Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down

Fortunately, this movie has just been released online. Unfortunately, it's very likely we will have to wait until October to watch the fourth and final movie: Winter of Rebirth, while it's already released in Japan. But I'll stop complaining and review this movie. Story: 8 For an Atlus adaptation from videogame to anime movie, many things must be omitted. Like the other 2 movies, we won't see any Social Link, or supporting characters back story, which isn't a big deal regarding the plot. Though, many things were removed from the main story as well, I can point out that I disliked the way the animators cut off how Junpei is kidnapped and Chidori became a villain, the same way as they cut off great part of the Love Hotel arc. But, the love relationship between Chidori and Junpei turned out aceptable. It didn't feel profound, nor did it feel shallow. The most worked out thing was how Makoto felt, and deal with depression. I think the way they portrayed his friendship with Ryoji was very good, and make this character more sympathetic than the game. The story was well paced, and focused on Makoto's struggles rather than action, though this doesn't mean it hasn't a dosis of quality animated fights. Art 9 Better than Persona 4, and it looks better on the night. Nuff said. Sound 8 Remixed songs from the original game and new ones are there, so there's no complaints. I would've liked LotusJuice did more rapping. Character 8 As I pointed before, the movie focuses almost solely on Makoto and Ryoji, the other SEES members are given quick twists. Short, but fitting given the short movie length. Enjoyment 8 I have just played Persona 3 Portable for the PSP, and I'm very glad to have this anime movie adaptation. All felt too familiar and the charisma of the characters wasn't gone. I even continued to hate Takaya and Jin. Though I wish the villains were given more screen time. Overall 8 Persona casual fans (like me) have no reasons to complain of this and the other adaptations. About Persona 3 die hard fans... you have a good adaptation for now. If I were the director, I would have increased the running time for all movies, making each 2 hours long. I would've put more tension between Aigis and Yukari, developed slowly a love relationship between Aigis and Makoto (which is canon, by the way), gave more focus on Junpei and Chidori romance as well, making Chidori a more memorable character. And I would've used Social Link characters that fit with the mood of each movie. Like, Chihiro for the first one, Spring of Birth, for the concept of a blossoming youth. Maiko for Midsummer Knight's Dream, for a midsummer short love story. Akinari for Falling Down, for the feeling that life is fading away and death is nearby. Finally, Aigis and Yukari for Winter of Rebirth. To put an end to the love triangle and make Aigis a "living proof" that Makoto was there. Which also uses a plot point in her Social Link. That's all, overall this movie is good, And for what I've heard, Winter of Rebirth is even better, and the best of the movie saga.

Even though I barely played any of the persona games, I really adore the series. I got interested by Persona Q, decided to check out P3 and P4. One of the better decisions I've made in my life. After watching the first movie, I was hooked to the story of P3. As a newcomer, I could follow the story, get into the style, get to know the characters etc. The second movie got me even more hyped for the series. Once I realised the movie was released with the English Dub, I had to see it ASAP. Well honestly, it wasn't bad. But I wouldn't call it great either. Story: 5 With the story telling being the worst offender here. For the first time in three movies, I had troubles following everything. From the start, it felt like I was missing so much information. Not because it started in the middle of an action packed scene, but because after it was done, I was left with many questions. How did they end up in that situation? Honestly, that seemed like it would make a great scene. And as the movie progressed, it didn't get any better. Sometimes the pacing is rather slow, filled with fillerish moments etc. And other times, it's way too fast. So fast that it has to include important information in the form of a flashback. There also seems to be a really big hole between the beginning and the midsection of the movie. While it's nice and fitting for the series to have your slice of life moments, it just felt like all the slice of life scenes were crammed in those moments. And have I mentioned there is a severe lack of information going on? Even after watching the movie, I had to explore the wiki to understand more(about Strega for example(At some point I thought Strega was a complete race, different from humans). Character: 5 The character development is also sub par. I really like the characters from Persona 3, especially after playing countless hours of Persona Q, I really got to know them better. But I just can't associate with them in this movie. While I love how dark some of them are at the beginning of the movie, the switch seemed unnatural. It wasn't instant, they took the time for it. It was just poorly written. Besides that, the feelings of other characters seemed to be completely forgotten(Honestly, Ken should have gotten way more attention in this movie), or are written off with just one short scene. Similar to the couple formed in this movie. I just don't buy it. There is no buildup, it's just suddenly there. And you have one flashback to justify it. And I really think they are cute and everything, but as the ending neared, I just couldn't care what happened to them, or what could have happened. Art/Sound: 8 What I said above are mainly the biggest things I disliked about the movie. The art and sound though, just like the previous movies, great. The CGI blends in really well, the music is topnotch(although, I hoped for more Persona songs), the animation is well done, the style is great. Sometimes, the difference between the dark hour and night is a bit iffy, but it's nothing big really. Enjoyment: 7 And after all, it's still enjoyable. Maybe I'm saying this as a Persona fan, but even though I was annoyed at many things, I didn't felt the need to turn it off. There are plenty of moments that make the movie worthwhile. Overall: 6 So a 6. It's not good, but not bad either. If you have played Persona 3 before, I think it appeals to you. If you've just seen the first two movies, and aren't really into the series or characters, you probably won't enjoy this movie as much.

