Due to the incredible success of the Sibyl System, Japan has begun exporting the technology to other countries with the hope that it will one day be used all around the world. In order to test its effectiveness in a foreign location, the war-torn state of the South East Asian Union (SEAUn) decides to implement the system, hoping to bring peace and stability to the town of Shambala Float and keep the population in check.
However, a group of anti-Sibyl terrorists arrive in Japan, and the Ministry of Welfare's Public Safety Bureau discovers significant evidence that the invaders are being aided by Shinya Kougami, a former Enforcer who went rogue. Because of their past relationship, Akane Tsunemori is sent to SEAUn to bring him back, but with their last meeting years in the past, their reunion might not go quite as planned.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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TCTriangle
While Psycho-Pass: The Movie is a continuation of the story from Psycho-Pass Seasons 1 and 2, it changes a lot of the things from the show: the setting is different, and while Kogami is brought back again, many of the characters are new. These changes may be fine for some fans, but disappointing for many others. What results is still a great standalone movie, but may alienate many fans because it doesn't entirely "feel" like Psycho-Pass. Art: 10/10 Undoubtedly the high point of the movie. The painstakingly-animated cityscapes and landscapes simply made my jaw drop. And the fight scenes - oh my god, the fight scenes. Idon't think I've ever seen fight scenes as well animated and choreographed in an anime as in this movie. The animation budget was probably very high for this film, and it shows - the animation is better than it was in the show. It may not be "Spirited Away" or "Ghost in the Shell" awesome, but certainly up there as one of the most well animated movies ever.
One thing to note about the art though: there's a bit more violence in this movie than in the show. When people are shot with guns or Dominators, the blood splatters and body explosions are animated in detail and often focused on, and internal organs and body bits can be seen. If guts and gore turn you off, you may want to avoid the movie.
Sound: 8/10
The music and sounds do their job very well. The soundtrack mostly consists of the traditional orchestra and chorus you've come to expect, and adds tension to the story when needed. The OP and ED are both energetic rock songs, and get you pumped before and after the film. However, there's nothing outstanding about them. The music isn't something I'd listen to over and over again on my iPod, but it definitely contributed to the enjoyment of the film. The sound effects are also very well done. The voice actors do a great job as usual.
One complaint I have about the sound though, is the excessive use of ENGRISH. Some people won't mind the terrible pronunciations, but because entire dialogues in the film are in Engrish, it will be at best a bit distracting, and at worst make some parts hard to get through.
Story: 6/10
The story is one of the weaker points about the movie, especially since we've all come to expect a strong story from the show. You know those anime films that seem epic at the start, but by the end nothing really changed about the overall plot or characters and you could go right on to the next season without watching the movie and not have missed a single thing? This is one of those movies.
Unlike the previous 2 seasons of the show, this movie does not take place in Japan, but in another Asian country where the military regime is trying to implement a Sibyl-like system in an effort to keep the populace under control. Guerilla rebel forces resist the corrupt government, but thanks to Sibyl's system marking all opposition as criminals, the government is able to firmly control its people with brutal oppression. So where do our heroes fit into all of this? Well, it turns out Kogami is discovered to be aiding the rebels, and Akane is sent to investigate both his actions and the country's use of the Sibyl system.
In essence, the movie is an exploration of what happens when Sibyl falls into the wrong hands. Questions about the political and social implications, such as persecution and segregation, are raised by the movie. The problem though, is that the movie is never given enough time to actually probe into these questions, instead choosing to focus more on the actions scenes than on answering all the thoughtful, philosophical questions it raises.
Furthermore, the movie seems to have switched the genre of the series. Whereas the show was clearly a Sci-Fi Thriller with some action sprinkled in, the movie feels more like an Action Spy flick with some Sci-Fi elements mixed in, a change which may turn some fans off. One final problem with the story was the somewhat unsatisfactory ending. I won't spoil it, but I will say that I was a little disappointed with it.
Character: 8/10
While fan-favorite character Kogami is back and better than ever, new characters that the audience are never given time to get to know or get invested in are also introduced. There is some character development: it's a joy getting to see the new Akane interact with a somewhat changed Kogami. Ginoza's reunion with Kogami is also interesting.
Unfortunately, the side characters don't get that much screen time, so apologies to fans of any team member other than Akane and Kogami. Anyone hoping for Ginoza or one of the other team members to play a major role will be sorely disappointed. As I said, the film's main focus were definitely Kogami and Akane, at the expense of all the other characters. The film's villains do their job, but none of them is nearly as memorable as Makishima from Season 1 (who makes a short cameo appearance, BTW). So if you're only in it for Kogami and Akane, then you're in luck. Otherwise, the rest of the characters do their job - nothing more, nothing less.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Despite all the flaws in the story and characters that I pointed out, the film was by no means bad. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wholeheartedly recommend it to both fans and to anyone who is interested in Sci Fi or action. Throughout the movie my attention was held, and the 2 hour running time flew by. The movie didn't feel like a drag at all, which is a testament to its entertainment value. It's not as deep as the show, but sit back, relax, and you'll enjoy it.
Overall: 8/10
TL;DR summary:
Pros:
- Absolutely breathtaking animation and fight scenes
- Everyone's favorite badass Kogami is back and kicking ass
- Good music
Cons:
- A story that's not given much time to develop
- Setting change may unsettle some fans
- Mediocre villains
- New and side characters barely get any screen time
- Disappointing ending that didn't seem to impact the bigger general plotline
Don't let the cons I listed stop you from watching the film, however - with absolutely gorgeous animation, a beautiful soundtrack, and the best fight scenes in anime I've seen in recent years, I still wholeheartedly recommend this movie. Just don't go in expecting it to be the "good old Psycho-Pass adventure" with all the characters you love and you'll have a good time with it.
SanaeK10
This review contains minor spoilers, but really now, if you've watched the previous seasons you already know the plot to this one. Psycho-Pass was one of those shows that was good on premise, but in execution was handled quite poorly, with the subtlety and writing of an angsty teen who thinks it's cool to see guts and explosions and who thinks it's good writing when a character randomly references old works of literature. Still, it was a fun and enjoyable show with some funny moments (Brains, Hyper-Oats, Spooky-Boogie etc). Psycho-Pass 2 on the other hand felt like an unnecessary cash-in that didn't bring anything newin terms of plot (and in fact recycled many of the plot points that kept the first one so interesting in the first place). Back then, I chalked it up to them not having the original writers onboard, perhaps the newer writers played it safe and didn't want to innovate and that since the movie brought back the old writers, surely they'd learn their lessons and bring something new to the table right? Or so I thought.
