The Art of Persona 5

by Prima Games

Character Gallery: Includes compelling artwork of the main characters and their personas, plus personal data never before released in English!

Concept Art: Loaded with initial character concepts, rough sketches, original drafts, and illustrations-a must-have for Persona fans!

Game Visuals: Chronicles the inspiration behind graphics seen in the game, including setting illustrations, story scenarios, and other key images.

Illustration Gallery: Magazine covers and posters collected in one convenient location.

Creator Commentary: Interspersed with exclusive details and little-known tidbits straight from character creator Shigenori Soejima!

Genres: Art, Video Games, Manga, Drawing, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

432 pages, Paperback

Published November 3, 2017

About the author

Prima Games is the largest publishing company of video game strategy guides in the United States based in Roseville, California. Formerly, Prima was an imprint of Dorling Kindersley, a division of Penguin Random House, and produced print strategy guides, featuring in-depth walkthroughs for completing games, with other information such as character sheets and move chart.

Prima was acquired by Asteri Holdings in March 2019, which will transition the business to provide strategy guides in online form only alongside other gaming news.

Reviews

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this so much - not just the concept art and my beloved cut-ins, but the creator's commentary on each character, from concept through development, as well as comments about the relationships between the characters (were they really thinking of making Makoto and Akechi siblings? WHAT??) and insight into the director's thoughts and the connections with earlier Persona/Megami Tensei stories to ensure continuity. I really enjoyed having access to the behind the scenes information, as it were - an absolute pleasure to read.

[Dave Woodward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great "Art Of" book for those interested in character design, character development and concept art for video games and animation. It's a shame over 80 pages are missing compared to the Japanese version, but I find this book to be incredibly resourceful as is and is a beautiful collection of work to look at!

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enlightening look at the creative process and art direction behind Persona 5. The book is huge and surprisingly light on spoilers. It's a must-have for Persona 5 fans.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Persona 5 has such incredible style and this book really does it justice with an extensive look into the art and development - I would have liked a bit more on the scenery/backgrounds but otherwise I was very happy with this.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always so fascinating to have all the initial concept sketches, illustrations, ideas and behind the scene makings of the stunning Persona 5 game compiled into a large art book. An absolute must get for any Persona 5 fan or artist who adores Shigenori Soejima's work because you will not be disappointed with the amount of artistic content this art book contains.
Honestly, a really beautiful art book that remains stylish and loyal to the original theme and overall great addition for the Persona 5 fan.

[Joseph Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and inspiring artwork with informative creator commentary on the thought process behind the designs.

It’s interesting to see the stages some of the characters went through and even some characters/designs/concepts that didn’t make the cut.

Everything is well laid out and the style is just amazing, I’m addicted to some of the pictures in this book.

It’s difficult to get your hands on for a reasonable price, I had to go through a bid on eBay, but it is so worth it.
If you’re a fan of persona or even just it’s aesthetic, it’s definitely worth a look through.

[Danielle T · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really wish we had more notes about concept sketches- I can sort of guess who/what some of them are, but the business lady in a dress with butterfly hair clips- was she supposed to be an alternative Sae?

hilariously I am not actually done with the game but SO CLOSE (I'm at the last boss but haven't had the time to finish the last couple of days, so no concepts were spoiled for me). Really interesting to see thoughts on character design, though.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous artbook. I have been in love with the art of the Persona games since Persona 3 came out, and I have not been let down with P5. The focus is on the artwork, with commentary from the artist in a tasteful amount. It's not a matter of text with accompanying artwork, but the other way around. And in my book, that's how an artbook should be.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atlus always does an amazing job with their art books, and this one is no exception. There’s a ton of concept sketches of “what could have been” for each character, and notes about them. My only complaint is that I wish it was a hard cover, as the book is pretty big and packed with art. A little worried about it easily getting damaged sometimes.

[courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect! Amazing! Flawless! This has given me so much serotonin and is totally worth purchasing if you are absolutely obsessed with Persona 5 (my special interest). Its clear that so many ideas from concept arts were still incorporated in one way or another. 5 stars, this is one of the best things I own.

[Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always love these Persona art books--seeing the original idea behind the various characters, and how they evolved into their final versions is super interesting to me. And plus, the art is just so good!

[Claire Kreutzberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlike the Dishonored 2 artbook, which I "read"/ feasted upon just the day after, I found there were too many characters/random stuff instead of beautiful sketches and landscapes. Hence the 4*.
A must-have for fans only.

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

great book it explens what all the stuff that you missed in the game