Ryuji\'s surprised that the festival is next week, and that it\'s on a weekend. Ann suggests that it\'s so that the media won\'t pay as much attention.
Speaking of keeping a low profile, the scene cuts to the Shujin Phantom Thieves working on the festival together. Ryuji\'s distracted by noticing how hard Mishima is working on the Phan-Site, not by \"criminal profiling\" suggesting that the previous changes of hearts were warm-ups for the Phantom Thieves to murder Okumura and the principal.
The ballots are counted, and unsurprisingly, the winner is Akechi, with his name written on the whiteboard; the runner-up isn\'t even shown. Ryuji\'s annoyed, noting that it would normally be a singer or an idol. Ann reads some comments and they observe that people have been on-edge since the police started questioning students.
Haru asks Makoto what they should do, calling her by the Affectionate Nickname of \"Mako-chan\" for the first time; the IM conversation in which she got the nickname wasn\'t included. Makoto remains silent until Morgana says her name, and she says she\'d rather not risk it. Ren\'s gaze lingers on Akechi\'s name on the whiteboard.
One somewhat notable detail is left out- the fact that since Akechi won the popular vote, people would notice if the student council and festival committee didn\'t at least try to invite him. W Ith that in mind, Makoto arguably didn\'t have much of a choice when it came to inviting Akechi.
The opening theme plays.
As Ren works at the flower shop, a kimono-clad old woman (probably the one Makoto helped), talks with Ren\'s boss about the weather and about how hard a worker Ren is. Ren passes by Yoshida talking about the young people and their future, with no one listening.
Inside Leblanc\'s attic, Makoto changes her mind and announces that she plans on inviting Akechi. Ryuji reminds her about what she said about the risk, and Makoto admits it, but she says she needs a source of intelligence, and she can\'t rely on her sister anymore. Ryuji asks if they have Akechi\'s number, and Futaba gleefully admits that she has the data from Sae\'s PC. A brief exchange in which the group wonders if Akechi will get suspicious of them learning their number, only for Makoto to say she can tell him that Sae knew it(which, as she puts it \"isn\'t even technically a lie\"), is cut. Makoto decides to call Sae today.
At school, Ren places seventh on exams, much better than Ann and Ryuji. His expression is placid, but he pumps his fists.
In Ushimaru\'s class, Ren notices that they haven\'t gotten a response from Akechi even though it\'s the day before the festival (in the game, Akechi had at least said he\'d \"consider\" Makoto\'s offer, at least proving he wasn\'t blowing them off). Ushimaru notices that Ren isn\'t paying attention, and throws a piece of chalk at him, which Ren barely dodges, showing that he has nearly maxed out Proficiency (a score of 4/5 is necessary to open the lock to Madarame\'s house, even if that scene was skipped). The chalk hits the locker in the back, scaring the napping student behind Ren and impressing the class, while Ann, who\'s in front of Ren, laughs.
Ren sees Akechi at Leblanc, who welcomes him back, sitting in a booth instead of at a counter. Instead of saying \"Honey, I\'m home\", or remaining silent, Ren asks Akechi why he\'s there, so Akechi says that he\'s here for coffee and challenges Ren to a chess match.
As Shido is talking on TV, Akechi notes that Ren seems distracted, wondering if it\'s about his next move. As Shido continues to speak, Sojiro\'s not exactly happy, but the other patrons approve of Shido\'s honesty and charisma, hoping he can do something about the Phantom Thieves.
Akechi isn\'t surprised that the public sees the Phantom Thieves as rogues, but notes that they probably aren\'t the culprits behind the mental shutdowns, saying \"I don\'t believe they\'re one in the same.\" As Akechi notes that this doesn\'t line up with their previous actions, Ren asks if Akechi is a Phantom Thieves supporter. Akechi says he just hopes that this is true, since if it is, they\'re more similar. Akechi then checkmates Ren, and says he\'s gotten better, which Ren attributes to his shogi teacher. Akechi praises him for being steps ahead of him.
As the \"ka-ching\" of the cashier sounds, Akechi starts to leave, but then informs Ren that he accepted the offer to speak at Shujin.
