Psycho-Pass – 16
At least his hair still looks fabulous. That’s certainly a relief.
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The police have their hands full with riots sprawling across the city and a group of highly dangerous criminals trying to destroy Sibyl. As expected, episode 16 packs a big punch as it follows through with this set-up and lets all hell loose. It’s time to finally see the Makishima versus Kougami showdown we’ve all been waiting for. |
This Kougami versus Makishima showdown is actually quite a small scale affair. Akane, Kougami and Kagari tackle about 8 henchmen in total – all of which are equipped with rather rudimentary weapons. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t call a laserbeam saw rudimentary, but at one point someone whips out something that just looks like a giant pizza cutter. They really weren’t kidding when they decided to replace guns with Dominators if a nailgun is the best they can do. Although they don’t have the most advanced arsenal and it’s just a small amount of people, it’s still pretty effective against the police who have nothing aside from their own fists to use as defence. It’s actually nice that there aren’t a bunch of other cops, enforcers, and endless minions peeking out behind cover to attack. It makes it easier to focus on the main goal at hand – which is Makishima (and the Sibyl System takedown to a lesser extent). I think Ginoza will be kicking himself for not sending more people to the tower. There is such a thing as being so cautious it causes more trouble. His stinginess made it so Akane and Kougami barely scraped through this mess…and it’s debatable if Kagari did.
This is why you always close the lid on blenders
Ah, yes, about our precious Kagari. He’s never got much of a chance to shine aside from giving his 2 cents in the form of a snarky comment every now and then and a handful of conversations with Akane. He seemed a lot like the textbook delinquent who would gladly kill a rioting crowd with a chainsaw if he was allowed to and not give a shit. In other words, I really liked him despite the fact he was just a side character through and through. Seeing a side character like him go off on his own made warning lights go off in my head. Either he would get a chance to shine, he would die, or the two things would happen at once.
As much as I knew trouble was coming for him, I still was pretty happy to see Kagari get his chance to bask in the limelight. We actually got to see him do some fighting too! Underneath that slim frame is a fighter, so it seems. We also learn that he’s a latent criminal but he’s not a jackass. I love that out of all the characters, it’s the rebellious Kagari who has a provate conversations with one of the main villains. Usually the typical villain to hero talk has both sides not agreeing at all, but Kagari actually kind of sees where Choe is coming from. The kicker is that Kagari couldn’t care less if Choe was offering him a million bucks because he hates the way Choe and Makishima self-righteously kill people for the sake of an idea they claim to be just. Kagari isn’t shown as a saint here, but as a latent criminal who has long since gotten over the fact that he’s stuck living his whole life on a short leash.
Unfortunately, I’m not sure if Kagari makes it. Although the Dominator says “paralyzer mode,” it may have actually malfunctioned and turned into “blow this dude into breadcrumbs” mode. I’m still not sure, but usually when the Dominator opens up and appears all fancy-like, someone’s guts are getting splattered all over. It would make sense to take him out since he’s now a witness to whatever it is that Sibyl actually is. So…what is Sibyl? It’s not just a computer system if Choe thinks this is such a scandal that hacking it is unnecessary. As long as it isn’t a little girl, I will be fine. As for what it is…well…I’ll leave you guys to speculate because I honestly have no idea. I just hope the actual reveal lives up to all my expectations.
On a side note, let’s not forget that Kagari was shot by an old lady cyborg. I offhandedly mentioned that maybe she was a cyborg a few episodes back, and it turns out that…well..she is! It may be a bit more complicated than that since her Dominator still worked underground though. She may actually have part of the Sibyl System’s server installed somewhere in her body so that even in the depths of a basement with jammers set up by Choe she can shoot latent criminals. It seems she will protect the integrity of Sibyl no matter the cost…even if it means murdering an innocent witness. Being one of the top brass, I imagine she’ll find this easy to just shrug off without getting put in jail. The biggest issue is probably how she’ll fix her melted-off face instead of explaining Kagari’s situation. All she has to say is that Kagari tried to escape or that he was a threat that needed to be silenced.
