Persona 4 (Anime)

Persona 4 the animation is a Japanese television anime series based on the Shin Megami Tensei PS2 Persona 4 video game by Atlus. Produced by AIC A.S.T.A., and directed by Seiji Kishi, the series revolves around Yu Narukami, a second year high school student from a city who moves to Inaba to live there for a year with his uncle and little cousin. After acquiring a mysterious power called "Persona", he embarks on a journey with his new friends to uncover the truth behind a bizarre series of murders involving the distorted TV World, as well as a phenomenon called the "Midnight Channel". The series aired in Japan on October 6, 2011 to March 29, 2012. An additional 26th episode, featuring the story's true ending, was released on the 10th DVD/BD volume on August 22, 2013. Sentai Filmworks licensed the series in North America, simulcasting it on Anime Network as it aired. The series was release on DVD, and Blu-ray in two collective volumes on September 18, 2012 and January 15, 2013.

Plot
Inside a limousine, Igor, and his assistant Margaret, introduce themselves to the unseen visitor, and explain the nature of their location, the Velvet Room, a place that exists between "dream and reality". Igor mentions something special is in store for their guest.

Yu Narukami arrives by train to the rural city of Inaba, where he will be living with his detective uncle and cousin for a year, beginning classes at Yasogami High School the following day. Someone who cuts class soon discovers the corpse television announcer Mayumi Yamano hanging from a television aerial, and a crime scene of this murder is later investigated. Yu goes out with Yosuke Hanamura and Chie Satonaka to Junes, a department store Yosuke's father manages, to celebrate their friendship. Chie brings up the Midnight Channel, a strange "television show" that appears on rainy nights. The three later meet Saki Konishi there as well. Back at home, an interview is shown on the news about a girl who had witnessed the murder. As it later rains during the night, Yu feels a strange ambiance as it tries to pull him into the television, but he manages to free himself. Although relaying this event to Chie and Yosuke the next day yet dismissing it as a dream, they head to the store Junes to see what will happen on a widescreen television. The news shows that Saki was actually the one being interviewed, and as Yu touches the television, he starts to pass through. Yosuke, out of shock, accidentally knocks the three of them into the television, where they enter a world shrouded by fog. They find a room with a noose and encounter an anthropomorphic bear named Teddie, who hands Yu a pair of glasses allowing him to see through the fog. Suddenly, they are attacked by creatures known as Shadows. Just as the group are pinned down, Yu's power awakens as he summons his Persona named Izanagi to defeat the Shadows.

In the Velvet Room, Igor and Margaret present a key to their guest, welcoming him to return whenever he wishes. Margaret also reveals the guest's Persona is a Wild Card, providing infinite possibilities.

Yu, Yosuke, and Chie return to their world, thanks to Teddie. The next day, Yukiko Amagi rejects a disturbed student's request for a date. Yosuke wants to take Saki to see a movie, but an assembly is called in, where it is learned that she has died. Yosuke proposes a theory that not only people who appear on the Midnight Channel will die, but also the television world is somehow connected to their deaths. Yu and Yosuke return to the television world, having Chie remain behind. Teddie accuses Yu and Yosuke of pushing people in, leading to their deaths. After they discover that his body is hollow, they manage to convince him otherwise and offer to help find the culprit. Teddie leads them to the twisted shopping district, mirroring the Inaba Shopping District, where they find the Konishi family's liquor store. Inside, Yosuke hears Saki's suppressed thoughts about her hatred towards him and his association with Junes. Suddenly, a doppelganger of Yosuke appears, claiming to be the manifestation of his boredom of the countryside. Yosuke denies these claims, causing the doppelganger to turn into a Shadow. During the battle, Yu manages to make Yosuke accept the thoughts his Shadow expresses, allowing Izanagi to defeat it transforming it into Yosuke's Persona named Jiraiya. Yu and Yosuke return to their world, finding a worried Chie waiting for them. As they return home, Yu and Yosuke resolve to find the culprit.

In the Velvet Room, Igor explains that Personas are strengthened by the bonds one makes with others, and Margaret notes that their guest has formed the bond necessary for the Magician Arcana so far.

Chie grows concerned after seeing Yukiko on the Midnight Channel, but is assuaged when Yukiko calls her to say she is taking time off from school to help at the Amagi Inn, the inn owned by her family. After confirming with Teddie that no humans are currently inside the TV world, Yu suggests that they watch Midnight Channel at night, which shows Yukiko dressed as a princess proclaiming she is searching for her "Prince Charming" before running off into a castle.[11] The next day, Yosuke reveals two fake swords he found believing they will help in the television world, but both he and Yu are arrested when an officer notices them. Tohru Adachi, junior detective partnered with Yu's uncle, manages to release the boys. Chie, meeting them at the police station, reveals that Yukiko has gone missing, prompting Adachi to believe that Yukiko may be involved with the recent murders. Yu, Yosuke, and Chie later go into the television world, meeting up with Teddie, to save Yukiko inside the castle. Chie runs in ahead of the others, entering a room resembling a bedroom where she hears Yukiko's thoughts about being useless without Chie. During this, Chie's other self appears, scoffing at Yukiko and liking how Yukiko submits. When Chie rejects these accusations, her other self transforms into a Shadow that the boys fight, with Yu discovering his ability to use other Persona in battle. After the battle, Chie accepts that the only thing she cares about is Yukiko's friendship, causing the Shadow to transform into her Persona named Tomoe Gozen. The group leave the television world, unable to find Yukiko, but vowing to rescue her before the fog returns.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret congratulates their guest that he was able to utilize the powers of the Wild Card, and that he has managed to obtain yet another bond to create the Chariot Arcana.

The group returns to the television world to resume their search for Yukiko in the castle, but they instead find her doppelganger who, after summoning Shadows, runs off. Elsewhere, the real Yukiko reminisces about a past incident with Chie followed by the time she nursed an abandoned baby bird back to health and then kept as a pet. When it escaped its cage, Yukiko became overcome with thoughts that, unlike the bird, she would be unable to escape her fate of running the Amagi Inn. When her friends find her, her doppelgänger has been voicing these thoughts aloud Yukiko. The doppelganger welcomes the group before attempting to drop a chandelier on top of Chie. However, Yu reveals another ability allowing him to summon Ara Mitama to protect her. The doppelgänger then begins to rant about how Chie is no longer fit to be her prince and continues attacking them. Eventually, Yukiko rejects her causing the doppelgänger to transform into a Shadow, a bird who sets the area ablaze while trapping the real Yukiko in a birdcage. As the group fights Yukiko's Shadow, Chie reveals her jealousy towards Yukiko, giving Yukiko the strength to break free and allowing the others to defeat her Shadow. After the battle, Yukiko accepts her Shadow which becomes her own Persona named Konohana-Sakuya.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret foretells that their guest will soon acquire two new Arcanas: the Moon and Strength.

While waiting for Yukiko to recover, Yu is asked by Chie to help out with the basketball club, being formally introduced to his teammate, Kou Ichijo. He later spends time with the team's manager, Ai Ebihara, who eventually confides in him about a crush she has on Kou and asks for help. However, upon learning that Kou has a crush on Chie instead, Ai attempts to jump off of the school roof. Yu manages to console her, which causes Ai to force Yu into dating her until she finds someone else. Believing that Chie might be jealous of Yu, Yosuke sets her up to become a temporary manager for the basketball team. Yu later learns that Kou is quitting the team after the next game because of family pressure and wants to leave on a win. During the game, Ai starts to slap fight with Chie due to jealousy, and Kou's team end up losing. Later while eating at the Chinese Diner Aiya, Yosuke notices that his classmate Aika Nakamura works there, since her family owns the restaurant. Kou explains the outcome changed his mind about quitting and Ai lets go of Yu, explaining that she wants to work hard and become a good manager. The next day, Yukiko returns fully recovered to school and the group resumes their investigation.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret is alone, as Igor has gone out, but she congratulates the player on making the bonds related to the Moon and Strength Arcanas.

