Let's Play Persona 4: Everyday's Great at your Junes!

I'll say cute. We want points!

Plus...you know...Chie's the best girl...

Well, technically, Chie idolizes Yukiko's femininity and poise, as opposed to her "cuteness," doesn't she?

I just know from experience.

Plus...you know...Persona can sometimes come off...a little less than progressive for some of its stuff. On the whole, it does a pretty good job (especially compared to other JRPGs), but it does have some stumbles along the way. But...Chie likes being called girly, it's just people don't most of the time. She's a tomboy, sure, and she likes that, it's but she doesn't want to be "The Carnivore That Has Discarded Womanhood" either.

However, I think Worm was mostly asking what way we wanted to take this s-link in tone, since this is basically the first time we can say something more openly flirty when it comes to Chie. P4 lets you pick weather you want to be romantic or just friends with a girl (though in most cases it's pretty obvious the girls want to be more than friends, and they get kind of have to cover up that they're disappointed if you turn them down). So I think we were kind of being stealth polled on how we want to go about doing this s-link with Chie.

My opinion is pretty obvious at this point, so no need for me to reiterate.

I've read a lot of stuff about whether that's actually consistent with the game writers' perspective, or that's because they're trying to paint a realistic picture of what high school kids in Japan are like (an obvious example is Yousuke's opinion on Kanji's homosexuality). While Yousuke's reaction as written in the game can come off as less than progressive, I think just the fact that the game writers included Kanji as a character and made a theme out of it shows that Yousuke's opinion doesn't reflect theirs.


Yeah The girls' social link have flags like this pretty early on. If you consistently choose the most unflirty choices, it's possible that the girl will keep considering you a friend, and so at the end dating isn't an option at all (though it's hard to do that; you have to really try).

I was actually mostly talking about some of the stuff with the girls, mostly at the beginning of the game too (being "worried about Chie" and stuff like that).

I actually thought Yosuke's whole thing was highly realistic for highschool, and was always more than a little annoyed with how much flak his character got for it.

Ahahahahaha. So, uh, if you voted for "it's cute", vote again.

Other than "it's cute", I got one for "it's hilarious" and one for "it's very feminine," unless Zef's post was a "it's hilarious" vote.

Also, I'll be away for several days starting tomorrow, so it'll be a while until the next update! You have all the time in the world to think about what to say to Chie!

Then go with feminine. It gives you musical notes. Hilarious gives you nothing.

"It's hilarious." Because seriously, it's a bug. She's kinda overreacting.

(On a completely different topic, anyone else hearing Chie as a young Jewish-Hispanic girl now? "Whatcha doin?" indeed.)

If you want to actually hear what her voice sounds like, you can hear some here.

She actually had a different voice in the original game, but this is her updated VA for Golden, Arena and the anime, so it's probably best to get used to that one.

Damn that castle dungeon music is bad ass

I actually love the way the game handles its female characters, since they all have very different ways of expressing their gender - and the game explores their individual anxieties around their performativity of femininity. It's good writing to show Chie as being happy to be crazy into kung-fu and eating meat and wearing no-nonsense clothing while still sometimes being a little anxious about how others perceive her for what she honestly likes. Because yes, rural Japanese high schools are not exactly the most welcoming places for gender non-conformity, no matter how minor.

Also, I actually do find her fear of bugs cute because it's hilarious that anyone who can Galactic Punt eldritch Shadow horrors into oblivion would be scared of a grasshopper

I think WR should go romantic with everyone except Chie.

It wouldn't be right to cheat on Chie.

also very anime

I hated her new voice when I first heard it, but it really doesn't sound bad at all in this particular video. I think the new voice sort of gives her a new personality, though. The original Chie seems more warm and composed to me; whereas the new Chie in Golden sounds like she has anger issues.

Feminine. Absolutely.

I was not happy at first, either, as her original voice was one of the things that I really liked about her character in P4. It made her sound...well...kind of like a normal teenage girl, which in animeland I thought was pretty unique.

Still, I've gotten used to new Chie. She's a bit more of a caricature, but she does well enough in her own right.

Chie: It's not...
> Somehow, Chie looks happy.

This option gives us 3 music notes with Chie. Despite Chie's tomboyish appearance and personality, she does want to be seen as feminine. When I first saw this scene, I thought that no way Chie would like to be called "cute," and being called "feminine" would probably break her social link. Come to think of it though, the game did give plenty of hints: Shadow Chie went on and on about how Yukiko is so fair-skinned and feminine and everyone likes Yukiko, and how having Yukiko rely on her makes her feel better. So calling Chie feminine actually makes her like us more.



