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View Poll Results: Psycho-Pass - Episode 19 Rating
Perfect 10 15 30.00%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 21 42.00%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 7 14.00%
7 out of 10 : Good 6 12.00%
6 out of 10 : Average 1 2.00%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 0 0%
4 out of 10 : Poor 0 0%
3 out of 10 : Bad 0 0%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 0 0%
1 out of 10 : Painful 0 0%
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Old 2013-02-28, 21:52   Link #41
Triple_R
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Very enjoyable and extremely interesting episode. It's good to see the animation quality take a big step up from where it was last episode.

While Ko's chase after Makishima, and the police force's chase after both Ko and Makishima, were probably the most intense and developed parts of the episode, what I enjoyed the most about this episode is learning more about the world of Psycho-Pass.

Finally, a clearer picture of what the world of Psycho-Pass is like as a whole is beginning to emerge.

Some key facts, and what they likely mean:

1. Japan has essentially cut off contact with the outside world.

2. We now know the following about "foreign nations" in Psycho-Pass:

a) At least some enjoy internet access.

b) At least some are in a position to export food to Japan. This logically means that at least some of these nations are at least doing Ok, and are still organized enough to handle things like mass trade and/or foreign aid. In other words, the world outside of Psycho-Pass' Japan is not some entirely anarchy-ridden badlands straight out of Mad Max.

c) That being said, the likelihood of refugees flooding into Japan if Japan accepts food imports also came up. Clearly some nations outside of Japan (and presumably close to it) are either war-torn or poverty-stricken or both. So some nations perhaps have declined in the world of Psycho-Pass. Perhaps there was even something akin to a third World War for all we know.


The Japan of Psycho-Pass has clearly isolated itself from the rest of the world.

I think I'm getting a clearer picture of the social commentary that Gen might be aiming for with the Sybil system in Psycho-Pass.

Consider how both Kougami and Makishima love quoting literature. Literature and famous philosophical and political minds. In this episode, Max Weber was brought up. It's interesting how none of these philosophers and political theorists are Japanese. There's a real contrast between Ko/Makishima here, and the much more inward-looking Sybil collective.

I wonder if this might be Gen's way of arguing that modern Japan is itself too inward-looking. That some of the ideas of great thinkers from around the globe does not inform Japanese society as much as it perhaps should. That Japan has become too isolated from the rest of the world, and runs the risk of becoming like the Japan of Psycho-Pass, were its degree of isolation does indeed appear to be comparable to current North Korea.

I have a lot of ideas like these swirling around in my head right now, but I'll leave it at this for the moment.


As for the actions of Kougami... I think that Tomomi explained this well in his discussion with Gino. At this point, it's a matter of commitment and pride to Kougami. Kougami has devoted so much time to getting revenge on the killer of his friend and colleague, that his life itself would feel like "a sham" to him if he stopped now. As Tomomi himself makes clear, this isn't the wisest course for Kougami, but it's an understandable one.

You have to remember that, in his own way, Kougami is not a character that sees much hope in the future. He is aware of what it means to be a latent criminal in the world of Psycho-Pass, and so he probably feels like there's not much for him to live for anymore (consider how calm Kougami was when faced with the prospect of being killed by a Dominator last episode). I'm not saying that Kougami is downright suicidal, but I also think he's a man without any particular hopes and dreams, due to how bleak he views his life as being within the context of the Sybil system. For Kougami, getting revenge on Makishima is the one thing really worth striving for. Everything pales in comparison to that.

I hope that Akane can bring a greater sense of hope and purpose back to Kougami... but then she might end up having to bring him death instead.


Speaking of Akane, I really love how her character has developed in this show. I loved the brief discussion between her and Shion.

Akane clearly isn't a coldhearted person, but nor does her hue get cloudy or her Psycho-Pass rise much.

I was glad to see Akane really question what these Psycho-Pass readings even mean exactly.

What I'm starting to lean towards is that a good Psycho-Pass reading reflects a certain moral confidence and sense of consistency in your actions, thoughts, and words. In other words, Akane has a very firm inner sense of right and wrong, and she consistently lives by that. Hence she never feels guilty. She never wavers much.

In some ways, Akane and Makishima are like opposite sides of the same coin. She's "Lawful Good" while he's "Chaotic Neutral". But both basically believe in what they're doing. There's an internal consistency to their actions, thoughts, and words. Neither wavers much, if at all, from that. Perhaps that's what a Psycho-Pass reading is all about - Firmness of character, no sense of shame, no sense of having compromised one's self or one's ideals, no crippling doubts or second thoughts.