When his uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, has to back out of going on a trip for Golden Week, Yu decides to take his cousin, Nanako Dojima, to hang out with his friends at Junes, who quickly warm up to her. The next day, Yosuke deduces that all of the victims so far have been women who are somehow linked to Yamano. After a week, on another rainy night, Yu watches the Midnight Channel, and is surprised to see it showing Kanji Tatsumi, a notorious punk who attends his school. Yu, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko discuss how Kanji does not fit the criteria of the first three victims, who were all female. However, there is a link between Kanji and Yamano. Tatsumi Textiles, Kanji's family shop, has a custom-made scarf that was seen as a noose in the first visit to the television world. Upon leaving the shop, the group sees Kanji talk with an unknown young man. The next day after school, Yosuke and Chie attempt to trail Kanji as he meets up with the student from the previous day, while Yu and Yukiko stake out near the shop, in order to catch the culprit. As Yukiko expresses her feelings about what she believes is her destined job at the Amagi Inn, Yosuke and Chie's cover is soon blown. Chie panics and says that it would not be wrong for Kanji to meet up with another boy, but this upsets him to the point that he threatens to beat them. They run away from him, eventually involving Yu and Yukiko in the chase until they manage to lose him. That night, Yu watches the Midnight Channel, only to see Kanji as an overtly flamboyant gay host of a show investigating bathhouses.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret congratulates the guest that he has made a new bond, which has opened up the path to the Priestess Arcana, before Igor warns him that the danger befalling Inaba is coming closer.

When the four enter back into the television world, Kanji is nowhere to be found. It is learned that Kanji made a bunny-shaped phonestrap charm for a little boy, after the latter had previously lost one before. Yu borrows the charm to give to Teddie, who is able to track down the scent, ending up finding Kanji at a steamy bathhouse, who is struggling with his other self in a compromising position. Kanji rejects the fact of being gay, which then transforms his other self into an overly muscular Shadow, flanked by two equally muscular flamboyant lesser Shadows. As it seems that the group is no match against Kanji's Shadow, Yu fuses two Personas into Yamata-no-Orochi, also accepting the bunny-shaped phonestrap charm that Kanji made as something cute. This encourages Kanji to punch his own Shadow, taking it out of the battle. Kanji retorts to his other self that he is not gay but rather afraid of being rejected by either sex, turning his other self into his Persona named Take-Mikazuchi. Several weeks later, Kanji joins up with the group to find out who pushed him in the television world in the first place. That night, Dojima asks Yu if he has been getting involved in anything, aware that Yu was at Tatsumi Textiles and worried that he is getting in over his head.

In the Velvet Room, Igor is out once more, and Margaret muses if their guest is coming because he knows Igor is out, before she congratulates him on acquiring the Emperor Arcana.

Knowing that a school camping trip is coming up, the group will get to cook curry together, so they prepare for the next day with food and supplies. While at the campsite, the curry that the girls prepared had several ingredients to which make it barely edible, much to Yosuke's disgust, yet their classmate Hanako Ohtani loves the curry and eats it all. When Yu and Yosuke go to the first aid tent, they meet Naoki Konishi, who has been feeling left out from activities since his older sister Saki died, as everyone is trying to let him grieve. While the gang is hiding out eating food they have ordered from Aika, Kanji picks up Naoki from his post so the others can talk to him, giving him some peace of mind. That night, when Yu and Yosuke tell Kanji they are wary of sharing a tent with him after seeing his other self, he storms out to break into the girls' tent to prove otherwise, but Chie knocks him out with a rock. An unconscious Kanji is left with a snoring Hanako for the remainder of the night. On the last day of camping, Yosuke convinces the girls to go swimming, as he bought swimsuits for them at Junes. But when they are offended by the boys, they throw them into the river. As they head back to camp, Hanako approaches Kanji, revealing that he is not her type, greatly upsetting him.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret notes that their guest has obtained the Hanged Man Arcana after his camping trip, and reminds him that his bonds will only strengthen the more he makes them.

Popular singer and idol Rise Kujikawa decides to take a break from her career when it starts to wear her out, and she decides to go to Inaba to help out at Marukyu Tofu, her grandmother's tofu shop. While she is shopping at Junes, she meets Yu, who has found her cellphone after she dropped it. The following night, Rise appears on the Midnight Channel wearing a swimsuit, and the group decides that they have to go to Marukyu Tofu warn her of a potential kidnapping. They later manage to catch a stalker after Rise who claims to be just a fanboy, and Adachi arrests him to question him for the kidnappings. The next day, Yu learns that Rise has started classes at Yasogami High School, and he helps her evade paparazzi waiting for her outside the school. Her old agent goes to find her, revealing she has lost a movie role to another idol. When Yu attempts to console her, she believes Yu is no better than anyone else and runs off. That night, the Midnight Channel shows Rise as the host of a strip joint show, much to Yu's shock.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret reads their guest's fortune, and warns him that a great danger approaches and he might not be strong enough to face it, even with all of his Arcanas thus far.

Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko and Kanji go into the television world in order to save Rise, finding her at a strip joint. As Rise is harassed by multiple other selves, she rejects them, turning her main other self into a large Shadow. The gang summons their Personas to battle the Shadow, but she uses her special scanning ability to detect the strengths and weaknesses of their Personas, dodging their attacks and severely harming them. As she prepares a final attack, a fired up Teddie rushes at the Shadow, who cannot detect what Teddie really is and cannot effectively counterattack. Teddie defeats the Shadow, flattening himself in the process, and Rise realizes that she does not have a "real identity", transforming her other self into her Persona named Himiko. However, this causes Teddie to have an existential crisis, bringing forth his other self which also turns into a Shadow, sucking Teddie's deflated body up and threatening to kill the others. As Teddie proclaims to his other self that he does not want the easy answers as to who he really is, Rise uses Himiko to detect the Shadow's weak spot, allowing Izanagi to defeat it, freeing Teddie who accepts his other self and receives his own Persona named Kintoki-Douji.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret congratulates their guest for forming the bond that gives him the Lovers Arcana, but warns him that the power can either be fruitful for love, or harmful.

When their homeroom teacher, Kinshiro Morooka, is found murdered, the group is confused as he had not appeared on the Midnight Channel like the other victims. As they are curious if Morooka was thrown into the television world without their knowledge, they decide to talk to Teddie, amazed to find him in the real world this time and surprised to see that he has grown a human body inside his costume. They give him new clothes and have him blend in as a human. As the gang head to Marukyu Tofu, they are met by the student from before, who is revealed to be a junior detective named Naoto Shirogane, who confirms the three serial murders that have happened so far. Rise later agrees to join the gang to solve the mystery behind the victims and murders. The next day at school, the class is introduced to their new homeroom teacher, Noriko Kashiwagi, who behaves in such a flirtatious manner. Yukiko is approached by the disturbed student who has been stalking her, but she turns down his offer to go out with him a second time. While at his house, upset over being rejected, the disturbed student, revealed to be Mitsuo Kubo, decides to take credit for the three murders to an online chatroom. But when he is brushed off as a troll, he storms out of his house to turn himself in to the police. The following day while the group is at Junes, Naoto tells them that the police have closed the case, due to Mitsuo turning himself in. Sometime later on a rainy day, the group decides to check out the Midnight Channel once more, and that night they find Mitsuo taunting the viewer to catch him if they can.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret tells their guest that he has acquired the bond of the Star Arcana, before Igor warns him that his journey is reaching a climax with surprises in store. Margaret adds that his path is at a crossroad, and if he makes the wrong decisions his journey will come to an end. She reminds him that there is only one truth, before Igor warns him that defeat is not the only way to lose.

The gang enters the television world to find Mitsuo in a video game simulation. They discuss how they believe Mitsuo is the culprit behind the murders and how Yukiko, Kanji, and Rise have all come into contact with him before they were thrown into the television world. By the time they track down Mitsuo, they see him arguing with his other self over the murders, while his other self claims that he is "empty". Once Mitsuo refuses its statements, it begins to transform into a Shadow. Suddenly, time skips forward to after the battle, when the group is planning a party to celebrate the resolution of the murder case. As time progresses forward through the months, the group starts falling apart, but Yu and Yosuke remain as friends. On a rainy night, Yu is unable to watch the Midnight Channel, let alone pass through the television. When he hears the voice of Mitsuo's Shadow inside his room, he is taunted that his bonds are now "empty", since he is cannot summon his Persona anymore. Yu starts to give up hope when the Shadow strangles him, but he hears Yosuke's voice and he is pulled out of the illusion the Shadow created. Reunited with his friends, Yu confidently retorts to the Shadow that he is "far from empty" and summons several Personas representing all of the bonds he has made since for the past few months to attack the Shadow. When the Shadow is defeated, they confront Mitsuo, who shamelessly admits to being behind the three murders, and they are surprised when his other self disappears instead of turning into a Persona. As in the illusion, Yu proposes that the gang have a celebratory party for Mitsuo's arrest. After the party, Nanako and Teddie make a promise that he will come over to play with her, and Yosuke tells Yu about the shopping district's summer festival.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret congratulates their guest on being able to surpass the greatest challenge he has had to face so far. She advises him to take some time off to recover, and Igor mentions that it is helpful to have some reprieve, even if there is not much time left.

