The Investigation team at last uncovers the truth that Tohru Adachi is the true culprit behind the murders of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Adachi swiftly gets away from being arrested and leads the team into the world of Magatsu Inaba. The countdown to the end is close and Adachi plans to have all of humanity turned into shadows..
After the two of them engage in a fist brawl, they head off to the hospital to confront the true culprit.
Back at the Aiya diner, Naoto explains their conclusion about the killer to the rest of the team. Yukiko is shocked by the killer’s name and tells the group that very person was there at her inn when Mayumi Yamano was staying there. Inside the hospital elevator, Yu explains that Mitsuo Kubo testified at his trial that he “blacked out” in the police interrogation room after he turned himself in. Yu recalls that Dojima told him that nobody believed that Mitsuo was the killer, until one specific police officer interrogated him. Yu and Yosuke walk out of the elevator and they confront…..Detective Adachi.
Dojima enters the hallway and asks Adachi where Namatame ran off to. Adachi tells Dojima that Namatame has now been transported into holding, which leaves Dojima furious because he wanted to ask about Nametame’s alibi. Yu and Yosuke question Adachi and ask him about Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Adachi gives the boys very vague answers, prompting the boys to ask hm about all the threatening letters Yu received before Nanako’s kidnapping. Adachi claims that he completely forgot about the letters and didn’t send them over to the lab; Dojima is left shocked and furious at his partner’s actions. Before Adachi can escape from more questioning, Naoto and the rest of the investigation team block his path and accuse him of being the true culprit. Nervous from all the accusations, Adachi accidentally blurts out “I-I didn’t! Namatame obviously THREW THEM ALL IN!” After a long silence, Naoto remarks that she finds it rather strange that Adachi wasn’t surprised that Mr. Morooka’s death wasn’t in Namatame’s diary. At the time all of
the police officers were under the impression that Mooroka was killed by
the killer, unaware that he was really a victim of Mitsuo’s copycat murder. Therefore, Adachi should have been
shocked that there was a name left out. Knowing that he has been caught, Adachi quickly runs away from the group and jumps inside the TV in Namatame’s former hospital room.
Elsewhere inside the hospital, Teddie reappears and goes to see Nanako. As Nanako wakes up and tells Teddie she had a dream where he vanished, Teddie vows to himself that he will won’t run away ever again. Inside the TV world Rise is having a difficult time locating Adachi, but before all hope is lost Teddie reappears and reveals to everyone that he’s really a shadow. The group isn’t fazed by Teddie’s true identity; they explain to him that he might as well be human now given the use of his Persona abilities. Gratified by their friendship, Teddie easily sniffs out where Adachi is in the TV world, the very first location they went to: a room covered with Mayumi Yamano posters, a chair in the center, and a noose to hang a body with. Yu asks Adachi if he’s really the true killer, but Adachi ignores him and reveals that the TV world and the real world will merge and force humanity to turn into shadows. Rise asserts that they aren’t talking to the real Adachi, at which point Adachi’s illusion walks into a portal behind him and the investigation team gives chase. The team finds itself in the world of “Magatsu Inaba”, where Adachi laughs and proclaims that he’s now the king of the TV world.
Adachi accepts the investigation team’s challenge and summons the most powerful shadow, The Reaper. Kanji and Naoto summon their Persona and hold back the shadow with all of their might, while the rest of the group continues following Adachi’s illusions while he uses them to explain how he killed Mayumi Yamano.
Back in April, Adachi was assigned to keep watch over her at the Amagai inn. Adachi soon called Mayumi out in private and not only taunted her for having an affair, but also expressing how much he ilikes her. Mayumi hastily rejected Adachi, causing him to go insane in anger and inadvertently push her inside the TV behind her. Surprised, he laughs in amazement at his new mighty power. The first illusion ends and Adachi summons another Reaper to attack the investigation team.
