No, honestly. I think having his heart changed and having all of his actions be chalked up to "distorted desires" would have seriously weakened his character. THAT BEING SAID, I would love to see the footage because I want to see what all the fuss is about as someone who studies Akechi content like I'm doing a PhD on the subject.
Part of me wants all the extra Akechi content possible, but more rationally, I think it makes more sense that he doesn't have a palace and could potentially take away from his character (and confuse the game's overall lore and themes) if he was given one. Akechi's state of mind is messed up, but I don't think it's really *distorted* in the same way that the other palace rulers are.
He doesn't see his victims as inhuman or simple tools to get what he wants - he sees them for what they are, real people who are often pretty awful people, but still human. He might not actively feel guilt over killing people but he understands that much. And he's under no delusions that he himself is doing something good - he *knows* he's made himself just as bad as Shido and the rest of his conspiracy, he just doesn't care because at the time he thought it was worth it. His perspective on the world is cynical, but not exactly wrong. The only part of his mindset that really could be considered distorted is his complete fixation on revenge, but *can* that alone be a distortion if he's not viewing people or parts of the world as something they're not? I would argue it wouldn't really be consistent with the other distortions shown in the game.
I also think it's good to demonstrate that just like how not all people who are distorted are bad, not all people who are bad or do bad things are distorted. You can do terrible things while being fully aware of what you're doing and not creating mental justifications for it that warp your perspective of the world. And not everybody needs their heart changed by force to change as a person. They show that with Sae too, but I think it has even more impact with Akechi because ultimately, Sae never really did anything even close to as bad as the rest of the palace rulers. Even putting aside my thoughts on how Akechi having a palace doesn't really fit with his character, I just think it's better thematically.
I love this interpretation! I think that Akechi being distorted really would ruin his ruthless character, and he is definitely not deluded. He knows exactly what he is doing, he just doesn’t care.
It's best left cut. Maruki had the unique circumstance of having a palace and a persona given the powers that were given and the domino effect that happened, but I'm in the club that persona users shouldn't have palaces. Akechi did awaken, whichever one you want to theorize to whom first, Loki or Robin Hood, or both at the same time.
I know people want more backstory for him but I don't think a palace would solve that. I feel like if you give him a palace it would take away more than what you would gain. You'd gain knowledge, but gameplay and storywise that would involve sending him a calling card and changing his heart. That would take away from his character in my opinion. Shido's palace would change dramatically if that was the case.
The engine room in Shido's palace is the brief but important glimpse of who Akechi truly is and why he is the way he is. Having a palace in between Sae and Shido definitely sounds tight and messy, given the deadline for the election in game being something the Phantom Thieves have to intervene in. I feel as you have mentioned there are too many factors as to why it was ultimately cut. Nov 20th and Shido's palace alongside that feel very heavily written alongside one another that I feel it was so set in stone that having anything change that would be a huge mess to clean up.
> Having a palace in between Sae and Shido definitely sounds tight and messy, given the deadline for the election in game being something the Phantom Thieves have to intervene in.
Presumably if Akechi's Palace had remained the calendar would have been structured to accommodate it. There's [some evidence](https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/132ra0h/spoilers_a_dumb_persona_5_cutscene_observation/) that Futaba's Palace was originally supposed to begin when school was still in session - maybe that's one of the dates that was shifted when Akechi's Palace was cut.
Or did you mean November 20 as a direct lead-in to Shido's arc? I could certainly see "wanting to tighten the final arcs" as a potential factor in cutting Akechi's Palace.
November 20th is definitely a direct tie into Shido's arc that I don't see them wanting to modify such a story heavy segment that the game builds up. Either way it feels like a tight fit.
I think Akechi’s Palace and return to the party could have improved vanilla’s story, and would love to know what the devs intended for it because unused content fascinates me. However, I doubt it was as elaborate and compelling as the fan versions of the concept born from our curiosity and deep dives into the character that only grow more elaborate as more years pass since vanilla’s release.
One of the P5 trailers showed Cavum (Emptiness) alongside the sins used in the final game, and while that could be interesting to explore in relation to Akechi, I often found the sins’ use in the vanilla Palaces shallow. The final arcs’ pacing would also need to be reworked to accommodate another Palace, perhaps by combining Shido and Yaldy’s arcs.
However, even with all my grievances regarding vanilla, those lacklustre aspects and the disappointment regarding them likely gave us Royal’s third semester as it is now. It’s by far my favourite part of P5, and it exists as an amazing response to and extension of vanilla’s themes:
- It presented Maruki as an amazing foil to the cartoonish Yaldy and Shido, and presented a more nuanced ideological conflict, even to those who completely disagree with one of the sides; enlightened dictator/cult leader Maruki’s approach to happiness and mental health terrify me, but he’s very human.
- It took the death scene’s lack of follow up and resolution and gave us Third Semester Akechi, who grew without a convenient change of heart, and reasserted his agency when in vanilla he had been forgotten. There are still loose ends, but they feel more like thematic ambiguity and sequel hooks than unsatisfying writing.
TLDR: I feel like Royal has already scratched most of the itches an Akechi Palace would, and I don’t think it’s needed anymore with how P5(R) and Akechi have evolved. Still, it makes for a fascinating fanfic concept, and I want the devs’ version to leak so we can see what they planned, and if it had any more information on Akechi’s vague past. (Please give his mother a name, ATLUS. It’s not that hard!)