At an interview, one of the hosts is confused by what Akechi said, and he repeats it- he believes that the Phantom Thieves weren\'t responsible for the deaths. The woman mentions that Akechi had cautioned everyone about the Phantom Thieves, and he says they are, but also adds that there are unanswered questions. One detail that\'s left out is Akechi\'s hiatus from media appearances, as part of his plan.
At Shujin, the group notices that it\'s more crowded than usual, with Futaba hiding behind Ann, and Ryuji says this is due to current events. Ann and Makoto suggest that plainclothes police officers are here, and Morgana warns the others to be careful what they say. Makoto says that they should just act normal, and Futaba wonders what that means. Yusuke says it\'s impossible to have fun when he\'s broke. Ren tells Haru to have fun, and the Phantom Thieves set off to enjoy the festival.
The Phantom Thieves walk around enjoying the booths, with Futaba enjoying a somewhat slapdash \"VR Experience\" of flying, Yusuke examining arts and crafts, and Ren and Ryuji stopping by the haunted house. Ren gets the drop on the girl playing a ghost the way he would a Shadow and tries to unmask her before Ryuji does a Dope Slap on him, letting the girl escape. A maid invites Kawakami to Maid Takoyaki (the exhibit put on by Kawakami\'s own homeroom), and she notes that it\'s good to be young.
Ryuji and Futaba talk about the maids, while Yusuke\'s more interested in takoyaki. Haru, Makoto and Yusuke discuss the rumors about the Phantom Thieves and Akechi\'s increased popularity.
The waitress brings out the Russian Takoyaki from the microwave, leaving out the part in which the Phantom Thieves tried to order virtually any of the other kinds, only to find they were sold out. Futaba snarks that she heard the microwave go off, and that the \"special\" one is obviously the bright red one.
Akechi shows up, noting that \"everyone\'s\" here, even though the panel is tomorrow. He says he can\'t make any mistakes now, and asks if he can have one of their takoyaki. The Phantom Thieves are fine with that, unlike in the game, in which Haru protested that she wanted the special one. Akechi eats the special takoyaki in one bite, causing the sound of a pistol firing to play. Akechi\'s overwhelmed with the spiciness, and after unconvincingly trying to claim that he likes spicy food, goes home, as Ryuji snickers.
The group comments on how \"ditzy\" the popular detective Akechi is as he barely avoids running into two girls from Shujin, but also note that he\'s cunning. They leave out the part in which they wonder why he said \"everyone\" was there, an early hint that Akechi knows who the Phantom Thieves are.
In Shibuya, Ren avoids running into Yoshida, whom he recognizes as \"the politician.\" Yoshida politely corrects Ren, saying that he\'s not a politician anymore, then invites him to come hear his speeches, before walking away. It\'s worth noting that the deadline for finishing Yoshida\'s Confidant is November 15 (since he can\'t have a minor helping him out during election season), so if this were a normal playthrough, Ren would have no hope of finishing his Confidant.
The next day, at the festival, the group gathers to watch Akechi. Unlike in the game, in which Futaba and Haru sat in the seats, while the other Phantom Thieves watched from above and Makoto was MC, only Ryuji and Ren are above, while Yusuke and Ann are seated together. Akechi barely introduces himself before someone asks whether the Phantom Thieves \"offed\" the principal. Makoto asks if Akechi can answer it.
Akechi says he\'s only here because he was invited, not to investigate, apologizing if he disappointed anyone. He then adds that the Phantom Thieves never murdered anyone. Makoto\'s taken aback, but after composing herself, asks Akechi about his previous belief that the Phantom Thieves are criminals. Akechi jokes that Makoto sounds like a prosecutor, but Makoto says this is a matter of personal interest for her. Akechi then answers the question, saying that since all the Phantom Thieves\' targets were criminals, he wonders why they only killed Okumura. He admits that he can\'t think of a reason why, so he decides that they aren\'t the killers. Akechi then proposes that he knows the Phantom Thieves\' identities.
