Persona 3-5: All Direct Connections to 1 & 2

[@anomaly395]

Future me here from 2024: Being that this has grown in views since I first posted it, I just want to say that I made this 2 years ago when I was using a different film-making app from the one I use today, while other parts are segments taken from an older version of this video that was made on an older, smaller phone of mine. So I apologize for the somewhat poor quality in some areas. I really wasn’t expecting this to gain the traction that it has haha. -- A couple of notes for clarification: • 21:16 Just an unnecessarily complicated way of saying that Shadows have connections to Nyarlathotep (same as how Philemon has connections to Personas). Simple as that. I didn't mean to word it like he IS a Shadow or anything like that. • 25:28 I said all that to say that they're relaying the same sentiment. That's all. It's a nice bit of continuity with the rules that 2 established. • I forgot to mention that the Persona 1 theme also plays in a cutscene of Persona 3 (Shuji's final scene). Linked in the description. • It's also possible that all of the various mental worlds themselves (dark hour, TV world, Metaverse, etc) are subsections of the Sea of Souls.

[@alzara3425]

So basically The persona series are just Philemon and Nyarlothep playing chess?

[@roleemack1535]

Yes and at a cost of Tatsuya and Maya world slash the whole 🌎 plus the lives of all the P1 TO P5 characters recently being born mess up as a damn game

[@roleemack1535]

They all got destroyed and remake into new

[@thetrooper4743]

@@roleemack1535 no. EP is not canon

[@PhthaloGreenskin]

​@@thetrooper4743yes Eternal Punishment is canon. The Events of Innocent sin never happened. You got it backwards.

[@oriongear2499]

@@thetrooper4743Eternal Punishment is Canon. It’s just that the original Innocent Sin Timeline was destroyed.

[@benderrodriguez6721]

What I find so interesting about persona 2 and 3 was about the artificial persona users. Unfortunately nobody really talks about it.

[@pablohenrique3442]

I want more of these ideas in modern Persona. They only appear on EP and a little in 3 with the villains, i want more artifical Personas

[@machito53]

​@@pablohenrique3442 Mitsuru is also an artificial user

[@pablohenrique3442]

wow I didn't remember that

[@machito53]

@@pablohenrique3442 yeah, it's a pretty hidden detail, ikutsuki mentions it if you talk to him i think after fuuka joins sees

[@spydersoup8447]

Here's one connection between the Persona 1 manga and Persona 5 Royal. Kasumi's big reveal in the third semester in Royal is actually very much like Naoya's backstory in the Persona 1 manga. You can see the striking resemblance between the two characters' backstories.

[@anomaly395]

Yeah, I know of that. That’s more of a reference though.

[@spydersoup8447]

@@anomaly395 So, it's about the same as the Innocent Sin Online MMO from Persona 3. That I defiantly see since I consider the thing in Royal to be more of a callback rather than a connection too.

[@anomaly395]

Yeah pretty much

[@BlueMageDaisen]

@@spydersoup8447 Another refence to the manga is in the brothers in the request that got used for Daybreakers They were called Naoya and Kazuya, after the manga MC and his twin

[@MinhLe19303]

@@spydersoup8447 If I remember it right, Innocent Sin reference is localization change. It's actually SMT 2.

[@sintarohani8771]

Nice to see atlus is still referencing philemon till modern persona games

[@LostSoulSilver]

This is crazy. I always enjoy learning more about P1 and P2

[@flashsaberf4622]

A correction Philemon and Nyarlathotep aren't shadows or personas they are the Collective Unconscious itself with Philemon being the positive side and Nyarlathotep being the negative side and shadows are pieces of Nyx's psyche. Also you should've added the part about Kegare being a persons shadow and it being shown in P2EP looking exactly like the Shadows from 3.

[@anomaly395]

I didn’t say Philemon and Nyarlyathotep *are* Shadows and Personas, I just said they’re connected to them. I know where Shadows and Personas are born from, but Philemon and Nyarlyathotep are able to use and grant them as well. I didn’t know about Kegare.

[@MurphyTheFish]

Yes tf they are, wtf? Nyarlathotep has been DIRECTLY called the "shadow of man" or the "shadow archetype" and Philemon his opposite, with archetypes beings the very concepts and patterns humans use to create gods in MegaTen via the power of cognition, Philemon and Nyarlathotep represent the totality of the collective unconcious and rule over an abyss even deeper than the Kadath Mandala (in SMT it's called the Aztiluth, the highest realm in the tree of life). They were even called the "creators" of all unconcious thoughts and actions, which means they would stand over every god, demon, and persona in the entirety of MegaTen, even extending to YHVH, as he himself is still a demon.

