#nonsensical ramble

Y'know it struck me but P4R's All-Out Attack finisher screen is different from Persona 5 and P3R's style, which ends in a stylized splash art AoA finisher screen in both cases.

P4R has a 3D shot of the finishing character posing with a splash screen in the background instead.

That's a change, but...

Akinari is a rather interesting (if bittersweet) spin on the Sun Arcana's themes, but he fits because even though his whole thing is that he was doomed to die young because of his terminal illness, in the end, he accepts his death not out of resignation, but because he's fulfilled. He writes a book and manages to finish it and give it to Makoto before he dies, and later it turns out his dying words to his mother were of gratitude. He didn't lament how short his life was. He was grateful to her for giving him the life he did have, no matter how short it was, and he's glad to have been born, to have been her son. He did find happiness in the end because he found his answer to life's greatest question, and in his dying moments, he had no regrets. He made the most of his finite life and managed to make it matter through the smallest things, namely the book he wrote and how he will live on through it. Much like how Makoto himself ends up dying in the end because he sacrificed his life to seal Nyx away, but he died fulfilled because he found meaning through the connections he forged, and he also had no regrets. They both died, but they know they'll live on in the ways that matter through the lives they will impact. Akinari through his book, and Makoto through the bonds he made with others and how he impacted their lives, and the lives of those who will be impacted by his friends' lives.

Yumi and Ayane are kind of opposite spins on a similar path of self-honesty. At the start, Yumi pursues acting aggressively and competitively to run away from herself, at the expense of others. At the same time, Ayane is a people pleaser who doesn't think too highly of her talent and sidelines herself and her own dreams and happiness for others' happiness and success. Yumi ends up confronting her own messy feelings about her dad's presence (or lack thereof) in her life but accepts that her parents, even her dad, gave her life, and she gave meaning to theirs, and resolves to live for herself. Ayane meanwhile learns to live for herself and pursue her own ambitions honestly, and despite one quitting drama and the other continuing her path in music they both seek to find ways to contribute to others' lives and bring happiness to others. Both of those mirror the way Yu's time in Inaba ends, because he came at first with no real purpose but left with a sense of clarity of who he is, who he wants to be, and as someone who is able to connect with others and bring meaning to others' lives.

And Toranosuke is pretty different but similar to Ren, since he started out as someone who was framed for false charges against him like Ren was and endured societal disgrace, but managed to win over people as a politician through honesty and sincere conviction in his speeches. He's a politician who is genuinely committed to the values he speaks about and truly believes in them and reforming society, much like how Ren despite being a Persona User and Phantom Thief ends up firmly standing by his values and maintains his principles. They both become the kind of person who inspires change through fighting honestly in what they believe is right, even if they have to endure disgrace in doing so, in their respective paths.

Pagogo could be tied to the sea, and Liko is associated with the moon. The moon influences the sea by influencing its tides through its pull.

The Black Rayquaza is tied to the sky, and Roy is associated with the sun. The sun influences the sky by illuminating it with its light.

The White Zygarde is tied to the land. Amethio could be associated with the earth, which influences and shapes the land itself.

One of the things Hashino had in mind when he directed Persona 3 was societal apathy in Japan, especially the working adults who had become automatons as cogs in corporate machines and who just devote all their waking time to work, then go home or to a hotel and get drunk, sleep, and rinse and repeat, and drifting through the motions. But he also kind of singles out the point in life where that mentality, at least unintentionally, starts, because high school in Japan is often perceived as the final point in life of "freedom" before entrance exams, diligent college study, and working adult life. That's also ironically the point where, at a subconscious level, the mindset of existential apathy, which Hashino pins as the ultimate enemy in P3, begins.

Yuko's early mindset in the Social Link is basically the mindset a lot of high schoolers, especially in Japan at the time, have, which she expresses when she rants about how she turned in a blank paper and was forced to write a reflection essay and get lectured by Ekoda who criticized her for not taking her future seriously and how she'll end up a good-for-nothing adult at that rate. She brushed it off as "Come on, I'm still in high school, and still a teenager, I should be enjoying myself while I still can. Yeah, the future's important and all, but can't it wait a few years?" which is a very common mindset of adolescents in Japan, especially at the time. That's, in effect, the mindset Hashino critiques throughout Persona 3 because he singles that out as the breeding ground of apathy that is very prevalent in working adults who have become too exhausted to engage with life meaningfully.

Like Dokimeki Diary, the very first OP of Horizons as a whole, it has a very shoujo feel to it, like the kind of song you'd hear in a magical girl anime story, which fits because Liko being the viewpoint character and protagonist of this show skews it a bit more towards a shoujo feel.