So, I finally finished up Psycho-Pass once and for all, and ended up getting out of it a lot of questions about our current society, conflicted feelings and another awesomely addictive Jpop song…what more could I ask for, hey?
Oh yes, there is one thing; the next season for this series please.
Why? You’ll eventually find out…but don’t say I didn’t warn you beforehand.
What is it? I haven’t said anything? Well….SPOILERS ALERT!
There, I said it – happy?
…Let’s finish this.
By the way, this is kind-of part two of my review for Psycho-Pass; for part one, click on the link provided:
As mentioned before, there will be spoilers, so do venture ahead with caution ^^
Reaction to the ending of the series (this may seem more like a really long rant than anything LOL):
As someone who has just finished watching this anime series, questions continue to swirl around my mind – many that probably won’t be answered until the next season is released in the coming future. But, there is definitely one thing many can agree with me about – that this ending was definitely not satisfying.
There, I said it.
Come at me with whatever you have but that’s not going to change the fact that this ending was definitely not an ending intentionally made in order to make you squeal and cry out in happiness. I am well aware (especially since I’m watching this so late) that the ending had the intention to have a follow-up series AND movie, but looking at this in the shoes of others, who had finished it back in March, would have been SO disappointed; I was too, until I knew about the 2nd season AFTER finishing the series.
However, with this ending, the questions that pop up instantly would include:
- Was this ending a proper ending?
- Has the questions that have been presented to us, been answered, or rather CAN they be answered?
- Did it make sense of everything that has occurred up till now, or has it left even more holes open?
And the answer to these questions is: possibly.
I mean, within such a dystopically-envisioned world that differs from our own (or does it), what exactly were we, as viewers and thinkers of the future, expecting? A world that has been seen as a utopia by the wholes of society couldn’t possibly be a world in which we humans of the 21st century can imagine and understand, right?
Maybe that question posed to you all was a bit too heavy; it reminds me of my year 11 English Extension class, where studying dystopian texts was a compulsory task, rather than an enjoyment. Heh, I chuckle as I think back and wonder, what did I really hate about it? Was it the whole fact that we had to do it, or rather that since it was in the form of a task that must be completed, it seemed truly draining and unappealing? Whatever, the past is the past, right?
Anyway, moving back to the review. The story, in my opinion, had an ending nonetheless, despite the nasty after-taste I’m left with in my mouth about a couple of things.
Firstly, the loss of two truly interesting characters who probably could have had more character development placed on them – Masaoka and Makishima.
Hey, I warned you about spoilers, right? If you didn’t take my warnings into account beforehand, don’t keep reading until it’s too late. I’ll give you 3 seconds.
3…
2…
1…
Okay, if you kept reading till now, I’m assuming you’ve watched it already. *Sigh* Here goes.
Masaoka was probably one of my most favourite characters out of the entire series and yet, he was killed off towards literally at the end of it all.
When everything between him and Ginoza hadn’t really been resolved.
I mean, it’s obvious that Ginoza clearly forgives his father about all of the stress and pain he had inflicted on his family at a young age, but we as the viewers don’t know what happened, nor are we given enough clues and cut-scenes to piece together the puzzle, hence we are literally left in the dark. With that loose end, it doesn’t really sit well with me, and I would have wished to have seen more father/son bonding prior to the end.
Hmmm, what to say…I knew this was going to happen? God, I sound so up myself…
But then again, it wasn’t really going to happen, was it?
Both Ginoza and Masaoka had such differing views upon societal values and beliefs – one looking towards the past for answers, the other looking towards the future with the existence of the Sibyl system. Without a driving force to push these two opposing views to work together, there was no way the two would ever come to an agreement in thought or rather, there was no way both could survive within this storyline. Hence Makishima enters the picture, acting as that ‘force’ which compels Masaoka to choose between either saving his son, or allowing him to die.
When he lit that dynamite, we totally knew what was going to happen…
We all know what happens, and then that story is just left there; a son who loses his final method of recovering a stable Crime Coefficient, which ultimately demotes him to the role of an Enforcer, following the footsteps of his father and partner yet, an acceptance in fate and thus life in general.
Doesn’t seem that satisfying, huh? And then there is also the plot following both Kougami and Makishima, and also with Makishima’s character development.
I can state the obvious and say that we don’t learn much about Makishima’s past as well, but I felt that that was left out intentionally in order to convey the fact that this man is cold, detached and a down-right psychopath who is totally sick in the brain. The only disappointing thing about his character was that we don’t see enough in-depth information about him. We can gather that he is intelligent regardless as to whether or not he quotes Rousseau, or makes references to Gulliver’s Travels as if he had the book scanned and memorised all in the convenience of his brain. But honestly, one to two references once in a while, is plenty; what I want to know is what you think, rather than what others do?
In the end, that’s what were taught at school for, correct? To be able to read upon other academics’ knowledge which ultimately allows you to create your own opinion? For some reason then, Makishima doesn’t seem like an intelligent and unique being, but rather a megaphone who vocalises thoughts and desires of others while being that distanced ‘third party’ figure.
He doesn’t seem so threatening now, huh? The irony of it all is that he seems so at peace within his final moments despite what he’s done, as if he has achieved what he was looking for and yet, we are thankful for that too…that he’s finally at peace
Which takes me back to the story between Kougami and Makishima; their ending was, in some way, complete as well, in the fact that they two will meet, they would understand each other and thus accept the fate that one will kill the other.