On her way home during a downpour, Nanako passes by the local shrine and gives a fox her umbrella, coming home soaking wet. Nanako starts to worry when Yu starts coming home late day after day. To find out what he is up to, she decides to dress up as her favorite cartoon character, Magical Detective Loveline, and tries to follow him around. She loses track of Yu when Teddie interrupts her for some pastries on her first attempt. The next day, the rest of the group show up and decide to help her out, and after searching for Yu all day, they give up at sunset. As they wait at a bus stop, Teddie apparently gets off of the bus, and when the group interrogate him, they realize he is not acting like himself, but he leaves before they can ask anything else. The following day, after Nanako tracks Yu down, she and the gang surprisingly find him with three women of different ages each at separate times during the day. On the day of the summer festival, Nanako is at the fairgrounds by herself as Dojima has to work late, feeling she will never solve the case. However, Naoto finds her and cheers her up, prompting her to go throughout the festival looking for Yu. Nanako eventually finds Yu, and they watch the fireworks together, with everyone Yu has met over the past weeks, thanking Yu for his help. Two days later, Dojima brings home watermelons for Nanako, Yu, and the rest of the group to enjoy. Nanako asks Yu what he has been up to for the whole summer break, and he begins to tell her what he has done.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret is by herself, and she tells her guest that he will soon make the bonds to acquire several new Arcana.

Yu goes out to buy a new umbrella for Nanako, who claims that she lost it the night before, but he is not able to afford one. After passing by the local shrine, of which the Fox approaches him holding an ema, he is suggested to tutor Shu Nakajima, while at the same time taking up another job at a local daycare. He stops Yuuta and Kaneko from fighting over the latter's toy robot, which breaks during the fight. When Yuuta's stepmother Eri Minami apologizes to Kaneko's mother, and Yu takes the blame and offers to replace the expensive toy robot. Yuuta and Kaneko get into another a few days later after the former claims to have seen Magical Detective Loveline, unbeknownst it was Nanako dressed in disguise. Yu dresses up in Teddie's costume to stop the fight, and when he goes home in the costume, he crosses paths with Nanako and his friends. Later, as he heads to the shrine, he finds an old woman, Hisano Kuroda, unconscious after she has been mugged, and he accompanies her to the hospital where her attending nurse Sayoko Uehara flirts with Yu. Some days later after a tutoring session, Shu reveals that he dislikes going to school and has no friends. During an impromptu date Yu gets dragged into, Sayoko reveals her dismay that as a nurse everyone she meets at work leaves as soon as they get better. Meeting with her, Eri reveals to Yu her stress at the strained relationship with Yuuta. Finding her, Kuroda says to Yu that she is tired of being reminded of her deceased husband and throws a decorative comb he gave her into the river, and a large carp jumps out of the water with the comb stuck in its fins as soon as she leaves. During the summer festival, after having caught the carp, he returns the comb to Kuroda, saying she should not be throwing away memories. Yu also sees Shu, who stole fireworks from the display because none of his classmates invited him to go see them, but Yu gives him a reversi set as a birthday gift and reminds him that two people are needed to play the game. He then finds Eri, who has been badly hurt after stepping in the way of Yuuta getting hit by a purse during another fight. Yu calls Sayoko who walks him through the steps of getting Eri better. Yu is thanked by those he has helped out over the past few weeks. The next day, the local shrine has gotten an excess of donations, which the Fox lets Yu use to buy a new umbrella for Nanako.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret and Igor congratulate their guest as he has formed the bonds giving him the Temperance, Tower, Death, Devil, and Hermit Arcanas.[25] Margaret also tells him the more he strengthens the bonds, the stronger he will become.

As summer vacation ends and classes begin, the freshmen and sophomores go on a field trip a week later to Tatsumi Port Island. However the hotel they will be staying in has been repurchased from a less-than-reputable organization. Teddie, waiting for the gang there, wants to score a date with Yukiko, which she agrees to do so during free time the following day. While the girls enjoy the rotating waterbed in their room, the boys have a more turbulent experience with their waterbed. The next day, the group split up while wandering the island. Yu catches up with Chie who is defending a young boy from thugs, later revealing to Yu that she wants to find meaning in her self-worth, of which he admires in her. The group reunites at a night club, seeing Naoto there. As they all enjoy free food and drinks, it seems that they were served alcohol and have been acting out of character during a drinking game. Naoto has a family history of being detectives that help the police and then requests that they reveal their involvement in the murders. Although Yukiko blurts out that that they go into the TV to fight Shadows with their Personas, Naoto believes she is mocking the idea. The next day, the gang enjoys lunch together before leaving for Inaba. Back in Inaba, Naoto talks on the phone to someone, requesting some more information on the self-styled gang and the Midnight Channel.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret warns their guest that he is becoming lax and that may spell trouble, but Igor says he should move at his own pace, even though danger approaches.

Naoto appears on the news to say that there are incongruities in the murder case and that it is still under investigation. The next day after school, Naoto approaches the gang and interrogates their involvement in the murder case. Naoto tells them that they are not seen as possible suspects, but as pawns in the game. Naoto goes on to reveal that Morooka's murder was the only one that sticks out, as he never appeared on television and never disappeared before his body was discovered, having a blunt force to the head as the cause of death. At night, Naoto appears on the Midnight Channel, and announces an experimental operation to be born anew. When the group goes to the television world the next day, they are unable to find Naoto. As they return to the real world, the group splits up in search of Naoto. According to Aika, Naoto had gotten into an argument with Adachi of how to handle the murder case. The group heads back to the television world, bringing them to a secret laboratory. When they enter, they see Naoto chiding a doppelgänger for acting too much like a child. However, the other self reveals that Naoto is insecure about being seen only as a child, rather than an adult detective, aside from the fact that Naoto is really a girl. This causes Naoto to reject her other self, transforming it into a Shadow. Yosuke is attacked, struck by a beam that causes him to age rapidly. As the Shadow starts to attack the others, they retreat while Naoto is left in her Shadow's clutches.

Alone in the Velvet Room, Margaret tells her guest the story of Jack Frost, who asked the gods to end his loneliness. They gave him a friend who was alive for only one day, and when his friend disappeared after the day, he wished that he had never made his request if he knew how lonely it would make him feel after.

Teddie is hit by the aging beam when he protects the girls from the Shadow, and Yu is also hit after trying to vary his Personas against the Shadow. The Shadow laments on her difficulty to make friends, being discredited for her age and gender. After freeing himself from the debris from the Shadow's earlier attacks, Kanji charges at the Shadow, telling Naoto that he has grown past his struggle in making friends. Teddie manages to restore their ages using Kintoki-Douji, which allows Yu to summon Beelzebub and defeat the Shadow. Naoto accepts her other self, transforming it into the Persona named Sukuna-Hikona, not long before collapsing from exhaustion. When Yu returns to his house, Dojima and Adachi inform him about Naoto's safe return, yet Dojima surmises that Yu is somehow involved with the case. A month later, a recovered Naoto reveals that her kidnapping happened in quick succession, likely committed by a lone male. The group concludes that Mitsuo was only a copycat killer, given the circumstances of Morooka's death. Naoto asks if she can join the group to help out. After Naoto offers to have the whole group get physicals, Teddie is shown to have nothing in his body according to his X-rays. Kanji admits to Yu that Naoto has inspired him to be himself and help others to see who he really is. The next day, Yu catches up with Naoto, taking to her the Chinese Diner Aiya, in order to solve the "case" behind the actual ingredients in the rainy day special dish, the mega gyūdon. Elsewhere, someone types a letter stating "don't save anyone anymore".

In the Velvet Room, Margaret congratulates their guest for obtaining the Fortune Arcana. She then states that only another heart can bond with another heart, before proposing a toast between herself and Yu Narukami.

Adachi urgently calls Dojima regarding a hit-and-run accident which severely injures a woman that occurred at the Samegawa flood plains. The next day, Yu finds a photo with Dojima and his late wife with Nanako, and Nanako explains to Yu that her mother had died in a car accident of a similar case. At Junes, Yu studies for the midterms with his friends, while Teddie spends time with Nanako. At night, Nanako, holding a school form, suddenly gets a stomachache, while at the same time Dojima receives a call from Adachi about a sealed letter for him from someone named Ichihara. Dojima immediately heads out, leaving Yu to care for Nanako, who explains that the school form was actually to invite parents to a class observation. Yu goes to the police station the next day to give Dojima the school form. They go to the Chinese Diner Aiya, where Dojima explains that his superior Ichihara gave him information about the recent hit-and-run. Dojima also reveals that his wife Chisato died in a similar accident while on the way to pick Nanako up from preschool. That night, after Yu gives Nanako her family photo in a frame, Nanako says that she hopes to reunite with her mother in Heaven. The next day, Yu asks Naoto if she can find out anything about Chisato's death, but the case was left unsolved due to the lack of evidence. When Dojima comes home, Nanako is upset by the fact that he may not be able to come to the class observation, since he is too caught up in his work. Yu tells Dojima that he should spend more time with his daughter instead of constantly trying to solve the hit-and-run. Nanako overhears about this, and she runs out of the house when Dojima tells her that the case is none of her concern. Yu and Dojima go out looking for her with no luck, but they realize that she must be at the Samegawa flood plains, being reminded of where Chisato had died. When they find her, Dojima apologizes and promises he will spend more time with her. The following day, they celebrate the three of them becoming a family, and Dojima says he will go to her class observation.

