Being just a normal student without a special talent, Makoto Naegi wins a lottery to attend the prestigious Hope’s Peak Academy where only the top prodigies attend. However, instead of this being the beginning of a wonderful high school life, it’s a ticket to despair, because the only way to graduate from Hope’s Peak Academy is to kill one of your fellow students or be one of their victims.

Persona 4: The Animation is a television anime series produced by AIC ASTA and directed by Seiji Kishi, based on the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 video game by Atlus. The story revolves around the protagonist, Yu Narukami, who acquires a mysterious power called “Persona” and embarks on a journey with his new friends to uncover the truth behind a bizarre series of murders involving a distorted TV World. The series aired in Japan between October 2011 and March 2012, with a film adaptation released in June 2012 and an original video animation episode released in August 2012. The series is licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.

The year is Post Disaster 323. More than 300 years after a great war between Earth and Mars known as the “Calamity War”, Mars has been successfully terraformed and colonized by humans. However even with the technological advancements, the humans on Mars crave freedom against the government of Earth and seek to improve their livelihoods. Furthermore, while most of Mars’ nations have received autonomy, the planet is virtually dependent on Earth for economic development. A young orphan named Mikazuki Augus is part of a group of children who work for the civilian security company Chryse Guard Security, entrusted with the safety of the Martian Princess Kudelia Aina Bernstein, who has plans for her nation of Chryse to secure independence from Earth. One day, the group was attacked by the Earth Military organization Gjallarhorn, which aims to stop the Martian independence movement. During the attack, the leader of the children and the Third Army Division within CGS, Orga Itsuka, decides to rebel against the adults and higher-ups who had escaped and left the children and foot-soldiers to remain and fight as decoys. Augus must now choose to either follow his friends, or his mission as he stumbles into the legendary mobile suit: the Gundam Barbatos.