@mutha3 said:

@thehexeditor said:

It was WAY too fast paced for a first episode. I hope they slow things down later..

My thoughts exactly.

Now I don't fault them at all for trying to cut P4's lengthy opening sequence short-- after all, this is an anime, and that kind of story telling wouldn''t have worked

That being said, even as someone who played the original game, I had a hard time following what was going on. The scenes jumped around like crazy, Chie, Yosuke and Charlie accepted what was going around them WAY too fast and I think they completely failed in showing off Dojima and Nanako's dysfunctional relationship. I think if they had 5 extra minutes, they could have made the scenes flow into each other more elegantly and adress some of the rather important plot points they've skipped over.

The show looks very nice visually, though, and the Izanagi sequence was pretty damn badass. I dug it, but I'm not sure if its good to watch for anyone who isn't a P4 fan.

Agree with everything you said. Call me selfish but I don't care about the people who are coming into this new. To me this is pure crack cocaine fan service, plain and simple- HOOK IT TO MY VEINS.

We're getting 25 more episodes of this. I'm feeling pretty happy right now; let's all be jerks together.

@thehexeditor: Only 24 more episodes.

I think this anime exists solely to sell the upcoming Vita port.

@Bocam said:

@thehexeditor: Only 24 more episodes.

I think this anime exists solely to sell the upcoming Vita port.

Doh, I was just about to edit my post, yeah.

I know, yeah, so much pandering in this episode to players of the game, but I am fine with it.

Pacing aside, that was actually a really awesome first episode. Really liked the day transitions/other game bits and the animation is nice.

I really can't tell if I find it totally awesome due to the music and it being Persona 4 or because it's actually good.

@Cloudenvy said:

I really can't tell if I find it totally awesome due to the music and it being Persona 4 or because it's actually good.

Meh, let's throw objectivity out the window here. We're not professional critics, just Funky Student enthusiasts.

@Bocam said:

@thehexeditor: Only 24 more episodes.

I think this anime exists solely to sell the upcoming Vita port.

That seems like plenty time for me to do P4's story justice.

.....I suppose them getting the introduction out of the way is sign that they're not going to be as blandly faithful as the manga,(which only redeeming features was the highly detailed. well drawn art of the Personas themselves)

I agree on the VITA thing, though. Especially since it seems like Mary will apparantly make an appearance in the show.

@thehexeditor said:

@Cloudenvy said:

I really can't tell if I find it totally awesome due to the music and it being Persona 4 or because it's actually good.

Meh, let's throw objectivity out the window here. We're not professional critics, just Funky Student enthusiasts.

So true

Lol, I love Chie's voice actress. I think I might pick up the Japanese version of P4G when it's released in Japan. I would have liked to see more of Nanako and Adachi, but at the pace they're going, it wouldn't have fit. I enjoyed it and while not perfect, it could have been a lot worse!

As for people who haven't played the game not keeping up with the story, it all made sense to me. Of course I just started my New Game +++ so.... yeah... heh

@Starclopsofish said:

Lol, I love Chie's voice actress. I think I might pick up the Japanese version of P4G when it's released in Japan. I would have liked to see more of Nanako and Adachi, but at the pace they're going, it wouldn't have fit. I enjoyed it and while not perfect, it could have been a lot worse!

As for people who haven't played the game not keeping up with the story, it all made sense to me. Of course I just started my New Game +++ so.... yeah... heh

"It could have been a lot worse" is a scary thought, sends chills up my spine..

We should be grateful for what we got here. Imagine a parallel universe where they got everything wrong

I don't think my heart could take it!

I really do hope that those stats you see in the commercial breaks change how the main character acts. I mean, right now he's pretty flat. But by the end he could be come like a complete asshole, strong headed or a dirty smooth talker, or a mix in the middle of the show.

Otherwise, jesus, they're really booking the events of the game. I do hope it slows down some.

Not sure how non-P4 fans will react to the anime, but as a fan, I thought it was pretty cool. So many cool throwbacks to the game.

I wasn't as offended by the Japanese voices as I thought I'd be. I'd still love to hear it dubbed by the game's English voice cast, though.

@mutha3 said:

@Bocam said:

@thehexeditor: Only 24 more episodes.

I think this anime exists solely to sell the upcoming Vita port.

That seems like plenty time for me to do P4's story justice.

.....I suppose them getting the introduction out of the way is sign that they're not going to be as blandly faithful as the manga,(which only redeeming features was the highly detailed. well drawn art of the Personas themselves)

I agree on the VITA thing, though. Especially since it seems like Mary will apparantly make an appearance in the show.

I think that, judging by the first episode at least, the anime is really hitting the right mix of faithfulness to the source material and the necessity to adapt for a different format. It hit all of the most important story beats up to this point, yet is condensing elements so that they don't take as long. I have a friend that seriously had doubts as to whether or not they'd manage to fit Izanami in.

I have a feeling later episodes will not be going at such a breakneck pace, it reaaaaalllllyyyyy feels like they just wanted to get to Yu summoning Izanagi for the first time into the first episode. Also, thanks AN translation team for giving us bear puns instead of a verbal tic.

