members were fans of the Persona series. Rather than Arc System Works developing the game in isolation, Atlus requested that the two studios co-develop the game. Arc System Works director Takumi Iguchiya worked closely with the Persona team on the project. Production began in 2010. Arena was the Persona team's first collaboration with another studio over a game. During earlier discussions, Iguchi assumed it was a small-scale production focusing on the characters, but Hashino and Wada's enthusiasm changed his mind. The original music was composed by Atsushi Kitajoh. Stage themes were based on original themes by series composer Shoji Meguro. The opening theme was performed by Yumi Kawamura, the vocalist of Persona 3. While the gameplay was managed by Arc System Works, the Persona team handled the game's scenario and visual design. While designing the gameplay, the team worked to incorporate elements of the role-playing original, ranging from character moves to status effects. During development, Mori asked Atlus whether they could include non-playable characters such as Nanako and Ryutaro Dojima in the roster, but their requests were firmly declined. Mori speculated that it was because of their relative obscurity compared to the main cast. The story was designed from the outset as a canonical sequel to Persona 4. The game's script was primarily written by Teppei Kobayashi. Wada created the basic scenario draft, which was challenging for him due to both the genre differences and fan expectations. The scenario was managed by Yuichiro Tanaka. Tanaka also supervised the spin-off novel Persona x Detective Naoto, and references to the novel were included in the scenario of Arena. The character of Labrys was originally mentioned in an earlier Persona 3 audio drama. To help distinguish the character, Labrys was given a Kansai accent in the Japanese version. Soejima returned to design the new characters. The game presented a number of firsts for Soejima's style, including drawing characters with damaged clothing and in energetic poses. Soejima helped design key art, though another artist Hanako Oribe also contributed to the artwork including the cover illustration. She had previously worked on supporting artwork for a number of Megami Tensei titles. Arc System Works were constantly adjusting the background designs based on Atlus's instructions, resulting in them taking twice as long to develop as their other titles. The cutscenes were animated by Madhouse. The studio were brought in after their work on the opening of Persona