Summary
: What I love about this scene is that there’s absolutely no reason Makoto couldn’t have just used the group IM thing instead of calling.
: I mean, they’re already going the “tell, don’t show” route with Kaneshiro, as we’ll see briefly.
: “There’s something I feel I should let you know. Kaneshiro contacted me.”
: “Kaneshiro!?”
: “He said he’s calling off our debt. It seems he’s disposed of all the photographs as well. And, um… my sister and her team have taken him into custody.”
: “What!?”
: “It appears they did not want him to… disappear, if you know what I mean.”
: Strangely enough, even though the party basically delivered Kaneshiro right into the shadowy conspiracy group that would probably off him anyway, he never dies.
: “His group was called a mafia, after all… I wouldn’t put silencing him past them.”
: “Does this mean we were successful in changing his heart?”
: “It’s hard to say for sure yet.”
: No, I’m sure the amoral yakuza who was exploiting minors for cash just went to the police and turned himself in for no particular reason at all.
: “I see… what about those psychotic breakdowns that Kaneshiro mentioned?”
: Wouldn’t you know!? Your sister is the DA in charge of investigating that!
: I really would like to see what this game would’ve been like if the writing wasn’t constantly repeating itself.
: I mentioned 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim in the last update and I imagine it’d be like that - I liked it up until it started getting dumb near the end, and then completely disengaged with the plot… kind of like what happened with this game.
: “True… that said, all we can do now is wait until Kaneshiro’s change of heart becomes clear to us. Thank you.”
: “A young woman wearing all brand clothing and an older man with gold accessories were arguing. Both were on their high horse, and even though they dressed fancily, it felt noveau riche.”
: “Speaking of, the Japanese words for ‘high horse’ and ‘nouveau riche’ both originated as shogi terms. A lot of people aren’t familiar with shogi, but it’s good to know a little bit about it.”
: “So, Kurusu-kun. Have you seen this piece before?”
: I had to look it up, but this is the Knight piece. Shogi is honestly one of those things that I’ve never cared enough about to get into.
: “That’s right. The lance and the silver general also have the kanji for ‘gold’ on the back. By the way, it’s said that the ‘to’ on the back of the pawn piece is a cursive form of ‘gold’.”
: Some shoji sets apparently replace the “to” character (と) with a different one (个) that’s more similar-looking to the kanji for “gold” (全).
: “If a knight crosses into enemy territory, for instance, they can promote - becoming as mobile as a gold general. A weak piece like a pawn can become gold if you get it to the enemy’s camp, hence ‘nouveau riche’.”
: Fun fact, this is how American football works. That’s why they cut to commercial after every touchdown, because the scoring player has to go get the “gold” kanji drawn on their back.
: “By the way, nouveau riche like to wear expensive clothes because of a desire to be acknowledged. Once humans fulfill the basic needs of clothing, food, and shelter, our next desire is recognition.”
: “That’s why people try to make themselves seem bigger by flaunting their power through money.”
: I mean, maybe. My next desire is something to keep me occupied from the lingering threat of boredom.
: Makoto’s confidant is now open. We will not be touching it this update - normally we would, but I need to buy Eligap some time.
: Instead, we’re going to do a confidant event with Kasumi.
: “Since our talk, I’ve been trying to think of things besides gymnastics that I’m really invested in… and I figured something out! It’s this!”
: “Yeah. I can cook! You really need to regulate your diet in gymnastics, so I’ve been making my own food a lot. And so! Since I also wanted to thank you, I made you bento!”
: “This is actually my first time cooking for someone else besides my family… but I figured this would definitely help me get my confidence back!”
: “I made this specifically with your body type in mind, and knowing how much you exercise… do you want it?”
: I’m just picturing Joker looking into the bag and going “Hey Morgana, does watching DVDs count as exercise?”
: “And it’s all yours! The chicken and eggs are to help you with fatigue. There are some beans in there, too, and it’s on brown rice.”
: “Weight control’s important for gymnasts, but we also need to make sure we’ve got energy and stamina too. So high-protein, low-fat is usually what we go for. We also need iron to maintain stamina, and vitamin B for energy.”
: “Wait… I’m getting all focused on the gymnastics part again… Well, anyway… let’s dig in!”
: “…Why do you look so skeptical, Kurusu-senpai? I guess it might look like a lot, but this is actually a little less than my usual. Don’t worry, I’ve done the math on the calories. I’ll burn all this off at practice.”
: “C’mon, Senpai! You’ll be done before you know it!”
: They keep re-using the whole “Girl who is laughably bad at cooking” thing and I don’t know why.
