Eh, I think you've heard my feelings about P3P, I feel it loses a lot of it's immersion due to the UI. Still fair enough of it feels repetitive. I also have mixed feelings about Devil Survivor which is a fun game but the story and characters are a turn off.

Nocturne or SMTIV are pretty light on character and story, instead it's the fact it plays like Pokemon with demons that should be enticing.

Digital Devil Saga is the closest to a traditional JRPG outside of the older Persona games in that it's emphasis is on characters and story. It also has a really nifty customization system and utilizes Nocturne's Press Turn system.

If P3 isn't doing it for you, maybe try out Persona 4 instead because it does a bit more to break up the monotony of Tartarus and their are more things to do in the real world as well to keep you busy. It's plot is also a bit more involving from the get -go than P3's which even I'll admit is a slow burn until almost halfway through.