「裁きの門」 (Sabaki no Mon)
“Gate of Judgement”

In the context of intangible terms, “justice” is arguably one of the most discussed of them all. It’s no surprise though — after all, the laws that derive from it formulate the basis of societal order. In a world where things have a tendency to lean toward chaos and disorder, it can be said that laws (and its subsequent need to categorize what one would consider good and bad) developed as an inevitable necessity to combat this and allow for the formation of the complex group we call civilization. With this in mind though, the question becomes: what would you be willing to sacrifice for this order — this security that the law brings with it?

And that for me, is a lot of what PSYCHO-PASS is — a series that challenges you to question how much freedom you’re willing to give up for a society that is virtually crime free and to define your own sense of justice. Because in the end, the Sibyl System is the ultimate result of desiring total order — the extreme end of the order vs. freedom spectrum — and the characters themselves a representation of the many interpretations of what one considers just and potential sacrifices one could make to maintain order.

For instance, it can be said that Makishima is the representation of one who believes in free-will — one so morally opposed to the system that they are willing to do anything to destroy it from the inside out and doesn’t believe they’re wrong in doing so. At the same time, Kougami represents another view in the how he seems to have misgivings about the system, but sees the big picture accepts it as a necessity (or at least that he cannot do anything about it), and continues along his own path of justice (or at least, however much he can). Akane as well represents another view as the model citizen the Sibyl System tries to mold — one who lives, trusts, and complements the system and its brand of justice, and continues to do so despite seeing things that bring into question the system’s integrity or would normally make people go bonkers. And as this episode demonstrates, Kagari is yet another view, as the person who couldn’t care less about society or the system, but believes and trusts in the things around him — things he personally assigns value to.

As such, it’s obvious that one can argue that each and everyone of the main characters represent respective views — views that are different and exclusive of each other at least partially, yet all potentially views that can be considered “righteous and good” in their own ways, depending on your own perspective. What’s more is that each of them can be considered ideal in their own way — each person representing an idealized human being in different scenarios — and it’s just a powerful commentary not only about the concept of justice itself, but of humanity and its intangible nature in general.

Notably, the idealized nature of the aforementioned in turn provides some striking contrasts with the Sibyl System, which turns out to be anything but ideal. As it turns out, the Chief herself is an android, confirming many suspicions people had following the end of episode 13. Her ability to forcibly change the Dominator from a non-lethal paralyzer to lethal eliminator form pretty much hints that she is Sibyl herself as well (also confirming related suspicions), and well, things are definitely not what they seem. Sadly, the actual interior of Sibyl’s core ends up staying undisclosed, but considering the series’ exceptionally obvious similarity to Blade Runner, Minority Report, and GITS and the fact that many suspicions were made up as a result of people’s prior experiences with the series, one can most likely assume that (minor spoilers for those that haven’t watched Minority Report):

Show Spoiler ▼

Moving on, I have to say… Kagari’s death at the hands of the Chief/Sibyl was just exceptionally brutal. I suppose it fits right in with how UroGen does things, but damn, I never expected him to bite the dust in that manner — one where no one knows he died, there’s no body to recover, and where it’s likely no one will ever realize who did it. Truly brutal on many, many levels. It’s ultimately made up in some sense by the fight between Makishima and Kougami, as well as the former’s defeat by Akane (THAT HELMET WHACK!), but the end result is that Sibyl wins on all accounts — as both the system itself and its “model citizen” score victories. With another six episodes left though, I find it hard to believe that we’ve seen the last of Makishima (in terms of him wrecking havoc in the future) or of the others finding out Sibyl’s true nature. Definitely some fireworks yet to come.

Author’s Notes/Additional Comments:

  • A while back I did a quick post about PSYCHO-PASS and its borrowed elements through the first few episodes, and although one could easily list dozens and dozens more, I’d like to direct you to one particularly notable one, which is the similarity between the theme Sibyl System and Blade Runner’s Vangelis end theme.
  • Notably, the above is quite similar to how GITS:SAC’s Velveteen intro was taken exactly from Blade Runner (see the matchup clip here).
  • Quick thanks to StiltsOutLoud for cleaning the caps this week!
  • Just temporarily filling in for SaberMochi this week. She should return next week to continue her weekly coverage.
  • 147 Comments

        1. For me it was both – though what surprised me also, is that Akane managed NOT to kill Makishima… Is she truly “icorruptible”?
          Kagari’s death was more awful to me as he had some of my sentiments declared in this episode – he didn’t care about Sybil system surviving or even citizens of the City – he was out to get the merciless killers of the Makishima group, dead or alive, preferrably dead.

          ewok40k
        1. No way! This is most definitely going Symphongear style where this already tall building suddenly goes elevator and comes out of the ground, and it’s really so deep they end up in space!

