@ChaosKingArtur
Doctor Maruki truly stands out from all the previous persona antagonists, he is neither a god, a murderer or a mentally unstable teenager, he is a normal man that only wants people to not suffer
@etrianpersona5693
RIP Billy Kametz man was a legend and will be missed
@bahesb2419
Maruki is one of the best examples of a dark messiah: A character who believes that the happiness of humanity is their responsibility and will even do „questionable“ actions to archive it. This description fits Maruki well. He isn‘t a bad person, he just wants to help the world but will go to the extremes to achieve it.
@alguidoemblema153
Maruki: "All the world will be happy" Joker: "How about Shido?" Maruki: "Screw him" Akechi: "THAT's the only thing I agree with you"
@dspace4514
I know its not the topic of the video, but i love Akechi's stance on Maruki's ideology, which is basically "Cool motive, still brainwashing"
@Scanny524
Speaking as a counsellor, Maruki's journey into villainy was well portrayed even early in the game in his flaws as a counsellor. Maruki allows his own trauma, his own desires, his own feelings to command the space with his clients. He is always quick to reassure and provide relief, wanting to remove pain, where a counsellor should join the client in their pain to empower them to find sense in it. He is not able to take the truly empathic stance of seeing the pain of another and feeling it as theirs, because he internalises their pain as his own. He's clearly trying but he has not done the work on himself. So when someone who cannot tolerate pain in their clients gains absolute power what do you expect? From a counsellor's perspective, Maruki is one of my favourite depictions of a counsellor in media, because he demonstrates so well the damage one can do even while truly trying to help.
@SpideyfanX
Rest in peace, Billy Kametz. Like a Shield made of Diamonds, you'll continue to shine on.
@NintendoGamer967
A line that I will always remember is from Morgana. He says that he acknowledges that many people would benefit from a world like this and sees where he's coming from even though he disagrees.
@Neutra77
Something that highlights Sumire's importance to the story and Maruki, I think, is that she essentially acts as a test case for each side to prove their argument. For the majority of the game, she is solidly in Camp Maruki, abandoning her identity as Sumire to act as Kasumi. This initially proves Maruki's point, as she was trapped in despair with no hope of recovery or completing the dream she shared with her sister. However, as you progress her confidant, it's shown that that happiness is short-term and stagnant. Sumire can pretend to be Kasumi, but she can't truly replicate her sister's performance, and thus can't fulfill their dream as she is. It's only once Joker helps her face her grief and accept herself as Sumire that she begins to truly move forward. It took a lot of short-term pain, but she converted that pain into developing her gymnastics abilities and making true progress with her and her sister's dream. Maruki has a compassionate goal, but only seeks short-term relief from tragedy that requires long-term healing. Under his rule, no one can truly grow like Sumire and the Phantom Thieves were able to. The Phantom Thieves may not be able to erase the trauma people suffer, but they can at least provide a chance for those victims to pick themselves back up and continue on under their own strength. Sumire was the direct evidence for this.
@SapphireCarbuncle009
I think Maruku's Phase 2 being so much easier to fight helps emphasize how hypocritical he is as he mounts a stronger offense, only for it to fade due to how much he refuses to fight them
@KudaGeatsune3821
Billy Billy Billy, can't you see the legacy you left behind? Rest in peace Also, Billy played villains so well It's a shame he passed on so suddenly 😔 Maruki was a favorite of mine alongside a couple other roles of his
@maidenofiron
Maruki quickly became one of my favorite Persona characters in the entire series, moreso than my other favorite character, Adachi. RIP, Billy Kametz, you knocked this role outta the park.
@cybertramon0012
I feel that the hypocrisy around Rumi is that he probably felt he had to leave her; that him being there might run the risk of her reawakening her buried memories and going into a fugue state again. He convinces himself that relapsing will always happen, and he projects that onto Sumire. He's convinced that she will fall back into the same pitfalls she did the last time because otherwise he could've found a way to help Rumi recover while still being with her. Like you pointed out, his 'sacrifice' of his love is a key part of his messiah complex. I see it as he's convinced he's in the right because he suffered so much, and then the Metaverse handed him all that power like a god on high.
