Persona -trinity soul-

Infobox animanga/Header
name = Persona -trinity soul-


caption =
ja_name = ペルソナ 〜トリニティ・ソウル〜
ja_name_trans = Perusona ~Toriniti Sōru~
genre = Mystery, SupernaturalInfobox animanga/Anime
title =
director = Jun Matsumoto
writer = Yasayuki Mutō
studio = A-1 Pictures
licensor =
network = flagicon|Japan Animax, MBS, BS11, Chiba TV, Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting, tvk, GyaO
network_other =
first = January 5, 2008
last = June 28, 2008
episodes = 26
episode_list = List of Persona -trinity soul- episodes

nihongo|"Persona -trinity soul-"|ペルソナ 〜トリニティ・ソウル〜|Perusona ~Toriniti Sōru~ is a Japanese anime TV series. It is the sequel to the PlayStation 2 game "", taking place ten years after its events. [citeweb|url=http://www.famitsu.com/anime/news/1211732_1558.html|title=『ペルソナ3』から10年後の世界を舞台にしたアニメ『PERSONA-trinity soul-』が制作開始！|publisher=Famitsu|date=2007-11-07|accessdate=2007-11-15|language=Japanese] Produced by Aniplex and animated by its A-1 Pictures animation studio, the series premiered in Japan on MBS, Tokyo MX and Animax from January 2008. It also features music by Taku Iwasaki.

tory

"Persona -trinity soul-" takes place ten years after the end of "Persona 3". It is set in Ayanagi City, a city located near the Sea of Japan, where the police force is investigating several cases involving a mysterious illness called the Apathy Syndrome. Ten years ago, Ayanagi city had been subjected to a severe earthquake, which the city has since recovered from.

In the midst of the crisis, two brothers named Shin and Jun Kanzato move back to Ayanagi to see their elder brother Ryō, who is now the Superintendent of the Ayanagi City Police. It has been ten years since the three siblings last met with each other.

It was said that the mysterious incidents in Ayanagi City were linked to covert testing conducted under Keisuke Komatsubura's watch, which tried to locate all known Persona users and find the strongest by weeding them out via Persona experiments before it was disbanded.

Characters

Kanzato family

;Nihongo|Shin Kanzato|神郷 慎|Kanzato Shin:"Age": 17:anime voices|Nobuhiko Okamoto:The seventeen-year-old protagonist. He is a second-year student at Naginomori Gakuen High School. He always carries a pendant in the shape of a feather, which is a memento of his father. After his parents and little sister died, he and his brothers were under the care of their relatives in Tokyo, and ten years later they returned to their home town Ayanagi. As the series goes on, nearly everyone close to Shin seems to be taken away either by Ayane or through Death (e.g. both brothers and Kanaru respectivley). Shin also has an interest in art, making clay models and is frequently seen sketching. Strangely, his art pieces resemble Personas and in one case, Igor. In the first episode, he awakens his own Persona after ten year of slumbering, and one of the enigmatic Outsiders (rogue Persona users) also commented that Shin's Persona is of "Special A-Level". His birthday is January 19, and his blood type is A.

;Nihongo|Ryō Kanzato|神郷 諒|Kanzato Ryō:"Age": 28:anime voices|Takehito Koyasu:Shin and Jun's brother, eldest of the three at twenty-eight. His personality is stoic to the point of being cold, even towards his younger brothers. He entered the police in order to investigate the strange incidents, becoming the youngest superintendent in history. He keeps all important details on the recent 'Reverse' cases to himself, restricting them from others in the police force. In the first episode he is revealed to have a "Persona" of his own, though he does not use an Evoker like the main characters did in "Persona 3". A bottle of pills was briefly shown on his desk, perhaps similar to the suppressant drugs Strega used. His birthday is January 18, and his blood type is A.

:He is reported to be missing by the Japanese National Police Agency, but Shin finds him alive when his Persona guns down a Persona user.