          3242
        1. Actually, I remember the final fight happaning after the tower extended towards space, with Ikki and whatshisname having a free-fall race back to Earth. That gives me more confidence about the “battles in space” thing.

          junglepenguin
    1. With six episodes left and Makishima in custody, I’ve a suspicion that the bureau will discover the truth behind the Sibyl system through him and bring it down. I wouldn’t be surprised if the chief manages to get her (its?) hands on him before the rest of the gang can even begin an interrogation, though.

      RIP Kagari. You didn’t have very much time to shine and you raised your death flag the moment you separated from the group, but you weren’t a terrible character, either. I’m guessing his cause of death will be attributed to Choe Gu Song on paper?

      And Akane was awesome, both with the helmet and in holding herself back. I don’t think I would’ve been able to put my duty above my emotions in the same situation. Still, that strike with the helmet was a long time coming. Almost started cheering at the sight of Makishima’s head getting bashed.

      Very curious what Sibyl actually is. Brains? A bunch of people linked up to the core? JENOVA?

      R
    2. their CQC was awesome, but biggest “woah” moment was chief being a cyborg, and “it” being so protection of Sybil secret that “it” forced dominator into destroy decomposer mode, which is meant to destroy aggressive berserk robots. Otherwise i figured the rest long ago, series borrows so much from western sci-fi movies dating back to 90s, it’s kinda easy to tell where it’s going.

      We still haven’t seen the revolver from OP being used, so that should come in the picture soon.

      Edios
        1. I saw what looked like a reverse kotegaeshi. Looked like Makishima got in a Sankyo and did an odd throw from it. Kougami managed an iikyo as well at one point. Otherwise, mostly strikes and kicks with half a second of jujitsu groundwork mixed in.

          Aureateflux
    3. This series is simply amazing. Just when you think it can’t be any better the following week shows up and knocks our socks off yet again.

      Is it possible the thing that shocked them is some sort of a huge human brain or even a young girl’s body controlling the system? At any rate it shocked the hell out of the both of them so it has to be something impressive when we finally see what it is.

      Karmafan
        1. Na, I would think Makishima’s definitely a separate entity.

          I believe at most the internal core are others whose Psycho-Passes aren’t read properly, so because the system itself is filled with people that are like that, then it reasons that it doesn’t register Makishima, who likely thus shares a similar brain physiology to the system’s core. Allowing him to be destroyed would thus be akin to allowing itself to be destroyed.

      1. As is put in the spoiler, I’m sure that the humans that don’t register a high Psycho-Pass are the core of the system. Remember that the previous guy also simply vanished as well. Perhaps the system works by using their brains as a zero reference point. The irony if all this is that Makishima, who was working to bring down the system may well become a key core component of the Sybil system.

        Scruffy
        1. Then… maybe Makishima’s trick to keeping low coefficient is that he wants to destroy Sybil System? Something like “We, the core, want to die” “I can help you” “Oh, thanks. Someone like that can’t be criminal”.

          Watermelon
    4. Great episode. Although, I do wonder why Kougami, Akane, etc. did not bring real weapons, other than the dominator, knowing that their target is Makishima–who is clearly immune to it.

      DH
      1. I feel like Kougami might have tricked Akane using the helmet he gave her in order to get her guard down so that she might get injured and would have to stay behind, like she did. Although it doesn’t seem reasonable that Kougami would bet on the chance that something like that would happen without fatally wounding Akane, I’m pretty sure he always had the intent to kill Makishima, and that he probably felt Akane’s presence would make that difficult. Also, it doesn’t seem like Kougami would make the mistake of accounting for Makishima’s coefficient. I suppose it could just be the writer’s way of making things convenient.

        For the weapons, it’s also possible that they didn’t have quick or easy access to those, since the Dominators are suppose to be everything they need.

        introverte
        1. You actually might have a point there. I was feeling like it was exceptionally strange Kougami would make such a simple mistake considering all his previous deductions. But I don’t know if it would be more valid to say he wanted to fight Makishima alone and thought Akane would be in the way or if he was trying to make it so Akane would back him up and surprise Makishima afterwards if he failed somehow. Either way, both explanations would fit Kougami a lot more.

