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Persona 4 Arena Volume 1
The casts of PERSONA 3 and PERSONA 4 collide!
A dormant anti-shadow suppression weapon named Labrys has been stolen! Mitsuru Kirijo and Aigis begin investigating its whereabouts. Meanwhile Yu Narukami returns to Inaba to reunite with his friends, the Investigation Team. What he finds waiting for him there is a strange fighting tournament held inside the TV World!
A dormant anti-shadow suppression weapon named Labrys has been stolen! Mitsuru Kirijo and Aigis begin investigating its whereabouts. Meanwhile Yu Narukami returns to Inaba to reunite with his friends, the Investigation Team. What he finds waiting for him there is a strange fighting tournament held inside the TV World!
- GenresManga
160 pages, Paperback
Published April 11, 2023
3 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 20, 2025
I was confused by the difference in the cover, until I remembered I have a Barnes & Noble exclusive edition, which admittedly looks a lot less interesting than the "normal" edition. Well, it's not like I'm super invested in the series as is, since I barely know anything about P3 as is so half the jokes don't really land for me.
I'm also a little surprised by how many "key" characters there were in P4, since I thought there were six but apparently there are eight...?
- Player Character (Yu)
- Yosuke
- Chie
- Yukiko
- Kanji
- Naoto
- Teddie
- ...Rise?
I guess it's been a minute, so I forgot about Yukiko and Rise, and also since I've only watched the anime and sometimes watched when my spouse played the game, I get them confused with the P5 characters (same, watched the anime and sometimes when Spouse played). I don't know how—there's a whole number difference between them!
Anyway, it's an interesting read, though I'm disappointed Naoto didn't get a larger part (mostly because I have her costume from this, haha). The P3 and P4 characters don't intermingle much... yet... and the cliffhanger is a bit ugly, so you can't really read JUST one volume if budget/accessibility is an issue for you. Or, I guess you COULD stop with one volume for anything, not like anyone's forcing you to read! Main thing is it's really something that only fans of the game(s) would like, as it's a little impenetrable to anyone without at least a vague familiarity with how Personas work.
I'm also a little surprised by how many "key" characters there were in P4, since I thought there were six but apparently there are eight...?
- Player Character (Yu)
- Yosuke
- Chie
- Yukiko
- Kanji
- Naoto
- Teddie
- ...Rise?
I guess it's been a minute, so I forgot about Yukiko and Rise, and also since I've only watched the anime and sometimes watched when my spouse played the game, I get them confused with the P5 characters (same, watched the anime and sometimes when Spouse played). I don't know how—there's a whole number difference between them!
Anyway, it's an interesting read, though I'm disappointed Naoto didn't get a larger part (mostly because I have her costume from this, haha). The P3 and P4 characters don't intermingle much... yet... and the cliffhanger is a bit ugly, so you can't really read JUST one volume if budget/accessibility is an issue for you. Or, I guess you COULD stop with one volume for anything, not like anyone's forcing you to read! Main thing is it's really something that only fans of the game(s) would like, as it's a little impenetrable to anyone without at least a vague familiarity with how Personas work.
October 1, 2023
Worlds collide in a deadly battle tournament, where friends are scarce and the circumstances are a mystery.
I had not read Persona 3 before picking up this one, which was a mistake. While I was able to pretty much figure this out and sink into the story, I found it so interesting that I wished I had read the other series first. So, I'm going to have to correct that mistake.
As to this read, it is exciting. It shifts locations and characters, mostly concentrating on two groups, Mitsurr Kirijo/Aigis and Yu Narukami/Investigation Team. The first scenes snag attention as the first of these groups investigates the theft of a secret weapon. The other group, as a sharp contrast, snuggles into a reunion after a longer split. When both are drawn into the TV World, everything which was settling gets thrown upside-down. I felt as lost as the characters as they tried to figure out what was happening and are faced with their first battles. As the last scenes of the book hit, it was terrible to be left to wait to see what happened next. So, this tale does draw in and keep tension high.
While the action is addicting and there is enough character depth to draw in (without hurting the pacing), it's the graphics which make every scene sit. These filled in the tale very nicely while building up the characters' emotions and quirks. They especially work well during the quicker pacing to keep the plot understandable and exciting. It was a nice balance through-out and one I plan to continue to follow... because I do wonder what happens next. I received a DRC through Edelweiss and was more caught up in this tale than I thought I'd be.
I had not read Persona 3 before picking up this one, which was a mistake. While I was able to pretty much figure this out and sink into the story, I found it so interesting that I wished I had read the other series first. So, I'm going to have to correct that mistake.
As to this read, it is exciting. It shifts locations and characters, mostly concentrating on two groups, Mitsurr Kirijo/Aigis and Yu Narukami/Investigation Team. The first scenes snag attention as the first of these groups investigates the theft of a secret weapon. The other group, as a sharp contrast, snuggles into a reunion after a longer split. When both are drawn into the TV World, everything which was settling gets thrown upside-down. I felt as lost as the characters as they tried to figure out what was happening and are faced with their first battles. As the last scenes of the book hit, it was terrible to be left to wait to see what happened next. So, this tale does draw in and keep tension high.
While the action is addicting and there is enough character depth to draw in (without hurting the pacing), it's the graphics which make every scene sit. These filled in the tale very nicely while building up the characters' emotions and quirks. They especially work well during the quicker pacing to keep the plot understandable and exciting. It was a nice balance through-out and one I plan to continue to follow... because I do wonder what happens next. I received a DRC through Edelweiss and was more caught up in this tale than I thought I'd be.
January 7, 2025
This story is actually better presented as a manga than it is in the video game source material. The story is snappy and moves much faster than the game. The story is much more enjoyable if you are familiar with the characters and story of Persona 4. The art is coherent and none of the characters look off brand.
August 22, 2024
MITSURU BABY I LOVE YOU😭😭😭😭😭😭😭i do not play about mitsuru DONT EVEN JOKE LADDD and aigis aigis aigis i Lov aigis im Very normal about her... totally I LOVE MY AUTISTIC ROBOT GIRLFRIEND UWAAAAH
March 10, 2025
finally indulging in persona media after putting it off for 38583458347 years. the girls are so cutie, i'm interested where the story will go, rise and mitsuru best girls forever.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews