Igor notes that Ren has found a comrade, then he and the twins recap what Ren\'s learned about Palacees and cognitive existences.
This episode skips the opening credits, and starts with Ryuji asking Ren about what he just learned as they wait for the subway. Ryuji notes that even if Cognitive Ann wasn\'t the girl he knows, he knows the volleyball members are being abused, and decides to ask them about it. Of course, in the game, he knew which specific ones were being abused, and made a point of memorizing their names. You can see Akechi standing by and reading a book as he waits.
The volleyball meet happens, and Ryuji\'s more interested in Ann than the extremely one-sided game between the students of Class 2-D and their teachers, which is 4-19 at this point. As Ryuji wonders if Ann\'s seeing Kamoshida (in the game, he suggests that, but later realizes that Ann never seemed to be interested in him), you see Morgana\'s tail.
Ryuji and Ren ask some students, who deny being abused by Kamoshida, even the one whose arm is in a sling, and go together, unlike in the game. As some passers-by gossip about them, they realize that not only are the students afraid of Kamoshida, but they also distrust Ryuji and Ren, who have poor reputations.
Ann and Shiho have their conversation about the rumors regarding Ren, and Ann notices Shiho\'s injuries. Ryuji approaches them in the middle of their conversation, and with unusual politeness (using \"-san\" on Shiho) asks her for information, but Ann gets up and cuts him off, telling him not to involve Shiho in anything weird with nationals coming up. Ryuji says that\'s all the more reason why he should talk with her, and asks if she\'d rather go there without being under Kamoshida\'s thumb. Ann says Ryuji isn\'t making any sense and escorts Shiho away.
Ryuji then mentions that he\'s known Ann and Shiho since middle school, but doesn\'t elaborate on it. The scene then cuts to the interrogation, with Sae noting that the school covered up physical abuse and asks if Ren knows something about Shiho\'s suicide attempt. Ren denies it, which is partly true- while he knew more than he\'s letting on, he probably didn\'t expect Shiho to commit suicide.
In Shibuya, an ad for Featherman plays. Ann\'s modeling boss tells her to go home since she can\'t concentrate, while Mika eagerly steps up to replace Ann. Shortly afterward, Ann has her conversation in which Shiho\'s starter position is used as leverage against her, and protests somewhat more weakly, not managing to say that Kamoshida\'s behavior is unbecoming a teacher before he hangs up on her. She sits down and starts to call a number, but can\'t, at which point Ren shows up. She protests at him eavesdropping, but he denies it, and she apologizes.
Instead of running off, Ann meets up with Ren, then elaborates a little on how she got roped in with Kamoshida. Kamoshida knew Ann and Shiho were friends, and telling Ann that Shiho was \"too kind and emotional\" to handle being on the team, he wanted to learn more about her. One thing led to another, and Kamoshida asked Ann to come to her apartment. Ann, at her breaking point, asks what she should do about this.
Not only does this scene lack the emotional intensity of the in-game cinematic, but it\'s also missing a bit of context. At this point in the game, Ren and Ryuji are weighing whether to steal Kamoshida\'s heart, but hesitate after learning that he might die. When Ann proposes that she wishes that Kamoshida would change his mind and just give up on her, it arguably gives Ren a reason to want to go through with it, even before Kamoshida raping Shiho pushes him and Ryuji into throwing caution to the wind and stealing Kamoshida\'s heart.
Speaking of Shiho being raped, Kamoshida decides that Ann\'s friend will have to pay for her rejecting his advances. As Shiho\'s practicing in the gym, Mishima sks her to go see Kamoshida, resulting in her doing a Dramatic Drop of her volleyball, and him quickly pointing out that he\'s just a messenger.
At Leblanc, Ren\'s resting on his bed, at which point the scene flashes back to just after Ann leads Shiho away. Morgana then shows up and tells them that they can reform Kamoshida by stealing his heart, cutting Ryuji off when he tries to ask questions and mentioning that Kamoshida might die. Ryuji and Ren are left speechless, so Morgana walks off.