;Nihongo|Jun Kanzato|神郷 洵|Kanzato Jun:"Age": 14:anime voices|Miyuki Sawashiro:The youngest of the Kanzato brothers, and a third-year student at Naginomori Gakuen Middle School. He began to lose the will to live after an incident that happened at the time their parents disappeared ten years before the series began. He had a twin sister, Yuki, whose dress he keeps. Oddly, Ryō overheard Jun seemingly speaking to a girl, presumably Yuki. This might indicate a spiritual body sharing, or multiple-personality disorder. He also has a certain level of perception ability and can hear the inner voices of people around him. During his visit to the beach, the water's reflection showed his twin sister summoning her Persona but not Jun. His fringe hides a scar on his forehead that came from the surgery involving him and Yuki. His birthday is February 4, and his blood type is A. It is told later that after the accident ten years ago, part of his brain was replaced with Yuki's, in an effort to prevent them both from dying (the decision was made by Ryō). His Persona is an accidental fusion of his and Yuki's.

;Nihongo|Yuki Kanzato|神郷 結祈|Kanzato Yuki:"Age": deceased (would be 14):anime voices|Miyuki Sawashiro:The female twin of Jun. She died with her parents in a major accident ten years ago. She shares her Persona with Jun due to the fact that part of her brain was being used to replace his during her death. She sometimes takes control of Jun's body and is currently the sole inhabitant of their body after Jun's encounter with Ayane.

;Nihongo|Haruka Kanzato|神郷 遥|Kanzato Haruka:anime voices|Fumi Morisawa:Mother of the Kanzato brothers. An artbook artist, she gave Yuki a 'Whale Feather' as an amulet of happiness. She died in the Ayanagi City disaster when Ayane's Persona grabbed her and Shigeru, killing them.. It is revealed that they were involved in the same Persona research as Komatsubara.

;Shigeru Kanzato:Father of the Kanzato brothers. Like his wife, he was an artbook artist. He died alongside his wife Haruka when Ayane's Persona grabbed and killed him. It is revealed that they were involved in the same Persona research as Komatsubara.

Naginomori Gakuen

;Nihongo|Takurō Sakakiba|榊葉拓朗|Sakakiba Takurō:"Age": 17:anime voices|Hideki Tasaka:A classmate of Shin's who he becomes acquainted with him on the first day he attends school. He is an easy-going individual and sports a distinct afro. Surprisingly, he has a Persona, which awakens when Shin tries to do Shadow Extraction on him. Unfortunately, he showed very little ability in being able to control it, as it often flew off at random rather than fight when summoned (which became a recurring gag of sorts). Nonetheless, he does manage to master it by the end of the series. He also had a dream with Igor in it much like Shin did. He has a crush on Megumi.

:Takuro's father had disappeared during the Apathy Crisis in Ayanagi City, due to unknown reasons. He came back in a woman's body, although Takuro was unable to accept the possibility when meeting for the first time.

;Nihongo|Megumi Kayano|茅野めぐみ|Kayano Megumi:"Age": 17:anime voices|Kana Asumi:A classmate of Shin's, though he actually saw her at a restaurant arguing with someone the night before he started school. She is a member of the Street Dance club and has a frank and straight-forward character. She has a dislike for Shadow Extraction, and frequently scolds her friends for partaking in it. Megumi had her Persona awakened when she was still young during an accident after which her stepbrother died. Since then, she harbored a distrust towards it, believing it had chosen not to save her brother because of her inherent jealousy rather than not being fast enough. However, the growing crisis concerning Marebito eventually makes her recognize it as a protector, and she uses it for the rest of the series for the sake of her friends.

;Nihongo|Kanaru Morimoto|守本叶鳴|Morimoto Kanaru:"Age": 17:anime voices|Mai Nakahara:A somewhat timid girl who is acquainted with Shin, Megumi, and Takurō. She is very interested in Shadow Extraction, and she asked Takurō to do a Shadow Extraction on her, which seems to be a forced invoking of a Persona to create a euphoria similar to taking a drug. She suffers from occasional memory loss where she sometimes cannot remember why she is at a place or even where she is at. In the past, she and Mayuri lived in a nursing facility. She becomes addicted to Shadow Extraction and this may have caused multiple personalties dues to her sudden change in attitude and manner when talking to people, as well as suddenly saying things about what a Persona is with out remembering what she said. She also demonstrates a romantic interest in Shin which is later confirmed by Yuki. She is eventually revealed to be a machine, much in the same nature as Aigis from Persona 3. Unfortunately, because of her artificial nature, her working lifespan is much shorter than a human's lifespan. After severing ties with Marebito, she peacefully dies in the company of Shin.

