Cut-in (カットイン, Katto In)?, also known as close-up or Persona eyes, is an effect in the Persona series.
Appearances[]
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- Persona Stalker Club
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable / Reload
- Persona 4 / Golden
- Persona 4 Arena / Ultimax
- Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night
- Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Persona 5 / Royal
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Persona 5 Tactica
- Persona 5: The Phantom X
Profile[]
Cut-in is a stylish animation technique used to depict a character's portrait in Japanese anime and video games. It is usually presented with a sudden overlapping of the thin stripe of close-up of character's eyes over the screen to create a tense or climatic effect, used when summoning the Persona the first time or to deal Critical or elemental weakness-exploiting damage. Another type of cut-in is by arranging the characters' bust portraits stylishly all over the screen to depict the preparation of All-Out Attack (Persona 3 onwards) or Fusion Spells (Persona 2 duology remakes).
In the Japanese version, the cut-in for critical damage has the onomatopoeia, "(カッ, Ka-!)?" in P3 and P4 and "(ブチッ, Buchi-!)?" in P5, to express the sound effect of the cut-in sequence. It is replaced by a double exclamation mark (!!) in the overseas releases.
In Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, the cut-in triggers when a character activates it's awakening state. Furthermore, the cut-in is used in Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle when activating an Astral Heat.
In Persona 5, if the player receives help from another player via the Thieves Guild mechanic when a party member is taken hostage, a unique cut-in of the Phantom Thieves icon will be shown.
In Persona 5 Royal, all of the cut-in illustrations available can be viewed in the Thieves Den. Also, the Persona 3 and Persona 4 protagonists have slightly modified versions of their cut-ins from the original games, in which the sound effect is styled after Persona 5. The protagonist also has a special cut-in in both the darts and batting cages mini-game when landing the third dart on Triple 20 and getting a Home Run, respectively.
In Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, the cut-in style is styled after Persona 5, but the sound effect expression style is the same for all 3 respective games.
In Persona 5 Tactica, the cut-in effect, which is once again stylized after Persona 5, has been modified, with flame effects and hair and clothing animations, with the expression being in a different style in black color.
In Persona 3 Reload, the cut-in animation has been revamped. The cut-in appears, which includes water bubbles rising and hair and clothing animations, while it has been reflected on the floor, behind the character summoning it's Persona, which then appears after it shatters. Furthermore, the sound effect expression has been translated in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean, instead of the double exclamation mark. All of the cut-ins are shown in the Western version's launch trailer, without the character being shown behind it.
Although it was not Atlus who invented the cut-in effect, it successfully defines the style of the Persona spin-off series and derives some fair amount of fan-made tribute works or parodies of the cut-in artworks, of either media related to the Megami Tensei series or not. Furthermore, cut-ins are also used as promotional goods and order bonuses in Japanese retailers.
Cut-ins are also used in various games that have been collaborated with the Persona series. In Phantasy Star Online 2, the sound effect expression for all three games are used in Persona summoning emotes (Lobby Actions in the Japanese version), which only shows the Japanese expression upon summoning. It can also be used in Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Joker's cut-in when summoning Arsène has a slightly modified version of his cut-in in all languages, except Japanese, where the double exclamation mark is styled after the original Japanese sound effect expression. In Granblue Fantasy, Ren's cut-in picture is styled after that game's art design. The same goes with the other members in Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time, NieR Reincarnation and AFK Arena.
In Kyoutou Kotoba RPG: Kotodaman, all cut-ins for the characters in all three games use their character animations in the cut-ins instead of their cut-in pictures. In Dragalia Lost, the cut-in is placed on the top of the screen, while the skill name from the original game is shown on the bottom. There is also a stamp that can be used in co-op mode; this has the protagonist's cut-in without the sound effect expression and the word "PERSONA!" is shown on the top. In Love Live! School Idol Festival, the cut-ins for all nine members of µ's and Aqours replace the usual skill cut-ins except for the sound effects for all three games, in which it is replaced with each character's voice clips like in the original game.
Gallery[]
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable
- Persona 3 Reload
- Persona 4 / Golden
- Persona 4 The Animation
- Persona 4 Arena / Ultimax
- Persona 4: Dancing All Night
- Persona 5 / Royal
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Persona Stalker Club
Characters | |
Playable | Rise Kujikawa - Yu Narukami - Kanami Mashita - Yosuke Hanamura - Chie Satonaka - Kanji Tatsumi - Teddie - Yukiko Amagi - Naoto Shirogane - Nanako Dojima - Margaret - Marie - Tohru Adachi - Hatsune Miku |
Non-playable | Protagonist - Ryotaro Dojima - Minoru Inoue - Sumomo Ujima - Tomoe Sayama - Tamami Uesugi - Nozomi Nakahara - Kyoka Ochimizu - Dance Instructor - Yuko Osada - Mikuratana-no-Kami - President Tanaka |
Locations | |
Other | Velvet Room - Yomotsu Hirasaka - Takura Productions - Inaba - Midnight Channel |
Midnight Stage | Kujikawa Rise (Stage) - Circus Tent - Sultry Lounge - Doll House - Romantic Castle - Mechanical Castle - Event Space - Mikuratana-no-Kami's Realm |
Music | |
Albums | Persona 4: Dancing All Night Original Soundtrack |
Songs | Dance! - Calystegia |
Archive | |
Terminology | Persona - Persona User - Shadow - Kanamin Kitchen - LMB Festival - Shadow Self - Investigation Team - Apathy Syndrome |
Lists | Trophies |