: “Kurusu-senpai? You okay? Your eyes are glazing over…”
: “You think so? I don’t think it’s that weird for an athlete. Heavy seasoning would probably be bad for you, so I went easy on it. Hmm. Was it too light? Excuse me…”
: No! Curry is overrated! That was the entire point of Disgaea 5… at least, I’m pretty sure it was because I’ve forgotten everything else about that game. It was pretty bad.
: “So I decided to go for maximum curry flavoring! U-um, sorry… were you not a fan of that flavor? Or, wait - maybe you prefer the super spicy ones!”
: “I’m so sorry! I did this all wrong… I’ll go get some kind of condiment to change the flavor! Once I fix it, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it more!”
: “Should I get mayonnaise? Soy sauce…? Maybe miso? Do you think Dr. Maruki will have some salt!?”
: “Oh, you’re right! I should just buy something new you can eat right now!”
: “Um, but… well, thank you! Now, we should really eat.”
: “Thank you for completely finishing your meal, Kurusu-senpai. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out perfectly… I came up with the idea of making bento, but I couldn’t decide on the flavor…”
: “Either way, I’m really sorry! I’m so embarrassed… I thought it was so great when I presented it to you, and now…”
: And that’s how Ni no Kuni 2 was born. Or YIIK.
: “Next time, I’ll ask you what you like before I try anything too crazy. I’ll go buy that super spicy ‘Megido-sauce’ for next time!”
: Megido Sauce, guaranteed to devil bust your tastebuds or your macca back.
: “Hee hee… it seems like you’re always helping me find my way forward, Senpai. If I didn’t have you, I’d let my failures get to me and end up in some big pessimistic spiral again.”
: “…Maybe this kind of confidence can help me figure out who I really am.”
: “Okay, now that we’ve gotten all our nutrients, it’s time for the next phase! I don’t mean to be too demanding, but I’m going to train you even harder than before! Make sure you keep up!”
: Joker immediately reaches for the air horn. He’s seen this before.
: When we get back, we get a notification that the next Caroline and Justine outing is open. We’re not doing that for another week or so.
: Hifumi Togo is this game’s best girl. She still doesn’t hold a candle to Elly or Yukiko.
: Unfortunately, we won’t be touching her confidant for some time. She is well worth doing even if you’re not going for 100% because you need her to fuse Lucifer.
: I mean, maybe in the real world, but in the SMT universe churches are for one thing and that’s devil busting the Messians before they can do the whole “Thousand Year Kingdom of God” nonsense.
: “Let’s ignore that idiot. Anyway, a shogi expert, huh? Striking an enemy with but a moment’s inspiration, skillfully strategizing toward victory…”
: “They said she’s at the church in Kanda, right? We should check it out when you have the time.”
: We have a couple of things to do tonight First, we can sell all this sooty armor, which is more than I remember picking up.
: The grab bag is available again, so I take one.
: The three Old Haori are upgrades for the male characters, so I go ahead and equip them. We’ll probably wind up buying new armor from Iwai anyway, but this will work when we go into Mementos next week.
: Sakai wants a Yakisoba Pan. We’ve been carrying one around for like three months. It’s probably still good.
: He gives us another Black Robe, which I might actually save for the late-game. I think there’s a few armor pieces near the end of the game that are better than the ones you can buy.
: Speaking of Iwai, let’s go sell all the vendor trash. That’ll bring us to 667,000 yen.
: Can you guess who the next target is going to be?
: This sounds like it was written by someone who has no idea how the internet works.
: If you hadn’t guessed by now, this spells it out. Anyway, we’re just going to call Kawakami, and…
: “That voice on the phone wasn’t Kawakami. Maybe you should ask for more details?”
: I’d just like to point out how little sense this scene makes. Joker is presumably calling the maid service’s number, and somehow reached the hospital from the maid service.
: “But thanks for coming all this way to visit me. Ugh, how could I collapse at a time like this? I really need to make some money… how am I going to make today’s payment…?”
: “You contacted the school…!?”
: Takase’s family would get a D- in Extortion 101.
: “I-I’m sorry…”
: “These are Takase-kun’s guardians, the ones I mentioned the other day. They took care of him…”
: Why do they keep using “the other day”? They could just have said “I told you about them” and it’d be enough.
: Seriously though I don’t understand how they supposedly did a once-over on the script between the base game and Royal and didn’t change some of this stuff.
: “He’s one of my students. He came to visit me…”
: “I’m sorry…”
: “Kurusu-kun…”
: I feel like Persona 5 takes place in some kind of bizarro world where extortion and blackmail are legal and everyone just kinda does it.
: “That’s not…”
: “…I understand. I will pay you… so…!”
: “I have to figure out a way to make more money… I guess transferring to our sister company is the only way…”
: This is one of the reasons I feel like the whole “there is a right answer to every choice” thing is kind of a bad idea.