The Velvet Room is empty save for a placard saying they are out on business, and a note from Margaret congratulating their guest for obtaining the Hierophant and Justice Arcanas.

The school is holding its annual cultural festival, and Yu's class will be putting together a group-dating café. Also, Yosuke signed up all of the girls in their group of friends for the beauty pageant, and Yu and Kanji later give their support in this. During soccer practice with their classmate Daisuke Nagase, Kou complains that his class is hosting a play, and Yu kicks the soccer ball hard and it ends up hitting Ayane Matsunaga. Yu apologizes to her at the nurse's office, and then asks to listen to her play the trombone. She reveals that she is only filling in for a junior student in the band who got hurt and will not be able to perform at the cultural festival, and that she only plays music because she hopes that one day it will lift someone's spirits. A couple of days later, Chie signs up all of the boys in their group of friends for a drag pageantry as revenge for what Yosuke did to her. As the first day of cultural festival begins, the group-dating café proves to be a bust. Yu later goes to the rehearsal room and sees Ayane, who has not improved her part ever since, and she steps down when the junior trombone player is healed in time for the cultural festival. However, after Yu speaks up to defend her, she brings him out of the room, explaining that even though she feels she has lost the chance to reach her dream, she is happy that he defended her and all the practice made her remember her love for music. To make it up to her, Yu takes her around the cultural festival, cheering her up, until they cross paths with Ai, who takes Yu away for herself to see a tarot card reader who sounds suspiciously like Margaret. The drag pageantry happens on the final day of the cultural festival, which Teddie wins in a last-minute entry. Teddie's prize is to judge the beauty pageant, and he suggests that it should be a swimsuit competition for the girls. Although Naoto chickens out during the contest, she ends up winning anyways. After the pageant, Rise tells Yu that she is a bit disappointed in losing, but Yu says that it is alright to feel that way. Rise decides that she will return to her career in the following spring, accepting herself as a pop idol once again.

In the Velvet Room, Margaret senses a light within their guest, which she determines is because of his acquisition of the Sun Arcana. She then sings the "Long-Nosed Man Song", which Igor is not pleased about, before she reminisces about her younger sister.

Following the cultural festival, Dojima says that he is going out of town the next morning. Yukiko invites Yu and Nanako over to her family's inn, but the rest of the group ends up coming as well. Teddie is upset that the boys and girls are put in separate rooms, yet Kanji wonders why the boys' room looks so expensive. The boys are scared when the telephone suddenly rings, but it is just to inform them that the open-air bath is open, much to their relief. However, they are surprised to find the girls in the open-air bath already, consequently being hit by a barrage of buckets thrown at them before they retreat. It is then that Yukiko realizes that she got the allotted open-air bath times mixed up. Yukiko is later notified that a television crew wants to film a special regarding Yamano's death in the inn, but she refuses and tells them to leave. When the boys later prepare for bed, they hear a distant voice, so they decided to sneak into the girls' room and stay with them. However, the boys are shocked to see Hanako and Kashiwagi instead, running out of the room after the two literally throw themselves at the boys. Later on, Yu finds Yukiko still awake in the lobby. She says she is prepping for her innkeeper's license test, also telling him that after accepting her other self in the past, she realizes that she wants to help run her family's business rather than to leave the inn and live on her own. Late at night, Yu stares at a television set shut off while holding an envelope, which he received a week earlier. Inside the envelope, the letter says "don't save anyone anymore".

In the Velvet Room, Igor comments that their guest's journey has been a long one, and wonders if he will be able to solve the riddle at its end. Margaret mentions that not much time is left, and asks their guest if he will be able to discover the truth.

Naoto deduces that the sender may already know who Yu is, since the letter was personally delivered to him. When he arrives home, he has dinner with Nanako. The news airs a local politician who has visited Nanako's school, mentioning a student who impressed him. She later feels sick, and Yu puts her to bed, promising that they will make a snowman before he goes back to his parents. The next morning, the two prepare to turn on the kotatsu, but after they discover that it is broken, Yu says that he will pass by Junes to purchase a new one. Dojima comes home, holding another letter for Yu, which states, "If you don't stop, the next one to go in and die will be someone dear to you". Dojima, realizing that Yu has become too involved in the case, takes him to the police station for questioning, leaving Nanako home alone. At the police station, Yu reveals the nature of the television world, but Dojima, not believing this, has him stay in the station overnight. While working at Junes, Yosuke, demonstrating to Teddie on how to use a cellphone, calls Nanako, who relays what has happened to Yu earlier in the evening. The Midnight Channel displays Nanako on television, and Naoto believes this is because the politician was referring to Nanako in the news before. After the boys arrive at the station, Dojima is told by Naoto that Nanako may have been kidnapped by the serial killer, prompting him find the culprit. Adachi locks the boys in the interrogation room not long before the girls arrive. Naoto explains to everyone there that the culprit is hauling around a television set in the back of a delivery truck, which all of them seem to remember happening regarding their prior kidnappings. Adachi says that the suspect might be a retired councilman now working at a delivery company, which Naoto realizes is Taro Namatame, a man who had an affair with Yamano. Adachi releases the boys and tells Dojima who the culprit is, just as Namatame in his delivery truck passes by Dojima on the road. Dojima gives chase until Namatame intentionally causes a car wreck and flees the scene. As the group catches up to them, Naoto finds an address book detailing the addresses of the victims thus far that Namatame wanted to "save", including Nanako. However, Morooka was not among the names of the victims. Yu sees a red envelope in the back of the truck containing a handmade ring Nanako made to congratulate him on his test scores. Dojima asks Yu to save Nanako, since she is all he has left in his life. As the team makes it to Junes, ready to enter the television world, Nanako is approached by Namatame, who tells her everything will be alright.

In the Velvet Room, Igor reads their guest's fortune, and Margaret discovers exactly what fate lies in store for their guest.

The team enters the television world to find a beautiful realm that looks like Heaven, encountering Nanako in the custody of Namatame, who claims that he wanted them all to face their true selves, but why he did it in such a deadly manner is beyond them. Namatame summons many Shadows that transforms him into the Persona named Kunino-sagiri. Yu, blocking off the first round of attacks, is then possessed, having an antenna over his head, forcing him to attack his friends, repeatedly switching through many of his Personas. After hearing Nanako's voice, he finds the strength to destroy the antenna over his head and catches Nanako after Kunino-sagiri drops her. However, Kunino-sagiri then takes control of the others. Yu suddenly hears Dojima's voice to save Nanako, giving him the resolve to fuse four of his Personas into a power Persona named Kohryu in order to free his friends, who all combine their strengths to destroy Kunino-sagiri. Nanako then helps Yu summon another Persona named Sraosha to purify the area of the surrounding Shadows. Everyone returns to the real world to bring Nanako to the hospital, where she is placed in intensive care. A couple weeks later on a foggy morning, the news reports that Namatame is being interrogated for his actions, also being hospitalized. Yu lets the rest of the team know that they will be able to go to the hospital later to see Nanako, who is still recovering. Later, Adachi tells the group that Namatame tried to hit on Saki, which may have led to her death in the first place. When the group leaves the hospital, they hear people talking about how thick the fog has gotten lately. Much to their shock, when they put on their glasses, they are able to see through the fog, which could mean that the fog from the television world may be leaking into the real world. A week later, Teddie is saddened that he might have to return to the television world since the serial killer has finally been caught, but he wants to at least stay until Nanako fully recovers, which Yu permits. When Chie mentions how cold it has gotten, it reminds Yu that he promised to buy a new kotatsu for Nanako. They all plan to throw a party for Nanako for Christmas when suddenly Yu receives a call from Adachi that Nanako's condition has taken a turn for the worse. He heads to the hospital and sees Nanako just as she appears to die in front of him.

