That And Haru Is By And Large Wealthy And Is Going To Run A Company When She's Able And Ready To So Even If She Didn't Want To... - Tumblr Posts
Ooo! That last one is actually a good point! From what I've heard about P4 and it's development, it's definitely messy. Especially since some of the cut content was, well, cut at the last minute. Strikers definitely took a risk in that area and while I can't say it's perfect either, I'd say it paid off tremendously!
And yeah, I was ok with Haru's arc in Strikers at first but then I looked back at it noticed some issues. Namely how it felt stagnant or like she didn't change much (her showing concern for a sick worker is new)? People would say the same about the others but there was at least something different added to the table and they used the strengths and morals they learned in the previous game to reach out the Monarchs. Haru just remains mourning which I would say fair enough but at the same time it seems like even Atlus was lost on what to do with her other than that trait and the tropes they would primarily use for comedy (which isn't bad sometimes per se and people have different tastes, just got old quick (ex: the "We despise the police" jokes in 1st arc which I wouldn't say is bad, just felt forced along with the fact that it probably would have worked better if said by someone else as she would the least amount of problems with the police realistically but like I said, not terrible but could have been better)). I guess that's why she's such a mixed bag for me because she can be endearing in one moment but then stale and frustrating in the next moment. Like you said, her situation is complicated. It's just that there wasn't any or enough focus on it. Let alone to make her likable or relatable sometimes (but that depends on the person).
You know, I've often seen takes (mostly anti) that basically say that Maruki should have been punished for his actions... Mostly of the severe/horrific kind that even involves Joker letting him fall to his death (which is SEVERELY OOC btw). Though to be perfectly honest... He actually does when you think about it, it's just more subtle. As he said during his breakdown, he gave up everything for his dream and he's not exactly wrong. He's lost his perfect reality, his research/his life's work, he doesn't get back with Rumi as one would expect, he fully quits his job as a counselor/therapist, he's lost everything except for maybe Shibusawa and the PTs themselves. The biggest thing is though, is that he starts to let go of those losses and uses them to start over. He even uses his job as taxi driver to help Joker get away from the police and seems more than happy to do so. Also, remember his final interaction with Joker which best sums up one of Royal's main messages:
So yeah, I feel like he already faced punishment for what he did. But as per the message there, he uses it to improve and heal and potentially atone. That's at least my takeaway here.
Plus remember how Ichinose tried to turn herself in at the end of Strikers only to be rejected because no one believed her about the supernatural occurrences (her case was odd though because Zenkichi was exposed to it too so he could've vouched for her story there, then again he would probably be dismissed too but it's hard to say) so jail time wouldn't work if Maruki even remotely tried (which I wouldn't be surprised if he did but who knows).