I sometimes end sentences with so, but it’s always added with a shrug. As in, “The secretary said it’s okay to work in this area, but the building engineer doesn’t want anyone in here until after five, so.” shrug
Also this is bunk when I was in high school I never got to bring my cat to school and bounce ideas off of her while I was taking an essay question this education system is trash garbage.
Well checking a map, there’s a lot of nature and stuff AROUND Tokyo, I could see it getting in that deep, if the pollen is as dramatic as they said. Also I got huge culture shock when I saw how huge Tokyo is as a city compared to where I live and I feel super tiny now.
Naomi lost her license because as far as others were concerned she was using black magic to heal people, and since she was a doctor in the States… well, you know how America can be sometimes. I’ll admit I forgot this aspect of her backstory… because it’s never mentioned in game that I can recall, and I figured most of her problem came from, you know, helping to create a terrorist super bio weapon.
Regardless, you don’t lose your license if you do a malpractice. At least in the States, the courts cannot revoke your license to practice, only the medical board can. So Tae keeping her license means that, even with her doing something wrong, the medical board either didn’t investigate, didn’t care, or felt it was better she kept it… and given the lawsuit against her FAILED, since she says she was never convicted, then they genuinely have no reason to take her license.
This isn’t necessarily a typo, given it’s dialogue and I see people talk like this a lot… though the so typically has an implied dot dot dot after it though.
While you’re not wrong that having Ann somewhere with English as a first language would be better for her, most likely… remember that Ryuji is native to Japan and is worse at it than her. Japanese is just a really fucking hard language, it’s not entirely weird to be Not Great at it.
All things being equal, hiring a therapist on staff after it comes out the gym teacher was raping and abusing students is one of the smartest things they could have done as an actual school. Good on them.
I mean they do have photos of the students, and even if they don’t “the two blonde people and the Harry Potter cosplayer” stand out among the crowd, I think.
Shit like this is why I don’t even bother thinking about buying games like Persona early. You wait for people to figure out the routing and then play it. I realize it’s a FOMO adjacent sort of thing, but with a 90 hour RPG like this I’m literally only ever playing it once so I want to experience Everything.
Hey what if we did The Magician again only it was someone assisting or teaching you as opposed to self discovery. It’s me, the Consultant, the Counciler! Sourced from a tarot deck calling itself Esoteric, so much so that I literally cannot find information on it beyond the actual book describing it. Much like Aeon stands in for Judgement in the Thoth Tarot, Consultant stands in for Magician in the El Gran Tarot.
I’d tell more but again I literally cannot find more information than this and with variants like this they’re usually the same except for minor (yet still key) differences. In this case, as said above, Consultant is the person who teaches you, while Magician is self taught.
… this motherfucker spends like six dialogue boxes hyping up his snacks and he gives you GUM? What the fuck.
Yeah, that was me with Persona 4. The thing about Royal though is that unlike Persona 4 and the base Persona 5, most of your stat raising activities happen either at night or don’t take time at all… so even having maxed-out social stats won’t really help you much on NG+ because you can’t do most of the confidants at night, and a lot of the confidants that are available at night are only available later into the game - at which point you’d probably be at or near max social stats on a 100% run anyway.
Oh yeah, I’d know. I tried learning it again and just kinda gave up last night. It was eating up too much of my time and I was struggling with the harder kanji. That and the fact that there were so many cards on Anki where I’d look at them and my answer would be “Damned if I know, because there’s like three different words that are spelled exactly that way and without context I can’t know which one it is.”
Oh, it’s a real thing? I figured it was something Atlus made up. Actually, I wasn’t aware Aeon was a real thing either.
Thats a much better interpretation than my first thought which was “Wow the sun is high right now.”
Yeah! Aeon is the Book of Thoth’s Tarot equivalent of Judgement (not Justice if I typoed this oops), whereas Lust (called Hunger in Golden for censorship reasons but honestly it works) is Thoth’s Strength, and Jester is Thoth’s Fool. Thoth’s book is… far more malicious, or at least dangerous, inherently than regular Tarot, or even P5’s corrupted version of the standard Tarot. It’s fun!
Just for fun, here are the changes from the standard Tarot you’re familiar with, to Thoth.
Magician becomes Magus (nice promotion!)
High Priestess becomes Priestess (shame about that demotion!)
Strength is Lust (Fortitude vs Giving In, makes sense)
Wheel of Fortune is just Fortune (no spinning the dice here. Deal with it)
Justice becomes Adjustment (There is not justice there is only Change)
Temperance is Art (I’m too tired to pick this one apart but it sounds fun)
Judgement becomes Aeon (There are no judges only the vastness of reality)
The World becomes The Universe (Nice promotion there)
there’s more but I’m still very tired and recovering from being sick, and Persona only cares about the Major Arcana for the most part so… shrug.
: May 14th, and now we’re headed straight into another long cutscene. I feel like Royal kind of destroyed the pacing by basically doubling the length of a lot of cutscenes. By the way, I wound up re-doing all the portraits for this update because I realized that webp as a format is a fucking mistake.
: “I ended up pullin’ an all-nighter once I realized today’s the last day of exams.”
: In the original, that entire cutscene with the school assembly and the two meetings with Maruki weren’t there. Here we get the sort of weird pacing of having three days of exams, then Maruki, and now another day of exams.
: “You? Staying up studying?”
: “Nah, I gave up on the exam. I was playin’ some games, and then before I knew it, it was morning.”
: yawn “Morning…”
: “Yo, look who else is yawnin’.”
: “Exams are almost over, so I thought I’d make one last effort across the finish line.”
: “Impressive, Lady Ann. You’re quite different from this stupid monkey I know.”
: “Huh? Don’t gimme that crap. Your brain’s tiny compared to mine.”
: “Size is meaningless if there’s nothing inside, you know.”
: “What was that!?”
: “Ugh, will you please shut up!? You’re gonna make me forget everything I memo-”
: “…!?”
: “Am I imagining things?”
: “What, you see a groper or something?”
: “No, that’s not it. It’s… nothing.”
: I like how Joker has this weird cat-like expression, like he’s just seen a ball of yarn in Ann’s hoodie and he wants to bat at it.
: This is kind of where I wish they had gone with Joker actually being some kind of reincarnation of Tatsuya Sudou, because the imagery of a guy who spent two entire games stalking a woman turning around and protecting one from a stalker would be kind of cool.
: This would be Yusuke. If you saw the P5D stream, he was in the background video for Last Surprise. He’s one of the only characters to not be an archetype seen in Persona 1 or 2, though I guess you could make the comparison to Nanjo. Instead, he’s more or less Goemon from Lupin III. No points for guessing his choice of weapon or who his Persona is.
: His Japanese voiceactor is basically trying to do a Goemon impression at all times.
: And here’s our villain. This is also kind of ripped from Lupin III: both Green Jacket and Red Jacket have stories where Goemon’s old master turns evil and tries to kill him.
: “I didn’t even notice the calls from Sensei… but thank goodness, I caught up to you.”
: “Okay…”
: “What!?”
: “…Model?”
: “All that I’ve drawn till now has been lacking, but I feel a passion from you unlike anyone else.”
: “This man’s highly suspicious!”
: “Ain’t this a recruit for some shady business?”
: “Will you cooperate with me? What do you say?”
: I also noticed now that I’ve played Innocent Sin that Yusuke looks a lot like Jun. The fans definitely picked up on this because the vast majority of fanart for Yusuke either pairs him with Ryuji or pairs him with Joker.
: “Hold your horses! Who’re you anyways?”
: Oh god dammit, this is the dumbest fucking pun. The Japanese word for high schooler is “kou-kousei”. This is something I absolutely fucking hate, especially when the game otherwise takes itself fairly seriously.
: “I’m Madarame-sensei’s pupil, and I am being allowed residence at his place. I’m striving to become an artist.”
: “Huh!? Do you mean THAT Madarame? The one who was on Good Morning Japan the other day?”