This scene was highly rushed and took away much of the impact. While Ryuji\'s understandably eager to deal with Kamoshida, he also doesn\'t want to see Kamoshida die, so he starts having second thoughts after Morgana explains why that might happen (because removing one\'s desires could also remove those that keep someone alive), even when Morgana backtracks and says that it\'s only a possibility.
Another issue with that scene is Morgana being a cat. While only people who have been in a Palace can understand what he\'s saying in the real world, his meows are audible to people in the real world, which causes some people on the disciplinary committee to look for a cat. Because of that, Ren has to stuff Morgana in his bag, and ends up taking Morgana home.
The scene cuts to Kawakami\'s class, in which she gives a lecture about premeditated crimes while Ryuji expresses that while he wants to change Kamoshida\'s heart, he doesn\'t want to see him die, which is a poor substitute. At that point, several people see Shiho on the roof\'s edge and rush out.
Shiho stands there, on the edge of the roof, thinking about Ann and Kamoshida, then lets herself fall. It\'s a powerful moment, even if the chaotic aftermath of the attempt is cut out. Another thing that\'s removed is Ryuji\'s obvious shock and disgust about how many people are taking pictures of Shiho after her suicide, which goes to show that Shujin is a much less pleasant school than Yasogami or Gekkoukan.
Ann hears Shiho implicate Kamoshida before passing out, then goes with her to the hospital. Mishima tries to run off, but is intercepted by Ryuji (who acts like he\'s meeting him for the first time, since the scene in which he questioned Mishima was cut), and Ren.
The scene then cuts to the confrontation with Kamoshida. Not only was the subsequent interrogation of Mishima cut out, but so was the fact that Mishima tried to stop Ryuji from confronting Kamoshida. Kamoshida shrugs off Ryuji\'s accusations of corporeal punishment, as well as Mishima\'s suggestions that he did something worse to Shiho.
After Kamoshida smugly notes that Shiho, being comatose, can\'t testify against him, Ryuji\'s tempted to slug him, but Ren holds him back. Kamoshida \"thanks\" Ren by promising to have all three expelled by reporting them at the next board meeting, adding that Mishima leaked the information about Ren\'s criminal record. As Mishima weakly protests that he only did what Kamoshida asked, Kamoshida gloats about how Ren will be sent to juvie, and tells the three to get out of his sight.
Ryuji asks Ren what their next move is, and Ren says that he\'ll listen to Morgana. He still doesn\'t want to kill Kamoshida, but if that\'s only a \"worst-case scenario,\" they\'ll have to take the risk so that others don\'t suffer what Shiho did. While Ann eavesdrops on them, she doesn\'t ask to join them, nor does Ryuji turn her down. She does, however, still get dragged into the Palace, so Ren and Ryuji don\'t initially figure out that the Nav App can drag people in. One unfortunate side effect of the change is that it doesn\'t show how what happened to Shiho galvanized Ann the same way it did Ren and Ryuji.
As Ren, Ryuji and Morgana infiltrate the Palace, Morgana discusses how the change of heart works. While they\'re talking, they get all the way up to the Treasure Room, which they don\'t reach until some time after Ann joins (especially since, as Morgana notes, they don\'t have enough manpower as a three-man group). After telling Ren and Ryuji about the calling card, Morgana finally explains why having Kamoshida\'s treasure stolen might kill him- if all his distorted desires are stolen, the same might go for the desires that keep him alive- then asks the two if they\'re prepared to go through with it.
Before Ryuji can answer, the alarm blares, and Morgana notes that the Palace\'s guards caught an intruder (which he clarifies is a third party), noting that it explains why they didn\'t encounter many guards on the way in. In this case, it\'s a bit hard to believe that Ren and the others made it all the way to the Treasure Room, even with the minimal security; in the game, Ann came back almost immediately they threw her out, was captured almost immediately and was brought to the room very close to the Safe Room that Ren and the others found.
As you can see, most of the dungeon exploration gets cut out. While this is understandable, it\'s also somewhat unfortunate, considering that Persona 5\'s dungeons are more elaborate and better designed than the previous games. Not only do they have puzzles that need to be solved and obstacles that must be overcome, but some of them contain significant details about their rulers.
