Persona 5 Maruki - Tumblr Posts

A continuation of my “MARUKI?!?” posts

More accidental Maruki: https://www.tumblr.com/saturns-ninth-moon/713332821190721536/maruki

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MARUKI??

MARUKI??

Ok... I guess very random thought I had: I'm honestly starting to fully see and get the frustration about the, "Maruki is a bad Therapist and an actual Therapist said so themselves!" takes. Especially since, well... A lot of them were AMERICAN therapists.

Now they have a right to an opinion but when it comes to applying Western views and values to a game made in and takes place in Japan... With the idea of appealing to primarily its Japanese audience... Yeah... That's where it gets stupid. The critiques are undeniably good in some areas, but it's mostly about Japanese society. Not U.S. or Western society, that is at best of course. Like, just because the critiques in it happened to match up with the West's doesn't mean that it's trying to appeal to the Western audience too. They just HAPPEN to align and match up somehow. That's it.

Now let say this: I do agree that Maruki wasn't good at his job per se and he clearly did bad and even manipulative shit. He did things wrong. But to apply American rules to him isn't exactly fair either since that's apparently how Therapy in Japan works.

(Source: Tv Tropes)

(Source: https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1094&context=orpc )

You can like or dislike a character but at least maybe get some FACTS straightened out first. I guess if people are going to apply American laws and values to P5/P5R/P5S then I guess... The girls would get in SERIOUS trouble for beating up Ryuji in public for example as it's a form of assault. Same can apply to Makoto during the Hot Springs event in Kyoto along with animal cruelty since to the public, Mona is just a regular cat and she beats him up anyways along with the guys. Or Yusuke when he resorted to blackmail in the 2nd arc which can warrant as a form of harassment regardless of the context. Or Sumire would probably get institutionalized at best, serious trouble at worst for basically impersonating someone along with a form of fraud since Kasumi was a well-known and popular/famous athlete. Unknowingly yes and it would primarily effect her parents since she's a minor but let's face it, Western laws wouldn't exactly care. Even Akechi probably wouldn't be spared at all for what he did regardless of the motive. Maybe even be given imprisonment or the death penalty depending on things. See what I mean?

Maruki was more casual and honest compared to other Therapists and that was part of what contributed to Japanese players liking him. The difference in values is interesting to analyze no doubt but good god people...

Do I still hate some of the writing decisions? Oh yeah. Including some of the jokes, especially double-standard ones? Definitely! But I get that some of it was primarily rooted in appealing to the Japanese audience really. I'll still be annoyed and frustrated but yeah. It's all about understanding the differences and looking at things through a different lense. Do I consider myself an expert? Nope, I'm still slowly learning and there's bound to be other people that know more than me. It's just that this take is getting beyond tiring and even comes off as ignorant at best. And that's putting it mildly. I'm not defending or justifying his shitty actions at all, just getting tired of this really.

Persona 5 [112/??]

Saviour ☀

This started as a very quick scribble just to see what slick-haired Maruki would look like in the fantastic new outfit Yaldabaoth gave him.. And then I went crazy with it §(*￣▽￣*)§ 

Keep reading

So I just recently learned that the P5 Dialogue Generator now has Strikers characters, so I now have the opportunity to bring this old canon divergence AU to life! Basically, what if Zenkichi and Sophia joined before Third Semester (Twitter thread here)? I quickly put together the possible exchanges with Maruki during his boss fight if they were in the party.

Generator: Persona 5 Dialogue Generator (p5generator.com)

Zenkichi:

Sophia:

Another Maruki analysis: His literal Mask

I kinda wanted to do an analysis on his literal mask since this was a realization that hit me really. Now I agree that it looks absolutely silly and I wonder what Atlus was thinking with his overall outfit but... I can't help but think of something here...

Now "Masks," both literally and figuratively, play a primary role in P5 in regards to its characters. They hide who they really are because of either pressure to meet societal expectations, fear (Ex: rejection), dealing with various forms of abuse, and of course trauma. Especially as way of coping with said trauma. It is also a thing in Psychology known as, "masking" which is basically the description I just gave. Masking is basically, as an example, someone performing in a way that it is considered, "acceptable." But it can be at the expense of expressing who they really are, hiding their true selves. It's never fun at all as someone who deals with this on occasion and can even hurt the individual deep down. It can even worsen their mental state as well.

I always feel bad for those that had to go through it for one reason or another. But back on topic. When the MCs awaken their Personas, they literally tear their own masks off (with an exception or two). It's framed as painful but then liberating. They feel free and are done with all the bs they had to deal with. Each mask also has a unique design for every Thief and it's all unique to them and even symbolic of either their true selves or even just overall personality.

So, what about Maruki? While it does look ridiculous... As I've mentioned in a previous post, it almost resembles a shield. A large one at that. Now you could argue Makoto's does as well but it's short and is more like a knight. It also reflects her more tough personality. In Maruki's case though... It covers his whole head and top part of his face (minus his eyes 'cause he needs to see somehow). I also mentioned that it's ironic that "Throw Away Your Mask" is basically his thought process and mental state and yet he is hiding behind his own mask.

Now the "shield" thing can be a double meaning: He doesn't want to hurt the Thieves at all and can be considered a pacifist unless pushed and even while fighting he tries to reason with them and mostly uses Azathoth/Adam. But at the same time, it can also be his own mental defenses coming to the surface. He's hiding behind a metaphorical shield and running away from everything. The truth, his true feelings, his trauma, everything. He gives a calm and serene/gentle demeanor ("Gentle Madman") which is genuine but also puts up his defenses. Even when everything around him is falling apart, he refuses to believe that "his way" was ultimately wrong and harmful even when he knows or realizes it.

