You're myself, I'm yourself

Persona 4 The Animation Ep. 1

You're myself, I'm yourself

Yu Narukami’s first day in a new school is overshadowed by the murder of a TV hostess on campus. Even stranger is the portal he discovers in TV screens, which throws him and his new friends into a nightmare world infested by fog and monsters.

Summary

Opening Theme-

"Pursuing My True Self" by Shihoko Hirata

Ending Theme-

"Beauty of Destiny" by Shihoko Hirata feat. Lotus Juice

Episode Synopsis

Monday April 11, 2011

Igor welcomes you to the Velvent Room

In a mysterious limousine lined in a fine blue velvet. An odd man greets you and introduces himself as Igor and gives welcome to the Velvet Room. This is a realm beyond dreams and reality, mind or matter. His lovely blond companion follows suit by giving the name Margaret. Igor remarks how unusual it is for one to be here without having a contract, and that you must had an amazing destiny to follow.

Yu Narukami arrives in Inaba

Yu Narukami, a second year high school student, wakes up on the train from Tokyo. Passing it off as some weird dream, he closes his eyes once more. He exits the train in Yosainaba. Looking around, Yu notices no one is around. Quite a change from the busy life of Tokyo. He's greeted by his uncle Ryotaro Dojima, the younger brother of Yu's mother. They haven't met since he was in diapers and has no memory of him. Ryotaro then introduces his young daughter, Nanako. The shy child hiding behind her father's arm tentatively says hello. Her father teases her, and she gives him a swift slap in the butt.

Yu meets his uncle, Ryotaro Dojima; and his daughter, Nanako

While riding into town, the radio talks about a local scandal with a city councilman's alleged affair with a news caster, Mayumi Yamano. Ryotaro comments how it must be hard for Yu to move out here while his parents are traveling for work. Nanako timidly taps her father's shoulder to tell him she needs the bathroom. The attendant at the Moel Gas Station welcomes Yu, and offers him a job. In such a quiet town he says you need a job to keep yourself from going crazy from boredom. They shake hands and he runs back off to work. Ryotaro returns with Nanako. They are ready to go, and after he pats Yu on the shoulder, he's suddenly struck with an overwhelming surge of pain. Nanako asks if he's carsick.

At Dojima's home, Yu unpacks his things and remembers how he had to leave his school behind. Exhausted form the trip, Yu sits down, he thinks how he's stuck here for the next year, and his eyes start to close. As he opens them, he's looking into a thick fog. A voice calls out that asks if he's looking for the truth. If so Yu will need to catch him.

Tuesday April 12, 2011

King Moron accuses Yu of leering at girls.

Yu begins his first day at Yasogami High School. This gruff teacher shouts down his students and introduces their new transfer student. After barely saying anything, the teacher, Kinshiro Morooka, shouts at him and accuses him of leering at some girl near the window. His tirade is interrupted by a girl in class that asks if he can sit next to her. Morooka shouts at him to sit. His female defender tells Yu that the class all call their teacher "King Moron". Looking out the window, Yu notices the thick fog building outside.

The body of Ms. Yamano is discovered

In town, a high school girl is walking in the road. She looks up as something catches her eye. The body of a dead woman hangs upside down from the TV antenna of a nearby house.

Yu gets to know Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke

Back at class 2-2, Morooka calls the end of class. A boy in class talks with someone else about how he saw the Midnight Channel. He's excited that the lady of his dreams is Ms. Yamano. The school's PA suddenly broadcasts a message about an incident on campus, and they are asked to calmly evacuate. As Yu is about to leave, the brown-haired girl from earlier calls out to him. She asks if he wants to walk home with them. She introduces herself as Chie Satonaka. Her demure friend with the long dark hair is Yukiko Amagi. Their talk is cut short as a young man hastily gives Chie back a DVD he borrowed from her, but she trips him before he has the chance to get away. She opens the case to find her precious movie has a large crack in the disc. Hanamura apologizes and promises to replace it once he gets his paycheck. Yukiko asks if he's alright, but Chie tells her to ignore him on the ground as they leave. Yu walks by figuring to leave him be.

Dojima investigates the murder

Elsewhere in Inaba, the police are investigating. Ryotaro Dojima is the lead detective on the murder case. He examines the body, and his partner Tohru Adachi runs off to throw up. Ryotaro chides the young detective for still acting like some rookie.

Wednesday April 13, 2011

On his way to school. Yu witnesses Hanamaru from class crashing his bike. He's stuck head first in the garbage can and can't get out. Everyone else is just walking by, but Yu pulls him out. He gives his name as Yosuke Hanamura as they walk together. He offers to treat Yu to the local delicacy of beefsteak. Chie hollers out from behind them that she'll be joining them if Yosuke really wants to pay her back for her DVD. At the shopping mall Junes, Yosuke has bought servings of Takoyaki, and Chie is upset since she was expecting beefsteak. He tells her that he can't afford it since she joined in. Yu notices the TV nearby announcing the body found earlier was that of the TV announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Yosuke jokes that the killer could be anywhere among them, and Chie doesn't appreciate the humor.

Chie doesn't like being made fun of

Chie decides to change the topic to something more fun, and talks about the "Midnight Channel" that everyone is talking about. Yosuke asks if it's the thing you watch the TV alone at midnight on a rainy day that. Chie adds that the rumor is that the person you see on the TV is your soul mate. It's expected to rain tonight, and she asks if they want to try. Yosuke's surprised she's still attracted by such childish things. She starts strangling him when he says that why she can't get a boyfriend.

