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View Poll Results: Psycho-Pass - Episode 22 [END] Rating | |||
Perfect 10 | 29 | 26.36% | |
9 out of 10 : Excellent | 31 | 28.18% | |
8 out of 10 : Very Good | 24 | 21.82% | |
7 out of 10 : Good | 12 | 10.91% | |
6 out of 10 : Average | 7 | 6.36% | |
5 out of 10 : Below Average | 3 | 2.73% | |
4 out of 10 : Poor | 2 | 1.82% | |
3 out of 10 : Bad | 1 | 0.91% | |
2 out of 10 : Very Bad | 0 | 0% | |
1 out of 10 : Painful | 1 | 0.91% | |
Voters: 110. You may not vote on this poll |
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2013-03-22, 00:39 | Link #81 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
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Sibyl doesn't have to be taken down for the plot to matter. If Akane had decided on some sort of rebellion against it, such as getting the truth to dissidents, or any action (rather than just words) symbolizing Sibyl's days being numbered, or even simply escaping with Kogami, then that would have been an improvement. Instead, she just went along with it, believing that a better society resulting from Sibyl's own manipulation will eventually end it. That's disappointingly passive for somebody supposedly growing during the storyline.
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2013-03-22, 00:48 | Link #82 | |
Hiding Under Your Bed
Join Date: May 2008
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2013-03-22, 00:52 | Link #83 | |
Kitty?
Join Date: Jan 2009
Age: 33
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It's also worth noting that, if Makishima had been captured and integrated, it would have prevented any other asymptomatic individual from being able to follow in his footsteps. So his death, while satisfying to those he wronged, may ultimately allow other criminals like him to continue to operate outside of the law. |
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2013-03-22, 00:57 | Link #84 |
Eaten by goats
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Rokkenjima
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The good:
- This was pulled off well, with good direction. The fight scene in particular was very well done. - Makishima was handled quite well overall this ep (although I suspect the criticisms about how he shouldn't have even been in this story arc are valid). Good expressions, voice acting and nuance. It was interesting to see the contrast between him and Kougami, with Makishima in a way seeming desperate for a connection with him, while Kougami was fairly straightforward about just wanting him dead. - I have to admire Akane for grabbing onto the side of the van and shooting out the tire! That's some dedication. But really, anyone doing that should have expected to die... - The Yayoi/Shion confirmation scene, and I like what they were saying about the changes to the department and the need for different sorts of people. - Sybil turned out to be more sensible in this ep than they seemed, as they realised that the secrecy couldn't go on forever. - It was nice to see Gino actually looking happy. (OTOH, he had to go through a sudden personality shift to do so...) - It's interesting and probably good that the series has shown that taking down Sybil the way that Akane wants is not something that can be fully resolved in just this length of time. However...has there really been any progress? The bad: - Nothing really changed. Sybil may even have a leg up in that it's observing Akane to gain data on how people might learn to accept them. Also, with all the characters getting shifted into each other's roles, everything seems pointless. The plot hasn't really gone anywhere. It feels more like a prequel to the real plot of getting rid of Sybil, explaining some of the characters' backstories but not moving things along. If there's a sequel in the works it would make more sense. - Kougami changing his mind after working with Akane and going after Makishima with the gun at the end felt a little odd. Makishima was injured and might have died on his own...Was it worth it for Kougami to jeopardise his own safety by shooting him? Granted, it's not as if Akane told him about the deal she made, so he probably had no real expectation that he could return to a non-killed-by-Sybil life. I suppose it makes sense if he had no intention of going along with Akane and merely capturing Makishima, though. As people have pointed out, he may have got the best ending in the series! Off on a boat to somewhere that isn't Japan. He's definitely got the skills to be a success at whatever he wants to do. A pity he doesn't know the truth about Sybil, though, because it means he can't just leak the info to other countries. - Akane is looking pretty miserable. It's completely understandable, but damn, ever since she found out the truth about Sybil she's been thoroughly changed and unhappy. I would have liked a better outcome for her. Still, it's only two months after all that horrible stuff happened, and she was nice enough to Gino. And Gino is completely right that Akane is the one they need to be worrying about. How could she be expected to be back to her normal cheerfulness levels when she's been through what she has? - I also feel iffy about Akane's choices here. It would have been nice to see her actually planning, or at least thinking "I'll look for an opening to defeat the system" even if she hadn't found a good way yet. We could assume that she is thinking that way, but we could also reasonably assume that she isn't. The sort of justice she was talking about in this ep appears to be the type where society has to evolve to become perfect in order for Sybil to be switched off - where Kougami said that if everyone thought the way she did, there'd be no need for Sybil - and if that's the case, she's going to be waiting forever. She's still very idealistic, yet she's also become very jaded. Is she really going to hold out for her own perfect picture of justice, or is she going to actively seek out a future without Sybil? It's hard to know how to read her here. - The Yayoi/Shion scene. It feels really, really cheap for the series to have neglected those two characters and their interactions so badly, and yet to shove them into an after-sex scene in the last episode so that people would go "yay, lesbians!". That's not good enough, to skimp on their scenes like this. They should have paid some more attention to those characters before. Lazy, lazy writing. Last edited by GoldenLand; 2013-03-22 at 01:21. |
2013-03-22, 01:17 | Link #85 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Age: 38
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Besides what is Akane suppose to do with the system constantly watching her?