        2. What I meant by Akane’s presence making it difficult to kill Makishima is that she might try and prevent him from doing so. Ginoza ordered them to arrest Makishima, but Kougami had zero intention of doing so and had planned to go for the kill from the start. However, assuming that Akane would follow instructions properly, she would have not allowed this. So in order to do things how he wanted, he came up with a plan to leave Akane behind and fight Makishima alone. But that’s just my take on things.

          introverte
        3. Actually, after rewatching the episode, I’m probably wrong. When they split up with Kagari, Kougami was the one who told Akane to come along with him. And when Akane got shot in the leg, he was reluctant to leave her behind, but continued anyways when Akane told him to.

          introverte
    5. This was definitely my favorite episode to date. Unfortunately, I figured Kagari was going to die the minute he decided to go into the basement alone. Still, his death really hurt in the end. He stayed true to himself and his companions to the very end and I really respect him for that. And then there was that ultimate fight scene. It’s amazing how different this scene felt than it did in the first episode. I was excited back then, but this time I was swinging my fists along with Kogami the whole time. Then to top it all off, Akane comes in and totally owns Makishima with the helmet. I’m curious as to what role Maskishima will play now that he’s been “captured” for the moment. It seems likely that the Chief wants him for the core of the Sibyl System seeing as how he’s basically walking around with a coefficient of zero. It would be interesting to see him actually team up with Kogami and the others in the end. I don’t think that’s very likely but it was an idea that popped into my head for a minute. Either way, now that we’ve come full circle (from the beginning of episode one), I can’t wait to see where everything goes from here.

      Kira526
    6. Definitely a very exciting episode. Personally, I enjoy it thoroughly.

      However, I can understand that some people may be annoyed by the confidentiality of the Sibyl System as it is fairly anti-climactic. Although, since they probably will use this episode as a further build-up point leading to a bigger climax, I’m hopeful that it will work out to be even better later.

      Love the fight scene. Soundtrack is well placed. Overall, very enjoyable. (R.I.P Kagari)

    7. Makashima: “MWAHAHAHA! I’m the evil mastermind! I’m completely immune to SYBIL’s judgement and I beat the Bureau’s best hand-to-hand fighter in single combat! Now I’m going to kill him while I monologue! MWAHAHA!”
      *gets clocked from behind by Akane with a blunt object*

      That scene was so anti-climactic it was awesome. Words cannot express the sheer catharsis I felt from watching it. Its good to see Akane finally accomplish something.

      RIP Kagari. He was dead the moment he split up from the rest of the guys. I didn’t expect it to come from the hands of the chief though and I certainly didn’t expect her to be a robot. That might explain some things. I do concur with the idea that SYBIL may be run by people who are hooked up to it though. Nothing can be more horrifying for people than that.

      Great episode though I have to wonder if PP has climaxed too early. The question now would be where do they go from here.

      fragb85
    8. I- wha- huh?- eh?!

      …. well, my mind was officially blown by the last few minutes of the episode (whistles “‘Droid looks like a lady…”).
      As if the teasing us with what Sybil really is wasn’t bad enough, they had to throw in this little twist.

      I actually thought when I saw the chief’s eyes that Sybil had somehow taken over mind somehow through the Dominator’s link.

      Smart move by Kogami with the helmet, which can be said the same to Akane. I just hope after putting cuffs on him, she’ll have the foresight to put said helmet on him to cancel out his Zero Cost-efficiency.
      Must admit, during that scene where she was swaying between bash or no bash, I was so worried Makishima would suddenly jump and attack her >.<

      On Kagari… we'll miss you, cowboy.

      Digid
      1. He opted not to destroy it and decided to take photos instead because he wanted the society to know what was truely behind the Sybil system. The consequence of society knowing the truth is far greater than destroying the system itself, which was what his goal was.

        taiakun
        1. But who will distribute his camera now that the Chief blew him to bits and would surely have procured the incriminating evidence?

          Of course, it’s possible Choe had the camera set to automatically upload any footage to the internet, but they’re in a basement level where there’s heavy electronic jamming, so what are the chances the Chief will let that happen?

          Kinny Riddle
        2. Never said that the mission was a success. I was just pointing out the reason why he decided to take photos instead of destroying the system. At that particular moment in time, he probably thought that he could get away with the camera evidence. I mean, none of us forsaw that the chief was a bloody cyborg! He probably felt safe as the dominators were not meant to work in the lower basement levels afterall.