Well, sorry for all that rambling, but I really enjoyed this episode and wanted to write at length about it. I eagerly look forward to Episode 20.
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Old 2013-02-28, 21:59   Link #42
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Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant View Post
Akane is not law bound to follow brains in jars; She is bound to follow the Sybil computer. The fact that the sybil computer doesn't exist is irrelevant.

The brains don't legally exist; so they don't have legal authority.
Here's the thing. Episode 1 shows Akane being willing to appeal to moral authority beyond the Sybil system's judgement. And somehow I doubt she didn't bludgeon Makishima to death because of orders.
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Originally Posted by carcanclaw View Post
Psycho Pass: Literature and Philosophy majors are dangerous.
AGREED!




Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple_R View Post
In some ways, Akane and Makishima are like opposite sides of the same coin. She's "Lawful Good" while he's "Chaotic Neutral". But both basically believe in what they're doing. There's an internal consistency to their actions, thoughts, and words. Neither wavers much, if at all, from that. Perhaps that's what a Psycho-Pass reading is all about - Firmness of character, no sense of shame, no sense of having compromised one's self or one's ideals, no crippling doubts or second thoughts.
I'd pretty sure Makishima is pretty solidly Chaotic evil though. Neutral people don't become serial killers for fun.
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Old 2013-02-28, 22:46   Link #43
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Yeah, funny that someone mentioned the Panopticon during the riot episode, since it got a shout-out this week.

And heh, Kogami thinks Makishima would quote Jeremy Bentham, who would probably be Kyubey's favorite philosopher. Yeah, I guess Butcher is not exactly fond of utilitarianism.

Very interesting angle on the "Hyper-Oats". It kinda came out of left field, but then so did entropy in Madoka. Y'know, it is true how a disturbing amount of our food supply really does come out of the laboratory rather than the farm. Maybe almost all of the wagyu beef or even sushi of 22nd century Japan is in fact just oatmeal with engineered flavoring and added protein powder. Check out this article as to how a lot of flavors in today's America are concocted in New Jersey laboratories. And of course, mirroring our worries about "Frankenfoods" today, it can all be taken out with just the right amount of superbugs. Also, was anyone else a bit disturbed by the notion of turning the entire Hokuriku region into one big factory farm? That's almost akin to uprooting the population of an entire U.S. state and turning into a robot farm. (Or California's factory farm-dominated Central Valley, for that matter. Goodbye Bakersfield, Fresno and Stockton, and I guess we'll have to move the state capital from Sacramento to Los Angeles. We're sorry if you've made your lives in those cities and have treasured memories there, but that'll only make your Hues go darker, so kindly step onto the bus to your new state housing. And we're sorry that your entire population has to move to Illinois, Iowa, but you do understand it's all for the best, right?)
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Old 2013-02-28, 23:09   Link #44
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Wonder what decision Akane will take after learning the truth. Figures Sybil would go after her since her pp doesn't change.
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Old 2013-02-28, 23:11   Link #45
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Not quite sure if I missed this earlier on in the series or it just hasn't been revealed yet, but any ideas as to what led to the sudden decrease in population that occurred around the same time as the completion of the Sibyl System?
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Old 2013-02-28, 23:38   Link #46
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Originally Posted by aiko_chan View Post
Not quite sure if I missed this earlier on in the series or it just hasn't been revealed yet, but any ideas as to what led to the sudden decrease in population that occurred around the same time as the completion of the Sibyl System?
Real world Japan has a low birth rate right now. That might be all that Psycho-Pass is basing "sudden decrease in population" on.

Another possibility is that Japan suffered food shortages in the past, leading to some deaths by starvation. Perhaps Japan developed hyper-oats precisely to deal with such a food shortage.
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Old 2013-02-28, 23:42   Link #47
Avrorrange
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Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant View Post
What is worse than absolute terror and police state where anyone can be executed at any time?

Please, do name a worse government. The Soviet Union was probably NICER.

The Sybil system is easily replaced. It's just 250 people doing whatever they wanted. Replacing the brains with normal human employees with oversight. and people would barely notice.
Are you JOKING?! The sybil system is bad, but not as bad as the USSR.At the very least, there are SOME legitimate reasons as to why people get jailed in Psycho Pass. In the Soviet Union, you can get executed simply because someone else reported you without any evidence. The Soviet Union is one of the craziest totalitarian states there ever was.An average of 1,000 people gets executed by Stalin per day. At least 20 million died because of Stalin, and combined with the rule of Lenin and others, even more.I sincerely hope that you are just joking. Besides that, replacing those 250 brains with normal government employees is even crazier. They probably don't have the ability to control the country. The end line is that change is not always good.Correcting a society isn't as easy as you claim. In most cases, the government following an anarchy is usually totalitarian, as usually, it is those who are most ruthless and 'efficient' who are able to end the anarchy. E.g. Napoleon Bonaparte, Lenin, Caesar Augustus and Diocletian.

