Persona 3 The Movie

Persona 3 The Movie is a four-part animated movie series based on the game Persona 3. It is an adaptation of The Journey from the perspective of the male protagonist and does not cover The Answer from Persona 3 FES. There is no English dub and it is done entirely in Japanese, although English subtitles are available.
The first movie, Persona 3 The Movie #1: Spring of Birth, was released on November 23, 2013.
The second movie, Persona 3 The Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream, was released on June 7, 2014.
The third movie, Persona 3 The Movie #3: Falling Down, was released on April 4th, 2015.
The final movie, Persona 3 The Movie #4: Winter of Rebirth, was released on January 23, 2016.
==Release Dates==
Persona 3 The Movie #1: Spring of Birth
*Japan: November 23, 2013 (Theatrical Release)
*Japan: May 14, 2014 (DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
*International: May 20, 2014 (Imported DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
Persona 3 The Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream
*Japan: June 7, 2014 (Theatrical Release)
* Japan: March 11, 2015 (DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
* International: March 11, 2015 (Imported DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
Persona 3 The Movie #3: Falling Down
*Japan: April 4, 2015 (Theatrical Release)
*Japan: January 20, 2016 (DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
*International: January 20, 2016 (Imported Blu-Ray Release)
Persona 3 The Movie #4: Winter of Rebirth
*Japan: January 23, 2016 (Theatrical Release)
*Japan: August 3, 2016 (DVD / Blu-Ray Release)
*International: August 3, 2016 (Imported Blu-Ray Release)
==Plot==
:See also: Persona 3
Makoto Yuki is an orphaned teenager who transfers to Gekkoukan High School, on Tatsumi Port Island and finds himself experiencing a supernatural phenomenon known as the Dark Hour. After witnessing his new Iwatodai dorm-mates being attacked by mysterious creatures known as Shadows, Makoto goes to their aid and inexplicably awakens to the power of his Persona. Makoto later joins a covert extra-curricular club at Gekkoukan High called SEES, whose members have but one goal: to rid the world of the Shadows.
==Music==
:See also: Spring of Birth OST, Midsummer Knight's Dream OST, Falling Down OST & Winter of Rebirth OST'
The soundtrack for Spring of Birth was composed by Shoji Meguro, while the other three movies were scored by Tetsuya Kobayashi. Each movie is accompanied by a main theme, along with remixed tracks from the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack, though a majority of them do not appear in the films themselves. The soundtracks for the movies were included with the Blu-Ray / DVD release, including all original tracks made for the movies. The movies also feature remastered versions of songs from the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack, as well as the Burn My Dread -Reincarnation- album, though these remastered versions have not been officially released. The themes for the movies are:
#Persona 3 The Movie #1: Spring of Birth
#*"More Than One Heart" (main theme, ending credits)
#*"Burn My Dread (Spring of Birth ver.)" (opening credits)
#*"More Than One Heart (instrumental)"
#*"Burn My Dread (instrumental)"
#Persona 3 The Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream
##"Fate is In Our Hands" (main theme, opening credits)
##"Deep Breath Deep Breath (Lotus Juice Remix)"
##"Mass Destruction (Lotus Juice Remix)"
##"Fate is In Our Hands (instrumental)"
##"One Single Word" (insert song used when Aigis first summons Palladion)
##"One Hand, One Heartbeat" (ending credits)
#Persona 3 The Movie #3: Falling Down
#*"Light in Starless Sky" (main theme, ending credits)
#*"Unavoidable Battle (Power Mix)"
#*"Living With Determination (Mellow Velvet Mix)"
#* "Light in Starless Sky (instrumental)"
#*"One Determination" (opening credits)
#*"Sound of the Beast" (insert song used during Ikutsuki's betrayal of SEES)
#*"Storm for a Butterfly" (insert song used during the fight against Chidori)
#Persona 3 The Movie #4: Winter of Rebirth
#*"My Testimony" (main theme, insert song during Makoto's date with Elizabeth)
#*"Memories of You (Winter of Rebirth ver.)" (ending credits)
#*"Burn My Dread -Last Battle- (Future Arrange)"
#*"My Testimony (instrumental)"
#*"Self Redemption" (insert song during the battle against the Nyx Avatar's Death Arcana phase)
==Adaptation Differences==
There are differences between the game and the movie.