After a pause, Akechi asks Makoto if she\'s going to ask him, and she agrees, even with the caveat that it\'s only his opinion. As Akechi\'s about to reveal them, he gets a cell phone call. He apologizes (with his jokes about asking the audience not to \"troll\" him being left out) and says he has to take it, asking for a 10 minute break. Akechi then takes his leave, then asks Makoto and her friends to come with him, helping her realize that he set this up.
In the PE Faculty Office, Akechi shows them a series of stills showing them entering the Metaverse (a bit more detailed and clear than of the three showing Yusuke in the game), adding that he has video footage as well. He then says that he\'s had his eye on them, and that around that time, he entered the Metaverse and saw Black Mask. His confrontation with Black Mask caused him to awaken his Persona and realize that Black Mask is the killer.
Akechi adds that the police are after the Phantom Thieves, and will probably arrest them. He says he can help them, and proposes a deal- either they help him investigate or he turns the photos over to the police. Ryuji calls it blackmail, but Akechi says that they can\'t stop what\'s coming. Akechi adds that if they help him, he\'ll \"turn a blind eye\" to what they did, without asking that they disband.
Akechi gives them some time to think it over, but decides to stop the panel for now. He realizes that they only invited him to gain intel, and Futaba grouses that he saw through them.
Back in the gym, Akechi apologizes and cuts the presentation short, at which point the Phantom Thieves wonder what to do next.
In the SIU office, the director asks Sae about her progress, and is dissatisfied. Sae then asks for three more months, before lowering it to one month, and the SIU director promises her that, but says he can\'t cover for her.
The Phantom Thieves are horrified that there\'s a 30 million yen bounty on their heads, and are disturbed, as they see the police coming again. Makoto calls Akechi, and asks for more details about the deal, so they agree to meet tonight.
A rather significant discussion is left out- the scene in which the Phantom Thieves realize that their desire for fame got the better of them and caused them to easily be lured into a trap- and I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, this does raise the question of how righteous the Phantom Thieves are, and is a significant step in Ryuji\'s character arc, in which he sees the error of his ways. On the other hand, there were legitimate reasons to want to deal with Medjed and Okumura, since the former was a threat to the Japanese economy, and the latter exploited his workers and daughters (to say nothing of the mental shutdowns- even if he didn\'t cause them, he was responsible). Furthermore, in Okumura\'s case, the Phantom Thieves didn\'t agree to target him until learning about Haru.
In Leblanc, Akechi mentions that with the bounty and the investigation, he thinks Sae is acting rashly. Futaba says there\'s no evidence, so they can\'t arrest the Phantom Thieves, but Akechi notes that the police are moving regardless. Makoto demands that Akechi get to the point, and he asks them to change Sae\'s heart, noting that she has a Palace. He then says that there\'s three reasons for this- to prevent Sae from falsifying evidence and arresting and innocent person, to prevent her from being targeted by Okumura\'s real killer, and to send a warning to those investigating the Phantom Thieves.
Makoto then asks if Akechi plans on having them disband, and when he says yes, Makoto says that he thought this through. Haru asks what motivates Akechi, and what his sense of justice is, prompting Akechi to say that he wants to get back at \"a rotten adult,\" just like the Phantom Thieves.
Ren agrees to the mission. Haru asks Makoto, and she calmly says that this is why she joined. This (lack of a) reaction is fairly disappointing, considering that in the game, she was still highly torn at this point, also admitting that she\'d known for a while that her sister had a palace, but that she was scared to investigate any farther. The other Phantom Thieves are worried about her, and Haru wonders if Makoto plans to tell her sister.
Ryuji, Ann and Morgana are eager to \"kick some ass,\" and Akechi\'s surprised to hear the cat talk, before writing it off as something that the Metaverse made possible.
The ending credits play.
The episode was fairly good, but the omission of Makoto\'s angst over targeting Sae was quite unfortunate. The fact that Makoto wants her sister to have a change of heart but is still conflicted about going through with it is one of many pieces of evidence showing that even thow the Niijima sisters\' relationship is strained, they still care about each other.
In The Stinger, the twins note that the end of Ren\'s rehabilitation is coming near. Igor observes the changing situations, and draws the upside-down Judgment card.