          I suppose the old saying of “a bird in a hand is worth two in a bush” fits well here…

          Taiakun
    9. I have been expecting a “gamechanger” from Psycho-pass for a very long time now, but I thought it was to do with the helmets which were released a few episodes back. But damn, the cyborg Chief was definitely out there. I was expecting one of the characters to not be the person they seem from the OP with the eyeballs falling, but was not expecting it to be the chief of all people. Kagami’s end reminds me a bit of Show Spoiler ▼

      , who both died doing what they believed was right, only to be obliterated by someone significantly more powerful who is trying to maintain order within society.

      In the scene where Akane was deciding whether to take Makishima’s life, I don’t think her backing down had anything to do with her belief in the Sibyl system. To me, she just seems like the type of character that refuses to take someone else’s life. I think it is somewhat similar to Batman vs the Joker. Despite everything that the Joker has done, Batman just refuses to kill him.

      My guess is that Akane and many others in the police may actually switch sides to join Makishima to fight against the system, while Kougami may become the “villain” in their eyes. In the 2nd OP, it seems like all the characters are walking towards Makishima, with the exception of Kagami who is the sole person walking in the opposite direction. There was also the scene in the OP with Akane pointing the Dominator at both Makishima and Kougami, which raises the question – who is she actually pointing the Dominator to? There was also a similar scene in the 1st OP. This is the only reason I can think of as to why Makishima is still alive. Out of all the characters left, he is probably the only one capable of bringing down the Sybil system, which seems to be the end game of this series.

      taiakun
      1. It’s the Dummy Plug system all over gain? The horror…

        Ahem, so since the Chief is NOT human does that mean that Sibyl killed someone without a human as a risk mitigation factor using a Dominator?

        Doesn’t that mean that it can kill ANYONE it chooses to making Enforcers irrelevant!?

        1. Having watched the scene yet again as well as episode 3, it is indeed the Decomposer mode that the Chief forcibly changed the gun into.

          Sarcasm mode On the “bright side”, at least we can take solace that Kagari was completely vapourized into dust rather than suffer the fate of being turned into a lump of minced meat. It just sounds more merciful for Urobuchi’s standards, after all.

          Besides, vapourizing Kagari would give the Chief a good excuse that Kagari went “missing”, without having to deal with cleaning up the mess of mutilated meat (like Choe).

          Kinny Riddle
        1. To the guy that downvoted my post for stating a simple fact in order to answer Suppa Tenko’s question, you really have a lot of time in your hands making all these senseless downvotes. You might as well downvote me for saying the earth is round.

          And if you downvote this response, it simply means I speak the truth and you’re retaliating since you’re butthurt by it.

          Kinny Riddle
    10. Someone seriously went inside my head and used a Dominator because my mind=blown (Okay, sorry, that was terrible).

      This episode seriously had me at the edge of my seat though and every episode of this anime so far has taken my breath away. Makishima getting rocked by Akane after using all his sick moves on Kougami was priceless.

      I seriously feel bad about Kagari. I saw it coming though, I had a feeling he’ll get in trouble after volunteering to go alone. They gave plenty of hints that Sibyl is not what it seems and Kagari just had an unfortunate run with the truth.

      This episode seems to mark a turning point of the series…with the capture of Makishima and the fact that we know for sure that Sibyl is something really sinister. I can not wait to find out what that is and what fate has in store for all the main characters…Makishima, Kougami, Akane and everyone else.

      kondee
    11. How do you think Akane would fair in a world not controlled by the Sybil System? Since she is Sybil’s “model citizen”, I think I’d like to see her be the one to decide that Sybil’s price is not worth the gain and not Kougami. In a way, by giving up the System which allowed her to live a free life full of choices, she is giving some of her freedom to latent criminals and others who are similar to them. Also, if Akane turns out to be like or similar to Makishima, she’s probably going to be in danger at some point. At least if your speculations are correct

      Ortega
    12. This show has been fantastic thus far, and this probably was one of the best episodes yet. Really curious to know where it heads from here though. RIP Kagari, you were a pretty good character- but the death flag was up the moment you split from the group and lost communication with them.

      8-bitPenguin
    13. Psycho Pass keeps on surpassing itself each passing episode, definitely one of the best shows I’ve watched in the past years, because no matter how much I enjoyed others series, there were always episodes I liked less then others, or even plain boring parts or characters, but Psycho Pass kept evolving, it keeps me hanging and wanting more each time, no dislikes from my side so far, simply amazing.