Boy howdy how wrong I was. If you've already watched the second half of Psycho Pass 1, you've pretty much already seen this one. It's pretty much the same premise, with the same plot twists and revelations only in Cambodia as opposed to Japan. And impressively, it manages to have even worse writing than the first anime.
Akane, once again, proves to the viewer that she's still a naive nutcase who thinks the system can change for the better (it doesn't) and is strangely easy to trust otherwise an obviously evil Colonel. When Mika of all people calls you out on your nativity, you seriously should consider retiring from the position of Main Protagonist. Kougami on the other hand is still the same old Kougami you've remembered from the first season, only cranked up in terms of OPness. This guy could take down an entire military with a sniper rifle without breaking a sweat. Because of that, most action scenes lose their sense of tension when your character is piratically invincible thanks to plot armor.
The other characters from previous seasons hardly make an appearance (understandable) apart from a terribly shoe-in cameo near the end (not understandable). As for the villains, we have Araragi Ko- I mean Colonel Wong who looks like he took a break from his usual harem anime shenanigans to try his luck at the Psycho-Pass-verse. At least that's what I remembered him doing. The other villains suffer from the strange syndrome of "looking cool but ultimately useless". I mean, you have a chick who can make wires grow out of her arms, how incompetent can you be to undersell this cool character? Of course nothing ends well for them, they also suffer from Bond Villain Stupidity so much you won't be the least bit surprised when Akane's friends show up at the precise moment to save them. Makishima wasn't the best villain in anime ever (face it, reciting quotes from random works of literature a good villain you don't make), but he was at least interesting and he had goals. Sybil System is less interesting now the viewer is aware of their true nature, and Araragi has no motive at all.
Really, that's pretty much the major things wrong with the film. I could go on about the other minor flaws plaguing the film (Engrish, Minor Inconsistencies, Plot Conveniences), but watching the film really wore me down, and nitpicking on minor issues would require me spoiling the whole film scene by scene.
Animation is good at least.
2/10
Spooky-Boogie couldn't save this.
ChioneDyrken
[SPOILER FREE] The movie is enjoyable in reliving the strengths of our favourite characters and shows their capabilities in adapting based on Sibyl system continuous progression for evolution. The story allows the viewer to get a glimpse of the characters' improvements and strengths that speak volumes of their years of experience. However, the storyline played an unfamiliar tune. Psycho-Pass season 1 and 2 focused on individuals that brought forward an opposition against the system. By exploring a world where we are introduced to the different types of people accepted or denied by the society, we are treated with a myriad of perspectives and social psychological warfare. It wasa show that focused mental strength and intelligence.
The movie, on the other hand, heavily focused at bringing out the "Brains" counterpart: raw muscle strength; the fighting force of an army, the individual and the people. Because of this, the storyline of the movie was simplistic and a "lazy" attempt at uplifting what the show was supposed to explore. It was a simple goal, a simple manipulation and eventually, a simple solution handed on a silver platter at solving the crisis. There were no individuals or groups that were forward-looking and thought-provoking like Makishima or Kamui; in this sense, no solid antagonist to bring out the potential of a thriller.
One could argue that this was because the two antagonist from the series were accustomed to the system and knew how to play by the rules to cunningly twist around with it, while the movie was set in a world who was very new to Sibyl System, therefore their aims fall short to the visions presented in the series.
Overall, as a fan of the series and its characters, I really enjoyed watching the movie testing out new waters (literally) and its expansion to the possible potential progress it can bring forth. Personally, as a tribute to the series, I would have preferred a direction which focused more on the essence/discussion/consequences of Caged Reality vs Freedom rather than have implications of a one-sided argument (in this case: Caged Reality). 8/10
femto999
I like Psycho-pass. It's an interesting franchise that doesn't have any kind of moe and doesn't involve high school teenagers with supernatural powers. It's a really good thriller-mystery show with some really deep characters and good philosophical themes. I really enjoyed the first season and I loved the second one (though I was probably the only one). Yet I didn't like this movie as much as the predecessors. At first let's start with the story. The thing that i liked about this film was the fact that it expanded the already interesting world of Psycho pass. The biggest part of the movie doesn't take placein the futuristic Japan like the two previous anime series but in another country were things didn't develop as good as with Japan. That way we have a really interesting place to get the story started. The plot itself was good enough even though in some moments I was starting to loose interest. Generally speaking the movie is kinda big in length (almost two hours) as a lot of things open up and need to be closed with the ending.Also the philosophical aspect of the two first seasons is almost gone as this movie targets mostly in the action and a little bit in the political thriller genre. The animation is really good but for Production IG the best animation studio in Japan for me there were some flaws. Basically the animation was kind off awkward in some hand to hand combats. But overall it was really amazing. Now for the sound. Let the rant begins. I am not one of those people who have complex about locations. If an anime is taking place in England for example, I don't mind if the characters are speaking Japanese. But when an anime is trying to add English dialogues in it's script is always welcome with the requirement of course that the English are at least GOOD. I'm not asking to speak fluent English (hell I can't even write fluent English XD) but in this movie were a major part of the dialogue was in English this thing was unbearable as most of the voice actors couldn't speak English at all. And ok I could excuse the fact that Kogami's couldn't speak good English because he is a main character in the franchise and they couldn't change his voice actor. But for the characters that appeared for the first time like Nicolas or the mercenary team they could at least take some voice actors that could speak better English than the abortion that I was hearing from them.Maybe I would forgive it if the film was made by another studio but Production IG has a history of shows with really good English dialogues like ''Higashi no Eden'' and ''Blood the last vampire'' so this was unforgivable for me. Just make them speak Japanese for God's sake!!! Apart from that the voice actors were generally really good and the same goes for the OSTs too. The film starts with song of people's now favorite band Ling Toshite Shigure which was good but not their best in my opinion and ends with the awesome song by Egoist ''namae no nai kaibutsu''. But for the horrible ''engrish'' I put a 6 in the sound section. Hell some sideshows were speaking way better English than the main characters!!!
And lastly we reach the character section. I'm not a fun of Kogami (yes he appears it was obvious from the trailer so it's not a spoiler). I find him too perfect for the fucked up word that Psycho pass is displaying. But it was nice to see the other characters like Akane, Gino and a special someone near the end who makes a brief but memorable appearance that I believe all of us we were expecting. The other movie-exclusive characters were good enough but I was disappointed with the mercenary team who were all really interesting characters but apart from their leader none of them is being discovered at all.
Overall ''Psycho Pass the Movie'' was an enjoyable entry in this franchise. I don't believe it will be the last especially after seeing the last scene after the credits. It's good if you want to see 2 hours of action with a little bit of political thriller on it but don't expect to see any philosophies like the two previous seasons. I would recommend this movie to the fans of the franchise but don't go with high expectations. But I guess I shouldn't be the one to talk. I was somebody who loved the second season after all XD.