@Taxmt
I saw a comment on a video a while back that basically made the argument that Maruki is the perfect Law alignment representative, and I genuinely couldn't agree more. The philosophical questions he raises like what is the purpose of suffering are scarcely discussed in the world we live in, and if it weren't for my niche religious beliefs (and you know, the lack of cognitive psience in the real world) I'd wholeheartedly champion Maruki's cause to the best of my ability. And then there's the scene after the slugfest with joker that just broke me. The way Maruki simply wants to give in to his despair after losing everything makes him feel so real as a character, and Billy Kametz's performance from the scream to "oh come on, I said I'm done" made it hit that much harder. 10000/10 character, and God bless Billy Kametz's soul
@esconde9922
The Doc is such a phenomenal addition to P5, his palace theme is one of my favorites. Rest in Peace Billy Kametz.
@LunaRunaSeluna
as someone that suffers from a condition that cant be cured and can leave me paralyzed for the rest of my life.. not to mention abuse from parents and supposed friends (one that SA'D me and forced me to remain friends with them by threatning me with their family's shady connections.) Maruki's character and goal was something that brought me to tears and made me agree with his character's goals... I wouldnt want anyone else to suffer like that
@cydude5856
I just finished Royal, and what stuck out to me most was his relationship to Joker specifically. Shido was the antithesis to Joker, using his power and knowledge to secure his own life at risk of all those around him. Akechi was the original game's dark reflection of Joker, a kid that was shunned by society and labeled as unwanted, but instead of wanting to improve society he focused his effort on just ruining individuals; specifically his father. But Maruki, to me, is way more like Joker than he appears. Maruki, like Joker, is willing to risk his happiness for others, and deeply values bonds. He offers Joker his perfect world so many times not just because he is pacifistic, but because he respects Joker specifically. Maruki is willing to risk a perfect world for one person, just as Joker risks his life for so many others. Maruki is Joker's true foil. Maruki was shattered and imprisoned by the harshness of the world, but when he gained the power to change his fate, all he could think of was changing everyone else's.
@kaylenvee8150
So the whole 'eternity of sleep for Joker' actually makes sense for Maruki to do. From the very beginning, as their leader, Joker has had to be the one who makes the tough decisions for everyone. He had to be the active person who steps up and does the job before everyone else follows after him, which was practically TORTURE for him because the first time he ever made the decision to step into a major situation, he got screwed over because of Shido, so he has trauma from the thought of needing to act. Now, after this entire journey of seeing adults abuse their power, to taking down a freaking God, it's not rocket science to say that Joker needs a fucking break. And what does he get instead? The knowledge that the counselor he opened up to is warping the reality they JUST fought to save, but into a totally blissful world where everyone gets what they want and are happy. And once again, people are pushing him around to MAKE A DECISION FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD. He knows that the world Maruki is making isn't right, because it's just another form of imprisonment, but imagine going outside and seeing the friends you've made over the course of this journey, who've struggled and grieved, completely and totally happy. And you're the one who has to burst that bubble. Bring back the reality full of pain and suffering, or let everyone live in a false reality, but happy. That's a burden that would break even a normal person, imagine loading that onto someone who has trauma from the choice they made. THAT'S why Maruki puts Joker to sleep if we miss the deadline. We prove that we're PARALYZED by the choice. We can't take away our friends' happiness but we also can't bear to just watch on and smile in this false reality while being fully aware that it's false, because Maruki refuses to force us into this reality and essentially puppet us around. So, the only way out is just blissful unconsciousness, where we won't ever have to think or dwell on the decision. It's a completely understandable choice of mercy for a normal person to spare Joker from pain. It's like euthanizing your pet because you understand that it would just be painful for them to continue living.
@1Sir-McKnight
Just finished Persona 5 Royal. I thought Maruki is a great antagonist. Partially because his offer is very tempting. It is such an ideal world, and his intentions are good for it. But besides just struggle, Maurki's plan removes choice. Your perfect life is what he thinks is best for you, to the point of you getting mind wiped and rewritten to believe its for your best. But love his dungeon design, great boss fight, and just a great conclusion to an already great story. Worth nothing, I think his plan would fall apart eventually, as the expanding people could cause his perfect reality to fall. Trying to accommodate the rest of the world, I think would eventually stretch his mind too much, not even accounting for how exactly new children would complicate things. If you look around the world, you can see NPC's collapse from partying too much, talking about exhaustion from working too much, but they can't stop just because they are so happy doing it. I really like if you look, you can already see cracks starting to form in his perfect world. But I know its a rant all this, I really loved this game. RIP Billy kametz. You were a great voice actor and you gave a fantastic performance as Maruki
@Mangakamen