Click Here for Update 70
: This entire thing is to set up a cutscene on 10/3.
: October is going to be a month of nothing but confidants and cutscenes, because the next dungeon doesn’t open up until November.
: “I’m starving… but the hunger doesn’t really bother me when I’m playing.”
: “What!? Are you sure? Okay, today’s training will be a ‘lecture’. If you pay for my meal, I’ll let you have the course for free.”
: “I get my meal, and you get your training, so we’re both happy. Now, stop wasting time and take me some place to eat!”
: I looked up how long of a train ride it is from Akihabara to Shibuya, and it’s like 20 minutes. You’d think they could find somewhere local to eat.
: “They attack me in large numbers, so I can’t let my guard down. All they did today was throw eraser crumbs into my lunch, though, so I won that round.”
: “… It’s a war. I’m on the defensive right now, but I’m looking for a chance to counterattack. I could finish them in a second if I put my mind to it. It’s just that… now’s not the right time.”
: “It gets kind of annoying having to watch my back all the time, though… maybe I can ask the Phantom Thieves to take care of them…”
: Ooh, can we do that? I wanna traumatize some children! I mean, maybe not traumatize for life, but just enough, you know?
: “What a joke… once you lose, it’s over. That’s what my mom told me. My mom’s fighting with the school… about how classes are taught, the way teachers treat students, the size of the classes…”
: Joker’s like “So, a soccer mom.” and Shinya goes “Wait.. what’s soccer? Is that in arcades?”
: “Since the divorce, my mom’s been taking care of me all by herself. She says it’s exhausting. She leaves really early to go to work. Then she comes home really late to take care of me.”
: “It’s no wonder she demands so much from the school, you know? But all of my classmates make fun of her and call her a complainer… when I tell them to stop, they call me a momma’s boy. That’s how the war started.”
: “My mom gets made fun of because I’m weak! That’s why I gotta get stronger!”
: This is the ‘correct’ answer, which seems kinda fucked up given that it’s like blaming him for being bullied.
: “Well, the Phantom Thieves would laugh at me if I lost now. But I’ve got a long way to go… Oh, before I forget, I need to show you something.. don’t tell anyone else about this, okay? But I’m going to show you a guaranteed way to win!”
: “…I wish I could be a member of the Phantom Thieves and help them defeat the bad guys in the world. Oh, it’s kinda late. I guess I should go home…”
: I’m actually kind of surprised they didn’t put Shinya in as a party member, ala Ken in Persona 3. Have him be an SMT-style devil buster who uses guns and doesn’t have a Persona.
: “We just talked a bunch about me today, so you gotta tell me more about the Phantom Thieves next time. Maybe we can go eat something again while we’re at it?”
: Shinya is a lot like a little cousin of mine who got his first taste of fast food, realized his parents could buy fast food anytime they wanted, and from then on would demand it every day.
: “Really!? Thanks, Kurusu-san! Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I went out to eat with anyone but my mom. Okay, let’s go get some hamburger steak next time. It’s my favorite food!”
: “…Come to think of it, mom hasn’t made hamburger steak in a while either… but she seems super busy, so.. not much I can do, I guess.”
: “Wonder if she’s coming home late again tonight… okay, bye, Kurusu-san. I’ll see you at the arcade.”
: “Looks like this Okumura case is finally going to have a happy ending. All that we have to do now is wait for his change of heart.”
: Come to think of it, you know what would’ve been a much better way to write this part? Have it so that Okumura doesn’t have his shadow killed until the end of the arc.
: Come up with some bullshit excuse for him to still be killable in the Metaverse after his palace is gone, or better, just have the killer shoot him in reality.
: I didn’t have a Hanged Persona handy, and at this point I left going “You know what, I might as well fuse something worthwhile.” That plan kinda backfired, but I’ll show off the fusions anyway because one of them is an ingredient for Lucifer.