Makishima may be the prize, but let’s not forget that there was a lot going on downstairs as well. Kougami knew that he was being lead away from their main objective, but he prioritized capturing Makishima instead of thwarting his plan. What follows is a very exciting and rewarding climb to the top. Kougami is almost never wrong, so I didn’t question his idea to put a helmet on Akane for even a split second until that dreaded moment the Dominator seized up. It was so completely unexpected despite the fact that if I had thought for a bit longer I could have realized it would happen. It’s a crazy moment, and things became a lot harder once Kougami had to resort to hand-to-hand combat instead of a OHKO gun. Akane even gets shot! If you still feel like she’s just there as moebait, you tell me if you would be able to take a bullet to the leg and just calmly treat it so you could stagger up god knows how many flights of stairs to catch a criminal mastermind.
Don’t get me wrong – Kougami puts up a valiant effort as well. He holds his own against Makishima, although not for very long. It’s an impressive fight, and I much prefer these action scenes to the police running after someone and then killing them in one shot with Dominators. This was so much more satisfying. Kougami ultimately loses to the final boss after going through a gauntlet of henchmen, so it’s up to Akane to make the final call. It’s a tough choice for her, but she shows just how resilient she is by making the choice to let Makishima live. She overrides her desire for revenge and doesn’t give in. Unlike her first meeting with Makishima, she doesn’t kill him not because she’s too weak, but because she’s strong enough to make the right choice.
This is pretty much all I could ever want from the conclusion of the riots and attack on the Sibyl System. There are still a lot of things left to be answered in the upcoming episodes, which really makes the wait for each episode hard to sit through. Now that they’ve caught Makishima, what happens now? Will he inevitably escape and cause more trouble? Or will the focus shift to trying to unearth the secret behind Sibyl? I have high hopes, because Psycho-Pass hasn’t quite let me down yet and I don’t expect it to any time soon.
HOMERUN!
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Psycho-Pass continues to impress me with its story telling and this was the best yet. I loved the plot twist at end but the cliffhanger left me wanting more. Now it’s apparent why Urobuchi called this episode his masterpiece.
While Makishima’s Crime Coefficient is basically nonexistent, his badass level keeps rising. The long awaited fight between him and Kogami was great but I wasn’t expecting someone as athletic as Kogami to owned like that, especially from someone who rarely dirties his own hands. You also had to consider the setting around them. Notice while they talked how you can see their breath mixing with the cold air considering how high they were. Kougami could have been beaten so easily because not only was he hurt beforehand, his movements must have been sluggish from the cold.
The crown goes to Akane for fighting her desire for revenge even though it was tearing her apart though I wouldn’t blame her if she gave in. I loved her expressions showing how much of a struggle it was. But it’s almost a guarantee she’s going to regret not killing Makishima when she had the chance.
The chief turning out to be an android was a big WTF but it explains that trans-like state a few episodes back when Akane identified Makishima through her memories. I’m wondering if she, herself, is the core of the Sibyl system because her position makes for an ideal cover and also if she’s responsible for Kouzaburou Touma’s “disappearance” three years prior since he’s an anomaly to Sibyl. Hacking her Dominator is a violation to Sibyl’s guidelines.
Damn, Kagari got Urobutchered and just when he was much needed development just like what happened to Yuki. It’s always the jesters who go first. Considering who the author is, the chances of him staying alive are slim to none. Kogami telling him not to do anything reckless was pretty much a dead giveaway to his fate. Like I said about the chief hacking her Dominator. It was first at Non Lethal Paralyzer but went to what looks like Destroy Decomposer because it wasn’t the same as when she shot Choe.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The windows/walls seemed to just be holograms, so they actually had very little shelter from the cold. They said that was…what…the 90th floor? Yeah, no wonder you could see their breath. That was a nice touch.
It wasn’t an easy decision for her, but I’m glad that after all that struggle she made the right one. I get the feeling Makishima still might be capable of pulling off something nasty, and that would be when she might start to feel regret. Then again, she’s so strong I don’t think she’ll go back on her choices.
She seems like a Sibyl bot. She might not be the core of the whole system, but she might be part of it.
Considering it’s Urobutcher I should know better than to hope for him to be alive :B
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
I swear, i just keep on falling in love with Makishima, as an antagonist. I swear, he’s such a great villain! I was totally sold for those phrases from different authors, but when i first saw him fight, i was dead completely. He’s definitely a great villain. And Kagari…. Noooo, he was such a sweetie, even though he was a latent criminal. To bad he was killed off.
POWUH: 500-599 with 519 comments
Holy crap this episode. Everything about it was amazing. I loved Kagari. His cynical nature and sarcasticness was great. For a few seconds I was worried that he was going to jump to Choe’s side and end up fighting Kougami and Ayane but yay for him sticking to his own guns! 😀 Although THAT ENDING. I’m guessing the boss lady is a part of the sibyl system so that was why she was able to use a dominator and apparently override the paralzyer function. I am so praying that Kagari makes it but it doesn’t look good unless he magically was saved by the system itself or he jumped off the platform.
