It’s Time to Revive the Persona 3 Anime Movie Series

Persona 3 Reload finally brought one of my favorite JRPGs of all time to modern audiences in a way that matches the visuals and quality-of-life features of games coming out today. Now that this wish of mine is finally granted, it is time to look ahead to the future. For instance, how it is currently nigh-impossible to legally watch the excellent Persona 3 anime movies. Persona 3 The Movie was the first in this quartet of films, coming out in Japan on November 23, 2013. Each movie came out about a year after one another, with the final one — Winter of Rebirth — dropping in 2016. What may be surprising about this situation is how relatively new (so to speak) these movies are. Image via Aniplex After all, the final movie in the series came out not even 10 years ago at this time. This is quite intriguing since the original Persona 3 came out in 2006. In fact, these movies are even newer than the Persona 4 anime series. It came out in 2011 and even its Golden version came out in 2014. That said, there is a stark difference between the Persona 3 anime movies and the anime adaptations of both Persona 4 and 5. Both of the latter series are available to stream right now legally on services like Crunchyroll. Despite the Persona 3 movies being newer than the Persona 4 anime, it isn’t available to stream anywhere. In fact, if you would like to watch these movies legally, you would have to buy the physical copies of the films or a digital version. And, to be frank, good luck with that. Not only are the physical copies hard to find, but they are quite expensive these days. Furthermore, there seems to be a digital version you can get of these films, but it is only available on Amazon Prime as of right now. Buying digital copies isn’t the most sure-fire solution, especially when it’s only on one platform, and things could change anytime. In addition, it would cost $60 to get all four movies this way. There is a rental option, but then you only have a limited set of time to watch them. It would be much better if you could stream these movies on a service like Netflix or Crunchyroll. This was possible in the past, and is how I watched them, but no longer is the case. Image via Aniplex It truly is a shame that the Persona 3 anime movies are unavailable to stream because more fans of the series deserve to see them. I get if you are jaded by the anime adaptations of these masterpiece JRPGs since both Persona 4 and 5’s anime series are a bit lackluster. However, that isn’t the case at all with their Persona 3 counterpart. For one, the visuals of these movies are incredible. These are movies for a reason, rather than a TV series, and it shows in the quality and budget of the series. Studio A-1 Pictures —that worked on movies 2-4 — is hit-or-miss sometimes when it comes to its animation quality, but these movies are some of the best work the studio has ever done. It captures the dark and grim aesthetics of the original JRPG so well. In addition, having the movies divided up into four movies gives just enough time to do most of the story justice. Sure, you don’t get some of the side stories here. That said, thankfully, most of the main plot points happen and are done well. In addition, you get just enough time with certain characters to experience their full arc before tragic events happen. Plus, bringing back the Persona 3 anime movies would allow a service like Crunchyroll to finally dub them. It is a shame there is no official dub for them at this time. With the recent release of the original game’s remake, Persona 3 Reload, in 2024, now feels like the perfect time for these to return. Here’s hoping the Persona 3 anime movies come back soon. After all, fans of the series and this game, in particular, are missing out otherwise. Persona 3 Reload is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The post It’s Time to Revive the Persona 3 Anime Movie Series appeared first on Siliconera.

Mar 2, 2025 - 06:30

It’s Time to Revive the Persona 3 Anime Movie Series

Persona 3 Reload finally brought one of my favorite JRPGs of all time to modern audiences in a way that matches the visuals and quality-of-life features of games coming out today. Now that this wish of mine is finally granted, it is time to look ahead to the future. For instance, how it is currently nigh-impossible to legally watch the excellent Persona 3 anime movies.

Persona 3 The Movie was the first in this quartet of films, coming out in Japan on November 23, 2013. Each movie came out about a year after one another, with the final one — Winter of Rebirth — dropping in 2016. What may be surprising about this situation is how relatively new (so to speak) these movies are.

After all, the final movie in the series came out not even 10 years ago at this time. This is quite intriguing since the original Persona 3 came out in 2006. In fact, these movies are even newer than the Persona 4 anime series. It came out in 2011 and even its Golden version came out in 2014.

That said, there is a stark difference between the Persona 3 anime movies and the anime adaptations of both Persona 4 and 5. Both of the latter series are available to stream right now legally on services like Crunchyroll. Despite the Persona 3 movies being newer than the Persona 4 anime, it isn’t available to stream anywhere.

In fact, if you would like to watch these movies legally, you would have to buy the physical copies of the films or a digital version. And, to be frank, good luck with that. Not only are the physical copies hard to find, but they are quite expensive these days. Furthermore, there seems to be a digital version you can get of these films, but it is only available on Amazon Prime as of right now.

Buying digital copies isn’t the most sure-fire solution, especially when it’s only on one platform, and things could change anytime. In addition, it would cost $60 to get all four movies this way. There is a rental option, but then you only have a limited set of time to watch them. It would be much better if you could stream these movies on a service like Netflix or Crunchyroll. This was possible in the past, and is how I watched them, but no longer is the case.

It truly is a shame that the Persona 3 anime movies are unavailable to stream because more fans of the series deserve to see them. I get if you are jaded by the anime adaptations of these masterpiece JRPGs since both Persona 4 and 5’s anime series are a bit lackluster. However, that isn’t the case at all with their Persona 3 counterpart.

For one, the visuals of these movies are incredible. These are movies for a reason, rather than a TV series, and it shows in the quality and budget of the series. Studio A-1 Pictures —that worked on movies 2-4 — is hit-or-miss sometimes when it comes to its animation quality, but these movies are some of the best work the studio has ever done. It captures the dark and grim aesthetics of the original JRPG so well.

In addition, having the movies divided up into four movies gives just enough time to do most of the story justice. Sure, you don’t get some of the side stories here. That said, thankfully, most of the main plot points happen and are done well. In addition, you get just enough time with certain characters to experience their full arc before tragic events happen.

Plus, bringing back the Persona 3 anime movies would allow a service like Crunchyroll to finally dub them. It is a shame there is no official dub for them at this time. With the recent release of the original game’s remake, Persona 3 Reload, in 2024, now feels like the perfect time for these to return. Here’s hoping the Persona 3 anime movies come back soon. After all, fans of the series and this game, in particular, are missing out otherwise.

Persona 3 Reload is available right now for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post It’s Time to Revive the Persona 3 Anime Movie Series appeared first on Siliconera.