: “The very same.”
: “You know who that is?”
: “He was introduced as a super-famous Japanese-style artist who’s been recognized all over the world. But we heard that name the other day in Mementos…”
: “That old guy’s Madarame?”
: “Madarame-sensei’s exhibition will begin at the department store near the station tomorrow. I’ll be there to help out on opening day. Please come by.”
: “It’d be great if you could give me your answer in regard to being a model then… I bet you have no interest in the fine arts, but I’ll give you tickets too.”
: “Well then, I hope to see you there tomorrow!”
: “That guy’s as easy to read as a book. You’re not plannin’ on goin’, are ya?”
: “…I think I will.”
: “That’s a little too convenient. It makes me wonder if you’re even telling the truth. So be it. What I want to know about most is your method.”
: “It’s true that Madarame was an unforgivable criminal worthy of the scorn thrown at him. He was an adult who cultivated his own fame and fortune by sacrificing the livelihood of children.”
: Madarame is more or less the Andrew Allanson of the art world, in that he’s a serial plagiarist who steals his students work.
: “But he’d been covering his tracks for years. How did you uncover the truth in such a short span of time?”
: I’m not sure whether this is terrible writing, or kind of brilliant writing. On one hand, Sae should already know exactly how the whole Palace thing works from the story he told her about Kamoshida. On the other, what she’s doing is exactly what an attorney would do in a deposition like this: try to trip the person up and find inconsistencies in their story.
: “This ‘metaverse’ business again? …Fine. Let’s suppose that people’s hearts can be changed by stealing their Treasure, like you’ve said. If so, a different suspicion arises.”
: “People have gone mad or lost consciousness, never to recover… like the subway accident in April. Depending on how you look at it, that could be taken as a phenomenon for a sudden change of heart, too.”
: You’d think she would understand that Joker didn’t even have his Persona at that point in April, but what she’s actually referring to are a couple of other shutdowns that happen between then and November, when the interrogation takes place.
: “…Were you related to those as well?”
: I’m not entirely sure why “No” isn’t an option.
: “…I see. Tch… fine. Let’s get back to Madarame’s case. Keep it concise, and stick to the facts.”
: “Seemed like some of those were kind of tough. Well, it wasn’t too bad. You should have gotten a decent score, right?”
: We didn’t get the highest score, that’s for sure.
: “How 'bout you?”
: They should’ve given you an option to have Morgana go with Ryuji instead of Joker, which would result in a harder exam for Joker but would make Ryuji like you more.
: I mean, of course he is, he had a magic talking cat talking him through everything.
: “You traitor!”
: “Anyways, can we stop talkin’ about the exams? Like it or not, they’re gonna come back graded next week. Rather than focus on stuff that’s over with…”
: “What’re you looking at?”
: "…It’s no use. There ain’t any useful info. The number of posts are gettin’ less and less too…’
: “I am not letting this end as a one-hit wonder, okay?”
: “There’s no point in getting antsy though. I know! Why don’t we go eat lunch somewhere? We still have some money left over from the other day.”
: “I want sushi then! Or domestic-raised eel!”
: “We don’t have THAT much left.”
: Joker hides the roughly $1500 he has on him so that Ann doesn’t see it.
: “Oh right. There are those tickets to Madrame’s exhibit! Wait, that’s tomorrow.”
: “Don’t tell me… was it love at first sight with that Yusuke guy?”
: “It’s not like that.”
: “O-Of course not.”
: “When I was watching that special on TV, his artwork was pretty nice. Plus, we’ve got free tickets.”
: “Besides, this could also be related to what we heard in Mementos.”
: “…Madarame, was it?”
: “Hrmm…”
: I swear, I’d just pack Morgana into a goddamn box and mail his horny ass to Abu Dhabi.
: “That aside, what should I do about the other two tickets? Wanna go appreciate some fine arts for once?”
: “Fine arts, huh…”
: “I suggest we should all go together! Appreciating the fine arts builds character. A phantom thief who can’t identify an original is lame.”
: Something tells me Morgana couldn’t tell a Monet from a Picasso.
: “Well, if everyone’s going…”
: “It’s settled then!”
: “Just the phrase ‘going to an art exhibit’ sounds kinda mature. Let’s meet at the exhibit entrance tomorrow.”
: Tonight, we’ll appreciate some fine ar- I can’t even finish that sentence with a straight face.
: Yes, just like I’m sure Japanese high schoolers all have magical brain ghosts that can light people on fire. I was watching a stream of Silent Hill 4 a few days ago in bed and my cat climbed up in that weird position that Morgana uses in these scenes where he sits upright like a human to watch. Needless to say, I do not trust my cat anymore.
: I didn’t catch it in a screenshot, but one of the comments that can appear in the bottom-right is “Sauce plz” which is a direct reference to a 4chan meme: because 4chan is an imageboard, most people just post images directly instead of posting links to them like you would on Reddit or retweeting them on Twitter. “Sauce plz” is their way of asking for the source of an image… or used to be, before the site got taken over by uncreative fucks who do nothing but spam fucking Pepe and Wojak.
: This caught on so much that there’s actually a reverse image search site called “Saucenao” which I believe is run by a 4channer.
: “It’ll be a pain in the ass if someone sees you, so don’t stick your head out too much, all right?”
: “Um… yeah.”
: “You really came.”
: “What’d you expect when you left us those tickets!?”
: “Make sure that you don’t get in the way of the other visitors.”
: “Come now, I’ll show you around. I’d like to speak more about the picture I’d like to draw too.”
: “Well, see you guys later.”
: “I told you not to come out! Are we really gonna ‘appreciate’ the fine arts? Can’t we just go home?”
: “Well, we did come all this way and stuff. Uh… which way are we supposed to start?”
: “It’s that old man from the other day.”
: My atelier (if you can call it that) is a basement. It really helped me get in touch with the natural mindset for YIIK, which is to say that it should also be buried deep under the ground.
: “…A shack?”
: “Wasn’t the word ‘shack’ something…”
: “There’s way too many people!”
: “I’m getting crushed…”
: “Anyways, we gotta head for the exit! Don’t die on us, all right!?”
: “Usually, one concentrates on their own style. However, Sensei creates all this by himself. He’s special.”
: “There you are, Yusuke.”
: “Sensei!”
: “Ah, the girl from yesterday. Are you enjoying the exhibit?”
: “I don’t how how to put it into words… but it’s really amazing.”
: Oh, right. I forgot to mention it up until now, but the wiki claims that Madarame is a composite of two people. The first is a composer by the name of Mamoru Samuragochi. You might’ve heard of him if you’ve ever played Resident Evil - he “composed” a couple of the themes for the Director’s Cut of RE1 (it’s the one with the fart trumpets) and for Onimusha: Warlords.
: Samuragochi claimed that he was deaf, and got all kinds of attention for it: he had a profile in Time Magazine and a documentary made about him on NHK. In reality, he was a fraud - all of his compositions were in fact ghostwritten by another artist named Takashi Niigaki. The revelations about Samuragochi happened in 2014.
: “You’re sensing something from the artwork… that alone is enough to give us artists satisfaction.”
: The other person is Yoshihiko Wada, a painter who won a national-level prize for his painting… until it was discovered that he’d actually been plagiarizing another artist: an Italian painter by the name of Alberto Sughi. Wada at first made the claim that he had studied under Sughi, but then it came out that he had basically flown to Italy, passed himself off as a fan, took dozens of photos of Sughi’s paintings and then copied them.
: “I hope this becomes a wonderful piece, Yusuke. Well then, if you’ll excuse me.”
: “Indeed.”
: “Oh, this is it - the painting I wanted to see in person.”
: “I guess it’s the painter’s anger? I’m not sure, but I sense this… strong frustration from it. To think such a cheerful and gentlemanly person could make such a piece…”
: “Something wrong?”
: “Don’t mind me. There are better pieces than… this one. Come now, this way!”
