Psycho-Pass - 16

"The Gate to Judgement"

I can say with utmost certainty, I was not expecting that.

It's strange though, when I think back on what I just saw, what happened wasn't really that shocking. It was saddening to see Kagami go, but I was expecting deaths and it's not really too surprising that he was the resulting casualty, considering all the death flags (seriously, never go on a mission at the butt end of a series on your own, you fool). I shouldn't even have been surprised that the Chief was a cyborg, one so connected with Sybil that she's capable of overriding the Dominator mechanism, but I was, though there were plenty of people who called that (props to you if you did). I'm probably just not very creative when it comes to theorizing, but I think what really got me was the fact that Makishima isn't the main antagonist after all. Of course, Makishima has always been a bit of an anti-hero, the one you're supposed to cheer for in terms of philosophy, but there was always this sense that he would be the final stand against whom Akane and Kougami would have to pit their beliefs. Instead, we find out that Makishima is just a mouthpiece for the anti-Sybil ideal, and that sooner than later, the Inspectors and Enforcers will have to stand on his side after all.

The fact that Makishima is a mouthpiece isn't exactly a grand revelation either. Characterization in this series has never been particularly strong, and I think that's intentional. It's very easy to list that as a flaw, as bad writing, but I don't necessarily feel that that's the case; sometimes type characters are useful, and I think they're doing exactly what they're supposed to do in Psycho-Pass. This isn't a story about individuals. To some extent you could even argue that this isn't a story about people at all, but about pure and simple philosophy. Each character espouses some viewpoint on the issues at hand, and those problems are real questions we answer in various ways every single day. I've mentioned the social contract in regards to this series before, and whether you're talking about Rousseau or Hobbes, we're still debating the merits of safety over freedom in countries all over the world. How much control is too much? How much is not enough? Does freedom mean we have the right to do anything? Does control mean we shouldn't be allowed to think or act a certain way? Makishima is the side who says control is wrong; freedom is absolute, regardless of what people do with that freedom. In his opinion, it's much better to be a psychopath than a fish in a tank, and in terms of Sybil I agree with that. The problem is Sybil isn't even about safety anymore, it's about repression. It's too extreme to function properly, and people are suffering under its dictatorial regime.

If that's the case, then at the moment Akane and Kougami are pro-control. They're the ones who believe (or want to, at least) that the world is a better place with Sybil in it, and that too much freedom is just as, if not more, dangerous than not enough. How long this viewpoint will last is debatable though. From what Kagami found out before he was silenced, Sybil is certainly not what it seems, and Gen obviously sides with Makishima in this debate, though now that he's been arrested, it's possible his role is complete.

I've heard that there's a good spattering of films like The Minority Report (which, interestingly enough, is based on a novel by the author of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?) involved here as well, but seeing as I don't watch much anything besides anime and never much liked movies, I don't know what those are. For those of you well versed in those references, I've no doubt you have a better understanding of what awaits in the final arc and a better idea of what Sybil's true form might be. I'm going with something organic, probably a violation of human rights, though that's just based on how assured Choe is of how outrageous it is.