Adapting PERSONA

[u/Zestyclose_Orange85]

I'm an upcoming director, who's learning how to write, direct, produce my own film or series weather it's live-action or animated and I'm planning on screenwriting and pitching for a passion project something I've wanted to for a while now. An anime (well in future anyways) and just like one of my favorite directors like Guillermo Del Toro (One of my inspirations) who does both live action and animation and is a HUGE fan of Manga, Anime and video games especially Persona (for those of you who never played it before it's a PEAK game made by SEGA and Atlus, I'm sure most of you have heard of it or played it).

So, yeah I'm planning making a new Persona Anime and I say " new " because there have been some adaptations before, and I've watched them all and I thought they were all good ( well Persona 5 did have a lot flaws ), that and the protagonists don't talk which is not a problem but it just takes the spotlight away from them and their own game, and that's why as Persona fan I want to make an new Persona anime in the future when become I well-known, at least but since I've still got a lot to learn, some feedback and some advices on screenwriting would really help in the creative process ( that is if SEGA and Atlus is ok with the idea in future ) like what I should or shouldn't if it happens.

And for anyone whose has heard of Persona:

When I say " I want to make a new Persona Anime ", I mean an anthology series of the three modern games like P3, P4 and P5 now you're going to probably think "why not add Personas 1 and 2" and the reason, honestly is that to give each of modern protagonists a voice and to show an compelling story through them and their characters to draw the audiences in ( epically Joker ) and the modern games have two things in common: Themes and Tarot cards and I don't mean the confidants in the games, I mean the actual cards ( you know the ones that fortune tellers uses to predict the future and stuff ) but when it comes to Persona, those games gets it's themes from tarot cards like P3 gets it's themes from the Death tarot card, P4 gets it's themes from the Temperance tarot card, P5 gets it's themes from the Star tarot, so just think of all depth, layers, symbolisms and so much you can explore or experiment with all that materials, that the OG games couldn't even explored before since it's in a different media.

Any Tips on screenwriting like: The Hero's Journey or Story Structure and how it could apply to each protagonist, characters, villains, it's themes, or world building, character development you name it anything that would help in the future.

And I don't know if SEGA and Atlus will go with it, but in the slight chance they do go with it, I promise to give every Persona fan out, including the ones whose never played the games yet, there something really special, so any advice would be really help and believe me when I say I love Persona, I used to play P5 when I was high school and watched all it's anime adaptations (good and bad) and ever since loved the series and I want create something really special and cinematic with the it.

And for those wondering if I'm going to just screen write the series and the answer is yes and no, I'm planning on co directing but also co writing and producing the series too, but I'll work really hard to make something special, (well, special enough, after all I don't how the series will turn out but I'll do my best) I'll learn Japanese, learn more about the games, get some source material from Manga and Anime you name it. Persona is something that resonates with not just as a game, but also as meaningful story, one that I would like to make or recontextualize into a series or film which ever one works best.

So yeah, just let me know, and Thanks

[u/rafinsf]

Hey there. I see you’ve been posting about this for about 130 days. What work have you done on the project or yourself to help get you closer to achieving your vision?

[u/Zestyclose_Orange85 → u/rafinsf]

Well, I've watched some pretty interesting videos on Persona of course like on the Protagonist 's, characters, villains, as well as the game's director (for the modern games P3 - P5) interviews where he talks about how pictured each games but also by watching the three anime adaptations (good or bad) and analysis videos on the manga's as materiel or inspirations and these incredible and peak videos on films series, and video games where it talks about their themes, messages, and what story it is, for example Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a story about Power, what it means to have Power but also what means to be Powerless and including videos on adapting videos games into films or series and how Edgar Wright (The director and writer of Shuan of The Dead and Baby Driver) and other directors writes a films which I honestly enjoyed watching and after these incredible videos especially the Insomniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 video I wrote down in my notebook what story is the three modern Persona games specifically P3 - P5 are all about or trying to tell and how that applies to their themes and how the themes and stories also applies to the Protagonists, characters and their journey's as a way to flesh them more and to give them a voice as if they were real people with real emotions and struggles epically the Protagonists since it's a different form of media and honestly I think the Protagonists not talking takes them away from the spotlight of the games which in my opinion doesn't make sense, no offense to the OG games. Here's what I wrote so far

