I think some similarities in personality + upbringing as well, even if there are obvious differences.

At the very least, they'd probably spar together sometimes and compare rapier techniques.

Oh, I'm sure Mitsuru would end up spending some time with Cattle as well, given he's the Wonder Squad's sort of leader/strategist (at least as we know him right now). I don't know if they'd click exactly, but I think they'd work together well.

Akihiko

I could see him getting along with Yaoling, as they both seem to have the same sort of enthusiasm, if that makes sense? That might be a bit of a shot in the dark, because there's still a lot we don't know about her (that we'll hopefully fill in a little with the third beta!), but it's just the impression I get. Leo might also get along well with him, considering lots of sparring and general exercise techniques are probably useful training for the field (tokusatsu actor) he wants to go into.

If he's looking for other athletes, then Mont and Motoha also make sense, although I'm not sure he'd quite click with either of them; Mont's a bit more refined/graceful than his approach, and while Motoha has a lot of energy I think he might wear her out, haha. Her sport isn't her entire life, the way his is (That is, "sport". Akihiko's a boxer, but his true "sport" is just always trying to get stronger, I suppose).

Fuuka

I'm between a couple characters on who might get along with Fuuka best, honestly. For one, I could see her and Tomoko getting along, as both of them kind of come across as softer/more shy, but actually have more conviction and skill than people tend to give them credit for? I could see them bonding over that, even if their interests differ, and that might lead to Fuuka spending some time with Motoha as well.

But then there's also Fuuka's conflict with her parents and the pressure they put on her, which I could see her potentially bonding with Yukimi and/or Puppet over, as we know they both struggle with pressure from their parents that they don't agree with as well.

If Riddle's robot Persona reflects an interest in any kind of mechanics or robotics, Fuuka might bond with her over that as well.

Aigis

I'm honestly not sure who Aigis might get most attached to, given in P3 canon she's always most attached to and protective of the protagonist because they're the one she sealed Death away inside of. That said, she might like Wonder, if he reminds her of them?

I am curious what she might think of Riddle and her robot Persona as well, but right now we know so little I can't really extrapolate anything from there.

Koromaru

Koromaru would get along with anyone, let's be real. But I could also see Kiyoshi getting kind of attached to him, given the only thing more supernatural than 26 "chosen ones" with psychic powers (wow. SEES + the current Wonder Squad really is a lot of people) is probably one of those "chosen ones" being a dog with psychic powers. I don't know if Koromaru would actually show a particular favoritism with Kiyoshi or not, but I'm sure he'd appreciate the extra attention as long as it came with walks, pets, and tasty food, haha.

Ken

I think Ken might like Cattle, thinking it over. Cattle's eager to teach and do phantom thievery, and in PQ2 Ken was definitely interested in learning. I think it'd also help that Cattle isn't really obviously older than him, the way everyone else is (except, I guess, maybe Riddle), so it'd feel less like there's a power imbalance he's trying to catch up to? He might even appreciate being taller than Cattle, haha.

From what I remember, I don't think Morgana and Ken quite clicked the same way over this in PQ2 (even despite having a Unison attack together), but I think the difference is that Cattle takes a much more serious/levelheaded approach, whereas Morgana's kind of hotheaded and goofy sometimes. As much as Ken deserves to just be a kid sometimes, he's not really going to consciously loosen up about it, so Cattle's approach is something I'd expect to resonate with him even more than Morgana's.

Let's be real, he'd also probably find Leo cool, but would absolutely not admit it.

Shinjiro

Okay, I feel a little bad that I keep grouping him based on cooking, but considering that's one of the main things we know about him right now... come on. Shinjiro and Shun for sure. I feel like they'd butt heads in the kitchen but actually have a really good time. Also absolutely skip school to have a cooking competition.

... Maybe if they team up they'd also have a better shot at helping Fuuka improve her own cooking ability, too, haha.

