Persona 2

Video game fandom
Name	Persona 2
Abbreviation(s)	P2
Developer(s)	Atlus
Release date	1999-2000
Related articles on Fanlore.

Persona 2 is the second installment of the Persona series. It is actually split into two separate video games, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, that can be played separately but also work as part of a single story. It is the continuation to Persona 1, and several themes and characters of the original appear in the sequel(s).

The story of Persona 2 centers around groups of people that can access alter-egos known as Personas. In this world, rumors can become reality, and in the first game, Innocent Sin, a group of teenagers try to save their world. The consequences of their actions play out in the second game, Eternal Punishment. The reference to Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment" is intentional.

Only the second half of Persona 2, Eternal Punishment, was released outside outside of Japan. For some time the game and series was relatively unknown in the English-speaking world; however, in 2011 it was re-released for the PlayStation Portable and localized for North America and Europe. Persona 2 also had a strong fandom following in Japan, in fact, Atlus encouraged their fans by allowing doujinshi anthologies based on the series be officially published and by releasing an artbook using material from those anthologies.

Japanese-Language Fandom

Persona 2 enjoyed an active fandom in Japan, with hundreds of doujinshi and websites featuring fanart and fanfic. There were even mini-conventions to sell the produced doujinshi-- and not just for the series, but for specific characters as well. More than one convention was held in 2002 just for doujinshi based on the character Katsuya. Most of the websites have since been erased from the internet.

Many Persona 2 fanworks took on a darker, sinister tone. Rinno was one artist who produced disturbing, black-humored doujinshi and fic, usually centered around Tatsuya and Jun. Others went for the light-hearted, such as the doujinshi circle Hettapies, whose Tatsuya/Jun doujinshi were typically fluff.

Some doujinshi were somewhat-officially released in doujinshi anthologies. A partial list can be found here. Several of the doujinka featured in these anthologies later became professional mangaka, such as Tsuchiya Kyoko (Weiß Kreuz), Minekura Kazuya (Saiyuki), and Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun).

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

(TBD: more doujinka, art books)

English-Language Fandom

Due to a combination of factors, including the game's obscurity and the fact that players were probably confused without having been able to witness the events of the first half, the Persona 2 fandom in English was relatively small.

However, there was much fanwork production, from fanfic to fanart to cosplay and other forms of creation. (TBD: samples of fanwork)

Some fans, upon realizing that the first half, "Innocent Sin", would probably never be released officially in English, took it upon themselves to translate the game. The first translation, text-only, went up in 2002 and is hosted at The Oracle of Maya. In 2008 Gemini made a more complete translation and included it in a rom so that people could play the game in English.

A PSP port of "Innocent Sin" was released in the West in 2011, while the PSP port of "Eternal Punishment" remained Japan-only. A fan translation of the game has been completed as of July 2022.

Fanworks

Fan Fiction

• "Gas Chamber's (Epic) Backstory" by bluetrees on AO3.

• "The winter is cold and the night is long, so hold my hand and don’t let it go." by 21stCenturyHero on AO3.

Meta

• Response to Purity Myth: Jun Kurosu Edition by Heiral, a response to SomethingRomancer's original essay, Purity Myth: Jun Kurosu Edition. Unfortunately, the original essay has been deleted without archival. Essays are debating Jun Kurosu's sexuality.

Doujinshi

Title	Circle	Published	Contents
Suki Suki Daisuki!	Rinno	2001.01 & 2001.05	18+ Tatsujun
Haou ren shishi	Mitsuido & SONIC-D	2000.05.04	King Leo & the Masked Circle

Resources

• Room 303