Chie mentioning her "mouth for meat". Yosuke wondering what the heck that's supposed to mean. Chie telling him that it means what it means.

Their quibbling seems softer, more husband and wife instead of brother and sister, than I remember.

Chie holding Yosuke by the waist from behind (it looks like she's humping him) and falling into the TV.

Gentlemen, what is going on here?

Yeah, just finished watching and I agree that it was very fast paced. A day would end and transition into the next when it wasn't even night time and scenes would just cut abruptly into a next one. One particular moment was when mere seconds after encountering Teddie, when Chie, Yosuke and Yu are suspicious of Teddie and vice versa, Teddie immediately gives Yu glasses to aid him in that world as if he fully trusts him. Also, I knew about it before but I really find that "-kuma" suffix irritating and it will be painful to deal with when he becomes a more significant presence in later episodes. 
 
I enjoyed it overall. Probably because I'm a fan of the original game, though. I wonder how my opinions would change had I watched this without knowing what Persona 4 was. The scene when Chie asks Yu to stop Yosuke from peeing, Yu looking at her and saying "Eh? Why?" and her blank stare afterwards was funny and the battle at the end was fun to watch. I look forward to the next episode, but I do hope the pace slows down a bit. Covering 60-80 hours of a game in 25 episodes is understandably tough, and it's only natural that we'll see more story modifications like we did with the 1st battle scene, but it's a bit hard keeping up with everything.

Really dug the first episode animation was kick ass and i loved the fight scene It did move a little fast but i think i would rather have it that way than it take 4 episodes to get his persona.

It was very brisk, but Persona games can get a little laborious at times with their pacing. I think the introduction was fine, although I will agree that its hard to judge completely subjectively as someone who has played the game.

I would be interested to read the opinions of those who haven't played P4, although is that even an audience at this point?

I'm looking forward to see the story with a different spin on it, namely if they bother with love interests and trying to fit in many (if any) of the S-Links outside the party.

...Was it the English dub that changed the Junes theme or is this wholesale just a difference with the Anime? I know that the music wasn't changed in game between regions (answering my own question there) but that seemed a bit odd.

@punisherkaos said:

Really dug the first episode animation was kick ass and i loved the fight scene It did move a little fast but i think i would rather have it that way than it take 4 episodes to get his persona.

There is a happy balance to be found between "show the game's opening unchanged" and "rush through the game's opening hours skipping important plot points" y'know:P

That reminds me, isn't there going to be like a director''s cut release of the first episode?

I understand the time constraint they would have been under due to being a tv show 'n all, but still..... Hope Yosuke and Chie's shadow aren't getting the shaft due to rushed pacing....

@WatanabeKazuma said:

...Was it the English dub that changed the Junes theme or is this wholesale just a difference with the Anime? I know that the music wasn't changed in game between regions (answering my own question there) but that seemed a bit odd.

Nah, that was Atlus USA's handiwork.

I am very thankful Sentai at least gave Teddie the proper sub. treatment.

5 stats X 5 levels = 25 episodes :)

@WatanabeKazuma: Trailers have shown some of the S. Link characters will appear, but it's hard to say if any significant time will be spent with them or if they'll just be cameos.

5 stats X 5 levels = 25 episodes :)

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Starclopsofish said:

5 stats X 5 levels = 25 episodes :)

Except I don't think any of his stats went up in the first episode.

I'm pretty sure at the very end all of his stats maxed out. That look he was giving Yosuke was plain scary.

@FluxWaveZ said:

@Starclopsofish said:

5 stats X 5 levels = 25 episodes :)

Except I don't think any of his stats went up in the first episode.

Are you kidding? His courage just shot up from rank 1 to rank 5 right here.

This is so very surreal to me. Fun but man oh man...

Edit: Huh, I liked that better then I thought I would. Really interested in where's it's going now.

Ok I approve of this series. Loved it when THAT happened, so much.

I hope it materializes in a non-streaming form shortly so I can watch it without droping 1/3 of the frames- the battle scene was a slideshow for me.

@Hailinel said:

@WatanabeKazuma: Trailers have shown some of the S. Link characters will appear, but it's hard to say if any significant time will be spent with them or if they'll just be cameos.

Yep, I was thinking the same. I don't think I would use many of them truth be told; I don't see how they could fit them in this format. They would otherwise seem like perfect filler material but that's not really an issue, the story is plenty long for 25 episodes.

@AxleStukov: I can only begin to imagine the still frames people are going to grab from these episodes!

Just watched this a few minutes ago. So far this is pretty kickass, I'm gonna stick through with this one.

Hard to tell since I have played a ton of the game (finished my fourth play through this morning) but did the tone seem a bit more like a horror show to anyone else? Also I'm kinda worried the the fights will be cluster fucks later one when more people have persona.

@FluxWaveZ said:

It was a bit like this in Persona 4, but I like how Yu actually looks evil here. I'd like for every character to seem like that when they first summon their Personas.

When he takes off the jacket and the Charlie Tunoku(TM) popped collar showed up.

I forgave this episode for all its faults.

@thehexeditor said:

It was WAY too fast paced for a first episode. I hope they slow things down later..

