[Review] Sanada Akihiko's (Persona 4 Arena the Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena) Character Design

          Hello! Now, it is the perfect time to introduce you my most favorite character! Yes, as you can expected, he is from my most favorite game all the time, Persona 3. But, it's a better version of him (my preference of course, lol). Sanada Akihiko from Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena (from now on let's just simplified it as Persona 4 Arena)!! (And it's gonna be a loooonng post, so be prepared!)

Character Design for Persona 3

Fight Pose

     In Persona 3, 17 years old's Sanada Akihiko can be described as a serious, determined, cool and well-respected upperclassman. He is really eager to fight and really excited about it. He never gives up and always tries to get stronger in order to protect the others. He acts like an older brother for the younger member of S.E.E.S (Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (They prevent The Fall to arrives by beating some shadows)).

       As we can see in his design, he wears black leather gloves and white band-aid on his left forehead (?) to describe him as a boxer (fight lover) and always do the training himself. Not like the other students of Gekkoukan, he doesn't wear his school's standard jacket, but wears a sweater vest instead (with somekind of logo "b" for boxing maybe? (considering that he is a boxer lover) on his left chest), because it's more practical (when he has to fight someone / something anytime and anywhere), but neatly dressed. The red color is being used for his sweater vest, it's to describe him as a passionate person, a calm but passionate person (on boxing, of course). His facial expression shows that he is a very serious person (in some event), calm but easily get angry over something when triggered (about justice and the persons he really cares about), ...

Fight Pose

Character Design for Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena

          And now for the Persona 4's version, he has been 20 years old already and he looks like an old man (with his white hair and beard lol). His new looks shows some scars on his chest and arms, a new band-aid on his right cheek and his left leg, a new haircut, shirtless, a very well-build body, a red cape, shabby brown pants, red shoes, a gun-case on his left armpit, a knife on his right waist, and a little bag on his right waist. Many says that they really hate this version of Akihiko...

Yap, that's what they said and I do agree with them, but! I also realized that it's needed to make them fit to their new story. While in Persona 3 the story is so dark and gloomy, in Persona 4 the story is more cheerful and thrilling.

--- haven't finished yet ---

[Review] MEMENTO (2000)

         First of all, I'm sorry for my bad english (I just want to learns english little by little) and idc if any of you will judge me by being a grammar nazi, I will just remember the correct grammar you gave it to me and completely ignores you :) Secondly, maybe my review will be a little bit subjective.
At least I've told you, didn't I? :) 

Characters:

1. Leonard Shelby (Lenny)

    A very loving husband. Stubborn (want to) by believing that his wife's killer is still out there and doesn't want to believe that Sammy's story is actually his, determined to get revenge on his wife's killer, clever by organize all of his memories by writing down what he has to do next (not to forget about it), has trust issue (he easily get confused with who to believe, and makes him trust the wrong people), easy to take advantage of.

2. John Edward Gammell (Teddy)

    Like to take advantage of Lenny, remember when he leads Lenny to kill Jimmy (even it's just some kind of accident (?)), he's actually a very kind person (?) by preventing Lenny to kill other innocent people or help him to remember), He's triying to be a loyal friend by always accompany Lenny (maybe it's some kind of his preventing action?)

3. Natalie

    Like to take advantage of Lenny by order him to kill Dodd (using his amnesia), has 2 faces (As I've explained it before, sometimes she help Lenny by giving some information about his wife's killer (which is Teddy)).

4. Samuel R. Jankis (Sammy)
    Loved his wife so much and really caring about her. To me, he looks like an idiot by just sitting on his sofa and watching TV, not doing something about his condition (totally different from Lenny), lol.

    

5. Mrs. Jankis

    Caring for her husband, try her hardest to make her "husband oldself" back, kinda presistent, would like to believing that her husband is still the same as she ever know.

6. Burt

    Curious, testing if Lenny has said the truth about his condition. Pretty nice, by not minding or get angry over Lenny's condition.