[raven]

wrt persona main characters and shipping (which is literally encouraged in the game so dont even talk to me). p3 is wild because many good parts about yukari come from her dating the protag but their actual relationship is like. you're doing all this... for HIM?! i dont like thinking about them together, but theyre literally real and true. It's similar with aigis. both of them lack chemistry but it feels like they NEED to date him for the narrative. ryoji also lacks chemistry. grow up. every other character should not date him. Grow. Up. femc is wild because i DO care about her relationship with aigis a LOT and the only thing that changed is that theyre both girls but can you blame me...? they explicitly change the relationship so that it's compelling. they're both girls!! We gave the robot internalized homophobia! femc somehow despite not being in any actual cutscenes with anyone has much more dynamic swag. next protagonist. p4 is definitely a similar level of bland to p3, but mostly outside of relationships, whereas p3 protag i can generally vibe with in his daily life but not his relationships. mr p4 is completely 100% undoubtedly carried by yosuke, who is the true main character of p4 for better or worse. Every other relationship in that game sucks. except ai. Shout out to ai. not that i want them to be together. i like that social link only if you start out dating her. #celibacy. #breakup. hes also a generally good older brother figure so I'll give him that. anyways, yosuke, yeah everything they did with him is crazy, this post is long enough. and now onto joker. Now thats a character with character. Do i have a bias towards women? possible. joker just hit everything for me. what made joker so different idk scholars will be looking into it but i think its definitely at least 75% the eyelashes. his chemistry with every man is great. women are definitely more hit or miss with him but thats because p5 was made by severe misogynists, not because joker himself is flawed. having a protagonist with an actual identity is definitely a good move from p5, especially because social links only have one path anyway. It's not like you can choose any stories at all, so you might as well just make the character a character. and reward the player for acting in character. Well there you have it. Tune in next time. im working on my phd dissertation for this series

[ti0mumu]

okay so, having finished the Persona Trinity Soul anime, my rank of the animations for the Persona Franchise is:

1 - Persona 3: The Movie (all four of them obviously)

It’s far and beyond the most solid of them. all characters have a good personal growth, you can understand each one’s motivations (protagonist included), the final delivers it, just *chef’s kiss* all around. Also as a game about the ~power of friendship~ they also feel like friends because they are all related to the main plot so you can see them moving forwards together

2 - Persona 4 The Animation

I might be biased but I definitely think they did a good job with this one. Due to being a movie, P3 can’t give much focus to the social links which is understandable due to it being a movie, P4 on the other fully utilizes it’s given time well by making all the side characters, if not liked, at least understood. Also we got a lot of fillers that are genuinely good and help us see the main gang as just kids being kids and friends and I really enjoy it. Two downsides I wanna point out are: The protagonist feels... kinda bland? idk I love Yu and he has a lot of cool scenes but you don’t really... feel him like you do with Makoto (P3 protag). The delivery of who’s the murderer (have I mentioned that this show is about teens catching a serial killer?) also feels... weak.

3 - Persona Trinity Soul

Out of the gate I have to say that if you’re a fan of persona franchise you have to watch this series as if it weren’t a part of the persona franchise. It has a lot of similar things to it like “teens have to fight cuz adults are useless”, “man with little to no morals is fucking shit up”, “fight against god” (?), “robot waifus”, the usual but... idk it just feels different. the pace is more slow (sometimes a bit too slow) and the persona action is definitely more spaced out but... it just feels right? i guess my thoughts on the matter is just that the series is solid. not great, by most certainly not bad. the characters aren’t like other persona characters that you latch on because they’re “the bad boy that is actually a cinnamon roll” or “the artistic dumbass” or whatever but they do have their struggles and personalities if that makes sense? the final showdown is really good but I do feel like the ending was just... too vague about everyone’s future but still.

4 - Persona 5 The Animation

*sigh* If I am very biased towards P4, I’m also very biased towards P5 but in the opposite direction. So before I start chewing it now like a rabid dog, my positive thoughts on the series: The “mini bosses” are actually very engaging to watch cuz is more engaging to watch an abusive jerk being kicked in the ass than it is to see a fight against... some weird tarot concept or the embodiement of someone’s fears y’know? also some points in the game look better done in the anime than in game.... AS for the bad points: There’s no real filler episode? these guys live and breath being phantom thieves??? their beach episode (both of them) we see them talking about phantom thief stuff and while, yes I don’t expect them to drop the plot completely I just... missed the feeling of persona 4 of “kids being kids”, which also stunts their growth as a group because... I don’t really buy it how they see each other as friends, a fact that is even worse for the side characters like there’s a couple of cameos of the goth doctor lady but she.. doesn’t do anything? Iwai only is shown being grump like, if I didn’t knew how they are in game I would be like “who the fuck are those bitches? why they appear on the oppening? why they are given some spotlight at the final battle?” because they are just that? random people that really don’t interact much or at all with the main character, much less the plot. speaking of main character he’s another dissapointment to me cuz his only trait is being “oh so cool” like.... the later fights seem to be only the protagonist’s merit which makes the whole ~power of friendship~ thing even worse I... I guess that the better way to say it is that the series has a sprinting start and then trips middle way through and don’t really gets back up.

