Arum Journal

Seeing Lara struggle with job interviews and never getting a response back just got me having my own war flashbacks of trying to find jobs in my 20’s. Job boards really do have weird specifications despite the fact that you’re qualified most of the time… Fortunately, both Lara and Mari get hired at a cake shop with its building looking like a castle. Mari handles the front while Lara works in the kitchen. By the way, did anyone notice that the cake shop is called Anderken, which is based on Hans Christian Andersen, the author of The Little Mermaid?

My only issue with this episode is the fact Lara is very hasty and impatient with her job. She never gets severely punished for rushing things. On top of that, I don’t think Lara has a time limit or anything regarding her goal to find true love. I feel like someone should’ve told her a lesson about how rushing and being impatient won’t get her anywhere. I think the only lesson she got out of her job is that there are sides to many people, but I feel like it wasn’t shown enough.

The abrupt reunion between Lisa and Lara does make it seem as if the story is setting up Lisa to be the main antagonist and not Grace. She has disdain towards humans despite having human legs. Come to think of it, Grace was being pretty vague about the royal family going to sleep; she didn’t say all of them were. Did she know Lisa was missing and didn’t say anything about it? Other than that, I don’t think Kota is dead because when the fish rock thing crashed into the car, you can see something fall into the water last minute—though, it could just be car pieces…

The shop owner, Seta, is voiced by Kenji Fukuda who voiced Mayu’s father in Wonderful Precure. Ishiyama, one of the male employees, is voiced by Tasuku Kaito, who voiced Bachira in Blue Lock. Like I mentioned before, I do like that they don’t cast super popular voice actors for this anime and use mostly ones with some experience under their belts or a complete rookie like Mari’s voice actress.

Also, am I the only one who sensed death flags towards Lara when she used the camera? Will Lara die to restore her family back after finding true love? It does give off that she’ll have to go away after finding love given her special powers and such. I do wonder what’s going to happen towards the end… Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

The flashback of how Kyo and Asuka met was super cute. Asuka was a super extrovert while Kyo was an introvert who got into fights. The orphanage Kyo was in was a facility run by Tasuku Tenma, Asuka and Tomoro’s grandfather, who was housing orphans affected by the Kano Island incident, with Kyo being one of them. The way they met and how they became friends was adorable, but since the title of the episode is called “Cherry Blossom Friendship”, it was short-lived due to cherry blossoms symbolizing impermanence; it also means rebirth because meeting and caring for Asuka caused Kyo to be reborn as a Cleaner when Cougarmon was born. This means that Kyo became a Cleaner at 7 and lived that life for around three years before becoming a member of the Five Stars at 11 (It’s three, not four because Kyo was 7 going on 8).

A few details of the Kyo and Asuka flashback you might have missed: there’s a shot where Kyo and Asuka have a glimpse of Shangri-la Egg and it’s in the same state as it was during Maki’s flashback, meaning it was 15 years ago. A staff member that worked on this episode confirmed Asuka’s age in the flashback to be 7 as the staff mentioned Asuka’s behavior and movements was based on their friend’s seven-year-old son, which is cute. Since the current year in the story is 2050, the flashback took place 2035 and, since it’s spring, this means that Tomoro was only around 2 months old at the time (he was born January 20). It’s kind of hilarious knowing that Kyo and Asuka were having the time of their lives while Maki was out fending for her life in the same year and had to experience Panjyamon dying too…

I also like that this flashback gives a lot of insight to Dr. Tenma. He opened up the Sakura Orphanage because of his regrets for the casualties caused by him and Chairman Wong. He’s also the creator of the Sapotamas, but warned Asuka and Kyo to be cautious of them. He also seemed to be on good terms with his family as Asuka came to visit him occasionally and was even a drummer like his grandsons; given his hair color being closer to Asuka than Tomoro’s, he’s definitely his paternal grandfather as Papa Tenma has brown hair while Mama Tenma has purple with the yellow streak. Also, Yoshimura even tells Tomoro how he and Dr. Tenma go way back and it makes me wonder why this hasn’t been brought up until now… I wonder about Dr. Tenma’s current whereabouts…

With Kishiwada instilling himself as a prominent character for this final arc, I can’t help but wonder what role he’s going to play. A part of me thinks he’s going to be the final boss, but then that would make Genjo wasted potential since there were a lot of hints that Genjo would be the final boss. On the other hand, we don’t even know who Kishiwada is; is he human? Digimon? Also, why does he know so much about the White Core and how it harbored Asuka’s Digimon?