New Persona: Ananta
Origin: Hinduism
First Appearance: Shin Megami Tensei I
Also known as Shesha. Massive serpent with somewhere between five and a thousand heads who holds the universe in his hoods. Vishnu uses him as a bed. Once ate the Hindu wind god and stopped everything from breathing until Vishnu forced him to stop. Destroys the universe at the end of each Kalpa.
: Ananta is a garbage Persona, plain and simple. Sure, it learns Freidyne and Nuke Boost… but we already have sources of both of those and don’t really have a reason to use it when we have Mara and Baal.
: I fused the Ananta out of the Decarabia we have and a Regent, though I could have used Koh-i-noor instead.
New Persona: Moloch
Origin: Christian Fanfiction
First Appearance: Megami Tensei I
Like Baal, Moloch probably isn’t an actual entity. The academic understanding is that the name “Moloch” comes from Roman texts discussing a concept called “mlk” that was supposedly practiced by the Mesopotamians in which they sacrificed their children to their gods.
This was later picked up by the authors of the Old Testament (specifically Leviticus), who took a bunch of existing Mesopotamian gods (including Hadad, aka Baal) and slapped the child sacrifice thing on them, then rolled that into a single demonic entity called “Moloch”, to which the people of Mesopotamia sacrificed their children by burning them alive.
The bull-headed demon comes from a medieval understanding of what Moloch was, and was possibly influenced by the Minotaur.
In reality, there is no evidence that the people of Mesopotamia sacrificed their children or burned anyone alive. None of the gods that Moloch is believed to be bastardized from were associated with human sacrifice, and it appears to be a misunderstanding (either intentional or otherwise) by the Romans and early Abrahamic people that wrote the Bible as to what the religions of the various peoples of Mesopotamia was.
: You might remember Moloch from the very beginning of the game. I wound up fusing him because he learns Fire Amp, but then I realized that it wasn’t worth spending most of our remaining funds on.
: I was also very surprised to see how many sources the wiki links to about Moloch, and I have to agree that the concept of people sacrificing their children by burning them alive seems a little far-fetched.
: “Now, go. I gotta take care of some business with Tsuda. I’ll be there after I handle that. See ya soon.”
: Wait, what? His parents were never in a car crash. In fact, I don’t recall that the confidant ever explains why he has a neck scar. I wonder if the writers forgot or something.
: “…Yo, sorry for the holdup. You two look like you’re havin’ fun. What’ve you been talkin’ about?”
: “Well aren’t you two a little pair of ladykillers? Guess there’re worse things you could be talkin’ about though. Wait.. did you get a girlfriend, Kaoru?”
: “Anyways, I can’t stay long. I’ve got errands I need to take care of. Figured it’d be nicer to at least drop by instead of tell you over the phone.”
: “What’s that s’posed to mean? It’s just work stuff. Ain’t that right?”
: I’m pretty sure that second option is a holdout from an earlier draft of the plot. I think I mentioned this earlier, but at one point during development, the devs had planned to re-introduce ‘breaking’ a confidant, something that hadn’t been seen since Persona 3.
: Breaking a confidant would be a permafuck: you lose all the benefits you had and can no longer finish it. They probably got rid of this because it would be awkward to be able to break Iwai’s confidant and then continue selling shit to him.
: “Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Order anythin’ you want. It’s on me!”
: “By the way, I’m almost done figurin’ out what happened with that deal we were talkin’ about. I’m goin’ now to meet with the guy who set it all up. I’ll have to fill you in on the details some other time.”
: “Anyways, this is all thanks to you, kid. It’s real nice havin’ a reliable part-timer to help 'round the shop.”
: “Dangerous? 'Course not. Well, I’m outta here. You can hang onto my wallet, Kaoru. Eat as much as you want.”
: “With you coverin’ for me, I actually got some good business done, too. Looked like you and Kaoru really hit it off. Glad to see you two get along.”
: “That was kinda what I was hopin’ when I asked you to handle this. To be honest, though, things went even better than I expected. Hah, well. I figured I was just getting some security, but I guess that’s not all you’re good for.”
