The calling card scene proceeds like in canon, albeit with one noticeable difference. When Kamoshida goes to confront the Phantom Thieves, he also specifically makes note of Ann, who has an obvious motive for wanting to get back at him. It\'s a good detail, which is an improvement over him ignoring her in the game, although considering his Shadow\'s blasé attitude toward Shiho\'s death, he might not have realized that Ann blamed him.
The opening sequence then plays, and it includes some Foreshadowing of Akechi\'s true nature, as well as the existence of Lavenza.
The group meets on the rooftop, and Morgana explains that the card has affected Kamoshida, making his Treasure appear. Morgana mentions the time limit for the first time, which seems like a bad idea- while Ryuji criticized him for not mentioning the Calling Card until they found the Treasure in the game, at least Morgana did it before they committed to the heist. Morgana adds that Kamoshida will be on the lookout, so they\'ll need to prepare. The group then makes preparations, while Ann goes off to do something first.
Ren , Ryuji and Morgana then go to the airsoft shop, \"Untouchable,\" and look at the merchandise- model guns and armor. Morgana tells Ryuji to haggle with the owner, Iwai, since Ryuji\'s a regular, but Ryuji\'s obviously nervous. As a result, Ryuji goes with the asking price and is left with 100 yen (about a single US dollar), and has to buy some Band-Aids as first aid.
Speaking of the guns, the anime neglects a fairly important detail explaining why the guns work. In the original game, during the second visit to Kamoshida\'s Palace, Ryuji brought a model handgun to intimidate the Shadows, and after noticing how realistic it was, Morgana noted that they could use it as an actual gun inside the Metaverse. With that in mind, Morgana also proposed preparing on April 16 and 17, just before the group\'s first real attempt at securing a route to Kamoshida\'s Treasure.
Ren returns to Leblanc, and sees Takemi wearing her lab coat insteaed of her \"punk\" casual attire. Takemi immediately offers Ren some medicine that will relieve exhaustion, and only asks that he report on the side effects in exchange. By comparison, in the game, Takemi was reluctant to take Ren on as a test subject, and repeatedly asked him about his real motives for using the drugs (before eventually catching on to the fact that he\'s a Phantom Thief, like all his Confidants do). Sojiro seems mildly annoyed, at most, and seems more concerned about hearing a cat meow, indicating that he doesn\'t know about Morgana yet.
Ren works on making a lockpick, which is generally the most advisable activity for the evening after sending a Calling Card (i.e. the night before Kamoshida gets it), only to fail. Morgana then notes that Ren will need to train himself.
Ann visits the still comatose Shiho in the ICU, and promises to come back later. It was a good scene, one that the game couldn\'t do easily, since it wouldn\'t be practical to add the hospital just for that scene. By comparison, in the fourth game, the hospital had a variety of purposes- you work there during the Devil Social Link, you often go there to visit Yumi\'s dying father during her version of the Sun Social Link, you briefly stop there to see Kanji\'s mother during the Emperor Social Link, you have a physical exam there in October and you often go there to see Nanako and Dojima in November and December.
In the middle of the night, the Phantom Thieves go into Kamoshida\'s Palace, and notice the increased security. Nevertheless, they\'re determined to succeed, since this is the Phantom Thieves\' debut.
As \"Life Will Change\" plays, the group decides to use code names. Ryuji gets \"Skull\" because of his skull mask. Ryuji then proposes that Morgana will be \"Mona,\" and while Morgana thinks it\'s too simple, he warms up to it after Ann expresses that it sounds cute. Ann vetoes \"Sexy Cat,\" but proposes \"Panther.\" Ren\'s last, and while \"Go Go Mask\" is ruled out, they don\'t come up with a proper name for him. The reason why they don\'t choose \"Joker\" just yet is that he hasn\'t yet displayed the power of the Wild Card.
The group then gets up to the Tower, but the guillotine blade trap that hadn\'t been active last time is now, and they need to disable it (which does somewhat defeat the purpose of establishing an infiltration route, which is so that they can get to the Treasure quickly). Fortunately, they only need Kamoshida\'s right eye, unlike how they needed both eyes in the game.
