History YMMV / Persona5TheAnimation

** The director mentioned in an interview with the magazine ''PASH!'' that [[BaseBreakingCharacter Akechi]] will be receiving more screen time in the series (along with FanService for all the characters). True to form the fact that Akechi has appeared in nearly every episode as of this writing in some manner has made it more annoying for people who aren't fans of him, since it invokes the negative feelings fans had about how Marie, another polarizing character was handled in ''Anime/Persona4GoldenTheAnimation''.

*** The Japanese audio has more of the sense of "you're nothing but attic trash", which doesn't mesh too badly with [[spoiler:Akechi's downplayed regret in the game scene and his inability to admit that he actually likes Ren - remember that one of the accusations he ultimately throws at Ren during his VillainousBreakdown is "you live in an attic!!"]]. That whole scene suffers from AscendedVillainy, however.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: A number of {{Headscratchers}} or questionable bits of characterization were altered for the anime:
** In the game, the Phantom Thieves meet with Nakanohara in the Underground Walkway, face-to-face. The anime makes it an anonymous meeting that starts and ends with a StealthHiBye, while Ann and Ryuji listen in on the conversation.
*** Somewhat similarly, during the Medjed arc, the Phantom Thieves meet in the relative[[note]]Although there are security cameras, which was why they decided not to open Kaneshiro's briefcase there[[/note]] privacy of the karaoke place, where they'd once met to talk about the Kaneshiro investigation, as opposed to [[PubliclyDiscussingTheSecret discussing their activities as Phantom Thieves in the accessway]]. The same goes for the meeting in which Futaba proposes stealing data from Sae's laptop, although the Phantom Thieves who go to Shujin meet up with Yusuke and Futaba in the accessway.
** Yusuke no longer blackmails Ann into being a nude model for him, which was originally considered both inappropriate following Kamoshida's sexual extortion plot-line, and also [[CharacterizationMarchesOn weirdly out of character for him]]. Instead, he simply orders the three out of the atelier when he gets fed up with their accusations toward Madarame, and is apparently convinced to let Ann return when she offers to pose nude.
** The scene where Ren and Morgana leave Ryuji in the hands of the Shibuya Creatures has been altered. Instead of being OOC and leaving him to get taken away, they are forced to leave by a text from Ohya or else they wouldn't get the info on Kaneshiro, making it more understandable for having to leave Ryuji behind.
** If anyone is worried about Tsukasa, Eiko's so-called boyfriend [[KarmaHoudini getting away with his crimes]] like in the game, don't worry. [[AdaptationalKarma In the anime, the Phantom Thieves get to take out his Shadow in Mementos and change his heart]].
** In the game, the trip to Hawaii was criticized by some fans as senseless {{Padding}} as the Phantom Thieves don't really do anything there, something that the group lampshades.[[note]]Granted, during the trip, Haru and Big Bang Burger are introduced, and it's shown that the Phantom Thieves are internationally famous. Meanwhile, back home, Futaba works on Sae's data, Morgana's issues of inadequacy worsen as a result of sitting around with nothing to do, and the principal is killed while the Thieves are out of the country[[/note]]. The anime shows them engaging in different activities together while in Hawaii, such as playing beach volleyball and surfing, although Ryuji still comments on how they're spending a lot of time on their phones, just like in Japan. ''Royal'' follows the anime's example by adding a few additional scenes, including the part in the anime when Haru walks in on Kawakami as she's trying out swimsuits, as well as a new scene with Kasumi on the last day.
** In the game, when Morgana has a falling out with the Phantom Thieves, Ryuji is forced to apologize to him for being the insensitive one, giving a very half-assed apology, which made him UnintentionallySympathetic in the dynamic between him and Morgana. In the anime, no one blames Ryuji for the debacle, and he genuinely apologizes to Morgana, saying that the word "useless" was merely a slip of the tongue.
*** Furthermore, the reconciliation between Morgana and the other Phantom Thieves proves to be more natural and sensible than that in the game. Ryuji shows more concern over Morgana after Sugimura abuses him, even borrowing a first aid kit to use on Morgana. Ryuji also says in a more assuring way that Morgana is the Thieves' friend, and is never useless, before he apologizes. On the other end, Morgana also sincerely apologizes for his decision to leave the Phantom Thieves. However, the anime also removes a scene in which Morgana not only refuses to betray the Thieves to Shadow Okumura (who hadn't been aware of their reconciliation), but also [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome saves his friends from the trap]], earning himself congratulations from Ryuji and Futaba.
** One of the complaints about the antagonists was that Kunikazu Okumura ended up looking too much like an UnintentionallyUnsympathetic character. Thanks to AdaptationDistillation and some additional scenes, the anime could convey the intended feeling that Okumura was supposed to be a bit more sympathetic.
** In "Dark Sun..." [[spoiler:after Ryuji survives his HeroicSacrifice, whereas in the game [[DisproportionateRetribution the girls of the group beat the shit out of him for making fun of their crying over his apparent death]], here, the group merely shouts at him while crying about how worried he had them, prompting his favourite line "For Real" in disbelief in the dub, followed by a cut to credits.]]
** In "Stars and Ours", while [[spoiler:Akechi's fate]] remains as ambiguous as ever, [[spoiler:his voice can be heard by Ren encouraging him not to give up against Yaldabaoth]], at least clarifying [[spoiler:what he would have wanted him and the rest of the Thieves to do.]]

