Shadow’s Impression
Aaaaand we’re back to terrible pacing. I was given a glimmer of hope with episode 5 but I guess this series just can’t decide on its pacing. Granted, the pacing isn’t as bad as the Kamoshida arc but that’s probably because there wasn’t as much content to cram into this arc. But despite the pacing problems, I did enjoy this episode. Though it’s probably just me being biased because it was a very Yusuke centered episode, heh.
Anyways, the team infiltrates Madarame’s palace only to be stopped by a high security barrier that can’t be undone in the Metaverse. Looks like they’ll need to infiltrate Madarame’s real place to get through… with having Ann have to go nude lol. We also get a quick introduction to yet another future confidant, Ohya. I wonder how the anime will handle her, since she’s unanimously known as being the worst confidant in the game. (though I wouldn’t know first hand since I never got to her confidant, whoops)
Now this next part KILLED me in the game, with Ann going in to model for Yusuke, only to find that she was wearing an absurd amount of clothes to stall for time and so she wouldn’t really have to go nude. It wasn’t as well constructed in the episode but it was still funny as crud as I did end up laughing out loud at how the intimate music just kind of died when it showed Ann in all of those clothes. Not to mention it was hilarious seeing Yusuke get flustered over it and him telling himself he’s doing this for art. Oh, you pure and precious baby~ Ann throwing her bra over to where he could see had me giggling pretty hard, especially the added nervous heartbeats from Yusuke. Ann just upright disappearing from the room when Yusuke turns around was also pretty hilarious. His immediate response being, “you were wearing all this?”. Not even “where did she go?!”. I love this guy so much XD.
As the two were having that weird episode, Morgana was busy trying to unpick the lock on the door that would open up the security in the Metaverse. But the biggest hurdle was that Madarame had to see them do this or else it wouldn’t matter. Thankfully, Madarame came back just before Ann could pull off her last shirt and she then pulled Yusuke into the room with her once Morgana got it open, successfully opening up the security in the Metaverse. Inside the room, Yusuke and Ann discover various copies of the Sayuri painting, which was supposedly stolen by one of Madarame’s previous pupils. And to save face, Madarame claims that he was just trying to scrounge up money to help him through his slump. While I did appreciate showing some close ups of Madarame to show that he was putting on a show, it was definitely over the top and a tad bit unnecessary. Yusuke seemed to fall for it but Ann was unconvinced and that theory was proven correctly when the real Sayuri painting was revealed.
After demanding to know the truth, Madarame calls his security on them. I actually really liked this scene of where Ann rounds the corner and immediately tries to escape through the Metaverse, only for Yusuke to appear by her side just as the app was activated, pulling him in too. I also have a confession. As weird and unpopular as it is, I really ship Yusuke and Ann together and not for the typical reasons. But the moment that honestly made me start shipping them was when they fall into the Metaverse and Yusuke catches her bridal style and breaks their fall like a freaking knight in shining armor. I don’t choose the ship, the ship chooses me and this ship definitely appealed to me at this moment lol. And I do appreciate that Ann didn’t push Yusuke away like she did in the game and he just ended up letting go when Morgana fell on him.
And then the man behind the palace appears in his gaudy clothes, gracing the thieves with his presence. They really decided to bump up the emotional impact for Yusuke in this scene, now didn’t they? That’s probably one of the things I enjoyed in this episode. After having the revelation of Madarame’s terrible actions thrown in his face all at once, you can just see the emotional turmoil Yusuke is going through. Though t may just be me who has grown to love Yusuke after playing the game and I’m not sure if this scene would be as impactful to someone who is just an anime-only viewer. My bias glasses are on a little too tight since this anime literally just gives me scraps to work with. However, seeing child Yusuke gave me so much life. UGH PRECIOUS CHILD. PROTECT THAT PRECIOUS SMILE AT ALL COSTS.
I’m also a little bit impressed by the more dynamic fight scene they had in here. Instead of the usual Pokemon game battle sequence of having their Personas attack one at a time, we actually see them utilize the gun and regular weapons they have to fight, which was a really nice change of pace. But the camera movement felt really shaky and wasn’t catching the action very well. Though coming off of watching My Hero Academia and Kiznaiver, they still need to work on shot composition, which may be a little unfair since those two shows are known for having great cinematography and animation.
I actually really liked the change they did for the pre-Yusuke awakening scene. It felt a lot more personal and hurtful to have Madarame say all these terrible things to him right to his face. And seeing his pained expressions as he thought back to the kind Madarame to the foul Madarame who is laughing in his face just pained my heart. He even started crying QAQ. Now THAT felt like a great change and it just stabs you in the feels real hard. And that slap to the face literally just topped off the emotional sundae. The awakening scene was alright. It felt a little too fast with the emotions though. There were some interesting add-ons but the shot composition continues to be lacking that could have made the scene even better. I felt like it needed better camera movement to emphasize the drama of the scene. But man do I like watching Yusuke fight and I eagerly await his contribution to the Madarame fight. What I do miss from the game is when Yusuke notices his outfit had changed after a long period of time. A missed opportunity of Yusuke’s quirkiness if you ask me.
I really do enjoy how they talk about codenames outside of the Metaverse instead of just dropping those right before the mission. Ah, the infamous “Inari” has been dropped. For anime-onlys, keep that name in the back of your mind. It will pop up later. I do like how it was Ann who finalized Yusuke’s codename, heh. I also thought it was hilarious how Yusuke flawlessly got them through the painting puzzle and wonders how they weren’t able to solve it on their own.
Yusuke has officially joined the team and I can’t be happier. No… that’s a lie. There is another party member I eagerly await for. THEN I will be completely happy. But anyways, this episode’s pacing was still weird, but it’s better than the first four episodes. So, progress, I guess? Got lots of Yusuke x Ann feels in this episode. I love how concerned she is about him throughout the episode and is the first one to officially welcome him into the group (even saying his first name). Now, the main reason I ship these two is because of how emotionally supportive Ann is of Yusuke throughout his arc and even into his confidant route in the game. She does her best to help him and it’s such a gift to see the anime kind of focus on it a little.
I think one of the biggest things that is still bothering me is why the heck does Ren have less of a personality than Yu in Persona 4??? There’s almost nothing to his personality and he only speaks to move the plot along. At least Yu showed a bit of quirkiness and used his deadpan personality as a joke in certain cases. Even in the game, Ren shows more sassiness and personality. Come on anime, give the boy more qualities!