: Don’t mind me. There are definitely better LPs than… this one. CirclMastr’s LP of MLB 2007 The Show for instance, or RJWaters2’s recently updated Metal Gear Solid LP. The fact that I’ve plugged RJ’s LP in like… three of mine shows how much effort he puts into that.
: “H-Hey!”
: “…But thanks to that, I remember now.”
: “Let’s not worry about it for now. It’s about a post online.”
: “Here, look at this.”
: “You got it all wrong; we got dragged into this huge crowd and-”
: “…Eh, anyways. You gotta look at this too. This post might be about Madarame.”
: “What’s it say?”
: “A master of the Japanese arts is plagiarizing his pupil’s work. Only his public face is shown on TV.”
: Whoa there. I don’t know that I’d call Andrew Allanson a master of anything, let alone Japanese art. Has he been on TV?
: “Plagiarizing!?”
: “I didn’t think much of it when I first saw it, but hearing ‘shack’ and ‘Madarame’ triggered it.”
: Now, here’s something I’d like for you to keep in mind, because the plot is about to fall down the idiot hole. They’ve now had two different people tell them that Madarame is a serial plagiarist and also probably an abuser.
: While not quite as over-the-top as Kamoshida was, Madarame is still like, borderline cartoonishly evil.
: “Abuse on top of plagiarism, hm?”
: “If this is real, it’ll be a huge scandal.”
: “I wonder if Kitagawa-kun posted this. I mean, he IS a pupil of his.”
: “Who knows? It’s anonymous and all.”
: “In that case… it’s possible the Madarame we heard about in Mementos is referring to the same one.”
: “A man like that, doing such a thing? I wonder if we can ask that Shadow from earlier about this. Oh. Actually, we just need to talk to him in reality.”
: “And how are we gonna go about that? Are we gonna explain it all, startin’ with Mementos?”
: I mean, you could just use parallel construction. That’s the term used by Federal law enforcement where they get information without a warrant (such as through the NSA’s surveillance programs or from another government agency) that wouldn’t be admissible in court and then use that information to build a case that hides where they got the information from.
: “Besides, if we make a move out in the open, there’s the possibility that Madarame will find out.”
: “Oh… yeah, right.”
: “Hey, what do you think about Madarame? Doesn’t he seem suspicious?”
: “I know, right? This all fits way too well to just be a coincidence. If this post is legit, ain’t this the kinda target we’ve been waitin’ for?”
: “Well, yeah, but… is it really true?”
: “By the way, what did you do about the whole modeling thing?”
: “Kitagawa-kun gave me his contact info. And the address to his sensei’s atelier.”
: “He said he lives there, right? Perfect timing. Let’s try goin’ tomorrow. We’re off to Madarame’s house after school!”
: “Huh? You want me to model tomorrow!? This is too sudden…”
: “What? We’re just gonna go talk to Kitagawa.”
: “Oh, that’s what you meant…”
: Oh fuck! It’s Sunday and we haven’t gripped and sipped!
: Fuck you, cat!
: Instead, we have to study. Next time, we’ve got two more days of pure plot dump.
Has the “I’m an artist and I want you to be my next model” line ever worked outside of fiction?
From personal experience I can say what he’s thinking of “I should pull that hood up over her head as a joke”. Not in like a forceful or mean way, just sort of casually pulling it up so she’s wearing it.
Shit like this is always hilarious because I mean, copying a painting is pretty difficult! Especially if you do it well enough to be good… if you’re that good why not just create your own work you fucking buffoon! There is no reason to do crime here!
This is another one of those situations where I’m basically unphased, because I knew an art teacher who claimed that “no good artist uses black”, came to work drunk frequently, and made papermache Oscars for his role in “I Downloaded A Ghost”. Nothing is more cartoonish than this guy.
On the plus side my bacon number for Ellen Page is a two!
: Wait what? How is Maruki a teacher now? That doesn’t even work that way!
: “Thanks to the school, I can even talk to you outside of counseling now. I want to talk a little about how mental health and perception can affect you.”
: “Don’t worry - I don’t want to stress you out or anything. Just relax and listen.”
: “How much do you guys know about the emotional mind? See, what’s going on in your mind can affect your body pretty significantly. There’s proof it can even heal you, depending on your outlook.”
: “So, Kurusu-kun! What do we call the phenomenon where believing in a treatment’s power is enough to improve your condition?”
: “Yup! That’s correct. Some people specify that placebos don’t actually have any curative properties. But even if the medicine does nothing chemically, it can affect your perception and help you feel better.”
: I’d like to chime in here for a second, because this is actively being debunked. The Cochrane Library (which appears to be pretty legit) did a whole meta-study on the placebo effect and found even that’s not necessarily true - it’s hard to tell whether researcher bias was involved, and there aren’t a lot of good studies on it.
: “On the other hand, if you don’t trust the medicine to begin with, it might make you feel even worse… we call that a nocebo.”
: “That’s just one example, but my point is that our minds and bodies are more connected than we think.”
: “So it’s important not to push yourself too hard. Remember, your mind needs time to rest too. And it’s my job to help with that, so… come by the nurse’s office whenever you’re feeling down.”
: “The mind affects the body, huh…? You think I’ll change back into a human if I just believe in it hard enough?”
: No, Morgana, your dreams will not come to life even if you keep believing! That was the entire reason that song worked in the first place!
: “The train is the fastest way to go - plus, we can bring pets on here.”
: “Hey, who’re you calling a pet!?”
: “Dude, be quiet! We didn’t pay the pet fare.”
: I’d pay a pet fare to send Morgana to Abu Dhabi.
: “I’m the one guiding you to your destination! You should be calling me ‘Master’!”
: “Er, shoot…!”
: “Yeah, it’s just a toy. It meows when you press on its head.”
: “You heard her, Akira. Press on its head.”
: We are going to make this fucking cat suffer.
: “I just threw up in my mouth.”
: “Seriously?”
: “Oh, this is our stop! Well, see you later! Bye bye!”
: “Doesn’t look like there are any stations close by to that address… if anything, this is the closest station.”
: “What!? Then we gotta walk the rest of the way!? What kinda phantom thief takes the train, and then walks to their destination!?”
: I mean, generally the kind who live in one of the most densely-packed cities on Earth where using a getaway car wouldn’t make sense because of how much traffic there is.
: “Stop your complaining.”
: “It’s supposedly a shack, but this is the neighborhood he lives in… as expected of a famous artist. Looks like the fastest route is to get to the station square and then go to Central Street. Let’s move!”
: “We’re at the right address… the door plate does say Madarame.”
: “Uhh… you ring the bell.”
: “Me!? The walls won’t collapse when I do, will they?”
: “No one sneeze or we’ll blow this house down, okay?”
: “Sensei is currently-”
: “Um, it’s Takamaki.”
: “I’ll be right out!”
: “People really do live here…”
: “Hey. Sorry, but uh… we ain’t here to talk about the modeling thing. There’s something we gotta ask you.”
: “Is it true Madarame’s plagiarizin’ stuff? He’s abusin’ people too, yeah?”
: “Are you serious?”
: “We read about it online.”
: “Preposterous! Not only is the plagiarism impossible, but abuse? He welcomes pupils into his own home! This is no act of violence; it is charity!”
: “And I’m the one residing here and studying under him. I’m saying it’s not true, so it’s beyond doubt.”
: “You might be lyin’ about it!”
: “I had no family when Sensei took me in and raised me into what you see now! If you continue to ridicule the man I owe my life to, you will rue this day!”
: So what you’re saying is that he turned you into Goemon from Lupin, only more gay-coded?
: “…You really think that?”
: “Yusuke? What’s the matter? I heard you yelling.”
: “These people are slandering you with baseless rumors!”
: I’m just imagining Yusuke working at like, a sushi restaurant and going after people with hanzo steel because they asked for a california roll.
: “…Forgive them, Yusuke. They must’ve heard some bad rumors and came in worry for their friend’s safety.”
: “…Understood, Sensei.”