      The moment the thought that Kagari might see the core of the sibyl system crossed my mind, the immediate thought that came afterward was: he is not getting out of there alive if he sees anything.
      But I wasn’t expecting what came afterward.

      I actually re-watched the last minute several times, and no, it’s not because I am a fan of violence, I just felt so unbelievably sad for him, to die such a terrible death, “Truly brutal on many, many levels.” like Zephyr wrote above, I couldn’t believe it was happening and kept on wanting to see his face again.
      He wore such a painfully confident look, smiling through his terror and dread, he clearly always knew that he wouldn’t have a pretty death seeing he is a latent criminal, but that kind of end, really, ‘gimme a break…this bites’.

      sherry
    14. Shit just got real. It can be argued this Sybil-controlled society is not unlike the Matrix or other AI-controlled sci-fi worlds, where the machines/AI calls the shots by making good use of humans (be it turning them into batteries or collecting those with low Psycho-Passes and plugging them into the Sybil System).

      I had to rewatch the final scene just to make sure I got it right. At first the Dominator AI did declare Kagari to be a “non-lethal target”, so I was confused whether he died or not. Then I noticed the gun had changed shape into that reserved for “lethal targets”, coupled with the AI voice breaking down as though going through an system error due to external interference.

      In the hands of other writers, Akane deciding not to kill Makishima would be lauded as a noble act of restraint from violence. But this is Urobuchi we are talking about, he will make sure poor Akane will suffer for tossing away a second chance to kill Makishima for good.

      If I’m not mistaken, Makishima is quoting from Blaise Pascal’s “Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical.” But who is this Ortega that Kougami is quoting from?

      Kinny Riddle
      1. Except in The Matrix they identified the system controlling people as bad in the beginning. This is like having Neo being part of a Agent Smith’s team fighting against Zion for the first two movies.

        Da5id
    15. Finally!! Shinya+Shougo rolling each other on the floor scene! Now wait until the next comiket is flooded with yaoi doujins of the two. The world of fujoshis is burning.
      The Sybil core stuff was expected, but I didn’t think Makishima would get captured just like that. I really wonder what’s going to happen now that we caught up to episode 1. One thing for sure is more people dying.

    16. Kagari pointed out something very interesting this week by saying “if Sibyl is playing the god, what are you guys playing? the devil?”

      Our freedom fighter Makishima ended manipulating other’s life for his own end, whatever that end is, however how noble that end is.

      So, at the end of the day, he is the same as Sibyl system. Just that he is for “chaos” whilst the Sibyl is for “order”.

      hoh
    17. I find it admirably that after everything Kagari witnessed this episode, his Crime Coefficient didn’t rise enough for the Dominator to automatically change to lethal force. You’d think that what he saw would be enough to crush his last remnants of belief and trust in what he’s been fighting for to want to destroy the system with his bare hands. Alas no, the chief/android had to forcibly change the Domantor settings to lethal force…

      With that being said, I hope we’ll get to see a Kagari centered flashback episode next week. His dialogue with what’s-his-name-again (Gu-Song?) really got me interested in his character. Too bad about his demise at the end of the episode. I guess there’s no way that he’s still alive…

      But besides that, great review, Zephyr!

        1. I am wondering if “default” status of a human mind is not actually “latent criminal”, with only totally brainwashed/de-humanized people under sibil system being actually “within norm”. Kagari was a veteran enforcer who has witnessed many disturbing scenes in his life without going berserk, though, so I guess it was his mental fortitude that kept him from going mad in the “central dogma”.

          ewok40k
    18. Either the core is made of humans linked to a system or just human brains linked to the system, all of which would be criminally asymptomatic to some extent, kind of like how the dolls where used as surveillance in DTB. This could also be where Touma Kouzaburou disappeared to and where Makishima could end up if he is captured alive.

      Makishima letting his guard down at the end thus getting his head whacked was a downer though, since he is someone with quite the fighting skills he should have had at least sensed someone behind him and reacted accordingly.

      Hagiri
    19. Well this is shocking. Apparently, the people in that time no very little of the truth. I remember back in one episode where a man was being interviewed for being the first cyborg or what soever, but now we see the chief is actually an android. I wonder how things will play out from here? They could possibly make Shogo the good guy who was trying to free the country from Sybil

      Jigeharu
    20. Great let’s kill off the character with the most messed up past.God damn you Urobochi, now I know why your name is familiar to me

      Reiji, Eren, Joseph, why must you kill off the characters i grow to love Gen T-T?!

