The next victim on the Midnight Channel is revealed, and it’s Yukiko Amagi (Amanda Winn-Lee). Desperate to save her best friend, Chie (Erin Fitzgerald) joins Yu (Johnny Yong Bosch), Yosuke (Yuri Lowenthal), & Teddie (Sam Riegel) inside the TV to find her. Once they get on the other side however, it turns out that Chie may need more saving than Yukiko.

Despite Yukiko being the one in immediate danger, this is mostly a Chie focus episode; Yukiko also gets a bit of development here, but is mostly absent as she is mainly used a springboard for Chie’s story arc. We see how Chie and Yukiko 1st met when they were kids and you can clearly see the concern on her face when Yukiko goes missing. Her encounter with her shadow is an introspective & harrowing one, as it reveals that Chie is jealous of Yukiko and that hearing that Yukiko is actually jealous of and depends on HER, makes her feel superior. Naturally Chie denies this, and her shadow goes berserk, causing a battle to ensue and Yu & Yosuke have to protect Chie.

We get our 1st look at a recurring theme for when the victims are inside the TV, the Midnight Channel TV Shows. Yukiko’s is the 1st one that is shown in the show and it is a precursor of things to come as more people are thrown inside.

Yukiko’s “TV Show”

Yu gains the Magician Arcana this episode (through his interactions with Yosuke) and gains a new Persona, which will also be a recurring theme as the series progresses.

As with any anime, more characters are introduced in order to expand the world and gain a better sense as to what is the state of things. This episode introduces Dojima’s partner on the force, Tohru Adachi (also voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch), who has a nasty habit of leaking confidential police info.

The show is starting to get into a flow of character focused episodes which basically follow the same plot as the game. This isn’t a bad thing as it allows us to learn more about the character without it being awkward or stale. The animation is still pretty crisp and the VA’s do a good job of capturing the emotion in scenes.

The case continues next week as Yu, Yosuke, & Chie press on to save Yukiko.

3.5/5