: If you ask her about the sister company, the game spells it out for you: it’s prostitution even by Japanese legal standards.
: “Haha… I can’t believe I’m getting scolded by my student. Why…? Why are you so interested in helping me? I’m not worth it…”
: And then a doctor walks in and beckons Joker out of the room. “I’m sorry, son. The disease has progressed too far. We’re going to need to send her to Anime Containment.”
: “…Meow. …I’m so tired. All I really want is… a way to apologize to Takase-kun. So if his guardians demand money, then I just have to pay them…”
: “Sorry, I’m not quite back to a hundred percent yet, so my thoughts are all over the place.”
: “…I’m going to get some rest. I appreciate you coming to visit me today. …It made me really happy.”
: I remember the last time I was in a hospital - I was visiting someone, and right around this point I had the Ham Sandwich of Despair.
: The person I was visiting had wanted one, so I went down to this overpriced sandwich place in the lobby and got one, and when I brought it back up they told me they didn’t want it after all. They tell me to just eat it because they’re going to order dinner from the hospital.
: So there I am, in a hospital room, eating a ham sandwich. It doesn’t taste like anything, no matter how much mustard I put on it, because of the overpowering smell of the cleaning fluids the hospital uses. It is the Ham Sandwich of Despair.
: “…Visiting hours are over. Get home safe, okay…?”
: We start the 30th with Ann asking us to go to Mementos. We’re not doing that yet, because there’s still a few more requests we need to pick up - namely Kawakami’s.
: Instead, we’re going to to see our boyfriend.
: “It is on display as we speak. Would you like to come see it with me?”
: “Then let us head to the museum. To be honest, I have yet to actually go there myself. This should be quite lovely.”
: “Hm, I believe my piece truly stands out among the sea of art here. And yet, nobody has come to see it… perhaps they are so afraid of the truth held within that they dare not take a closer look.”
: Joker glares at the old people. No one hurts his boyfriend.
: “…There is no need to worry. I am not bothered in the slightest. That was nothing more than the drivel of unrefined commoners. I needn’t pay any attention to them.”
: “As long as those who are in the know understand my work, I will be happy.”
: “Look! A knowledgeable patron has arrived!”
: “I would like your opinion, sir… what are your thoughts on this piece?”
: If I was actually writing the More Like Yusu-Gay route, I’d probably have him say something like “You’ve clearly got something interesting to say here, but it’s like you’re afraid to really put yourself into it and say it.”
: Yusuke would have a thought here which would be something like, “Doesn’t he get it? I can’t! If I do that…”
: Then there’d be a flashback of Yusuke with Madarame, where Madarame has either realized himself that Yusuke is gay or Yusuke has told him directly.
: I’m not sure exactly how I’d write it, but it’d be something like Madarame telling him that he can’t be openly gay and an artist at the same time, “because that’s how this country is. Your pieces would never sell. People wouldn’t bother to look beyond you to your art.”
: The idea is that it’s something where he’s doing it to keep Yusuke under his thumb, but also has a grain of truth to it.
: “My work is… empty?”
: “…Indeed. But… why? I put my heart and soul into this piece, captured the very essence of desire… it was supposed to lay bare the reality of the world!”
: “Perhaps… perhaps he was right. It may be empty after all… these colors, these brush strokes… they do not convey the true meaning of desire, only my conception of it!”
: “I haven’t captured desire… desire has captured me! How could I have fooled myself into believing otherwise!?”
: “This grave mistake shall be the end for me!”
: “But, I… what is going to happen to me now? Without art, what will remain of my being!?”
: “Akira… you are correct. Surrendering myself to fate after only one failure would be very much unlike me. Still, being criticized by someone with such a keen eye is truly painful…”
: “But that is all the more reason I must break out of my slump. I must prove my ability to him…!”
: “I will start by painting. After that, I shall paint, beyond which I shall paint even more. That is the only way I will learn to capture the essence of emotion.”
: “After all, you can only accomplish so much in using logic to analyze the contents of the heart. …I hope you allow me to continue my skill card services as well, Akira. I shall conquer this!”
: “Now then, let us head home. I wish to start anew.”
: “That one gentleman’s critique made me fully realize what I’ve been lacking. Now my path is clear! I will simply keep on drawing. I’m going to have ten pieces finished up by end of today!”
: That last part isn’t a typo on my end, that’s exactly how it is in the screenshot. They forgot a “the”.
: “Hah! If anything, I should be doing more. I’ll do anything to escape this slump! With your support, I was able to pick myself up rather quickly today.”
: “I hope this doesn’t discourage you from joining me again. I will get past this. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. We’ll meet again soon.”
