Mara

Mara is a demon in the series.

History
In Buddhist myth, Mara is also known as "The Evil One," a tempter, through the deceit of regarding the mundane and negative as alluring, and personifies unwholesome impulses, unskillfulness and the "death" of the spiritual life. In many religions that incorporate the cosmology of the Hindu originated Trailokya, Mara is said to sit atop at the Sixth Heaven of the Desire Realm that includes the mortal world, and is said to be both that which ensnares souls in Samsara by deceiving them with promises of happiness in the Desire Realms, and who is the ultimate obstacle of any who desire to achieve enlightenment into nirvana and sunyata.

Feeling threatened by the enlightenment the Buddha was trying to bestow upon humanity, he attacked when he was meditating beneath the bodhi tree. He was defeated when the Buddha simply touched the tips of his fingers to the earth, whereupon all the gods descended in a tremendous roar to pay homage to him. Though Mara was defeated that time, he still lingers in the world, hoping to seize the souls of the dying and unenlightened.

Originated in Sri Lankan Buddhism, a demon who was riding Girimehkala with a penis-headed image tried to stop Siddharta Gautama from reaching enlightenment through meditation. The most common story depicts Mara using his beautiful daughters in an attempt to tempt the Buddha; he later marched his demonic army to scare him, however this ended in failure for Mara.

There was a metaphor known as Devaputra-mara which is the disillusion of regarding Mara as an objective being.

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei II: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: if...: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: 20XX: Tyrant Race, Boss (Law and Neutral Routes)
 * Shin Megami Tensei NINE: Tyrant Race (Unused)
 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: Optional Boss
 * Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV: Tyrant Race, Boss
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse: Tyrant Race, Boss
 * Shin Megami Tensei V: Tyrant Race
 * Last Bible Special
 * Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis: Tyrant Race
 * Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers: Tyrant Race, Optional Boss
 * Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon: Pagan Order
 * Soul Hackers 2: Tyrant Race, DLC-exclusive
 * Persona 3 FES / Portable: Tower Arcana
 * Persona 4 / Golden: Tower Arcana
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Tower Arcana
 * Persona 5 / Royal: Tower Arcana
 * Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth: Tower Arcana
 * Persona 5 Strikers: Tower Arcana
 * Shin Megami Tensei Trading Card: Card Summoner: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2: Tyrant Race

Shin Megami Tensei II
Mara governs the Tower of Chokmah in the Expanse and acts as a guard to Lucifer's Castle Kether. If Aleph's Alignment is Chaos, he will let Aleph pass either with a minimum of 15 Wisdom stats or by beating him in battle. In the Neutral or Lawful paths, Mara will try to tempt Aleph. First, he offers 999,999 Macca. Next, he offers a 10 level increase. Finally, he offers power that surpasses even Satan and Lucifer. If Aleph accepts any of his offerings, he will fall under Mara's spell and must fight Mara with a handicap.

Shin Megami Tensei: 20XX
Mara appears as the head of the Ring of Gaea. He is mentioned as "His Excellence" by the demons and Gaeans. If the protagonist follows the Neutral or Law alignments during the battles in the Arena, Mara will invite the protagonist to give him the title to rule Valhalla. When met, he'll offer control of Valhalla to the protagonist, if accepted, he'll freeze them. Either way, he will attack. After being defeated, Mara explains that while Lucifer is still alive, the demons will never disappear from the human world.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
"Well! In my rush, I have summoned Mara the Magnificent in an incomplete body of a slime."

- Baphomet

An incomplete, slimy form of Mara appears when Baphomet summons him during a Full Kagutsuchi phase in Shibuya at the request of two impatient Manikins and the ritual fails due to the Manikins rushing Baphomet. Mara, offended by his incomplete form, immediately becomes hostile and attacks the Demi-fiend. The Demi-fiend will be rewarded with the Muspell Magatama upon defeating him.

Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
The slime-form Mara is a plug-in acquired by turning in 800 Essences of Yetzirah to the researcher in Shinjuku Babel's cathedral. He is a triple fusion of Girimehkala, Surt and Hecate. Prior to the August 2014 update, this was the only form of Mara.