*Some characters' appearances are modified slightly, such as having darker hair or differently colored eyes.
*SEES members don't get their weapons from the police station, instead the weapons they use are specially made by the Kirijo Group.
*No items or fusion spells are used in battle. 
* There is no cut-in effect when a character first summons their Persona.
*Makoto gains new Personas after defeating a Shadow from a Full Moon Operation. The Persona's Arcana depends on the defeated Shadow's Arcana.
* No Social Links are acquired in the movie, and Makoto does not gain the rest of the Arcanas past Death, except Judgement and Universe.
** No Personas of the Lovers Arcana were used on-screen, save for Io and Isis.
====Spring of Birth====
*All the major characters appear in the movie intro (except Aigis), while the anime cutscene at the beginning only shows Makoto, Yukari, Pharos, and Mitsuru.
*The reason why Makoto arrived at Iwatodai Dormitory at midnight is because of the successful suicide of a young man who flung himself onto the train tracks.
*Makoto doesn't interact much with other Social Link characters, only a few, which becomes a trend throughout the movies.
*The first victim devoured by Shadows, shown in an anime cutscene in the game, is named Sakata Masashi.
**In the anime cutscene, he appears in Tatsumi Port Station, but in the movie, he appears somewhere in Port Island Station.
*Some characters make a cameo appearance:
**Bunkichi and Mitsuko make a cameo appearance during Fuuka's visit to their bookstore.
**Koromaru and Maiko Oohashi make a cameo appearance together.
**Ken Amada appears briefly when he visits his mother's grave.
**Kenji Tomochika appears in the arcade and after exam results are posted.
**Kazushi Miyamoto appears after exam results are posted and then during the kendo training.
**Hidetoshi Odagiri appears while interrogating one of the students of class 2-E.
**Maki, Natsuki Moriyama's friend, briefly appears in the gym when she and the other girls lock Fuuka inside.
**Nozomi Suemitsu makes a brief cameo in Wild Duck Burger.
**Aigis appears in a post-credits scene.
*When the Shadow attacks the dorm, Makoto stops to look at the full moon outside the window. Yukari asks him if he cares if he dies, and he says he doesn't care and asks her if she's scared of death. A Shadow attacks the window and Yukari dives to save Makoto, her leg being cut by a glass shard and bleeding in the process. None of this occurs in the game.
* At the hospital where Akihiko gets his check-up, Junpei brought him a hand gripper exerciser instead of the class roster for 2-E. 
*Junpei's game of Believe It or Don't occurs in May instead of June 1.
*While discussing the ghost rumor from 2-E, SEES meets in Wild-Duck Burger instead of the dormitory's lounge.
*Makoto does not accompany SEES during the June Full Moon Operation due to his and Yukari's clashing personalities until he fully realizes his friends are in danger and goes to save them.
*This is the first time Makoto and Natsuki interact with each other, whereas they never interact in the game.
*In the movie, Natsuki heard the voice after witnessing the school transforming into Tartarus, but she heard it in the dormitory in the game.
*In the movie, Natsuki isn't protected by being inside Fuuka's Persona Lucia, unlike the game. Instead, Lucia stands in front of Natsuki.
====Midsummer Knight's Dream====
*During the second movie intro, the differences between the movie and the game are:
**Mitsuru, Akihiko and Junpei start battling the Arcana Hierophant without Makoto nor Yukari.
**Makoto and Yukari are captured by the Arcana Lovers until they come back to their senses and defeat it, as opposed to the game where they are manipulated after defeating the Arcana Hierophant.
*Some characters make a cameo appearance:
**Noriko Kashiwagi makes a cameo appearance in Yakushima.
**Mamoru Hayase makes a cameo in a kendo tournament.
**Ryoji Mochizuki appears in a post-credits scene.
*The differences between the movie and the game during the Yakushima trip are:
**Operation: Babe Hunt takes place on the first day of the SEES vacation.
**Makoto is not interesting in looking at Yukari, Fuuka or Mitsuru’s swimsuits or commenting on what his type is. He is instead fixated on following a crab.
** The “Beautiful Lady?” does not appear during Operation: Babe Hunt.
**When Makoto meets Aigis for the first time, he, Junpei and Akihiko do not follow her. As a result, the girls do not meet her. Yukari meets her for the first time at the beach.