Kokko
"All the rules in the world were made by someone no smarter than you. So make your own." -Jaden Smith Darwin taught us "Survival of the Fittest". In Gen Urobuchi's fantastical creation only the strongest survive, and those who cannot adapt are thrown in a ditch. This movie is intellectually stimulating like no other, with references to smart writers like Marcel Proust. This is the first time I've heard someone mention Proust in an anime. This time the villain does not carry around 1984 like Makishima Shougo, which I've heard is a very good book. Nay, this time the theme is post-colonialism, which is clearly evidenced by abook the mercenary villain reads and then proceeds to quote from.
The movie doesn't as much ask questions as straight out say that a caged reality is better than freedom. This is very novel and instead of being preachy, it made me feel very enlightened, transcendent even.
Among the characters of Psycho Pass the Movie is Mika Shimotsuki, Akane's junior partner. Mika deeply dislikes Akane on a professional level. This is simply because Mika implicitly trusts the system. If the system tells her someone is a criminal and should be exploded in a mass of blood and gore, she does it and feels no guilt. Along the same lines, she largely treats the enforcers under her command as expendable tools that must be kept on a tight leash.
Akane, on the other hand, simply sees everyone as a person. To her, killing is the absolute last resort in any situation, criminal or no. She would rather put herself in harm’s way and attempt to talk a person down than to take the safe and easy shot. To Mika, this is quite literally unthinkable.
Kougami, a returning fan-favourite, the morally grey ex-cop. His quoting skills are on a whole 'nother level. He skillfully weaves quotes into the dialogue, and helpfully states the source to the audience and what the quote really means, which makes him even more intelligent. He understand so much!
The three characters are opposites to each other: the average citizen in PP's world, a person who has similar values to us (Akane) and the morally grey man. This is done with such intelligence and wit that I am baffled Urobuchi came up with it, smart as he is. Not even Christopher Nolan can beat him in terms of smart writing.
I'll end this review with one of my favourite quotes, and I hope that you will be as enlightened as me come the credits.
"To be intellectually stimulated is to grasp the understanding of our universe: nowhere but in anime can we find the knowledge to deduce the human condition"
-Kokko
Holokai
Summary: I'm a huge fan of Psycho-Pass as a franchise, and believe that it embodies what it means to be a great anime. So it comes as no surprise that I not only watched this movie, but also enjoyed it quite a bit. However, I also strongly believe that Psycho-Pass' strength lies in not its beautiful art nor its amazing soundtracks (both of which are fantastic), but rather on its philosophical explorations and thoughtful plot/character development. As a result, even though I did greatly enjoy this movie, as a fan and honest critic I have to give it a less-than-stellar rating. Now in more depth: -Art: As mentioned in other reviews, the art is nothing short of fantastic. From the initial guerrilla scenes to the final showdown (to avoid spoilers), little can be said to detract from the artwork and animation.
- Sound: The music and OST for the movie are both excellent, and the ending is a thrill for old Psycho-Pass fans. Again, nothing much to criticize here, but nothing much to gush over either.
- Character: This was one of the low points of the movie, particularly in comparison to standard set by the other Psycho-Pass seasons. Unlike in the other two seasons, Akane doesn't really develop at all in the movie, and the denouement where she inevitably has a "showdown" with the Sybil System (no Psycho-Pass story would be complete without one) is disappointing, if only because it shows how shallow the whole theme behind the movie was. (More on this in the Story section.) The only upside in the character department is that Ginoza finally gets some closure, which was great to watch, but otherwise nothing is resolved. Makishima is provided a 10-second appearance just for the fangirl screams, and our protagonists (by whom I mean Akane and Kogami) end the movie at about the same point they started it. As a side note: why the !#$% does Shimotsuki still exist? I haven't been this pissed off at an anime character since the infamous Nina of Code Geass.
- Story: Ah, the story. I'll discuss both the plot and the whole premise of the movie here, since in Psycho-Pass they're often one and the same. In short, it was a pretty awful execution of a potentially interesting idea. The Sybil System, with some improvements and elbow-twisting from Akane, has been functioning more or less well in almighty Nippon, so inevitably we have the question of what happened to the rest of the world. This movie starts to answer that: well, the rest of the world was kind of destroyed. At least, the world as we know it today. Lawlessness and war are the fixtures of the day, and humans have reverted to living in a sort of tribal society.
So what is the benevolent Sybil System to do but to export itself to save the rest of the world? (Hint: white man's burden, Washington Consensus) We see the System exported to southeast Asia, and the consequences that follow; how they go about dealing with the "aboriginals" and imposing law on such a society. Some of the ideas, as with others in Psycho-Pass, are quite interesting (i.e. the collars), and the premise itself is quite interesting. But unfortunately, this is about as much praise I can give, for the rest of the movie's execution is sub-par.
What could have been a fascinating exploration of how the Sybil System deals with the challenges of assimilating a "rabid" population and of the process of building a society from essentially scratch is instead turned into a typical military coup d'etat in which (*spoilers ahead*) the ultimate bad guy turns out to be (surprise!) a criminally asymptomatic puppet of the Sybil System. Hey, it's not like we've seen that as the climax of pretty much every season right? And Akane (surprise!) uses talk-no-jutsu with increasingly strained logic to get the Sybil System to back down. A job well done!
All in all, this movie is, of course, something of a must-watch for Psycho-Pass fans; I mean, if you were raving as hard as I was about the TV seasons, then you probably didn't even read this review before watching it. But simply as a piece of the art form that is anime, and more so as a successor of the Psycho-Pass franchise, this movie was something of a disappointment.
Flawfinder
Gen Urobuchi is sort of like the Production I.G. of visual novel writers: better than the pack in that he has a lot more on his mind than padding things out with lame, unfunny, and dull setup before quickly rushing into a story that’s not worth it half the time, but still nothing to get too excited about because being different doesn’t necessarily translate to being good. The guy doesn’t seem to understand that just because you take out the lame and the unfunny doesn’t change the fact that your dialogue and idea-throwing can still qualify as dull setup, you dullard. Not that the directorshelped things - especially not in regards to Fate/Zero - but between shows that most people consider to be revolutionary but me to be gimmicky along with a movie that was about as engaging and thought-provoking as being lectured on thermodynamics whilst riding a very slow-moving horse, I’m really failing to understand why he has so much appeal. I mean I like a good amount of David S. Goyer movies, but it’s going to be a long f*cking time before I forget the existence of Jumper, y’know?