:Kanaru is unique in that she has the ability to invoke two Persona rather than the conventional one. However, the first one seen (in episode 20) proves to be the Persona of her "other personality" that is loyal to Marebito. She later invokes her own during a fierce fight between the Marebito and her friends, which briefly pacifies the battlefield in a stunning display of power. While most of the Persona in the series are humanoid, Kanaru's looks much simpler and resembles a jellyfish. Megumi comments that it's because Kanaru's is just a "baby Persona". Despite the death of it's "master", her friends some how manage to invoke this Persona one last time during the final battle.

;Nihongo|Yumi Tasaka|田坂悠美|Tasaka Yumi:anime voices|Fumie Mizusawa:Megumi's senior in the Street Dance club. She was under police protection during the period of the 'Reverse' incidents. During that time she was attacked by the Outsiders and almost had her Persona forcefully extracted. She was rescued, but suffered Post-traumatic stress disorder and was hospitalized. Her Persona is damaged from the extraction attempt.

;Nihongo|Tōru Inui|戌井暢:anime voices|Tomokazu Seki:Caretaker of the student dormitory. He keeps an old dog although pets are prohibited in the dorms. He had taken footage of Personas in action with his camera. He also knows a great deal about persona users saying that there were a lot of them around him many years ago. He also carries a gun in his jacket which he never uses.

;Nihongo|Mayuri Yamazaki|山咲まゆり|Yamasaki Mayuri:anime voices|Mayumi Sako:A mysterious transfer student and a friend of Kanaru. She lived with Kanaru in a nursing facility in the past. Strange things started to happen after she transferred to Naginomori Gakuen High School. Her true identity is Saki Tachibana, a member of the Outsiders. Her favorite food seems to be beef bowls and she can quickly finish a big bowl in seconds; the feat contradicts her composed beauty image and greatly surprised Jun and Ryō.

Ayanagi Police

;Nihongo|Eiko Nikaido|二階堂映子|Nikaido Eiko:anime voices|Sanae Kobayashi:A medical examiner from the North Japan Medical Examiner's Office. Currently at the Ayanagi Police Station. She is also a long time family friend of the Kanzato siblings. In the third episode, she visited Jun at Ryō's house and went to pick up Shin at the Ayanagi City hospital. Shin has a childhood crush on her even when she admits that she loves Ryō. She is currently investigating the case of the mysterious disappearances that occurred at Toyama Bay.

;Nihongo|Kunio Itō|伊藤久仁雄|Itō Kunio:anime voices|Hisao Egawa:A sergeant and chief of the Ayanagi Criminal Affairs Department. He suspects Ryō to be hiding something about the recent "Reversed" cases before he decides to help investigate the true nature of the Apathy Syndrome crisis.

;Nihongo|Tomohiro Narasaki|楢崎智弘|Narasaki Tomohiro:anime voices|Yoshihisha Kawahara:An investigator of the Ayanagi Criminal Affairs Department. He is a tall person nearing two metres. He works with Itō and is keeping watch on Ryō's actions before being sent to monitor Jun and the others from Naginomori Gakuen.

;Nihongo|Kubo|クボ:anime voices|Hiroshi Naka:The vice chief of the Ayanagi Police Station.

Outsiders

A group of Persona-users (possibly a non-natural type, medically induced) who seem to use their special abilities to steal other people's Personas. The group is called "Marebito" in Japanese and carries the meaning of a "foreign stranger" and "outsider." [Illness and Culture in Contemporary Japan: An Anthropological View, By Emiko, [http://books.google.com/books?id=09u-x3eu3AUC&pg=PA39&lpg=PA39&dq=marebito+outsider&source=web&ots=RpH_SvxdQV&sig=qC5BgYP-SFXMVNzNzzVw7SPYZo4#PPA39,M1 Page 39] . Retrieved on February 11, 2008.]

;Nihongo|Tōma Shikura|紫倉統馬|Shikura Tōma:anime voices|Daisuke Namikawa:A member of the Outsiders, he acts as the leader of the group. Tōma seems to be a cool and collected individual, but in the third episode he shows aggressive tendencies. He was killed in battle by Ryō, and afterwards an unknown chemical is discovered in his body. His death is kept in secret and was not publicised.

;Nihongo|Yūji Kimoto|紀本祐史|Kimoto Yūji:anime voices|Nobuo Tobita:A member of the Outsiders, one of the executors of the Reverse incident. His Persona has the special ability to extract others' Personae, this ability is the cause of the 'Reverse' incidents. After the being defeated by Shin's Persona, Yūji lost his Persona. He seems to be the most mentally unbalanced of the Outsiders and is often shown taking some kind of drug. He had a part-time job giving out balloons in a bear costume. Yūji is executed by Mariya after he went renegade by escaping from their compound.