This movie is very good, however, if you have played the games and are now watching the movies be prepared to be disappointed by some select decisions made by the director. I will now discuss in spoilers below. 1. They flubbed Junpei and Chidori's relationship and it made the beginning of the movie quite confusing. However it is later reconciled with decent development between the two. 2. This movies pacing is very meh to say the least, it jumps from scene to scene very often with no real flow and it was jarring to watch as a fan of the games. It is very hard to make it feel seamless like in the game but if only a bit more effort was put into the transition it would not feel like a low point of the movie. 3. For some reason, they decided to leave the character's awakening their second persona until the final movie, when the key moments for them to awaken and thus complete their character arc was in THIS movie. That was honestly a huge missight from the director. Overall though it is still a really good film. Also an enjoyable watch but knowing that it could have been vastly better, stings.

Fall means the preservation of life and boy does Falling Down both play this up and looks deep into this when talking about the SEES. So Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down quite early on time skips a bit where SEES are facing off against Strega and having defeated the last of the Shadows, but comes an early plot twist that just changes so much of what SEES were initially doing that it changes the course of many of the core cast. Makoto's beliefs is struck once again but this time not wanting to keep the Dark Hour and playing hero but having to protect those close to him and not for him to get hurt if they were to "vanish" thus keeping his distance towards SEES, a new character arrives in the form of Ryoji Mochizuki voiced by Akira Ishida (Hmmm..same voice actor as Makoto) and quickly becomes buddies with Makoto and the rest of the SEES and being quite the womanizer as well, anyways he helps Makoto get him out of this funk of keeping his distance from people and even getting Makoto to join the "Helper's Club" to earn a few bucks. The second core plotline comes in Junpei and one of Strega's, Chidori Yoshino voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro as Junpei starts to care for her even though she's an enemy and they actually get in a relationship together while Chidori is recovering in the hospital. The last core plotline is in the form of the aftermath of the early plot twist LA mentioned that actually gives Mitsuru development and world building, not only about the Dark Hour and Tartarus but at the same time is linked somewhat thematically to Yukari as well. These three core plotlines deals with separation through death one way or another, Makoto's fear of losing any of his friends, Junpei and Chidori's relationship near the climax and Yukari and Mitsuru dealing with death in their own way and thematically Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down does a good job executing it. There are some some smaller plotlines that gets resolved in which they were kinda brought up in the previous movies, such as giving finality towards Fuuka and Natsuki, Akihiko's resolves on why he still fights and some more detail into Aegis as both a character and her obsession with protecting Makoto gives some clarity. Once again, like Midsummer Knight's Dream, Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down gives some cameos to social links, this time towards the student council concerning Chihiro Fushimi and LA brings up the social links again as Falling Down seems much more focused on it's social link aspect than the dungeon aspect from previous movies, kinda makes sense due to the formulaic Shadow hunting is done and gone so what else can they do?, so LA sees the focus to social links to be an obvious direction this movie would go to, especially concerning the core SEES members and their interactions with one another and they do the social links events as well, the biggest example being the Kyoto field trip and the *ahem* Onsen operation. LA won't say much again about the production value as it's the same as Midsummer Knight's Dream, with it done by A1-Pictures and the voice cast is pretty much the same just with Akira Ishida and Miyuki Sawashiro pulling double and even triple duty with some of the newer characters. But with the animation department, LA will say it is the same as Midsummer Knight's Dream, the animation is consistent and the character designs are the same silky designs with the action packed battles the same as well. Consistency was what LA wanted and it easily passed. So Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down did ALOT, mainly due to the change of pace and how grim dark it took thematically, developing the majority of the cast along with it and executed rather well, it helps that the core cast almost all have the same themes of losing people and death being prevalent to them happen to them, nonetheless if Midsummer Knight's Dream was the build up to it's themes and it's characters then Falling Down is the climax of it all. Sure this movie rushed it rather early but LA can give Falling Down some grace for at least trying give characters much needed screentime, character development and tying itself nicely and thematically linking itself to it's themes of death and separation was dealt with extremely well. And now we see the "final boss" as it were... Fall lies in wake of the Winter of Rebirth...

Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down is the first movie out of the first three that really captured the essence of what made the game so resonating for a lot of people, including myself. "Acknowledge your mortality and embrace your humanity. Do not disregard what you were born to seek merely because it is finite, as its finity is what gives it value." This core idea was explored through our taciturn protagonist, Makoto Yuuki with great finesse and care for his character. Him struggling to understand the significance of bonds in one's life and its clash with his nihilistic outlook, contrasted by his friends' unwavering drive to move forward despite what obstacles may be and the parallels between Yuuki's state of mind with of Strega's really is telling of the thought put into this movie. Persona 3: Falling Down is a movie that yields an even better experience when seen with an analytical perspective and I can't stress it enough.

Still manages to feel a bit empty compared to the games; maybe I'd enjoy the movies more if I stopped comparing them, but it's pretty impossible. This puts a lot of focus on Ryoji, and I was never a fan of him in the first place, so I was never bound to like this movie, I suppose. Has some well-adapted moments though and some things it does continue to do better, but it's just lacking overall and makes for a so-so movie. There were some pretty funny moments in this that were added that I did enjoy, most revolving around Aigis so I have to commend them for that, but in end it just left me hoping that the final movie manages to be a bit better.

Persona 3 the Movie 3: Falling Down is a highly asymmetrical adaptation. While it delivers surprisingly well-executed character milestones and takes positive steps with its core themes, the overall experience is severely hampered by forced protagonist drama, a general lack of group cohesion, and frustrating adaptation downgrades. Covering the late-autumn events, the narrative suffers from a jarring structural flaw: it forces Makoto into a massive, narrative-stalling depression built upon a virtually nonexistent foundation. The film expects the viewer to buy into his extreme grief over losing Shinjiro and Pharos, yet it barely spends any time developing his bond with either character beforehand. To be fair, this issue is inherited from the original 2006 PS2 game—where Makoto's relationships with Shinjiro, Pharos, and even Ryoji were notoriously shallow before being fixed years later in P3P and Reload. However, by doubling down on this unearned melodrama while failing to show SEES acting like a close-knit group of friends, the movie ultimately feels emotionally hollow. Fortunately, A-1 Pictures continues to deliver excellent visual consistency. The aesthetic of the Dark Hour remains as striking as ever, with its eerie green hues and sharp shadows, while the action scenes—particularly the Persona summons—are fluid and dynamic. Yet, where the animation truly shines in this installment is in the subtle character acting and facial expressions during quiet, emotional moments. This visual quality is perfectly matched by a flawless audio presentation, which is entirely carried by a legendary performance from Akira Ishida. Voicing Makoto, Pharos, and Ryoji all in the same movie, Ishida masterfully differentiates Makoto's detached melancholy, Pharos's eerie innocence, and Ryoji's vibrant, charismatic warmth. His incredible vocal range brings an implicit depth to the narrative connection between these three characters, successfully compensating for many of the script's shortcomings. Combined with Shoji Meguro's phenomenal cinematic remixes, the soundtrack and voice work stand out as the absolute peak of the film. In contrast, the character writing suffers from severe balancing issues and massive adaptation downgrades. While the film deserves credit for making Makoto’s friendship with Ryoji more convincing than the original game, the wider cast is heavily sidelined. A major sin here is skipping the Second Persona awakenings for almost the entire cast, with Junpei being the sole exception, which strips away the visual and narrative payoff of their emotional growth. Ultimately, the film's biggest hurdle is its brief 1-hour-and-27-minute runtime. Lacking the game's hundreds of hours of daily dormitory life, the characters rarely feel like genuine, deeply bonded friends, appearing instead like distant roommates outside of a few isolated scenes. Revisiting this movie reveals a beautiful but structurally frustrating piece of media. While individual subplots like Junpei and Chidori's romance manage to find their footing, the overall execution feels counter-intuitive to the spirit of the game. Long-time fans will likely be bothered by how distant SEES feels as a unit and the glaring omission of their iconic Second Personas—both of which fell victim to the strict cinematic pacing. In conclusion, Falling Down is an uneven penultimate chapter that hits its high points but stumbles in its core identity. Its decision to force immense emotional drama onto shallowly developed relationships—a flaw rooted in the original source material—combined with the omission of the team's second awakenings, stops it from reaching its full potential. In the end, the tight runtime simply didn't allow SEES to develop the organic chemistry they deserved.