But Psycho-Pass was the one anime of Urobuchi’s I actually liked. It was as hit and miss in its execution as the writer and studio, but the story was generally strong and the concepts, whilst not exactly original, were always interesting even when they weren’t introduced in the most clever of ways. I even liked that maligned sequel, although that was mostly because it kept making me laugh in how stupidly forced it was, along with having a bad guy who might as well have been Kirito from Sword Art Online by way of Jim Phelps from the first Mission Impossible movie. Couple that with the fact that we rarely get good anime movies and I was looking forward to seeing what kind of sequel Psycho-Pass would be with Urobuchi back on the writing staff, how it’d fit in canon, and whether there would be a bunch of people exploding as is usual for this franchise.
Well for those who hated the sequel season, prepare to be disappointed that the movie not only acknowledges its existence, but that that bitch you guys all hate so much is just as obnoxious as ever. Which one am I talking about, you may ask? Eh, it doesn’t matter anyways, as aside from Akane and Kougami, the characters from the previous iterations are barely in the thing. In fact, Psycho-Pass: The Movie - and yes, that’s its actual official name without any boring attempt at a subtitle whatsoever - is about as much of a franchise sequel as Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood was to Assassin’s Creed II (and the entire Assassin’s Creed series in general). It doesn’t really shake up the franchise’s core so much as add more to it, which I knew beforehand because every single discussion I read whilst trying to discover when the DVD release date for this was kept bringing that point up.
Me: Hm, fine. What exactly does it add, Mr. Urobuchi?
Gen Urobuchi: Why, the same exact stuff as the first season, except in a foreign country.
Me: ...so I can pretty much skip this movie if they ever made more of this in the future?
Gen Urobuchi: Well yes. But it has Akane meeting Kougami again, so anyone concerned about the fact that he didn’t get any closure will be pleased to know that he’s now become a wanted terrorist.
Me: But you clarified that he was wanted at the end of your first season and it was pretty obvious he wouldn’t be running a charity organization after that.
Gen Urobuchi: It has people exploding. Will that make you happy?
Me: ...you’re still a fucking hack, y’know.
Gen Urobuchi: Pepsi is better than Coke.
Me: Oh screw you, dude!
Investment in the series is kind of necessary to enjoy this thing, as they don’t do too much to reacquaint you with the returning cast and the new characters they introduce are pretty much there so that a plot can actually exist. They’re not as lame as the new people introduced in the Tiger and Bunny sequel film, but the only way the governor of the South East Asian Union could have made his intentions more obvious is if he had a caption hovering over his head saying “I am the bad guy, yo”. And the only other antagonist who stands out in this thing does so because he’s black - and looks like Jax from Mortal Kombat for some reason. I remember a woman being introduced, but I think she got killed off real quickly, and the fact that I can’t recall for sure says all you need to know about her.
You know one other thing I’ve continued to notice about Gen Urobuchi over time is how much he really wants to be Christopher Nolan. I made the comparison before that Expelled from Paradise’s style reminding me of Interstellar’s if it wasn’t executed nearly as well, and Psycho-Pass: The Movie’s (and arguably Psycho-Pass’s in general) style kept bringing Inception to my mind. They have different stories obviously, but they both try to accomplish combining thought-provoking ideas with big budget action and the former doesn’t even come close to achieving the level of intelligence it wants to because it’s mostly just saying stuff we’ve seen before. And it kind of stands out in the movie’s case, since we have seen it before in all sense of the phrase. The idea of applying a different form of the Sybil System to a different country has potential, but when you get down to it, it’s mostly the same thing all over again except with an active terrorist force opposing it this go-around.
So how about that action then? It’s still pretty damn good even though you knew as soon as this movie was announced that Kougami would be doing all the dirty work and Akane would just be elbowing a thug or two. Actually, she does put down a terrorist in the opening act when he refuses to cooperate, so her hands aren’t just mildly untainted this go-around. I did like how a good chunk of the movie takes away the Dominators, forcing our characters to rely on good old-fashioned guns and bombs, and making it so that when the characters do use them it’s all the more impactful. And the setting change from a city to a jungle has that sort of Rambo feel to it, if you made the main character the cop chasing Stallone and moe. It’s not all perfect though. There’s this one action scene in the middle that has a fucking horrible frame rate and felt like I was watching (reading?) well-choreographed flip books whilst on a speeding train.
One thing Urobuchi seems to have improved on over his last few works is the pacing. I actually feel like I’m watching a real movie with this thing rather than something that’s 80% setup, 10% action climax, and 10% dragged-out ending. The movie seamlessly switches back and forth between dialogue and explosions the same way your mom switches from sweet to stern (not that I’d know for sure), and aside from conversation with her friend before jumping into a hellhole, Akane never catches a break and the discussions are on-point with the surroundings, so the momentum never really stops. It never felt like I was waiting for a story that never came unless you think random cryptic dialogue in an unspecific timeline counts as a story, and I know I’m going to sound mean and maybe sexist for saying this, but watching Akane get screwed again and again puts a smile on my face. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I like seeing that sort of torture when it happens to characters who have determination without coming across as creepy and stalkerish. You know, like a certain person in that other anime conceived by Urobuchi. Fuck you guys. Inaho was better, if only because I found him kinda hilarious in the few episodes I watched of that show.
Okay, I’m going to have to state at the end of the day that Psycho-Pass is still fun to watch in an “it’s the same good, but why fix what ain’t broke” sort of sense, but the series reached its prime long before the first season ended, and as much as I like Akane, I think I’m more comfortable with leaving her future to the imagination whilst staying away from the crappy fanfics. Best to move on from this thing now before it ends up like the inevitable Madoka sequel when Homura reunites with Madoka in order to fight in an Earthrealm tournament against Shang Tsung and his out-of-place Joker transformations.
Trainer-Theta
Just to clarify: I am a huge fan of Psycho Pass. That is, the original series, written by Gen Urobuchi. Season 2 was a bit of a letdown but overall still enjoyable. But this? No. No excuses. This was just plain bad. Minor spoilers. Tl;dr at the bottom: Story: This was just a huge cluster of cheesy sci-fi-esque "plot twists" which you find out at the end of the film mean absolutely nothing. The so called "plot twists" themselves were about as predictable as a sunrise. The film starts out promising with an interesting hook of a terrorist plot in Tokyo which you soon find out involvesanother country in an experimental phase of integrating the Sybl system. But...that's it. Beyond the first 20 minutes is nothing but boring, bland and tasteless "plot" designed to try and make the entire situation seem a lot more complicated than it actually is, in a vain attempt to try and give the film the same depth that the original series had.
Art:
It's pretty. Nothing else really to say: the futuristic technology still looks as pretty as it did back in the original series.
