Otaku's Corner

Persona 4 the Animation Review - This Time, You Should Watch the Dub

Annabel Zeng

Warning, this review may contain M (for mature) stuff that, may or may not, trigger you. Please be aware that not everything I say will be appropriate for you, so read with caution.

Now, I said in the last review that I wouldn’t do anime, but this is a bit of an exception, as I’ve been watching a lot of playthroughs of Persona. I’ve never had a PlayStation before, but I became interested in the series when Joker came into Smash. And, now that Persona 4 Golden is on PC, I can play it! Well, when I can set it up. (Maybe I’ll review the game once I actually play it).

For starters, Persona is part of the greater Shin Megumi Tensei franchise, created by Atlus which produced many mainstream games and spin offs. Persona, nowadays, is often seen as its own thing, but it remains true to its roots.

Persona 4 is probably the first Persona, or Shin Megumi Tensei game, that many people played. Coming off of the darker and more mature Persona 3, Persona 4 had a vibe to it that seemed more colourful and inviting. It is still pretty dark, considering the story is a murder mystery, but it’s a pretty fun ride.

We begin in the Velvet Room with a pointy nosed man named Igor and a woman named Margaret. Igor tells us that our fate will depend on our actions during the next year and that we must stay wary.

The story set off on April 11, 2011, with the protagonist, Yu Narukami, going to stay with his uncle Ryotaro Dojima and his cousin Nanako in the small, small town of Inaba for one whole year. On his first night in town, Yu has a strange dream of summoning a humanoid-like thing, fog, and a mysterious voice.

At school, Yu meets city boy, Yosuke Hanamura, the Kung Fu enthusiast, Chie Satonaka, and teenage innkeeper Yukiko Amagi. And, what do you know? They are all in the same class.

Rumours of the “Midnight Channel” are spreading throughout the school. If that wasn’t enough, after her alleged affair with Taro Namatame, Mayumi Yamano, a famous TV announcer, was killed and her body found by Saki Konishi on a TV antenna. Mayumi was stated to have been shown on the Midnight Channel. Yu, Yosuke and Chie decide to try out the Midnight Channel for themselves.

At midnight, at home, Yu tries out the Midnight Channel for himself. And what do you know? It works! He sees a young figure on the TV. When he tries to reach out to it his hand is sucked into the TV! He tries to go into the TV, but considering how small it is, he gets thrown out. The next day, Yu tells all this to Yosuke and Chie, but they dismiss it as a joke.

Chie, with the talk of TVs, asks Yosuke if they can go to Junes and buy a TV. At Junes, the three of them look around at the TVs. Yu, remembering the power he had during Midnight, tries to stick his hand into the TV. And, what do you know? It works. This shocks both Chie and Yosuke, and, to make matters a tad bit worse, Yu decides to enter the TV with the other two following along.

The three of them end up in the TV world, a place shrouded in fog. While searching around, they find a room with a bunch of ripped posters and noose with a scarf attached. Yosuke freaks out so the gang decides to leave. This; however, is a fatal mistake, as that makes them more lost in the TV world. They end up in a place resembling an apartment complex. Suddenly, they are being attacked by monsters called Shadows. Remembering what Igor had said to him in the Velvet Room, Yu summons his persona, Izanagi, one of the creator gods of Japan.

This was the summary of Episode 1 and, MAN, does a lot of stuff happen here. I would like to analyse everything, but that would spoil a lot and I want you to experience this for yourself. So I’ll be only listing things that aren’t relevant to the plot.

Let’s start out with the music, oh, THE MUSIC! Most of the music is taken from the game’s soundtrack (LINK HERE). And it is amazing! Sadly, I can’t find the opening and ending on Spotify, but let me tell you they are amazing. I would highly recommend listening to the soundtrack, as they have great vocals and a spectacular melody.

Next, let’s get to the English dub cast. Why the English dub? Well, if you’ve ever played Persona 4 or Golden, you mainly have heard the characters speaking English. Johnny Yong Bosch does an amazing job as Yu, having a deep voice that exudes Yu’s blank personality. The same can be said about Yosuke’s voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal. Yuri was always meant to be Yosuke, as he plays the comic relief character effectively. Last but not least, we have Erin Fitzgerald as Chie. At first, most people didn’t like her voice because it is very, very loud, but over time people started to get used to it. As for me, I like it. It’s very “genki” and also very fitting of Chie.

So that concludes my review of Persona 4 (the first episode at least). Next time, we are about to get crazy!

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