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- Certification
- Sex & Nudity (14)
- Violence & Gore (5)
- Profanity (3)
- Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking (5)
- Frightening & Intense Scenes (4)
- Spoilers (8)
Certification
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Sex & Nudity
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- Many of the scenes and themes are sexual and suggestive throughout the anime, but no intercourse or explicit nudity is ever shown.
- Throughout the series, many characters have to face their "inner selves" called Shadows. These Shadows represent the character's repressed emotions and feelings, some of which are sexual.
- Yukiko's shadow flirts with viewers of the Midnight Channel, claiming that her "lacy unmentionables are ready to go, just like her heart". Her shadow also says that it "wants to score a hot stud".
- Kanji's shadow makes several homoerotic passes at the main male heroes (for humorous reactions, they aren't attracted whatsoever). His shadow acts in the stereotyped "gay" fashion and runs around wearing only a bath towel. During the fight against it, Kanji's shadow has two muscle-bound henchmen that make homosexual passes at the male heroes again and lightly gropes their butts (the scene isn't meant to be erotic, just played for laughs at the humiliation of the males).
- Rise's shadow is the most sexual, wearing a skimpy bikini and claiming that she'll bare her naked body to everyone watching the Midnight Channel (she never does). The camera zooms in on her cleavage and bottom a few times as she taunts the heroes. When they go to find her, they discover she is hiding out in a strip club. Nothing is shown as the club is empty aside for monsters, but later on Rise's shadow proceeds to pole dance. The scene only lasts a few seconds.
- The character Teddie is a wannabe ladies man. He frequently flirts with girls and older women for comical reasons. In an episode, he appears completely nude in a bear suit, covered from the waist-down.
- Kanji is introduced as a homosexual and frequently teased about being gay a few times during the series, although after his shadow is defeated, he claims to be straight. In one scene, an overweight girl rolls over onto him, shoving his face into her cleavage, making him blush. The next morning, the same girl "breaks up with him", claiming that the previous night never happened (the scene is comedic in nature).
- On a field trip, a class of high-schoolers spends the night in a hotel. They later learn that it's actually a love hotel (a Japanese hotel used mainly to have sex in). The girls and boys stay in separate rooms, but inside the beds rotate and play romantic music for laughs.
- A nurse tries to seduce Yu, who dismisses her advances.
- In one episode, the characters go to relax and bathe in hot springs. The boys (only wearing towels) accidentally come in on the bathing girls, who are also naked (but their bodies are shown from the neck up). The girls then proceed to throw buckets at them, yelling to get out. In a later scene, the boys ask each other if they "saw anything".
- A group of boys sneak into a girl's hotel room at night, trying to raid through their belongings and peek on them. One character comically sniffs a girl's toothbrush.
- One of the females with large breasts is jokingly referred to as "melons" and "funbags".
- In the infamous King's Game scene, the heroes (who are underaged teenagers) become drunk (see Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking). They proceed to play a "truth or dare" type game and one of the girls has to sit on a boy's lap. One girl lays her head on his lap while another discusses other embarrassing dares.
- Nanako, a seven-year old girl, says that a lady called her brother a "manwhore". Later, she innocently asks if the boys are "horny", not knowing what it means.
Violence & Gore
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- The main plot of the anime is a group of teenagers trying to solve a string of violent murders. Despite this, hardly any blood and no gore whatsoever is shown throughout the series.
- The victims are killed by being thrown into the TV World, a few days later when the fog sets in, they are killed by their own Shadows. No blood is shown, but their decaying corpses are shown from a distance - hanging inverted from telephone poles.
- Several of the characters fight monsters and shadows using Personas. The Personas fight the monsters using swordplay and magic, the violence is bloodless but very stylized as the monsters typically explode into black smoke.
- The Shadows are very violent, trying to kill and humiliate their original owners.
- At one point, Yu cuts his finger while peeling fruit. A small drop of blood is shown.
Profanity
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- Words such as "sh*t", "piss", "damn", "douchebag", "bastard" and "bitch" are said throughout, sometimes even casually.