: “Well, even I doubt that a cranky old man like myself could be liked by everyone.”
: “That’s not what we meant…”
: “I’m sorry to have to butt in on your conversation. However, I do have neighbors around. Won’t you please keep it down?”
: I’m just remembering visiting my (very senile) grandma earlier today and her screaming “FUCK YOU, GET OUT! YOU’RE NOT GOOD AT ANYTHING!” at the top of her lungs. I’m surprised her neighbors ever go outside.
: “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
: “… That was discourteous of me… I’m sorry.”
: “…I know! I think you’ll be able to believe in Sensei if you saw that painting.”
: The wiki doesn’t mention if Sayuri is based off an actual painting or not. I don’t think it is, but I don’t really know Japanese painting all that well.
: “Sayuri…?”
: “This was the painting that inspired me to become an artist.”
: “It’s so beautiful…”
: “I don’t even know all this fine-art stuff, but even I can tell that this is impressive.”
: “When I first saw you, I felt the same powerful emotion as when I saw this painting…”
: “Me?”
: “I wish to pursue beauty like this. And I believe that drawing you will be part of that pursuit. I implore you: seriously consider my offer.”
: “I’m sorry that you took the time to come all this way, but I must assist Sensei today. I hope that we can discuss this further another time. If you’ll excuse me, then.”
: “Maybe the Madarame we heard about in Mementos is a different person.”
: “Man, right when we thought we found a new target, too…”
: “How’s the Meta-Nav?”
: “But why!?”
: “Madarame,” “plagiarism” and then “shack”, huh? These seem to be the keywords."
: I feel like if they entered just the words “plagiarism shack” into the Meta-Nav they’d end up in YIIK.
: For real though, what the hell’s goin’ on!? Does an old man like him really have a Palace!?
: “We have the person’s name and the location. All that’s left is the ‘what’ that Madarame mistakes this shack for to enter his Palace.”
: “You mean like how Kamoshida thought the school was his castle?”
: “That’s right. Let’s try saying some things. They can be random guesses.”
: Uh… potato farm. Macaroni and cheese. Floral scented air freshener.
: “It’s a bit sudden, though…”
: “Why don’t we start with ‘castle’?”
: You can’t hear it, but the app says something in the background when they get it wrong. I’m playing with Japanese voices.
: “Then, what about ‘prison’?”
: “Ugh, what a pain! ‘Jail!’ ‘Warehouse!’ And ‘guidance counselin’ office!’ Might as well add ‘farm!’”
: “Not a single hit?”
: “…Should we come back another time?”
: “A building that’s related to artists… if we think from there, what would it be?”
: I’d say an art supply store would be a hilarious choice for a Palace, but Dead Rising kind of did that. I didn’t pick the wrong options because I know what the right one is.
: “Didn’t have much of a choice. I think we just happened to get it right.”
: “What if I hadn’t noticed, and then wandered off and got caught by an enemy!?”
: Just replace “Tong” with “Morgana” and you’ve got the idea.
: “Prolly woulda figured it out once you started walkin’ on two legs.”
: “Grrr…”
: “So even you can slip into the Metaverse without realizing it, Morgana?”
: “Yes. In a place with minimal cognitive distortion, the differences can be subtle.”
: "Forget that… look!’
: “Let’s go check it out!”
: “It’s a museum… right?”
: “This is Madarame’s?”
: “Well, a Palace is a world formed by a mind twisted by desire - remember Kamoshida’s castle?”
: “Madarame’s artwork is on display at museums in reality too, though. His exhibit was popular, and people already respect him. Why would he fantasize about a museum?”
: “You got a point… it ain’t related to plagiarism or abuse, either.”
: “Let’s try looking around. Racking our brains here won’t do us any good.”
: “…Right. That aside, ain’t a museum a must for phantom thieves!?”
: Generally, it’s more of a mafia thing. Most high-profile robberies are.
: “Yeah. All those old man’s fans were super strong and all.”
: “That has nothing to do with this.”
: “But man, just look at that insane crowd…”
: “Well then, it’s time we begin our infiltration!”
: “Ugh… are we gonna have to wait in that gigantic line?”
: “Don’t be stupid. We’re not going in the front door.”
: “But there’s a high wall around the building…”
: “We’ll just have to find our way up over it then. In any case, let’s get going!”
: “It’s just not hitting me that this is that old guy’s Palace…”
: “That’s why we’re here, right? C’mon, let’s go check it out.”
: This entire section is very on-rails. There’s no enemies to fight, you just kind of go forward and into the museum.
: There’s a few stealables along the way, which are mostly just crafting materials. We definitely have enough money to cover guns and armor for everyone.
: There’s a whole jumping section over these pillars…
: And then we reach the entrance.
: “But it’s a pretty far drop… will we be able to get back out this way?”
: “Hehe, don’t worry… I have a rope! I’m our tool specialist, after all!”
: Carrying a bunch of potentially heavy treasure up a rope through a skylight is a perfectly valid strategy with no weaknesses. It’s also something Lupin III has done multiple times.
: “H-hey… this… it’s… moving…”
: “C’mon, we’re in a Palace. That ain’t anything to be freakin’ out over.”
: “Hm, the Palace reflects its ruler’s heart… we may want to check these paintings out.”
: I tried to see if there were any references to the earlier games in here, but there aren’t. I hadn’t played Innocent Sin when I played the base game, so I didn’t know if there were any.
: “It’s someone’s name and age? What the hell?”
: “That can’t be the title of the painting… right? Do you think it’s the artist’s name?”
: “Let’s check the other paintings too. I think there might be something important about them.”
: “But all the portraits on display here look the same… this is way different from what was at the-”
: “Wait a sec!”
: “Dude, I don’t get it. Why’s there a painting of HIM in here!? And more important, why’s his name written under it?”
: I should mention that in the same way that Kamoshida’s castle was a reference to Nemesis Tower from Persona 1, the museum is a direct reference to Thanatos Tower - specifically Tartarus, where your party members’ Personas went if they died.
: “You’re right… doesn’t art usually have like, the title of the piece or the artist’s name?”
: “Hm… this is quite the mystery. All right, let’s keep looking around for now.”
: Weird face wall.
: “It says ‘Yusuke Kitagawa.’ There’s no mistaking it.”
: “Huh? Wait a second… what do you think these paintings are?”
: “I think you’re right.”
: “For real? All of them? But it was only Yusuke when we went to his place before…”
: “This must include former pupils as well. Only one remains now… taking into account what that Nakanohara guy said earlier, things are getting clearer.”
: This is where the entire cast just kind of suffers a collective IQ drop. They’ve had two different people tell them about Madarame plagiarizing art, they’ve seen his palace that is entirely portraits of the people whose art he stole, and now they know he’s doing the same thing to Yusuke… but clearly they need more things to tell them that.
: This room is at the exit of the portrait gallery.
: “We’re here to investigate, so we should check everything that catches our attention.”
: Before that though, there’s two chests in this room. The wiki claims that there’s exactly four locked chests in the museum, and we have five lockpicks. This is a weapon for Morgana.
: “This is gettin’ way too detailed for a freakin’ Palace… why’d he bother makin’ something like this?”
: “Oh, there’s a museum guide on here. Let’s take it with us!”
: “I see… it says it’s one out of two.”
: This is like in Rollercoaster Tycoon when you can give your guests a park map and they still get lost.
: “Then the two outta two’s gotta be around here somewhere, right? Just how big is this place?”
: “We can worry about that another time. Right now our objective is confirming Madarame’s cognition. We may have to reconsider our plan depending on what we find.”
: “I mean, he’s got a Palace… seems pretty sketch to me.”
: Unfortunately, we have to stop here even though there’s no clear reason we couldn’t just keep going.
: “Look at this.”
: “The Infinite Spring?”
: “A conglomerate work of art that the great director Madarame created with his own funds. These individuals must offer their ideas to the director for the rest of their lives. Those who cannot do so have no worth living!”