Last but not least:

Unranked - Persona 4 The GOLDEN Animation

Didn’t watched yet, can’t say nothing lol. I assume is P4A but slightly to the left?

So yeah, that’s my thoughts on the matter! Don’t forget to like and subscribe and hit the notification bell

[zangothedino-blog-blog]

Dissecting these lyrics.

So uh "Spoilers" for royal and i guess the OVA too? this song plays at one of your "outings" with Akechi.

The context is what has spoilers nothing else does unless you havent learned everything about akechi in p5 which case idk why youd start reading this if you cared about spoilers:

((You and akechi together at a jazz bar that Goro says he frequents and considers a special place for him, you tell him your backstory and about Leblanc.

He states he's envious of your situation and compliments you on your ability to cook.

He states that you're the first person he's ever brought to the jazz club mentioning that he supposes it might show they have some strange connection.))

The lyrics to the song itself are from the Goro akechis perspective.

[]People come and they go

[]Some people may stay with you though

[]I am all alone tonight and I kept on

[]Asking myself questions

[So this is a simple set up the song itself. akechi is self-reflecting, positing the nature of having friends.

"all alone tonight" is interesting in the context in that he's quite literally spending the night with Akira but he's not being true to himself so this, in turn, makes him alone. this odd state of being with someone but not *being* moves akechi to reflect on himself.]

[]Conceited I was at a time

[]I never really doubted myself

[]But tonight got me thinking about it all

[]If I am the fool or whatnot

[akechi is conceited but confident in himself.

however being with someone like Akira has him really considering his approach whether or not he's being a fool, A "fool" though has a lot more meaning than just being foolish as its probably evoking the fool card:

the Fool Arcana

The Fool represents new beginnings, having faith in the future, being inexperienced, not knowing what to expect, having beginner's luck, improvisation and believing in the universe.

upright:

Beginnings, Spontaneity, Originality, Innocence, Leap of faith

reversed:

Naivety, Poor judgment, Folly, Lack of direction, Stupidity, Chaos

the fool is assigned to Loki in persona 3 and is the ultimate form of the fool in persona 4

The player is also the fool arcana along with arcene (as it is in p3 and 4)]

[]I do not

[]Regret with my choices I'm rather proud

[]Ooh yet I know I won't change

[]Anything

[]Because I can only be me so

[So this feeds back into another statement I have about akechi not really regretting the murders or any of his actions really.

Akechi did what he did in full knowledge and capacity of himself and its why he reacts so poorly to concepts of pity and mercy.

His actions were driven by his being and in some regard are one and the same. so when people pity him or give him mercy or retract his involvement or undermine his agency in regards to that he takes it as an inherent disrespect to his personhood.]

[]How can I be so sure?

[]At a crossroads, I'm afraid too

[]But I can't let fear get the best of me

[]Someone once said burn my dread, babe

[God this fucking section is so good.

akechi questions if he truly has the conviction to kill Joker

he's afraid too, afraid of dying, afraid of losing what is the most tangible connection he's had to this world outside of his revenge for his father.

But he can't let his desires for this connection to sway who he is and what he is going to do.

"Someone once said burn my dread babe."

this reference, this reference is exceptional and adds this heartbreaking edge to jokers execution.

p3s opening theme " burn my dread" which states the thesis of P3 "memento mori". remembering that death is inevitable and that disconnecting yourself from things that bind you to a fear of death can free you.

"Memento Mori. Remember you will die. Remember your death."

this line is in my interpretation is Goro akechi rationalizing killing joker as a kind of weird momento mori. akechi is on a death path and killing joker was a means of freeing him from a fear of death or more importantly a fear of loss. 

garnering control over his own emotions and desires to be alive or to be with joker, a necessary step to boldening his convictions to enact revenge and retributions on shido.

To burn your dread, to remove your fears, to free yourself. 

Akira being a memento mori for akechi is why your bond with him grows once he fucking kills you. 

Akira becomes a reminder of everything akechi has to lose if he fails in seeking revenge.

Also, side note the ", babe." could infer that akechi is maybe referring to Akira?]

[]Who knows what tomorrow holds?

