Warning: mild spoilers for Persona 5 ahead, particularly surrounding the characters that become Phantom Thieves. I highly recommend not watching the opening for P5R if you wish to remain spoiler-free in this regard.
An updated version of Persona 5 is dropping this Halloween in Japan, with a Western release slated for 2020. However, the opening dropped today, and it is brand new like the opening of Persona 4 Golden before it.
Many have been commenting on this new intro, Colors Flying High, and comparing it to the original, Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There. There are definitely many differences between the two, so much so that they feel like two different products entirely.
Get Out There has a very limited color pallet of the traditional Persona 5 colors: red, black, grey, and white. The few exceptions to this can be found in the eye and hair colors of Ann, Yusuke, and Ryuji, as well as the uniforms of Caroline and Justine and the hair of Futaba. Every other aspect of the intro is very uniform to this color pallet. Get Out There also uses a blend of 2D and 3D animations, with characters animated in 2D and several buildings around them being rendered in 3D. The two animation styles fit together quite nicely, but it does create a bit of dissonance. I think that works to the intro’s benefit, but I’ll explain why later.
Colors Flying High has a very different approach. For one, as the name would imply, it’s a lot more colorful. The animation is interesting in that it counterplays the limited color pallet of the original with vibrant pop-art colors. The real world is colored in the same reds and greys, with a bit more generous but still strict use of yellows and blues. The more fantastical parts that appear to take place in the cognitive world, however, use these vibrant colors. After the title appears, the characters are also rendered in full color throughout the opening, even in the real world. The opening is also either entirely hand-drawn, or is much better at hiding the 3D elements.
This may seem a bit bizarre at first- why would The Royal forego the stylistic choices of the original? I believe this is because the two intros have different ideas of what they want to achieve, and this is very evident by how they convey information.
The opening of the original Persona 5 seems to have one goal in mind: introduce the characters and a little bit about their personality, without giving too much away about their role in the story. Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ann are shown in their Phantom Thieves outfits, but they are seen from far away, and their faces can’t be seen unless you pause the intro to take a closer look (which you can’t do with an intro to a video game).
Instead, the three are more properly introduced in their normal outfits, playing around in ways that are quite befitting of their personalities. Ryuji is being reckless and sliding around on the curb of a street; Yusuke is elegantly painting graffiti on the walls; and Ann is joyfully performing a figure skating spin in the rain, on concrete. These characters are shown to each be rebellious in their own ways. Morgana gets an introductory shot, showing his two forms as bipedal mascot and traditional cat, and Futaba, Haru, and Makoto get their own introductory shot showcasing their own personalities. Futaba is hard at work typing on the computer, Haru is idly snacking, and Makoto is pausing from writing in a book, presumably homework. Finally, the Velvet Room gets a little time to shine, although its inhabitants are kept even more vague. The whole intro gives us tastes of each of the main players without revealing their roles in the story or too much about their background, their relationships to one another, or even their Personas. This secret is further kept by the title screen, which has the silhouettes of the characters masked in red with white masks concealing their identities. Also, Akechi isn’t present at all except at the very back of the title screen, making his joining the Phantom Thieves even more of a surprise.
Meanwhile, Colors Flying High is much more blunt. Each of the Phantom Thieves gets their time in the sun both in their Phantom Thieves outfits and in their normal clothes, making it incredibly apparent who is who. While each character get a shot to themselves in the cognitive world, the emphasis here is on the team as a unit. They are depicted often in group shots interacting with each other, whereas the original was much more sparse with its character interactions. Interestingly enough, the only exception to this is the new Phantom Thief, Kasumi, who gets a lone shot to herself in the limited color pallet similar to the intro. She dances in the rain similar to Ann, although the ripples she makes on the ground are the new exciting colors. Also, in case you were wondering, Akechi IS is the intro this time, although he does not get a cool shot of his Phantom Thief outfit. He does get a shot of him and Joker lying together in a pile of diamonds though, so take that as you will.
So, why the shift? Well, a lot of it has to do with perception of Persona 5 then versus Persona 5 now, as well as the goals of each version of the game. When Persona 5 first dropped in 2016, the game was placing characters into a new world with new characters, since the Persona games each tell their own contained stories. Thus, the intro needed to focus on character introduction, but also on creating a sense of mystery to draw players in. The limited color pallet also served to introduce new players to P5’s unique style and motifs.
Three years have passed, and Persona 5 has taken the world by storm. The game has sold over two million copies, and Joker broke ground as the first Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character. As many have noted, Persona 5 broke the series out into the mainstream in a big and bold way, with its flashy art style and gripping characters. People know who the Phantom Thieves are now- and they know it.
I mentioned earlier the dissonance of the characters and the backgrounds in the original intro. This ties into the main motif of Persona 5, of a group of teenagers who don’t fit into the world around them. The characters still lead normal lives as good little schoolchildren, but still find their own means of rebellion and self-fulfillment. They don’t fit in, sure, but they don’t care. They’ll dance through the street and live life to the fullest anyway, with the hopes that maybe someday they’ll be recognized by the world around them and accepted.
Now, the public has welcomed them with open arms. The Phantom Thieves have made an impact on the world around them, and have much more freedom of expression. At this point, you already know who the Phantom Thieves are. The mystery is gone, and now players are just along for the ride. As a result of this, the intro is much more lively. The characters get to boldly show both halves of themselves. They not-so-subtly bash through the limited-color-pallet buildings with colorful baseball bats and play around in piles of diamonds as if playing in the snow. Every character gets to be expressive and have fun as a collective unit. In a way, it feels like a love letter to fans of the original who already love these characters and have come back for more, and a victory lap for a group of teenagers who shot for the moon and made it to Mars.
The original asked its players to wake up, get up, and get out there. Now that we have, what’s next? To let our colors fly high and take pride in what we have achieved, of course. Thus, the two intros act as parts of a whole, with the quiet rebellion and rapturous celebration.