Persona 5 Part #3 - 4/10-4/11: Everybody Hates Maaku

Part 3: 4/10-4/11: Everybody Hates Maaku

Part 3: 4/10-4/11: Everybody Hates Maaku

Video: Velvet Room (Worth watching just for the snippet of Igor, that voice filter is something else)

Maaku wakes up in an unfamiliar location.

*chuckle*

Oh, hey, Igor. You got something in your throat?

You’ll be able to hear it in his line in the clip but Igor is now voiced by David Lodge under a ridiculous voice filter instead of Dan Woren, because his Japanese VA died. For the P4 spinoffs Igor was either conspicuously absent or had his voice lines from previous games reused because of this. There was also that weird moment in Ultimax where he was voiced by Vic Mignogna, but let’s not talk about that.

Anyway, because his Japanese voice actor passed away, when they were forced to recast him they clearly went in the exact opposite direction from his more high-pitched voice in games prior, jeeeeeeesus.

Music: The Poem of Everyone’s Souls

The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream.

Being dragged into the Velvet Room while you’re sleeping is a pretty common occurrence in Persona.

You’re in the presence of our master! Stand up straight!

This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a “contract” may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well.

The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such.

The prison, however, is new. In Persona 3 the Velvet Room was an elevator and in Persona 4 it was a limousine.

In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.

I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be “rehabilitated.” Rehabilitated toward freedom… That is your only means to avoid ruin. …Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?

Could you maybe repeat that?

You didn’t decline, hm? Very well, that is enough. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation. Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here.

...That is, if you remain obedient.

Caroline and Justine also follow the naming scheme of previous Velvet Room characters, in that they’re named after characters from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Justine is named after a character who was framed for a murder committed by Frankenstein’s monster, and Caroline is named after Victor Frankenstein’s mother.

I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning… it is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually...

Time’s up! Now hurry up and go back to sleep.

The next day...

Music: Beneath the Mask -Instrumental Version-

Ruin… Rehabilitation… What does it mean…?

Well then, let’s go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you’re attending is in the Aoyama district. It’ll cost you a bit to ride the train there, and the route transfers are a pain. I’ll drive you there, but just for today. Let’s go.

I failed to mention it before but Sojiro is voiced by the consistently amazing Jamieson Price. He’s one of my favorite performances in this game.

Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right? Don’t get me wrong--I don’t care what happens to you. Just don’t cause me any trouble.

Thanks for the concern, Sojiro.

Oh my god, what the fuck am I looking at? It’s like Wilson Fisk did a fusion dance with a runny egg.

Honestly, I hesistated on accepting someone like you, but there were some circumstances on our side… You might have done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown, but you will behave yourself here. If you are thrown out from our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind. This is the teacher in charge of your class.

Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And if by chance you cause any problems, I won’t be able to protect you at all. ...That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?

He is responsible for all his actions.

But really though, why me… There should have been better candidates.

I’m right here.

It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening.

If you’re done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to.

Sakura-san, please keep a close eye on him. Don’t let him cause any trouble outside...

Well, I’ll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he’s in.

Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I’ll show you to your classroom.

I guess that’s what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go. By the way… if you get expelled now, I won’t hesitate to kick you out. Got it?

*sigh* School never changes, huh…? Come on, we’re going home.

Music: Restlessness

I can’t believe they pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher would be better suited for this...

Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?

Who knows? It was the principal’s decision. I was told that it’s for the school’s reputation.

I would have thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that.

That’s certainly true.

Be careful, OK? Then again, if anything were to happen, I’d kick out a student like that right away.

I keep wishing that he’d just end up not coming to school. Still, that isn’t something I should be saying as a teacher...

Well, I should be returning to practice.

Oh, right. The tournament’s coming up, isn’t it?

Hehe, having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself. We’ll have to work hard to make up for the track team too.

Yes… that’s true.

Even the teachers hate our guts.

Music: Beneath the Mask -Instrumental Version-

You’re taking the train, starting tomorrow. ...So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?

You brought it on yourself though. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you’d re-enroll at a different one. It’s not like anyone will be sympathetic with you. ...If that’s what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too… What a troublesome kid I’ve taken in.

I was asked to do it, and I just… happened to agree to it. I’ve already been paid for it too, after all.

...Another accident? So that’s why it’s so crowded. There’s been a lot of those lately.

Video: Crash

Passengers wait for the train.

It arrives, faster than they expected.

Inside, the passengers are panicked.

The conductor, eyes rolled back and drooling black goo, continues pushing forward.

The train derails.

The image moves to a corner of the screen, revealing a newscaster.

That was direct footage from the accident. According to the police, the engineer’s life was not in danger, despite his injuries. After questioning, even he could not explain his high speed when approaching the station. No further comments were made. Police are still looking for a plausible motive.

The camera pans out from the television, revealing Sae and her superior watching the feed.

It’s less an operating accident and more a crime of the company and the government.

Seems the company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth.

Wait, what? I guess the dead-eyed ghoul possessed by some unholy force didn’t make it onto the news. What’s this guy talking about?

Now onto our main story. With this derailment accident, as well as other recent incidents of unknown motive, concern is spreading among the general public. Just what could be causing such a drastic change so suddenly in these people?

More stuff like this has been happening? That’s terrifying.

Everything’s linked–that’s what you’re thinking, correct? ...Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven’t gone for a drink in a while.

Thank you sir, but I have another meeting to attend. I must be going.

Not quite. I want your opinion on something.

Sure. Your judgement is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You are making a student work late, after all.

Conveyor belt only.