Yeah, the twist of Asuka becoming possessed was obvious, but I didn’t expect that Asuka would give birth to a Digimon with a power very similar to the one that Wong is seeking out. On top of that, it happened four years ago, meaning it hatched a year after the Tenma parents got arrested. Heliosboamon has a sun motif and Gekkomon has a moon motif. Are they trying to create an mon with an eclipse motif or something?

Speaking of Heliosboamon, they’re voiced by Yukana who voiced Lalamon and her evolution line in Digimon Savers and New Century as well as Sistermon Ciel in Ghost Game. I’m using they/them because I don’t know what gender Heliosboamon is; they could be female due to the female voice actress but they could be male with a female voice like Mephismon. Also, the pink-haired nurse is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi who voiced Rui’s mother in 02: The Beginning; outside of Digimon, she’s known for voicing Dawn from the Pokemon anime and Junko Enoshima in Danganronpa. Also, why do people think she’s Jokermon’s Owner from Episode 28? Their voice actresses are different, meaning that they’re not the same person!  Oh and if you're wondering about the voice actresses for young Kyo and Asuka...they're voiced by Pristimon and Maki's respectively.

Anyways, with the good news that Rose has been restored from Cold Heart, it does seem like she’ll be playing an active role later on but helping Kyo and his family. This would mean that Kaito and Honoka are not going to be active for the climax. Kaito has shown up a few episodes ago to stop Brilliant Thorns, but what has Honoka contributed to the story? I feel like she’s going to be the most wasted potential… Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

The English “witches” are pretty crazy regarding their abilities. I feel like they’re a bit more thorough with showcasing their abilities. Also, I do admit that they do have a better grasp on the ability gimmick because they’re a co-ed society while Iwamoto and his squad are all men from an all-male military school. So yeah, it was pretty crazy to see women in a shounen story like this…

Regardless, I do think their abilities are cool but their names are as ridiculous as Neptune’s. Crystal Flavor (who is in charge of these names) has an ability where she can make bubbles made out of special solvent that can make the foam stick onto anything when it pops. Igni’s ability seems to be his creepy snake coins, but I feel like there’s more to him since he seems to be the focal character. Rosemary Pinkgold (WHAT IS THIS NAME) has an ability where he can summon very thick thorns that almost seem metallic. Ability-wise, the English got the upper hand since they are all shown off right off the bat.

On the Japanese side, Haramachi got an upgrade as he has a gauntlet that shoots needle projectiles made by the Research team. Sazame also appears last minute to showcase his ability, which is using his umbrella to cut through sharp objects. Sekiei, the target that both sides are after, has a copy ability. The only bad thing about the Japanese side is that the characters don’t showcase their abilities right off the bat because they don’t have good control over them, like how Amaba had to risk his life to stop Neptune and had to untie his hair in the process.

Crystal Flavor is voiced by Ayana Taketatsu who voiced Nino Nakano in The Quintessential Quintuplets, Aura the Guillotine in Frieren and Nadeshiko Yamato in 100 Girlfriends. Igni is voiced by Yoshiyuki Shimotsuma who voiced Takeda in Assassination Classroom. Rosemary is voiced by Makoto Yasumura who mostly voiced a lot of supporting characters, but also voiced Layle in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers.

Anyways, I do wonder why they decided to showcase this “war” between the English and Japanese this quick? Aren’t these types of plot points usually towards the end? What are they cooking? Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Not going to lie…Neptune Watergun is an absurdly ridiculous name. I had to hold back a chuckle because of it. Aside from that, this is the first time a foreigner appears in this story and he’s British. He’s basically the British version of Iwamoto in that he’s looking to recruit people with special powers and Mr. White Man has his sights set on Iwamoto. Like his hilarious surname, he is a water user, but not just any water user—he can manipulate any type of fluid as long it has water in it; this means that he can also manipulate blood as it is liquid. Also, he’s voiced by Hiroki Takahashi who voiced characters like Jounouchi (Joey Wheeler) in Yugioh, Keith Kepler in Spy x Family and Lighter in Zenless Zone Zero.

