Shin Megami Tensei News

PERSONA 4 has always been a favorite among the audience of Whiskey Media, and the anime was a big hit as it aired. The series ran for twenty-five episodes and ended with the game's "Good End". That left many to wonder about the series famous "True End". The end of the last episode certainly hinted at something to come. It was later released at the True Ending would be additional content added to the final volume of the PERSONA 4 THE ANIMATION (P4A) DVD/BD in Japan this August.

Days after the reveal, the official P4A website updated with a short synopsis of the story for the real finale. The contents of this episode will take place the day before Yu left Inaba back to Tokyo, and the animation preview that was recently uploaded makes it apparent that this isn't going to be some casual S. Linking. The Investigation Team is put into some serious peril.

I would add as editorial that this preview I found on YouTube mistranslates two of the panicked lines of Chie and Yukiko that can be heard. Instead of "Yes! Yes!" it should be "No! Yukiko!", and "Someone, help me." should be "Help me, Narukami-kun!".

Though the volume collection is being sold in multiple parts in Japan, this episode will more than likely be added among the completed collection that is being distributed in the U.S. by Sentai Filmworks.

-Kristoffer Remmell ( FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek.- Follow for news updates: @ AnimeVicers/ @ FoxxFireArt

Aha! Now's our chance....to hear a bit more dub work.

The guys over on Giant Bomb recently posted a sneak peek of the English dub for the PERSONA 4 inspired fighter titled PERSONA 4 ARENA. My first impression is that this combat system seems to have a lot more depth than I was originally suspecting. While influence from the anime series is taken in the way of the protagonist's name, this combat leans more on the original game's use of character weapons, and it will include PERSONA 3 characters.

What strikes me the most in this trailer is that Teddie isn't being voiced by Dave Wittenberg, who voiced him in the PERSONA 4 game. I'm also not the only one who noticed that this Teddie sounds more like a high pitched Yuri Lowenthal, who voiced Yosuke Hanamura. This is just a sneak peak at the combat system. It's still highly possible that this wont be the final product for Teddie's voice. That would also explain the A-B-C-D button combination. Despite the fact that PERSONA 4 was a SONY Playstation 2 exclusive title, This game is coming out for arcades, PS3, and XBox 360 -- though, I doubt U.S. arcades are even near their focus. Rise Kujikawa, on the other hand, is still voiced by Laura Bailey for this trailer.

I'm normally not one for fighting games, but this is pretty exciting. Anyone looking forward to this title's August 2012 release?

-Kristoffer Remmell ( FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek.- Follow for news updates: @ AnimeVicers/ @ FoxxFireArt

Welcome to Featured Figures; a blog feature highlighting a handful of figures, my thoughts on them, the dents they'd leave in your wallet and maybe even links to sites you can buy them from. Let me know what you want to see from these blogs and I'll see what I can do.

After getting some good feedback across all the sites I'm keeping this blog feature going, now featuring figures spanning across anime, comics, movies and video games. Something for everyone.

This post is best viewed in blog format.

Chie Satonaka, Figma (Max Factory)

Strike a pose, Chie

It's my understanding that there are possibly a few Chie fans out there, so here's one for you guys; the Chie Figma by Max Factory.

Chie comes with a variety of different faces and accessories you can swap around to your liking. She's also posable, so other than changing her outfit you can pretty much get her looking exactly how you want. She comes with a standard face, a shouting face and even a Shadow Chie face. Accessories include glasses, joke nose glasses and a swoosh effect piece to attach to her leg for some kicking action. Looks like a nice figure with a lot of options.

As a side note, if you dig some good cosplay there are a couple of different Chie sets in the cosplay thread.

Chie can be pre-ordered for $46.79 (approx £30.41) on YesAsia

Samus Aran, Figma (Max Factory)

Don't mess with this chick

Since several people mentioned in the previous blog that they prefer a fully suited-up Samus over Zero Suit Samus, here's another figma by Max Factory of just that; Power Suit Samus from Metroid: Other M.

Like the Chie figure, Samus comes with several bits and pieces to customize her with. Included is a Morph Ball, two different beam effects (single and double-shot), an opened canon tip (as if she's firing missiles) and a few different hands; open, closed and thumbs-up.

As you can tell from the images this figure is very posable, equipped with a figma stand to keep her up so you can recreate just about any of the well-known poses Samus has done over the years.

Samus can be pre-ordered for $55 (approx £35) on Hobbyfan

Iron Man Mark VII, ARTFX Statue, 1/6 scale (Kotobukiya)

Iron Man: Destroyer of Concrete

Taking the bad-ass award this week is the Avengers Iron Man Mark VII ARTFX Statue by Kotobukiya. Tony's on the seventh version of his Iron Man suit already? Dude works fast.

No articulation or custom pieces here folks, this is just one solid, shiny, high quality statue. I think it's actually kind of harder to get figures like this and Samus wrong in a lot of ways. Faces are hard to get right, especially real faces. Robot-suits like these are more mathematical - make everything the correct shape and size and you're set. Even so, this thing looks amazing. The ripped-up concrete beneath Tony's feet here really completes the package. Makes Iron Man look super-heavy and powerful.

Oh, his chest and eyes also light up, as if the damn thing wasn't cool enough already.

Here's a question: who wins in a fight between Samus and Iron Man? I like Samus as much as anyone else, but I think I'd have to give that one to Iron Man. Maybe they should put him in the next Super Smash Bros. game...