Poor guy.

Music: Beneath the Mask -Instrumental Version-

I wasn’t able to open the cafe today… ...Whatever. Just head upstairs. There’s something I need to give you.

You may be under probation, but there’s no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, that is. However, I’m obligated to report on you, which is why I’m having you record your daily activities.

So I’m living above a coffee shop owned by a grumpy old man whose only method of checking what I’m doing is reading my diary. Japanese probation is weird as hell.

...I’m about to leave right now. Don’t worry. I’ll be there in no time. ...Uh-huh. I’ll see you soon.

Oh, but don’t mess up my store. If something goes missing, I’ll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow… You better head off to bed, all right?

I should write down what happened today in my diary...

Writing in our diary is actually how we save.

This is the only corner of the save menu I can actually show, however, because the rest is full of spoilers.

I have an early day tomorrow… I should rest up...

Before Maaku makes it to bed, he hears a ringing sound from somewhere.

That ringing sound isn’t coming from my cell phone...

Uhhh… I closed up shop, but I forgot to flip the sign to CLOSED. It’s too much of a hassle for me to go back, so you flip the sign for me.

Sorry. I make it a habit not to save guys’ numbers on my cell phone.

Okay, I changed my mind, Sojiro’s amazing.

Anyway, I’m glad you answered the phone over in the shop. OK then, I’m leaving you in charge of the door sign.

Time to head outside and flip the sign over.

Don’t savor this taste of freedom; you can’t stray more than ten feet from Leblanc in either direction.

Sign flipped. Time for bed.

Looks like I need to go out to Shibuya, then transfer there. More news about that subway accident… It sounds like a lot of people were hurt. I bet this’ll affect the timetables for tomorrow too...

It keeps showing up...

I should probably reboot my phone, just in case… My eyelids are starting to get heavy...

Hopefully I can get there without getting lost… I don’t want to be late on my first day. I should head out now...

Neat little detail: Maaku automatically grabs his bag on the way down.

Let’s greet Sojiro before we leave.

Here, I’ll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in.

What’s that reaction for? Just eat it.

I can taste complex flavors within the bold spiciness...

It’s time for you to go.

Thanks. ...Hurry over to school. You’ll end up late if you get lost on the way.

Don’t forget to do that for me, all right? Now, you better hurry on out. You’re gonna be late if you get lost, country boy.

Time to head to the train station.

It turns out the rumors about the Tokyo subway are true… They’re showing the news up on the LCD screen… It seems like there are still some lingering effects of yesterday’s accident...

I hear this game’s representation of Shibuya is pretty accurate, particularly the train station. I don’t know much about that, but I do know that it’s a pretty accurate representation...

...of being fucking lost.

We finally find our way out of here and above ground.

Could this puzzling accident be a coincidence? To ensure the safety of the people, countermeasures must be taken immediately...

This protestor, for example, is apparently parodying the real-life phenomenon of a group known colloquially in English as the Bible Distribution League. As you might have guessed, they distribute religious materials. Their counterparts in Persona 5 are more likely to drone on about the Sun God, but it’s fascinating what they bothered to reproduce here.

While running around aimlessly, we see this. Seems like Rise’s doing well for herself. Good for her.

And Kanami too.

We’ve finally made our connection.

Huh? It’s raining outside?

It just started all of a sudden… This is why I hate the early spring.

That reminds me… Did he take an umbrella...?

Huh? Who’re you talking about?

Don’t mind me. So, what’ll it be?

One house blend, please.

The effects of yesterday’s subway accident continues on today as various lines suffer delays and--

There’s been a lot of nasty accidents lately. You know, I mean the subway accident that the news is talking about… My coworker got caught up in it and is in the hospital now… But that aside, it’s kinda creepy. The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation.

Huh.

We get off at Aoyama-Itchome.

Video: Encounter

Students run to school in the rain.

Maaku, however, is stuck hiding under an awning.

The mysterious app reappears on his phone.

A hooded figure hurries past to hide under the same awning.

Music: Encounter

She removes her hood.

The girl notices Maaku staring at her oddly, but doesn’t seem to mind.

A car drives up and stops in front of the pair.

Nah.

Maaku politiely declines.

The girl looks distressed before the car drives off.

A boy with bleached hair runs after the car.

...Pervy teacher?

The strange app responds to Maaku’s voice.

Music: Suspicion

You plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?

Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida. He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is--the king of a castle? Don’t you agree?

That’s a bit of a labored analogy, but okay.

I’m a big fan of taking the options in Persona games that make the protagonist seem like a total dipshit.

Uh, it’s just a sayin’… …… ….Wait. You don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You’re from Shujin, right?

What…? No other high school’s got a uniform like this. A second-year, huh… We’re the same grade then. Never seen you before though. Oh, you a transfer student?

*nods*

Then no wonder you don’t know him. This rain ain’t too bad. We better hurry up, or we’ll be late.

There’s a flash of purple and both Maaku and the other boy grasp their heads.

I feel light-headed for some reason...

Uuugh, my head hurts… Dammit… I wanna go home...

Music: Interrogation Room

Time marches forward...

I assume you know of the uproar that the public calls the “psychotic breakdown incidents.”

You say that like it’s none of your business. It was all over the news, and one of the victims included a teacher at your high school. I’ve no doubt you heard about it. On that day… were you still an “ordinary” student?

…Let me change the question. You transferred to Shujin Academy, correct? An ordinary prep school that could be found in any city… ...That’s what it should have been. What happened around that time? Tell me everything--truthfully.

Video: Castle

Music: To Another World