: It’s here I figure out how the touch pad confidant tracker thing works.
: All the tracker does is steer you toward a “recommended” confidant each day. Neither the reload-heavy 100% route nor the one I’m using do this one tonight.
: There’s also a crossword tonight.
: Tonight, we’ll be starting what’s either the most or the second-most important confidant in the game.
: “You can begin by telling me your name.”
: “Ah, Akira Kurusu-san. I see. Your name is quite lucky. That aside, what type of consultation can I interest you in today?”
: “Well, um… I use tarot cards to foretell the future.”
: As it so happens, I actually have a complete deck of tarot cards with the Persona 4/Golden faces on them, but I have no idea how you’re supposed to use them.
: “Now then, let’s start with an initial reading to test the waters of your fate. O divine power… bring forth this boy’s fortune!”
: “I see. There seems to be new wealth in your future. Your financial fortune is looking good today. This wealth of which I speak will come… from your house.”
: “Head home without detour, and precisely five thousand yen will await you there!”
: If someone wants to explain to me how it is you’re supposed to do… whatever it is she’s doing… I’ll do it with the P4 cards and post it in the thread. We’re going to be coming back here a lot.
: Anyway, this is a preview of Chihaya’s first ability: the money reading. Money readings cost 5000 yen and get you twice the money if you end a battle with an All-Out.
: This is one of the reasons that the Greatest Weapon in the Phantom Thieves Arsenal is a better technique than confusion farming - you can go directly to an All-Out from the negotiation screen and double any money gained that way.
: “As you should. Fate is absolute! But… what is this? How strange. Kurusu-san, the general flow of your future seems to indicate… ruin…? And an inmate, locked away in a lonely cell…”
: “You seem to be a good person, Kurusu-san… but are you perhaps mixed up with the wrong crowd? Beyond that… my…”
: This is foreshadowing to something we could have seen, but haven’t. It’s a reference to the game over cutscene that happens if you ignore the time limit for a Palace.
: Let’s just pretend I went and actually sat through several hours of going to sleep in a loop until I ran out the timer on Kaneshiro’s dungeon.
: I took these from a video on YouTube. They’re from the base game, which is why the font is different. I kind of wish they hadn’t changed it, because I started using it for the update banners and didn’t know they had changed it when I started making them.
: This cutscene is actually a gigantic plot hole for several reasons. I’ll give you the first one: this cutscene takes place in November. By this point, Joker should know who the person with the gun is.
: “I cannot offer advice to that end… Hm. If the divination is coming to me this clearly, the truth of it is simply undeniable.”
: “Now that I think about it, there may be way you can attempt to counteract your destiny.”
: Bring a Persona that’s immune to gun damage and then light the gunman on fire?
: Remember how I said we need 100,000 yen to unlock Chihaya? This is why.
: “I typically only recommend this to my more experienced customers, but your situation is too dire to ignore. You see, the stone itself is imbued with an aura of joy that will sap away all the horrible energy surrounding you.”
: Wasn’t this a Yakuza substory? I think it was.
: “All you need to do is keep it wrapped in cloth and be sure to recharge its power in moonlight every three days.”
: The worst part is that we have to take a second day to buy the crystal. We’re going to buy it anyway, but now we need to spend two time slots on it even though we already have enough money.
: “I-It’s legitimate, I promise! So… you really don’t want it? What a shame it will be to see the flames of youth snuffed out so soon…”
: “Well, come see me again if you change your mind. I really can help you, if you’d like.”
: “The chief seems strangely happy. I wonder what’s going on.”
: “Hey Akira, how’s your pocket money situation been looking?”
: I mean, we’re only carrying around $6,200 in cash.
: “Hahaha, you’re hopeless!”
: “What? Is this… five thousand yen!?”
: “I won some money from the lotto, so I don’t mind sharing my winnings.”
: There’s a lotto stand in Shibuya we could use, but I never did in the base game.
: “Don’t worry about the details. Or what, is that five thousand yen not enough for you? Anyway, make sure you close up the shop like always.”
: “Hey, so… does this mean that fortune teller was right?”
: “She even got the amount spot on! Maybe that Chihaya lady can seriously read into the future! Wait… this is bad! Didn’t she say you’re gonna die!?”
: “Come on, we need to go talk to her again and figure out what to do! …And maybe I can have her read my compatibility fortune with-”
: It’s zero percent.
: He’s finally learning to fear the hose.
: Next time, we’re going to start Makoto’s confidant, find out Kawakami’s secret, pay 100,000 yen for a magic crystal, and most importantly see the first part of the Gay Yusuke Route. I might even write something for it. Maybe.
: Eligap already has the next part mostly done, so this should be the only time I’ll need to stall for that.