      Magoiichi
    21. With Sibyl/Cyborg Chief arbitrarily eliminating anyone who is deemed a threat to the system, even when said person’s (Kagari) Criminal Coefficient isn’t high enough to warrant death, it now actually makes more sense that good upright people who have doubted or denied the system (Masaoka, Kougami) would be branded as Latent Criminals in order to maintain its hold on society.

      BTW, is there a system glitch in this page? All the recent posts near the bottom are now in bold font.

      Kinny Riddle
      1. I think we can take from his comment on “Sneaking and Hiding” that he found a way to hide himself from the scanners, probably by some device similar to the Helmets (just smaller) or by tampering with his own data through his hacking skills

        Digid
    22. This show is fucking amazing. Just when I think it’s reached its peak it gets even better. If this show keeps up with this pace it will easily be one of the best shows I’ve ever seen in my life.

      Gilgamesh92
    23. I honestly hope Urobuchi will not use the Madoka twist again for the Sibyl system.
      Overall, a very good episode. I couldn’t care less about Kagari, but this means the other characters are in danger too. Don’t take Shion away from me :'(

      MoeMoeKyubey
    24. Lol at Mashima getting blindsided by the little girl he belittled and the helmet he developed.

      I wonder what could be at the heart of Sibyl. I feel like the answer is far more shocking than simply brains and/or humans as that aspect has been done quite a bit already. It suggested it must be quite extreme that people would really riot and end a country. Minority report citizens really didn’t have that much of an issue accepting judgement from humans in general.

      Shin
    25. I’m really devastated about Kagari’s death and part of me is still denying it until it is ABSOLUTELY confirmed. But yes, like any person here as soon as he said he will go alone I was like “Oh nooooo you are going to die”.

      Drift
    26. Kagari didn’t just get the Lethal Eliminator.

      The form the chief’s Dominator took on looked nothing like the eliminator she took out Choe with so I looked back at some other versions just to make sure.

      I’d be damned if she didn’t use the Destroyer Decomposer, the mode Kogami used on the robots back in episode 3. There probably won’t even be a blood stain left of him after that.

      qwert
      1. Don’t make me laugh. Both you and I are trash who simply envy the happiness others have. ”

        —Kagari to Choe Gu-sung in The Gate to Judgement

        NOOOO,Kagari you aren’t “trash” but WHY authors kill the best characters? EX:Death Note with L Mallo and Matt
        Tell Me why????

        Joanna
    27. Makishima’s devilish grin during the fight was quite a great touch on the director’s part. That moment made him a full-fledged villain; he gave him that psychotic vibes he lacked before.

      But besides that… KAGARIIIII!!!!!!
      Watching the best series of the year comes at a high price. Manly tears were shed.

      lorenzo
    28. Just watched this and Show Spoiler ▼

      . You might’ve felt what I did after watching both animu. Embarrassing as it may seem, I even cross checked if Gen is involved there.

      It’s not like we do not know that this will happen, right? Gen pulled it at the right time, that’s what I believe.

      I really thought four eyes will die first, or robo cop, as they are bought close to the main charas. What might happen sooner or later is/are Show Spoiler ▼

      . I wouldn’t count on anything though.

      2ColouredEyes
    29. I don’t think Sybil is something like human’s or brains or whatever linked up, ‘couse, com’on if you where showed something like that you most likely wont go battshit crazy and say “fuck Sybil”, this is a society that’s going on but on the rule of killing the few for the many.

      I think it’s something more recognizable something that anyone seeing it could say “this’s crazy AND evil”.

      Can’t even imagine what it’s but just saying it’s not something so “simple”

      Yuu
    30. This might be a crazy speculation, but here goes:

      1. It is most likely that Sybil is a combination of AI plus asymptomatic latent criminals.
      2. #1 was alluded to by the supposedly first human cyborg, Toyosa Segyuji.
      3. Considering that many consumer products come first from military applications, the Chief was probably the first one who was retrofitted with cybernetic implants and technology. All classified of course.
      4. As the chief implied with her talk with Gino, humans act as the human element fail safe in the Sybil system. This would allude to the fact that indeed, humans pose as parameters to the Sybil system AI. It is impossible for an AI to predict accurately human personalities, thus the need for a human element.
      5. I am guessing the first scientists in making Sybil had that brilliant idea of linking humans to the AI system to increase computational output and processing of the Crime Coefficient.
      6. The chief would be like a virtual terminal connecting her to the core system in order to monitor Sybil activities.
      7. The original makers probably thought with the fail safe system of endorsers plus the parameters and directives they programmed into the AI part of Sybil may constitute a most perfect system. And indeed it was for years.
      8. They may have overlooked the fact that as more asymptomatic criminals were added to the Sybil system, the whole synergy of the AI plus the brains of the criminals may have evolved into something sinister. In episode 1, it was stated that crime coefficients were contagious. What if all of those criminal minds somehow inflected the once pure core of The Sybil AI?
      9. With all the minds being put up, the chief’s personality may have been tarnished little by little until the episode of the breakdown of the system where she might have been killed, then the machine took over. Reminds of me Saren in Mass Effect, he was indoctrinated, he killed himself to avoid being controlled, but then the Reapers took over his dead body, nevertheless in the end.
      10. If Makishima would be incorporated into the Sybil system, that may push the whole system to be self aware (it may already be, but maybe lacking one last element), and purely in the twisted mind of AI and the hive minds that it is doing good by bringing all human kind into its control.

