These episodes just remain strong, though this one did have some more serious moments than the last one. It remained centered on Marie who is starting to get some good development and building stronger ties with the Investigation Team. They had some fun while giving Marie the chance to reach out and question whether or not it’s ok to just stay as she is. Not having memories isn’t a crime, but perhaps just accepting that without trying to find out more about herself isn’t something she should be doing.

One thing I’ll say is that in regards to Marie this anime is beating out the game itself. That’s not something easy to pull off. There are no spoilers here, but I will say they are doing a much better job here integrating Marie with the story and the activities. She was involved in the game, but here the group really accepts her and lets her into that circle. You have a group here that does care about this girl and wants to spend time with her. That’s a good thing in my view.

This episode’s early portions was mostly about the fun. The beach trip was plenty entertaining and well at least the female viewers got their fanservice in droves XD. Kanji’s “birth of Venus” will definitely not be forgotten any time soon. A rough episode for Teddy as well for various reasons…But in the end he pretty well had it coming because of his own behavior. While that attempt to hide Kanji couldn’t be seen as a full blown win…it was better than the loss it could have been if the girls came up to the beach and he still only had Teddy for cover…

It was also a chance for Rise and Teddy to meet Marie which of course lead to some instant sparks. After all Rise is pretty good at picking up threats of girls going after Yu. I think the pun on Rise’s commercial was a bit easier to follow in the game’s dub, but it still was worth smiling at here. The whole beach scene had some good fanservice both ways and it was just fun seeing this group enjoying a trip to the beach. As expected Yosuke continues his path of picking out the swimsuits of the others on the team with Marie. I think Rise is about the only one who has actually brought her own without his involvement. Kind of weird when you think about it…but I choose not to.

The key to the episode though was Marie’s change to accepting the idea of looking for her past. It certainly got started when she had nothing to offer to all the questions being shot at her. It was just a tough situation since she’s not a normal person and she has no memories. In the end the comedy of the group helped shake off any discomfort, but it did leave Marie thinking about herself. They are just an odd group so it’s easy to get the mood back in a positive direction given time.

The best moment of the episode really was that playing of the video at the end. I had worried they pretty well dodged the questions, but they just saved it for the end. It was a nice little moment seeing the group reflect on their experiences and show how it has done a lot for them. Switching back and forth between the video’s visuals and the fireworks play was a nice touch. Certainly tied into how despite the difficulties they are happier people than when they first faced their shadows. I really liked that scene just for the ability to see them understand what they’ve gone through.

It all built up to Marie finally making the decision to start chasing her memories. That they are something she does want to find and perhaps reach the same point that this group of friends has. It’s something she admittedly wants help with, but long as she has that help she’s willing to make the effort. Naturally Yu is more than willing to lend a hand there and we’ll see how that journey continues next week.

Right now it’s just fun seeing these new scenes that add to the P4 anime. Marie getting involved with going to the beach and making plans to go skiing is just a nice change. There’s less rush having to cover the whole plot and we can just appreciate the individual moments. It feels like we’ll have a better understanding of these guys after this anime is over than we might have with the first P4 anime. With the changes they are willing to make I’m really looking forward to the remaining episodes since I’m confident they’ll do a great job with them. And if we open each week with Marie’s embarrassing reactions to her poetry getting read that’s alright too XD.
Score: A