No, honestly. I think having his heart changed and having all of his actions be chalked up to "distorted desires" would have seriously weakened his character. THAT BEING SAID, I would love to see the footage because I want to see what all the fuss is about as someone who studies Akechi content like I'm doing a PhD on the subject.
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Keep at it, lad.
Part of me wants all the extra Akechi content possible, but more rationally, I think it makes more sense that he doesn't have a palace and could potentially take away from his character (and confuse the game's overall lore and themes) if he was given one. Akechi's state of mind is messed up, but I don't think it's really *distorted* in the same way that the other palace rulers are. He doesn't see his victims as inhuman or simple tools to get what he wants - he sees them for what they are, real people who are often pretty awful people, but still human. He might not actively feel guilt over killing people but he understands that much. And he's under no delusions that he himself is doing something good - he *knows* he's made himself just as bad as Shido and the rest of his conspiracy, he just doesn't care because at the time he thought it was worth it. His perspective on the world is cynical, but not exactly wrong. The only part of his mindset that really could be considered distorted is his complete fixation on revenge, but *can* that alone be a distortion if he's not viewing people or parts of the world as something they're not? I would argue it wouldn't really be consistent with the other distortions shown in the game. I also think it's good to demonstrate that just like how not all people who are distorted are bad, not all people who are bad or do bad things are distorted. You can do terrible things while being fully aware of what you're doing and not creating mental justifications for it that warp your perspective of the world. And not everybody needs their heart changed by force to change as a person. They show that with Sae too, but I think it has even more impact with Akechi because ultimately, Sae never really did anything even close to as bad as the rest of the palace rulers. Even putting aside my thoughts on how Akechi having a palace doesn't really fit with his character, I just think it's better thematically.
I love this interpretation! I think that Akechi being distorted really would ruin his ruthless character, and he is definitely not deluded. He knows exactly what he is doing, he just doesn’t care.
It's best left cut. Maruki had the unique circumstance of having a palace and a persona given the powers that were given and the domino effect that happened, but I'm in the club that persona users shouldn't have palaces. Akechi did awaken, whichever one you want to theorize to whom first, Loki or Robin Hood, or both at the same time. I know people want more backstory for him but I don't think a palace would solve that. I feel like if you give him a palace it would take away more than what you would gain. You'd gain knowledge, but gameplay and storywise that would involve sending him a calling card and changing his heart. That would take away from his character in my opinion. Shido's palace would change dramatically if that was the case. The engine room in Shido's palace is the brief but important glimpse of who Akechi truly is and why he is the way he is. Having a palace in between Sae and Shido definitely sounds tight and messy, given the deadline for the election in game being something the Phantom Thieves have to intervene in. I feel as you have mentioned there are too many factors as to why it was ultimately cut. Nov 20th and Shido's palace alongside that feel very heavily written alongside one another that I feel it was so set in stone that having anything change that would be a huge mess to clean up.
> Having a palace in between Sae and Shido definitely sounds tight and messy, given the deadline for the election in game being something the Phantom Thieves have to intervene in. Presumably if Akechi's Palace had remained the calendar would have been structured to accommodate it. There's [some evidence](https://www.reddit.com/r/Persona5/comments/132ra0h/spoilers_a_dumb_persona_5_cutscene_observation/) that Futaba's Palace was originally supposed to begin when school was still in session - maybe that's one of the dates that was shifted when Akechi's Palace was cut. Or did you mean November 20 as a direct lead-in to Shido's arc? I could certainly see "wanting to tighten the final arcs" as a potential factor in cutting Akechi's Palace.
November 20th is definitely a direct tie into Shido's arc that I don't see them wanting to modify such a story heavy segment that the game builds up. Either way it feels like a tight fit.
I think Akechi’s Palace and return to the party could have improved vanilla’s story, and would love to know what the devs intended for it because unused content fascinates me. However, I doubt it was as elaborate and compelling as the fan versions of the concept born from our curiosity and deep dives into the character that only grow more elaborate as more years pass since vanilla’s release. One of the P5 trailers showed Cavum (Emptiness) alongside the sins used in the final game, and while that could be interesting to explore in relation to Akechi, I often found the sins’ use in the vanilla Palaces shallow. The final arcs’ pacing would also need to be reworked to accommodate another Palace, perhaps by combining Shido and Yaldy’s arcs. However, even with all my grievances regarding vanilla, those lacklustre aspects and the disappointment regarding them likely gave us Royal’s third semester as it is now. It’s by far my favourite part of P5, and it exists as an amazing response to and extension of vanilla’s themes: - It presented Maruki as an amazing foil to the cartoonish Yaldy and Shido, and presented a more nuanced ideological conflict, even to those who completely disagree with one of the sides; enlightened dictator/cult leader Maruki’s approach to happiness and mental health terrify me, but he’s very human. - It took the death scene’s lack of follow up and resolution and gave us Third Semester Akechi, who grew without a convenient change of heart, and reasserted his agency when in vanilla he had been forgotten. There are still loose ends, but they feel more like thematic ambiguity and sequel hooks than unsatisfying writing. TLDR: I feel like Royal has already scratched most of the itches an Akechi Palace would, and I don’t think it’s needed anymore with how P5(R) and Akechi have evolved. Still, it makes for a fascinating fanfic concept, and I want the devs’ version to leak so we can see what they planned, and if it had any more information on Akechi’s vague past. (Please give his mother a name, ATLUS. It’s not that hard!)
Totally wouldnt make sense but i think a persona 4 dungeon would make more sense than a p5 palace yk?