: “Hey… this is most likely about the plagiarism, right?”
: “Dammit, what a phony geezer!”
: “In other words, his pupils are his property. He doesn’t even qualify as an artist if this is true. He’s stealing the ideas from talented students in exchange for securing their livelihoods.”
: “I wondered about those portraits on display… they must all be his ‘pupils’ through his cognition. This even says they have no worth. Couldn’t this be about the abuse?”
: “Madarame will keep them around as long as they’re useful to him, but the moment they’re not…”
: “He did say that he owes Madarame his life for being taken in…”
: “But still…!”
: “When we were at exhibit, I praised one of the pieces on display. But… Kitagawa-kun acted strange. Maybe that piece was plagiarized too…”
: “What’s the call? Ain’t this enough to target Madarame!?”
: The reason they’re doing this is because they need a contrived reason to put a time limit in place. This game would’ve made a lot more sense if there just… weren’t time limits.
: Or hell, even better, have a thing where Madarame’s Shadow shows up and says he thinks Yusuke is running out of ideas and he’s going to toss him to the curb.
: “Yeah.”
: “Confirm what, though!?”
: “It means we should get solid evidence that such crimes actually took place.”
: “What a pain in the ass…”
: “Besides, there’s too much we don’t know about Madarame yet.”
: “…Mm, you’re right. I’ll try contacting Kitagawa-kun. I might be able to get the truth out of him if I accept his modeling offer.”
: God this is such bad writing. They’ve had Madarame basically tell them outright what he’s doing and they still want confirmation. You’d think they’d have caught onto this game’s theme that only bad people have palaces.
: “Wait, you’re gonna do that!?”
: “You all better come with me, okay? I’m scared to go alone…”
: “Famous, renowned artist, huh? This might be tougher than Kamoshida. Well, we’ll just prep ourselves until we get confirmation from Yusuke.”
: “This is our first mission as real phantom thieves. We’re gonna succeed no matter what!”
: Unfortunately, we can’t do anything tonight because tomorrow’s another plot dump.
: “I just can’t forgive Madarame, but… what Ann said made me think… to Yusuke, are we just a buncha thugs?”
: “I knew it… it ain’t like he thinks it is! Pisses me off just thinkin’ about it!”
: “Good people have to put up with so much crap while… while shitty adults get to do whatever they want!”
: “Makes me sick, I-I’m not wrong, am I?”
: “Aww yeah! Don’t tell Ann I called you, by the way. Seriously. Well, see you tomorrow.”
: Next time, we’ll do another day of plot dump, and then probably another day after that.
I mean, I’m sure it has… somewhere.
I’m not entirely sure why he did it, but I know there was a kind-of similar case in Connecticut recently where a guy dodged jail time for selling a desk he claimed was from the Civil War and given to the brother of a soldier who had died in battle to the Wadsworth Museum for thousands of dollars. The desk was just sitting in his living room and he refinished it. That’s how they figured it out - photos circulated of the desk before and after he finished it in the same spot.
The newspaper article I read on it said that they didn’t really know why the guy did it. He apparently didn’t care about the money, he just did it because he could.
what does that MEEEEEEEEAAAAAAANNNNNN???
I know a tiny bit more about some of these. Aleister Crowley was (surprise) anti-Christian, so a lot of the changed cards are about eliminating Christian metaphysics (and probably Christian morality) from the Arcana. Aeon refers to the change of the astrological age or something like that, replacing Judgment Day. Altering Justice and Temperance might have been in the same vein. And the “Art” I think is specifically the art of alchemy.
I like Morgana and this rules.
Anyway yeah, it’s a little contrived that they need to 100% confirm that the crime is happening, but I kinda get it? Kamoshida’s palace showed him literally torturing them with torture devices, when he was just regularly beating them. There is a narrow margin of error here, I feel, so making 100% sure is important.
: “Perfect! Probably dropped all his plans just to get you over there.”
: “We need to find out from Kitagawa-kun if what we saw in the Palace was true…”
: “Hey, quiet down. It’s that student council president.”
: “It’d suck if she noticed us. C’mon, let’s split up.”
: “Okay, see you later.”
: “C’mon, let’s get some dirt on Madarame. But man… Ann’s late.”
: “Sorry. I was thinking about some things and didn’t notice how much time had passed.”
: “Thinkin’ about what?”
: She was thinking about how much she kind of regrets leaving Persona 2 for this job.
: “Don’t you think Kitagawa-kun has to be protecting Madarame? I mean they live together, so he’d have to be aware of Madarame’s true nature.”
: “The only reason I can think of him doing that is that Madarame has something on him…”
: “Yeah, that’s weird. But that’s why we’re goin’ to check it out, right? You ready to be a model?”
: “Yeah, I’m prepared.”
: “Whaddya mean prepared? Prepared for what? Something seem different about her to you?”
: “Ooh, nice eye!”
: “I didn’t cut them.”
: “H-huh. Well… let’s get goin’. We gotta talk to Yusuke.”
: “Kitagawa-kun seemed really happy when I agreed to be his model. Once he finishes drawing and gets a little friendlier, we should bring up Madarame.”
: “Wouldn’t you get nervous too, if it was just the two of us?”
: “We’re here to keep an eye on you, so don’t try anything perverted, 'kay?”
: I like that this is almost word-for-word the terminology that Satomi Tadashi used to describe Jun. It’s pretty clear Yusuke is gay and I’m wondering if they at one point had the option for Joker to date him.
: “Huh?”
: “Is there a problem?”
: “…No, not really.”
: You just know this would’ve been a contact in Innocent Sin between Jun and Lisa where Jun would paint a picture of him and Tatsuya together and Lisa would just look at it and go “I know! It means Tatsuya is all mine, right?”
: “…Hey. Kitagawa-kun?”
: “…”
: “You hear her?”
: “…”
: “…It’s no use.”
: “This isn’t what we planned! We were gonna catch him off guard and make him spill his beans, weren’t we?”
: “How were we supposed to know this was gonna happen? Guess we just gotta wait ‘til he’s done. What an effin’ pain in the ass.”
: “Perhaps I should try going outside this room…”
: “Just waiting around is a waste of time! This is too boring, so I’m going to scout around a bit.”
: I wonder, do people even do the whole modeling for art thing anymore, in an age where everyone has a camera on them at all times?
: “And… is that a lock? A door with a hefty lock… what could be in there?”
: You would think given that Morgana is supposedly the thieving expert that he’d know most of those locks are made more for looks than actual security. It’s probably a knockoff, too.
: “…What?”
: “I’m sorry… am I the problem?”
: “No, not at all. It’s just… I’m having trouble staying focused today. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to resume this another time…”
: “Oh hell no! How many hours do you think you made us wait!?”
: “I’m sorry… we had another reason for seeing you today. We needed to talk to you.”
: “It’s about those rumors regarding your sensei.”
: “This again…”
: “That painting I saw at the exhibit… you’re the one who actually painted it, right?”
: “That’s…”
: “I knew it.”
: “Your sensei is seriously messed up. He just thinks of his pupils as tools. That’s why he doesn’t give a damn whether he steals their work or physically beats them.”
: “I’ll make this clear, there’s no point in hidin’ stuff from us.”
: “Hahaha… I have no idea what you’re talking about…”
: “You couldn’t go against him, could you? I’m sure we can help you out though…”
: “Stop it… It’s just as you all say. We’re… our sensei’s ‘artwork’.”
: “Don’t misunderstand me though. I offered my ideas to him myself. As such, it can’t be called plagiarism.”
: I get that they’re trying to point out that Yusuke has cognitive dissonance, but that’s kind of not what happened at all.
: “Sensei is simply suffering from artist’s block right now.”
: “Dude, still…”
: “Kitagawa-kun…”
: “Then why’re you stickin’ around!? All his other pupils ran away! Aren’t you the only one left!?”
: “What’s wrong with a pupil helping out his master!? There are no victims here! Stop pushing your self-centered righteousness on me!”