** "Break in to Break Out", the first [=OP=] for the anime, combines an understated guitar melody with lyrics that discuss the inability to forgive the one who's wronged the singer. It perfectly describes the M.O. of the Phantom Thieves.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: Yusuke and Makoto as little kids in their respective flashbacks.

** There are many who are extremely unhappy with how [[PlayerCharacter Ren Amamiya]] is portrayed in the anime, with common criticisms being that he's a bland, StaticCharacter who barely reacts to anything (with his lack of incentive to get Morgana back during the Okumura arc and leaving Makoto to deal with Akechi's blackmail and anything else involving it being two noted low points). A large part of this is due to Yu Narukami, TheHero of ''Videogame/Persona4'' getting the NotSoStoic treatment a lot in the [[Anime/Persona4TheAnimation anime adaptation]] with him openly talking and getting into funny mishaps, while either commenting on or contributing to the craziness around him, which left many disappointed that Joker was not as flashy as he was hinted to be in the games the same way Yu was hinted to be a charismatic funny guy. His one notable showing of personality - aside from acting as "Joker" in the Metaverse - is him being overly protective of the Thieves' definition of "justice" and acting rather rude to Akechi, even when it's unwarranted. On the other hand, many have found that it makes sense for him to [[TheStoic keep his head down]], and the development that the rest of the cast gets mostly makes up for it. He also got first place in a Newtype popularity poll, for what it's worth. The dub somewhat alleviates the problem by making Ren more of a DeadpanSnarker in comedic moments, and a bit more expressive in serious ones.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After the anime adaptations for [[Anime/Persona3TheMovie Persona 3]] and [[Anime/Persona4TheAnimation Persona 4]] gave Makoto Yuki and Yu Narukami respectively distinct personalities and extra characterization that was not present in their original games due to being [[HeroicMime silent protagonists]], fans were anticipating that the portrayal for Ren Amamiya follows the same course. This is doubly so because Joker in particular was considered the most dynamic of the three in his home game due to his dialogue options and was a fountain for {{Fanon}} crafting. The animation team seemed to go hard in the opposite direction, making Ren [[StaticCharacter flat and soft-spoken]] to distinguish his civilian life from when he is Joker and to make him still "neutral" enough for the audience to project themselves onto him. While some fans appreciated this nuance, it also created complaints that along with [[ItsShortSoItSucks the adaptation being too short]] they also made the main character boring with no satisfying development.

** Those upset that [[spoiler: Sae]] couldn't be dated in the game will be glad to know that [[spoiler: The Valentine's OVA apparently has Joker go through the cheating route and get beaten up for it, only for the post-credit's scene to reveal him going on a [[ThrowTheDogABone date with Sae]] to the Opera, with an implication that they kissed.]]