**Mitsuru's father, Takeharu Kirijo, tells SEES the truth about what happened ten years ago instead of Mitsuru.
**Instead of Takeharu explaining what happened Yukari's father Eiichiro Takeba before she runs off to the beach in anger, he explains what happened her father after she runs off, although Makoto still goes after her after she runs off like in the game.
**Shadows appear while Makoto and Yukari are at the beach with Aigis coming to their rescue, a possible reference to the mobile game Persona 3 Em.
*After SEES returns from Yakushima, Mitsuru states that Ken's mother was his only living relative, but in the game, Ken has a distant relative who has been taking care of him.
*Takaya informs Shinjiro about Ken joining SEES instead of Akihiko. 
*Ken and Koromaru join SEES in August and battle against the Arcana Chariot and Arcana Justice.
**At the same time, Shinjiro bursts through the locked door to save SEES.
** He also joins SEES earlier than in the game, which was in September.
*The SEES members see Takaya’s Persona for the first time in August, earlier than in the game and similar to the Persona 3 manga.
* Junpei is not kidnapped by Chidori during the September Full Moon Operation against the Arcana Hermit.
* This is the first time SEES witnesses Shinjiro's Persona going berserk. This was not featured in the game or in the Persona 3 manga.
* Ken discovers that Shinjiro was the one who killed his mother only after witnessing Shinjiro's Persona go berserk (the event triggering a repressed memory), while in the game, Ken discovers Shinjiro's role long before joining SEES by listening in on a conversation between Shinjiro and Akihiko. Additionally, Ken's reason for joining SEES differs, in that he briefly thought it was the Shadows that were responsible for his mother's death, while in the game his sole reason for joining SEES was to kill Shinjiro. Furthermore, Ken's vengeance was fueled by a more personal motive, feeling betrayed after the discovery, while in the game, Ken was far more distant and cold to Shinjiro during their time in SEES due to already knowing Shinjiro's role in his mother's death.
*Makoto does not get sick from getting wet during the typhoon.
*The differences between the movie and the game on October 4 are:
**As Shinjiro attempts to summon his Persona, Takaya shoots him in the stomach instead of his right knee.
**Shinjiro's death is more bloody and dark than it is in the anime cutscene of the game.
***In the movie, he dies in Akihiko's arms instead of standing up and taking a few steps before collapsing to the floor.
**Aigis's reaction to Shinjiro's death was not shown. 
*Shinjiro's funeral is attended on October 7 instead of October 5 in the director's cut version, and in the original film it is attended on October 15.
====Falling Down====
* In the beginning of the movie, SEES splits up into two teams, with Akihiko and Ken battling against Takaya and Jin, while the rest of the members face the Arcana Hanged Man.
*Junpei being kidnapped by Chidori and Chidori being captured by SEES both happen in November instead of September.
*Takaya and Jin run away instead of jumping from the Moonlight Bridge like in the game.
*The scene where Pharos leaves Makoto's psyche is similar to the manga adaptation, except his appearance does not change. In the movie, it happens in the Velvet Room, but in the game it happens in Makoto's room.
*The differences between the movie and game during November 4 are:
**SEES does not take a group photo in this movie.
**Makoto does not eat sushi with everyone in SEES and simply goes to his room.
**None of SEES members bring their Evokers or otherwise prepare for battle when confronting Ikutsuki.
**Ikutsuki never mentions that he tampered with the recording of the incident from ten years ago. Yukari confirms it when talking to Mitsuru during the Kyoto trip.
*Makoto meets Ryoji before he transfers to Gekkoukan High.
*Akihiko, Ken, Fuuka, Yukari and Mitsuru's Personas do not evolve into their Ultimate Personas. Junpei is the only person who receives his Ultimate Persona.
*Some characters make a cameo appearance:
**Chihiro Fushimi makes a cameo appearance at Gekkoukan High School as a part of the Student Council.
**President Tanaka makes a cameo appearance.
**Rio Iwasaki appears briefly in the hallway along with Saori Hasegawa.
**Yuko Nishiwaki makes a cameo appearance.
**Bebe appears in the Home Economics club.
**Keisuke Hiraga appears in the Art club.
*Chidori leaves the hospital with Takaya and Jin on November 21, taking advantage of SEES still being on their Kyoto school trip.
*Aigis follows Makoto everywhere during the Kyoto school trip rather than giving him space to spend time with the guys.
