With Persona 5 Royal still standing as one of the most prominent JRPGs to release this year, there is no better time to capitalize on its popularity. Expanding beyond just the gaming space, the Persona 5 anime is getting a second chance to make an impact on western audiences.
Confirmed yesterday via a trailer, the Persona 5 anime adaptation will receive an English dub. Distributor Aniplex has announced that the "never before heard" English dub of the anime will release as part of the Blu-ray bundle coming September 29. The trailer also provides a highlight of the English actors which confirms the return of the main voice cast.
The Blu-ray bundle will come with a lot of extras above and beyond the addition of an English dub. The boxset will consist of six discs which hold the 26 episodes of the series alongside two anime specials. It will also include extras with commercials, trailers, and more. As a physical bonus, the boxset features a set of illustration cards.
Persona 5: The Animation is an adaptation of publisher Atlus' immensely popular high school life sim meets JRPG. The anime is a condensed version of the Persona 5 experience with main character Joker, given the official name of Ren Anamiya, following the storyline of the game. It chronicles Anamiya's long journey to change hearts and build many connections through confidants. The anime is based on the initial version of Persona 5 and not the recently released Persona 5 Royal.
Persona 5: The Animation has been available for streaming on both CrunchyRoll and Hulu, but only in the original Japanese dub. Aniplex has not announced if the dub will be available on streaming platforms in the future. The Persona 5 anime debuted in September of 2018 over a year since the launch of Persona 5 in the west. It was not the first anime adaptation of the Persona series but it was the second to closely follow the plot of the games.
While many were skeptical as to how an expansive game like Persona was able to translate to an animated series, Persona 4: The Animation was well received by fans. This led to Persona 3 having a series of anime films and ultimately Persona 5 receiving a similar treatment to Persona 4. Like previous Persona titles, Persona 5 had a manga adaptation that recently ended.
While the Persona 5 anime dub is welcomed news, it may be a bit of salt in the wounds for some. Fans are still upset over the lack of any new information regarding a western release of Persona 5 Scramble. Many were expecting an announcement at the New Game+ Expo held last month only to be met with nothing. So maybe fans still waiting on that Persona 5 Scramble announcement can soothe themselves over with the English version of Persona 5: The Animation.
Persona 5: The Animation is currently available for streaming in Japanese on CrunchyRoll and Hulu.