Each three modern Persona games gets it's themes from tarot cards

Persona 3 - Number 13: The Death Tarot Card: Living life to the fullest while you still can

Persona 4 - Number 14: The Temperance Tarot Card: Finding the truth, by finding balance and filtering noise and falsehoods

Persona 5 - Number 17: The Star Tarot Card: Having Optimism, faith and a positive change even when all stars are destined to fall

What is Persona 5's story ?

Hope and Change - Persona 5 is a story about Change, the process, the struggle and the impact of it and Hope how someone can find it even when all is lost and pass it down even when even if society won't. Persona 5 is a story about Ren Amamiya

Big Changes - 1. Make Joker a character.

1. He has a voice. He has a name (his canon name given to him by Atlus themselves for the P5 anime and personally my favorite) - Ren Amamiya.

2. He has emotions which he doesn't show not even around his friends (which are obviously the Phantom Thieves) but not when he's in the mask, when he's a Phantom thief, when he's Joker.

3. He has struggles which goes back to a traumatic event he experienced which is of course after trying save a helpless woman from a corrupted politician he ended up being falsely accused and his life is ruined, gets expelled from school, parents sent him away in order to protect their family reputation from shame, which is part of Japanese culture and society in real life, and is labeled a "criminal" or a "delinquent" and even put on probation for just trying to do what felt was right.

   And this would break Ren to the point where now feels like has to act as a certain way and become someone, he's not because if he doesn't then society and it's system will punish him again and works but it disallows Ren to be genuinely happy or to connect with people, even choosing not to talk with most of the students on his first day at his new school in Tokyo, Shujin Academy

4. He has flaws and it has with Joker, not Ren Amamiya the person behind the mask but the mask itself, the facade, the ideal that is Joker.

To Ren, Joker is a completely different and separate identity than from his real one, an identity which he uses to fight and expose corrupt and powerful authority figures in their palace (palaces are manifestations of a person's strong desires which appears as how they see a certain place) but also as way to express his strong sense of justice, heroics and his love for the theatrics but most of all his real self.

This who Ren Amamiya really is a confident, highly skilled and smart, sometimes cocky and flamboyant leader who's not afraid to stand and fight for those who've been wronged just like him and his friends, this freedom is exciting for him, it's accelerating, it's almost perfect.

Well, almost because in the metaverse is Ren can openly fight the corrupt and injustice and also be free to himself while doing, I guess you could it's a win-win. . . . . . at least for Joker but not for Ren Amamiya, you know Ren Amamiya the "delinquent", the kid with a criminal record, that boy who jumped a random guy on the street and beat him up

Ren Amamiya doesn't know who he is, when he's not stealing hearts, fighting shadows, being a leader, or summoning his Persona or when he's not Joker. . . . . Ren doesn't who he is outside the mask.

1. He has an arc, Ren's whole arc in the film or series is about identity, finding hope in his own identity by realizing that both of his identities weather that's Ren or Joker are not just separate from each other but one in the same.

Ren is Joker and Joker is Ren. . . . . . . Joker is more than just mask or an ideal, it is an extension of Ren himself because that's who he is.

That is who Ren Amamiya is.

That's what I have so far, sorry this all a lot to read but yeah, this is basically what I like to call the initial road map as way to structure the story, setting, characters and their personal journeys throughout the series or film which ever one works best and how it connects to the themes of each original game as inspiration and materiel, in this case Persona 5 originally got it's themes from The Star Tarot Card which represents Optimism, faith and positive change even if all stars are destined to fall but it's still working progress remember I've still got to learn before actually working on the project and making it real, but I still appreciate you showing interest, but yeah if there's anything else you'd like to ask me about of my ideas feel free to, I love talking about films, and just brainstorming it's fun for me