Such a strong case of accentuating of the negative in this review. Isn't it contradictory to say that the anime goes out of its way to get the little things right, and then claim that it "does everything wrong" just because you feel that the overall narrative suffered? It doesn't help that you aren't really motivating WHY the narrative didn't work and WHAT they should have done differently. It all comes down to nitpicking.
With the main character it's not like they had a lot to work with so they decided to play off his lack of character completely straight. His lack of character IS his character. The animation has its "quality" moments indeed but it also has moments that look really impressive such as the action sequences. Overall, it is way above average in technical aspects. It definitely isn't "awful".
I have my pet peeves about the anime as well but you're giving it way less credit than it deserves. I find it ironic that your main complaint is about the anime getting hung up on the little things when your review does exactly the same.
Isn't it contradictory to say that the anime goes out of its way to get the little things right, and then claim that it "does everything wrong" just because you feel that the overall narrative suffered?
Not really. The overall narrative suffering is the last thing that should happen in a story. And the game mechanics don't need to be there at all
It doesn't help that you aren't really motivating WHY the narrative didn't work and WHAT they should have done differently
He was up against the character limit, cut him some slack. But I can field this one, anyway: The whole thing feels really disjointed, and simultaneously very slow (lots of focus on things unrelated to the plot) and noticeably rushed (boss fights just kind of end). It needed to be streamlined; cut out some of the social links, put more focus on the main plot
With the main character it's not like they had a lot to work with so they decided to play off his lack of character completely straight. His lack of character IS his character.
This didn't really work. It feels unnatural and detracts from any scene in which he's important
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An Adaptation That Does Everything Wrong
It is impossible to discuss this show independently of the game that its based on, as it tries to be so faithful to the source material that it fails to stand alone as an independent work. The show's creators were obviously trying to design a show that it incredibly close to Persona 4 the game, but they seemed to only select facets of the original game that feel disjointed and clunky when placed in an anime. The show is faithful to the details of the game's mechanic instead of taking the central narrative of Persona 4 and redesigning it to conform to the structure of an anime.
There are too many failures in Persona 4 the Animation to mention in a single review. The animation is awful, and the show suffers from far too many "Quality" moments. The art design is inconsistent, as the game's cartoonish look does not transfer to the show. Thus, all the Personas that Yu summons other than his initial one seem entirely out of the place with the aesthetic of the rest of the show. In addition, they failed to give the protagonist of the show any sort of character at all. He completely fails to carry the weight of the adaptation, despite the other characters maintaining much of their charm. Other aspects of the original game that fail in a televised setting are the frequent trips to the Velvet Room that contribute nothing to the show's plot or characters, the calender system that comes off as confusing and unnecessary, and the attempt to cram in every social link that robs most character interaction of any depth. Persona 4 the Animation loses much of the subtlety of the original game despite, or maybe because of, its purported faithfulness to the source material. The video game is certainly not perfect in its portrayal of sensitive topics such as Kanji's sexuality, but it is certainly less outright offensive than its animated counterpart.
There are some aspects of the show that deserve some praise, such as the soundtrack. The music is excellent, though unlike in the game it is not used effectively. Sometimes the music simply doesn't seem to fit the scene being played out. I understand that some fans appreciate that Persona 4 the Animation is a an adaptation so faithful that it even references game mechanics such as elemental weaknesses. It is sad to see an adaptation, however, that tries so hard to reference its source material that it misses the point.