The story continues as new characters join up and fight against S.E.E.S. Here’s my Persona 3 The Movie #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream Review.
Midsummer Knight’s Dream is the second of four movies following the story of the Persona 3 video game, originally released on PlayStation 2 and later released on PlayStation Portable. I was a huge fan of the Movie #1 Spring of Birth, but does the Movie #2 do a good enough job continuing the story?
Synopsis
After more information is revealed by the Kirijo family about the Dark Hour and Tartarus, the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.) attempt to eliminate twelve powerful shadows that appear once every full moon. Perhaps this will eliminate the dark hour once and for all and right the wrongs that were made 10 years ago. Of course, some new faces don’t want the Dark Hour to go just yet.
Art Style
The art style of the Movie #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream is exactly like the Movie #1 Spring of Birth. The majority of the movie has a dark atmosphere with lots of heavy shadows. The Dark Hour usually turns the blacks into dark greens and the blues into reds.
Since Midsummer Knight’s Dream takes place during the summer, there are many more bright scenes with vivid colors. Although, some times it seems like they made the scenes too bright to contrast with the incredibly dark scenes throughout the first and second movies.
There is a small downside that makes its first appearance in Persona 3 the Movie #2. In some scenes you will see 3D models mixed in with the 2D environment. This is a pet peeve of mine, as it looks incredibly awkward and out of place. Perhaps some won’t find it as annoying as I do. It’s not as obvious in the screenshot below, but it’s very obvious during the movie. The entire tank shadow is 3D CGI while everything else remains 2D animated drawings.
Music
The same music returns from the video game, but enhanced to fit with the higher quality visuals. The Blu Ray features both linear PCM audio and 5.1 DTS HD Master audio.
In addition to the same music Persona 3 fans are used to, two new songs were created specifically for the movie. The first song is called “Fate is In Our Hands,” and is performed by Lotus Juice, a man who has created a few songs throughout the Persona franchise.
The second song is called “One Hand, One Heartbeat,” and is performed by Yumi Kawamura. This is the same singer from the first Persona 3 movie. She has performed various songs throughout the Persona franchise, as well.
Voice Acting
Persona 3 The Movie #2 is only available with Japanese audio and English subtitles. All voice actors reprise their roles from the original game, with the exception of Igor from the Velvet Room. This is because the original voice actor died a few years back. Instead of finding a new voice actor, they used the same audio from the Persona games and anime shows for this movie.
Each voice actor does a great job portraying their character in every scene. They’re able to jump from comedy to drama to action throughout the movie without skipping a beat.
Story
The story of Persona 3 the Movie #2 picks up about a month after the events of Persona 3 the Movie #1. It begins on July 7th, 2009 and lasts through October 15, 2009. This is about a month and a half longer than the last movie, yet has about the same running time.
As you would expect, the story moves much faster in Midsummer Knight’s Dream. A lot of new characters are brought into the fold, but aren’t always given the attention they deserve. Since so much is thrown at you in such a short time frame, it’s hard to really appreciate the back stories of each character — good or bad. Some viewers may even get confused if they don’t pay enough attention.
Either way, the story continues on as much more about the Dark Hour is revealed by Mitsuru Kirijo and her family. The Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad has a clear cut objective: to eliminate 12 powerful shadows that appear once every full moon.
The atmosphere of Midsummer Knight’s Dream is actually a lot lighter and comedic than the first. About half of the movie takes place during summer time, so you see the team take things easy as they play on the beach and participate in summer festival activities.
It’s not all fun and games, however. Around the second half of the movie, Midsummer Knight’s Dream actually becomes much darker and somber than Spring of Birth. The new characters bring in more drama as the story reaches the half-way point for the Persona 3 quadrilogy.
I also wanted to note how another short montage was given during August that showed side stories that were once social links in the original game. These were shown in picture form for about 30 seconds. I really wish more time was spent with these side stories and characters, but that style would fit a TV show with many episodes more than a movie with such a short running time.
Final Verdict
Persona 3 The Movie #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream continues the story from Spring of Birth in decent fashion. My main complain is how the story and character introductions feel incredibly rushed. A lot of information is given in such a short time frame that left me wanting more, and may confuse some viewers.
If you’re a fan of the first movie, you’ll definitely enjoy the continuation of the story in the second. The action ramps up as more of the mystery is revealed, and much more drama becomes present with the addition of new characters.
P.S. Don’t forget to stay until after the credits for a little teaser to Persona 3 The Movie #3 Falling Down!