*During the hot spring incident, when Ryoji attempts to flirt and get the girls to notice him, Makoto stops him by dunking him underwater instead of Junpei.
*Natsuki transfers to a different school in November instead of October.
*Makoto and Ryoji's friendship is deeper than in the game.
*Chidori does not temporarily control Fuuka to tell SEES where she is.
*Junpei summons Hermes to block SEES' Personas from attacking Chidori. In the game, it is required to battle Chidori and defeat her in order for the story to process. 
*SEES battles Takaya and Jin for the second time before their separate fights in January 31, which are the second and last fights against them in the game.
*Mitsuru discovers the connection between Strega and Ikutsuki in November instead of January.
====Winter of Rebirth====
*There is actual snow in the movie. There is no snow in the game.
*Aigis battles Ryoji earlier, on December 2.
*Ryoji completely destroys the Moonlight Bridge.
*Ryoji shows Makoto his true, incomplete version of Death from ten years ago instead of the form that resembles Thanatos from the game.
*Takaya and Jin reappear in December instead of January 31.
*Fuuka recovers some of the video data of Yukari's father including his message to Yukari, which happens in November in the game.
*Yukari is strangled by her Persona, Io, in a dream due to her depression and fear. Unlike in the game, she is the first member to be sure about her decision to fight Nyx.
*Aigis attempts to kill Ryoji again on December 31.
*Some characters make a cameo appearance:
**Akinari Kamiki appears at the Naganaki shrine.
**Yuko Nishiwaki appears at the gym with a fellow member, who she tells that she is leaving kendo practice earlier.
**Mutatsu appears briefly at Club Escapade.
**Kikuno Saikawa appears when she tells Mitsuru about the bottle of wine that Takeharu always used to drink on his daughter's birthday, while she doesn’t appear at all in the game.
**Mr. Ekoda, Mr. Ono, and Ms. Miyahara can be seen during Mitsuru's speech.
*All of the other remaining SEES members' Personas (except for Makoto, Junpei who has already had his second awakening, and Koromaru who lacks an Ultimate Persona) evolve after they regain their resolve to live, much later than in the game.
*The differences between the movie and the game during January 31 are:
**Elizabeth grants Orpheus the Megidolaon spell in order to defeat The Reaper, who was impeding Makoto's path to the top of Tartarus.
**Makoto battles Nyx Avatar alone while Akihiko, Junpei and Aigis battle Takaya and Jin, and Yukari, Mitsuru, Ken and Koromaru battle regular Shadows.
** Nyx Avatar incorporates elements of the Full Moon Shadows into its attacks.
**Jin is killed when one of his grenades explodes right after being shot in his hand by Aigis. However, in the game, he kills himself in order to avoid being killed by the Shadows.
**Takaya doesn't climb to the top of Tartarus when Nyx's true body comes out of the moon.
**SEES battles against the Shadows that are climbing to the top of Tartarus while Nyx is sending its gravitational waves.
**Makoto has a vision where he has a conversation with Ryoji about the answer to life, before he fuses Orpheus and Thanatos into his Ultimate Persona, Messiah, and reaches Nyx's core.
**Makoto gains the Universe Arcana after reaching Nyx's core while in the game he gains it before that.
**The Universe Arcana's card design isn't shown in the game, whereas in the movie, the art design is that of the World Arcana.
**Instead of Tartarus shattering to pieces which flow behind the moon right before the end of the Dark Hour, Tartarus explodes and collapses when Makoto defeats Nyx with the Great Seal.
*When Makoto's friends remember their promise on March 5, Mitsuru and the others immediately head to the roof instead of Mitsuru finishing her speech.
**Makoto's friends remembers their promise when they looking at the cherry blossom petals. 
*During Makoto's final days on March 5, Aigis is already on the roof to fulfill the promise. Because of this, Aigis and Makoto's conversation in the Iwatodai Dormitory befote he leaves for his last day of school is omitted.
**Makoto does not say anything to Aigis for a while, waiting for their friends to reunite with them.
**Furthermore, he sees a glimpse of his friends coming to his side before he passes away peacefully. However, in the game, he never gets a chance to see them before his passing and the last person he sees is Aigis.
