Anime Review: Persona 4 - The Animation

The phrase ‘anime adaption of a video game’ has had a checkered past. Given how loved Persona 4 is, there was every possibility that the anime would fail to live up to the hype at all, if for no other reason than that comparisons between media will by nature split fans. Thankfully, the series was run by AIC ASTA who brought us the phenomenal Ah! My Goddess and classic Tenchi Universe series. The pressure of this pedigree appears to have pushed the team into making something far better than it could realistically have been expected to be.

The large but colourful and well-rounded cast ensure that the story is never without suitable foils to play off, and in turn the animation has a certain slickness to it that lends itself to this type of tale and shines in particular in the well-paced action scenes. For the most part, the series presents itself as a serious (and more than a little dark) action series, but throws in some comedy at suitable times to lighten the mood. In fact, for a short period, the series jumps into comedy overdrive and focuses on this side of the story for a few episodes before leaping headlong back into the main story.

Of course, the series does have one lingering problem. The lead character is more than a little bland. In the games, he is a silent character and is no doubt designed as such to help the player immerse themselves in the world. Here though, he struggles to stand out against his far more interesting colleagues and, without the interactive element, this remains a constant throughout the 26 episodes. Don’t let that put you off though! The overall quality of the show ensure that this is a thoroughly enjoyable adaption and more than worthy of the Persona 4 name!

Rating: 5/5

→ Full review (on Matt Doyle Media)