This week, as with last week, is actual spoilers territory.
No kidding, we’re 7 out of probably 12 of this and we just finished the plot where 25/26 happened for the first show. So let’s pull up some good background music and enjoy the show.
This episode picks up where the plot would be at this point in the game. The person who had been throwing people in the TV World, Taro Namatamu, has been arrested after running off into the TV World with Nanako, the Main Character’s super-cute little cousin. Here is where the group would figure out who was behind things, as Namatame said he didn’t have anything to do with the first two disappearances, or rather the ones that actually ended in deaths.
Of course Yu knows now, and we know, because of Last Episode. It was Adachi. He goes to confront him, alone, and finds him in the first major room the group came across when they accidentally fell into the TV World: The room the TV announcer that was the first one to die was in, covered in blood with that Spooky noose.
The two of them summon their Personas, after some comments from Adachi about how Yu shouldn’t be disappointed in him for not being the person that he wanted him to be. Adachi’s Persona is a twisted version of Yu’s original persona, and it just helps add to the reflections between the two of them.
In the original game/anime, they don’t really talk about “Arcana” in regards to Adachi’s Persona, but in The Golden he is instead made to be a Social Link, as we saw last episode. Getting this far into the Social Link allows for this confrontation scene, or a whole new bad ending where you help him destroy evidence. The anime isn’t following that bad ending though.
The Arcana they give Adachi is “The Jester” which is a mirror of the main character’s “The Fool.” Where “The Fool” is a malleable person that can get along with everyone, “The Jester” has some of the same traits but with someone who is unwilling to work with others.
As I said last time, someone without the bonds that make them grow as a person and help them overcome life’s hardships falls and embraces their shadow, and that’s what happened to Adachi. As the fight starts his eyes become yellow like the Shadows and his Arcana changes, the bond between him and Yu having changed as you find out he’s the culprit and this rift appears between the two of them. It becomes “The Lust” Arcana, or “The Hunger” in the English version of the game. I guess the person having the Arcana’s character motivation can involve violent action at the rejection of advances, but calling it “Lust” is too extreme. It represents being consumed by and abusing power, which is who Adachi has become after embracing the negative parts of himself.
Back to the show, finally, the Persona Clash gives Yu a look in to Adachi’s past, his general unwillingness to interact with others and his frustration with others excelling over him. He finally got into a position where there was someone paying attention to him: Dojima, Yu’s uncle that he’s been staying with. That was until Yu showed up. Yu took his place. Yu with all his friends was the successful version of himself, and that helped push him over the edge.
Yu leaves after finding this out, conflicted about what he learned and the fact that his attempts to help Adachi seemed to just make things worse. Marie shows up and gives him words of encouragement. I mean he had helped her so much by helping her gain new memories because she didn’t have her old ones. He leaves with the rest of the group to confront Adachi again, together. Well. They deal with the weak shadows while Yu fights Adachi 1 v 1, but it’s different then last time.
Then it all breaks down into Yu just punching the shit out of Adachi.
Afterwards Yu sets the table with 4 cups, one for himself, one for Nanako, one for Dojima and one for Adachi. He tells him that he does have a bond and they should just go home together.
Then a Giant Fog-Powered Floating Eyeball Camera kidnaps him.
Now, this is the boss they beat at the end of the last episode of the first anime, not counting the True Ending Actual Last Episode OVA. Back then it took the combined power of the entire party evolving their Personas AND Yu literally summoning Lucifer himself to defeat it.
No, seriously. That’s Lucifer.
This time, however, he ONE SHOTS IT USING ADACHI’S PERSONA.
A lot of red in today’s screencaps.
And we can’t say on that victory long, because we cut back to Marie. A mysterious figure appears in the for and she gets her memories back because the giant eyeball is dead. Serious Mysterious Misty Mystery.
Join me next week for Christmas in August, and we’ll see if this plot actually continues or not.
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