Last edited by Avrorrange; 2013-03-01 at 00:03.
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Old 2013-03-01, 00:04   Link #48
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Besides that, replacing those 250 brains with normal government employees is even crazier.
...Why? What makes you think that 250 "normal government employees" couldn't do as good a job of running Japan as these 250 brains are?

You don't have to be a genius, or some "1 in a million" person, in order to be a competent bureaucrat.


As for Psycho-Pass' Japan vs. Stalin's USSR, it's an interesting comparison.

Stalin's USSR was clearly much harsher on political dissidents. Having controversial political views won't, in and of itself, get you into trouble in Psyco-Pass' Japan. There doesn't appear to be anything quite like the KGB here.

OTOH, if you towed the party line in Stalin's USSR and just went about your business, you weren't likely to get into trouble. In Psycho-Pass' Japan, all it takes is one bad reading, and you're liable to get killed or incarcerated for life. The arbitrariness of it all is what's so alarming.


If forced to choose between living in Stalin's USSR or living in Psycho-Pass' Japan, I'd probably choose the latter. But that's at least partly because Psycho-Pass' Japan is much more high-tech than Stalin's USSR. Might be neat to take advantage of some of that futuristic technology.
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Old 2013-03-01, 00:26   Link #49
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Originally Posted by Triple_R View Post
...Why? What makes you think that 250 "normal government employees" couldn't do as good a job of running Japan as these 250 brains are?

You don't have to be a genius, or some "1 in a million" person, in order to be a competent bureaucrat.


As for Psycho-Pass' Japan vs. Stalin's USSR, it's an interesting comparison.

Stalin's USSR was clearly much harsher on political dissidents. Having controversial political views won't, in and of itself, get you into trouble in Psyco-Pass' Japan. There doesn't appear to be anything quite like the KGB here.

OTOH, if you towed the party line in Stalin's USSR and just went about your business, you weren't likely to get into trouble. In Psycho-Pass' Japan, all it takes is one bad reading, and you're liable to get killed or incarcerated for life. The arbitrariness of it all is what's so alarming.


If forced to choose between living in Stalin's USSR or living in Psycho-Pass' Japan, I'd probably choose the latter. But that's at least partly because Psycho-Pass' Japan is much more high-tech than Stalin's USSR. Might be neat to take advantage of some of that futuristic technology.
In the USSR, you can get executed even if you are a diehard party member. A report is all it takes to get you killed. A lot of innocent people were killed as a result of their neighbours/family members/ colleagues reporting them for 'treason' as a result of personal dispute. People settled their scores a lot during those times in Russia.Executions also happen in psycho pass, but as we have seen, it is usually reserved for murderers as we have seen.
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Old 2013-03-01, 00:34   Link #50
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Originally Posted by aiko_chan View Post
Not quite sure if I missed this earlier on in the series or it just hasn't been revealed yet, but any ideas as to what led to the sudden decrease in population that occurred around the same time as the completion of the Sibyl System?
IRL Japan has a low birth rate, and an aging poopulation. Given the far future time period that Psycho-pass is from, this has long since resulted in a substantial population decline.
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Old 2013-03-01, 00:47   Link #51
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Good episode. If Makishima, Kogami's Professor, and Choe Gu-Sung sat at a table and talked politics for 23 minutes, I wouldn't even care, I love listening to it. I want more intelligent dialogue in anime.
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Old 2013-03-01, 00:48   Link #52
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As for Psycho-Pass' Japan vs. Stalin's USSR, it's an interesting comparison.

Stalin's USSR was clearly much harsher on political dissidents. Having controversial political views won't, in and of itself, get you into trouble in Psyco-Pass' Japan.
I wouldn't quite agree with that. Look at Masaoka, he didn't agree with Sibyl and his CC goes up. He accepts it and it stops going up. I'm sure that the same thing would happen to any journalist who decides to write a scathing editorial of the Sibyl System

Quote:
There doesn't appear to be anything quite like the KGB here.
Of course not. They have drones and scanners instead.

Quote:
OTOH, if you towed the party line in Stalin's USSR and just went about your business, you weren't likely to get into trouble. In Psycho-Pass' Japan, all it takes is one bad reading, and you're liable to get killed or incarcerated for life. The arbitrariness of it all is what's so alarming.
I once read a real life story about a fellow who didn't clap loudly enough, or something like that, at one of Stalin's speeches. Next day, the fellow was taken away, so Stalin's USSR was pretty arbitrary too.