Sound:
Again, nothing much to say, besides the fact that a few of the adrenaline pumping OSTs reappear in places. Aside from that, the OP was brand new, however done by the same artist who did the first two OPs, and the ED was a reused one, however one of my personal favourites.
Character:
Ugh. They messed up two of my favourite characters. The first half of this film tries to establish how strong our main heroine is, and to show just how much she's grown to when she first became an inspector. But around halfway through, she essentially becomes completely useless, serving no purpose but to convey the plot to the audience (which the audience already knows by this point, might I add). Kogami makes a reappearance and plays quite a key role in this movie. And by key role, I mean he was on the screen for a while. As for what he contributed to the film...pretty much nothing aside from a bit of fanservice and action.
Animation:
Oh my lord what happened?! I've made PowerPoint presentations with better animation than this! As a whole, the general animation was about average quality, however during particular scenes (such as a fight scene around 3/4 of the way through, or even a general talking scene around halfway through) the animation becomes extremely rough. Heck, there isn't even any animation. It's a slideshow with sound. Did they run out of money while making this?
Tl;dr
+gorgeous soundtrack
+pretty art style with cool, sci-fi backgrounds and technology present everywhere.
-sloppily written plot
-virtually no character development past the opening 20 minutes
-incredibly low animation quality
If you're a fan of Psycho Pass, I'd definitely say steer clear: it will only make you start to dislike what was such an amazing series.
smackells
Off the bat this is a simple review for people who are fans of the series. This is a return to form for the psycho-pass franchise. It has great visuals, sound and a solid plot. If you enjoyed the first season this is for you. If you hated season 2 then you can forget about it. After watching the movie, in my mind, season two no longer exists. Overall I loved this movie and can't wait to add it top my collection beside season 1 (season 2 doesn't exist).
PersonaSimon
Personally, I try to avoid movies based on pre-existing series. Usually they come off as fanservice and do not further the main series in any way. And when said movie has tied into the main series, it is often very rushed and poorly structured(I’m looking at you Gundam 00). Sadly, the Psycho Pass movie is no exception. . First off, this is a stand alone side story. It says that it’s a sequel to Psycho Pass 2, but that is pretty much a lie. The is basically zero connection the second season and most of the movie takes place outside of Japan. None of the charactersother than Akane and Kogami makes a meaningful appearance in the movie. I guess the movie wants to stay away from the nonsense in the god awful Psycho Pass 2. The bad thing though, is that this basically makes the movie filler. Now, I wouldn’t actually mind this that much if the movie was good. But alas, it was not.
First and foremost, the thing rushed as all hell. The movie has approximately enough content to cover an entire season, but all of it is crammed into less than two hours. Everything goes by so fast that it becomes hard to care about anything that's happened. Characters come and go at a blink of an eye, ideas are dropped at a tip of a hat, and there is no theme that last long enough to matter. However, I don’t necessarily think the movie would be any better with a longer run time since the plot is contrive as the US tax system.
The plot for the Psycho Pass Movie is completely illogical and downright stupid. The entire point this movie trying to push the point that the Sybil system is actually a good system. This seems really obtuse and stupid, especially considering this is consider this movie technically take place after season two, where Sybil kills people for no reason. In this movie, Sybil killed thousands of innocent people, allows an army of megalomaniacs to oppress millions, replaces politicians with robots, and still expects the viewer to believe it is all done for the good of humanity. What a fucking joke. And they even throw in the dictatorial government in Cambodia to simply make Sybil look good in comparison. Gen, a slight smaller piece shit is still a piece of shit. And for the love of god, Akane somehow still believe that she can change the system from the inside. Really Akane? That is like trying to passing a bill through Congress, it will never happen.
None of the characters ever matter in this movie. All the villains suffer from “James Bond Syndrome” where they let the main characters live for no reason, explain their plan to them, and then finally proceed to kill them. As for the villains, they are just there for the sake of being cool. None of the villains ever come off interesting of meaningful. The army dudes are are just a bunch of one dimensional psychopaths and all the mercenaries that appear later in the film are just there to either look cool or to throw out pseudo intellectual quotes as if this was GITS Innocence.
Even the main characters don’t do much. Akane and Kougami are just passive observers who are just dragged along a series of events that they have no control over. And the part that pisses me off the most is that no one learn anything at the end. All the characters remain the same as if nothing ever happened. Akane is still a stoic observer, Kougami is still a bishonen rebel, and Sybil is still a bunch of hypocritical jerks. Everything remain at the status quo as if nothing ever happened.
If you want an action movie, I think this would satisfy you. It is very well polished and technically proficient and there is an abundant amount of big, blockbuster action scenes. However, if you want anything more that a dumb, action bust them up, you won’t find it here. All this movie really amounts to is an over the top gore fest that have no idea what it's doing.
Lemonfren
I just want to write short review about this movie. The story begin with more complexity about sybil system. it start to expanding, so the background is another branch of sybil system. it give new great sensation and more sense. because at these floating island, there some intern war and some new killer machine type appeared. you can see some great action from the war. the story is more than good, but it make me remember psycho pass 2 because there sort of sybil system for the reason of war. for the art, i don't have any complain because the art is good even for the detailsof the machine and the ruin. you can feel great sensation of war because the background art so epic. you can see more and more action animation here if you miss it at psycho pass 2. Kougami will show you how to defeat his enemy with epic battle scene.
For the character, it will be focused at Inspector Tsunemori and Kougami. you can see the great improvement of Inspector Tsunemore because She will serve some great action and use his skill to solve the problem. for Kougami, he will appeared as the leader and use his talent to winning the war. The enemy is different like two season before, If Makishima look like Kougami or Kirito with his great Technology and Planning skill, For the enemy here is great with his assassin skill and Kougami will face him. You should know what happen for next scene.
In my opinion, i really enjoy this Movie. it serves so many epic action scene and it has so many complexity for the problem. and the main part is how to solve this big problem with enemy at everywhere.
Overall Score: 8.5/10
Even the show is epic, i still miss enemy like Makishima Shogo i hope there some new epic crew like Kagari or Masaoka.
khunter
Psycho pass the movie, as just a frame of reference, was better than the entire second season of Psycho pass. The movie flowed well, had a good plot & furthermore, and actually more importantly, is a good segway to lead into a season 3 of Psycho pass, which, if done like this movie, can probably rival the first season. Story: I will skip any synopsis as MAL already did that. PSycho pass the movie does a pretty decent job of keeping a good flow. The plot is original as it can be & the action scenes, which are frequent, are brilliantly done and amazing. Regardless ofwhat you think of the plot, you will never be bored with this movie as each frame is an integral one and there is no wasted dialogue nor scenes.