Then it gets damaged, and Adam is destroyed which is when he starts to fully break. His barrier is falling apart. He starts to show more of how he really feels. He has awareness and is regaining it at the same time and the cracks remain.

Then he fully removes it and later his godhood outfit changes to his white attire albeit torn up, damaged, and dirty. He's completely vulnerable. No barriers... No mask.

He's not hiding anymore, and we see who he really is: A sad, traumatized, and broken man who gave up everything for a dream that was ultimately not gonna help anyone... Not even himself. He wanted to do good so badly but went too far and about nearly lost himself in the process. It was unhealthy and self-destructive... Like the story of Icarus, hubris got the better of him and flew too close to the sun. All because of things that were out of his control and led to him making impulsive and downright harmful decisions. It's being human and understandable. But he still needed to be stopped, otherwise... Things will turn out for the worse for everyone, including him. Now I wonder what other character this can remind people of...?

So, joking and small fandom jab aside, a TL;DR version: Maruki's mask can represent a barrier he put up for himself to hide and run from it all and once it cracks and it's fully taken off, he shows his true feelings, coming to terms with himself and the truth. It's only then he starts to take steps towards healing and starting over on his own two feet. No hiding, no mask, no barrier. Just him and whatever reality will throw at him, and he'll try his damndest to get better and even redeem himself.

I just think Maruki deserved a crying sprite of his own. You know, as a treat!

Moooore pain with screencap edits using it!

If nobody draws Hasemaru, I’ll do it myself… old men yaoi 🤭😧🌸💗💕😨🙏💥

I’m obsessed with these tragic gay man

Redesigned Maruki’s metaverse outfit so he would fit the phantom thieves vibe. It’s like an au, where Maruki became a second adult phantom thief with Zenkichi.

(Basically I just fused his palace and metaverse looks lol)

So do you ever reach the sad realization that the possible reason Maruki doesn't have stubble in his Palace is because all of his primary trauma and hardships along with his vow to Azathoth and Rumi started back when he was a college student (when he didn't have any) so that along with the white outfit resembling a mixture of a priest and a lab researcher is a visual representation of him continuing to cling onto the past by looking younger as well as any remaining innocence he had? And then when he starts to look more filthy and unkempt in the final phase, he looks more like his present self a bit which can represent him being exposed to the harsh reality and how much he's hurting both himself and unwittingly others? Well I just did...

Didn’t really have anything to post this week so I’ll post the full Maruki pic as some people requested :)

Ok so I was thinking about Maruki getting a new Persona and thanks to research, it is technically possible to have a Persona that can shift between Navi and Combat thanks to Rise's Persona in P4AU:

...Wait a second... Idea forming... What if Maruki can have that ability too?

Ohhh! I just realized something:

Perhaps kinda like Rise, he would use a visor to scan but can then shift to fight mode when needed since he isn't bad combat wise and has some Metaverse knowledge. Perhaps limitations can be applied too for balance. Navi Mode Maruki would also be able to use "Guiding Tendril" (the ability his Will Seed gives) along with some actualization abilities (namely ailments?)! Of course, the ability would have the limitation of being usable for ambush still. Keeps him from being too op.

It would definitely be good symbolism for his pacifism but also fiercely protective. A fighter but also wanting to provide support as well!

Oh yes! You're right!!! I like that! I like that!!!

Ok so I was thinking about Maruki getting a new Persona and thanks to research, it is technically possible to have a Persona that can shift between Navi and Combat thanks to Rise's Persona in P4AU:

...Wait a second... Idea forming... What if Maruki can have that ability too?

Ohhh! I just realized something:

Perhaps kinda like Rise, he would use a visor to scan but can then shift to fight mode when needed since he isn't bad combat wise and has some Metaverse knowledge. Perhaps limitations can be applied too for balance. Navi Mode Maruki would also be able to use "Guiding Tendril" (the ability his Will Seed gives) along with some actualization abilities (namely ailments?)! Of course, the ability would have the limitation of being usable for ambush still. Keeps him from being too op.

It would definitely be good symbolism for his pacifism but also fiercely protective. A fighter but also wanting to provide support as well!

Y'know, thanks to chatting with @celestialily in the replies, why not? I can work around this! I'm still thinking about Icarus' design so giving him a combat and Navi mode shouldn't hurt much! Just some fine tuning in Maruki's PT design as well!

Ok so I was thinking about Maruki getting a new Persona and thanks to research, it is technically possible to have a Persona that can shift between Navi and Combat thanks to Rise's Persona in P4AU:

...Wait a second... Idea forming... What if Maruki can have that ability too?

Ohhh! I just realized something:

Perhaps kinda like Rise, he would use a visor to scan but can then shift to fight mode when needed since he isn't bad combat wise and has some Metaverse knowledge. Perhaps limitations can be applied too for balance. Navi Mode Maruki would also be able to use "Guiding Tendril" (the ability his Will Seed gives) along with some actualization abilities (namely ailments?)! Of course, the ability would have the limitation of being usable for ambush still. Keeps him from being too op.

It would definitely be good symbolism for his pacifism but also fiercely protective. A fighter but also wanting to provide support as well!

Ok so for those that have seen this tag:

Ermmm... My hand slipped...

"Your eyes are as bright and honest as ever..."

This part of "Transformers: The Covenant of Primus" gets me every. Damn! Time!

Optimus... Just realizing that he isn't alone... And feeling despair over Bumblebee being (temporarily) killed... Break my heart why don't you?? 💔😭

Like no, honey... You were never alone! They all love and care about you damn it!

Back to fiddling with touch-ups since P5X's Sprites are super helpful with fine-tuning!