[]Just wanna live my life the way I want

[]What fills up my soul is passionate

[]Music that makes me want to sing

[Pulling from momento mori the idea that life is fleeting that goro must live his life in this pursuit of passion.

the passion to seek revenge on his father enacting this perfect divine punishment.

The power to kill and free himself from that which holds him back and challenges who he is.

Akechi must fill himself with this music, this song.

Akechi must truly exist as himself.]

[]My story will be starring me just like yours ooh ooh

[]Who knows when will it end

[]What matters most is how you bring joy to life so 

[Goro akechi is also a protagonist he's a wild card just like all the protagonists

Goro is aware of this he understands that they're truly at an impasse

in finality to Akechi's short lament, he re-enters the present situation, his time with Akira.

he doesn't know when he'll have to end Akira when anything he is will come to fruition or when he'll die.

But he knows, for now, he can take respite in what joy, as simple and fleeting they are, he can find in his relationship with Akira and what he can give in return.]

Even the title of the song:

[]"No more what ifs"

it brings to mind akechis conflicting desire to have things go differently but his rejection in believing in falsehoods and staying faithful to himself and his truths.

[]"under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals or even friends" 

[]"I wonder why we couldn't have met a few years earlier..."

[muzzleroars]

When it comes to having absolute composure who would you say is the best of the persona protagonists?

hmm...that one is really hard to say, as they’re all silent protags and so they kind of have a default level of high composure. i will say, like a lot of people, i’m also not as familiar with the first couple persona games (i have started watching a playthrough of p1 tho!), so i’ll just talk about p3-p5 and my own personal opinions of the protags. akira is out right away for me because i view him pretty much exactly as arsene; he can work well under pressure, but he’s also going to be emotional about it, whether that emotion is positive or negative. akira feels things too deeply to remain composed a lot though and, like arsene, he lets people know his emotional state with little reservation. that leaves souji vs minato....and while i’ve played through p4, i haven’t do so with p3 so my opnion of minato isn’t super set in stone just yet. i personally saw my own souji as being a pretty composed person, the type to keep cool when everyone else is panicking or just losing it (one particular scene comes to mind, and i think everyone knows what that one is - and i thought of souji possibly yelling for the first time just to get everyone to CHILL FOR THREE SECONDS so they can actually think this through). i don’t exactly get the same vibe from minato - he’s quieter to me and he isn’t going to have the over the top display of emotion that akira does, and while i know through fandom osmosis that he seems sort of...apathetic? tuned out? idk something like that, i sort of starting thinking of him as having a lot going on inside of him even if on the outside he seems indifferent (also, to me, indifference/obliviousness isn’t the same as composure). again tho, i haven’t played his game through, but right now i’m leaning into souji simply because of how i think of him. and while he and minato might have similar levels of composure outwardly, i think souji is better at sort of instilling that into his teammates and helping them calm down. what i’m saying is i played souji as everyone’s dad and he needed to keep his kids calm so by default he’s super chilled out.

[bidickgrayson]

i’ve been really loving persona 5 so far, but i’ve been too busy playing it to actually write down my thoughts so far lol

i think persona 5 is going to be the first persona game i actually finish!! amazing. i got like, 65-75% through both persona 3 and 4 and haven’t played them in over a year lol....probably going to go back and restart them after i finish p5 so i can finally finish them a couple years after starting them. i can barely even remember what happens in both of them lol

the palaces are surprisingly fun?? also i’m super duper glad that safe mode is a thing, my enjoyment of the game went up a lot when i finally switched. dungeon crawling in p5 is fun, but i’ve never been all that invested in the actual fights themselves in any persona game, and to me they’re just annoying obstacles in the way of all the other stuff about the game i’m a whole lot more interested in. i honestly doubt i’ll ever play a persona game on a difficulty higher than easy

i’m also really impressed by how different each palace is?? i really thought after the first one that they’d all follow that same basic blueprint of like, you go in, fight enemies, find the items you need to progress, and you’re done, with different aesthetics for each one. but each palace has kind of a new gimmick/puzzle, so it’s not just finding the right order to pull levers or whatever, it’s figuring out how to beat an unwinnable game or interrogate a guard the right way for a password. it’s all so fresh and different and never feels like a slog because of that. and i love the connections between the palace and the person’s cognition, like “oh, this is that way because this person thinks of this thing like that”. lots of cool connections that way, lots of cool explanations for why a palace is a certain way

