Why Dr. Maruki is my Favorite Character in Any Piece of Media
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- Well, here it is, the 5K special! Thank you all so much for the support you've given me over the past year, it's genuinely meant the world to me, and I've finally gotten around to talking about my favorite character in any piece of media on the special occasion celebration 5,000 subscribers, I hope you all enjoy!
Join the discord server here! - / discord
Follow me on twitter here! - / astral_kat_
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
As soon as I saw that your intro featured a space cat climbing onto Adam Kadmon, I knew I had found a kindred spirit.
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.
Also can we talk about Billy Kametz amazing performance. He made a great character even more special. RIP.
This is definitely an amazing way to look at it
sumire fans: "she's cute :)"
maruki fans: *25 minute video esay*
I am also a Sumire fan tho?
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!
You need more views, this is a great video that I found in my recommended
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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.
Is the fem joker a mod?
It is a mod, yes, only available for PC atm
How did you get a female Protag in P5?!
It's a mod for the PC edition
I wish psychiatrists were real.
Damn, so true. If only they were
@AstralKat If only there was an individual who's persona could actualize desires...