That's partially the fault of the game. The intro to Persona 4 (as well as the game as a whole) has so much needless exposition and redundant dialogue that in order to cut it down to a length acceptable for an anime, it's going to feel rushed in comparison. If the anime didn't make any cuts, the first episode would have ended before the first day of school, and the episode would have been really boring and uneventful.

But yeah, when the first few riffs of Reach out to the Truth started up at the ending scene, I was going "FUCK YEAH!".

I think they did the best they could considering the time constraints - I mean if you add up all the dialogue, cutscenes, real-time scenes, and social links (without even considering dungeon crawling) you're probably looking at like 20 hours. Starting with Yukiko's Castle, there are 8 dungeons, so if they use the next episode for Yosuke and Chie getting their personas, that leaves less than 3 episodes per dungeon.

I really do wish they'd slow down a bit, but I don't think its feasible. I thought the first episode was quite good though.

@Juno500 said:

@thehexeditor said:

It was WAY too fast paced for a first episode. I hope they slow things down later..

That's partially the fault of the game. The intro to Persona 4 (as well as the game as a whole) has so much needless exposition and redundant dialogue that in order to cut it down to a length acceptable for an anime, it's going to feel rushed in comparison. If the anime didn't make any cuts, the first episode would have ended before the first day of school, and the episode would have been really boring and uneventful.

That redundant dialogue mostly takes up the middle portions of P4. The opening is actually mostly pretty important stuff.

I think they could have stricken a better balance than we ended up getting.

Since it's pretty obvious that they're going the full story route and will be weaving the true ending into this, I wonder how they'll go about it. The pacing of the show seems to indicate that a letter on the last day of the game prompting further investigation isn't exactly the best choice.

@Hailinel:

I have a feeling a lot of the "investigation" parts of the game will be done in montage format.

@mutha3 said:

@Juno500 said:

@thehexeditor said:

It was WAY too fast paced for a first episode. I hope they slow things down later..

That's partially the fault of the game. The intro to Persona 4 (as well as the game as a whole) has so much needless exposition and redundant dialogue that in order to cut it down to a length acceptable for an anime, it's going to feel rushed in comparison. If the anime didn't make any cuts, the first episode would have ended before the first day of school, and the episode would have been really boring and uneventful.

That redundant dialogue mostly takes up the middle portions of P4. The opening is actually mostly pretty important stuff.

I think they could have stricken a better balance than we ended up getting.

I feel like they hit all the important events from the opening and cut a lot of the fat that wasn't needed.

Everyday young life, Junes?

THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN!!!!

As soon as that fight music kicked in, I was 110% on board. That was good stuff. This show will have amazing transitions to say the least.

@damswedon said:

Everyday young life, Junes?

THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN!!!!

It means greatness!

I am so glad that Teddie/Kuma doesn't have the "-kuma" verbal tic. Bear puns for life!

@Cloudenvy said:

I feel like they hit all the important events from the opening and cut a lot of the fat that wasn't needed.

I dunno, maybe cutting out stuff like Charlie walking through a labyrinth in his nightmare, or them sloooowwllly going though the everyday life of Inaba by clueing us in on Rumor loving students deep insights was a wise decision...after all, unlike the game, immersion isn't nearly as important here.

But lets say you've never played the game-- how the hell are you supposed to know what the room in the beggining is about? Why are the characters so quickly accepting of being chucked into an alternate dimension? What insight into Dojima/ Nanako's characters are you given at this point beyond "yo man this is Yu's uncle/niece and Dojima works for the police in some capacity"? At that point in the game, you'd been introduced to the strained relationship the two have and you'd experienced Nanako's restrained and unnaturally mature personality...in the anime so far, all we've gotten out of her is "EVERY DAY YOUNG LIFE JUNESU".

Of course, a lot of the character stuff not brought up yet could be explored in later episodes, but the entire thing just didn't flow properly at all. Conversations felt half-finished, the story would just skip a day without a proper transition....Nah, I strongly disagree. The pacing was off.

@damswedon said:

Everyday young life, Junes?

THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN!!!!

LOL!

Are you not familiar with Persona music? It rarely makes sense, and its all the better for it!

@Starclopsofish said:

@Hailinel:

I have a feeling a lot of the "investigation" parts of the game will be done in montage format.

You mean where they have to find out something about the character so that Teddie/Rise can find the victim?

Better idea is just to cut them entirely. I never liked those parts of the game.

I think Chie's Japanese voice is better than her English one and they're doing a good job with the music so far. I also think the style of the preview was cool too. Overall good times were had.

@InfiniteGeass said:

I think Chie's Japanese voice is better than her English one

What?! Where is this coming from? I just saw someone else say that in another thread too.

May I remind you of this little nugget...

Aha, is this our chance?

Let see how fast he'll increase his stats.

@WatanabeKazuma said:

@InfiniteGeass said:

I think Chie's Japanese voice is better than her English one

What?! Where is this coming from? I just saw someone else say that in another thread too.

May I remind you of this little nugget...

Aha, is this our chance?

Unfortunately, they don't give out bonus points for bad line readings.

Man, even Anime Network likes Chie: http://twitpic.com/6w67i8