[@MurphyTheFish]

So yes, they are the shadow and persona of the collective unconcious, as it's both of these that comprise the ego that is the collective unconcious, which in the overall theme of MegaTen, is The Great Reason/Axiom

[@anomaly395]

@@MurphyTheFish I'm only now seeing this a year later. But that's my bad then.

[@Nosfera22]

For those of you who follow leaks, here's hoping we see our 1 and 2 homies again in Persona Asa

[@fatonix8529]

It's canceled

[@Fallendown-pq1ot]

​@@fatonix8529 well if fans did a mod from Femc they can get P2 and P1 back

[@CelestialHunter-]

Well done man! I really appreciate the effort. Btw Trish’s “Who’s Who” mentions all P1 & P2 main characters, not just Lisa; and they appear on the show on each of their birthdays according to the in-game calendar!

[@anomaly395]

Thanks! And yeah I know, but I couldn’t find any footage on KZbin other than that one clip unfortunately.

[@spydersoup8447]

Here's one thing I've noticed in Persona 5, which is whenever each of the Phantom Thieves awaken to their Personas where they hear the voice of their Persona while their eyes turn yellow, their Personas says things about signing a contract, then their mask appears. With Joker's awakening, his is the most interesting because it's in a different order where he sees' Lavenza's voice coming from the butterfly that appears in front of him that is Philemon, then hears Arsene's voice and eventually, his mask appears and when he rips it off, his eyes turn yellow along with having blood on his face, then awakens to Arsene. I wonder if the way the Phantom Thieves awaken to their Personas is another connection with Philemon with Joker's being kinda different, but still similar because he was called to the Velvet Room before.

[@TheCapitalLetterM]

Thing being is is that that butterfly was specifically Lavenza. Because one thing to note, Philemon takes the form of a golden butterfly, while Lavenza is a purple butterfly. While Lavenza and the purple butterfly can be inspired by Philemon, Lavenza and the purple butterfly are separate from Philemon.

[@spydersoup8447]

@@TheCapitalLetterM Sure, but at that part of the story, Lavenza had already been split into two halves, being Caroline and Justine and being under the control of the fake Igor.

[@TheCapitalLetterM]

@@spydersoup8447 But she still gathered enough strength to call out in the form of a butterfly. That butterfly was her remaining strength of what was left while still being two separate beings.

[@skywoofyt5375]

​@@TheCapitalLetterM 2 years late, but still that technically means the Velvet Room and Their attendants are still Philemon's creations and would make sense why they're able to use the same power to manifest a butterfly messanger to the protagonists of each game.

[@lokasocba]

Don't forget in P1 every potential party member had the dream with the butterfly, can see and talk to Philemon and have the power of the Wildcard. 25:30 Also, even if amplified by a machine of sorts, people's unconscious (one person in particular, but also their close ones) actually get to modify the "real" world, even if there is an alternate one. The last one in particular I think it happens when someone loses control of his persona. In the Snow Queen route of P1 there is a guy who becomes demonized when trying to use his persona, and even Kandori himself gets "possessed" and deformed by Nyarlatotep (who by the already exposed deals with shadows, the same ones who become persona after one gets acceptance and control over them) when he and his persona are defeated, then return to "normal" before dying when he is finally beaten.

[@kennethshippy9525]

persona 4 animetion yu: damn it neo fetherman.

[@TakeTheWorld21]

This almost gives the feeling that Joker is Philemon’s favorite Wild Card

[@ReinzTheKing]

I mean, if you play new game+, Lavenza confessing her love to Joker so he is really Philemon's favorite Wild Card and he even saved Igor! That's a first great feat many Persona protagonists do.

[@anomaly395]

Plus he’s the only modern protagonist who Philemon spoke to directly

[@ReinzTheKing]

@@anomaly395 Really? When Philemon did that to Joker?

[@anomaly395]

@@ReinzTheKing I show it in this video at 11:54

[@ReinzTheKing]

​@@anomaly395 I see. I thought it just random quote lol. My bad.