: “…! I’m supporting Sensei as his pupil. Where’s the wrong in that? Don’t ever come here again… if you do, I’ll sue you for causing a disturbance.”
: Yeah, all those lawyers just clamoring for business from 17 year olds who have no money.
: “Hold it! We’re not done talkin’ here!”
: “Then you leave me with no choice.”
: “Hey!”
: “I’m reporting you to the police. I asked Takamaki-san to be my model today, but I don’t recall ever calling you two here!”
: I don’t even get how this would work. “Yes officer, they came to my house. Yes, the homeowner invited them in… no, they left hours ago… why are you hanging up?”
: “What the eff, man!?”
: “Ryuji! Stop it! Calm down, okay?”
: “Dammit!”
: “I won’t report you… but only under one condition.”
: “What’s that?”
: “I want you to continue being my model, Takamaki-san.”
: “But you said it wasn’t working out today…”
: I’m sure the cops will take the fact that you’re attempting to blackmail Ann very well. Not like blackmail’s a crime or anything. Yusuke basically does a 180 to the point where he’s a different person entirely after he joins the party.
: “WHAT!?”
: “Nude!?”
: “Ah, to think I’d be able to create a nude painting with my most ideal model! Of course, you two won’t be allowed in, and I ask that you forget about our discussion today as well.”
: “If I don’t submit a new piece to Sensei soon, there will be some… inconveniences.”
: “Nude, meaning it’ll be without any clothes, right!? Why are things suddenly escalating like that!?”
: “Because those are my terms.”
: “But that’s-”
: “Wait, ain’t that bad!?”
: “Sensei is out during the afternoon while the art exhibit is on, so I can use this place freely. I should buy more art supplies…”
: “Will you give me a second here!?”
: “Of course, I’m willing to wait. I’ll make time according to your plans. But, please come before the exhibit ends.”
: Oh right, they have a blushing portrait for Ann here.
: “Sensei will be returning home soon. We’re done for today, Takamaki-san. I’ll be waiting for you to contact me.”
: "No no no! We are not done talking here!’
: “Hey… what should we do?”
: “Yeah… dammit. He got us good this time.”
: “Don’t give up so easily!”
: “…A cat?”
: “You moron!”
: “How dare that Yusuke…!”
: “The way he said it, it’s not gonna be semi, but full-on nude.”
: “F-Fu- F-F-Full nudity? Lady Ann’s gonna…”
: “Drop it!”
: Well yeah, she’s gonna drop it, that’s the definition of nudity.
: “You know, you won’t have to worry about that if we make Madarame confess before the exhibit ends.”
: “But Kitagawa-kun thinks he owes his life to him. Is there a need to make Madarame confess?”
: “Then, Lady Ann… you’re fine with baring it all!?”
: “I am not!”
: “Madarame’s no different from Kamoshida. That asshole’s usin’ Yusuke, who doesn’t have parents. You’re tellin’ me we should just ignore how he’s bein’ treated horribly like the other pupils?”
: “No… it is frustrating to leave this alone, even if Kitagawa-kun is fine with it himself…”
: “You can’t leave it be because you’ve endured a lot yourself, with Kamoshida.”
: “…Yeah.”
: “Anyways, we gotta go after this guy. Madarame’s the kind of target we’ve been waitin’ for. Let’s help Yusuke come to his senses too… before he ends up like us.”
: “…Right.”
: You know what would’ve been way better writing? Have Ann recognize something when she sees Yusuke talking about his painting, and then realize that what she saw is the same thing she saw when Shiho was being abused.
: “We need to look into Madarame first.”
: “There might be tons more stuff that hasn’t been exposed yet, too.”
: “It may become easier for us to investigate his Palace if he’s preoccupied with his exhibit.”
: “Also, there’s the thing about me modeling! Kitagawa-kun said there’d be ‘inconveniences’ unless he submits a new piece. Maybe that’s going to be announced soon as Madarame’s next work.”
: “Oh yeah. It might not show your face.”
: “That doesn’t make me feel any better about it!”
: And now we have our arbitrary time limit.
: “Let’s start after school tomorrow. It’d be a pain if Miss President finds us on the rooftop a gain, so where to meet up… let’s see…”
: “I guess that walkway-like place in Shibuya would work. It’s near Madarame’s place, too.”
: “Changing our hideout periodically, huh? That’s a plan I don’t mind backing.”
: And here’s where we actually meet Ohya for the first time. The wiki has some BS about her being a reference to some reporter, but it’s pretty clear she’s heavily based on Maya in Persona 2.
: “…Huh?”
: “From the looks of things, you don’t seem like the ordinary, stalking fans.”
: “Uh…”
: “There’s this painting, Sayuri, that was supposedly stolen in the past. But there’s this rumor that it was taken by one of his pupils in retaliation for being abused. Have you heard anything about that?”
: John Persona only cares about two things - gripping and sipping, in that order.
: “I see… there’s no case unless there’s a victim, and if there’s no proof of abuse… I can’t write either. Looks like I’m back to square one. Sorry for taking your time.”
: “I’m a journalist. If you ever get any leads, mind contacting me here? See you then.”
: God dammit. They could’ve just ended Madarame’s entire career by pointing out that all of the paintings are plagiarized.
: “…I guess we should go home for today.”
: I think part of my problem with this game is that the way the plot is laid out, it would’ve worked a lot better as an Ace Attorney style game rather than as a JRPG. Something like Ghost Trick, but with courtroom scenes.
: “I have some interesting news. Someone who received a change of heart contacted me on the Phan-Site.”
: “Said he wants to meet with you to discuss another person who needs a change of heart.”
: This is one of the problems with the plot - by the time we get to Sae, half of Tokyo knows who John Persona really is.
: “You’re better off talking to him in person if you want specifics. All I know is his target is a terrible person… and that it might complicate things if he posted the name online.”
: “I’ll have him wait for you at Shibuya Station after school. The guy’s name is Nakanohara.”
: I really wish that Hashino had at least tried to be clever about it. The real Anonymous had some degree of operational security even before they became what they are now.
: “Nakanohara… that’s Madarame’s student.”
: “I told him to approach you. Good luck.”
: We spend the night crafting. I made some useless item that lowers Security Level because we have plenty of lockpicks already.
: What I didn’t anticipate is that we’d get some amazing RNG. There’s a chance on any given night that you craft an extra item without paying any additional material cost. This also gets us an extra two points in Proficiency (5 vs 3).
: I completely forgot about this being a thing - this is what you’d be resetting for in the base game to minimize time spent on social stats, but the schedule in Royal does not require us to do this. This is because Royal has far more open nights than the base game did.
: “We’re about to head to the hideout too. Who’s that?”
: “That’s Nakanohara. Mishima told us to meet him here in Shibuya today.”
: “For real?”
: “He seems pretty nice. Doesn’t seem like the stalker type. I think the change of heart must have worked.”
: “So? Whaddya want?”
: “Ooh, you think this is it? Is the pupil gonna confess his master’s secret?”
: “His Shadow did mention Madarame as well…”
: “All right, we got some real proof of the plagiarism.”
: “Suicide…”
: Metal Gear!?
: Seriously, what the shit is wrong with Persona 5’s world, where apparently any random idiot can just blacklist a person from everything? Is it like Earth Defense Force where civilians can request airstrikes and the EDF will actually do it?
: “That has to be Yusuke.”
: “So Yusuke’s got no choice but to listen!”
: “Kitagawa-kun…”
: I feel like this cutscene kind of has no reason to exist. It’d be one thing if, say, they’d gone to Madarame’s and Yusuke just went “everything’s fine, no problems here” and then this came up, but we already know most of what he’s telling us.
: “We’ve been asked to act directly on behalf of one of Madarame’s victims. It sounds like we don’t have the time to deliberate whether or not to change Madarame’s heart.”
: “Hell yeah! Madarame’s just a piece of shit who preys on the weak!”