The team grieves after the apparent death of Nanako. The group enters Namatame's room, seemingly attempting to escape through a window. Namatame's Shadow then appears on the Midnight Channel on the television set, boasting that it will never cease its desire to "save" people. Yu first has the intention of pushing Namatame into the television set to face his own fate against his Shadow, but he then changes his mind. Although Yosuke is upset by this, Yu is not convinced that they have the full story just yet. While the team discusses about what they know so far about this case, they realize that Teddie has gone missing. As they head outside, snow begins to fall, and everyone says goodbye to Yu and head back to their homes. Yu breaks down after remembering the promise he made with Nanako to play with her in the snow, and Yosuke returns to comfort him.[34] The next day, the team realizes that the warning letters that Yu previously received were not written by Namatame, who relates his discovery of the Midnight Channel and his ability to enter the television world. After first seeing Yamano on the Midnight Channel and learning of her death, he warned Saki about her appearance on it but failed to convince her of the danger. However, when Yukiko appeared on the channel, he decided to kidnap her and throw her into the television world, believing it was the one place the murderer would not be able to reach. He believed he was successful when Yukiko did not die, repeating this method with the other "victims" that had appeared on the channel. Teddie is shown wandering in a foggy street, saddened that he was unable to protect Nanako, and says farewell to her and the team. In the hospital room, where Nanako is being kept, Teddie's farewell to her is heard, and Nanako silently revives. Everyone is overjoyed to see that Nanako has miraculously revived, even though Teddie remains missing. Back home, a relieved Yu falls asleep, while his cellphone lights up on its own, revealing text messages from all of his friends.

In the Velvet Room, Igor remarks on his long journey and how their guest has acquired many bonds along the way. Margaret reveals that the friendships their guest has gained has formed the Judgement Arcana. She then expresses her jealousy at the bonds he has made, before realizing a bond has formed between herself and the guest as the Empress Arcana. She remarks that their limousine will be parked for a while until they can figure out the next direction they will travel.

The next day, at the Chinese Diner Aiya, the team meets to figure out who the real culprit is. Naoto steps out to get some air, and Yu goes to join her, but not before finishing the mega beef bowl for the first time, much to everyone's shock. After Yosuke joins them, the three each contemplate who the real killer could be with the knowledge they have, when Yu seems to have an epiphany as he stares up at the snowy sky.

Teddie is in the Velvet Room where he reveals that he has discovered he is only a Shadow, but one that has acquired human emotions. He asks Yu to say goodbye to Nanako for him when he goes to Heaven, but Yu speaks to him and tells him Nanako is alive and well.

Before Yu goes to the hospital, Yosuke expresses that he is both proud and jealous of how Yu has made friends, saying the only way he will feel better is if they become equals if they had a fight to let out all of their pent up emotions. Inside the Chinese Diner Aiya, the rest of the group discusses who the suspect might be, since he was seen at the Amagi Inn before and also would have also spoken to Saki in the past. At the hospital, Yu mentions to Yosuke that Mitsuo testified at trial that he blacked out in the police interrogation room right after turning himself in. They are met by Dojima and Adachi, who tells them that Namatame was already transported into holding, much to Dojima's anger. Yu and Yosuke interrogate Adachi concerning the cases regarding Yamano and Saki, but he gives no straight answer, also mentioning that he forgot to send the threat letter to the laboratory as evidence. When the rest of the group shows up, they believe that he must be the suspect, based on how he did not react when Morooka was not among the names of the victims that were written in Namatame's address book. A pressured Adachi runs into Namatame's dark and empty room, as the group are reminded that a television set is in there. Meanwhile, Teddie goes to see Nanako, who has dreamed that he disappeared but she could still hear his voice. In the television world, Adachi is nowhere to be found, and the group is glad to finally see Teddie again, who reveals what he has what he is. Encouraged by the others, Teddie senses that Adachi is inside the room with the noose. Adachi, who is a projection, reveals that the television and real worlds will soon merge, turning all humans into Shadows. They follow him to the shopping district, where he summons some Reapers in different places to attack them. As the group splits up to hold off the Reapers, the real story behind Adachi is unveiled. At the inn, Adachi had thrown Yamano into the television world after she rejected his advances. At the police station, Adachi had thrown Saki into the television world as well for rejecting his advances while he was interrogating her. Adachi says that Mitsuo's "arrest" and Namatame's "salvation" were just distractions for him to utilize in his "game", but it was interrupted when the group started to be involved in the case. He states to Yu that they should have a final showdown to determine who the television world prefers, as each of them summons their Personas, Yu's Izanagi versus Adachi's Magatsu Izanagi.

As he effortlessly attacks the team, Adachi says that the television and real worlds will soon combine, as seen by a dark matter gradually descending to the ground. Once all of humanity becomes Shadows, they will have no emotions and will act only on raw instinct. The group takes out the Reapers one by one, while also expressing their distaste in Adachi's plans. As Adachi makes his last stand against Yu, Yu takes him out, destroying his Persona. Realizing his defeat, Adachi decides to shoot himself, but the dark matter in the sky picks him up and says that it will rule over the new world. The dark matter calls himself Ameno-sagiri, a being that controls the fog that covers both worlds and has been awoken by human desires as it attacks them. Ameno-sagiri is merging the worlds so that the humans will no longer differentiate between reality and fantasy. In fact, the team's ability to face their Shadows to in order to obtain Personas has only been a means for its plans to proceed, as the television world only shows what people want to see and hear. Ameno-sagiri raises Yu up to test whether or not his bonds are strong and genuine, and extract them from his body. As all of his friends call out to him, each of their Personas miraculously evolve into more powerful Personas. With the powers of Yosuke's Susano-o, Chie's Suzuka Gongen, Yukiko's Amaterasu, Kanji's Take-Jizaiten, Teddie's Kamui, Rise's Kanzeon, and Naoto's Yamato-Takeru combined, Yu summons the Persona named Lucifer to finish off Ameno-sagiri, who before disappearing, realizes that the group has proven beyond the capabilities of human desires. The group finds Adachi and takes him with them to have him pay for his crimes. In the real world, Nanako wakes up, telling Dojima that she had a dream that Yu and his friends saved everyone. Months later, everyone celebrates Nanako's full recovery at Dojima's house. Yu is later seen off by everyone else on his trip back to Tokyo, and after a heartfelt goodbye, Yu boards the train and heads home.

In the Velvet Room, Igor remarks on the amazing journey their guest has had, and reveals a crystal that has formed from the power he has gained, shining as it shows the way to truth. Margaret remarks on the bonds the guest has made while seeking out the truth, and hopes he will continue in the future.

On March 20, Yu and his friends celebrate before his return to Tokyo. However, he strangely seems to be reliving the same day over again on the next day. He receives a letter from Adachi in prison, who ponders about the source of the rumors about the Midnight Channel. Yu attempts to trace his memories back to his first arrival in Inaba, only to relive the same day yet again. He figures out, thanks to Nanako, that he shook hands with a gas station attendant before heading to Dojima's house. Going to the gas station, the attendant, revealed to be the goddess Izanami, reveals that she gave Yu the power to enter the television world by shaking hands, also being the case with Adachi and Namatame. Izanami explains that the Midnight Channel is a "window" meant to accommodate people's desires to both reveal their true selves and uncover the secret lives of others. The real truth that Yu has been suppressing is that the team is confronting her right now, but all his friends have been swallowed up. Yu denies what he sees, choosing to repeat the same day over again, until Margaret appears to literally slap him out of his trance, bringing him into a fight against her where she summons the Persona named Helel to attack him. Before he is hit, however, he is protected by the bonds of all of his friends and acquaintances, and the Personas they represent defend him against Margaret's attacks, as their voices thank him and urge him forward. As the battle climaxes, his Shadow appears as a mountain of television sets, showing his suppressed fear of moving away and losing his friends. Yu admits to his feelings and accepts his Shadow, which returns to being Izanagi, who deals the final blow against Helel. In the aftermath, Margaret tells Yu that win or lose, he will never be alone again, and returns the Orb of Sight to him. Yu is returned to the battlefield, where the Orb of Sight has revealed the goddess's grotesque true form, Izanami-no-Okami. Yu resists her onslaught of attacks, proclaiming that he is far from alone in this world. He then unveils the World Arcana, the embodiment of all of the bonds he has made, and summons the newly ascended Izanagi-no-Okami, who obliterates the goddess. Izanami begins to disintegrate while commending Yu's efforts, saying that the path of the future now rests on mankind's shoulders. Yu then wakes up to find his friends safe and the television world restored to the paradise it originally was, while the voice of Igor congratulates their obtainment of a "new world".

On March 21, Yu prepares to leave Inaba as everyone else sees him off. After he boards the train, everyone begins to jog after him, shouting their goodbyes and pleas for his return someday. Yu, choking back tears, swears that he will never ever forget them. After the credits, Teddie explains his belief that the bonds they have all formed will never disappear, while on the train Yu looks at a photo of himself, his family, and friends all together.

