Why Dr. Maruki is my Favorite Character in Any Piece of Media

Рет қаралды 2,959

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 23

@AstralKat Жыл бұрын

Thank you all so much for watching everyone, it's an honor to be able to make content for you guys and I dont plan on stopping any time soon. Thank you once again for 5K subscribers and I hope you enjoy this special, much more personal video as a thanks. I'll be back to much less serious content next week

@matthewfaubel8702 7 ай бұрын

As soon as I saw that your intro featured a space cat climbing onto Adam Kadmon, I knew I had found a kindred spirit.

@tripppleccc54 Жыл бұрын

I think this video breaks down Maruki's character wonderfully - Maruki isn't a villain, but a flawed character, blinded his own beliefs. One of my friends and I were discussing P5 when we came to the discussion of whether or not we would personally accept Maruki's offer. I said yes, and he said no. And in the end, we came to the conclusion that both answers could be right. It's not a bad thing to want to live without pain, or without the memories of the pain. I would love to never have lived through some of the experiences I had, and ultimately, it would be choosing to run away from the pain, because some people can't just move on past their pain, and running away seems to be the only solution, which is the reality Maruki offers. I think this is perfectly encapsulated by the "Bad" ending of accepting Maruki's reality. In the end, all Joker's friends are happy. Akechi doesn't have to live with abuse, abandonment and guilt of being Shido's son and a murderer. Haru gets to live with her father. Futaba with her mother. Makoto with her father and sister. Yusuke with a loving father figure. Ann with her best friend. Morgana finally being accepted. Ryuji being able to run. Sumire living without the pain of Kasumi. Those are all things that the characters cannot get without Maruki's reality, yet as you pointed out, these are fundamental experiences that changed them as a person. Without them, so much good never would have happened. The characters are running from their past selves, rather than accepting it. In the end, nothing bad happens to the characters if you accept Maruki's reality. Everyone is happy, and everyone stays together as friends. The game doesn't even tell you that you received a bad ending, But, at the same time, none of the characters move on and grow. Ryuji never leaves to fix his knee and run again. Ann never goes overseas. Futaba never passes the high school entrance exams by herself. Yusuke never commits himself to his art. Haru and Makoto never move out to college together. And Akechi doesn't atone for his sins of the past. It's like a perfect storybook ending, and you could leave the game as it is, leaving the characters to live in happiness for the rest of their lives. But you're trading growth, the ups and downs of life, in exchange for a stagnant happiness for the rest of your life. In the end, it's up to the individual to choose - happiness, or growth. Some may choose happiness and perfection in exchange for stagnation, while others may choose pain and suffering in exchange for growing as a person. One choice isn't better than the other, from a purely moral standpoint. Ultimately, Maruki summarises it himself. "If the pain of the world is ever too much for you, feel free to run away and start over again". He realises that while there is no harm in running away from pain, and that it is a valid option, he understands now that not everything can or should be dealt with by running away from the pain. Both endings have the characters living their lives in a positive manner, but in Maruki's reality, everyone has run away from their problems, while in reality, everyone accepts their pain and moves on. And in the end, it's a lesson we can all learn - you can always run away from your problems, but you also have the choice to confront them and grow as a person. You never have to feel like you're stuck in a situation where you feel like you cannot do anything about your pain. Both choices are equally valid to someone experiencing pain, and you can't judge someone because of what they choose. The third semester of P5R easily has some of the best writing of any game I've ever played, and there is so much to analyse just from the little snippets of Maruki we get. TL;DR - Maruki is like, REALLY hot. Someone get me a bucket of ice, Jeez.

@ZonaiHero-ul5nm Жыл бұрын

Also can we talk about Billy Kametz amazing performance. He made a great character even more special. RIP.

@AstralKat Жыл бұрын

This is definitely an amazing way to look at it

@angeldoyle859 Жыл бұрын

CONTENT WARNING: Suicide Absolutely cried my eyes out, Maruki's story hits so close to home for me. I've had a pretty rough life myself, one that utterly crushed my self-esteem and told me that the only value I had as a person lied in what I could do for others. People often saw me as selfless, but in truth the reason I was so willing to take a bullet for everyone else is because I didn't value my own life. The more I threw myself into being everyone's savior, the more I let my own trauma and personal demons win and the expectations of others rule me. As time went on, some people close to me abused that twisted devotion and threatened to end their own lives if I didn't fix theirs, taking on all their responsibilities myself and sorting out their money, housing, and mental health problems. I was in a truly awful place mentally myself but I couldn't refuse, and I very nearly destroyed myself in the process of trying to make sure everyone's demands were met. This is why Maruki hits so fucking hard for me. It's easy to just say tough it out or just move on, but when you've been wounded on such a deep level, some days you just want the pain to stop by any means possible. For Maruki and I, our unhealthy obsession with helping others was a twisted coping mechanism that gave us the illusion we were doing the right thing and the boost of making others smile, when in reality it ended up being more destructive than drinking or drugs. I went to ever more extreme lengths to rescue others, even breaking the law on several occasions, and it wasn't until I found the love of my life that things started to turn around, as she showed me that I deserved a life of my own and to be loved for who I was, not for how much I could sacrifice myself for people who would never be satisfied. That the pain I'd suffered hadn't made me a hollow shell, but had shaped me into a wise, capable, kindhearted person worthy of being doted on myself. This story is such a harrowingly accurate and painfully beautiful depiction of that struggle I and many others have gone through. And that ending... god It's never too late to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Thank you, Astralkat, for such a beautiful and insightful analysis of Maruki, and for helping me get out of bed more times than I can count. Happy 5k!

@Artemi22 Жыл бұрын

sumire fans: "she's cute :)" maruki fans: *25 minute video esay*

@AstralKat Жыл бұрын

I am also a Sumire fan tho?