: “He’s hittin’ that age where he has to figure out a lot. Some of which I’m sure he won’t talk to me about. I’m kinda hopin’ you can help him through that kinda thing.”
: Today, we’re going to make a minor schedule digression. I had planned to do the Yoshida event we skipped on 09/25 on 10/10, but I don’t trust this guide anymore. There’s an optional event with Futaba today that I’ll show off, but that I’m going to skip and do Yoshida instead.
: Normally I would have recorded to 10/10 to fact check, but there is a VERY long cutscene on 10/03 and I don’t want to go through it again.
: Today, we have Yusuke’s Rank 8. We’ll be seeing his Rank 9 Romance scene about two updates from now, and of course we’ll be doing his Rank 10 scene at the same time.
: “That reminds me, I would like to speak with you and the others. Do you have some free time today? I would like other opinions as well. I shall send out an invite and see who has time to meet. I wish to do so at Leblanc, if that is all right with you.”
: “Boss was even kind enough to serve us coffee before he went shopping… now, I have a vital request.”
: “Hit me with your best shot! All the tough problems’re gonna have to go to Akira, though.”
: “Hmm, I can help with any subject that’s not math.”
: “Hm? Do you two honestly believe I would ask you here for help in my studies? The truth is, I am planning to display my work in a competition.”
: “The one organized by Kawanabe of the Japanese Art Support Foundation. You remember, yes Akira? I must win and prove not only my ability, but my intense passion for art as well.”
: “However.. I am having quite a bit of trouble determining what my next subject should be. I have given this painting a fair amount of thought, but nothing has come to me yet. Hence.. I was hoping to hear your opinions on an ideal subject.”
: This game is unrealistic because you know there’d be one person who doesn’t immediately change into their fall outfit on 10/01.
: “Anyway, maybe you should paint something people find pretty.”
: Joker chimes in, “I’m something people find pretty.”
: “Hm… so in the end, we return to the concept of beauty. Akira, what subject do you think would most capture beauty?”
: This answer is, of course, non-canon.
: “Hm… I suppose she is a subject I put great focus on in the past. But now I am aware of her true personality… I am not sure I could paint her beautifully.”
: “Haha, that’s right! …Wait, what’s that supposed to mean!?”
: Owned.
: sigh “Why can I not paint a beauty as pure as the Sayuri? Where have all of my efforts gone?”
: “You know, I’m not really sure what you mean by pure beauty. I mean yeah, it’s a pretty painting. But.. I’m not sure I really consider it a pure beauty or whatever.”
: “Hm…?”
: “I dunno, I guess it just feels more gentle to me. Honestly, I almost cried the first time I saw the Sayuri. It felt kinda like I was a baby again in my mother’s arms. Watching over me, telling me everything’s gonna be okay… that was the gentleness that painting made me feel.”
: “…This is coming from someone with absolutely no art knowledge though!”
: “Gentleness? That is yet another aspect the Sayuri captured that I cannot… is my heart too clouded?”
: “It ain’t cloudy, dude.”
: Maybe what he needs.. is a boyfriend.
: “But, now? What now!? I have become overwhelmed with a need to prove myself to Kawanabe… to prove myself to the world. I looked down on Madarame for focusing so sharply on fame and money, yet I too yearn for the praise of others!”
: “In truth, oftentimes I regret declining Kawanabe’s offer..”
: “What? My ugliness has… helped me grow?”
: “Akira’s right, dude. Ain’t nothing wrong about doin’ your best to make a livin’.”
: “And you just want someone to acknowledge your work, right? That’s some serious passion.”
: “But.. how can passion be born from these repulsive thoughts?”
: You have to say the heart, the heart isn’t silent. He’s like Kira*Miki from VA-11 Hall-A.
: “But y’know, even through all that… I was tryin’ to help my team out. Sure it’s a solo sport, but nobody’s gonna run 'til they puke if they don’t got teammates they wanna inspire.”