One of the gold-armored knights is holding the eye, and Ann lures him out by waving and saying \"Hi!\" in a sultry manner, at which point Ryuji strikes. A Pixie comes out of the armor (unlike in the game, in which you face Eligor as a mini-boss), and complains about the Thieves\' brutish methods. Ann\'s shocked that the guard is actually a girl, meaning she didn\'t have to use her sex appeal on it, and Ren threatens the Pixie with a gun, demanding that she hand over the key. The Pixie doubts that the gun is real, but reluctantly complies, handing him the key. Ryuji\'s annoyed by the Pixie\'s bad attitude, but Ren thanks her, throwing her off. The Pixie then remembers her identity as a Persona. Ren absorbs her into his mask, and Morgana realizes Ren\'s power.
The Phantom Thieves deactivate the swinging blades and reach the Treasure, whereupon Morgana leaps up on it. Unlike in the game, Shadow Kamoshida doesn\'t even let the Thieves get out of the Treasure Room, as he leaps in and seizes his crown, flying all the way to his throne room.
After Kamoshida declares that he won\'t let anyone take his Treasure, the core of the world, he and Cognitive Ann flirt a little. When Ann notes that\'s how he sees her, Morgana confirms it, saying that he doesn\'t care for her feelings at all. Kamoshida rants about how the students who wanted to succeed were why he went unpunished so long (the anime doesn\'t mention how the parents and school staff were also complicit), and cuts to how he\'s \"a cut above the rest,\" without Ann needing to do her defiant taunt. While he\'s saying all that, he starts transforming into his Asmodeus form.
Let\'s compare the dialogue between the two versions. First, the game.
- Shadow Kamoshida: There are too many imbeciles who don\'t understand that! Including naive brats like you and that girl who tried to kill herself!Ann: True, she\'s a total idiot... letting you manipulate her, trying to commit suicide... And I\'m even more of a dumbass for not realizing that...! But no matter what kind of fool someone might be... they don\'t need your permission to live their lives!Shadow Kamoshida: Drop the attitude, you mediocre peasant! There\'s no wrong in using my gifts for my gain! I\'m a cut above all other humans!Shadow Kamoshida: *chuckle* (voice changes) That\'s right. I\'m not like you... I am a demon who rules this world!
And now, the anime.
- Shadow Kamoshida: There are too many imbeciles who don\'t understand that. Including naive brats like you and that girl who jumped off the roof!Ryuji: Crap. I don\'t like where this is going...Shadow Kamoshida: I\'m a cut above the rest! I\'m not like other humans!Morgana: That\'s true. Right now, you\'re no longer human. You\'re possessed by a twisted desire.Ren: You\'re a demon.Shadow Kamoshida: That\'s right! I\'m going to rule this world! As a demon!
As you can see, the anime loses a fair amount of the context for some of Kamoshida\'s remarks, although the bit about how Kamoshida says he\'s \"going to\" rule the world (the Palace is his world, so he\'s already the ruler) could be a matter of translation. If they were going to cut this much out, perhaps they should have done a more significant rewrite of the scene.
As \"Blooming Villain\" plays, the anime cuts to midway through the fight with Shadow Kamoshida, with Ren getting knocked down by one of Kamoshida\'s volleyballs- too small to be Shadow Kamoshida\'s ultimate attack and too large to be one of the balls that the slaves (who don\'t seem to be present) spike. Cognitive Ann cheers Shadow Kamoshida on from inside his wine glass, before he buffs himself. Ren throws a smoke grenade, enabling him and the rest of the Thieves to get behind a pillar. Morgana reminds them that they\'re only after the Treasure- the crown on Kamoshida\'s head. Ann thinks it\'s impossible to get it, but Morgana and Ren tap Skull, with his \"monkey-like agility\" for the job.
\"Blooming Villain\" stops, and Ann, Ryuji and Morgana come out from behid cover. Shadow Kamoshida immediately notices that Ryuji is absent (which would mean that you failed the operation by not attacking him often enough to distract him), and Morgana claims that Ryuji ran away. Ryuji, hiding behind one of the \"bust\" statues, mutters that he\'ll \"kill that cat later.\" Ann says that the three of them will be enough, and Carmen, Zorro and Arsene launch Agi, Garu and Eiha against Shadow Kamoshida. Kamoshida eats one of the people in his trophy (which you have to destroy before sending someone after the crown), and Morgana realizes that trophy must be destroyed. The trophy\'s unusually fragile, since a hit from Morgana\'s slingshot cracks it. Kamoshida\'s terrified that Ren\'s pistol will destroy it, and rightly so, since a single shot shatters the trophy. Morgana then mentions that he told Ren that if something\'s perceived as a weapon, it becomes one in the cognitive world.