this game feels so cool??? cool isn’t even the proper word for it, because i don’t think it conveys the my strength of feeling enough. like, everything about the game’s design and the whole phantom thief thing makes me feel cool and competent as hell. infiltrating a palace by sneaking in and solving puzzles and beating up or sneaking past guard and making thieves tools and taking cover and jumping up and across obstacles and sending calling cards and assigning different tasks in the middle of a boss fight to accomplish something and hearing the awesome music after you’ve sent a calling card and getting contacts to help with various aspects of thieves’ work....everything down to the menus and loading screens, the whole game is just a whole lot of fun and looks rad as hell and makes me feel rad as hell playing it. it really feels like a group of thieves planning a whole involved operation, and that’s awesome

related, but damn, pretty much everything about the protag is cool as hell, he’s so slick, and i went from thinking his mask was kinda goofy to thinking it really suits him and it’s great

i love the group a lot. like, a lot. and i know that because i don’t want the game to end, and also because i’ve been listening to the (awesome awesome awesome) ost, and there are some endgame songs that make me almost queasy with how much emotion i feel from them, which is directly related to how much i love the group. and the last time i remember that kind of feeling was in me3 and the batfamily lol

like i said, i don’t remember much from p4, but i like morgana a helluva lot more than teddie lol. which i mention just because they’re basically equivalents in the role they play, and also because i genuinely very much like morgana

i love the confidants. it’s hard for me to think of a confidant i don’t like (although i haven’t done them all). i like that they’re all likable people, and i love that so much of the game is about the thieves finding commonalities/connections with each other and with other people. i can’t remember a lot of p3/4, and maybe i’ll change my mind when i replay, but i feel like at least in p3 there were some social links for people who.....i didn’t really like a whole lot. like maybe they were interesting or whatever, but not really good people. which is totally different from my experience with p5 for me, because basically everyone is a good (misunderstood/unfairly judged) person (with some problems too probably, sure)

related, but i feel like this game is very sympathetic to its cast of characters, which i really love. like with futaba and her extreme social anxiety. the game/characters don’t shame her for having a hard time with people and needing time/whatever (and they praise her when she does something hard for her that’d be easy for others, like going out in public!! love it) and that’s really nice. i feel like there’s a lot of compassion for the victims of the story, which in a game that’s all about questions of justice and doing right or whatever, really makes the story a lot better and more compelling to me. it’s not just about going and beating up the bad guy, it’s going and beating up the bad guy so there is justice for all the people the bad guy has abused. and characters can be angry at their mistreatment! really like that too. 

like, there are legitimate reasons to kind of question the power to change hearts how they want, and the morality of that, but i liked that it was never like “these poor people whose hearts we changed didn’t deserve that :(”, it was more like “these villains fucking deserved whatever was coming to them, but is this the right way morally to handle these situations of injustice?” i liked that they never let abusive people off the hook for being abusive, no matter their reason

it’s been nice playing because i feel like i feel the things the story wants me to feel. which is a roundabout way of saying the game has good writing lol. i like that the game doesn’t just say “these are the good guys and that’s all there is to say about it”, i liked that there were questions of whether the phantom thieves were right or not, and while they’re the protagonists and clearly who you root for, there’s also an understanding for why some people might find it questionable that there’s an option to change a heart arbitrarily. and like, i hated when they were uber popular (and being set-up), but in-story, the characters were also a little bit wary and overwhelmed, and there was some evidence that maybe this overwhelming popularity wasn’t the best. and now that period of popularity is over, and the characters are like, yeah, that....wasn’t good, and i’m like, thank god i wasn’t the only one who thought so. there are dozens of other examples. like now that they’re back to being distrusted/ppl not believing in them, they’re all like, this is actually kinda better, and i’m like, YES, i love you best when you’re doing good things in the dark basically

and my final worry on this point of matching what the game expects me to feel versus what i actually feel was finally put to rest today! yay! i’ve pretty much always disliked akechi, and i fcking called that akechi was the gonna be a baddie (or at least not who he pretended to be) from back when he said something about pancakes when he shouldn’t have understood morgana saying it, and i’m relieved that i was right. persona loves to throw in little things that are just weird enough to make me ask “now why did that happen that way” and figure it out, which makes me feel smart when i figure something out 60+ hours before it’s revealed in game lol. and persona loves the “this seemingly benign character is not what they seem!” and that makes me 3/3 on that character in each of the persona games i’ve played. which i like, honestly. i like that the clue is there, enough so i can grab it, and feel clever for it. it’s why i like the puzzles in the game too--they’re not super challenging, but figuring them out usually makes me feel pretty clever and competent without getting frustrated, which is a great feeling