: “I guess what I really wanna say is, you gotta do stuff for people beyond just yourself if you wanna succeed.”
: I mean, my goal with this LP was to stop people playing through a 100+ hour JRPG a second time just to see a bunch of extra cutscenes.
: “Hm… is that how it is? …So the sincere gentleness held within the ‘Sayuri’… the warmth of its heart… it was all for the sake of those who gaze upon it? How interesting…”
: “I have been a fool! Beauty is not the superficial thing I have long thought it to be! It is something that wells up within the heart until it breaks free!”
: Uh-oh. Could this mean he’s planning on confessing to Joker? I think it might…
: “It is a gift, given by a subject unto its viewer! Yes, I finally see the truth! The three of you have my sincerest gratitude! You have been a truly tremendous aid!”
: “…How exactly?”
: Yusuke now has most of his abilities, which is why we’ll be ditching someone (probably Haru) for him next dungeon.
: “He looked pretty inspired though, so he’ll be fine… right? Anyway, are you guys hungry? I might ask Boss to make me something once he gets back. Hm, maybe curry this time.”
: I like to think that Sojiro is walking down an aisle in a supermarket with Futaba texting him every five seconds asking for curry, and he’s like “I swear, if one more fucking person asks me for curry today…”
: “God, you eat so freakin’ much… oh yeah, and what was that crap about being good at everything 'cept math? It ain’t nice to lie, y’know.”
: “I get why Haru is worried… but let’s just wait for the change of heart to go through. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be just like it always is.”
: “I guess it’s somewhat educational with all the science mumbo jumbo..”
: We get a whole shitload of knowledge points we can’t do anything with.
: “Y’know, sci-fi’s more than just some crazy made-up baloney. It’s like… a dream that might end up coming true one day. I guess it’s almost like hope! You get me?”
: I get that you’re a couple words off the lyrics to Weight of the World.
: “Nice, you’ve got potential! In any case, thanks for chilling! Um… this was way more fun than all those times I’ve seen it alone. I know! Maybe we can have a foreign sci-fi marathon in your room someday! Better look forward to it!”
: Hell no! I’m not Netflix and chilling with you, you horrible anime gremlin!
: The good news is, I checked afterward and as it turns out we had enough points for Futaba’s next confidant rank without doing this.
: Should the guide be correct and 10/10 is open for Yoshida, we will use that time to be ahead of schedule and under budget and do his Rank 10 early, as he has no optional events.
: “Stamina is important for public speaking as well. You’re still young, but take care of yourself. I’ll be giving a speech again today. I’d also like you to come with me somewhere after the speech. What’s your availability like today?”
: “Actually, Dietman Matsushita asked me to meet after this. You remember how he asked me to become his right-hand man? Well, he likely wants my answer… I’ll need you to come with me after the speech.”
: “You have your ears to the ground, huh? And to think that he’s the candidate the party is backing to ruin my chances of winning…”
: “…”
: “What did you say!?”
: You’d think this would be the point where we’d need to do a Mementos request, but you’d be wrong. Yoshida doesn’t have one.
: “But why…?”
: “It sounds as if you’re saying that this is my opportunity to clear my name… and so you need an answer from me on whether or not I’ll be your right-hand man, yes?”
: “Join with Matsushita and take my revenge against Mr. Kuramoto, but drop out of the election…”
: “I see… so that’s how you truly feel about this… Matsushita. I appreciate the offer, but I must refuse.”
: “My goal is to become a member of the Diet, not a right-hand man. I will not cast aside my beliefs. On that I stand firm.”
: “I’m sorry.”
: “Why are you doing this?”
: “It feels like I’m caught in the crossfire of a political conspiracy. My friend is trying to take advantage of me, while my former mentor is trying to win me over. To achieve my dream, I have to set aside my beliefs. What should I do?”
: “Indeed, this would all be futile if I don’t become a Diet member. I must focus on getting elected. However, betraying oneself to reach a goal would be a hollow victory indeed.”