7. Catherine Shelby

    Loyal to her husband even wih his condition, even she kind of denial. Pretty much like Mrs. Jankis (because it's her own story).

8. Dodd
    Easily get angry over the thing that he doesn't get.

    

9. James F. Grantz (Jimmy)
    All he cares about is only money. But if it has to be compared with his own life, he would gave the money up.

    

10. Blonde (Escort Girl)
      As we always expecting from an escort girl, she'll doing everything what her buyer's favors. Doing something for money even she doesn't know what the purpose is.

      
PLOT:
 

The act structure: Forward - flashback for 22x ends with forward plot.

     In the begining of story, it shows Lenny took a polaroid of dead Teddy in reverse. Then flashback to the time when Lenny speaks on the phone.

The film starts with the Polaroid photograph of a dead man. As the sequence plays backwards the photo reverts to its undeveloped state, entering the camera before the man is shot in the head. This is followed by interspersed black-and-white and color sequences, with the black-and-white sequences taking place chronologically before the color sequences.

The black-and-white sequences begin with Leonard Shelby in a motel room speaking to an unnamed telephone caller who is not shown on-screen. Leonard has anterograde amnesia and is unable to store recent memories, the result of an attack by two men. Leonard explains that he killed the attacker who raped and strangled his wife, but a second clubbed him and escaped. The police did not accept that there was a second attacker, but Leonard believes the attacker's name is John (or possibly James), with a last name starting with G. Leonard conducts his own investigation using a system of notes, Polaroid photos, and tattoos. As an insurance investigator, Leonard recalls one Sammy Jankis, also diagnosed with the same condition. Sammy's diabetic wife, who was not sure if his condition was genuine, repeatedly requested insulin injections to try to get him to break his act. He did not and as a result she fell into a command died.

The color sequences are shown in reverse chronological order. In the story's chronology, Leonard gets a tattoo, based on instructions to himself, of John G'slicense plate. Finding a note in his clothes, he meets Natalie, a bartender who resents Leonard as he wears the clothes and drives the car of her boyfriend, Jimmy. After understanding his condition, she uses it to get Leonard to drive a man named Dodd out of town and offers to run the license plate to help his investigation. Meanwhile, Leonard meets with a contact, Teddy. Teddy helps with Dodd, but warns him about Natalie; however, Leonard has already written on a photo of Teddy to not trust him. Natalie provides Leonard the driver's license, which shows a John Edward Gammell, Teddy's full name. Confirming Leonard's information on "John G" and his warnings, Leonard meets Teddy and drives him to an abandoned building, killing him as shown in the opening.

In the final black-and-white sequence, prompted by the caller, Leonard meets Teddy in the motel lobby. Teddy is an undercover officer and has found Leonard's "John G", Natalie’s boyfriend Jimmy Grantz, and directs Leonard to the same abandoned building outside of town. When Jimmy arrives, Leonard strangles him and takes a photo of the body. As it develops the black-and-white transitions to color, thus beginning the color sequences. Leonard swaps clothes with Jimmy, hearing Jimmy whisper "Sammy". As Leonard has only told the story of Sammy to those he has met, he doubts Jimmy is the attacker. Teddy arrives and asserts that Jimmy was John G but when Leonard is not convinced, Teddy reveals that Leonard had killed the real attacker over a year ago, having helped Leonard find him. Teddy claims that since "John G" is a common name, he will continually forget, beginning his search again and that even Teddy himself has a "John G" name. Further, Teddy explains to Leonard that it was his own wife that fell into the coma from the insulin overdose as Sammy had been single. After hearing Teddy's exposition, Leonard consciously burns the photograph of Jimmy's body, drives off in Jimmy's car and has Teddy's license plate number tattooed on himself as the one of the second attacker, which will lead to the events of Teddy's death.

Review:

The first 60", I feels like there's too much flashback, it makes me bored. But I think Christopher Nolan purposely makes us feel like we're in Lenny position, trying to remember what we've done before to keep it all together.