Back to Ann. After Shadow Kamoshida and Cognitive Ann decide to sentence Ann to death, Ryuji, Ren and Morgana burst in. Despite the fact that the group came up with code names at this point in the game, Ren even introduces himself (although Ann should know his name, since she calls him \"Amamiya-kun\" or whatever last name you gave him, when she\'s pulled into Kamoshida\'s Palace in the game). Ren and Ryuji briefly speculate as to why she got pulled in, while Morgana expresses his desire to free her.
After Ryuji and Morgana bicker over why Morgana isn\'t reacting to Ann\'s comment that he\'s a \"monster cat\" the same way he reacted to the others, Shadow Kamoshida comments that Ann must be \"pissed\" at him, too, then blames her for Shiho\'s suicide. Ann\'s about to give up until Ren reminds her that Shiho\'s her Only Friend, at which point Ann briefly reminisces about Shiho before awakening to Carmen.
The Awakening scene happens, and while Ann killing Cognitive Ann with the sword is left in, it\'s nowhere near as graceful as it is in the game. In the game, Ann knocks the sword it into the air, grabs it by the handle mid-swing, then delivers a downward slsh on Cognitive Ann, an impressive moment, even if the sword doesn\'t quite hit Cognitive Ann. In the anime, she grabs the sword, does a flip, lands, then stands up and cuts Cognitive Ann down. Shadow Kamoshida\'s priceless Oh, Crap! face isn\'t present in the anime.
Kamoshida summons Belphegor, a Bicorn and a Pixie, so unlike with Ryuji, Ann has to face her mini-boss. Ann whips Belphegor and knocks him down with Agi. After a brief argument over whether Ann\'s a \"cougar,\" Morgana tells the others not to let their guard down. Morgana then hits the pixie with the slingshot (which the others don\'t comment on) while Ryuji uses Zio on Bicorn. Belphegor then uses Magaru, but Ren blocks it with Arsene, after which Ann uses Agi again and launches another All Out Attack. This one actually shows Ann afterward, but with none of the style found in the game. The anime also omits a refreshing Shut Up, Hannibal! moment by Ann, in which she replies to Belphegor\'s condemnation of her rebuking Kamoshida\'s \"love\" by saying that Kamoshida treats women like objects, and that he\'s a loser outside of school.
Shadow Kamoshida escapes during the battle, and while Ann wants to pursue him, she collapses out of exhaustion, finally noticing her thief clothing. Ren and Ryuji help her up, then escape before Shadow Kamoshida can send reinforcements.
The group has the scene in which Ann joins, and Ryuji\'s only objections are the lingering concern over killing Kamoshida. They then exchange contact information, and Ann notices her app (which she already knows about in the game, since she used it to re-enter the Palace). Morgana declares the group to be Phantom Thieves, and says there\'s a way for them to steal the Treasure.
In The Stinger, Mishima walks through the halls of the school and sees the calling cards on the bulletin board.
The problems continue to get worse in this episode. In previous episodes, the creators cut out a fair amount of information, but mostly refrained from altering the order of things. Now, they\'re trying to change things around, and ending up running into a few problems when it comes to gradually revealing the details, thus making it difficult for first-time viewers to understand what\'s going on. Considering that Persona 5 has much more information about the Metaverse that needs to be understood compared to the TV world or the Dark Hour and Tartarus, this is a significant problem.
In all fairness, the rushed pacing does have its advantages. Many anime fans follow the \"three episode rule,\" which means watching the first three episodes of an anime they\'re potentially interested in before deciding whether to give up on it. For example, while Puella Magi Madoka Magica seems like a standard, if slightly Darker and Edgier Magical Girl show at first glance, the third episode involves a major character\'s death, a memorable scene that sets the tone for the series. Here, the series has shown a few Persona battles, and while it couldn\'t quite get up to the fight with Shadow Kamoshida, the promise that it\'s coming up soon might help keep a few undecided viewers watching. Similarly, while the Danganronpa anime was fairly rushed, it managed to get to the first class trial, the meat of the series, in the third episode. Rushing through the story is ultimately detrimental to any anime adaptation, but I will concede that there are valid reasons for cutting out relatively extraneous scenes and lines.