Kamoshida, enraged, unleashes his \"kill shot,\" and knocks the three opponents off their feet, much to Ryuji\'s horror. Kamoshida prepares another kill shot to finish the \"delinquents\" off, but Ren passes out.
Ren wakes up in the Velvet Room. Caroline mocks him, Justine tells him to restrain himself in the presence of their master, and Igor asks if he\'s satisfied with this outcome. Igor and the twins introduce the Fusion mechanic, and fuse Arsene and Pixie. Before Arsene gets guillotined, he gives the farewell speech that he gives when you (inevitably) fuse him to create a better Persona, something that usually happens before the end of the first dungeon. As those familiar with the game can see, the resulting fusion creates Agathion. Igor sends Ren back with another cryptic hint at how the Persona will help his \"rehabilitation.\"
Ren wakes up, and uses Agathion to block the shot, surprising Shadow Kamoshida and Morgana, who\'s seeing a human with multiple Personas for the first time. After being hit with Eiha, Kamoshida drops his wineglass and futilely reaches out for his crown, as \"Last Surprise\" begins to play. Ren then says \"Checkmate,\" launches an All-Out Attack against Kamoshida and finishes him off with Agathion\'s Eiha, which blows through the wall of the castle.
Shadow Kamoshida tries to flee to the ledge, and the confrontation with Ann ensues, but with some very important changes. First, Shadow Kamoshida didn\'t take back the crown, so Ann doesn\'t need to threaten him. Shadow Kamoshida\'s lines about how his real self will die if his Shadow is destroyed, Morgana saying it\'s Ann\'s choice, and Ryuji calling Ann by her first name for the first time as she apparently prepares to finish Shadow Kamoshida off are removed. Not only does this remove a great deal of the scene\'s impact, but Kamoshida\'s remarks about losing do add a bit of depth to his character, implying that his career was ruined by a defeat of some sort, which is why he lusts for his glory days as an Olympic athlete. It doesn\'t even come close to justifying what he\'s done, but it does hint at why Kamoshida became the person he is.
Kamoshida\'s castle then begins to collapse. Ryuji grabs Morgana, who\'s obsessed with Kamoshida\'s treasure. Meanwhile, Ann\'s momentarily distracted, so Ren calls out her code name to get her attention, at which point she leaves. After a few shots of the collapsing castle, the scene cuts away, implying that the Phantom Thieves escaped.
After a few brief shots at school showing that Kamoshida is out, the principal holds his assembly. Ryuji\'s briefly worried about Kamoshida having a mental shutdown (although a brief scene with Kawakami on a school day after the change of heart proves that he\'s alive and well, albeit not coming to work).
Kamoshida then comes in, and delivers his confession while standing in the doorway, rather than getting up on the stage, and he only enters a Pose of Supplication for a moment just before saying that he\'ll kill himself. His confession also lacks the part in which he admits that the rumors about him and Ann being in a relationship are false, which helps improve Ann\'s reputation a little. While most of Ann\'s female classmates hated her before, two of them go up to apologize to her, and she seems to be on at least decent terms with them on a few occasions afterwards. Not only are her classmates\' apologies cut out, but so is Mishima\'s apology for going along with Kamoshida\'s orders.
Back to Kamoshida. He\'s briefly seized by a few male teachers just as Ann tells him not to run from his crimes. At that point, the principal hurriedly dismisses the assembly, while Ryuji grins triumphantly.
As the ending credits music plays, the Phantom Thieves discuss the results on instant messaging that evening, with Morgana saying that a Shadow returning to its host won\'t cause a mental shutdown. Ann reveals that Shiho\'s regained consciousness, and you briefly see Shiho in the hospital, smiling as she sees Ann, and Ann crying Tears of Joy. Morgana then says that Ren has a ways to go as a Phantom Thief, so he\'ll train him. Sojiro then hears \"annoying meowing,\" and offers to give food to the stray cast Ren brought in without even complaining about it (even though he does own a restaurant).
The Stinger includes a flash-forward to late October, with Akechi saying that the Phantom Thieves hadn\'t caught his attention yet, until a certain incident. It then shows a shot of the true Sayuri painting, hinting at the Madarame arc.
The fight with Kamoshida was so-so. It had a decent flow, a good amount of suspense and actually felt like how it was in the game, but unfortunately, a lot of the action scenes in this game involve the protagonists just using their Personas to shoot elemental spells at the enemy.
Like the previous episodes, this episode cuts out a fair amount of important details, which would make things difficult to understand for anyone who hasn\'t played the video game.
