With the recent Persona Live concert in Los Angeles, fans of the critically acclaimed Japanese role-playing game series Persona have been given another treat from developer ATLUS.
Seemingly out of nowhere, on Feb. 1, fans were given a new and stylish animated mashup of Persona 3 Reload’s “Mass Destruction” and ZUTOMAYO’s “Hippocampal Pain.” The animation features ZUTOMAYO’s Nira-san and the silent protagonist of Persona 3 Reload in various locations featured in the game.
Persona 3 Reload is a coming-of-age story that follows a young, unnamed protagonist who fights against evil enemies known as “shadows” with a Persona, a powerful manifestation of one’s psyche that grants the user special skills in battle. Each night, S.E.E.S., the organization the protagonist is part of, enters a towering structure known as “Tartarus,” where the group clears floors of monsters to reach whatever mystery lies at the top in order to save the world from ruin. The game features a turn-based gameplay style found across many other famous RPG titles such as Final Fantasy, Pokémon and Expedition 33.
However, beyond the gameplay aspect, the Persona series has become well known for its music that has reached audiences far beyond those who play the games. From the electronic and hip-hop sounds of Persona 3, J-Pop themes from Persona 4 and the jazz of Persona 5, each game in the series has created a unique identity through its music. “Mass Destruction” is one of two common battle themes in Persona 3 Reload and has reached over 13 million plays on Spotify.
ZUTOMAYO is an Anonymous J-Pop and rock group that is not only known for their original songs, but also for creating anime themes such as the ending theme for DAN DA DAN, “TAIDADA,” and the second ending theme of Chainsaw Man, “Time Left.”
The group’s song “Hippocampal Pain” served as the basis for the recent mashup, with elements and lines from “Mass Destruction” being mixed into the song. Sharing many similar sounds and feelings with Persona 3’s soundtrack, ZUTOMAYO served as the perfect fit for ATLUS to collaborate with.
While this music video is the most recent collaboration featuring music from Persona, this is not the first time ATLUS has created a Persona themed collaboration with another artist. In Aug. 2025, ATLUS teamed up with Project Sekai for a vocaloid cover of the opening theme of Persona 5, Life Will Change, sung by Hatsune Miku, Rin Kagami and Ren Kagami. Currently, Persona 4 remains the only game of the main three Persona titles to not have a recent music video collaboration with a major artist.
With fans of Persona already highly anticipating what ATLUS has in store for the series’ 30th Anniversary this year, this new collaboration continues to fuel fans’ hype for what is to come.
At the time of reporting, the music video on YouTube had garnered over 2.3 million views in about a week since being posted online. Currently, the mashup is not available on streaming platforms and can only be experienced on ATLUS’ official YouTube channel.