- "F*ck" is said twice, with "p*ssy" and "twat" being used once to describe a cowardly character. Religious exclamations are used sparingly, mostly out of shock.
- Sexual terms such as "horny" and "manwhore" are used once by Nanako, who as a child doesn't understand the meanings (it's played off for comical effect). In another scene, a character who has well-endowed breasts is comically referred to as "funbags" and "melons".
Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking
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- Dojima, a cop, is a chain-smoker.
- A few characters in the show drink beer and alcohol, many are shown as drunk (for comical situations and other times, serious ones). One of the characters is shown to be heavily drinking out of depression after cheating on his wife. In another scene, Dojima and Adachi are shown having dinner while the latter is drunk (the scene is meant for laughs though).
- In another scene, the main party hangs out at a nightclub (they are all underage). They then proceed to accidentally consume alcoholic beverages and have slurred speech and goofy mannerisms. Yu (who is underaged), drunkenly demands more drinks for comedic effect. After the scene, we learn from Naoto that the drinks were never alcoholic and that their "drunkenness" was merely the power of persuasion.
- One of the high-schoolers works at a liquor store.
- A teacher humorously becomes drunk and the next morning, vomits into a river (isn't shown).
Frightening & Intense Scenes
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- The entire series, while being mostly lighthearted and comedic throughout, becomes rapidly dark and depressing towards the end. Several of the monsters in the Midnight Channel are frightening and grotesque. One of the villains appears as a beautiful woman in white, but it's later revealed that her true form is a rotting corpse. Her face is graphically decomposed with glowing red eyes and her body is made up of several spines and bones. Most of the time though, her face is hidden in shadow.
- Most of the TV World is spooky and frightening, being filled with fog and destroyed buildings. The world is constantly gloomy and dark, swarming with demonic monsters.
- The appearance of the Shadows may be scary, as they resemble humans but with yellow irises and black over the whites of their eyes. Once they transform, a few of the shadows resemble monsterous demons.
- The reveal of the true murderer can be an intense shock, as it completely defies their original, kind personality.
Spoilers
Sex & Nudity
- Naoto's shadow deals with repressed gender-identity issues and subtly hints at giving the real Naoto a sex change operation, though this never happens. It is later revealed that Naoto is actually female, having pretended to be a boy because otherwise, the police force wouldn't respect her as a detective.
Violence & Gore
- Dojima gets into a severe car crash while chasing Namatame. We later see him in the hospital with several bandages and casts.
- The true murderer, Adachi, is revealed to be an insane psychopath. He spouts threats about murdering the heroes (who are only a group of teenagers) and stabs Yu's Persona through the chest using his own Persona (Yu cries out in agony). Later, he points a loaded gun at Yu's head, toying with him as his monsters pummel the other heroes. We later see him attempt to commit suicide, but is stopped. The entire fight with the true killer is very dark and intense, as winning seems hopeless.
- Later at the end of the series in the final battle against Izanami, it's revealed that all of the heroes except for Yu have been killed. However, after her defeat, they are revived.
Frightening & Intense Scenes
- In one episode, it's revealed that Nanako's mother was killed in a hit-and-run. The episode is mainly sad, as Nanako feels that her father, Ryotaro Dojima, cares more for catching the culprit then he does about her well-being.
- One of the villains is shown to be mentally unstable, kidnapping people and throwing them into the TV World. Although he thinks he's saving them, he is unaware that his actions will lead to their deaths. He kidnaps a little girl at one point and threatens to kill her, becoming possessed by his Shadow. Later on, the heroes attempt to murder the man in his hospital room while he begs for mercy. The scene is very dark as some of the happy, jovial heroes quickly descend into thoughts of revenge (they spare his life).
- In another scene, the same man tearfully tells about how he had to watch his wife and an innocent girl be murdered on the Midnight Channel by monsters - we watch as it happens. The scene is one of the most emotionally intense in the series.
- Towards the end of the anime, Nanako dies. It's undoubtedly the most depressing scene in the series. Several characters weep for her death as her father and brother seek to kill the culprit out of revenge. Later though it is revealed that she miraculously survives.