In August, an event was implemented carrying on the storyline of characters introduced during the February event. In this event, Incubus and Oni are encouraged by Baphomet to summon Mara in Shibuya in order to create a harem kingdom. In a callback to Nocturne, the summoning fails and the slime-esque Mara is summoned. After defeating this Mara, players could use a seven-colored pillar to be transported to the Tower of Chokmah and face Mara's true form, with a chance to receive the ability to fuse him in a triple fusion of Mara (Amorphous), Moloch and Girimehkala. Mara's true form learns the unique skills Maralagidyne and Cursed Spit. This true form was later added as a boss fight in Abyss Tower.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
In this game, Mara is portrayed as a goddess rather than a god, wielding power over temptation and death, despite retaining the same overall shape (though a local Grendel insisted she was once a beautiful goddess). She appears in Sector Grus after reaching a certain part of Sector Horologium. In the Chaos path, she hires the protagonist to assault a gathering of angels and disrupt the ritual they were carrying out. Despite the attack, the angels finish the fusion ritual and combine themselves to form Seraph, forcing the protagonist into a fight. After Seraph's demise, Mara will arrive, regretting she did not participate in the death of the Seraph, and can join the protagonist's party. Fulfilling her request also yields the right to summon her through fusion and the Peacemaker, the most devastating gun in the game.

During the Law route, Mara appears instead as the enemy, as the protagonist is hired instead by the Seraph to destroy Mara. Upon Mara's death, Seraph will join the protagonist instead.

Shin Megami Tensei IV
Mara is summoned by the Terminal Guardian to prevent Flynn from accessing the eighth Terminal. The game reuses the compendium entry from Strange Journey.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Mara appears in a line of Challenge Quests involving an individual named Maruo and the hedonist cult surrounding him. After Maruo has been beaten twice and his beliefs in living as he wishes shaken, Mara appears, revealing himself as the demon behind the events. However, he lacks the strength to take on Nanashi and leaves.

In the final quest in the line, Nanashi receives an SOS from Maruo himself. He arrives at Kiba Storage to find most of the Maruology cult drained of life and battles Mara at his full strength.

Mara focuses on using his one attack, Hell Thrust, and is smart enough to use his extra Press Turns for Critical Eye or Charge. If not Smirking, he can also defend his own weakness with Makarakarn, and against Tetrakarn he will wait it out by setting up for an empowered Hell Thrust or use Tetrabreak to cancel the move altogether. Protection against Charm status may be wise, especially if an affected party member has the Diarahan or Mediarahan skills. Mara will almost immediately counter any debuff spells with Dekunda but cannot remove the party's buffs aside from the Rakunda effect Hell Thrust gains if Mara Smirks. A gun with Ice-elemental rounds can strike his weakness without having to worry about Makarakarn. During the battle, Mara will pose questions to Nanashi, with the answer having different effects on the battle.

Despite being the boss of a quest line, Mara is not locked for fusion and can be accessed anytime provided that Nanashi meets the level requirement.

Shin Megami Tensei V
Mara is a demon that can only be obtained through Dyad Fusion. It benefits learning Physical and Ailment skills the best.

Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis
Mara appears as enemy units near the end of the neutral route. Acting as troops for Satan, Beelzebub and Angra Mainyu.

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
Mara is one of the five bosses the protagonist can fight in the Corridor of Time after clearing the game. Defeating him is necessary to obtain the Iron Manji, one of the five items required to unlock New Game Plus.

Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abaddon
Mara appears at Waden One during a Case File, having fought with Raido Kuzunoha the XIV and dragged him across a dimensional rift, placing him in Raidou's timeline. She has the tendency to spout a multitude of puns, all related to her penis shape, and shares the skill "Cursed Emission" with Mishaguji, another phallus-shaped demon. Mara is portrayed as once being a goddess rather than a god.

In New Game Plus, she must be fought in the Case File 7th Trumpet, Eternal King as one of the generals of Lucifer's army.

Persona 3 FES
Mara appears as an exclusive Persona added to the Tower Arcana. Mara is summoned by means of a special Pentagon Spread fusion using Incubus, Mot, Pazuzu, Kumbhanda and Attis.

He also holds the distinction of having the only multi-target severe damage Fire elemental spell, "Maralagidyne." Fusing Mara with a Nihil weapon grants the strongest fist-type weapon, Evil Gloves, which is another pun on his design.

Portable
Mara will give the protagonist the Maralagidyne Skill Card when this Persona has leveled up to 86, which is the only way this spell can be passed on to other Personas.

Also, if the protagonist enters the Velvet Room with Mara as the equipped Persona, Theodore or Elizabeth will comment on the protagonist's choice of Persona:


 * If the protagonist is male, Elizabeth comments, "Oh, my... Tee-hee... It's very manly, that much is certain."
 * If the protagonist is female and has Elizabeth, she comments that it doesn't fit her.
 * If the protagonist is female and has Theodore, he comments, "Wh-Why do you have that... thing... equipped? It's very... unladylike."