: “Suicide… I’ll never let something like that happen! Plus, we finally got to hear how Kitagawa-kun really feels!”
: “Well, since we’ve reached a unanimous decision, how about we continue this at our new hideout?”
: “Our target this time is Madarame! We all saw that Palace. We’ll pay dearly if we assume it’s just going to be like the last one.”
: “And furthermore… Lady Ann’s chastity is on the line!”
: “What!?”
: “We’ll need to do what we did with Kamoshida. First, we secure an infiltration route in the Palace. After that, we send our calling card. Once the treasure has materialized, we steal it.”
: “Oooh, I got a question! Madarame doesn’t know that we were doin’ stuff in the Palace yet. Why are we already gettin’ treated like criminals in there?”
: “You’re learning, Ryuji. Well done. It must be because he doesn’t trust anyone. Any unknown person may as well be an enemy.”
: “Or maybe he’s just super salty from all those rumors that have been spreading about him…”
: “Then his Palace bein’ so crazy had nothing to do with us?”
: “Either way, we should stay on our best behavior. It’ll be harder for us to steal the Treasure if we needlessly increase the security level.”
: Security level is such a non-issue it’s kind of laughable.
: “We need to be careful of Kitagawa-kun this time too. I’m sure that whatever he sees will just get passed on to Madarame.”
: “That’s right!”
: “Hey, what is Madarame’s Treasure going to look like anyway? Another crown?”
: “I’d doubt that. But my sixth sense will know when I see it.”
: “Oh yeah, you go completely nuts, huh?”
: We’ll be finishing the dungeon before the month is over. The annoying part is that unlike Kamoshida’s dungeon, we need to take FOUR DAYS to finish Madarame’s - this a hard limit and cannot be bypassed.
: “Now listen here. We can’t mess this up, NO MATTER WHAT! OKAY!?”
: Yeah, no. Instead, let’s go to Iwai and get some new guns.
: “You picked it up somewhere. Nothin’ to do with me. Understand? I didn’t see it, I didn’t touch it, I don’t know about it. We clear?”
: Unfortunately, we can’t ask him about the gun. The Riot Police EX is a customized gun - which is what Iwai’s confidant lets you do. It sucks, in that it has about 10 more attack than the one we can buy but only has a four-round magazine.
: First thing I do is sell all the treasure we stole from Madarame’s museum.
: The new guns are a pretty significant attack bump, though most of them only have 85 accuracy.
: I also buy Morgana a cone of shame, which is kind of hilarious. By the time all is said and done, we’ve blown through about a third of our total funds but everyone has new guns and armor.
: Our next stop is a visit to Dr. Femdom.
: “Looks like I have a patient with an emergency.”
: “A young girl losing weight is definitely not good. You should go to a bigger hospital. I can’t provide a thorough examination here.”
: “A famous doctor, huh? I’m just a general practitioner out here in the sticks. As you can see, I don’t even have any staff.”
: “…”
: “What!?”
: sigh “Fine… is your vision blurry? How about your throat, does it hurt? Hm. No signs of swelling.”
: “Are you sure you’ve told me everything about her symptoms and treatments you’ve tried so far?”
: “Hmmm…”
: “There’s something I’d like to ask him bout a case that was in last month’s medical journal. I see. Guess the ones in stock will have to do…”
: “There’s a shelf by the reception desk. Bring the contents of the second drawer into the exam room. You’ll need to help me administer the medicine.”
: “Also, bring the beaker with the red label in the fridge, a towel, wash basin, and measuring spoon… well, what are you waiting for? Get moving!”
: “It was a very unique strain of an infectious disease. It can’t be detected by conventional exams.”
: It’s GUILT, isn’t it.
: “I temporarily suppressed the symptoms. We’ll make adjustments as her condition improves.”
: “Okay, that’ll be one million yen for today.”
: What’s funny is that a million yen (~$9,500) would be an outlandish medical bill in Japan due to their national health care system that has very strict regulations on medical costs, but in the US a $9,000 bill wouldn’t even be that surprising.
: “Huh? Wait, you’re actually going to pay? By the way, that famous doctor you mentioned earlier… was it Medical Chief of Staff Oyamada?”
: “…I knew it. In that case, I’ll make this free of charge.”
: “…Hehe.”
: “Doesn’t it feel good? Treating his patient without permission.”
: “…By the way, thanks to your outburst earlier… I’m going to perform a very special exam on you today…”
: Joker’s getting the extra-strength femdom.
: “Yes, my assistant… guinea pig. He’s about to put in a LOT of hard work today. Aren’t you?”
: “Not for a while. You need to start eating and regain your strength first. Can you do that for me?”
: “Don’t mention it…”
: “Your turn. I wonder what kind of response you’ll have this time… maybe you won’t even be able to make it home.”
: “But maybe it was just what my careless little guinea pig deserved, huh? Especially after approving that girl’s consultation without my permission.”
: “Good boy. But I’m only letting this go today. Don’t pull anything like that again. The drug does seem to be more stable compared to the early stages, though.”
: “It’s probably thanks to your cooperation. Feels like I’m almost there, so… try not to die just yet, okay?”
: There’s a crossword at Leblanc, but we can’t do it without chasing the customers out. It’s kind of annoying.
: It then gives us a trivia thing about the English word “gallery”. I wonder if this was more difficult in the original Japanese or something.
: We have one final stop on this extremely long day, and that’s with Yoshida at the station.
: “…There have been far too many incidents recently to ignore! Can anyone deny this!? The runaway-train incident, mysterious psychotic breakdowns, a school with a corrupt teacher…”
: “We have yet to discover the truth of it all! The apathy that permeates society is a direct result of negligence by our government and the media.”
: “…You’re listening quite attentively. Are you interested in politics?”
: “Are you a student? I’m delighted to captivate the interest of someone your age. …Hm? Have I seen you somewhere before?”
: “Oh, you were working at the beef bowl shop before! You have a lot of perseverance for a young person. Well, if you’re interested, I could use your help.”
: This is why we had to do the two nights at the beef bowl shop.
: “I want to change the state of this country, and to do so, I need the power of the youth. …However, due to a certain regulation, I can’t offer a job to a student.”
: “I was thinking you could learn some things if you chose to attend a few of my speeches though…”
: “Really!? That would be helpful indeed! Well then… would you mind telling me your name and contact information? You’re a student from Shujin Academy, hm? It’s nice to meet you.”
: “In the past twenty years, I’ve lost seven straight elections.”
: I’m… not entirely sure how the math works here. Assuming Yoshida was running for the Diet every time, he’d either be running every 4 years (for the House of Representatives) or 6 years (for the House of Councillors)… unless he’s counting by-elections or something.
: “This isn’t good. I’m dwelling on the negative right before my speech. Well then, I hope I can count on your help immediately.”
: “With common sense no longer our guide, we make decisions based on selfish wants and desires. This has resulted in a deluge of self-centered people who delight in taking advantage of the weak.”
: “A world where the young exist only to be exploited… is a world that must be changed!”
: This is actually a pretty major problem in Japan. The LDP is basically so entrenched as a party, with extensive fundraising and huge amounts of infrastructure, that it’s impossible for the less-organized opposition parties to really oppose them.
: The LDP has basically been in power since 1955, apart from two gaps: one from 1993 to 1994 (after the bubble popped) and one from 2009 to 2012 (after the financial crisis). This is part of why the Japanese economy doesn’t work.
: And when I mean doesn’t work, I mean REALLY doesn’t work. I used to think it just didn’t work in a way that was kind of comical, but no, it doesn’t work in a way that has actively ruined the lives of millions of people. That article there will also explain a lot about Yoshida’s speech.
: “You mustn’t base your decision on whom to support merely according to the party they belong to…”
: I read through a couple of papers on this, and one of the reasons cited for the LDP’s dominance is that people believe in the system, and the LDP is the system. This is why they lost after major, very visible financial crises - because the system didn’t work.
: “If I am chosen to represent the will of the people, then I am fully prepared to…”
: “Well, what did you think of my speech?”
