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Takuto Maruki: The PERFECT antagonist
(Massive P5R spoilers below)
(Massive P5R spoilers below)
Takuto Maruki is my favourite character in not just P5R, not just any JRPG but probably the most complex & sympathetic antagonist in any fiction I have experienced. I’ve always struggled to explain why to people. And I hope this thread does the man the justice he deserves.
So first off WHO is Takuto Maruki?
Well for those who haven’t played P5R (why would you be here if you haven’t?) he is the new counsellor of Shujin Academy. His introduction makes clear that he’s a very dorky & likeable person on the surface.
But that’s only part of it.
Well for those who haven’t played P5R (why would you be here if you haven’t?) he is the new counsellor of Shujin Academy. His introduction makes clear that he’s a very dorky & likeable person on the surface.
But that’s only part of it.
Maruki by all counts is a guy who wants to help people. Which is why he actually became a counsellor following a tragic event in his life. However this also foreshadows his massive saviour complex.
See as it turns out Maruki is actually writing a paper the cognitive world aka the metaverse as he wants to use it to “understand” others & asks for Ren’s help with his research. And by no means does this make Maruki a bad person but it also shows a twisted side to the man.
Manipulation is a key factor of Maruki’s motives. How someone uses that definitely depends on the person’s heart. Maruki is at heart a good person but his philosophy is flawed.
He views people’s trauma as something that they should “run away” from rather than face it head on.
He views people’s trauma as something that they should “run away” from rather than face it head on.
And while it’s understandable why someone would feel that way, it’s morally wrong to have that thought process.
This goes for a lot of Maruki’s views throughout. Some people might actually agree with his ideology for sure but that doesn’t make it automatically right.
This goes for a lot of Maruki’s views throughout. Some people might actually agree with his ideology for sure but that doesn’t make it automatically right.
That philosophy leads directly into the third semester where Maruki is revealed as the palace owner of the Laboratory of Sorrow, the true final palace of Persona 5 Royal
The man had altered reality in order to save people from feeling pain & suffering. Thus his saviour complex.
The man had altered reality in order to save people from feeling pain & suffering. Thus his saviour complex.
But that comes at the cost of taking away their free will & their right of choice in life. And it begs the question, if you were given the choice would you take the offer of a perfect reality? To have no more hardships? To live a completely happy life till the end of your days?
Or would you fight against that? Sure life has its downs but it is what helps us grow as people rather than run from our problems. Would you have the chance to truly change if reality was always perfect? It’s an intriguing ideology & one that I find so powerful as a whole.
Maruki’s entire experience of hardship is what caused him to want to change the world by making sure no one had to feel pain anymore. Where he saw the lives of others & their happiness as primary compared to his own. Where he wanted to stop all bad things from happening.
He even grants the wish of Sumire wanting to become her own late sister. Which once again shows his extremely flawed philosophy. I can understand there were good intentions here but this has always been something I disagree with about Maruki. This was wrong on so many levels.
And again it shows his extremely flawed philosophy. That you should escape from your problems, that it’s okay to give up on your dreams if they don’t work out, that a perfect world where everyone is happy is what’s best.
And the truth is...yes maybe the world would be better.
And the truth is...yes maybe the world would be better.
Maybe our world would be a better place if it wasn’t for all the bad things that happen. But how would any of us grow if we were given a reality where nothing could go wrong? If we couldn’t make any mistakes in life & we were all perfect, how could we become better people?
That’s what’s so interesting to me about the third semester. It gives us the fact of why a perfect reality while ideal is one that just doesn’t feel worth it. It’s better to earn your happiness & your success rather than have it handed to you.
To save everyone from suffering is a noble cause & I admire Maruki for that. But he is still taking control of people & their free will. It would be like living in a dream & never waking up.
And that’s just not a life worth living in my eyes. And I’m sure a lot would agree.
And that’s just not a life worth living in my eyes. And I’m sure a lot would agree.
In the end, we all have the ability to change. And we don’t need to have anyone holding our hand controlling how we live our lives.
It’s your choice how you live. No one else’s. And in the end Maruki realised that. And it’s all the more powerful message for that fact.
It’s your choice how you live. No one else’s. And in the end Maruki realised that. And it’s all the more powerful message for that fact.
Thank you for listening. If you read this thread all the way to the end I really do appreciate it.
I love Takuto Maruki & he’s my favourite character in P5R. And I hope I at least did him justice.
To close off, I leave you with his last words to Ren in the ending of P5R.
I love Takuto Maruki & he’s my favourite character in P5R. And I hope I at least did him justice.
To close off, I leave you with his last words to Ren in the ending of P5R.