Why I thought this was a creatively written battle was that Iwamoto had to retreat because his fire powers were at a major disadvantage. Usually, shounen stories would make it so that the MC would do something absolutely ridiculous to gain the upper hand. In Iwamoto’s case, his powers are fire while Neptune’s are water, so the former is going to be at a natural disadvantage. It’s only when Haramachi begs for Iwamoto to retreat that he does before being stopped by creepy British man. However, Iwamoto does eventually defeat Neptune by increasing his fire powers so that water can evaporate, which is pretty creative in my opinion.

Amaba’s true powers being his sentient hair honestly caught me off guard. I mean, there had to be a reason why he was recruited by Iwamoto as a guy with abilities, but I didn’t expect it to be this. The fact that his hair powers are risky because he loses control over it makes it cool. It’s also thanks to Amaba that Iwamoto got the resolve to defeat Neptune with his blue flames. I think Amaba might be my favorite character after this; I like his personality and his powers are unique.

I believe this is the first episode where Kizujo’s face is fully revealed, but it was already shown in the opening. The reveal that Neptune’s body magically disappeared does make me wonder if he’s going to come back. Also, I do feel bad that Shibukibara died, not because I like him, but I just thought that his powers were interesting and it was a waste to let him die. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Anyways, the situation of this episode is that there’s a guy named Ainosuke Oshie who develops a crush on Suzu and wants to confess to her after learning about the Electrical Matchmaking machine. That’s when all the shipping shenanigans ensue. The twist of the machine being broken isn’t actually a surprise as you can see a brief scene of the white helmet falling onto the ground with one of the bulbs cracking because of this.

Anyways, this episode contains both yaoibait and yuribait. The yuribait is mostly between Kate and Suzu; it seems to be one-sided from Kate’s side. She was the one who was the least thrilled about the thought of Suzu and Ainosuke getting together. It does make me wonder if Suzu feels the same way and if this will be explored again in a future episode because I wouldn’t mind seeing them together; they’re honestly adorable. 

The yaoibait comes in two parts. The first being Ukon and Sakon, who seem to misunderstand the “mutual feelings” portion in that they share a strong bond from their time during the military. I do wonder if anyone ships them together after this. The second yaoibait is between Izo and Yosuke with Izo misunderstanding his feelings for Yosuke; since Izo isn’t aware of the machine being broken, I do wonder if Izo does have feelings for Yosuke; it’s kind of hard to interpret since he’s been with him since they were young. He’s been with Yosuke ever since Yosuke was still the bowl-cut introvert; apparently, Yosuke was a bit of a germaphobe as he wore gloves and a gas mask whenever he was outside, which was something his mother ordered him to do. As he’s older, he got rid of the mask, but not the gloves; since Seiroku was shown in the flashback of him going to school, I do wonder if Seiroku was the reason he took it off… Regardless, Yosuke does give off gay vibes since he even has a picture of him on his desk.

Though, I am curious about the extent of Kengo and Noriko’s relationship. Apparently, Kengo has had a crush on Noriko for a long time. Since Noriko is always calm and composed, it’s hard to tell if she likes him in return or if she’s just engaged to him for the sake of getting married. She’s a mystery…

Ainosuke is voiced by KENN who is known for Judai Yuki (Jaden Yuki) in Yugioh GX; he’s also been in a Kyoani series as Akihito Kanbara from Beyond the Boundary. The episode also reveals that Yosuke has an older sister who isn’t named, but is voiced by Aya Endō who voiced Miyuki Takara in Lucky Star and Cattleya in Violet Evergarden—both are Kyoani works. I do wonder about the role she’ll have in the story since she’s obviously Yosuke’s older sister and not the heiress of Mizoe Firm…

By the way, I still don’t know which one is Ukon and Sakon; regardless, I do think that Kihachi and Yajiro’s place having them as bodyguards really helps the story since they’re very competent and it doesn’t get all comically stupid like Yosuke stealing the catalog and having Kihachi go on a comically wild goose chase because of it. Other than that, I do feel like this is the story’s tipping point, but I could be wrong. Let me know your thoughts on this episode.