Nanako: It's not just you. Don't worry!

Nanako is still the sweetest kid on the planet.

Chie: Nanako-chan... Ooh, you don't know how happy that makes me. Thanks! C'mon, you wanna train too?
Nanako: Okay!
Chie: Let's start with form. I'll teach you a kata...
> Chie and Nanako began training...

A kata is a choreographed pattern, usually applicable in a specific situation. Since Nanako is half Chie's height, you can imagine that it's rather awkward.



Chie is determined to not be so feminine anymore.

Chie: All I have to do is think of them as shadows! Then I'll be able to grab a whole fistful!

That explains how she had no qualm about attacking those giant VW beetles!

Chie: I-I just gave myself goosebumps... G-Getting used to bugs might take a while, but I won't lose to Shadows!
> You felt Chie's burning passion...
> You feel your relationship with Chie has grown deeper...



Rank 3 with Chie! And because of that...



Like Yousuke, at rank 3 Chie also gets the ability to perform a follow-up attack after someone knocks a Shadow down. All the party members get the same special ability at exactly the same ranks. Though I heard that in P4G they also get things like different skills at different ranks, which is a nice touch that gives some variety to the party members' ability progression.

Pockets walks partway home with Chie afterward.



Ooh! Once in while, Nanako will go shopping and there will be food in the fridge. Pockets can make lunch for tomorrow, and share it with one of his schoolmates during lunch time. Sharing lunch with someone will give them more music notes, but it's not a rank-up-able event (in other words, it's only useful to share with someone who wouldn't otherwise rank-up). Making lunch will take the whole evening. We can think of it as exchanging an evening slot for a non-rank-up-able day slot.

I know everyone voted to spend time with Dojima, but I also neglected to check the kitchen schedule and thus didn't list cooking as an option. In general, we're more pressed for time with the day social links than the evening social links, so it's a good idea to cook if we can. In addition, we never cooked before and you guys seem to like to see new things, so I decided to go ahead and make lunch for the next day.



Sorry, Dojima voters! I'll make sure to check the fridge schedule next time.



That's not surprising at all!

> You decided to make beef stew.
> Now, you have to simmer it...



When Pockets makes lunch, we're presented with 3 options on how to cook the food. Choosing the right option will result in a delicious dish and 3 baits from the extra leftovers. Choosing the less good option will give us a good dish, but the person we share the lunch with won't like it as much. Choosing the bad option will ruin the food completely, and we only get 3 baits.

In this case, simmering with a drop lid is the right option.





And that's all for today!



It's another sunny day! Now, who should Pockets shares his well-made beef stew with?



Now, for voting!

Lunch:

Who should Pockets share his beef stew with? The option is basically all schoolmate social links:

- Yousuke

- Chie

- Kou

- Yumi Ozawa

Afternoon:

- Work at the day care center: gain Understanding, hang out with Eri

- Finish the fox's quest and report back to rank up Hermit

Evening:

It's raining! Maybe something will happen...

Vote away!

Lunch with Kou, work at day care!

The aptness of sharing a lunch with someone called "Yumi" amuses me.

And let's do the fox's quest while we're at it.

Chie likes meat, right? Chie would love MEAT.

Lunch with Chie and rank up Hermit

Lunch with Chie then rank up hermit.

Also:

Lunch with Yumi and the fox.

Pockets shares Well-simmered Beef Stew with Chie. Since it's MEAT, Chie loves it.



Chie: I want more, but... I don't wanna finish it all! What a dilemma...!

A dilemma we're all too familiar with.

Here's another Chie blushing screenshot.



Chie: T-Thank you...
> It was Chie's favorite!
> You feel that your relationship is going to become closer soon...

Several people can have the same dish as their favorite food, so this is by no mean limited to Chie. Just like in real life, multiple people like the same thing, and there's no unique right choice for most decisions in the social aspect of P4.

There's another thing we need to do on the rooftop, so we do it in the afternoon, after school ends.



Ugh, I can't remember what questions I already asked her about. I probably need to make a to-do list for this game. Even though I was choosing "asking about her dream" in this screenshot, I ended up asking her about her hobby instead.



We still need to ask her more questions, but she's not talking to us anymore today. So we move on to the next couple Pockets's helping.



