“Welcome to the Velvet Room. My, it would seem you have a most unusual destiny lying before you. You see this realm exists between mind and matter. It separates dreams from reality. Generally speaking only those who have forged a contract are allowed to visit this room and perhaps, in the very near future, such a fate will be awaiting you as well.”

With those words from the long nosed Igor his characteristic of being an omniscient viewer with not only his words, but his tarot cards sets up a lot more questions than answers. After these ominous words, the main character Yu Narukami awakens, closing in on the land of his destiny Inaba.

In Inaba we are shown as Yu meets his uncle Dojima and his cousin Nanako who he will be spending a year with. The next morning the reporter Mayumi Yamano, who was in a well-known affair, is found dead hanging upside down from a television antenna.

While juggling school and other social links, Yu must try to solve the identity of the murderer by watching the Midnight Channel and entering into the world inside the TV. All the while, Yu is growing his persona deck so that he can defeat the shadows in the TV and try to save as many people as possible from the shadows that represent their hidden selves and feelings.

To be honest this anime has some great side characters and all the characters that join the investigation team have characteristics high schoolers can understand and have probably seen. The anime’s real point is showing that what is seen on the outside is not necessarily what is felt on the inside. A lot of the plot entails a member of the investigation team facing their inner shadow and having to accept that it is apart of them.

The biggest problem with this anime is that it’s based off a game that is very long and very deep. With that comes problems like less characterization than in the original game. Does that leave some gaps in the story at times? Yes.

Even with that problem the story is still very good and well thought out. The show does give hints here and there, but there’s a good bet that you won’t expect the identity of the murderer until the team puts it together. Though the final villain does feel like a shot from left field. Either way if you’re looking for a good 26 episode show with a little bit of mystery then look no further than Persona 4: The Animation.