Persona 5 Royal Fans Spot Clever Sailor Moon Shout-Out

After a long wait, Atlus released Persona 5 to major critical and commercial success back in 2016 (and 2017 in North America). But like its previous releases in the past, Atlus will soon be debuting a new updated version of the game with new characters, scenarios, and other additional boosts and buffs. This new version, Persona 5 Royal, will be releasing this October in Japan and fans recently got a full new look at the upcoming game with a new trailer.

This newest trailer featured more of the newest addition to the Phantom Thieves, Kasumi Yoshizawa, and fans noticed one clever shout out to Sailor Moon’s famous transformation sequence. You can see it in the clip noted by @RedMakuzawa on Twitter below.

The beginning minute or so of the newest Persona 5 Royal trailer sees the new character Kasumi full transform into her Phantom Thieves look by taking putting her hands above her head and spinning around in a sparkling circle. This is a close parallel to Usagi Tsukino’s transformation into Sailor Moon, where she also spins around in a sparkling pirouette before donning her Sailor Scout costume.

There’s not much known about Kasumi’s inclusion into the Persona 5 story just yet, but touches like these will certainly make her a quick fan favorite among the previously established confidants and Phantom Thieves friend group. But fans will be able to find out more about her soon enough as Persona 5 Royal is currently scheduled for a release October 31 in Japan.

Persona 5 Royal will be coming to North America, Europe, and Asia at a currently unconfirmed date in 2020. The new updated game features new character Kasumi, new confidants, enhanced graphics, a new semester to explore with both school and Phantom Thieves work, and will feature new Mementos additions as well.

As for Sailor Moon, the series was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi for Nakayoshi magazine in 1991. More than 20 years later, Sailor Moon stands as one of the most influential shojo series ever created; popularizing the magical girl sub-genre with fans all over the world. The series can currently be found streaming on Hulu, and they describe Sailor Moon as such, “Usagi Tsukino is a clumsy but kindhearted teenage girl who transforms into the powerful guardian of love and justice, Sailor Moon. Meeting allies along the way who share similar fates, Usagi and her team of planetary Sailor Guardians fight to protect the universe from forces of evil and total annihilation.”