Yosuke talks with Saki Konishi

The young girl who found the body of Ms. Yamano walks up. Yosuke calls out to Saki Konishi, a upperclassman from school. He runs up to her to ask if she's feeling alright. She says he's a little tired, and calls out to Yu, asking if he's the recent school transfer. She teases how Yosuke doesn't have many friends, but he's a nice guy. She excuses herself to get back to work, but Yosuke has something important to ask her. She tells him to save it for her next break. When Chie asks him what he's so excited about, he holds up some tickets to a movie.

That night at the Dojima residence, the local news airs an interview with the high school student that found the body of Ms. Yamano. It does a poor job of trying to hide her identity. Nanako looks back to see her father asleep, and she goes to cover him with a blanket. He's overtired from his job as a police officer. Her mood changes as the commercial for the Junes store begins. After singing along to the store's chime, she runs off to have a bath before bed.

Image of a girl appears on the Midnight Channel

The storm is coming down outside as Yu sits in his room in the dark. It's nearly midnight. Looking into the blank TV, he only sees his own reflection. As the clock hits 12, the TV comes on. A blurry image of a high school girl can be seen looking around. Yu feels something come over him. The voice saying, "I art thou. Thou art me" can be heard. It tells him that he will be the one who opens the door. Yu stumbles in pain, and his arm slips inside the television screen. He hits his head as he kicks himself free, and the TV goes blank.

Thursday April 14, 2011

At school, Yu tells Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke how his hand went inside the TV last night. Yosuke and Chie only saw a weird shadow. Chie asks what Yukiko saw. Looking at the clock, she runs off since she needs to be somewhere. Yosuke jokes how falling into a small TV would be hard, and Chie asks about a larger screen TV. He jokingly ask if they want to try one of the large screens at Junes. To his surprise, they took his joke seriously. At Junes, Chie asks if Yosuke can use his connections to get her a discount on the TVs. His father is the store manager. He moved out here from Tokyo six months ago. Chie says that Junes is convenient, but it dries up the business form the local stores.

Yu reaches deeper into the TV

Yu is watching the TV interview from the other night with Saki Konishi. The whole school had been talking about how she was the one who found the body. Yosuke reasons that's why she skipped school. Yu reaches his hand into the screen, and Chie and Yosuke are shocked to see it.Yu tries to reach in further, and Yosuke feels the sudden urge to pee. Chie notices a family walking nearby, and they fall in as she tries to pull Yosuke somewhere to hide. The three wake up in a strange place filled with a thick fog. When asked where they are, Yu suggests they are inside the TV. Yosuke asks Chie what they do, but she has no idea and just wants to go home. They notice the sound of something drawing near, and a shadow with large eyes can be seen coming closer.

The three discover a dark and scary room

They run away into a strange room. Looking around, it's a dark and creepy room with writings on the wall, torn pictures, and a noose hanging from the ceiling. Yosuke screams his bladder is going to burst, and he starts to pee in the corner. Chie leaves in disgust. She walks out and screams. The thing that they saw earlier has caught up to them. It's a large cartoonish bear. He wants to know what they are doing here, but turns timid from Yosuke's shouting voice. The bear tells them to rush back to where they came from. The bear hands Yu a pair of glasses for him to use to get away before the Shadows arrives. As Yu puts them on, he can see through the fog as if it wasn't there. He can see a shadow form on the wall and a monster fall from it. The bear runs off, and they are soon surrounded by three floating shadows with long tongues. They all try to get away, but Yosuke and Chie are licked by the creatures and can't move. Yu is still standing, but his legs wont move.

Yu awakens to his Persona, Izanagi

Just as it looks like it's over for them, Yu hears the voice that called out to him. The Shadows stop their advance, and a tarot card glowing a bright blue floats down to Yu's hand. He feels the sudden urge to say " Persona", and he crushes the card in his hand. He's covered n a blue light, and a armored being appears behind him. The Shadows attack, and the Persona attacks on Yu's command. The Shadows bite Yu's Persona and he feels the pain. It cuts down another monster. Yu calls out it's name " Izanagi", and it uses a blast of lightning to destroy the final one. The Persona disappears, and Yu realizes that this is his power. Looking to Yosuke, Yu chuckles to himself.

Points of Interest

• The opening song of this episode, "Pursuing My True Self", is the main opening theme for the Persona 4 game.
• One of the posters in the background as Yu is riding into Inaba in his uncle's car has Rise Kujikawa. This very poster was sold with the PERSONA Official Magazine. She is a character who will be appearing later in the series.
• The graphics for transfer between the days is exactly the same as it was in the the original PS2 video game.
• The soundtrack is taken from the video game, including the "Velvet Room" theme which plays throughout the Persona franchise when meeting with Igor and his assistants.
• In the Persona 4 game, the main protagonist didn't receive his glasses or his Persona until his second trip into the TV World.
• Igor's dialogue is taken entirely from voicework recorded for the game due to his voice actor, Yu Tanonaka, passing away in January 2010.
• The Shadows that attack in this episode are the Slipping Hablerie.

Notes

• Anime Amateur by Nick Robinson (Babylonian) HERE
• Anime Examiner by Kristoffer Remmell (FoxxFireArt) HERE