Dec 26, 2019
Psycho-Pass for me has been a dialogue about what is shown and what is left for the reader to interpret. Subtle hints and blatant teasing, on topics such as Akane Tsunemori picking up the habit of smoking from Kougami. The viewer is left to theorize what is going on, the creative style is a dialogue of unreliable narrators in world where everything is laid bare - as seen in season 1 Akane literally wearing a some sort of a hologram suit instead of normal clothes - yet in a room full of intentional smoke and mirrors. And you as a member of the audience, happening
...
to stumble on this uncanny play of participatory theater, are forced to ingest this distribution of culture.
And therein lies divergence in the critical reception versus my own tastes.
In short, the story on its own does not make a lot of sense. Why does Arata have a Sherlock Holmes / Hercule Poirot -level understanding of the human condition and psyche? How is Akane interned in a what appears to be a black site yet able to communicate with senior Unit 1 members? Will the weird name dropping ever end in anime? Who would think that a time skip of this proportion respects the viewer?
In Psycho-Pass 3, the viewer is constantly asking questions relating to the criminal cases which on their own way are more elaborately built than in the previous seasons. Yet there are more questions to be asked - the narration is in the third person, so the audience has a better understanding than the cast about what is going on.
How did the evolution of Sibyl after the events of season 2 affect the overall problem solving ability of the system? The audience is invited to ponder about elections, how the democratic tradition of Japan lives in a "totalitarian" system controlled by the Hue elite. The isolationist policy is revised and how Sibyl has failed to adequately provide for the immigrants. The audience is even introduced to a ministry which kinda only exist to have Sibyl own a bureau of sci-fi CIA spooks. The oligarchy of some sort of gamblers seems to be the main antagonist in this season. Why?
For me, the story of Psycho-Pass exists in the details. How in season 1, if I recall correctly, the older Ginoza reveals that the separation of powers might not exist due to lack of criminal courts, thus making the processing of Makishima Shougo as a criminal almost impossible. Yet in this season, a slight detail gives hint that the system can also enforce the perceived God-like justice via monetary fines even though the perp is not a criminal according to their Psycho-Pass. There is something new in the culture of Japanese sci-fi bureaucracy in the form of official and unofficial "complaints". How is enforcing the will of Sibyl something to complain about? Why is it allowed by Shimotsuki? What happens if inspectors instead of enforcers misbehave? Are there laws other than aptitude to the job recommended by Sibyl that concern inspectors and if there are, is the punishment an express visit to the nearest institutional facility or a slap to the wrist?
Or is this all just something that the show fails to deliver in a world built on shoddy ground? How enjoyable Psycho-Pass is to you depends on you. For me, this was a satisfactory season that I enjoyed and I recommend you to watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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