Love Note Sender: I can't believe it! I'm so happy! I'm glad I got his shoebox confused with yours... Oh, that's right! I need to give my thanks at the Tatsuhime Shrine! My wish came true! I'll make a big offering!
> You accomplished the request written on the ema! The monetary offerings have been increased.
> You should report back to the fox...



So basically, Pockets is sneakily making people's wish come true to scam them into believing in divine power that the shrine doesn't have, and he's doing that so a fox likes him better.

Time to see that fox-friend!



Pockets visits the shrine. Like last time, it starts out empty...



Until he spots the fox on the roof, who them jumps down with an ema...



> It's probably worried about the outcome...
> You told the fox that you granted the wish written on the ema.



> The fox looks exuberant.

It starts running around Pockets.





> The fox looks at the offertory box and seems pleased...
> If rumors of the shrine's benevolence spread, more people may come to make offerings...
Fox: *howl*
> You can sense the fox's gratitude.



And that is how the Hermit rank up event works, every single time.



So basically, Pockets is sneakily making people's wish come true to scam them into believing in divine power that the shrine doesn't have, and he's doing that so a fox likes him better give him a small discount on its service. A working relationship, I see! Pockets can probably do better by spending all that time earning money instead of fulfilling people's request.

That ordinary evening, Pockets and the Dojimas ordinarily watch TV.



Narrator: Our special report took a turn for the violent when one of the apparent leaders attacked the camera crew!



Young deliquent: This ain't a show! Get bent!
Dojima: Still up to the same old tricks…?



Dojima: Mmm, well, I know him through work. His name's Kanji Tatsumi… he's quite a handful. He's been crushing biker gangs in the area since middle school. But I thought he got into a high school and started attending class… Huh. Man, that blur sure is pointless. It's completely obvious who it is. The guy's family runs a historic textile shop. I think what happened was, he crushed the local bikers all by himself because the noise kept his mother up at night. It's a nice gesture, but he's way too violent… At this rate, his mother'll have to apologize again.
Nanako: Oh, the weather report's showing on the bottom. It's going to rain tomorrow. I'll make sure to hang the laundry inside the house.

With that, the game skips ahead to the next day. Sure enough, it pours.



But the weather report is always right in this game! The first time I played through this, I thought we will get screwed at some point when the weather report said it's sunny when it actually rains, and the investigation team would be away on a field trip or something like that. The weather report can't just be right all the time, right? Wrong.



Yukiko: I hope we don't see anyone…
Yousuke: Yeah, that'd be the best. But if we do, maybe we'll see some kinda clue that can point us toward the killer…
Chie: Well everyone, don't forget to check your TV tonight! Got it?
> It seems to be another rainy night.
> What will you see on the Midnight Channel tonight…?

It then becomes evening. Is it just me or this day seems to be flying by?



Nanako expresses her opinion on biker gangs.



The weather forecast for the next week. We'll have no trouble staying dry!

Since today is a rainy day, Pockets will watch the midnight channel, and doing that somehow takes up his whole evening. The midnight-channel-watching starts as soon as Pockets goes back to his room, so he can't do anything that involves being in his room. The game doesn't let us leave the house either, because "it may be best not to leave today..." Since Pockets's parents are not here, it looks like the game narrative chose to take on that role!

In any case, that leaves us with the only thing we can do.



Weird things that appear in the fridge stays there until the fridge is opened (after which it will disappears, regardless of whether we consume it or not). So if we know there's going to be something in the fridge (by looking at a guide, for example, or just by avoiding looking at the fridge near rainy day), it's best to save it for days like this.



> Nanako may have brought it back from school...

It's Nanako's science project!



> Your stomach realizes what you're trying to do and rebels. You stop trying to eat the grass.



Woohoo! This is our much-needed rank-up. It will allow us to start the Moon social link.

> However...
> You don't feel well...
> You decided to go to bed early today...

Except he doesn't! Instead, he's still awake at midnight.





> It seems to be a man...
> He looks like a high schooler...
> ......
> The image is focused, and it's hard to tell who it is...



Yousuke: So what do you think? That was a guy, wasn't it? I wish I could tell what he looked like... Let's get together and talk more about it tomorrow!
> You hung up.
> You decide to go to bed for tonight.

And that's all for today! Busy day it will be --- no time to socialize or study, nothing to vote for! A new mystery begins. Who is this guy on the midnight channel?

Is it the bike gang crusher we were just introduced to?

Inari works in mysterious ways.

I'm with False -- it's the biker guy. No reason for it to be anyone else.

> You wanted to say that, but you don't have enough common sense.