However, the story suffers in two major ways: The first is that despite it being original(as you would expect) it's not terribly unique or fascinating. It's pretty much easy to follow and you can almost sense what the ending will be like. It's certainly not entirely predictable but's not challenging in any way, which leads me to the second part: It's not a movie meant to challenge your mind in anyway. Psycho pass the first season was very psychological and even in the second season, there existed these questions of right and wrong, law & order, justice, etc, albeit less interesting than the first season and less intriguing. The movie does nothing of the sort, at least, nothing that hasn't already been made clear. Which again, leads to the first negative aspect of the story. It's not unique. No unique story, no unique elements. Try and think of this movie as something similar to a fast & furious movie or a seth rogan movie. Entertaining, but not entirely bright or especially good.
Art: 10/10 would bang
The art in the movie is incredible. INCREDIBLE. incredible(one more time for shits & giggles). The budget must have been more than whatever Donald trump spends to keep his fake hair on his head each month because there is not a dull frame. In fact, sometimes, the background is even better animated than the characters! Obviously, each character is animated perfectly but most surprisingly, so is every frame as i mentioned. The art in the back, from the cityscapes to the ruins are incredibly well done, near as perfect that you could want. The action scenes are amazingly well done as well & probably the most impressive about the art. Things you will notice for sure is the background, the way the character's hair sways in the wind, and the fight scenes.
Sound:
I gave it an 8. Could be a 7 honestly. I'll tell you why. English. English, english, english. Never thought I'd hate hearing my own language so much. Terrible pronunciation throughout, and entirely unneeded. It's not like the country in question is America or Australia. It's fucking south east asia. Obviously English is more common than Thai or Vietnamese and maybe even easier to learn but it's unneeded and bad & there's heavy dialogue in english, even from people such as Kogami & Akane. For that, it gets a 7.
However: I give it an 8 because any movie that does that, is really trying. That is something new and I appreciate that. To me, it reminds me of watching a film with subtitles, aka, a foriegn film, which despite me having to read and listen to Danish or something, The movie is so good. Or if a movie hires actors who can speak another language or have them learn it. But most big budget films don't & instead, I'm reminded of movies such as the boy in the striped pajamas where no one speaks german & instead has English accents which is confusing as fuck. So kudos to them for at least incorporating some culture.
As for subs, Voice actors do a great job as usual & the music is as expected, especially that one, and you know it when you hear it, when the fight is about to happen or shit just got real in the story. Background music, which includes aforementioned "shit hits the fan sound/song", is good and ranges from memorable to ok but it never does the show injustice once. Great job all around.
Character:
I gave it a 7. I've heard people say that this movie tried hard to have more villains like Makashima. There is literally no one like him. In fact the only person like Makashima is Makashima, who makes a cameo(I'll get to that in a bit). The villains introduced serve one purpose: To die. You can tell it from the beginning. It's a movie. Not a season. There are not memorable and pretty dull and are there only to antagonize the story and give it a conflict. There is no point mentioning names, and again, each is pretty standard and boring. Though, that being said, the mercenaries are cool, as like fighters and stuff but the leader is given unnecessary dialogue to make him seem smart. When he's clearly expendable as fuck.
Here, let me explain about reoccurring characters. For one, the supporting characters play no role, except for Ginoza, who for some reason does not wear glasses anymore and has a different hairstyle, so at first I didn't even know it was him. He got a lot better looking. Anyway, some of them, like that red Haired guy from season two(sho) & the sadistic black haired guy(Togane) don't even have dialogue at all. Maybe Togane has 1 line & even Kunizuka(the kind of lesbian enforcer from season 1 & 2), has like 3 lines. In fact, the most important person, as far as dialogue, and actually, at all as a supporting character, is karanomori. Saiga says a few things that aren't really important, other than to fill screen time for Akane to mull over his words. And finally, that stupid bitch partner of Akane's is back too, being a bitch and pretty much disagreeing with everything Akane says and does even though she doesn't know shit that stupid whore piece of...
Sorry. Anyway, as for main characters.
Akane is actually more likable. Wow. First season I hated her stupid black & white ideals and her happy go luckly bullshit. Season two she dulled down but she was still too happy and her ideals still kind of black & white. Now, though her ideals haven't changed, she seems to directly oppose the sibyl system now, especially by the ending and pretty much dictates what the sibyl system should and can do. She also seems more closed off personally and serious, which I like more, and her character has developed well from s1. She has even taken up fighting. So kudos to the staff at Psycho pass for making her more likable.
Kogami: Yes he is back. Finally. And as you can imagine, he's still a bad ass motherfucker who doesn't take any names. He hasn't changed much but it's cool to see him play a role outside of his enforcer one back in s1 & therefore is integral to the story. His sense of justice is still strong and unwavering and the new thoughts & feelings we learn from him are great because 1, they help his character develop and 2. he becomes more likable. Which is pretty hard.
I'm going to address the cameo of Makashima. He is so unneeded. I dislike psycho pass 2 & this movie using him so many times as references. All because he was so great and every other villain sucks & every problem has to come back to him. They talk about him way too much. Just leave him alone. The cameo actually pisses me off because, one, he's a fucking hallucination of Kougami's, who for no reason is hallucinating him so it's not even believable for him to be there & two, because Psycho pass will do anything to talk about him & this time they just had the balls to draw him & animate him. The dialogue he has between Kougami isn't even important & considering it's a figment of his mind, doesn't even matter because it's already shit Kogami knows. It's not new information. Psycho pass will never be able to recreate a character like Makashima because Makashima is arguably one the greatest villains of all time.
Enjoyment: 9/10
None of the problems or concerns mention took any precedence over enjoying this movie. Though it takes 45 minutes for Kougami to even speak, it is a great movie worth two hours of your day. It sets up as a perfect transition to season 3, though is most certainly a stand alone movie, and in no way leaves a cliff hanger.
For those that found that too long, i will give a quick recap of pros & cons.
Pros:
-Great animation, as perfect as can be, including characters & backgrouns & fight scenes.
- Fight scenes. That is all.
-Solid, easy to follow plot.
-entertaining.
-Character development from Akane & Kogami.
Cons:
-Not a very unique or challenging plot.
-Supporting characters pretty much useless and left with no dialogue.
-Villains forgettable and bland.
As you can see, pros outweigh cons, go & watch it.