Difference Between Anime and Manga

 * In the manga, the main character is call Souji Seta. But in the anime, the main character is call Yu Narukami. His name in the anime is also officially used for the video games.
 * In the manga, the series start with Yu meeting his relatives. But in the anime, the series start with the audience meeting Igor.
 * In the manga, Yu asks Nanako about her father when they eat breakfast. But in the anime, he asks her this when they ate dinner.
 * In the manga, Yu fights the shadow figure in his dream. But in the anime, he doesn't fight the shadow figure.
 * In the manga, Yu and Nanako walk to school together. But in the anime, Yu walks to school by himself.
 * In the manga, Adachi wonders how Mayumi Yamano die on a electric pole. But in the anime, Adachi vomits upon seeing her dead body.
 * In the manga, Yu introduces himself to the classmates. But in the anime, King Moron interrupted him before he can introduce himself.
 * In the manga, Yosuke gives Chie her ruin DVD when she is at her desk. But in the anime, he does this before she walks out the door with Yu and Yukiko.
 * In the manga, when Dojima is asleep on the couch. Nanako asks him if she can turn the channel and doesn't put a blanket on him. But in the anime, when Dojima is asleep on the couch. Nanako puts a blanket on him. Then she turns from the news.
 * In the manga, Saki doesn't talk too much with Yosuke. But in the anime, she tells Yu to let her know if Yosuke is bothering him.
 * In the manga, Yu including Yousuke and Chie see the real Saki on the midnight channel. But in the anime, only Yu sees Saki on the midnight channel.
 * In the manga, when Saki is inside the midnight channel. She is facing forwards looking at the screen. But in the anime, when Saki is inside the midnight channel. She is facing side ways instead.
 * In the manga, Yu's hand gets stuck in the tv when he sees Saki. But in the anime, Yu's hand gets stuck in the tv when he sees the midnight channel for the first time.
 * In the manga, Yu tells Yukiko that she has such a precise friend. But in the anime, this isn't mentioned at all.
 * In the manga, Yosuke gives Chie and Yu soda when they come to Junes. But in the anime, Yosuke gives Chie and Yu food when they come to Junes.
 * In the manga, when Yu is at June's with Chie and Yosuke. They are further away from Yu when he sticks his hand inside the tv. But in the anime, when Yu is at June's with Chie and Yosuke. They are next to him when they see him do this.
 * In the manga, Yu jumps into the tv by himself which leads Chie and Yosuke to go after him. But in the anime, Yosuke has to go to the bathroom and while pacing he accidentally makes Chie along with himself and Yu fall into the tv.
 * In the manga, Chie karate kicks Teddy when they first met. But in the anime, she and her friends run upon seeing him.
 * In the manga, it is Yosuke that wants to leave the tv World when they find Ms Yamano's soul room. But in the anime, it is Chie that wants to leave so badly.
 * In the manga, Teddy makes the group leave before the see the shadows. But in the anime, Teddy makes the group leave after they saw shadows.
 * In the manga, during the events of episode 2. Nanako notes that Yu and her father are late. But in the anime, this scene isn't shown.
 * In the manga, Yosuke narrates that he wanted to investigate if Saki was in the midnight channel. But in the anime, he tells Yu this after everyone was notified that Saki was found dead.
 * In the manga, Teddy refers to himself in third person. But in the anime, he refers to himself in first person.
 * In the anime, Igor and Margaret are introduced during the events of episode 2. But in the anime, these two are introduced in episode 1.
 * In the manga, Yosuke realizes that the rope broke upon not seeing it around his waist. But in the anime, it is Chie that sees this when Yu and Yosuke go deeper into the tv.
 * In the manga, Teddy gives Yu and Yosuke glasses while they look for Saki. The two also see shadows at the Liquor store. But in the anime, Teddy gives Yu glasses during episode 1, while the group encounters Shadow Yosuke in episode 2.
 * In the manga, Yu unleashed his Persona during episode 2. But in the anime, Yu unleashed his Persona during the first episode.
 * In the manga, Yu and Yosuke vow to fight side by side when they are in the TV world. But in the anime, Yu and Yosuke make this vow when they are walking home.
 * In the manga, Chie punches Yosuke after he and Yu came back safety from the TV world. But in the anime, Chie throws the rope at Yousuke when he and Yu came back from the tv world.
 * In the manga, Young Chie asks Yukiko what the puppy's name is. After hearing the Puppy's name, Chie changes it. But in the anime, these scenes isn't shown. Instead Chie pets the puppy on his head. She then smiles afterwards.
 * In the manga, Yu was the last person to speak to Yukiko before she went missing. But in the anime, this scene is never shown. Instead Chie goes to Yukiko's house and learns from Yukiko's mother that Yukiko never came home.
 * In the manga, Adachi tells Chie why he thinks Yukiko went missing. Which scares her. But in the anime, Chie is angry when Adachi tells her his reasons about Yukiko and Chie tries to grab him.
 * In the manga, it is Chie that sees Shadow Yukiko on the Midnight Channel. Which freaks her out. But in the anime, it is Yu that sees this. Which makes him try to record the segment with his remote.
 * In the manga, it was Teddie that bit Yu's hand. But in the anime, Yu and his friends don't know that Teddie bit him.
 * In the manga, Chie sees Shadow Chie come out of a door. But in the anime, Shadow Chie appears behind her when she hears Yukiko's voice.
 * In the manga, Shadow Yukiko talks to Chie. But in the anime, she meets Chie and her friends when they are looking for Yukiko.
 * In the manga, Yukiko isn't trap inside a cage when Shadow Yukiko battles Chie. But in the anime, she is trap inside of a cage when Shadow Yukiko battles Chie.
 * In the manga, after the battle with Shadow Yukiko is over. Chie cries and hugs Yukiko while admitting her true feelings about why she envies her so much. But in the anime, Chie doesn't cry or hugs Yukiko after Shadow Yukiko is defeated.
 * In the manga, Yukiko gets her tv glasses from Teddie before returning home. But in the anime, she is given fake glasses until her real pair is made.
 * In the manga, Yu and Yosuke ate Yukiko and Chie's lunch on screen. Chie also gets extremely mad while Yukiko is depressed until Chie tells the boys to buy them streak. But in the anime, while Yu did ate Yukiko's lunch off screen. Chie tries to make Yosuke not eat her lunch.
 * In the manga, Chie and Yukiko walk home together after the two return from the TV world. But in the anime, this isn't shown.
 * In the manga, when Adachi talks about Yukiko acting weird Dojima hits him on the head before they sit down. But in the anime, Dojima does this while they sit down.
 * In the manga, Adachi is in the bathroom when the Dojima family talk about golden week. But in the anime, Adachi is with them when they talk about it at the table.
 * In the manga, when Yu finds out that Dojima has to work on golden week. He checks on Nanako to see how she is doing. But in the anime, Yu looks at the stair way while thinking to check on Nanako.
 * In the manga, when Yu and Nanako hang out with Yu's friends. Nanako has her hands on her skirt when she talks about her mom. Yu even looks at her when she talks about her family life with him and her dad. But in the anime, when Yu and Nanako hang out with Yu's friends. Nanako is eating steak and drinking soda when she talks about her mom. However Yu doesn't look at her when she talks about how happy she is to have him and her dad in her life.
 * In the manga, when Dojima gives Yu and Nanako gifts. Nanako has a shirt with a duck design on it. But in the anime, Nanako's shirt has a different design on it.
 * In the manga, Yu's gift that he got from Dojima was described as a weird design. But in the anime, the gift that he got from his uncle was swimming trunks.
 * In the manga, Kanji is shown beating the biker gangs before the news reports it. But in the anime, this topic is mentioned.
 * In the manga, Naoto is shown getting ready to go to Inaba. But in the anime, this isn't shown.
 * In the manga, the boys spy on Kanji through a window. But in the anime, the stake out team is one Guy and a girl.
 * In the manga, Yousuke calls Kanji weird which leads to the group being chased by him. But in the anime, Chie is the one that gets Kanji angry for calling him gay.
 * In the manga, Yu and Yukiko call each other before seeing Kanji on the Midnight channel. But in the anime, this isn't shown.
 * In the manga, Yu and his friends don't have a hard time battling Shadow Kanji. But in the anime, they are afraid of battling Shadow Kanji.
 * In the manga, Kanji thinks to when he got bullied as a child for fixing his classmates purse. But in the anime, this isn't shown.
 * In the manga, Yu doesn't protect Kanji from Shadow Kanji's attack as he tells his friends to let Kanji fight his own battles. But in the anime, Yu screams in pain after taking Shadow Kanji's attack that was meant for Kanji.
 * In the manga, Yu and Kanji meet a little kid who lost his friends mini stuff bunny plush as he is crying on a bench. But in the anime, Yu and his friends meet the little boy who is trying to find Kanji as he wants to thank him for giving him the replacement mini stuff bunny plush.
 * In the manga, Kanji thanks Yu and his friends for saving him. But in the anime, he wants to help the group find the murder as a way of saying thank you.

