Cut-in

Cut-in (カットイン) or close-up effect is a stylish animation technique to depict character's portrait in Japanese animes and video games. In the Megami Tensei series, it is first introduced to Persona 3 and subsequently adapted to the later Persona series installments and remakes. It is usually presented with a sudden overlapping of the thin stripe of close-up of character's eyes over the screen to create a tense or climatic effect, used when summoning the Persona the first time or to deal critical or weakness-exploiting damage. Another type of cut-in is by arranging the characters' bust portraits stylishly all over the screen to depict the preparation of All-Out Attack (Persona 4 and Persona 3 Portable) or Fusion Attack (Persona 2 duology remakes).

In the Japanese version, the cut-in for critical damage has the, "カッ" (Ka-!), to express the sound effect of the cut-in sequence. It is replaced by a double exclamation mark (!!) in the oversea releases.

Despite not being the inventor of the cut-in effect, it successfully defines the style of the Persona spin-off series and derives some fair amount of fan-made tribute works or parodies of the cut-in artworks, whether Megami Tensei-related or not.