: “For some reason, just talking with you always helps me make up my mind. It’s as if my heart is being manipulated. Perhaps… if the Phantom Thieves truly do exist, then I’m sure they’re very much like you.”
: “For some reason, you stood by me, No-Good Tora, who didn’t have any supporters. I’ve been thinking about this for a while, actually. You must’ve experienced cruelty and injustice in your life. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”
: “That’s why I sense your desire to help the weak. And the strength to stand up to the hecklers, to Matsushita, and to Kuramoto’s grandson. You’re no ordinary high school student. Even I know that much.”
: This scene makes it obvious, and they re-state this in his Rank 10 scene, but Yoshida has known the entire time that Joker was the leader of John Persona.. which makes him the only person to do so without having it spelled out in the form of a Mementos request suddenly getting solved.
: “…Haha, sorry. I crossed the line there. I’ve always lacked restraint in these situations… See what I did there? I relieved the tension by making fun of myself. Think of it as an advanced technique for winning people over.”
: This works just like the Greatest Weapon or the similar skill for items - you occasionally get red text over the “Lend me your power” option and then it skips the negotiation entirely.
: “All right then. Well, I’ll at least make good use of Matsushita’s help setting up my next speech. I feel like I’ll be able to fully express my beliefs if you’re there with me. We can discuss it again at the speech.”
: “I told you before.. becoming a Diet member shouldn’t be your only goal in life. I still stand by those words, of course, but what are your thoughts on what happened today?”
: “Say you were in my shoes. Could you say with all confidence that you wouldn’t be swayed by such a lucrative deal? Humans are easily swayed. One glimpse of a temptation could be all it takes to make us forget our principles.”
: “That is why you must never forget what’s truly important to you… you understand?”
: “Good. Life is full of tough decisions. I can only hope today’s lesson will nourish your growth. …Well, the real battle begins now. I need to devote myself to this fully. After all, I can hardly afford to disappoint you.”
: This part I seriously don’t understand. You’d think that it’d be something like, say, Kasumi having a scholarship for being a gymnast and then being in danger of losing it, but as far as I can tell that’s not the case here.
: “I’ve been told that her results at the latest meet were quite laudable… isn’t revoking her status as an honor student a bit of an overreaction on the school’s part?”
: I feel like this whole thing was just kind of badly translated. Being an honor student typically isn’t something associated with sports, unless this is some kind of scandal where they’re giving her honor status because she’s on the gymnastics team.
: Edit: Yeah, it was. After I posted this, poop_doctor on Twitter told me that the term they use in Japanese is equivalent to the English word for “scholarship”. Why they didn’t just use that word is beyond me.
: So then why does it even matter? If she’s not on some kind of scholarship, and the only difference is that the school might try to fuck her out of honor roll status.. who cares?
: “Sir, putting excessive pressure on Yoshizawa-san will only be to her detriment.”
: “Supporting her… I see.”
: “…”
: “What’s wrong with Yoshizawa? Didn’t she seem off to you?”
: “Yoshizawa must’ve dropped it.”
: “…Shoot, she’s gone. Let’s return it after school. We should at least send her a text so she knows where it is.”
: “Trying to motivate her with harsh words is only going to give her more anxiety.”
: “Sir!”
: “Stealing hearts? Social reform? Don’t give me this Phantom Thieves nonsense. It’s all so unscientific. I mean, how could they target Big Bang Burger and Okumura Foods? They’re criminals!”
: I can’t believe I put Hiruta on the “Most likely to be Lucifer in disguise” list when he’s a corporate fanboy.
: “That artificially consummate flavor.. enough volume to fill a small universe.. are the Phantom Thieves trying to steal the galaxy of junk food from me!? That said.. Kurusu-kun.”
: “Perhaps you think you understand how vast the universe is, full of countless galaxies, but consider this.. if we use ‘three watermelons in the sun’ to visualize a certain matter’s size against the universe’s, what are the melons?”