Difference from the Video Game

 * A few new characters have been added, such as Aika Nakamura, the daughter of the man who owns Aiya's.
 * Many characters possess smartphones, which became prominent after Persona 4 was originally released.
 * Ai and Chie do not seem to possess romantic feelings for Yu.
 * As to be expected, the dialogue is relatively the same, albeit slightly reduced from the game.
 * No main weapons or items are used in combat to battle Shadows, unlike in the game.
 * Since Johnny Yong Bosch voices both Yu and Adachi, he adjusted the voice for Adachi to sound more raspy and insecure. While he uses his real voice for Yu.
 * In the English version, all honorifics have been removed. In the video game, the honorifics that are kept are: Chan, Kun, Sanpei, and San.
 * When Yu hits his head on the table after getting his hand from out of the small TV. Nanako (who is offscreen) asks if he is alright, and he tells her that he is fine. This scene isn't shown in the Anime.
 * The scene where Tohru Adachi vomits after looking at a dead body is changed in the anime. In the video game Yu, Chie and Yukiko saw Tohru vomit as they were walking home from school. The anime shows Yu, Chie and Yukiko staying in class before they heard about the dead body that Dojima and Adachi saw.
 * Rise is initially much colder to Yu and his friends. Kanji even states that she "has an attitude".
 * Yu can fuse Personas without visiting the Velvet Room, and can do so on-the-fly. Besides Izanagi, he acquires all of his Personas off-screen.
 * Social Links, which could take many days to cultivate, are usually maxed within one episode.
 * Some characters' appearances have been modified slightly, such as having darker hair or differently colored eyes.
 * The Investigation Team's confrontations with their Shadows are further expounded on; the issues that were talked about are given the proper time to be showcased. *Chie and Yukiko's childhood is explicitly shown, as is Rise's life prior to her hiatus.
 * The language for the animation is considerably more vulgar than the video game. At one point, Kanji says "f**k", which is never said in the game.
 * Yu has a Shadow he must face, as opposed to the game, where it is non-existent.
 * Though most of the main cast members from the game reprise their roles, there are some characters who have different voice actors. Chie and Teddie are portrayed by the same voice actors from Golden.

Episodes

 * 26 (total)

Films

 * Persona 4: The Animation The Factor of Hope

Theme Songs

 * Opening


 * "Sky's The Limit" (Ep. 1 – 12)
 * "Key Plus Words" (Ep. 13 – 22)
 * "Pursuing My True Self" (TV broadcast of the first episode)
 * "True Story" (Ep. 9 only)
 * "Burn My Dread" (Ep. 15 only)
 * Closing


 * "Beauty of Destiny" (Ep. 1 – 12)
 * "The Way of Memories" (Ep. 14 – 23)
 * "The Love Detective" (Ep. 13 only)
 * "True Feelings" (Ep. 18 only)
 * "Never More" (Ep. 25 & 26)

Voice Cast

 * Japanese


 * Daisuke Namikawa as Yu Narukami, Fake Teddie & Shadow Yu
 * Showtaro Morikubo as Yosuke Hanamura & Shadow Yosuke
 * Yui Horie as Chie Satonaka & Shadow Chie
 * Ami Koshimizu as Yukiko Amagi & Shadow Yukiko
 * Tomokazu Seki as Kanji Tatsumi & Shadow Kanji
 * Rie Kugimiya as Rise Kujikawa & Shadow Rise
 * Romi Park as Naoto Shirogane, Shadow Naoto & Izanami's True form
 * Kappei Yamaguchi as Teddie & Shado Teddie
 * Akemi Kanda as Nanako Dojima
 * the late Unsho Ishizuka as Ryotaro Dojima
 * Mitsuaki Madono as Tohru Adachi
 * the late Isamu Tanonaka as Igor
 * Sayaka Ohara as Margaret
 * Hina Nakase as Saki Konishi
 * Tsubasa Yonaga as Naoki Konishi
 * Kanae Ito as Ai Ebihara
 * Ai Maeda as Chihiro Fushimi
 * Daisuke Ono as Ko Ichijo
 * Tomokazu Sugita as Daisuke Nagase
 * Aoi Yuki as Aika Nakamura
 * Osamu Ryutani as Kinshiro Morooka
 * Hitomi Nabatame as Noriko Kashiwagi
 * Natsuko Kuwatani as Sayoko Uehara
 * Mitsuhiro Ichiki as Shu Nakajima
 * Miki Ito as Eri Minami (Ep. 14)
 * Hidemi Anzai as Yuuta Minami (Ep. 13 & 14)
 * Ikuko Tani as Hisano Kuroda
 * Tsuyoshi Takahashi as Mitsuo Kubo & Shadow Mitsuo
 * Ryo Agawa as Hanako Ohtani
 * Tomoka Endo as Ayane Matsunaga
 * Hisao Egawa as Master Daidara
 * Yasuaki Takumi as Minoru Inoue
 * Koji Haramaki as Taro Namatame & Shadow Taro
 * Michio Nakao as Mr. Edogawa
 * Bin Shimada as President Tanaka
 * Makiko Nabei as Old Lady Shiroku
 * Ryusei Nakao as Ameno sagiri (Ep. 25)
 * Takahiro Mizushima as Gas Attendant (Ep. 1 & 26)
 * Yuko Kaida as Mayumi Yamano
 * English


 * Johnny Yong Bosch as Yu Narukami, Tohru Adachi, Fake Teddie (Ep. 13 & 14), Ameno sagiri (Ep. 25) & Shadow Yu (Ep. 26)
 * Yuri Lowenthal as Yosuke Hanamura & Shadow Yosuke (Ep. 2)
 * Erin Fitzgerald as Chie Satonaka & Shadow Chie (Ep. 3)
 * Amanda Winn Lee as Yukiko Amagi & Shadow Yukiko (Ep. 3 & 4)
 * Troy Baker as Kanji Tasumi (Ep. 6 – 12) & Shadow Kanji (Ep. 6 & 7)
 * Matthew Mercer as Kanji Tatsumi (Ep. 13 – 26), Taro Namatame & Shadow Taro (Ep. 23 & 24)
 * Laura Bailey as Rise Kujikawa, Shadow Rise (Ep. 9 & 10) & Yuuta Minami
 * Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Naoto Shirogane, Shadow Naoto (Ep. 16 & 17), Noriko Kashiwagi & Hisano Kuroda
 * Sam Riegel as Teddie, Shadow Teddie (Ep. 10) & Shu Nakajima
 * Karen Strassman as Nanako Dojima & Izanami's True Form
 * J.B Blanc as Ryotaro Dojima
 * Daniel Woren as Igor
 * Michelle Ann Dunphy as Margaret & Ayane Matsunaga
 * Jessica Straus as Saki Konishi & Hanako Ohtani
 * Derek Stephen Prince as Naoki Konishi & Gas Attendant (Ep. 1 & 26)
 * Julie Ann Taylor as Ai Ebihara
 * Vic Mignogna as Ko Ichijo
 * David Vincent as Daisuke Nagase & Minoru Inoue (Ep. 9)
 * Cassandra Lee Morris as Aika Nakamura
 * Kirk Thornton as Kinshiro Morooka
 * Wendee Lee as Sayoko Uehara & Chihiro Fushimi
 * Valerie Arem as Eri Minami
 * Kyle Hebert as Mitsuo Kubo & Shadow Mitsuo (Ep. 11 & 12)
 * Christopher Corey Smith as Master Daidara
 * ??? as Mr. Edogawa
 * Patrick Seitz as President Tanaka
 * ??? as Old Lady Shiroku
 * ??? as Mayumi Yamano