Yukiko, Chie, and Rise decide to hold back the next Reaper and allow Yu, Teddie, and Yosuke to chase after Adachi. Adachi’s next illusion explains how he killed Saki Konishi. Because Saki was the first person to find Mayumi’s corpse, she had to be interrogated for information. Adachi tried to flirt with Saki in the interrogation room and was quickly rejected once again, motivating him to grab her and force her inside the small TV in the room. He then put his head into the TV and laughed, saying “Beg to me and I’ll let you out!” At that he walks away, remarking that he wouldn’t let her out regardless. Adachi says that Mayumi and Saki got what they deserved; Mayumi cheated on her husband and Saki treated others like crap. As the illusion comes to an end yet another Reaper appears to fight, so Yosuke and Teddie stay behind to fight it while Yu goes on to face the real Adachi.
Adachi congratulates Yu for finding him and explains how Mitsuo Kubo’s copycat killing started to ruin his fun “game”. Adachi himself never really had much of a motive behind his cruel actions, he did it because it was fun and he could. He tells Yu that the TV world is what’s responsible for the murders and that he never “intended” to kill anybody. The Investigation Team’s many attempts to find the true killer had him laughing more and more at the situations inside the TV world. Adachi says his only true motive was to make Inaba a more exciting place, since his job as a detective forced him to be sent down into such a boring countryside. He praises Yu for saving the “game” by successfully rescuing Mitsuo and Namatame. Adachi walks up to Yu and proclaims that he would have gotten away with everything if the investigation team had just stuck with their studies, gone to college, and gotten married like most good kids. Unaffected by Adachi’s cold words, Yu calls him out as nothing more than a pathetic and lonely man. This angers Adachi, who says that wasn’t going to do anything to him at first but that now he will make sure the team has no part in the new world that he will rule. Yu simply stares back and tells him to “Bring it on”. Blinded by hatred, Adachi summons his persona: “Magatsu Izagi”. Yu responds by summoning Izanagi of the Fool Arcana and clashes with Adachi.
Some people will find this revelation about Adachi being the killer executed well, while others may have found this to be completely obvious. Adachi has always stood out among the cast of characters and hopefully many people were able to suspect him. This was a character that not only fed info to the group on numerous occasions, but was also constantly acting convinced that one suspect after another was the killer. Way back when Rise was introduced, Adachi quickly arrested one of her stalkers and hastily claimed he was the murderer. Many people overlooked this and thought it was just part of Adachi’s typical goofy personality.
While the reveal itself is not that surprising, I did think Adachi’s true personality was one hell of a twist; he was nothing more than a selfish man who wanted women and power, symbolizing a lot of ignorant male adults in our world who really don’t care about anything but themselves. He really best fits as the killer; there’s nothing more evil than a culprit who did everything for fun and found the whole affair to be just an entertaining “game”.
Adachi wasn’t the only one who was unmasked, as Teddie turns out to be a shadow who gained a personality and form from human thoughts. It makes sense; his original design resembled a Teddy Bear, and it’s safe to assume he was mostly born from the thoughts of children. Teddie has always been one of my favorite characters, as his entire story has to do with discovering who you are and facing reality no matter how hard it is. I did feel like Teddie’s development was handled better in the original game, though. This anime tries a bit too hard to force plot points down your throat, rather than slowly reveal and develop them to help viewers fully understand and appreciate what’s going on. I can’t stress enough to fans that they should still definitely play the video game after seeing this animation in order to get the full experience. On a side note, I also liked how this adaption brings up the fact that Yosuke is really jealous of Yu. It was a good laugh to see that Yu didn’t forget that he originally punched Yosuke when they first started to become friends.
The best change is when Adachi summons Reapers to defeat the Investigation Team once and for all. “The Reaper” is known to be the most feared shadow in Persona 3 and 4, due to its massive power and frightening presence.
This penultimate episode ends on a dramatic note with Yu confronting Adachi and discovering how crazy he really is. Adachi summoning “Magatsu Izanagi” is a great final twist; while I won’t spoil anything here, it’s not a coincidence that Yu and Adachi share similar main Persona. This episode is definitely my favorite so far because it really gets across what Yu and his friends are trying to accomplish. Their foe is an ignorant and twisted man who strongly believes that kids should face the reality that life is nothing more than shit. Ignoring Adachi’s empty words, Yu and the Seekers of the Truth are ready to stand tall, change the world for the better, and face it by being who they really are on the inside.
