Persona 5: The Animation

Persona 5: The Animation, stylized as PERSONA5 the Animation, is an anime television series produced by CloverWorks based on the video game Persona 5 by Atlus. The anime series is directed by Masashi Ishihama and written by Shinichi Inozume, with Tomomi Ishikawa adapting Shigenori Soejima's original character designs for the animation. Atlus employee Kazuma Kaneko created the original demon designs, while music composer Shoji Meguro reprised his role from the game. The series follows high schooler Ren Amamiya (Joker), the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, whose mission is to reform the hearts of corrupted adults in Shibuya using a mysterious phone application called the Metaverse Navigator.

The 26-episode series aired in Japan between April and September 2018, followed by four special episodes; one aired in December 2018, a second in March 2019, and two more releases bundled with the Blu-Ray releases in May and June 2019. Additionally, an animated television special by A-1 Pictures, The Day Breakers, aired prior to the game's Japanese release in September 2016. The series is licensed by Sony's Aniplex of America in North America and Crunchyroll Store Australia in Australia.

Plot

Ren Amamiya, a high school student, is sent to Tokyo on probation after being falsely accused of assault while trying to stop a crime. While attending Shujin Academy and living under the care of Sojiro Sakura, Ren discovers a mysterious smartphone app that transports him to the Metaverse, a supernatural world formed from the distorted desires of corrupt individuals. There, he awakens a power known as a Persona, which allows him to fight hostile entities known as Shadows.

Ren is joined by other students who have also been wronged by society, and together they form the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Their goal is to enter the Metaverse, infiltrate the Palaces created by corrupt adults, and steal the source of those individuals' distorted desires, causing them to confess their crimes in the real world. As the Phantom Thieves gain popularity, a series of mysterious incidents and crimes begin occurring across Tokyo, drawing the attention of authorities and a prosecutor named Sae Niijima, who interrogates Ren about the Phantom Thieves and their activities.

Voice cast

While most of the voice cast from the original game reprise their roles, several voice actors from the original game were replaced. In the Japanese dub, Miyu Matsuki and Kazunari Tanaka, the voice actors of Chihaya Mifune and Junya Kaneshiro respectively, died in 2015 and 2016, so they were recast by Haruka Terui and Takahiro Fujimoto. In the English dub, Shinya Oda is voiced by Eden Riegel (who also voices Hifumi Togo), rather than Barbara Goodson.

Production

The anime television special The Day Breakers was announced in September 2015 during Atlus' stage event at the Tokyo Game Show.[4] In July 2016, the title of the special was revealed as Persona 5: The Animation – The Day Breakers with Takaharu Ozaki as the director, Shinichi Inozume as writer, Toshiyuki Yahagi and Keita Matsumoto as the character designers and A-1 Pictures as the studio. It premiered on September 3, 2016,[5] with a runtime of 24 minutes on Tokyo MX, later airing on GTV, GYT and BS11.[6][7] Aniplex of America licensed the special in North America in October 2016.[8]

The 26-episode anime television series adaptation was announced in July 2017 for a 2018 premiere, with CloverWorks animating the series.[11] The anime series is directed by Masashi Ishihama and written by Inozume, and features adapted character and demon designs from the game by Tomomi Ishikawa and Kazuma Kaneko, respectively.[12] The soundtrack was written by the game's original lead composer Shoji Meguro, who wrote both new material and arranged music from the game. Lyn performs the series' opening and ending themes; the opening themes are "Break In to Break Out" (episode 1–13) and "Dark Sun" (episode 14–26), while the ending themes are "Infinity" (episodes 2–13), "Found a Light" (episode 8), and "Autonomy" (episode 14–26).[13][14] The series aired on Tokyo MX and other networks from April 7 to September 30, 2018.[15] The first half of the epilogue to the series, titled Dark Sun..., aired on December 30, 2018.[16] A second TV special, titled Stars and Ours and listed as the second half of the epilogue, was aired on March 23, 2019.[17][18] Two final special episodes were announced to be included as extras with the 11th and 12th Blu-Ray/DVD volumes of the series.[19]

Aniplex of America has also licensed the series in North America with Crunchyroll simulcasting it.[20] Aniplex of America released the complete series on Blu-ray on September 29, 2020, including an English dub with the cast from the game reprising their roles.[3] Despite the release of Blu-ray, the English dub was available early on August 18 as digital release exclusively on Funimation, which all 26 episodes including 2 special episodes available on that date. Anime Limited acquired the home video and digital rights to the series for the United Kingdom.[21] As of April 2023, the series, along with other anime titles licensed by Anime Limited are currently available on ITV's streaming service ITVX.

Madman Entertainment released the series in Australia and New Zealand.[22]

Episodes

Reception

Joe Ballard from CBR praised the anime for the portrayal of the characters that stays true to the original game. However, he criticized the pacing as it doesn't allow the time for those character developments to truly affect the audience. He also criticized how most of the female characters are subjected to excess fan service moments. He finds the shots from purposely sexualized camera angles are unnecessary and demeaning, stating that "it feels like a slap in the face to their personal struggles, especially considering one of the palace storylines revolves around physical and sexual abuse and the resulting mental health struggles."[25] Megan Gudman from the same site praised the anime for bringing back Lyn and Shoji Meguro's music and the expansion of Ren and Akechi's relationship, but criticized the dull animation and its poor handling of the Confidant characters.[26] USGamer criticized Joker's relatively silent personality in the anime adaptation, negatively comparing him to the more talkative Yu Narukami in Persona 4: The Animation.[27]

See also

• Persona 5 (manga)

External links