Trivia

 * Igor's voice actor, Isamu Tanonaka, is credited as "special performance". This is because his voice work was taken from archival recordings, as he passed away in January 2010.
 * Episode 23 is the only episode in the anime that doesn't play an opening theme song. Also Igor and Margaret are also seen in the middle of the episode instead of at the beginning.
 * In Episode 19 during the cross dressing competition. Kanji is dressed as Marilyn Monroe, Yosuke as a high school girl, Yu as a Japanese yankee, and Teddie is Alice from Alice in Wonderland.
 * In Episode 08 at 16:41, Chie and Yukiko enter Yuu and Yousuke's tent with Satonaka greeting them with "chiwassu" (a contracted form of "konnichiwa" + "desu"). This way of greeting is the trademark of Kotori Shirakawa from the Da Capo series, which is also voiced on all the anime adaptations by Chie's Japanese voice actress, Yui Horie.
 * In Episode 13, the character magical Detective Loveline is a parody of the show Tantei Opera Milky Holmes. The titular character, Loveline, looks similar to Sherlock Shellingford of Tantei Opera Milky Holmes.
 * In Episode 13, you can see a red Mazda RX-7 FD3S behind Nanako around 11:48.
 * In Episode 15, many elements of Persona 3 are added. Since it takes place at Tatsumi Port Island, the setting for Persona 3. Most to all the music used in this episode is from Persona 3. Some cameo characters include Chihiro Fushimi, the school nurse teaching classes, along with Nozomi Suemitsu and Kenji Tomochika can be seen at the ramen shop in the background.
 * In Episode 1, the TV in the background at Junes was showing the opening scene from Spring of the Dead from the Highschool of the Dead anime series. Both Highschool of the Dead, and Persona 4 The Animation is produced by Sentai Filmworks.
 * In Episode 1, when Dojima pulls into Moel gas station and the attendant asks if he's going on a trip. Dojima responds with, "No, I just got back from picking my nephew up from the airport". This is wrong considering Yu came in on the train.
 * In Episode 5, when Ai Ebihara calls Yu Narukami. The ringtone of his cellphone is the piece 'Zigeunerweisen" by Pablo de Sarasate, which is played in the game Catherine when the player dies.
 * In Episode 7, right at the start Margaret mistakenly refers to Yukiko's Arcana as the Empress in the English version, including some subtitled ones.
 * In Episode 8, the transition right after the commercial break shows Yosuke's notebook, and the various things he wrote down. One of these things is "What does 'Ressentiment' mean?", likely a reference to his role in Persona 4 Arena, where his title was "Captain Ressentiment". The "note" could also be a reference to the game, Persona 4, where on June 27 King Moron asks the main character "What does 'Ressentiment' mean?".
 * In Episode 9, the opening is changed and featured a special opening (with the song True Story) for the first appearance of Rise Kujikawa.
 * Also in Episode 9, at 14:09–14:12 the viewer can see a book poster reading "1Q46". This is likely a reference to Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 series.
 * Also in Episode 9, when walking up to the tofu shop. Mitsuo Kubo can be seen, hinting his role later as a "Red Herring".
 * Lastly in Episode 9, you can see the tail lights of a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution (CT9A).
 * In Episode 10, when Kanji loses his goofy glasses given to him by Teddie and has a hard time finding them, it is a reference to a cliche stereotype depicted in older anime (such as Doraemon) of glasses characters having extremely bad vision, and often shown struggling to find their dropped glasses on the ground, often with eye expressions with the number 3 to represent bad vision.
 * In Episode 12, the Reincarnation version of "I'll Face Myself -Battle-" is used for Yu's battle with Shadow Mitsuo.
 * In Episode 13, at 03:36 Nanako is seen sitting barefoot watching television when she gets up to greet Yu returning home. She is off-screen for less than a second as she is heard greeting him and running over to him. Yet after Yu asks her if she's heard of Neo Featherman, at 03:55 she is shown from head to toe and she is wearing a pair of white socks.
 * Also in Episode 13, when Nanako calls Aika to help Kou and Daisuke. The Reincarnation version of "Specialist" is used.
 * In Episode 14, Narukami's comment that "Heroes these days sure aren't what they used to be" in the English version is absolutely hilarious when you remember which franchise his voice actor, Johnny Yong Bosch first starred in back in the early 90s.
 * In Episode 14, when Yu Narukami runs to return the fireworks. The Reincarnation Version of "Reverie" is used.
 * Also in Episode 14, when Yu's fishing rod is delivered. Taro Namatame is the one who delivers it to him, hinting at his later involvement in the story.
 * In Episode 15, the background music tracks on this episode are entirely from the Persona 3 OST and Persona 3 FES OST. Additionally, the opening sequence of this episode uses the Burn My Dread theme.
 * Also in Episode 15, one of the scenes in the episode is a reference to both Chie Satonaka and Yukari Takeba's social links. As Chie is protecting a kid from a bunch of bullies, like in Rank 9 of her social link, but the area she is in is the same location Yukari was attacked by bullies, like in Rank 5 of her social link.
 * Lastly in Episode 15, during the scene where Narukami and the rest are being lectured their seating seems to resemble that of Junpei Iori, Yukari Takeba, Aigis and the Main Protagonist. In fact the room they are in is the same homeroom, but that can only be seen by the room arrangement and the teacher who is present during the scene.
 * In Episode 17, after Naoto's Shadow ages Yu, Yosuke Hanamura, and Teddie. The Kyoto theme from Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 plays during their elderly interactions.
 * Also in Episode 17, in the English version. When Rise is scanning that Beelzebub is activating Megidolaon against Naoto's Shadow, the attack is mistranslated as "Megidoloaon".
 * Lastly in Episode 17, in the English version. When Aika brings the Mega Beef Bowl over to Naoto and Yu, she says "one order", except in the next scene she clearly brought two.
 * In Episode 19, when Ayane plays the trombone. She is playing the chorus of the ending credits of Persona 4, Never More.
 * Also in Episode 19, the reveal of Teddie as the "new comer" during the cross-dressing pageant is directly referencing the Super Smash Bros. newcomer screen, as it uses a similar design with silhouettes.
 * Also in Episode 19, when Yu role-plays a girl in the Group Date, Yosuke calls him Yuko. Then a while in the english version he calls him "Bro-milda", a portmanteau of "bro" and the name "Brumilda".
 * Also in Episode 19, despite Yu never becoming romantically involved with any female characters, both Ebihara and Margaret accuse him of being a "man-whore".
 * Lastly in Episode 19, the non-swimsuit portion of the girls' beauty pageant is skipped. Including a scene in the video game that shows Chie, Yukiko and Naoto arguing with Noriko and Hanako on who would win the pageant.
 * In Episode 26, during Yu's battle with Izanami-no-Okami. When Lucifer is dismissed his tarot card is briefly seen as the Hierophant instead of Judgement.
 * Also in Episode 26, Kou is implied to have won a basketball game. Which suggests he later confesses his feelings to Chie.
 * Also in Episode 26, the battle between Yu and Margaret is not related to the battle with Izanami in the game.
 * Also in Episode 26, unlike the game Rise is shown being killed by Izanami's Thousand Curses attack.
 * In Episode 26, Yu has a Shadow that is convinced he will not make friends back in Tokyo, which largely echoes Adachi's loneliness. Speaking of Yu having a Shadow, this likely isn't in the game because Izanami unlocked Yu's Persona, Izanagi, without him facing his Shadow. Because of this, it's interesting that Yu still has to face a Shadow despite already having his Shadow-turned-Persona.
 * Lastly in Episode 26, the whole aspect of the episode of Narukami reliving March 20th over and over again until he finds "The Truth", may be a reference to Persona 3 FES's The Answer, in which the main characters have to relive March 31st until they find "The Answer".
 * A variety of Persona 4 The Animation-styled foods and drinks were served through a collaboration with Pasela Resorts for a limited time.
 * The anime was announced on April 11, 2011 which is also the date the in-game story starts.
 * The show's trailers were released on a special website resembling an old-fashioned TV and would air at midnight. Additionally, the videos were broadcasted on dates that hold certain importance in the game, like the date of the disappearance of a person.
 * As Yu obtained more social links throughout the series their respective arcanas are added to the closing credits.
 * There are three video games that were release for PlayStation, XBOX and Nintendo DS. Four of the video games take place after the series end. The names of the three video games are Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ulitmax, Persona 4 Dancing All Night and Blazblue Cross Tag Battle.
 * Tohru Adachi is the only minor character that appears the most in the series. He appears in episode 1,3,5,6,9,11,12,13,14,16,17,18,21,23,24,25 & 26.
 * In the English version of Persona 4 The Animation and the Persona 4 Arena games, Yu and the Investigation Team refer to each other on a first name bases with an honorific except for Teddie (Kuma in Japan). In BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle, Yu and the Investigation Team refer to each other on a last name basis. For Yu's case, this was likely done to avoid confusion as his name Yu sounds like the word "You". However, Yu and probably the rest of the Investigation Team still use honorifics as evidenced by Yu calling Ragna the Bloodedge "Ragna-san" in their special victory screen dialogue.
 * The manga only has up to 13 volumes instead of 12.
 * Fans wish to see Japan make this series into a live action film.