We knew that the confrontation between them two wasn’t going to be right at the end; that sort of starting is beyond us. Seeing as this series was initially made to be only one season, we would have had to assume that Makishima, being the antagonist and all, was going to die regardless. Thus, our attention is turned towards Kougami, and the question “Is he going to follow the same fate?” appears, and we are left with a maybe, who knows. Huh…who knew that would happen? *rolls eyes*
Nope, different fate indeed…
But how could we have assumed that Makishima was the one destined to be killed rather than Kougami despite their ability to understand each other? It was probably due to the fact that Makishima never truly found a place of solitude. He continued onwards through the series (after his rejection of Kasei’s offer) as a lost soul, in search of his purpose in life as a person who couldn’t be judged by the Sibyl system like the rest of society – a “Criminally Asymptomatic” person. With that belief under his belt, he challenged the limits of humanity and the extremes of the mental state of a human being. Seeing as he calmly and peacefully smiled in his final moments probably proved that he has finally achieved the answer he was looking for – freedom from this society. We as the viewers can’t help but sympathise with this poor man, and as much as we would love to hate him with our guts pouring out, we can’t help but not since he has been isolated from society, for what seems like a long time. Hopefully, we will learn more about his intentions in the second season, though God help us explain how that’s gonna happen ><
Should I feel sorry for him? Should I?
And so, did Psycho-Pass have an ending? Yes. Was it as expected? Looking at the way the story took a turn at the halfway point, yes. Is it as we would have all wished for? Probably not, but then this is possibly the only ending that can leave a majority of people at peace, especially with the fact that both a movie and a second season will be made following this ending.
What this ending leaves instead is, apart from the scatter of seeds for the continuation of season 2 and movie #1, the fact that nothing is resolved, which seems to provide more vented frustration for me than ever. We are lead back to the beginning once again; same situation, only with a few alternations in character roles. What this series has provided is definitely a thought-jerker; the research, pieces and opposing opinions are laid out for you; now it is time for you to make your own hypothesis and opinion on the matter – can this society really run forward without the need of the Sibyl system? As for the bigger picture: what is the definition of ‘justice’, can we live without law and order, and can a normal human being stand against the unjust being even though it provides society with peace? All of these questions are thrown into the air, without any intention of being answered, yet. I just really hoped that I would have gotten a much conclusive foot-stamp from Gen, the writer of the series. Honestly, what was Gen hinting by showing us this conclusion?
Does this seem familiar anyone? Hint, she isn’t a new character either 😉 Have fun hunting!
Which leads me to believe this final conclusion: that the writer himself wasn’t really standing at a particular viewpoint as well. He seems to be more like the character Akane – she is aware of the flaws and problems within the Sibyl system, but ultimately can’t step away from the system as well. This inner conflict is vocalised through Akane, and we as the viewers cannot help but reflect that within ourselves. It sucks to feel this way; it really does, but then with that thought in mind, we can come to terms with the inevitably disappointing ending, and truly accept it as it is.
That look of determination…is what they all hope to achieve and have…
Which means for now, this story is at a stalemate; it cannot move back the way it came, nor can it move forward towards a conclusive ending as of yet. We can only hope that whatever is planned for the continuation of the series, is actually going to truly end this, once and for all.
Final Impressions:
So, going back to my initial impressions for the series, this anime has unconditionally fit the bill. It was, in the end, a series that had cyberpunk, dystopic and thriller themes blended together to create an anime that is both interesting and thought-provoking.
When I totally disregarded Akane in my previous post on Psycho-Pass, I believed that she would be a character who would trail behind the two big airheads of the series. Now, I totally deserve a beating for even thinking that. Wow, what an inspiring character, who was true to herself and since I can’t find a better word for now, badass lol. Her existence alone leaves me with a thought that I can’t lose faith in humanity just yet. And it is with the desire to see her grow more and more as a character, that I do hope a continuation is made following up of this series, movie or series or whatnot.
Her character development in this series turned a corner halfway, and definitely for the better ^^
The series, despite the lacking ending, was truly an enjoyable anime to watch. It was refreshing, and a really nice take on another dystopian society, which has been a particular genre I’ve grown to be quite fond with. Despite the slight lack in originality (it seems to have borrowed from Minority Report, Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell), the series still contains components that allows it to be another one-of-a-kind series, especially with its solid storyline, nice cast of characters and intriguing world development – oh how I’d “kill” to live there for even a day (haha, get it? Kill?…Geez, how dry).
The attention to detail in this series is truly eye-opening…I mean, just look at that from ep 1
And on a final note, the second ending theme song was JUST AS AWESOME AS THE FIRST ONE! Egoist, you are officially some sort of Japanese band-god of some sort. “All Alone With You” is another song which is just perfect as an ending theme…another addictive song that will be played on repeat on my iPod nonetheless. Check it out; it’s a great song!
Hope you all enjoyed this lengthy/boring review of Psycho-Pass. I totally recommend this series to anyone who is looking for a thought-provoking piece, or just a change in setting with a much darker themed series, away from all of the fluff and rom-com stuff. Hope you all are having a wonderful day/night, and I’ll catch up with you all later!
❤ Yami Hyunnie ^^~
Asia Reviewer Maniac 
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