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Last edited by Dark Wing; 2013-03-22 at 01:49. |
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2013-03-22, 02:17 | Link #88 | |
SIBYL salesman
Join Date: Feb 2011
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That was quite a somber ending, but at the same time I found it rather refreshing that it actually ended the way it did. No deus ex machina, no naive/reckless actions to shake the entire society then not bother following it up. The world moves on, the old generation leaves and the new generation takes over. Adapt to the changes in society, or be left behind. It's too bad Gino doesn't have a kid so Sibyl can torture every passing generation on his family line . Also, Makishima running through the fields gave me some Death Note ending vibes (scenic-wise, that is). I do wish there'll be a second season (and more), though I'm doubting it . |
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2013-03-22, 02:17 | Link #89 | ||
I disagree with you all.
Join Date: Dec 2005
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And that's if you forget how they deal with asymptomatic criminals. Well, I say asymptomatic, but by any reasonable critieria, "is murdering someone right now" would be a pretty serious symptom. Quote:
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2013-03-22, 04:53 | Link #90 |
Strange New World
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Canada eh.
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It would have been better if Akane sent a coded message to Kogami's Mentor or that community board of philosophers with hint about the exact nature sybil system... it would be kind~of getting the ball rolling for an example.
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2013-03-22, 04:54 | Link #91 |
Awakened One
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Italy
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The ending is not terrible by any means but I think that Gen chose the safest route here.
Makishima is dead, Kogami got his revenge and escaped, Gino was demoted to enforcer as expected, and finally Sibyl still stands. I wish he would have taken a more definite stance on Sibyl's fate. For instance, Makishima is dead but he managed to infect the crop. Or Makishima's brain is added to the Sibyl System but it starts plotting its own demise. I don't blame Akane for not going public on Sibyl. She doesn't have any proof after all. But I wish we had seen at least the seed of Sibyl's demise planted. What I did like was the cyclical nature of the ending, with Akane now in Ginoza's role as the veteran inspector, Gino in Kogami/Masaoka's role as the former inspector turned enforcer, and the new recruit Mika in Akane's role. I like this kind of ending because it shows the progression of the main character from the naive rookie to the senpai who now must teach the new girl.
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2013-03-22, 04:54 | Link #92 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
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Kogami vs Makishima! That was what I was waiting for!
Akane's hope for Kogami was just amazing to watch. She really trusted that guy in every way. Kogami - Akane team really was the best. Makishima was the type of guy who never quits. He just needed someone to stop him. That Sybil system is truly a disturbing thing when you see its true form. Pretty good final episode.
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2013-03-22, 05:07 | Link #93 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Buffalo,Newyork
Age: 31
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Anyways no in real life if you did what kogami did your arm would be broken in two.
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2013-03-22, 06:03 | Link #94 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 38
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I think that living in this day and age when Arabic springs and whatnot are happening around the world, when change is sometimes too bright to look at, this ending will surely be underwhelming to many people. But even though nothing really changed for this generation of inspectors, change is in the air. The cycle of endless recurrence continues, but things gradually change. The ending is as realistic as it could've been.
