Decoding the Japanese cyberpunk anime Psycho-Pass

There are some anime where you are not able to figure out more than a few grievances, Psycho-Pass comes under the same category. Being one of the most compelling cerebral anime, Psycho-Pass sketches a twilight zone of morality. This anime infuriates because it doesn’t portray the consequence of crisis management in society rather the immense power of science on society.

Psycho-pass asks some pretty hefty questions. What does free will mean? What cost does safety have to pay in the perception of power? You will feel philosophy being poured onto you with characters like Shougo Makashima, Akane Tsunemori, Shinya Kogami, their ideal, and individualism. Well as it happens this question is not just about philosophy but science as well. Is it possible for a computer to know everything about an individual better than he knows himself?

Set in dystopian Japan, where a supercomputer called the Sibyl system plays God. It proposes that ‘Free will’ is just an illusion which is something that has always been inherent in humans. A God who decides everything from one’s job to the likelihood that one might attempt crime with the help of this reading called Psycho-Pass. It keeps the citizen under continuous surveillance, either you are playing the game in your home or wandering in the market.

Why would Sibyl do that? Why this utilitarian premise? Human behavior is contagious. Human is a perfect imitator. Therefore, it believes in stabbing the bud. It cracks down the crime even before it actually happens. This can be seen in the anime, when criminals wearing head gears, to prevent the system from reading their psycho pass, flood the city. Violence starts spreading in the normal citizen like any zombie virus. The system knows the inner working of the mind (the unconscious) so well that it can identify likely criminals as toddlers.

Sibyl puts forward a sense of tranquility, what Sibyl decides is the best for the citizens. There is nothing to be mended because everything is fixed. They believe that they are put at the best spot, this is the best they can achieve. Hence, feel happy about it. This, not just the end of free will but direct suppression.

The intense antagonist, Shogo Makashima, believes inverse to what the Sybil system practices. The results are not important but the cause is more important e.g. if you intend to help somebody but end up killing someone, it is still ethical because you begin with good intentions.

His goals and ideals are much more complex than other antagonists portrayed throughout the anime. His intentions were to give back what the Sibyl system had stolen, humanity. Thus, one would argue that his doings were correct. But he is simply a faker, he uses philosophy to justify his reckless actions. Finding an equal was his selfless desire.

Thus, Psycho-Pass a intriguing anime questioning morality never fails to entertain the viewers.