Anyways, the situation of this episode mostly revolves around a textile shop called Nishikiya that’s currently struggling due to the proprietor’s sudden passing and his wife, the proprietress, feeling depressed and guilty for not being with him at the time. Inako empathizes with her, so she begs Kihachi to create a machine that can help communicate with the dead. Honestly, it was a somber story but it has good closure at the end. I do wish that the Nishikiya people’s regrets shown a bit more as the episode mostly fixated on Kihachi building the machine.

This episode also showcases how the Momokawa family fell apart after Naeko’s death. I honestly liked the flashbacks about Naeko. She definitely was a dazzling star. I can see why the family became so distant after her passing. Jinemon became stern; Noriko is trying to be the core of the family; Inako feels like she’s lost despite having her own dreams. I do wonder if it was normal for women to work and own sake breweries back in the early 1900’s, and if so, I can see why she’s so admirable. I do hope that Inako gets to become the brewer she desires to be; I predict that the finale of the story will be Kihachi helping Inako to prove to her dad that she has what it takes to take over with an invention that helps brew sake faster without the over inhaling soot.

I feel like Yosuke is getting creepier each episode because what do you mean he created a robot version of his dead boyfriend? I don’t think it’s complete, but the hair and Yosuke’s behavior towards it does indicate that it’s some kind of steam=powered robot in the making. I don’t know if he’s a menhera or a yandere at this point—maybe somewhere in between?

Naeko is voiced by Mayumi Asano who voiced Haku in Naruto, Kyoko Kodai in Journal with Witch and Savyna in Baten Kaitos; in English, she’s voiced by Crystal Lee. The two bodyguards, Ukon and Sakon, are voiced by Yuji Murai who voiced Scharf in Frieren and Satoshi Tsuruoka who voiced BlackGaogamon in Beatbreak and will voice Bonaventure/Bonparte in the upcoming Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave. The proprietress is voiced by Sakiko Tamagawa who voiced Oshirasama’s master in Daemons of the Shadow Realm. Her son is voiced by Yu Miyazaki who voiced Itsuomi in A Sign of Affection.

By the way, I don’t know who is Ukon and who is Sakon. If you know, please let me know; don’t forget to let me know your thoughts on this episode!

Oooh boy… making the anime focus entirely on Marie is basically the detriment of this adaptation. I don’t know what she’s like in the game since I only played OG P4. Here, she is a borderline Mary Sue who’s related to the true final boss in the most cliche way possible and she’s a socially awkward amnesiac girl who gets all tsundere at times, especially if her poems are read. She’s socially awkward and blunt, yet she is accepted into the IT friend group and they all love and accept her because everyone else lacks a semblance of a character and free will. Heck, because Yu is tasked to take Marie out of the Velvet Room, all of Marie’s character is only present when Yu is there; without him, she’s barely a character. She’s basically like a fanfiction OC. None of her actions or behavior get consequences and she doesn’t even bother remembering the names of the IT and only calls Yu by his name once her drama is resolved WHICH IS TOWARDS THE END OF THE STORY! Worst of all, she contributes nothing to the murder mystery plot, which gets glossed over because she’s Marie, the star of the show. A part of me wonders if Kana Hanazawa is a reason why the anime pushes Marie’s involvement so hard because she’s a popular seiyuu… Anyways, I do wonder what Marie is like in the game because she can’t be this bad, right?

Aside from Marie, the anime features a lot of the Golden-exclusive events like Yu getting a scooter, going to the beach with his friends and doing a temporary band with the other IT members. However, guess who’s also there in those events? Marie! Aside from her, those events were actually pretty decent to watch. Okay, I do admit that I did like the band portion, especially the duet between Marie and Rise.

The best aspect of P4GA is definitely the Adachi content. In Golden, Adachi becomes a social link, so Yu can form a bond with him in the game and the choices you make once the story becomes serious will affect how that bond with Adachi will go. The anime decides to take it up a notch by showcasing Adachi’s past during his days a lonely student, which was quite impactful because the plot would’ve been so different if he just reached out and formed a bond. It even takes a step further when Yu has a 1 vs 1 Persona battle with him, topped with a new anime-exclusive OST that is an extreme banger. I feel like since Adachi is technically a fan favorite, the additional content only helped him more in terms of characterization while the staff failed to do the same with Marie. Also, if possible, go search for the Accomplice ending OVA. It’s actually very interesting, especially if you know what the Accomplice Ending is—basically a Golden-exclusive bad end that revolves around protecting Adachi. It’s honestly so good.