: “Hah. I expected as much from you. It’s meant to convey the density of stars in the vastness of space. Three bees in the whole of Europe also works. In other words, the universe is essentially empty.”
: “There are countless stars in the sky, but the universe is even more vast than that. Even within our own galaxy, the stars are separated by a great distance, despite the sheer volume of them visible.”
: “Close, but yet far… hehe, you could say the same of our hearts.”
: “Ugh, if only he knew the places we’ve been…”
: This scene is voiced, and they put a very heavy static filter over Kasumi.
: “I’m sorry, I just now noticed that you tried to reach me. My smartphone seems to be acting up again. You found my good luck charm, right?”
: The Japanese VO clearly says “omamori” instead of “good luck charm”.
: “Odaiba, in front of the stadium… where we met before.”
: “She’s at the stadium?”
: “Kurusu-senpai? Sorry, I can’t hear you-”
: “I guess her signal cut out. I couldn’t hear everything, but it seems like she’s at the stadium. She seemed to be acting unusually this morning, too. Do you think something happened?”
: “Like the last time we met her there? It’s possible. Well, let’s see how she’s doing when we drop off her good luck charm. To Odaiba, right?”
: “I do nothing but cause trouble for Kurusu-senpai, even Dr. Maruki… I’m supposed to be THE ‘Kasumi Yoshizawa’…”
: How do they not notice the sign on the wall advertising the rhythmic gymnastics championship?
: “It’s not a lab, it’s a stadium.”
: Let’s see… we can see that Kasumi is into hockey (unless that’s meant to be a copyright-friendly version of NHK) and has a piano app.
: She’s also using the Weather Channel app, which is probably okay because she’s in Japan, but if you’re in the US you should definitely use Weather.gov instead because your tax dollars are paying for it and that’s where the Weather Channel gets most of their data from anyway.
: Isn’t this a plot hole? She didn’t say anything… or did she? If you go back and look, it should be extremely obvious what the key words for this palace are and who it belongs to.
: I think it was kind of a mistake on Atlus’s part to do this so early.
: “This atmosphere… is this a Palace!? But, we never activated the Nav… wait, do you think it was Yoshizawa!?”
: Hint 1: Joker and Morgana didn’t activate the Nav. Therefore, someone else must have. We also know that the Nav needs a name, a place, and a distortion.
: “It’s a possibility. She wasn’t anywhere near us when we slipped into this Palace… she can’t fight like we do. We have to find her, fast!”
: This place has a theme, but I can’t post it yet. It’s called “Gentle Madman”, but all of the uploads of it on YouTube have spoilers in the comments for something that isn’t as obvious as who this palace belongs to.
: For the record, I’m not going to spell out who this palace belongs to directly, but I will give you all the tools you need to go back and figure it out yourself.
: There’s a lot of couches and doves flying around. They’re kind of hard to get a good shot of.
: Hint 2: This palace is owned by someone who clearly has an interest in the human mind. I wonder who that could be?
: There’s a lot of grappling here, and the Batman Vision menu isn’t going to give away who the boss is. Still, that figure looks.. male, doesn’t it?
: Personally, I’m not a huge fan of this palace, because it feels like a Nocturne dungeon.
: “Was that Yoshizawa!?”
: “Yeah, stay on guard though!”
: “Who’s that? Is she a cognitive being?”
: “It’s my fault…”
: “C’mon!”
: “You must… Kasumi…”
: I’m kind of tempted to just cut right to January - not that I’ve recorded that far yet.
: Hint 3: The palace owner must know Kasumi in some way.
: That’s a Byakhee. They’re servants of Hastur in the Cthulhu mythos.. which is strange because most of those died off by the end of Innocent Sin.
: “Are you all right, Yoshizawa!?”
: “That voice - Kurusu-senpai?”
: “Hmph! Looks like that thing’s ready to rumble.”
: “What are you talking about?”
