Warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS for Persona 5 Royal ahead. Proceed at your own risk.The Persona franchise is beloved for many reasons, but its consistently excellent cast is among one of the biggest. Persona 5 in particular is massively popular, and launched the franchise to the popularity it enjoys today. When the enhanced rerelease Persona 5 Royal came out, it seemingly didn't have a ton to improve on. In spite of this, it made additions and changes that polished gameplay and added one of the franchises best characters: Takuto Maruki. Maruki's arc as one of Joker's Confidants is one that is integral to the story of Persona 5 Royal, and it pushes the confidant system to a new height.
Takuto Maruki is a character that fit seamlessly into Persona 5's story. After the Phantom Thieves complete the Kamoshida boss battle and Palace, Maruki takes up the position of school therapist. As the player progresses the game, they'll see Maruki talk to different characters from the Phantom Thieves, granting a rare view at their emotion and trauma separate from their interactions with the protagonist. Maruki and Joker also form a special connection, as Joker helps Maruki with his research on the Metaverse, the otherworldly space that contains Mementos and the game's palaces. As players' interactions with Maruki unfold, he comes to be one of the most interesting characters in the franchise.
Takuto Maruki Is Morally Complex
Maruki's status as the Councillor Confidant is logical; as a therapist to the Phantom Thieves, he grants more insight into the emotional makeup of each character and prompts the player to explore their own responses to the game. His focus on others creates a false sense of security around Maruki himself. He is well-meaning and easy to trust. His reveal as the game's final Palace ruler, while perhaps initially shocking, also makes sense. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and while Maruki is a good friend to Joker throughout the story, it is ultimately the player's aid which creates the game's final villain.
Maruki researches the Metaverse because he wants to use it as a tool to treat trauma. In Persona 5 Royal's third semester, players encounter a more ideal world where characters desires have come to fruition. Makoto and Haru's fathers and Futaba's mother are somehow revived, Ann's best friend Shiho was seemingly never terrorized by Kamoshida, and so on. It is eventually revealed that this world was created by Maruki so that people could be happier living without their trauma. This realization accompanies one that Sumire Yoshizawa, was actually brainwashed by Maruki to believes she was her deceased sister, Kasumi, since Maruki thought that would make her happiest.
Maruki Is Persona's Most Redeemable Villain
The reveal of Maruki's backstory is a tragic one. He researches the Metaverse because he used his powers as a Persona user to alter his former girlfriend's memories after she fell into a catatonic state. In doing so, he removed her memories of him, saving her life but leaving him alone. While this tortured him, he saw the Metaverse as a way to solve the trauma of others, himself included. Helping Yoshizawa, Persona 5 Royal's Faith Confidant, became a way to explore these possibilities further. Maruki sought comfort in a false reality rather than coping with the real one, and his creation of a new world is a reflection of his desire to extend that comfort to others as he did for Yoshizawa.
Maruki's arc is a fascinating one because he truly wants to help. His story asks whether a perfect lie or an imperfect reality is better. His story also stands out in the context of Persona because he is redeemed. In the end he realizes he was wrong, and helps Joker again. In the end, Maruki is still Joker's friend, and he always fought for what he thought was right and just. This is something shared by no other Persona villain and makes Maruki one of the series' most morally complex characters. Maruki and Kasumi's story is one of the most elaborate in the Persona series; hopefully future entries can have more deep characters like Maruki.
Persona 5 Royal is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