Persona 4
Mara returns as a Persona of the Tower Arcana. He can be summoned once the protagonist reaches Lv. 62 or above and fuses the appropriate Personas in the Velvet Room. However, Mara no longer learns the skill Maralagidyne.

Persona 5
Mara is the sixth Persona of the Tower Arcana and can be found as a Shadow in both his slime form from Nocturne and his normal form. His slime form can be found in Kamoshida's Palace and Mementos, with the title "Torn King of Desire." His normal form can be found in the Depths of Mementos and the Qliphoth World, with the title "Throbbing King of Desire." His slime form cannot be acquired or fused. Mara is one of three Personas to learn the One-shot Kill Gun skill. He is also one of four Personas to learn Heat Up and one of two to learn Firm Stance. When itemized through Electric Chair execution in the Velvet Room, Mara will produce a Maragidyne skill card.

The slime form will first appear as a boss in Kamoshida's Palace. During the fight, the Torn King of Desire may waste a turn staring at Ann Takamaki.

During the request "The Head Honcho of Showbiz," the Shadow of Shiro Asakura assumes the form of Mara when he is confronted in Mementos. He can be found on the bottom floor of Sheriruth. During the battle, Shadow Asakura will continually use Tarukaja to increase his attack power. Following this, he will use Charge and then Lunge, attacking female party members. Shadow Asakura will only attack once its attack is increased; lowering it or erasing its buff will cause it to repeatedly try to get its attack up again.

Slime Mara cannot be recruited as a Persona, making them the only Shadows fought in regular battles that cannot be recruited.

Royal
The slime Mara in Kamoshida's Palace has been moved to a hidden floor inside the underground dungeon and is defending a Will Seed. Ann will express disgust upon encountering it.

A slime Mara encountered in the Qliphoth World or the Path of Da'at has high odds of becoming a Disaster Shadow.

The Persona Mara no longer learns Heat Up or Firm Stance; instead, it is one of five Personas to learn Psycho Force and one of three to learn Brain Buster, and it will grant the skill card Mapsiodyne under normal circumstances or Psycho Force under a fusion alarm.

Persona 5 Strikers
Mara appears as a strong Shadow called the Throbbing King of Desire in the request "The Writhing Nightmare Rises." Once the request has been accepted, he will appear in the Cage of Desolation area of the Okinawa Jail. During battle, Mara will use strong Physical, Gun and Fire attacks on the party, including a jumping slam with high tracking, charging dashes across the arena and his signature skill, Mararagidyne. Mararagidyne deals severe Fire damage and appears right at the location of Mara's target, making the skill hard to dodge. His version of One-Shot Kill will also erect a "blind" effect on the screen, with inky dark splotches covering the screen and obscuring the battlefield.

Shin Megami Tensei II
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Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
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Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
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Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
"Fake Raidou Sighted"=

"7th Trumpet, Eternal King"=

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Persona 5 / Royal
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Persona 5 Royal=

Persona 5 Strikers
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Trivia

 * Its manifestation in the series is likely a nod to the metaphor of Devaputra-mara, the disillusion of regarding Mara as an objective being.
 * Mara, like the major Mothers in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, has MA in her name.
 * When requesting the Seraph's death, Mara wearily moans she would head to Horologium with the protagonist or even kill the Seraph herself, but she wants to stabilize so she won't turn into a Slime again, in reference to the botched ritual in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.
 * Its design is a pun of sorts, as "Mara" is a slang word used by Japanese Buddhist monks for "penis."
 * Mara's attributes are usually filled with sexual innuendos.
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse makes heavy use of innuendo in its script, especially once Mara finally reveals himself.
 * In Mara's Shin Megami Tensei V Daily Demon video, its level is 69.
 * In the Persona series, Mara is part of the "Tower" Arcana, and both of the physical skills it learns in Persona 3 deal Piercing damage, while two of its skills in Persona 5 are Charge and Firm Stance.
 * In Persona 5, the Shadow Self of the Mementos heist target Shiro Asakura manifests as Mara. Shiro Asakura is an entertainment industry head that forces his female employees into sexual relations with him. He can sometimes be encountered in Shibuya during the protagonist's free time.
 * Shadow Asakura is one of the only two enemies in Persona 5 that are level 99, the other being Caroline & Justine.
 * In a popularity poll in 2017 in Japan, Mara was voted as the most popular Demon in the Megami Tensei series.
 * In SMTV Mara has a unique conversation with Slime that corespondent to the event in SMT3: Nocturne