The game version of Persona 5 feels very suited to a stage adaptation, given the whole motif around the Phantom Thieves originated from literature about gentlemen thieves. In fact, references to Arsene Lupin are littered throughout the game, from the cafe home base being named after Maurice Leblanc (the author of the Lupin novels) to the protagonist’s starting persona being Arsene. The stage play adaptation of Persona 5 has been confirmed for December to take place in theaters in Japan.
The announcement came from a SEGA and Atlus live stream that commemorated the second Persona 5 stage adaptation’s release on DVD and BluRay. Within that live stream came another announcement that fans would be able to watch the stream again on May 10. The Persona 5 stage plays will be shown in theaters both in Osaka and Yokohama, cities that have seen previous versions of the stage play in 2019 and 2020. The stream only teased the date for the plays; nothing about the cast or crew was mentioned, although it’s expected that the actors and actresses who previously portrayed the Phantom Thieves will return for this one too.
The stage adaptation is one of many, many spin-offs of the original game that Atlus and SEGA have released, just like how Persona 4 got a very similar treatment. The latest one, Persona 5 Strikers, has continued the success of the Persona series, recently crossing the 1 million mark in sales. Both Persona 5 and its later rerelease Persona 5 Royal have elevated the series to its highest ever status, with Royal being the highest-reviewed game of 2020 – a title it absolutely deserves.
With all the versions of Persona 5 that have come out, a fighting game version is suspiciously absent. A host of Persona 5 web domains have been dropped. Still, some have been renewed – including one that could hint at an upcoming fighting game version in the same mold as Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.