;Nihongo|Sōtarō Senō|瀬能壮太郎|Senō Sōtarō:"Age": 16:anime voices|Motoki Takagi:Another member of the Outsiders. He does not like working in groups and usually moves alone. His Persona also display the Persona extraction ability. Sōtarō attempted to fight Shin, but he ended up gravely injured after Shin's Persona countered his. Killed in episode 22.

;Nihongo|Saki Tachibana|橘花沙季|Tachibana Saki:anime voices|Mayumi Sako:Another member of the Outsiders, the only female member. Saki appears calm and quiet, and she moves quickly while fighting. She has an affection for Tōma. Similar to Yūji, she lost her Persona after her defeat by Shin, but before that her Persona had actually been taken in by Sōtarō's Persona. Afterwards she was seen in a mysterious device that reattachs her Persona. She appears in Naganomori Gakuen High School as transfer student named Mayuri Yamazaki, which could be her real identity. The strange incidents in school were caused by her half-berserk Persona due to overdosage of the drug. Interested in the Persona ability of Jun, she decides to keep going to school. Saki laters kidnaps Yuki, in Jun's body, and activates Kanaru's persona. Killed in episode 22.

;Taiichi Udo:anime voices|Hiroki Yasumoto: A tall man with shades and muscles.

;Nihongo|Mariya Kujou|マリヤ・クジョウ:anime voices|Nobuyuki Katsube:The man in the wheelchair that is regarded as the mastermind behind the Outsiders. He at some point died, and allowed his persona to devour him to extend his life span. He uses the Outsiders to gather "A-levels" and during the process he becomes interested in Shin's Persona ability. His original name was Keisuke Komatsubara.

Returning Characters

;Akihiko Sanada:anime voices|Hikaru Midorikawa:He is seen talking with Ryō on the phone in the beginning of the series. He knows about the Persona and Reverse cases as they are usually the conversation topic. He is currently working with the police force after prior events 10 years ago from Persona 3. He was one of the main character's companions in Persona 3. As of episode 14, Akihiko has officially entered the universe of Persona: Trinity Soul, seen entering the elevator of the police station behind Shin and then later talking with Inui as a member of Marebito loses control of his persona in the city square.

;Nihongo|Igor|イゴール|Igōru :anime voices|Isamu Tanonaka:An old man who appeared to Shin and Jun as a fortune teller. He is a character from the "Persona" game series, and he played a major role in "Persona 3" as the one who fused the Main Character's/Minato Arisato Personas and has assisted numerous people such as Aigis, Tatsuya and Maya.

Unknown characters

;Ayane Komatsubura:anime voices|Mamiko Noto:A ghostly girl with red hair that appears and disappears before the Kanzato siblings. Surrounding her are "whale feathers," an object from the last artbook of the the Kanzato brothers' parents. When sliced or shot by the Kanzato brothers' persona, she disappears in a cloud of whale feathers. In recent episodes, is it revealed that she is the daughter of Keisuke Komatsubara who conducted persona experiments on her and was the culprit behind the Ayanagi City disaster when he summoned her persona that affected a part of the city and gave its victims Apathy Syndrome.

:Her name is first revealed to Jun during a "date" [See Episode 18: Sinking Dream] . She is also responsible for removing Jun from his body and leaving Yuki unable to call their persona. Her power seems to draw from the "whale", as she refers to it, that causes the strange events isolated around the city. A clone of her, created by her father, was defeated by Jun/Yuki's Persona and the fate of Ayane is unknown.

Production

A promo video had been on the show's official website, created by A-1 Pictures [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-07/persona-trinity-soul-tv-anime-promo-video-posted Persona -trinity soul- TV Anime Promo Video Posted.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008.] .

Jun Matsumoto, known to his involvement in Blood+, was pitched to be director [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-07/persona-trinity-soul-tv-anime-promo-video-posted Persona -trinity soul- TV Anime Promo Video Posted.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008.] . Shigenori Soejima designed the original characters for Yuriko Ishii. Yasayuki Mutō was responsible for doing the script with Shinsuke Ōnishi, Shōgo Yasukawa and Saya Matsuda [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-07/persona-trinity-soul-tv-anime-promo-video-posted Persona -trinity soul- TV Anime Promo Video Posted.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008.] .

