Part 120: 01/31/10 - 03/05/10: Animus and Anima

Adventured Act



So, before we finish things up we'll take a very brief look at how things wrap up in Portable. We'll start by talking to this fella for the second, and last, time.



Looks like I've got no other choice but to get married now.
...My girlfriend's pregnancy test was positive.
Congratulations!
...Hm? O-Oh, yeah.
That's what people would normally say, huh...? Haha...
Anyway...

> The man looks over at you.



He looked fairly familiar before, but now I'm pretty damn sure I've seen this guy...

I told you about the bizarre dream I've been having, right...?
Do you think... I keep having those nightmares because I betrayed my girlfriend...?
I think so!
Haha... So you think so, too.
I brought this on myself, huh?



I'm wondering if I'm gonna die in my dreams eventually...
...Oh, sorry. I keep saying crazy-sounding stuff, don't I?
Hey, remember me, okay?
This is probably the last time I'll be able to drink freely like this...
If I ever see you again, I'll tell you more of my story.



...Man, I really unloaded on you.
Normally, it's the adult who should be listening to the high-schooler's problems...
I feel like dirt...
...Be careful on your way back home. There's a lot of weirdos out there.
...See ya.

Yeah, so, in case you didn't know this guy here is Vincent Brooks, the protagonist of the fantastic puzzle game Catherine (which at the time of writing has an updated rerelease coming out relatively soon). P3Portable was released while Catherine was in production, so this was just a way to drop in some easy marketing and advertising for it.

Mistic



We'll just skip past the end of Tartarus and the Nyx Avatar fight if you don't mind. Or even if you do mind, for that matter. It's quicker here, by default, but could still take a while.



You always helped me out. Now it's my turn to help you...



I can feel from here that you're doing your best...
You have to believe... that you're not alone either...

Since the rest of the new Links were all SEES related, these two are the only new ones to appear during the Universe segment. In fact, that segment overall is smaller than it was for Makoto, thanks to missing such wonderful and/or memorable characters as Nozomi and Mamoru.



Nyx herself is beaten the same way, so there's no big surprises here.



Thanks to the lack of anime scenes, the post Nyx scene feels more padded and has a lot of unnecessary dialogue where there was none originally.



But sod that, March is the real important stuff!

Time



That guy who got caught up in some kind of shooting...
He's been in a coma for months!
I heard he woke up! Oh gawd, what if he comes to school...? I'm scared!
Tell me more!
Huh? Oh, uh, I don't know the details.
I heard it from my doctor at the hospital...
I guess he had something in his breast pocket, and that's what saved him... Or something like that.
What was it that he had...?
Eh, it'll be a while before he gets out, though. He must be weak after such a long sleep, huh?



Yeah, so this just confirms what was already inferred before. Getting Shinji's watch is explicitly what saves his life.

...Yes, a pocket watch stopped a bullet from a gun designed for hunting. No, don't question it.



Oddly enough, the scenes for even the SEES gang are pretty much identical here compared to before. There's some differences but we'll get to those in a sec.

Heehee. You're funny. Every time I think about you, there you are.
...Hey, can you come with me for a little bit?

Memories of the School



I... didn't have any fun at all in this club until you joined the team...
I thought that everything in my life was painful when it came to volleyball.
I even blamed my teammates when things didn't go my way.
I thought they weren't being serious enough, and were pulling me down...
I resented everyone else for my own failures...
But it's different now. Playing volleyball's fun, and I have fun every day, too.
It's because... I have a goal now.
I was always at a loss about what good it would do my life if I kept playing volleyball.
I thought that I needed to hurry up, put an end to my love of the game, and go back to studying.
But... When I was in academic and career couseling, here's what I said:



"I'm going to get a 4-year scholarship, and play after I graduate!"
"I'll even go to the Olympics!"
...I mean, I've never actually said it. But it's what I was always thinking.
I'd rather now have a dream at all if it's just going to fall through on me in the end...
...I was scared.
But I learned how to have courage from you and everybody else in the club.
I learned... how to be strong, and how to go for something I want.
Thank you.

> Rio bows slightly...

I just wanted you to know that.



Wish me luck that I don't start complaining during training.
Well then, see you!



Anyway, before we do anything else, let's go to the library for the other real scene.



You remember Saori Hasegawa, right? I have a letter for you.

> Ms. Ounishi hands you a letter...

...Her work here as a member of the library committee must have been her only fond memories of this place.
Well, have a safe trip home.

> Ms. Ounishi leaves...

> You decide to read the letter alone in the library...



This is probably the first time I've called you that.
I'm doing well.