As for the system itself, I’m guessing it might be a human in a tank? I really can’t think of what else could cause the reaction that Choe and Kagari had. What better way to judge humans than with a human?
As for the Kougami and Makshima fight, I loved the fight itself. It was pretty realistic, with Kougami exhausted from fighting a bunch of goons so he wasn’t at his best. Also Makshima obviously knows martial arts while Kougami is more of thug fighting or whatever.
Props goes to Akane though. I was not expecting her to run out there and smack Makshima in the head like that(with a leg wound too!). I also think this is the first time we actually see Akane cry as she makes the hardest choice ever. Go girl! 😀
As for where it goes next…. I’m guessing that it will focus on the system itself. Maybe an overthrow of the sibyl system is in order?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
He’s a wildcard so for a split second I thought it could go either way…I’m glad he stuck with the police though. Unless she somehow didn’t change it from paralyzer mode then Kagari is pretty much dead but I still want to be in denial until I see him explicitly gone.
Sibyl as something human makes the most sense to me. Either one human or a giant brain or something. If it were a machine then it’d be no fun because that’s what everyone expects.
Kougami might have done better if he wasn’t bleeding so much from previous fights, yeah. It’s interesting because while they both use some scrappy moves (like Makishima’s breakdance sweep) there are a lot of refined techniques in there as well. Although I’d have to say Makishima is a lot more graceful, and his movements look more practiced.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
At first when Choe offered him a place in their side, lets say, but he got out of that epically!!!!! I just can’t get over that character. Why did he get killed off so esrly TT^TT i think an overthrow is definitely in order but i’m a little afraid, because i get the feeling that it will either be amazing, or terrible. Well, it’s alteady not the same without Kagari’s charm TT^TT
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Kagari’s dead. The Dominator didn’t malfunction, the Chief killed him because he saw the big secret. The big secret that’s sure to piss me off, just like Makishima’s superpower did. Urobuchi couldn’t just make it a computer that has ambiguous moral values. No, he’s gotta go and make it something so inhumane and immoral that Choe would react like that. We’ll see what it is, but I’m sure I’m not going to like it, and I’m sure that it’s a completely unnecessary twist.
At first I overreacted to the Chief being a cyborg. Then I remembered that that’s not something unique in that world.
It was definitely an intense episode, and after Robotics;Notes the night before, didn’t really help my mindset. But we’ll see how it goes next week.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I know she wanted to dispose of him to get rid of the evidence, I just wasn’t sure if she successfully was able to override the paralyzer function. That’s mostly just wishful thinking on my part though.
What Sibyl ends up being could make or break this series for a lot of people. It could either sabotage everything we’ve seen up until now or completely blow us away. I have no idea where this twist will take us, but hopefully it doesn’t piss too many people off!
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I’m proud of Akane. She manages to put aside what Kougami says that is based on pure motive and think about what Ginoza wanted- capturing him alive. I was not expecting the smash to the head move, which was so great and unexpected. Go go go!
Kougami, though, he kind of succeeding while failing. He wanted to go up to Makishima, which might have been a good idea considering cyborg lady has some sort of override power. (I’m guessing it felt like going berserk because it was so near the Sibyl System’s base thing, and it didn’t want anyone without authority to see it, which is why Choe and probably Kagari died there. Choe was saying something about having found the system.) But when it came to fighting Makishima, he wasn’t ready. He was tired and probably low on air as BB mentioned. Too bad. But like Liza says, that was more realistic.
I suppose the chief’s cyborg body is the big turning point here, but I just feel like something that Kagari said is the key to what’s really happening and what will. If Makishima ends up still living, he’s going to suffer a lot until everyone else is happy. And the people with high Crime Coefficients are always going to be stuck with no way up.
I’m hoping an overthrow will happen, but not expecting it. We’ll get a Makishima episode, a new comrade to replace Kagari (and maybe Kougami??), the riots will calm. But more people are going to die.
My guess is that we never find out what the actual Sibyl System is. Just that white wall Choe was taking pictures of. But it isn’t something we’re expecting, based on what Choe said, in the case that we find out. (I was actually thinking it was a little girl, but that would be so terrible unless it was Madoka or someone like that.)