==Gallery==
;Persona 3 The Movie #1: Spring of Birth
Persona 3 The Movie Chapter 1 logo.svg.png|Logo
P3 Movie Postor.jpg|Persona 3 movie #1 promo poster
P3 Movie promo poster.png|Promotional artwork
P3 The Movie poster 3.jpg|Promotional artwork 2
Persona 3 Spring by Birth movie poster 4.jpg|Promotional artwork 3
P3M.jpg|Persona 3 The Movie's website teaser
P3 Movie.jpeg|Persona 3 Movie Twitter page DP
bg_main.jpg|p3m.jp background before updates
P3TM1ThemeSongCDSet.jpg|Theme Song CD Set 
Persona 3 Spring of Birth DVD cover.jpg|Persona 3 The Movie #1: Spring of Birth Blu-Ray DVD cover
;Persona 3 The Movie #2: Midsummer Knight's Dream
P2M2 Promo artwork.jpg|Midsummer Knight's Dream promo poster
Persona Midsummer Poster.jpg|Promotional artwork
Persona Midsummer Poster2.jpg|Promotional artwork 2
Persona 3 Midsummer Knight's Dream DVD cover.jpg|Persona 3 The Movie 2#: Midsummer Knight's Dream Blu-Ray cover
Persona 3 The Movie 2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream BD DVD artwork.jpg|Midsummer Knight's Dream DVD art released
;Persona 3 The Movie #3: Falling Down
P3M_FD.jpg|Falling Down promo image
Persona 3 Falling Down artwork poster.jpg|Promotional artwork
P3M Faliing Down movie poster 3.jpg|Promotional artwork 2
Persona 3 Falling Down DVD Cover.jpg|Persona 3 The Movie 3#: Falling Down Blu-Ray cover
;Persona 3 The Movie #4: Winter of Rebirth
P3M FE tease image.jpg|Last Episode Teaser visual
P3M Winter Of Rebirth Promo Poster.jpg|Winter of Rebirth promo poster
P3M Winter of Rebirth, Poster Artwork.jpg|Promotional artwork
P3M Winter of Rebirth Poster Artwork 03.png|Promotional artwork 2
Persona 3 Winter of Rebirth final visual.jpg|Promotional artwork final visual
P3M Winter of Rebirth Limited B2 tapestry included with Loppi.jpg|Limited B2 tapestry included w/ Loppi purchased advance tickets for "Winter of Rebirth".
Theatrical release art of P3M Winter of Rebirth.jpg|
Persona 3 Winter of Rebirth DVD Cover.jpg|Persona 3 The Movie 4#: Winter of Rebirth Blu-Ray cover
;Countdown Illustrations
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 09.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 08.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 07.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 06.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 05.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 04.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 03.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 02.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown 01.jpg|
P3M Spring of Birth Countdown released.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 08.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 07.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 06.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 05.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 04.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 03.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 02.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown 01.jpg|
P3M Midsummer Knight's Dream Countdown released.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 08.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 07.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 06.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 05.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 04.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 03.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 02.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown 01.jpg|
P3M Winter of Rebirth Countdown released.jpg|
==Videos==
Persona 3 The Movie - PV 01|Preview 01
Persona 3 The Movie 「ペルソナ３」PV 02|Preview 02
劇場版『ペルソナ3 - Persona 3 Movie』PV第3弾 PV03 HD-0|Preview 03
Fate Is In Our Hands|"Fate Is In Our Hands"
==Trivia==
*Every time a Shadow from a Full Moon Operation is defeated, a blue butterfly appears.
**In Falling Down, it is revealed that the blue butterfly is used as a visual shorthand for Makoto obtaining the Arcanas and Pharos regaining a fragment of his memories.
*Although Rio and Saori from Persona 3 Portable appear in the third movie, they don't appear in the original game or FES, only appearing in the female protagonist's route in Portable
*A teaser of the first movie was first shown as a 28 second post-credits scene at the end of Persona 4 The Animation -The Factor of Hope-.
===Midsummer Knight's Dream===
*The scene in which Ken first awakens to his Persona in July is similar to the scene in Spring of Birth where Yukari drops her Evoker and Makoto uses hers to summon his Persona.
*During the Summer Festival, five masks of Phoenix Ranger Featherman R are on display.
*The title of the film is a reference to the play A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
===Falling Down===
*During the second and third day in Kyoto, a statue of Suzaku can be seen.
==External Links==
*Official Website
*Official Twitter Account
*DVD Promotional Site
*Japanese Wikia
Category:Animation
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Category:Persona 3
Category:Persona 3 The Movie