: There’s a bunch of voices that start talking in the background - some male, some female. Atlus had to re-do this part with different voiceovers because it was a dead giveaway as to the palace owner’s identity.
: “I’ve had enough of this…”
: “Yoshizawa!?”
: “You’re telling me I’m not cutting it? As if I don’t know that better than anyone! Still… I don’t care what anyone says about me…”
: If it wasn’t clear enough that Kasumi is Atlus’s Lightning, she gets a fucking magical girl transformation sequence.
: Joker and Morgana are both going “This isn’t fucking fair!”. Joker then goes “Yusuke should’ve been a magical boy!” while Morgana goes “Joker should’ve been a magical boy.. in a dress!” right over him.
New Persona: Cendrillon
Origin: Modern Fiction
Persona 5 Original
French adaptation of Cinderella by Charles Perrault, which introduced elements like the glass slippers, the pumpkin carriage, and the fairy godmother that were later eaten by Disney.
: Now, if I was writing this, there would be a point right here where Joker starts hearing this odd, distant voice telling him to stab this thing to death.
: Kasumi is to Bless what Haru is to Psychic - she’s a Bless/Physical hybrid. Her skill set changes dramatically when we actually get to use her.
: I was still on Merciless when I did this fight and didn’t realize until about halfway through.
: Byakhee is very fire-based, and because we’re on Merciless takes off over half of Kasumi’s HP in one go.
: “Hey, are you all right?”
: “I can’t… be weak anymore…”
: “Whoa! I’m quite impressed, considering how you just awakened to your Persona and all.”
: “Kurusu-senpai.. right?”
: “…I knew it. By the way…”
: “Well, of course. This has to be awfully confusing for her.”
: “…Looks like they’ve found us. Time to get out of here, quick. We can explain later.”
: “Right!”
: “Huh? My clothes changed back to normal, too.”
: “This was your location when we entered the Metaverse. We all just came back.”
: “Came.. back? Did we go somewhere?”
: “Uh, about that…”
: “Please, tell me anything you might know about what’s going on. I need to know what just happened to me.”
: I somehow refuse to believe that there’s a single high school girl who would not know what a magical girl transformation is.
: “I know how you feel, but… what should we do, Akira?”
: “Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I’ll tell you everything from the beginning.”
: “Thank you.”
: Did.. did the game just do a cut instead of re-explaining shit we already know? Who knew the writers could learn something?
: “I’m sure it’s not easy to wrap your head around all of this in one go.”
: “Normally I wouldn’t believe any of that, but after seeing it all for myself… but, wow! You’re so good at explaining things, Mr. Kitty.”
: “I’ll let that last part slide this time… but isn’t there something else that should be surprising you?”
: “And, I am NOT a cat! I am Morgana!”
: “…I see. Well, since you seem to know a lot more about this than I do, maybe I should call you Morgana-senpai.”
: Joker in the background waving his arms and mouthing “Don’t encourage him!”
: “Oh, that’s right - Akira, don’t you have something for her?”
: “You didn’t seem your usual self this morning. Did something happen?”
: “Well… I didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, but… I got third place in the last meet. Of course I’m not happy about it, but the school looks even more displeased.”
: “I was summoned to the guidance office this morning. I was warned that the school might revoke my honors status if I don’t improve my results soon. It would be due to my own inability to succeed in gymnastics, so I have to say, it’s not an unfair consequence…”
: “But I also overheard the vice principal talking about how I’m a useless waste of effort… and I dragged Dr. Maruki into this mess too, since he was with me when I got the news. That’s what really got to me.”
: “That’s a tough break.”
: “So I ended up coming here - then, all of a sudden, I was in that place we just left. But I’ll be just fine now. I feel like whatever happened in there helped me to get over it. I’m going to realize my dream for sure!”
: “Seems like you really are on the up and up now. …But then again, how did Yoshizawa end up finding a Palace in the first place? It sounds like pure coincidence, based on what she’s told us.”
: Hint 5: The writers for Royal kind of forgot how the app worked.