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The best of both worlds: she still hits him upside the head, but she refuses to murder him. It was the perfect way to end the fight~ Although Kougami is crazy strong, there are human limits, and Kougami lost a lot of blood before he even got to lay eyes on Makishima.
I don’t think they’ll overthrow it, but I’m hoping they reveal the truth. It’d be super mysterious if they left it hanging, but then I don’t know what they’d make the story about if not finding the truth.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It’s a hell of a lot easier to get rid of a couple Inspectors and Enforcers than change the entire fabric of society, ya know. 😉
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Definitely. But somehow I get the feeling a tiny bit of the fabric of society will change. All of this violence has to have done something. The regular citizens can’t all forget about that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Because in a viewpoint, the Inspectors and Enforcers are pawns so they are disposable. They exist to protect the leader from all threats and it turns out Kagari became one so he had to go to safeguard whatever dirty little secret is being kept.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 322 comments
My god! What a mind blowing episode!! Although I admit I was expecting a bit more of the fight in between Kougami and Makishima, it still turned out to be a very satisfying scene to watch. LIke you said, OC, definitely much more riveting than witnessing a single lazerbeam blow a person into bits.
As much I love to hate Makishima, I just love him all the same. he evilness is just so….likeable? I dont know how that makes sense…Anyhow his badassness really got my blood rushing.
Akane was amazing this episode! It as nice to see the female character in a male dominated series take charge and her decision to resist taking revenge on Makishima made her one of my favourite characters of all times. You go girl!
As for the Sybil system, I betcha it was some human(s?) strapped amongst a machinery of wires. Who knows, the android Chief may not even be the mastermind behing this whole system but simply a safety measure to protect the nucleus.
Nonetheless, looking forward to the next episode very VERY much!! Psycho-Pass has really outdone itself. It’s been a while since I’ve felt such a thrill with a series.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Unfortunately I think you’re going to be right. I can’t remember if Makishima also mentioned Minority Report as well as Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep when he was talking to Choe about books, but I’m expecting something like Minority Report, maybe with a hint of The Matrix thrown in. Which, like I said, will piss me off. I could swallow a computer system that, while imperfect, is progressing towards adding more information and getting better. But enslaved humans is not something I wanted to see, because it’s cheap shock value and a lazy shortcut (both in writing the story and in-story, that they got around machine limitations by literally and figuratively using people).
And I’ll be *really* annoyed if the reason they want to capture Makishima is to put him into that same system.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
You say that would piss you off, but I actually would find that to be a pretty satisfying conclusion.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
It would annoy me because they had set up a really great ethical discussion, by making the system itself basically above reproach. You could argue about the effects of the system and whether they were good or bad or just different or indifferent to society, but the system itself wasn’t a moral wrong. What I fear is that they’ve made the Sibyl system be a moral wrong (analogous to in ShinSekai Yori where the Robber Fly colony lobotomized their queen and forced her to serve as a brood slave, while they talk about the rights of the individual) that makes it far too easy to condemn without addressing the rest of the societal effects of the System.
Basically, it’s going to be something so wrong that it’ll dominate the discussion on that point, not on the other points that they’ve spent the whole series building up to.
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
Just watch, it’s going to be something tragic and so much to a point that we can’t help but see it as good, and then we end up with super ambiguous feelings because of all the counter-evidence.
Because with ShinSekai Yori and the Roober Fly colony, they take what is a wrong and destroy it while proclaiming themselves to be better. The queen was wrong because she terrorized them. They aren’t any better but at minimum, they’re moving towards something better. They’ve found these principles. We can’t expect them to find the rights of the individual and then proclaim them for themselves and their enemies. They’re too involved in conflict. They need time to find the way to love all. That’s what I see. It’s not completely bad. Or maybe I’ve suddenly switched from pessimism to optimism.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 322 comments
Hmmm, that could be a possibility if you take the reference to the scene where the Chief referred to Makishima as ‘Shougo-kun’ suggesting that she might have been quite familiar to him in some way or another….
If they do want to put him into the same system, what role would he serve? Is there some sort of power these people such as Makishima and Touma have? Having mentioned Touma, he might the one strapped into the machine, which might explain his disappearance! O_O
POWUH: 500-599 with 543 comments
I take “Shougo-kun” as making him inferior to the Chief. There might be some kind of familiarity (which isn’t that hard to doubt at this point) but I didn’t take it like that.
