The Allegory of Whatever :: Manga

PERSONA TSUMI TO BATSU: UNA SUBSTANTIA
Matsueda Naotsugu
Jump Comics
Yes, there was a manga series for Tsumi and Batsu. Yes, it's set in Sumaru City. Yes, Philemon still has his House of Ill-Repute, with a gateway from the Shrine of No Good. There's still a Velvet Room in Yumesaki-ku, disguised as a mask store with a devil-summoning symbol over the door.

No, you won't see the gang from Tsumi OR Batsu in it (except for a cameo by Katsuya).

Darn.

Is it still worth it?

Yeah, sort of.

Una Substantia was a three-volume series that ran in Jump Comics and got published in 2000-2001. (I think the second printing was in late 2001, but I'm not sure of the first printing.) Una Substantia is Latin for "of the same essence," and I think that pretty much sums up this series' relationship to the games we know and love.

How's the art? Well, the art, in my opinion, is gorgeous, very neat and clean and detailed. Everyone has noses so pointy that they could poke someone's eye out with them, but the artist is a guy, so there aren't any huge sparkling eyes.

How's the story? Well...it's not bad, it's a very typical Persona storyline, as you can guess from skimming the character profiles. Take a look at the chapter titles; they're cyclical, with the last chapter being named the same as the first (reminds me of Argent Soma...) However, the manga is extremely...campy at times, especially when it comes to Shimizu and Kazumi. A guy drew it, but it has foppish villains, an extremely effeminate best friend...I can only assume he didn't realize what he was doing, or he was deliberately tapping into the josei market. XD If you're a guy and read this, you may get through it without bursting into laughter the way I did, or even noticing anything unusual, but if you're a female fan, it's got elements that will amuse you.

So who are the characters? Names are in Japanese order, namely last name, first name.

	KIBA KAZUMI (木場一実) This friendly chap is a junior at Seven Sisters High School. He's very friendly and open, and has been best friends (or perhaps more, according to school rumor) with Shimizu Rihito for ten years. (He greets Shimizu by goosing him...um...) Lately he's been having some strange dreams about a man with a butterfly mask who asks him his name...he has pretty cute bed-head. He plays the role of "Hero from Sevens with Hidden Angsty Past." PERSONA: HIEROPHANT Yama
	SHIMIZU RIHITO (清水里人) Kazumi's best friend and one of his classmates at Sevens. He met Kazumi ten years ago at Araya Shrine, when Kazumi accidentally kicked a soccer ball into his head. He's so beautiful that he's a male model for the Nymphea Japon company (his billboards show him lounging about naked near a bottle of cologne, with the tagline "I'm....sinful." This being a Persona series, of course...(highlight for spoilers) it turns out that he's a Minion of Evil working for the Evil Nymphea Japon company. He claims to have secretly hated Kazumi all along, but we all know that in the end the power of "friendship" will turn him good again. You'll notice that he wears the female turtleneck with the male uniform. Yes, that's strange. He also taught Kazumi about tarot cards. Again, that's pretty strange. Gotta love those pimpin' shoes, though. He plays the role of "Nutty Best Friend Who The Hero Met At Araya." PERSONA: JUDGEMENT Archangel, HIEROPHANT Varuna
	NARUI (成衣) A mysterious older woman who helps rescue Kazumi. She's been a Persona-user for about ten years, and lives in the Abandoned Factory with Keito and Rinne. (highlight for spoilers) She's Yakumo's younger sister. Ah, the angst! Their parents were extremely abusive, and Yakumo used his persona to kill them, of course scarring Narui for life. Psychological trauma is to Persona games as leather pants are to Okada Cozy. She plays the role of "Hot Big-Breasted Neesan." PERSONA: JUSTICE Bishamonten, TEMPERANCE Suzaku
	KEITO (計都) An ex-cop, one of the Persona-users hiding in the Abandoned Factory. He's presumed dead; at his 'death' he met his "Goddess," Rinne, and has been hanging out with ever since. He's the chainsmoking gun-toting badass of the group; his ex-partner is one of the Nymphea goons. PERSONA: EMPEROR Indra, EMPEROR Odin
	RINNE (鈴音) A creepy little kid with mysterious powers with lives in the Abandoned Factory with Keito and Narui. Keito calls her his "Goddess," which is also kind of creepy. Her partner in crime is Jack Frost. Personality-wise she flip-flops between a normal prank-playing little girl and a mysterious girl who wields the powers of the Red Book. Did I mention that she was creepy? PERSONA: HIEROPHANT Varuna
	KUSAKA YAKUMO (日下耶雲) The president of Nymphea Japon (the name means "Japanese waterlily"...). He has very special hair, and gives all his little minions silly white costumes and big scythes. He has the Black Book, which seems to be a computer program that extracts and modifies the personae his minions collect, warping them into demons. I wonder if he has magic chiming meditation balls like Kandori does. PERSONA: STRENGTH Naga, NYARLATHOTEP (I assume that's what that black and white thing is)
MINOR CHARACTERS	ITOU (伊藤) One of Kazumi's classmates. She seems to have a crush on him, and is always struggling to suppress the rumors about Kazumi's "special" relationship with Shimizu. laugh Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, Itou. She's kind of a spasmo.
	TSUCHIYA MANA (土屋真那) A girl that Shimizu and Kazumi met at Araya Shrine ten years ago. They played together every day, and she taught them the game "Persona-sama" and a charm based on the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty." No, I am not making this up. This being a Persona story, it's not really much of a spoiler to say that she died, is it? The kids were climbing one of the trees at Araya, a branch broke, and she fell to her death. There was a funeral and everything, and the two living kids supressed their memories, etc etc etc. They blame her death on themselves for whatever reason.
	LAGO One of Yakumo's goofy minions. I call him "Ruffles" because his hair is silly and he has ruffly white lace at his neck, wrists, and ankles. His persona is Diable le Laplace.

How do you get this? Well, um, try your local Japanese bookstore, if it will do special orders; I've provided ISBN's. The author's HP is here, so you can take a look at his pages on the manga and grab some pretty wallpapers.