Previously on Persona 4:

The Investigation team rescued Kanji and got a new ally in the process. After taking a break during a school field trip, things return to normal and the kids return to finding the culprit. Spoilers Ahead!

When famous idol Rise (pronounced Ree-say) Kujikawa (Laura Bailey) leaves behind show business in order to return to her hometown. Yu (Johnny Yong Bosch) and his friends are surprised to find out that the celebrity is from Inaba. Believing she will be the next “star” of the Midnight Channel, the Investigation Team moves to stop her from becoming the next victim of the insidious TV program.

As stated above we get a small introduction into Rise this episode. She is set as your typical celebrity who is tired of living the hectic life of a star. She doesn’t really talk too much of the team when they come to warn her of the Midnight Channel, but she does have quite a few scenes with Yu during the episode where we learn that she wanted to leave because no one saw the “real” her and that the only saw her TV persona (see what i did there?). We also find out Yosuke (Yuri Lowenthal) is a pretty big Risette (Rise’s stage name) fan which leads to a few funny moments when the guys meet her at her Grandmother’s Tofu shop where she currently works.

Rise

There are a few humorous moments when the kids and Adachi (Johnny Yong Bosch) chase down a stalker following Rise when they believe he is the killer. We learn more about the programs that air on the Midnight Channel when the team talks bout the current situation of the case. They believe that whoever shows up on the TV is who the culprit plans to kidnap, possibly giving an early “warning” to those that try to stop him.

Rise & Yu

In terms of story progression things move a bit faster here as opposed to earlier episodes. We get a peek into Rise’s character earlier than we did Yosuke, Chie (Erin Fitzgerald), Yukiko (Amanda Winn-Lee), & Kanji (Troy Baker) who we didn’t learn more about until they were already inside the TV world. In a way this is good as we get more a grasp into her anxieties and state of mind before she ends up inside the TV.We also get a few scenes with Dojima when he starts to suspect that Yu may be getting involved in the case.

This episode serves as a nice introduction to Rise and also drives the investigation more as more and more theories about the Midnight Channel are brought to the surface. The ending of this episode is also ominous as well, but I won’t spoil it for you.

Side Note: the different opening was a treat to see as it focuses on Rise, her Japanese seiyuu even sings the lyrics.

Here is the opening:

[springboard type=”video” id=”708851″ player=”ulfb001″ width=”480″ height=”400″ ]

3.5/5