'Persona 5' Anime Reveals Episode Count, Blu-ray Details

Fans have been waiting to experience the anime adaptation of Atlus' major Persona 5 game for quite a while, but they had no idea how long the series would last. Fans were mainly just hoping the anime series would last long enough to do the 80 hour narrative enough justice.

Luckily, according to a retail listing on Animate, Persona 5 the Animation is expected to last two cour, which is about 24 episodes with 12 episodes each half.

Persona 5 the Animation is set to premiere April 7 in Japan, and the retail listings for the Blu-ray and DVD releases of the anime have already been announced. The home video releases will consist of 12 volumes, with the first volume release containing two episodes. Although the 24 episode count is not set in stone, the number of episodes per volume indicates the 24 episode release plan.

Aniplex of America, who have licensed the series in the West, describes Persona 5 the Animation as such:

"Ren Amamiya is about to enter his second year after transferring to Shujin Academy in Tokyo. Following a particular incident, his Persona awakens, and together with his friends they form the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts" to reform hearts of corrupt adults by stealing the source of their distorted desires.

Meanwhile, bizarre and inexplicable crimes have been popping up one after another…Living an ordinary high school life in Tokyo during the day, the group maneuvers the metropolitan city as Phantom Thieves after hours.Let the curtain rise for this grand, picaresque story!"

The full voice cast for Persona 5 the Animation includes Jun Fukuyama as the main character Ren Amamiya, Mamoru Miyano as Ryuji Sakamoto, Ikue Otani as Morgana, Nana Mizuki as Anne Takamaki, Tomokazu Sugita as Yusuke Kitagawa, Rina Satou as Makoto Niijima, Aoi Yūki as Futaba Sakura, Haruka Tomatsu as Haru Okumura, and Sōichiro Hoshi as Goro Akechi.

Persona 5 the Animation will be directed by Masashi Ishiyama (From the New World), and the game's original producer Katsura Hashino created for the original concept. Shinichi Inotsume (Hayate the Combat Butler) will handle the scripts for the series, and Shoji Meguro, who composed the music for the original game, is returning to compose the music for the series.

If you are not familiar with the Persona franchise, then you have a bit to catch up on. The series is a wildly popular RPG franchise from Japan. Its fifth game is set in Tokyo and follows gamers as their self-named protagonist transfers to a new school. Gamers then awaken their Persona powers and use them to become masked vigilantes who work to stop supernatural enemies from stealing the hearts of adults.

Persona 5 is available now for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3.