What’s the show? PERSONA 5 the Animation, Episode 2.
So how’s this video game adaptation going for you? Well…
Oh, bad news is it? I wouldn’t go as far as say ‘bad news’ just disappointing news.
Well go on. I still love the story and characters of this game and by extension this anime and the stuff outside in the real world is as strong if not even better than the game. But the stuff in the ‘cognitive world’ known as “Palace’s” is a lot worse.
Oh, how so? Well maybe I’m biased because I genuinely didn’t enjoy the gameplay of the game (or at least, I didn’t enjoy how much of it there was and how similar feeling it felt). But here it just feels like watching someone play the game, and as much as the flashy visuals worked in the game, they just feel so lazily imported here. Like after the first large battle with Kamoshida’s henchman, there’s almost exactly the same stylised black and red splash screens you’d get in the game after defeating an enemy just minus the stats of levelling up. And not only does it somehow look worse than the game it just doesn’t make any sense for it to appear except for it being an homage to the game.
But does it harm the show in any meaningful way? I think it’s just unnecessary. I’m hoping it’s a one-off homage but I get a bad feeling they’re going to do it with every encounter throughout the show. I think an adaptation of a game should feel more like a TV show and take advantage of the strengths of the medium rather than flat out copy/paste the visuals of the game.
So you’ve gone cold on the show? I wouldn’t say completely, sure it’s an annoyance but I still want to see this adaptation in its entirety. And I’m still keenly looking forward to the other characters being introduced. Besides, compared to the game where you spend way more time in the “Palace’s” than in the real world, the balance seems more favourably skewed toward the ‘real world’ parts in the anime—which is preferred and appreciated!
Anything else? Oh and Morgana’s finally been properly introduced and he’s as cute and charismatic as ever!
So, still recommend it then? Sure, I mean maybe these issues will only affect people who play the game, or maybe nobody has these issues, I don’t know! Either way, if you’re still not sure, I’d say give this show a go because the story is still progressing in a positive way!
I feel like if they just let Ishihama go nuts and direct it however he wanted to, the anime could be pretty amazing… but they’re not gonna do that, because of the brand.
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