** The Valentine's Day OVA. While some find the idea hilarious and look forward to seeing one of the game's funniest scenes fully animated, other fans are ''furious'' that the anime is adapting the harem route (really the adultery route) and thus making it [[CuttingOffTheBranches borderline canon]]. ''VideoGame/Persona4'' spinoffs and adaptations tended to give Yu mostly equal ShipTease with all the girls while still keeping it vague as to whether he dated any of them, which some see as a better compromise. [[note]]Worth noting that the Persona 4 anime did have a blink and you'll miss it cameo of the chocolates that Yu could get from all four girls, but it's very easy to miss.[[/note]]

** In Episode 22, when Ryuji and Morgana talk about the possibility that the conspiracy lured them into a trap, their expressions are unnaturally calm, especially considering that even the ''possibility'' of the Phantom Thieves being an UnwittingPawn is disturbing them.1

* JustHereForGodzilla: Many fans admitted to watching the anime solely for the dub, particularly since Creator/XanderMobus finally gets to voice full sentences for Joker.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: After the anime adaptations for [[Anime/Persona3TheMovie Persona 3]] and [[Anime/Persona4TheAnimation Persona 4]] gave Makoto Yuki and Yu Narukami respectively distinct personalities and extra characterization that was not present in their original games due to being [[HeroicMime silent protagonists]], fans were anticipating that the portrayal for Ren Amamiya follows the same course. This is doubly so because Joker in particular was considered the most dynamic of the three in his home game due to his dialogue options and was a fountain for {{Fanon}} crafting. The animation team seemed to go hard in the opposite direction, making Ren [[StaticCharacter flat and soft-spoken]] to distinguish his civilian life from when he is Joker. While some fans appreciated this nuance, it also created complaints that along with [[ItsShortSoItSucks the adaptation being too short]] they also made the main character boring with no satisfying development.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: While considered to be SoOkayItsAverage rather than bad, ''Persona 5: The Animation'' is considered to be among the weakest of the ''Persona'' animated adaptations, with criticisms centred around the animation's quality and pacing. However, the voice acting is generally praised, particularly the English dub, and it's clear that the actors were giving it their all. Creator/RobbieDaymond, in particular received a lot of praise for [[spoiler:his performance of Akechi's VillainousBreakdown.]]

** The Valentine's Day OVA. While some find the idea hilarious and look forward to seeing one of the game's funniest scenes fully animated, other fans are ''furious'' that the anime is adapting the harem route (really the adultery route) and thus making it [[CuttingOffTheBranches borderline canon]]. ''VideoGame/Persona4'' spinoffs and adaptations tended to give Yu mostly equal ShipTease with all the girls while still keeping it vague as to whether he dated any of them, which some see as a better compromise.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Some of the problems present in the anime adaptation, such as poor animation, a lack of personality for the main character, and excessive use of Akechi, also appeared in the ''Anime/Persona5TheDayBreakers'' OVA.
** In the case of the animation, fans had somewhat lower standards for the OVA (although some were concerned when A-1 Productions was announced as the studio behind [=P5A=]), partly because they were less familiar with Persona 5's strong aesthetic style.
** When it came to the protagonist's lack of personality, it was difficult to give Joker much personality or CharacterDevelopment in an OVA that's barely over 20 minutes, and most of the other Phantom Thieves only barely got to show their personalities (for example, the most Yusuke shows of his art obsession is once doing his "finger framing" gesture). Naturally, fans were disappointed when the longer anime adaptation failed to give Ren Amamiya the same depth [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Yu Narukami]] had in ''Anime/Persona4TheAnimation.'' Unlike [[VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} Makoto Yuki]], who was ''actually'' TheStoic, fans were disappointed that Ren was given this treatment instead of being as fabulous as he was hinted to be in the games.
** ''The Day Breakers'' also featured Akechi somewhat prominently in a part of the game in which he had no screentime. That said, he only has two scenes in the OVA- a TV interview and while presiding over the burglary ring's arrest, which is barely above a cameo. Fans got annoyed when the anime gave him even more screentime and even more gratuitous cameos in the early episodes, when he doesn't become a recurring character until June.

** In "Dark Sun..." [[spoiler:after Ryuji survives his HeroicSacrifice, whereas in the game [[DisproportionateRetribution the girls of the group beat the shit out of him for making fun of their crying over his apparent death]], here, the group merely shouts at him while crying about how worried he had them, followed by a cut to credits.]]

** The All-Out Attacks depicted here are lackluster compared to the game. Already combined with the choppy animation, the flashy wallpapers are instead kept as blank red backgrounds in Episodes 2 and 3, despite panning the camera across the first four members in the latter. However, Ren's All-Out Attack background did get adapted in Episode 5, and so were Haru's and Morgana's in Episode 21.
*** Averted in Episode 25 with the All-Out Attack that finishes off Leviathan: ''all nine Phantom Thieves'' get in on the action - even Futaba, who can't usually attack - and it ends with Ren, his eyes glowing scarily red, summoning Seth to land the final blow.