What strikes me is Sibyl's arogance in thinking that people will never shut down their lights, as if their current arrangement wasn't put into place by the will of the people. Sibyl's existence is actually very fragile. Wasn't Senguji the one to mention that brains can live for up to 140 years? That's how long the system has if it doesn't find any new criminally asymptomatic people to take in, then its ability to cope with change starts to decline. Akane is right. She knows the very best she can do is to struggle on with her way of looking at the world and making things better simply by expressing her will in small ways. Sibyl's arrogant because it thinks it can quantify all that. I'm seriously reminded here of so many engineer-types from the tech world who think they can fundamentally fix the world's problems by writing some code, as if everything depends on their ability to come up with a solution and that the collective of human thought cannot produce anything worthwhile without their smarts, even though they're the geeks who need to get in touch with reality. |
2013-03-22, 07:15 | Link #95 | ||
Senior Member
Author
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And I have to say I find it odd indeed for an American to talk about how mature this ending is. I guess America owes its very existence to George Washington and Benjamin Franklin being decidedly immature men. History is replete with examples of successful revolutions. So what's so 'immature' or 'unrealistic' about the idea of starting a successful revolution? And even putting aside the American Revolution, we've seen numerous social upheavals in America's history where old, corrupt systems of government were pushed aside for newer and fairer ones. Thankfully, Martin Luther King Jr. was also an " immature" man... But I guess Sybil Japan can take comfort in Akane's "maturity", and the continuation of a ruthless and deeply flawed/corrupt system of governance. Mind you, I've honestly grown somewhat tired of rehashing all of Sybil's flaws over and over and over again, so I don't intend to do so yet again right now. I once made a reply to Quadratic where I listed off many of those flaws, but unfortunately I wasn't able to find that post. If I find it later, I'll just link to it here in this thread. I will link to this, however. My idea there might not be perfect, but I think it goes to show that it's possible to conceive of ways of gradually taking down Sybil and transitioning to a better system. Quote:
And it's not like we get a scene of Akane planning Sybil's slow, gradual decline and eventually demise. She's just basically hoping that somebody else will one day do the dirty work for her. Much like what a couple other reviewers mentioned, I'd be more pleased with this ending if I saw someone somewhere at least planting the seed of change. But who's planting the seed of change here? Akane isn't even negotiating with Sybil for more humane treatment of latent criminals, for example. What exactly has changed?
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2013-03-22, 07:40 | Link #96 |
Disputatio exaro nex
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Turkey
Age: 40
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Not just any revolution will lead to a better government though. Take for example, the two most famous revolutions: Russian and French. Both ended up with many millions of dead and even more despotic regimes till they too collapsed. OTOH, Britain for example, had no revolution and ended up more democratic and libertarian eventually with no blood shed in the process.
Still, I too think that Sybil needed to be overthrown right now and Akane should have tried it. The system made the law the means to an end when it should have the law above its own needs. It goes against its own reason of existence when it employs murderers as the governors. |
2013-03-22, 07:51 | Link #97 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
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But instead we have this wishy washy ending with sybil in control and Akane saying but things will eventually change (except besides her words we don't really see any of that happening). I think the series is trying to have it both ways which doesn't work for me. I guess the ultimate message was change isn't going to happen by someone like Makishima or overthrowing the system, it can only happen slowly over time for it to work. But again Gen even left it pretty open whether Akane or the sybil system was right. So we are left with maybe it will change, maybe it won't.
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2013-03-22, 07:59 | Link #98 | |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2006
Age: 38
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Even though a revolution is bright, as I've described it, it brings very little systematic, real change. Leaders get taken down and replaced, but the mentality of the people may not. Resources may get redistributed, before the top brass and the rich accumulate it back after some time. Especially after witnessing how my countrymen laid all the blame for the decline of our economic viability on their leaders without sharing it, I just don't see what's going to be so different for the next government coalition. And let's not talk about the U.S. and how much change Obama brought to the table, as advertised throughout his campaign. The way I see it, real change happens when people change. That a defiant individual such as Akane is allowed to exist signals that other people such as herself may emerge in the future. The small glimmer of hope is exactly that. It is really up to ourselves to grab it and transform it into a wave of change. Also, let's be realistic. Would Makishima bring change if he succeeded with hyper-oats production sabotage? No. He wanted to see the world burn because it wasn't up to his standard. His actions would be painted as terrorist and the general public would be none the wiser. Akane would refuse to take Sibyl down because she knows the public wouldn't have profited from that. She knows it was those same people that put Sibyl into power in the first place. Forget that psychopaths are actually running the show, electing a computer to take over their share of responsibilities is entirely their fault. It's not even a question of efficiency and ego, it is a question of relinquishing control over their own lives. Sibyl taking over was their own damn fault. |
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2013-03-22, 08:44 | Link #99 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: My Desk
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Nobody says she can't spread rumors about what the sybil system is, until the time is right. If you really wanted this thing to end in one blow she could have called the military, that or find a quantum enthusiast.
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Last edited by Crontica; 2013-03-22 at 09:19. |
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2013-03-22, 09:34 | Link #100 |
I can has drinks?
Join Date: Mar 2006
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I was hoping the knife fight would have extended into the grain fields.
This end is pretty Gen Urobuchi. Guy doesn't really like the old hero archetype or altruism and to usher in an age of "no more heroes" doesn't surprise me. I usually like the kind of ends that parallel their beginnings but it didn't make up for such a weak conclusion. |
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