ALSO!! ALSO!!!! i love it when something the game has been teasing and building expectation for for a while turns out to be even better than i was hoping for. (which last happened with olivier in sora no kiseki sc). and the whole operation where protag gets caught and interrogated by sae?? SO MUCH BETTER THAN I THOUGHT. i fcking loved their whole ridiculously complicated and involved plan, and them figuring out akechi without him knowing, and i loved all the tiny details, and i loved that once again, hours before it was actually revealed, the game gave me enough of a hint for me to realize, oh, they were wanting protag to get captured coming into this operation....(when makoto asked sae very specifically about the interrogation room in the basement). it was really frustrating to watch the phantom thieves get set-up in the badlands of september/october, but it’s gonna make it even more satisfying when the phantom thieves outsmart their enemies (which they’re already largely have so far, and it’s GREAT!!!). shido and akechi are good villains, they’ll be satisfying to beat

because i’ve never beaten an persona game, i have no idea what to expect for the ending. are we gonna go all the way through march to finish the year? is it going to finish at school or something (??) or with a big final boss?? is the protag gonna leave after his year is up and (presumably) his name is cleared? i don’t expect the game to end in december after they take shido’s heart, because the cruise ship doesn’t really feel like a final dungeon, and i think akechi is gonna have more significance than they’re giving him right now. but idk, maybe i’m wrong! i’m kind of dreading the ending just because i want to keep planning heists and playing indefinitely, but if the ending’s anywhere near as satisfying as the whole plan to get joker captured, i’ll be happy. i’m gonna really miss the phantom thieves and the feeling i get while playing no matter what tho

[yuseirra]

Ohhh!! Yuu, are you interested in playing either Persona 1 or 2? That one reliable leaker for ATLUS/SEGA (the one who leaked tactica) mentioned it'll most likely be ported, if such a thing were to happen, would you be more likely to play it, even tho its fairly from different to 3-5? (I'm rather eager to play P2 for a long time now actually, since i really like the themes for that game!)

Hey Lia! have you been doing well? I am actually partially aware of the rumor, and I'm interested in both games! I haven't played P1 and P2 but I've enjoyed a lot of the songs from the PSP version of P1 (Voice, Dream of Butterfly, A Lone Prayer, School Days etc!) and I know a little bit of P2's lore because my brother's played it and I asked him if it was good. He enjoyed it. So I have a good impression of both games!

My bro actually, he's the one that's introduced me to this series although he doesn't play it any more himself... P3 is his favorite game of all time and He says Shin Megami Tensei 4 is great too, making its place in second place (and he's played a lot of games so that's a lot coming from him!!) and these games stem from the same roots, don't they? Persona's started out as a spinoff of SMT.. from what I heard, P2 is still a lot like SMT(?) in terms of the vibe it gives? And I'm interested in SMT 4 and P2 after hearing what kinds of stories it offers from my bro. It seemed to have some interesting ideas!

Speaking of which, I tried playing P5X last night, and I somehow have a huge hunch that it not only has to do with P5, but P3(in terms of the water themes of the velvet rooms and the main objective-how people are acting really similar to how apathy syndrome works. *p3 spoilers but* I actually feel P3's protagonist COULD make it back in a world like this in theory because people are deprived of every desire, even that of death- but at what cost;) and P2.. I think it's got to do with P2 somehow. you know how 2 and 5 looks a lil similar when it's flipped? and X looks exactly the same upside down or sideways, P5X's world could might as well be P5's world but mirrored. OR/AND be P2's world after the aftermaths of P2's storyline(?) a fake reality made out of the P2 hero's desires or sth.. IDK I named my P5X's hero tatsuya because they look quite similar lol and wouldn't it be cool if he actually turned out to be related to him? This game then, could end up being a bridge between old and new persona games.

I'm going to publish this because who knows if I get this right? XD

Have you played P3 lia? I love that game! ;v; Oh gosh.. I can't bring myself to finish it though, I'm really going to miss it when I do. Tell me your thoughts about it when you do because I'm back deep in again and I really love the message of this story. There's a lot I find lovely and I'm sure it's a story that could lift a lot of people's heart and soul (the opening song is beautiful!)

sincerely, yuseirra