Quote:
If forced to choose between living in Stalin's USSR or living in Psycho-Pass' Japan, I'd probably choose the latter. But that's at least partly because Psycho-Pass' Japan is much more high-tech than Stalin's USSR. Might be neat to take advantage of some of that futuristic technology.
Me too, I need my tech.
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Old 2013-03-01, 01:06   Link #53
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soconfused View Post
Good episode. If Makishima, Kogami's Professor, and Choe Gu-Sung sat at a table and talked politics for 23 minutes, I wouldn't even care, I love listening to it. I want more intelligent dialogue in anime.
Agreed. It's almost a shame that the plot has to cut these conversations a bit short sometimes. Gen does compelling political dialogue.


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I wouldn't quite agree with that. Look at Masaoka, he didn't agree with Sibyl and his CC goes up. He accepts it and it stops going up. I'm sure that the same thing would happen to any journalist who decides to write a scathing editorial of the Sibyl System
I see your point on Masaoka, but the man is in law enforcement. Even the wussiest of police states are going to want their police on-side. Hence the term "police state".

But look at Kogami's Professor. The man is entirely left alone. I doubt he's a fan of Sibyl, but Sibyl leaves him alone to his very comfortable, albeit lonely, life.

If you have good mental health, and never get stressed out a lot, then Sibyl seems to more or less leave you alone. It's impact on your life is then comparable to a regular check-up with a family doctor, or doing out your taxes. The problem is that all it takes is one bad life experience, and you getting stressed out over it, and BANG! - Killed or incarcerated for life. No recourse. No lawyers. No second chances. That is indeed very brutal.

Plus, I don't think those 250 brains are entirely trustworthy.
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Old 2013-03-01, 01:16   Link #54
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I see your point on Masaoka, but the man is in law enforcement. Even the wussiest of police states are going to want their police on-side. Hence the term "police state".
You have a point, but it's really a slippery slope.

Quote:
But look at Kogami's Professor. The man is entirely left alone. I doubt he's a fan of Sibyl, but Sibyl leaves him alone to his very comfortable, albeit lonely, life.
Is it that Sibyl leaves him alone, or he left Sibyl? The guy is practically a hermit, I don't see him walking the streets where the scanners can see him.

Quote:
The problem is that all it takes is one bad life experience, and you getting stressed out over it, and BANG! - Killed or incarcerated for life. No recourse. No lawyers. No second chances. That is indeed very brutal.
Not just that. Do or think something the brain overlords disagree with, and you're toast. Like Yayoi and the professor's students.

Quote:
Plus, I don't think those 250 brains are entirely trustworthy.
Pretty much. I actually just had a thought about Kagari when I read what you posted. What if the reason he was labeled as a latent criminal at such a young age was so the brains could see how he would develop with such a stigma on him? Sounds like the sort of intellectual experiment they'd like.
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Old 2013-03-01, 02:17   Link #55
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I have a gut feeling that the reason why Gino is getting a higher crime coefficient is because he tried to trick the chief last episode.

I have to say though, how the hell is Japan supposed to remain a modernized society without import or trade with other countries? Japan has barely any raw material and it has to import it's metal.In addition to that, it's difficult to believe that the Japanese society could remain wealthy relying only upon internal trade.

Last edited by Avrorrange; 2013-03-01 at 02:27.
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Old 2013-03-01, 02:29   Link #56
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I have a gut feeling that the reason why Gino is getting a higher crime coefficient is because he tried to trick the chief last episode.
Gino is caught between a rock and a hard place. He now knows enough to know that the Chief and Sybil aren't exactly on the up and up. But at the same time, he's a man of the law. That's the only way he knows how to live. He's trapped. He feels powerless to change things. In some ways, he's sadly reliving what his father went through...

Gino finds hope in Akane because Akane is managing to follow the law while still staying true to her moral principles. Gino wishes that he could do the same, but that's increasingly hard for him.
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Old 2013-03-01, 02:32   Link #57
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The key is to truly believe Justice would find a way. Akane trust that she is walking the right path. She has faith in her own judgements. Gino isn't wrong, he just doesn't believe himself as strongly as she does.
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Old 2013-03-01, 02:43   Link #58
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Sybl system just want more brains
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Old 2013-03-01, 02:45   Link #59
Avrorrange
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I can almost see right now that Akane would destroy all the brains and sacrifice herself to maintain the sybil system... hope this doesn't happen, but still....
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Old 2013-03-01, 03:52   Link #60
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I can almost see right now that Akane would destroy all the brains and sacrifice herself to maintain the sybil system... hope this doesn't happen, but still....
What?
You think she would want to be above the law?

The Sybil system is unjust by nature. She would want no part in it. There is NO REASON to maintain it, it isn't some magical system that is essential to human survival. It is just North Korean style propaganda, best to pick a political system that has actual oversight. This isn't rocket science, a bunch of farmers and merchants do this all the time starting new nations.
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