Despite the huge success of its debut and ongoing popularity, Persona 5 hasn’t been given quite the same love by manufacturers that is has by its own fans. The game continues the franchise with the story of the Phantom Thieves, which the protagonist is part of. It’s already spawned a spin-off rhythm title that is in development now, which features almost the entire cast in various outfits, getting down to the game’s most popular songs and remixes.
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Fan-created merchandise and zines continue to soar on places like redbubble and Etsy, but it’s taken just a bit longer for more official producers to get involved in the Phantom Thief hype, which, apparently, ends today. This past weekend at Wonder Festival, a massive Japanese toy show, a total of eleven new pieces of Persona 5 merchandise made their debuts, and all of them come in the form of figurines and statues.
Here’s a little more about the game, just in case (for some reason) you find yourself needing to catch up:
Persona 5 is a game about the internal and external conflicts of a group of troubled high school students – the protagonist and a collection of compatriots he meets in the game’s story – who live dual lives as Phantom Thieves. They have the typically ordinary day-to-day of a Tokyo high schooler – attending class, after school activities and part-time jobs. But they also undertake fantastical adventures by using otherworldly powers to enter the hearts of people. Their power comes from the Persona, the Jungian concept of the “self;” the game’s heroes realize that society forces people to wear masks to protect their inner vulnerabilities, and by literally ripping off their protective mask and confronting their inner selves do the heroes awaken their inner power, and use it to strive to help those in need. Ultimately, the group of Phantom Thieves seeks to change their day-to-day world to match their perception and see through the masks modern-day society wears.
The statues include characters like Ann Tamaki, Futaba Sakura (twice) and more, with announcements that also confirm even more figurines in the future. Check ’em all out below.
Ann Tamaki – Max Factory
Most of the figurines, statues and toys that debuted for Persona 5 are still in prototype mode, unpainted and only on display in Japan, where production is set to continue. The first of these is Ann Tamaki in her Panther costume from Max Factory, which looks like it’s going to be really cool collectible once it’s available. The figurine will come with a stand and will be able to pose in various ways, which is great for collectors like this writer who have way too much time on their hands and create dioramas featuring their favorite statues. Guilty as charged, whoops!ย
Yosuke Kitagawa – Max Factory
Alongside Ann, a figurine of Yosuke Kitagawa was announced, which will feature his Fox costume. The full photo hardly does it justice (mainly because this costume is just so cool) so hopefully we’ll have a better look at this particular outfit later on this year when Max Factory announces an official release date, hopefully sooner rather than later. Fox form Yosukeย is something of a fan favorite, so if you were hoping to take this guy home in some way or another, now you’ve got a viable and less creepy way to do so. After all, you can’t charm him in the game, which is a total crime.ย
Protagonist Prototype – Phat Company
Next up from Phat Company, a protoype version of Persona 5’s protagonist in his school uniform. Featuring a dynamic pose that firmly cements this guy as one of the coolest looking nerds ever, this figurine also came with announcements that Ann Tamaki in her Dancing Star Night outfit would be heading into production shortly.ย
Arsene Prototype – Megahouse
Megahouse has quite a bit to offer this time around, with an unpainted prototype of Joker’s persona, Arsene. Arsene is kind of a force to be reckoned with, and even without colors, it’s pretty easy to see why one might have to be half-crazed in order to take on our erstwhile protagonist while he’s in Joker mode. Alas, they still do, and that’s why we get to have this really cool figure to admire.ย
Akechi – Kotobukiya
Kotobukiya, that beloved creator of anime-style comic book heroine statues (among others, but let’s be real about what matters) comes a gorgeous ARTFX prototype of Akechi in his Crow costume. Akechi is expected to take part in Persona 5 Dancing Star Night, so maybe he’ll get a special statue from that game soon, too. In the meantime, let’s look at that beautiful face and hope for the best, since he obviously deserves the world (and might end up taking it for himself anyway). Kotobukiyaย is pretty well-known for interchangableย parts, so hopefully there will be more to this one than meets the eye.ย
Futaba and Joker Nendoroids
From Goodsmile, the mega powerhouse behind the Nendoroid craze, comes fan favorite breakout starย Futaba Sakura, tiny and adorable and ready to kick butt.ย Goodsmile also announced that a Joker Nendoroid is set to debut, bringing even more of our beloved, snarky protagonist to the masses soon. He looks super cute, despite only having a drawing to go off of, so hopefully we’ll see more of this one soon.
Stay tuned for updates and release dates on all of the figures pictured above.ย
Persona 5 is available now. for the PlayStation 3 and the PlayStation 4.ย
Hat tip to DualShockers.ย