I've made friends that I talk to and laugh with every day.
But there's no one like you, who would get angry and stand up for me.
I think you're the only person who would do that for me, after all.
But, I believe that it would make you happy if I learned to enjoy my life in this new place.
I'm doing my best to live my own life here.
There's... one thing that I never told you.



I made him suffer, and forced him into a corner...
My parents severely blamed me for the incident.
They sent me out as an exchange student and I never knew when I'd be able to return to this country.
My parents must have not wanted to see my face.
Because I was sent far away, to a country where I had no one to rely on, I didn't go to school at all.
A church took me in, and I prayed for his soul every day.



It's really weird how there's a bunch of implications of a way more interesting, and depressing!, links here but we just get the after effects and are missing a ton of details.

Kotone-chan, I'm so sorry. I was so weak that I couldn't tell you this.
I was scared that you would hate me.
After we started being friends, I began to want something more than a casual friendship...
I wanted you to come to understand me...
But no one is ordering me around anymore. I'm acting as I wish.
But being in control of your destiny... It's a scary thing.
If I hurt someone's feelings, I feel like I'm denying myself something.
It's much easier if I go with the flow...
But not doing that is to stand up for what you taught me.
It means that I am alive... and I'm meant to be alive.
It's almost spring break, but I wont' be going back home. I haven't contacted my parents, either.
But, one day I want to be able to say that I'm glad that I'm living.
And then, I want to be able to thank my parents...
And this is all because I had a friend like you.
Thank you. With my deepest gratitude...

> The letter ends there...

Since this brings us pretty close to the first SEES person with any real difference, let's talk to Akihiko for a second.



The girls are all straight up identical to before (Fuuka pays minor, token lip service to the cooking club that's all), but Akihiko and especially Ken refer to the romantic potential there.

...Ken straight up asks you out on a date. Mercifully you cannot answer yes.

Speaking of which!

Joy



So, Maiko's epilogue scene is mostly the same as before save for her letter to her dad and...



Since we don't have Toriumi being a creep here, Maiko's nameless Dad gets to be the creep instead and randomly ask out a 16 year old!



He DOES try and backpedal with a "only after you turn 18!!" but like, that doesn't help. At all.



But, let's rectify this with that March 5th. The final day...

Memories of You

Memories of the School



But, this season will eventually pass...
After fighting alongside you, and facing the world's end...
I finally began to understand...
...what it means to live...
Thinking for yourself... Not running away...
Accepting the inevitable...



Every living thing will one day disappear...
Only by accepting this can one discover what they truly want...
What the meaning of their life will be...
I understand now why I was so tormented by my lack of strength.
Protecting others became more than just an order I had to obey.
I wanted to do it for my own reasons...



When I thought I might never see you again, something else became clear to me--what I wanted most.
And so, I made up my mind.
I decided that I would continue to protect you.
I want to be your strength.
I know I'm not the only one who can do this... but that's okay.



Thank you...
Don't cry.
You're right. What am I doing?





It's a really small thing, but it's very weird (to me) how this is still Junpei but does not get attributed to Junpei like it did before.

> You hear voices calling out to you...

Everyone...
I realize now that I have friends as well.
You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life...



I'll keep on living no matter what, so that I can protect you...

> Aigis is smiling gently...

> The gentle spring sunlight warms your body.

> The cheering you hear from afar, the slightly chill wind...

> This is the world you and your friends protected...

> You feel a little sleepy...

Thank you for everything...

> ...?



So, uh, here's where things change a little in Portable.

But only on NG+.



In NG+, you get the chance - regardless of protagonist - to get a slightly different ending for any of your romantic SEES social links.

> It's Shinjiro's voice.

> He's out of breath. It seems he rushed over before everyone else...



Kotone...
Don't make a sick guy push himself so hard...
It's pretty pathetic of me to forget the way I did...



Haha... I got one thick skull, huh?
The girl I saw in my dreams... It was you.
You were crying and laughing like usual...
Haha...

> Shinjiro embraced you tightly.



You're really here...

> You can hear footsteps and several familiar voices drawing near...



> In the bright sunlight and the warmth of your loved one's arms...

> You're getting sleepier...

> Your eyelids feel heavy...



I'm glad I met you.

Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.

Kimi no Kioku (Memories of You) (Orchestral vers.)



The credits play out a bit differently here, with no anime scenes intercut. We also get to see the character's Persona in the background with their silhouette rising with the credits.

Odd that Kotone gets Orpheus here, but it might be intended to be Telos which is a valid option all things considered (even though Messiah is better both thematically and, in Portable, mechanically).



And while this brings Kotone's story to a close, we still have one thing to do before we can move on...