Maybe they take his brain and analyze it to fix it into the system as “destroy right now now now” on the Dominators?
If Touma is strapped in, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has died by now or is on the way.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 245 comments
Pink! OAO
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I know, right? Just when I was reseting to blue after being so used to the green from last season.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Hey, hey, festivities!
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The pink, combined with the rotating tagline “anaaga will get you into yaoi” may have been a little too much for me…
😉
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Coughs. Well, that can’t be helped. 😉
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
That must have been a near fatal blow. Hang in there.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Well, I’ve been toughened up by following anaaga on twitter, so I survived. 🙂
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 322 comments
I heard there have been some yaoi fanfic going on featuring some of the writers here….(=w=)
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Understood and noted.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Oh. My. God. KAGARIIIII~ TT^TT he’s definitely dead, but I don’t want him to die. I liked that character, such a cute delinquent he was TT^TT and he could cook too. Oh whyyy go, whyyyy~ The second he went down the basement it was pretty much obvious that something bad would happen to him. I was also hoping that he would get out of that mess victorious, but it definitely seems otherwise.
Okay, aside from that, the rest of the show has to be amazing, because this was such a beautiful buildup, when Akane and Kougami were running up to the top of the tower, my heart started racing. Aaah, I’ve missed that feeling so much. And that fight between Makishima and Kougami was glorious! I loved it, and the BGM was just perfect…………. the only thing I’m a bit worried about is the Sibyl system. I’m pretty much sure that it has something to do with human beings, but……. that’s walking on thin ice, to say shortly. I’ll say that the end will be either mindblowing, or mindblowingly disappointing.
UWAAAAAH~ how is Kagari??? please, don’t kill him TT^TT
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Kagami was an awesome delinquent character and jester of the team and it was good to see him get some development because he was falling behind. It’s a shame seeing him in such a situation and it’s normal to want to see him get out alive but since it’s Urobutcher at the helm of the story, expect your hopes to be crushed like a bug in the most unpleasnt and excruciating manner.
The fight was good even though it was one sided. Not only did you have to consider the environment because it’s the top of the building with no windows bringing exposure to cold air, but you have to take note that Kogami wasn’t in full form since he came up wounded while Makishima was fresh and raring to go all out.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
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Yes, the fight was definitely great. Even though Shinya was already beat up, he still kept up with Shougo quite well for a while. I enjoy watching good hand-to-hand combat and this fight was definitely good, and more realistic that most of the others I’ve seen. <3
POWUH: Meta Resident and Metanorn's Hime-chan~ with 1758 comments
Oops. I’m slow, I know ^^”
Personally, I prefer when characters die more often in the show because it makes the anime so much more realistic. When Makishima killed Yuki I was pleasantly surprised, because unlike the anime, in real life heroes don’t magically appear in the last moment. So in a way I’m all for the Urobutcher way 😀
But why Kagari, whyyyyyyy~ TT^TT
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Since I am way too late to the party, I will keep my comment short ^w^;
NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WHY DID THEY KILL KAGARI I JUST CAN’T
Old lady, we Kimijima Kou now?
I was expecting Akane to smash the helmet on Makishima head lol.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
You know, I didn’t realize until now that Makishima and his squinty-eyed friend remind me of Aizen and Gin just with their hair colored switched around. 😛 Aizen of course was a true psychopath while I usually thought of Gin more as a sociopath. And Makishima and this guy had the same sort of leader/follower thing going on.
Anyway, it’s nice to see the continuation of the fight that was shown at the very beginning, though I had thought that it would actually take place at the very end. So now that Makishima has been captured what happens next? What is the real nature of the Sybil system? And why did the orange hair kid have to die! I really liked him though I was expecting it from all the death flags he was giving off. I’ve always hated that old broad, I had a feeling she was a cyborg. It reminds me of Skynet and how it was sort of female in the end. I hope somebody destroys her and the Sybil system. It really needs to go, though there has to be a plan in place for what happens after that. Especially with a society that was this dependent on it. However one thing these riots have shown, it’s that the Sybil system was built on a foundation of sand. For society to have fallen apart this easily in only a few days shows that.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Believe me, you’re close to finding out. The true nature of the Sybil system is going to be revealed in episode 17. That said, as a special case, stick to it after the credits. There’s an extra scene.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I was sad that Kagari died too. He was such a cool guy!
On a side note, going through old posts is a nice refresher to me before the new season starts because I completely forgot what happened. :3c