When I first watched Psycho-Pass, it quickly became one of my favorite shows. Containing a dark, gritty vision of the future, it showed an interesting dystopia in which thought crimes could be measured and criminalized through a person’s Psycho-Pass. Those who are deemed a possible future problem for society are captured or killed. However, the most interesting part of the series to me was the many references to literary and philosophical thinkers ranging from Shakespeare to Philip K. Dick to Weber. Despite these references, the biggest philosophical musings belong to the show’s three main characters: Akane Tsunemori, Shinya Kogami, and Shougo Makishima. Together, the three symbolize the whole of society in the balance of their ideals. Analysis of these characters will lead to major spoilers in the show. If you have not seen it yet, you can see where you can legally watch it here. Otherwise, continue if you have seen it or do not care about spoilers. Akane Tsunemori Akane Tsunemori represents the need for law and order within a society. In the beginning, she sees the Sybil System as good for society. However, she slowly sees the price paid for the order the system brings. Those deemed unfit are cast to the bottom of society as Enforcers, and thought criminals can be killed. Despite learning of this, she still wants to change society from within to keep the order. This is symbolized by her inability to kill Makishima despite having reason to. Consequently, she desperately pleads with Kogami to stop chasing Makishima and capture him. This is despite him escaping after he was caught last time. In the end, she stayed subservient to the Sybil System, vowing to change it while keeping order. Shinya Kogami Shinya Kogami represents the spirit of justice within society. He uses his reasoning to track the criminal to mete justice. Masaoka tells Akane that when fighting monsters such as Makishima, Kogami stared into the abyss too long. His unbridled need for justice quickly turned to vengeance towards Makishima. Though society would argue that Makishima’s life should be forfeit despite an irregular Psycho-Pass, Kogami takes it personally that he orchestrated many murders. His downfall into revenge is symbolized by him leaving the Enforcers to bring Makishima to justice himself, outside of the law. This puts him at severe odds with Akane, who views this as lawlessness. Makishima sees this as great since Kogami is acting of his free will to kill him. Shougo Makishima Shougo Makishima represents the need for individualism and free will in society. He sees the Sybil System as an oppressive force that turns humans into cogs in its machinery. Therefore, he works with many people, allowing them to act out their desires. Makishima watches them to see if they are still “constrained” by the system, or if they act on their own. The push for unbridled individualism can be dangerous, however. With the invention of Psycho-Pass blocking helmets, people started murdering each other in the streets. Society needed the sense of justice, law, and order that Makishima took away when he gave people unfiltered ability to act. He dies happy when Kogami states that he will not be replaced, knowing he was not just a cog in his life. Aftermath All three of these characters symbolize the importance of their ideals within a society, but they also showcase the impact of going too far. Kogami was forced to flee from society for killing Makishima, Akane stayed under the command of the Sybil System, despite knowing of its inhumane treatment of its citizens, and Makishima unleashed criminals into society, leading to many murders and Kogami to chase him down. Therefore, Psycho-Pass establishes that a stable, moral society needs law and order to keep stability, a sense of justice to establish morality, and free will to allow people to follow their passions within reason. I hope this analysis has been insightful to you. If you are interested in further analysis, check out Digibro’s analysis of the spirit of the law. Feel free to leave comments below with your thoughts and interpretations.
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