: “Indeed. Do you feel the same? Such as I am, I’d like to believe that I’m capable of giving a moving speech.”
: “However, there are times, like today, when the audience has a difference of opinion on the topic. Some feel I should concentrate on getting elected before I worry about others… do you agree?”
: “Thank you. It’s encouraging to know that my message has won you over. Besides, I have grown quite accustomed to those types of reactions… although I don’t know if that is necessarily a good thing. Regardless, no matter what they say, I must continue on…”
: I’m going to fit one more day in here - it’s pretty short and the 20th is going to be our first foray into Madarame’s dungeon.
: “…I hope you understand. Allow me to warn you again. Don’t involve yourself any further.”
: “I only saw you coincidentally. I have no time for such an ambush. If you continue sniffing around my sensei… we have ways of dealing with that. That’s all I have to say.”
: “I’ve gone to see his work before, but wow… they are truly incredible! I saw some of his interviews, too. He really is a charming fellow. It’s rare to see a gentlemen (sic) artist like him, in a field known for having a lot of eccentric types.”
: Oh wow, our first typo. That only took… 14 hours.
: “By the way, you seem far removed from the arts, Kurusu-kun. Which famous ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period is said to have moved residence over 100 times?”
: This question isn’t something that I would think most people outside of Japan would know, because most people probably only know Hokusai for his most famous work:
: Hokusai was a crazy old man who didn’t feel like cleaning and thus moved every time his studio got too dirty. I wish modern real estate worked that way.
: What P5 doesn’t tell you is that Hokusai was very much into the idea of art for the common person - there’s hundreds of original copies of his paintings out there - and probably would be more if the wood block hadn’t worn out.
: He’s credited with starting French impressionism, the 4-koma style of manga, and manga itself - the word “manga” comes from a book he put out called the Hokusai Manga that was full of drawings for his students to copy.
: Utamaro Kitagawa was a different ukiyo-e artist who mostly did pictures of women. A lot of his life is a mystery.
: “Correct. It seems you know a thing or two after all. Hokusai had a habit of moving, but he also changed his name quite a lot - at least thirty times throughout his life.”
: “His sole interest was his art, so he stayed in poverty, wore tattered clothes, and lived in squalor.”
: “Actually, Madarame’s house was quite modest, too. All master artists, past and present, always put their art above their fame.”
: Now, I’m not saying I want to be one of those people with like 550,000 views on every single LP update, but…
: “He steals his students’ work, and makes them suffer! He’s no master - he’s just an abusive old con man! We’re gonna get him, no matter what.”
: The diner is for studying, and it gives you a bonus on rainy days. They also have special dishes that boost other stats, so in this case we’re getting 3 points to knowledge and 2 to guts from ordering the Surprise Sando.
: Sando is the Japanese word for “sandwich” - it’s one of those words where it’s a loan word that only vaguely sounds like the original word.
: We got a new thing for the Thieves Den, I’ll show it off in a bit.
: This is something new. Some nights, there will be a quiz show on TV. This works just like the crosswords in that it gives you knowledge points and does not take time.
: That’s… not entirely how that works. Japanese law might be different, but in the US both of those things would probably be considered battery.
: The new item in the Thieves Den is a replica of the diner, complete with uh… clones of Ryuji and Ann, because that’s not weird at all. The diner’s name is apparently “Bikkuri Boy”.
: Ok, Stocking. I wonder if anyone’s done crossover fanart, and if so, which P5 cast member is Panty?
: We spent the night getting more placenta water and also hitting the bath.
: I was watching an episode of Game Center CX recently (It’s the one with Warwolf on the NES) and Arino goes to a bathhouse for his arcade trip. They had a bath labelled “electric current bath”, and that frightens me.
: Seriously I saw it and I immediately got the mental image of the torture scene from Metal Gear Solid, only with a bathtub.
: Oh look, Joker’s in the Yamcha death pose.
: And that’s the end of the 19th. One thing I should mention, since there’s a trophy pop-up: I read an article recently that said that P5 Royal is one of the most platinumed games on PSN.
: The reason is that the trophies in Royal are WAY easier to get than the ones in the base game, which required you to do an NG+ run and do a bunch of grindy bullshit to hear all the navigation lines. I don’t think any of the trophies in Royal require NG+, nor is there one for fighting the super-boss.
: Next time, we’ll get our exam results and go to Madarame’s dungeon for the first day out of four.
It’s basically a very dumb thing we won’t understand until the final boss of the base game.
At first I was giggling to myself because I was imagining that every time Morgana starts getting too horny, John Persona just pulls out a water pistol and starts spraying him in the face without a single emotion on his face.
Then I also giggled because I imagined him doing the same thing with the same blank look to Tae.
The entire bar actually lends heavily to Catherine. The assets have been mostly reused from that game and the trivia segments were also a thing there (everytime you downed a drink in Catherine the narrator would give trivia about it).
Shit! I can’t believe I never noticed that. I only played Catherine for a bit and didn’t come anywhere close to finishing it.
Tae would need a fire hose, not a water pistol.
Yes actually! Photos are good but they lack the actual depth of a live model, lack that genuine texture that actual reality has.
There’s something implicitly gross about forcing the girl who has had to deal with sexual abuse to pose nude. Something about it just feels inherently kinda gross. If I had to rewrite it and keep this arbitrary time limit, I’d have it be Joker who is the nude subject (because it’ll set up for some nice drama in their Support and also help with the implying of our artist friend being gay).
I’d argue this isn’t necessarily a typo, since it is spoken dialogue and gentleman can be slurred into gentlemen so easily, especially with the sort of sentence he’s saying. It is, writing wise at least, a typo though, so I’ll grant it.
I’d been thinking that I was onto one of this game’s writing problems - specifically that it had an issue of overly low stakes - but then I realized that while I think that’s true, that problem is inextricably tied to every other part of the story and setting and to fix it you’d have to tear out everything and start over from the beginning.
This is probably a minority opinion, but I’ve started to feel like maybe P5’s visuals are so incredibly, painfully COOL that having characters and a plot at all - not just a bad plot, but a large plot in general - are just kind of getting in the way.
: Not for Atlus/Sega it wasn’t. I actually did a thing on this in one of the updates but then took it out because I felt like it was too cynical, but now I’m not so sure.
: The thing is, Persona 5’s characters all feel like they were focus-grouped to hell for maximum merch sales, rather than to make actually good characters. Let me explain a little further.
: This is from the front page of Amiami, one of the largest “character goods” companies in Japan that will ship directly to the United States. I’ve bought things from them on a number of occasions - I think I mentioned it once but I have both a Chie and Yukiko figma as well as a couple of expensive P5 statues of Joker and a character we haven’t met yet.
: Notice that the weird horny Ann statue is #8 out of all their top sellers right now, despite the fact that the anime for P5 came out in like… I think the same year the original game did.
: Amiami also has 1,270 results for Persona 5 merch alone - this doesn’t include P4 or any of the older games (not that P1 or P2 got figures). Let’s compare that to say, their listings for the entire Final Fantasy series.
: So yeah, P5 has more shit than the entire Final Fantasy series. It even beats out Dragon Quest. You might think this is a common thing among newer RPGs, but it really isn’t. The only series I’ve seen come close is Danganronpa, which was more or less designed the same way P5 was.
: It’s not just figures and shirts and stuff though. Persona 5 had a stage play, which I think covered only things we’ve seen already…
: It had an entire line of tea…
: It had pop-up cafes, it had crossovers with a bunch of mobile games…
: That one’s just the ones Ann’s been in, but there’s a list about as big for pretty much all of the main party members.
: Atlus and Sega have no doubt raked in loads of cash on this shit.
: What gets me though is that I feel like each character was purposely designed and made as horny as possible to attract certain types of fans, rather than because they fit with the story.
: Anyway, that’s my bit on why I don’t like any of the characters - because they feel like they were each made to sell as much merch as possible.