@Wagungus2 Жыл бұрын

This video is a masterpiece. Absolutely worthy of being your 5k special. This video reminded me just how perfectly third semester was executed on. The moments where you open up about your own experiences and how this arc and character have impacted you personally were genuinely beautiful, and something a lot of other creators wouldn’t be brave enough to include in their videos. You did an outstanding job with your analysis, and at times I even started tearing up as my memories from playing for the first time came flooding back through my mind. This video is absolutely your Magnum Opus, and I can’t wait to see where your content goes from here. Be proud of this video, you’ve truly outdone yourself.

@oriongear2499 3 ай бұрын

As someone who lost two friends in his life (one from drowning in 2017 and another to a car accident last year), I definitely sympathize for Maruki’s desire for a world/reality where pain (of any kind) doesn’t exist. At the same time, I can definitely understand why Akechi wouldn’t agree with the idea of living in Maruki’s Reality, knowing that he was only brought back thanks to him. I also really liked Laura Post’s EN portrayal of Kasumi, Sumire and Cendrillin during the 3rd Semester.

@alistairmarston9405 2 күн бұрын

This is sort of an addendum to my previous comment. While the decision between Maruki and the Thieves is easy for me, it would be a lot harder if you were to replace the Thieves with Dimitri and the Blue Lions. Dimitri’s route is my favorite Persona story…and it’s not even from a Persona game. Given all he’s been through, I think he’d empathize with Maruki deeply. Seeing DIMITRI save Maruki in place of Joker…that would likely make me bawl even harder than I already did at that scene. Being a creative writing major, I’ve been considering writing an “anti-JRPG” story which would take a lot of common themes and proceed to turn them on their heads. I’d have the antagonists be a twist on a typical JPRG party, and have them and the heroes battle over ideology, while heavily featuring the question of how to help those who cannot overcome their struggles at all. Whether this will be just for myself or something I’ll turn into publishable material one day is yet to be decided.

@revolvingworld2676 Жыл бұрын

You need more views, this is a great video that I found in my recommended

@AstralKat Жыл бұрын

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

@alistairmarston9405 2 күн бұрын

I’m honestly THRILLED to see people still talk about Maruki to this day! He’s my second favorite character of all time, beaten only by Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I have legit cried every time I’ve seen a streamer reach the end of his boss fight. I’ll never truly understand how some people can genuinely hate this man, though all are entitled to their own, of course. However, I regret to say that I’ve become increasingly disillusioned with P5R due to the third semester…because I’m someone who would gladly accept Maruki’s offer with open arms. Some may accuse me of “missing the point of the story,” but I want to make clear that you can understand a story’s message and still disagree with it; they’re not mutually exclusive. I understand our heroes’ decision, but I simply disagree on a personal, moral, and ideological level. I can’t help but feel that P5R has an issue that some other JRPGs do of overlooking a specific demographic of people, that being those who will never be able to overcome their pain in any significant faction no matter what is done. One of the problems I have is that it’s not just the Thieves who are living in Maruki’s world, millions of others are too. I wish the story had focused more on this and more fully addressed those who might genuinely be better off living in the alternate reality. As a neurodivergent and autistic person, I have different views on life than most people. There’s a quote from the late philosopher Alan Watts that embodies my view: “The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet everyone hurries around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” I believe that being alive is its own purpose, its own reason to live in itself. On top of that, I disagree with the sentiment that happiness is always better when earned. Some of the best parts of my life have come from things that I did nothing to earn at all, such as birthday gifts and being able to travel to 32 countries thanks to my parents. Sometimes happiness comes freely, and that is a beautiful thing. In addition, I view growth more as a means to an end than anything else. When I finish an assignment or semester, I don’t think about how much I’ve grown, bur rather feel relief that it’s over and I can simply go back to relaxing. The exception to this is any growth that directly relates to my passion of writing, and even then it shows that growth doesn’t always require suffering. When I write something new, I stretch my writing muscles, which even then I consider to be happiness more than anything else. Even searching one random fact on the internet works too. Just like that, you’ve learned something new and therefore have grown…with no suffering needed! Congratulations! I’m truly happy that you’ve been able to overcome your pain and come out better. I cannot say the same for myself. My efforts to connect with others in college have all been unsuccessful, and I’ve been unable to prevail over this condition that I didn’t choose to be born with but just was. Even if I was in a better place…I simply cannot in good conscience choose my own growth and achievements over a reality that would be genuinely beneficial to millions less fortunate than myself. Maruki is nowhere near perfect…but the benefits outweigh the flaws for me personally, and so my decision remains firm. Okay, that went on WAY longer than I meant it to…but if you or anyone else manages to read all of this…thank you for indulging me. Part of me still loves P5R, and it will always be special to me in some form…but it’s clear that the Thieves are not for me. I’ve laid down my Mask of the Trickster, walked off into the sunset, and haven’t looked back much since. Our paths have diverged, and for now…maybe that’s for the best. Thanks again for your time reading.

@NoNameNoWhere 16 күн бұрын

One thing that consistently bugs me is when people paint Maruki as malicious or they argue that his world is tremendously flawed and doomed to fail. Both of these positions turn Maruki into a simple, bland, villian. Having to choose between an ideal world that's manipulated from a single person vs. a reality unguided by a master is a fun, challenging, dilemma. You know what the game claims is right, but it causes you to ponder if Maruki's world is really that bad. So many people don't care to be challenged, which is a shame. The point is not that Maruk's world is flawed or doomed to fail. If that were the case, then it would mean Maruki's world would be fine if Maruki corrected the flaws. The message is about escaping control, even if it means experiencing pain - and learning how to grow from bad experiences.