Iron Man can be pre-ordered for $130 (approx £82) on Amazon

Natsu Dragneel, HQF, 1/8 scale (Tsume)

Even in anime, few dudes can pull off pink hair

My love for Fairy Tail is no secret. I like to think of it as Bleach and Naruto's cheeky little brother that runs around causing mayhem, it's a fun show to watch with a ton of likeable characters. I was pleasantly surprised to see some good Fairy Tail figures coming out, starting with this Natsu Dragneel HQF (High Quality Figure) by Tsume.

As a Fire Dragon Slayer, the plastic fire engulfing Natsu's hand is a great touch, it could have been a solid red or orange colour, but the mixture of orange and yellow and the red tips make it look really nice. The hair and attention to detail on the scarf look particularly good too.

The detail on the eyes and teeth is something I haven't seen much of before. It looks like someone drew the face with a fine marker pen or something. I usually prefer the sort of stuck-on pre-printed eyes you see on a lot of anime figures over painted ones, but it works pretty well here I think.

Natsu can be pre-ordered for €79.90 (approx $105 or £66) on tsume-art

Yoko Littner, 1/8 scale, Bounty Hunter Ver. (Alter)

The holster is the most practical thing on her

The last featured figure this week is the Yoko Littner "Bounty Hunter" figure by Alter. I haven't watched much Gurren Lagann so I don't know if Yoko actually dons this outfit at some point in the anime, but it's a cool figure regardless.

Yoko, being as popular as she is, has been rendered in plastic many times, but this figure is definitely up there as one of the best. Judging be the huge burn-holes in her overcoat she's been having a rough time, though other than a few bandages around her right hand her body is relatively unscathed. Yoko's enemies need some target practice.

Strangely enough the thing that jumps out at me most is Yoko's gun holster. They really nailed the leather look with that, the fake stitching looks great and the strap around her leg is a nice little detail that could have been left out, but wasn't. The sizes of the guns seems a little off though. The pistol looks huge and Yoko's trusty sniper rifle looks a little smaller than usual (it usually looks considerably bigger than her). Maybe it's just too big on other figures, either way these are small complaints in the grand scheme of things.

Yoko is listed at $105 (approx £66) on Hobbyfan but is currently sold out.

What do you think of the selection this week? Would Iron Man beat Samus in a fight? Already ordered a Chie figure of your own?

— Daniel Newton is a moderator for Anime Vice and Screened. Follow him on twitter: @Daniel_Newton and @AnimeVicers

Other posts: • Dragon Ball Z Kinect Game Announced • Featured Figures #01 • Oreimo Season 2 Announced!

If people weren't happy with the Good End. The True End is coming with the release of the DVD/BD.

--

Not shown on The Anime Network's streaming

Only a few days have passed since Persona 4 The Animation has had its TV finale. Some were unhappy with the end or just confused. PERSONA 4 is a game that's known for its multiple endings and that was reflected in how the anime was aired. The show opted for the 'Good' but not the 'True' end. There was an image that was shown at the end of Persona 4 that announced more, but it did not appear in The Anime Network's official online streaming. Though mostly in English, the full text translates to:

" #25 "We Can Change the World" Director's Cut Version & True End Episode "No One is Alone" Recording "

The Japanese official Persona 4 The Animation website has a description about the this 26th episode. It translates to:

" The day before Yu moves. However, he was left with something to do. The fight with the real enemy that was not revealed now begins. "

P4A website teases True Ending Episode

Recent news out of ANN is that the 10th volume of Persona 4 The Animation will have not just the director's cut of the finale episode, but will also include the 'True Ending' "No One is Alone". This is scheduled for release in Japan on August 22nd. Though Sentai Filmworks, the company that has licensed Persona 4 to the U.S., hasn't made any official statement regarding this added episode. They have announced they plan on releasing the anime some time later this year on DVD and Blu-ray. I don't see them releasing the series before it's even done in Japan. The odds are very good that this extra episode will be added in their box set.

I've already heard some try and compare this to the rather controversial MASS EFFECT 3 closing, but that seems unfair. The major difference is that MASS EFFECT had you pay $60 USD for the game -- more so if you bought all three games --, and it will be releasing DLC later to 'explain' it's ending. Persona 4 was streamed completely for free online by The Anime Network. They could have easily made this show for it's members only. The story used the "Good End". All this is asking is that you buy the DVDs to get the "True End". I feel some perspective is needed. Remember that in Japan they are selling the BDs by the volume. At the cost of ¥ 7,980 ($96) each. By the time this is released in the U.S., Sentai will be packaging this in what will likely be a four disc box set that runs closer to $40 USD. That's on top of added English dub work. All we have to do is just wait a bit longer. Is that really asking too much?

Source: ANN HERE / Persona 4: The Animation Official Site HERE& HERE

-Kristoffer Remmell ( FoxxFireArt) is a freelance graphic artist, writer, and over all mystery geek.- Follow for news updates: @ AnimeVicers/ @ FoxxFireArt

• Fire Emblem - I'm up to Chapter 26 playing as Eliwood. I'll beat it eventually. Eventually.
• Super Mario Advance - Collecting several eggs for the Yoshi Challenge, currently at 28/40. Collecting the Yoshi eggs and then beating the level without dying can be tricky, especially since the Yoshi eggs often take the place of mushrooms.
  
• Mayhem Intergalactic - This is an indie game available on Steam. I bought it mostly for the achievements, but it's not a bad game. Oh, but I'm still playing it for the achievements. I just have one left, and it requires 100 multiplayer wins. Guess what? I've never played a multiplayer game against actual people. There aren't enough people playing the game, so I always have to go up against bots.