As shia Labueff would say, JUST DO IT
HelghastKillzone
After an agonizing eight months after its debut in Japanese theaters, the Blu-Rays and subs for Psycho-Pass: The Movie are finally released and I can move pass that abomination of that second season. I'm very happy to say that the movie has met my expectations and is a fantastic addition to the franchise. Picking up after six months of the conclusion of the Psycho-Pass 2, a group of foreigners invade Japan with the intentions of committing an terrorist attack against the Sybil System. From that point on, Akane is sent off to a war-ravaged country, where the Sybil system is trialed, in order to find Kougami,who has some sort of connection to them. As this is a movie with a limited running time, the amount of action has been greatly increased to compensate the few new ideas that the movie brings to the table. This is where the second season has its greatest connection to the movie as the assault dominator and the bipedal mini-gun trotting killer robots are used to light up the screen with tons of bullets. Fights that go beyond the scale of the two seasons frequently occur with grandiose explosions and it makes up for whatever philosophical depth the movie may have lost in transition to the big screen.
Story
Building off of the themes from the two previous seasons, the movie expands its horizons by exporting the Sybil System into a country that is already embroiled in a civil war and violence is very much a way of life. The first season focused on judging the individual while the second season was about some nonsensical thing about collective identity and the Sybil system having to judge itself which then leads on into current situation within the movie.
Gen Urobuchi, as the primary writer, does a good job in keeping its focus on the new ways that the Sybil system is adapting itself to an outside world and its various implications. I really did like the message that movie gave off in the end as it is up to actual people, not systems, to decides whether to have freedom or security. Although the conclusion was a bit abrupt and had little impact on the primary cast as the all the important characters basically return back to the status quo, I felt that the cat was out of the box and was an appropriate setup for some major conflicts in future continuation of the Psycho-Pass series. Having a Sybil System that casts its net across the globe is something that is truly frightening to comprehend.
Characters
When it comes to characters, Psycho-Pass: The Movie has its sights on who made the series great by focusing squarely on Akane, Kougami and the Sybil System. Akane, having come so far from being a greenhorn inspector with native ideas about justice, continues to be the star of the series. Sporting a bulletproof vest and even carrying a 9mm pistol, she is takes a page from Kougami playbook in building herself up to be deadly without resorting to the technical marvel of the dominator. Far away from hyper-advanced Tokyo metropolis, it was immensely satisfying to see Akane be outside of her element and dealing with the brutal reality that most of the world faces.
Kougami remains the badass that he always is so it is like meeting up with an old friend that you haven't seen in a while and having both him and Akane together again is living up to a large part of what Psycho-Pass is. Ignoring Kamui of the second season, Makishima Shougo is back once again even though his physical body has a bullet hole in the middle of his head. A figment of Kougami's psyche, he is relentless in arguing his point that he and Kougami are of the same nature and that both of them will arrive at the same point.
Sadly, the real antagonists are little more than two-bit thugs armed with some serious firepower and are even weaker than Kamui in the previous season. They do have some fancy toys in their procession like giant-walking spider tanks, jetpacks and armored bio-suits but I don't think the movie could have crammed developmental time for the villains especially when there is so much awesomeness going with the main cast and gunfire tearing up the landscape . As a result, the supporting characters don't receive a lot of screen time and they don't show for the majority of the movie. Interestingly enough, Mika Shimotsuki is far more tolerable as a character even though there are more than enough hints of growing tension between the her and Akane. Knowing the full truth behind the Sybil System, she is far more ruthless and ideological harden than her former self, who was fumbled around in the dark while annoying the audience. For future installments, I can see this rivalry exploding when the stakes become even higher in a world that craves the promises of the Sybil System.
Animation
Production I.G. is in charged with once again with animating the entire movie and they do not disappoint. Unlike the work of Tatsunoko Productions, which clearly was not a first-rate studio and had some serious production issues throughout the second season, everything is skillfully animated and looks gorgeous. My only gripe with the visuals is the rather bland textures on some of the 3DCGI models like the Honda CRV in Akane's opening scene.
Music/Sound
Ling Tosite Sigure gives a wonderful opening titled "Who What Who What" that feels like a natural continuation of the second season opening and there is a spiffier version of the Psycho-Pass main theme.
There was one thing that really irks me during the movie and that was amount of Engrish being thrown around. The occasional mangled English phrase or sentence spoken by native Japanese voice actors is something that can usually be overlooked but hearing entire blocks of philosophical statements being spoken like that is more than cringe-worthy. Overall, the audio aspects are what you expect of a high budget anime movie but the Engrish is a black mark against an polished entertainment product.
Conclusion
Psycho-Pass is one of my favorite series in all of anime with its distinct lack of moe, cyberpunk sci-fi setting, thought-provoking mature subject matter and some really great characters, both protagonists and antagonists. The movie only affirms my love for the series with its lovely visual, bold new setting and some unsettling plans that Sybil System has as it go beyond its native Japanese borders. If you are a fan of Psycho-Pass, then there is absolutely no excuse in not watching this movie and I wouldn't hesitate in recommending this show for those who are old or new fans of anime.
8.5/10
Major_K
Psycho-Pass returns after what many considered a dismal 2nd season, myself included. With the creators of S1 working on this movie, I had high expectations. Reality can be harsh sometimes. The buzz surrounding the movie was the return of Kougami Shinya. As Psycho-Pass fans say, Psycho-Pass isn't Psycho-Pass without Kougami. As much as I fan-girled over seeing him back in action, he just didn't have the finesse of season 1. My assumption is that Makishima added that extra bit of 'umph' to his character. Kougami had a goal and clear motives in S1 but in the movie he seemed like a lost puppy. Although hiscombat skills say otherwise. Our other protagonist going by the name of Akane however, once again proved her competent skills as she uncovered the events occurring beind-the-scenes in SEA.
This brings me to the plot. It was dull. We are introduced to a random nation in South East Asia undergoing a civil war. This was a brilliant way to demonstrate the Sybil System's superiority over other judicial systems. Chaos and war is portrayed as common in many countries, with Japan being the only country living in peace and prosperity. However there was nothing more the story and it had no substance.
Shootouts, explosions and witty dialogue mixed in between the action scenes are not what made Psycho-Pass S1 the best work in the franchise. A large portion of the movie was dedicated towards showing off the ongoing havoc which disrupted the flow of the progression. It's obvious to see from the visuals and effects the high production values and the effort put into making the fight scenes look gorgeous. Due to this, less attention was paid to what I consider the more important aspects of the plot. How has SEA come to this catastrophe? How is the area designated to the Sybil System's management coping? We get brief statements about these plot points but showing the viewers instead of telling is much more effective. The story also concludes poorly. We weren't shown the after-effects of Akane exposing Sybil's intentions.
The remaining cast of characters were a mix of good and bad. Shimotsuki seemed more competent at her job than she did in S2 but the mercenaries had no personalities to speak of. Ginoza was given little screen time but this was used effectively. The 2 on 1 with him Kougami tag-teaming demonstrated his combat prowess, something we never got to see before. We also witnessed him having a soft spot for his former colleague by not arresting him. Nice touch to his character.
