Now, if you gamers out there have played this one (Persona 3, and also Persona 3 FES) then you'd have an advantage here in understanding what's going on. xD
For those who don't I'd recommend either getting the game and playing it, read through the manga, or reading up on Wikipedia.
Most of what's different involves the lack of a main character and the characters that are in the game and manga. And whatever powers your character has comes from your Persona. Sometimes you just discover it one day. ;O ))
The year is 2009 (( LOL, next year. )) in a seemingly ordinary modern city in Japan. What makes it not so ordinary is that late at night, the unexplainable happens. Kage Jikan, Shadow Time, or the Dark Hour, is a period of time that exists between the end of one day and the next, beginning at midnight. During this time, the power will go out, even anything battery powered, and humans would undergo a process in which they would transform into a coffin (Transmogrify) and go into a deep sleep, oblivious to what happens around them, not seeing the rivers and streams of blood that stain the ground, reflecting the moonlight and the eerie appearance the city has. Only those who hear the Shadows' call are drawn into the Kage Jikan, only to fall victim to them. The victims will lose their souls to the Shadows and become like a living corpse, unable to take care of themselves, unable to think or do anything else. This condition they are left in is known as "Apathy Syndrome." Whoever survives the occurrence forgets everything that happened during their time in the Kage Jikan, unaware of its existence.
Very few beings are aware of this and what actually happens. That is because they have the Potential: the power to summon a creature that dwells within the depths of their soul; a creature known as Persona, born either artificially or through the hardships the users have faced throughout their lives. They give their users the ability to use an element in battle and immunities to certain kinds of attacks. The abilities and uses of Personae range from battle-oriented, support, or sensory. The battle-oriented are more useful in combat, as are the support, which heal injuries and attack using magic. The sensory Personae, however, are most useful for detecting enemy location and weaknesses. The way to summon a Persona is through the use of an Evoker, a gun-shaped instrument with which the user "shoots" themselves in the head to draw out their Persona. Of course, those "guns" don't shoot bullets, but rather blast the Persona out of their psyche. Theoretically, there is also another way to do so without the use of an Evoker.
Persona users use their unique abilities to help protect people and battle the shadows. They fight to solve the mystery of the occurrence of the Kage Jikan and even fight to help destroy it and whatever evil it brings. However, this is only after midnight. During the normal hours though, they go about their normal lives, going to school, work, etc. Some have banded together to fight against the Shadows, making their base and home in the Iwatodai Dorm in the west part of the city. Sometimes, they would find new Persona users, who then join their cause. How would these new members or whoever discovers their power cope with this new addition to their lives?
This is their story.
