*Blog post started on September 17th with a September 16, 2020 flashback.
Does work set you free? I am in the midst of a 12-day stint between both my banking and retail jobs, and I will say that there is not much on my mind because of it. The only stress is not being liquid right now and that HostGator decided to collect on the MainEventOfTheDead.com domain. The Sonic hot dog lunch yesterday and the Garcia's Pizza in a Pan Monday meal tasted far too good. Of course that taking up my remaining checking accounts' funds would come at a greater price.
With the apparent lack of interest in exploring my zombie pro-wrestling script, "Main Event of the Dead", (If this comedic B-Movie idea sounds interesting, request a treatment of the script by emailing russthebus07@gmail.com. I would also be happy to take advice on how to get this project out of development hell.), you think the wise thing would be to just let the renewal pass. But, the domain hosts my memorial to the best person I ever knew, Stacia Marie Hardin, which is still near the top of the Google search, so I cannot afford to lose that. If anything, I am more angry at myself for not tweeting out the link to pass on my numerous Twitter accounts on the 16th anniversary of her death to further promote her legacy.
I have already worked out how I will replenish my checking account to take care of my website expense. It just sucks saying goodbye to an NES Zapper that had some nostalgic value. When are we going to get "Duck Hunt" on the Nintendo Switch? That would be a better buy than "Super Mario 35".
On the topic of video games, a series that I have gotten into in the last decade was "Persona". It is the otaku in me, but I also think I like the turn-based RPGs over the action-based modern style. You can have my curiosity with a classic manga style. My attention will be earned with "Pokemon" battle rules.
Do I put a Monsieur Candie meme into this blog to drive the point home with that Tarantino tribute?
After about two hours of watching static characters tell the story before actual gameplay, finding out "Persona 4: The Animation" existed seemed like a time-saving purchase. Especially when I bought the entire series on clearance before the closing of the last Suncoast: The Motion Picture Store in Illinois.
It kind of feels nice that the exit is not on I-57. The time saved not being detoured in Joliet to visit flash shops is nice on me and my wallet.
Of course anime and video game adaptations are like movie and video game adaptations. Trying to appeal to a wider audience or create an actual narrative can ruin the adaptation for the fans and the audience. With "Persona 4" art seemingly captured exactly, surely this will be the exception to the rule.
 |
| All the Tropes - Persona 4: The Animation |
Persona 4: The Animation (Episodes 1 through 3)
Yu Narukami is seemingly your typical teenager from Tokyo. This makes him seemingly the most intriguing person in Inaba, a town in the Japanese countryside. His parents need to work abroad for the year, so they sent him to live with his uncle, Detective Ryotaro Dojima, and younger cousin Nanako.
All of Yu's classmates love to tell him about how he will need to deal with the boredom of a small town where nothing much happens, but that tranquility is disturbed as soon as he arrives. A television announcer is found dead by one of his fellow students. If that was not disturbing enough, students say they had seen her the previous night on the Midnight Channel. This is creepy because the rumor is that whoever you see on the channel, that only airs when it is raining (and being in a flood plane, that is very often.), is supposed to be your soulmate.
With this channel possibly being connected to a murder, everyone in the school is going to watch it the next time it airs. What is truly weird about this viewing is something draws Yu to try and touch the screen. When he does, his hand enters the picture. He tells of this experience to his new friends Chie and Yosuke, and they think if Yu can reach into the a small TV, imagine what they could do with a huge flat screen.
The trio determines that if they can reach the plane the Midnight Channel is on, they should be able to stop whatever killed the TV announcer. Their theory ends up being true, but with no weapons or training, they are only asking for trouble. Fortunately, Teddy the Bear Mascot cannot stand the shadows that are responsible for the deaths in the real world, so he provides the teens with glasses that allow them to see the truly twisted world they have entered where the enemies seem to be shadows of their world.
To escape, they will have to acknowledge who they truly are. To get to those revelations, they will need to rely on those who have passed the challenge and been granted Personas, giant warriors they control to fight their way through the bastardized Inaba.
"Persona 4: The Animation" is a beautifully drawn and animated feature with fun characters and an awesome soundtrack. There are issues, but if you are a fan of this franchise, you should enjoy it. Especially if the game has gotten you stumped via the challenge or the lengthiness of the nonplayable portions. I for one have never been a great gamer.
Its faults become apparent with a second watch. The story seems to get compacted into each half hour episode. Perhaps I just miss the exploration and this is just the cost of not randomly running into monsters. This is probably the most faithful adaptation of video game stories that I have seen.
The loyalty to the source material might turn off those who were intrigued by the look of the game, but are not fans of RPGs. This series operates on video game logic. Without playing games where random and nonsensical surprises occur (Thank you Mario, but the Princess is in another castle!), it might be difficult for the viewer to make sense of what is going on.
To remedy this, jump into "The Animation" like I did after obtaining the first two Personas in the game. Since we are living in the time of season box sets, the other 11 episodes will assure you that you have not wasted your money. Beyond the video game elements' impact on the anime, I love everything else about this series. The soundtrack does not even sound repetitive, provided you like playing video games. If you do, it makes perect sense.
"Persona 4: The Animation" does video game adaptations right, but if you are not a gaming nut, it will take you a bit of patience to truly appreciate the series. The classically designed characters and rocking soundtrack, it does quite a lot to encourage the viewer to stick around, but you cannot watch this series with a stop and go approach. This is a binge probably meant for the less talented gamers, but a binge I think anyone can come away from happy, and be pumped for "Persona 5".
No comments:
Post a Comment