      In the end, the MPWSB will be fighting Sybil, the greatest criminal hive mind of AI and latent criminals put together by scientists who thought they can create the perfect law enforcement system.

      One last thing, Akane may be the pivot of the system. Her hue and crime coefficient may be instrumental in bringing Sybil to its knees. She maybe the balancing factor to offset the criminal elements in the Hive mind. Unfortunately, this might mean that she will have to be integrated into the hive mind, and she will die.

      Flanders
    31. Obviously the Sybil System is incredibly top-secret, and requires anyone who lays eyes on it to be eliminated. Why, then, do they only have drones guarding the whole building…Shouldn’t they have some intense security for something so incredible? Even if they rely on the fact that those who are planning on breaking in, should be caught by street scanners beforehand, the risk of having people sneak past the scanners to break into the building should not be discounted. Great episode, nonetheless.

      Sora
    32. Random Speculation:

      Kagari survives by ‘somehow’ dodging his supposed fatal shot and escapes with Choe’s camera somehow. This fact is only revealed much later in the series when he breaks out Makishima and they all go against the Sibyl System.

      I know everyone is saying that Sibyl is a bunch of humans whose Psycho-Pass is like Makishima’s or somewhere along those lines. My take on it is that the Sibyl System is the Chief herself, her original human body, which is why she needs an Android version of herself roaming around in her place. The reason there are people whose Psychopass cannot be measured (like Makishima) is that they share a similarity with the Chief in some form as it is still not entirely clear how psychopass is measured.

      End of Random Speculation.

      As for how the story goes from here, it could be anyone’s guess, by my hope is that when all is said and done Sybil is burned down to the ground. I really find it hard to agree with how things are run in their society since day 1 (or episode 1). XD

      truestampede
    33. Kagari was shot with Non-Lethal Paralyzer mode, right? Is it me or hes suppose to be not dead yet? UNless of course hes wounds will eventually kill him on top of the dominator damage. 😀

      foxlance
        1. Actually what happens when a human is shot with Destroy Decomposer?
          Against machines, it blows a hole into them, so maybe it’s more of a normal laser and Kagari only got injured depending on where he was hit.

          Zannafar
        2. @Zannafar, judging by the exploding bodies we’ve seen in the past, even if only your arm is blown off, you bleed to death in a few minutes. I don’t think surviving is an option.

          Crook
        3. @Crook: Yes, if he was hit by the Lethal Eliminator mode, then he would probably bleed to death. However the Destroy Decomposer mode is more of a classical laser that burns through the target, so the wounds would be instantly closed. (Cauterization. The same explanation is used for lightsaber wounds in Star Wars).

          @Zephyr: Yes, usually it shouldn’t be. However when the chief overrides the Dominator, the form changes to Destroy Decomposer mode. You can easily compare the differences to Lethal Eliminator by looking at the Dominator before she shoots Choe. Although I could be wrong and the Dominator has a fourth, secret mode, that can only be used by a small number of people.

          Zannafar
    34. Damn, this really was the best episode so far. Not only was it the climax I was expecting (you can’t beat an epic bossfight at the top of a tower), but while I expected the Sybil system to be something messed up, I hadn’t expected the chief to be a freaking robot! I mean, really, she is one of the highest ranking people in that society – how much more people will end up being robots then? How much of this society is controlled by the whim of non-humans? We know she can rewrite the Dominators – and thus the Sybil system – at will, so how much of the system can be manipulated for the gain of individuals? I dunno how much of it will be relevant, but this revelation is sure to be a game-changer. Wonder what’s going to happen now.

