SOGABE SHUUJI

Inaba is a sleepy countryside town that has recently been the center of a string of mysterious serial murders. While his parents head abroad for work, Souji Seta moves into the town to live with his uncle for the year. He enrolls at Yasogami High School, where he is placed in the same class as the bold Chie Satonaka, the rowdy Yosuke Hanamura, and the refined Yukiko Amagi. The four quickly become friends and begin to hang out after school, where Chie asks Souji if he has ever heard of the "Midnight Channel"—a channel one can view on their turned-off TV when they are alone at midnight during rainy weather. It is said that while staring at one's reflection on the screen, their soulmate will appear instead. Believing it to be an urban legend, Souji, Chie, and Yosuke decide to tune in at the stroke of midnight, when they witness a classmate of theirs appear on the screen. When the same classmate ends up being the next victim in the serial murders, the three of them realize that the mysterious Midnight Channel is somehow involved. As the police struggle to find any leads, Souji and his new friends decide to investigate the mystery themselves, beginning a search that takes them not only across Inaba, but also into a mysterious parallel world beyond the TV. Based off the video game of the same name.

On the surface, SEES—the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad—is a completely normal club at Gekkoukan High School. In reality, they are a group of students who investigate a phenomenon known as the "Dark Hour" and eliminate beings known as "Shadows." Only select individuals with "potential" can remember the occurrence of the Dark Hour while others will "transmogrify" into coffins and become susceptible to Apathy Syndrome—a condition that puts its victims in a trance-like state and causes them to lose their will to live. Transfer student Minato Arisato is one such individual who can remember the events that occur during the Dark Hour, even though he is not aware of his ability. The moment he arrives at the school, he meets a mysterious person who asks him to sign a contract saying he will take responsibility for his own actions. Afterward, he is confronted by the members of SEES, who place him under secret surveillance because they believe he possesses a potential far greater than any of the other members. One night, Minato is abruptly awakened by Yukari Takeba when a Shadow comes to attack their dormitory during the Dark Hour. Feeling compelled to fight the Shadow, he picks up Yukari's gun but, instead of shooting the Shadow, he turns it on himself, awakening his "Persona." Equipped with his newfound powers, Minato joins SEES to uncover the mystery behind the mysterious phenomenon. Based on the PS2 game of the same name.