: “The Nav?”
: “Well, I suppose that makes the most sense. Hey, do you mind if we take a quick look at your phone? If the Nav’s on there, we’d be able to tell whose palace that was with the search history.”
: It’s not clear why they couldn’t look at Joker’s phone, since the earlier dungeons have popped up on the entire party’s phones.
: “Sure, it’s right - sorry… this won’t do any good.”
: “Why’s that?”
: “The battery’s dead. It’s been acting up for a while now, so that could have something to do with it.”
: “Aw, really? Shouldn’t you get that checked out? Well, it’s not like that was a Palace we’ve been after, so I guess it’s no big deal. We couldn’t make its ruler our target unless we reached a unanimous decision, anyway.”
: I really wish there was an option here to just skip November and December and go right in with what you’ve got. Mara and Baal could probably take most of what’s in there.
: “Okay, I’ve been meaning to ask.. are you two part of the Phantom Thieves?”
: “I knew it… wait, that means… when we were at the cafe with Akechi-san.. I basically told the Phantom Thieves themselves that I don’t agree with what they’re doing! Um.. I’m really sorry.”
: “Don’t worry about it. With that out of the way… what’s your call, Akira?”
: “That’s right! Considering how she did back there, don’t you think she’d make a worthy addition to the Phantom Thieves?”
: Nah. I’ll probably toss her in the same trash can as Marie when I get her.
: “So, you mean you want me to join the Phantom Thieves?”
: “In a nutshell, yeah. You’ve awakened to your Persona, you’re aware of the existence of Palaces… and, from the looks of things, you’ve got quite the potential. If you’re willing to join us, we’d be glad to have you.”
: This is another reason I don’t understand why this cutscene exists. We know she doesn’t join until after the final dungeon of the base game because Atlus was too cheap to re-do a couple of low-quality anime cutscenes. Seriously, you’d think after two full-priced games they could hire an anime studio with fewer quality control issues.
: “I see… hmm.”
: “You don’t have to give us an answer right now. I mean, you probably shouldn’t make any decisions until you learn more about what it is we’re actually doing.”
: So here’s what I’d like to ask. What was the point of this cutscene? We already know Kasumi has a Persona, and as far as I can tell all this really did was reveal who that palace belongs to if you put any kind of thought into it.
: “When I awakened to my… Persona, was it? I also realized something.. I can’t keep obsessing over my shortcomings in gymnastics like this. So, that’s why I can’t join you at the moment…”
: “Because you need to focus on your gymnastics.”
: Kasumi died on her way back to gymnastics.
: “I’m truly sorry to say no after all you’ve done for me!”
: “You may be right… but I think I’d only cause you all more trouble if I were to join up without being totally invested in it. Of course, I won’t say a word about this to anyone.”
: “I’m glad you catch on so quickly. Well, if you ever change your mind about us, just let us know, okay?”
: “Thank you, Morgana-senpai. If that ever happens, I’ll get in touch right away!”
: God I hate this entire cutscene. It makes Kasumi feel even more shoehorned in. It makes me question what the fuck the writers for Royal were thinking.
: I mean, I think I sort of know what they were thinking.
: “Yes!”
: “I should extend the same gratitude to you as well, Kurusu-senpai. I swear, one day I will repay you for helping me out in so many ways. Shall we get going?”
: “Quite a lot’s happened today, but I have a feeling I’ll try harder than ever before starting tomorrow!”
: “We ended up saving her, but I don’t think she owes us or anything… that said, she’d definitely be a huge help if she joined us.”
: “If only Yoshizawa would join the Phantom Thieves.. what a shame.”
: Dammit Morgana, only JC Denton can say that.
: “Yeah, we shouldn’t press the matter. Sooo, how’re we gonna break it to the others?”
: Next time, we’ll do Makoto’s Rank 9 (and, unfortunately, her Rank 10). We’ll also watch Mishima get owned and see a Sojiro event early because of that fuckup with Hifumi’s Rank 10.