Online simulcasts will bring the show to Western audiences
The first six minutes of Persona 5: The Anime have been released to fuel the hype of eager fans, chomping at the bit to see Joker and co. in action. The new series, an adaptation of last year’s fantastic RPG, begins broadcasting today.
In this clip, taken from episode one, shadowy crusaders The Phantom Thieves find themselves in murky waters after one of their heists goes desperately wrong. The leader of the gang, Ren Amamiya, aka “Joker”, finds himself banged up in an interrogation room, on the business end of a grilling from public prosecutor Sae Niijima.
It looks like your standard anime. The aesthetics are faithful to the video game, while the animation is of the same quality as your run-of-the-mill series. Clearly the show will fulfill its basic goal; retelling Persona 5’s 100-hour story with a lot of the fluff edited out (which the game itself could use on occasion, frankly).
Aniplex of America have picked up the licence for Western distribution, and are planning simulcasts on streaming services Hulu and Crunchyroll. Paid subscribers can watch each Persona 5 episode, with English subtitles, on the same day as its Japanese broadcast. Free users, however, will have to wait a week after each episode airs. Here’s hoping the series lives up to its cool source material.
(The video is blocked in some territories. There is an alternate Dailymotion upload here, courtesy of Persona Central.)