      Props to Akane too, both for whacking Makishima with that helmet and for putting being a cop above her feelings of hatred for the guy. That’s quite a lot of restraint she showed; I wouldn’t have been surprised had she actually snapped. Still though, with Makishima still alive, there’s still a role he has to play.

      And poor Kagari. I knew he was going to die the moment he went down there on his own, but his death must have been quite the messy affair. Poor bastard. And knowing Urobuchi, it would be a miracle if he would be the last of the team to bite the dust.

      Dvalinn
    35. Kagari ç.ç he was my favourite character,and for me he was the best!
      He always smile but inside he was suffering..miss you miss you.
      OH my god,I am crying….But we haven’t seen Kagami dead,maybe someone shot at the Android..in the end we didn’t see the full scene

      Joanna
    36. Don’t make me laugh. Both you and I are trash who simply envy the happiness others have. ”

      —Kagari to Choe Gu-sung in The Gate to Judgement
      ç.ç no Kagari you aren’t trash
      WTF Why authors kill the best characters?? EX:Death Note with L and Mello and Matt
      Please Tell me Why? Are you crazy?

      Joanna
    37. Hey guys, someone please explain to me as I don’t really understand the last part of the episode please? I thought the gun was in “non-lethal paralyzer” mode when she pointed and shot at him, so why does everyone think Kagari died?

      Gen66
    38. “The core is made of humans” – yes, agree.

      Which is so funny because ten eps ago they telegraphed this with the whole cyborg theory thing. Ultimate cyborg is a society of networked selves. This conclusion makes sense.

      Himari
    39. Would be funny if Akane was a robot. Don’t think this is the case, but anything’s possible, she could be like Deckard and that would explain her good psycho pass number and her model test scores.

      Himari
    40. lol and here i thought choe gu sung was the android…his eyes always bugged me…

      it didn’t matter what the core was and it shouldn’t matter now, the point was to keep it hidden…unfortunately with kagari dispatched, we’re back to square one…

      and akane rocks…

      NierTevra
    41. Believe me or not, but I had a feeling that Kagari’s going to die since last episode. Why? Because the team split up the way it never did. It’s always been Kogami-Akane-Masaoka and Ginoza-Kagari-Yayoi, but this time, Kagari and Masaoka switched. They wouldn’t break the pattern without reason, would they?

      SingerOfW
      1. I thought so too. Since last episode I was wondering why Kagari suddenly joined in Akane and Kougami’s team.

        In a way I am a bit annoyed since the reason was to stage for his death.

        Drift
    42. Judging by how the android/cyborg didn’t hesitate in killing that enforcer but its earlier concern that Makishima be taken alive I would hazard a guess that his kind’s brains are used as processors in that facility. The funny-eye’s statement that the truth would be the end of the country also implies that the majority of the populace will abhor the truth, could also imply that they have taken various citizens of other countries to power it thus mean that sanctions would follow from these other countries.
      I think 24 or 26 episodes are planned and introducing another main threat right after Makishima who in turn was probably sibyl’s only threat in decades would be rather cheesy, he will probably get free somehow or be helped to get free.

      Makane
    43. 6 more episodes.

      So according to the assumption in the first spoiler in the article, Makishima will become a spare part like Kouzaburou?
      Or is this part of his plan?

      I can only safely guess that the Sybil System is made of something inhumane, perhaps jars of brains?

      Ok, seems like theres some spoilers on the JA wiki concerning the Chief and the Sybil System.
      Episode 17.

      Wonder how will the story end?
      Will it be like Fractale?

      iron2000
    44. I’m hoping someone makes a GIF of Makishima and Kogami’s fight. It was vastly more satisfying than I thought it would be.

      Absolutely loved this episode. It’s been far, far too long since I’ve seen an anime that dealt with such complex yet relevant themes, much less with this kind of finesse and intelligence.

      I know I should have seen Kagari’s death flags, in retrospect, but for awhile I didn’t feel at he’d had much character development worth mentioning, so I wasn’t too invested in him. It’s amazing how a single episode can expound on a character’s depths.
      Makishima continues to surprise me, this time around with his superb martial arts skills, going toe-to-toe with resident hellhound Kogami.
      Akane’s actions this ep. impressed me very much. I think her actions were true to her character and also necessary to keep the plot from grinding to a halt. If the key Big Bad (from a certain point of view) were killed, the revelation of the Sybil System would be much harder and likely less than it could’ve been with him alive.

      Thanks as always for covering this show. I wonder what the odds of it getting dubbed are…

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