Persona’s Protagonists Become Shadows in New 30th Anniversary Art Reveal
ATLUS has marked the 30th anniversary of the Persona series with a new video that imagines what the franchise’s protagonists might look like if they each had a Shadow of their own.
The special short video features newly created artwork covering seven protagonists from across the series, spanning the original Persona through Persona 5.
Persona officially turns 30 on September 20, 2026, exactly three decades after Megami Ibunroku Persona, later released internationally as Revelations: Persona, made its Japanese PlayStation debut on September 20, 1996.
The series has since grown from its Shin Megami Tensei roots into one of Atlus’ biggest RPG franchises, with its stories increasingly combining everyday school life and relationships with supernatural worlds shaped by the emotions and hidden sides of their characters.
Shadows are a natural fit for the anniversary artwork, having appeared throughout Persona in different forms as manifestations connected to the human psyche.
Persona 4 placed the concept at the center of its story, with members of the Investigation Team forced to confront Shadow versions representing parts of themselves they were unwilling to acknowledge before awakening to their Personas.
The new anniversary video reverses that idea onto the protagonists themselves, asking what would happen if the heroes normally controlled by players were given Shadows of their own.
New Shadow designs have been created for Persona’s original protagonist, Persona 2: Innocent Sin’s Tatsuya Suou, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment’s Maya Amano, both the male and female Persona 3 protagonists, Persona 4’s Yu Narukami, and Persona 5’s Joker.
Each appears alongside a darker interpretation of themselves created specifically for the anniversary, giving characters who normally occupy the player’s side of the story the same unsettling treatment experienced by many of their allies and enemies throughout the series.
The Shadow video is itself a reworking of the main Persona 30th anniversary movie released at the beginning of 2026, which brought the protagonists together as part of the artwork and branding being used throughout the year-long celebration.
ATLUS has expanded those celebrations through a steady series of events and collaborations, including a collection of five Persona-inspired sake created with HINEMOS and a pair of specially tuned 30th anniversary gaming earphones developed with GRAPHT.
The anniversary is also leading into a major period for the games themselves, with Persona 4 Revival scheduled to bring Yu Narukami and the Investigation Team back in a completely remade version of their Inaba adventure in 2027.
The new Shadow Protagonist artwork will also appear across selected items in the second wave of official Persona 30th anniversary merchandise, which opened for pre-orders alongside the video’s release.
The “Persona 30th Anniversary Video Shadow Ver.” is available to watch through ATLUS’ official channels as part of the celebrations surrounding Persona’s September 20 anniversary.
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