Undoubtedly one of the most critically acclaimed RPG franchises of the last few years, Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei: Persona mythology seemed ripe for an anime adaptation. Set ten years after the events of Persona 3, Persona: Trinity Soul introduces an entirely new cast of Persona-wielding characters instead of trying to shoehorn extra adventures into the tightly woven narrative of the PlayStation 2 hit. Oddly enough, the similarities between the game and the anime don’t extend much beyond characters able to summon Personas, and being set primarily in a high school. Despite how different the universe is even though it takes place in the same era as Persona 3, Persona: Trinity Soul is still an intriguing story, though I’m not sure if anyone but the most die-hard of Persona fans will get as much out of it.

Trinity Soul begins with brothers Shin and Jun Kanzato returning home to Ayanagi City to live with their older brother, Ryo, the chief of police. During the time of their return, the police are investigating a series of paranormal murders, which can leave the victims turned completely inside out, or completely catatonic with a case of Apathy Syndrome. Almost immediately we find that a group known as the Marebito are behind the attacks, as they are harvesting Personas for a mysterious reason. A Persona wielder himself, Ryo tries to keep the rest of the police force out of the investigation, and Personas hidden from the public. Despite Ryo’s objections to their coming home to live with him in the first place, Shin and Jun return to school, where they meet Takuro, Megumi, and Kanaru. Takuro introduces Shin to the hot new fad of Shadow Extraction, a process that draws out a person’s Persona just enough to get them high. As the season progresses, you find Shin and Jun have their own Personas, as do their school friends, and that Ryo is working for a mysterious organization that’s hoping to stop the Marebito from succeeding with their plans. The story is decent, but aside from a few short segments scattered throughout, doesn’t provide nearly enough action. The first and second episode set a pretty good pace as far as Persona encounters are concerned, and yet the remaining eleven episodes rely much more on character development and deepening the mystery behind the Marebito than they do anything else. Fortunately, most of the characters are interesting enough that you’ll want to see what happens to them, in spite of how decompressed the main story actually is. Because of the way the overall tale is paced, the season finale feels rushed, and you won’t feel as if anything was truly accomplished other than the set-up for the second season. However, the finale ends on one wicked cliffhanger that left me wanting more immediately.

While I do wish the story followed a bit more closely to the foundation laid in Persona 3, I can appreciate wanting to change things up a bit. Unlike the games, where for the most part characters battle weird demons in alternate dimensions, Trinity Soul relies on Persona vs. Persona action in the real world. Like I said, the battles don’t happen often, but when they do, they are pretty fun to watch, even if they are way too short. Considering the time constraints of a half-hour televised show, I get that you can’t devote that much time to a single confrontation, especially when there are so many plot threads running through each episode. That doesn’t mean there couldn’t have been at least one episode where there was nothing but epic throwdowns. I have a feeling the second season is going to have a lot more action based on some of the allusions made during the climax of season one, but I still felt that there was an extreme lack of Persona-fueled excitement in the first thirteen episodes. If the characters and mystery behind the Marebito weren’t as interesting, and if I wasn’t a fan of the video games, I’d probably have lost interest a few episodes in. Thankfully I didn’t, and I was able to enjoy the show.

The animation is pretty solid, and the style falls in line with the precedent set by Persona 3. Sadly, it’s difficult to be amazed by the Personas because they’re always transparent when summoned. I’ve always been a big fan of the design work done on the Personas themselves, but you don’t really get a grasp of the creativity and symbolism present in them when they’re barely rendered on screen. It’s bad enough that they hardly appear as it is, but when they’re faintly displayed on screen as well, it takes a bit of the awe and wonder away. If it weren’t for the art book that came with the DVD collection, I’d have never seen the Personas in any kind of detail at all. Longtime anime watchers, and fans of the video game, will find a lot of the familiar trappings involved here like damsels in distress, awkward sexual tension and embarrassment, and the comedy sidekick. This isn’t an easy series to get into if you’re not already familiar with concepts of Persona, and though it’s good, I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who’s looking for a starting point to begin watching anime. A lot of the voice work is really good, though for my taste Ryo is a little too stoic and monotone. Miyuki Sawashiro, the actress who portrays Jun, does a particularly terrific job playing the character as innocent, wise beyond his years, and a little effeminate (with good reason). The total production package makes for a highly enjoyable viewing experience. I just wish the story were a little more accessible to all audiences.

Even though I wasn’t sure what direction the story was going to take from episode to episode, I had a good time watching Persona: Trinity Soul. The animation is solid, and the characters are pretty developed for such a short animated series. NIS America has included a hardcover art book with the first series collection, and it’s wonderfully put together. It doesn’t contain every character and their Persona, which is a little disappointing, but it does come with a print version of the short story from the anime, “A Whale’s Feather.” My only true gripe is that there wasn’t nearly enough action, but fans of the games should find enough here that they’d enjoy it. I’m looking forward the second season, and hope to see it over here soon.