Album Review | BTS "Map of the Soul: Persona" Ver 1

Miranda Rodriquez
First Posted | 5/7/19 | 7:19 PM PST

Review | BTS "Map of the Soul: Persona" Ver 1

Cover of "Map of the Soul: Persona" Ver 1

Cover: My initial thought was "PINK". Nothing else. I was just amazed by how pink and bright it was next to the TXT album that came in the same shipment. There is a beautiful heart embedded in silver. A clear shimmer embedment behind it making what looks like a grid of some kind. All writing on the cover and back is in the same silver as the heart, making it pop out.

Disk: The disk is a beautiful pink, exactly the color of the cover. The writing is white, and "Persona" has a ripple effect, like a stone hitting water. I had expected the writing to be silver , but the white made it easier to read. No real designs are on the disk, though I had thought the heart or grid would be a part of it.

Inner Design & Photobook: The photo book detaches from the cover! I really like this! I'm always so careful not to rip the photobook from where they glue it in, but being able to take the photo album out is my favorite aspect of any album! It also revealed a light blue color behind it. I haven't seen the over version of this album yet, so I wonder if there is an inverse of this one. The photobook itself is the same colors as the disk with the same affect on "Persona" written on the bottom right corner.

Inside Cover and Disk

All I keep thinking about is Easter as I run though the photobook. The colors are all pastel, and most photos seem to have a colored filter over them. Pink and blue are the main colors in most photos it seems. Selca's and group photos fill the pages. Film strip borders are used for each member at certain points, and it takes me back to when I used film rolls for my cameras. In high school (senior year) I even had to teach a friend (freshman) how to change the film in his camera that his parents gave him. It actually makes me feel kind of old when I think about it. Though I'm not that old at all.

The grid comes back at the end to map out each song as we see the lyrics. Then the notes from the artists. Jungkook's note is especially long it seems.

Extras: I had a small glance at some of these when trying to pull them out without looking, only because they were all spread out! There were quite a few actually. The survey card, "the notes", and the audition paper as always; as well as a PC, photo, and film strip. The PC I got was Suga, with two photos on the card, stacked. The back mirrored the cover with the clear grid and "Map of the Soul" printer in white on the bottom. The photo a got was Jimin wrapped in a blanket. A copy of a small note and his signature printed on the back. My film strip is of the group posing together and staring into the camera.

Film Strip

Poster: I decided to buy the poster of this album, though I do not always. When I opened it, I was shocked by how amazing it looked. Each member smiling and so clear. Sometimes BigHit posters don't really look all that clear to me. When my mom saw it she even said "wow!" And she's not even a fan of Kpop! She's said she was amazed and that even she thought it was a good poster!

Poster

Bought From: Kpoptown.com | They also included a photo of Suga from "Love Yourself: Her" which is really cute.