According to a statement released by Yutaka Omatsu, he said the show is different from the game especially since the "divergence are the many different aspects that the characters and story share." [Persona -trinity soul-, Flash in Japan section, Anime Insider May 2008, Issue # 58, pages 22.]

taff

The following are involved in the creation of the show. [ [http://www.mbs.jp/persona-ts/ Manichi Broadcasting System's Official Persona -trinity soul- Webpage.] Retrieved on January 14, 2008. jp icon]

*Original work: "Persona 3" (Atlus)
*Planning: Kōichirō Natsume, Masao Takiyama, Tetsuya Suzuki, Naohiro Futono
*Main characters original creator: Shigenori Soejima
*Character design and chief supervising animation director: Yuriko Ishii
*Series composition and script: Yasayuki Mutō
*Script: Shinsuke Ōnishi, Shōgo Yasukawa, Saya Matsuda
*Persona design: Nobuhiko Genba
*Mecha design: Shinobu Tsuneki
*Art director: Michie Suzuki
*Color settings: Kazuko Nakashima
*Assistant-director: Hiseyasu Habu
*Director of photography: Kōji Ishihara
*CGI Director: Takayuki Furukawa
*Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
*Music: Taku Iwasaki
*Music production: Aniplex
*Sound director: Shōji Hata
*Sound producer: Minoru Yamada
*Producers: Kazunori Adachi, Katsunori Naruke, Hideyuki Kachi, Kozue Nananiwa
*Animation producer: Yutaka Omatsu
*Executive producer: Hideo Katsumata
*Supervising producer: Tomonori Ochikoshi
*Animation production: A-1 Pictures
*Director: Jun Matsumoto
*Production: Persona -trinity soul- Production Committee (Aniplex, Sony Pictures Entertainment, We've, Movic)

Music

Theme song

Opening

"Breakin' through" (Episodes 1-13):*Lyrics: Yoshiharu Shiina, composition: Takuya, arrangement: h-wonder, performance: Shūhei Kita [Winner of Animax's first [http://www.animax.co.jp/audition_a/ All-Japan Anime Song Grand Prix] , held in summer 2007.] (Aniplex)

"Word of Voice" (Episode 14-26) performance: Flow

Ending

"Suicide Love Story" (Episodes 1-13):*Lyrics: Nana Kitade, composition: Hyoue Yasuhara, arrangement: Kazunori Watanabe, performance: Nana Kitade (SME Records)

"Found Me" (Episode 14-26) performance: Yumi Kawamura

Media

DVD

;Published by Aniplex [ [http://www.persona-ts.net/cd/dvd.html PERSONA -trinity soul- DVD section.] Retrieved on September 13, 2008. ja icon]
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 1 - released on April 23, 2008; ANZB3171
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 2 - released on May 28, 2008; ANSB3172
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 3 - released on June 25, 2008; ANSB3173
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 4 - released on July 23, 2008; ANSB3174
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 5 - released on August 27, 2008; ANSB3175
* "PERSONA -trinity soul-" volume 6 - released on September 24, 2008; ANSB3176

OST

The singles 「Breakin' through」, 「SUICIDES LOVE STORY」 and 「WORD OF THE VOICE」 were released on February 27 , March 5 and June 4, 2008 [http://www.persona-ts.net/cd/cd.html PERSONA -trinity soul- CD section.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008. ja icon] .

The main OST of the anime was released July 2, 2008 [http://www.persona-ts.net/cd/cd.html PERSONA -trinity soul- CD section.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008. ja icon] .

Reception

In an anime column by Mania.com, it said that the show was good in terms of having excellent animation though it noted the huge contrast of the distrust between the Kanzato brothers and the mysterious supernatural attacks on Ayanagi city [ [http://www.mania.com/personatrinity-soul_article_57443.html PERSONA-TRINITY SOUL- Review.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008.] . Japanator noted that the atmosphere is very dark, similar to Darker than Black [ [http://japanator.com/elephant/post.phtml?pk=7153 First Impressions: Persona -Trinity Soul-.] Retrieved on May 12, 2008.] .

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.persona-ts.net/ Official website] jp icon
* [http://www.gyao.jp/anime/persona/ Gyao's Official website] jp icon
* [http://www.mxtv.co.jp/persona/ Tokyo MX's Official website] jp icon
*ann anime|id=8950