[@MinhLe19303]

26:18 Holy shit, I didn't know that. Don't tell me a new reality was created after Yaldabaoth's incident, but to the point of altering history? 31:12 I didn't even know artificial Persona-users was a thing in P2. Wouldn't surprise me that Kijiro family, which was part of Nanjo family, research on Persona and Shadow based on Nanjo's experience from P1 and P2. 33:17 Interesting. I wonder if this basically confirmed that demons and Shadows, especially in P5, are the same thing. Thinking about it, the rumor in P2 is reflected by the cognitive of the people and the parallel world in P1 is reflected by Maki's view of the real world, thus her cognition. So maybe any dimensions/realms/worlds that reflected by cognition created Persona-shaped demons/Shadows?

[@skywoofyt5375]

it seems like any where that's heavily distorted by cognition or is a cognitive world is just the general place where shadows take place and grounds for personas to be summoned easily

[@TheCelestine]

Good ole anime gru keeping the continuity

[@carrot708]

When talking about Featherman you also missed that Persona 4's Temperance link has the little boy want Featherman toys

[@Keyw]

Nanako actually watches Featherman quite frequently, if you look at her TV screen.

[@muhammadrifkiridhani874]

This video so very unpopular, I hope persona fans watching this more

[@clapped-cheeks]

Okay okay I could’ve sworn that Philemon’s name was mentioned a single time in Persona 3? I had noted it because I was playing all of them in order and I was like: “oh are we gonna see him again?” Guess I was crazy. Anyway you know how Persona protags 3-5 have blue, yellow and red main colors respectively? That’s sort of weird. Also everybody references/implies that those protagonists are special because of the persona users that have been gathered. (Mitsuru and Akihiko being the only users for years...) ...and then them or the mc immediately brushing it off as a coincidence. (This particular point reminds me of JoJo Part 6’s “Gravity.” Basically Stand users get pulled together by fate, but the Persona series doesn’t have an explanation) THERES THE FACT THAT P3 protag just, shoots himself? It could be argued that Pharos had shown him what to do but what about P4? He doesn’t have an awakening... Joker from Persona 5 in Yusuke’s 9th(?) Confidant rank notes that shadows are near? How on earth would he know that if he’s not a navigator??? Dude sees Arsene. In the real world. Before he awakened? All your Social Links/Confidants sometimes say things like “I feel like I can talk to you about anything” etc. I refuse to believe that you can get adopted by like 4 different guys in the span of half a year without outside help. Hear me out op. Why does the P3 mc hold the Universe Arcana while the other two hold the World? So, Aigis had just randomly decided that Death should be sealed inside this kid who survived somehow? Make like the protags and brush it off as a coincidence. But also the main characters take everything in stride and rarely show emotion of their own...this video has me thinking, What if Philemon is actually the three of them? This would explain his disappearance in the later games, and would skirt around the “can’t directly interfere” rule. Tatsuya having the same face as Philemon kind of,, reminds me of Lavenza. Not to mention that the Persona series is all about facing your true self. Apparently “Nodens” from the PSP version of Persona 2 had talked about memory and how important they are to distinguishing yourself. Is that the loophole? Final evidence? The protagonists. Their eyes. they’re the same color. P3 changed colors in his awakening, P4 is shown with yellow eyes (especially at the end of the anime) and P5 was yellow in his awakening/red in his all-out attack finisher. Maybe Philemon is doing research on limitless potential like he said when you beat him in Eternal Punishment? (The three main characters being compared to the number zero. Infinite possibilities) I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, do you think it’s probable or completely impossible?

[@damiank9443]

Narukami has an awakening during his first Midnight Channel investigation, when he sees Saki in TV. You can hear Izanagi talking to him.

[@anomaly395]

I am just now seeing this comment but I think it may be a little bit of a stretch if I’m being honest haha. The yellow eye thing during their awakenings is because their Personas are transitioning from Shadows to tame Shadows (i.e. Personas), and they’re kind of bonding with them as they become their Personas.

[@Student4Life89]

ok, tq for sharing ur headcannon

[@Keyw]

awful lmao

[@stale_cheeto]

What about the Reverse Personas in 3 FES, 4 and 5 Royal?

[@anomaly395]

Reverse Personas? I’ve never heard of those 🤔

[@stale_cheeto]

@@anomaly395 I'm referring to the Personas used by the Shadows in Persona 2. The concept also exists in the modern Persona games, you can read about it on the Megami Tensei wiki

[@anomaly395]

@stale_cheeto Ohhh interesting