I doubt the heights of S1 will ever be reached again, as this movie proves Gen and his fellow colleagues seemed to be struggling to add something new to the series. I was pleased with seeing what Kougami was up to and the extra bit of world building in this sci-fi world.
Oh and yes, the engrish was bad.
HibariRyudo
When I heard about the Psycho Pass movie was out I was so excited. But now that I watched it, I have a different opinion. The story was very good but not great. I loved the recurring themes of free will and human nature. That humans are not meant to be ruled in a way that interferes with their free will and that each person should fulfill their desires. The corruption of government was very good too and can be compared to real life. The artwork was quite good and it was a lot better than the artwork from season two. Probably because it wasanimated by the same production studio from season one. Akane's character was very good. In comparison from season one and the movie, you can tell she has grown and changed in a way but her sense of justice is still the same and she still has her humanity. Kougami's character was very good too, and he did have some traits that Shogo Makishima had. But the biggest difference in both of them was that Shogo would use his power in a way that was evil and Kougami wouldn't and that's what l liked about his character development. I really did enjoy the movie but the ending did not feel like an ending. I do think that they kept it that way so that one day they may make a season 3 or a movie sequel. The sybil system is not just and one day it will be defied by something equal to it.
caturface
Just finished Psycho Pass: The Movie and without taking any time to collect my thoughts just decided to begin writing my opinion. To start off, no this isn't nearly as good as season 1, but it is still much better than season 2 (though really that's like saying a High school track star is better at the 400 meter dash than the top special Olympics competitor, so not exactly a fair comparison). The story line was quite intriguing to say the least and had a nice, but not entirely unexpected plot twist that any fan of the series should see coming a mile away. Theanimation was top notch, but what else would you expect; and the music managed to set a nice tone for the action. Some characters came back, even if they were mirages, and made this movie hearken back to the first season of the show, which after the intense average-ness of season 2 is quite nice. Overall a solid film that slipped up in some places, but hell, it was a herculean task to stand up to season 1, and this movie made an effort so props to it. Overall 7/10.
tl;dr: Tsunemori is bad at her job, Sybil is a dick, and I want to lick whipped cream off of Kougami's body.
Tokoya
Now THIS is how you do a sequel to a series as explosive as Psycho Pass, I'm really happy that the staff for the first season worked on this film.....I will say this now that if you are a fan of the first season, you need to watch this film, there was even no mention of the second season other than Mika and the new Enforcers Story First of all, if you're coming into this film expecting this series to conclude/to see every remaining plot point get resolved, then you're in for a rue awakening, however this film managed to play on some plot pointsfrom the first season as well as to throw in its own kick to it
The story takes place in a foreign country outside of Japan and I can't speak for anyone else here but personally, one of the questions that I had during and after watching the first season was exactly how would the Sybil System fare in another country and this film direct addressed this. Urobutcher being the man he is decided to take things up a notch and created a situation in which the system was tasked with settling conflicts due to lingering effects of political and civil war.
Even though the concept behind this film is interesting and enjoyable, the outcome of certain events were pretty much predictable, however be that is it may, the film did manage to execute it's established plot points pretty well primarily due to its main cast and the conflict
Characters
In short, this film mainly focused on Akane, Kogami and both sides of the playing field in this new country with everyone else getting minor roles and limited amounts of screen time. The biggest con that I had with the film leaned towards the antagonists who sadly ended up being the standard group of villains that are trying to gain large amounts of power and quite frankly, they ended up.being very forgettable. But I will give credit to the fact that the antagonists (Mainly the mercenaries) were very menacing and added a lot of much appreciated suspense and intensity to the film
Other characters such as the Sybil System and Division 1 were all showcased exactly how they were in previous seasons but with minor roles however I will say that the breakthrough performer in this group was Gino - The man was a complete boss in this film. Still their work together is always a joy to see and the film captured the essence of an everyday active mission in the lives of Division 1.....Credit also goes to Shion whom also played a more active role in the film along side Gino (Mika is still pretty annoying but what's worse is that now she has a lot of sass)
As I stated earlier, Akane and Kogami were the main focus of this film and both of their sub plots and joint dynamic were handled very well. Akane's development from the previous seasons remained in tact and the film perfectly showcase the drive, determination and detective skills that Akane has gained as well as her ever so strong denial of the harsh methods made by Sybil. Kogami was exactly the same but even though the character went through some interesting changes, what made Kogami such an interesting character was his tactical skills, personality and combat prowess and that was more than showcased in this film
A certain individual from S1 that ended up solidifying their place as one of the best antagonists in anime history ended made a cameo in this film and said person's influence and actions lingered into the film and affected certain events and characters
Art/Sound
It's more than obvious to see that Production IG really went all out with this film and managed to get a very high budget because the art and animation were completely fluid, there were no drops in frame rates and the backgrounds and lighting + camera work were all 10/10. Thankfully the original character designs stayed the same but more detailed and the new characters looked decent as well
The sound was equally as epic however there was one thing that didn't pan out too well, and that was all of dat Engrish.....Never in my life of watching anime have I seen so much pure English dialogue that for the most part sounded really bad. However, I feel like Hana Kana did a good job at it, Ko's was decent enough too....The Japanese voice acting was pretty decent though.
The OST consisted of new tracks that completely grasped the essence of Psycho Pass as well as already established and new mixes of tracks from the first season. The film also has a great OP song showcased in the PV that was made by the group that did the OP's for the first and second season and lastly, the icing on the cake came in the form of the ED song being Namae no Nai Kaibutsu (ED 1 of Season 2) by the ever so talented EGOIST
Enjoyment/Overall
Even though the story wasn't anything groundbreaking what truly made this film shine was the amazing action scenes and the character interactions with one another and how they made the plot move and more engaging. If I were to take out my own personal enjoyment, I would rate this film somewhere between an 8-8.5/10 however, this film had me on the edge of seat from beginning to end and I really enjoyed seeing some of the things that I love about this series in general so as such, I'm gonna give this film an......
9/10
AnimeBW
It’s been over a year since I first watched Psycho-Pass, and in the time since then, I’ve only become further convinced of how damn good it is. It’s a searing political commentary on the nature of free will and sociological predestination, exploring countless fascinating (and severely fucked) dystopian concepts while backed by a fantastic, character-driven narrative and one of anime’s most iconic bad guys. It’s possibly Gen Urobuchi’s best work, with stronger characters than Madoka Magica and far less, well, Fate-ness than Fate/Zero, though they’re all of such similar caliber in my mind that I wouldn’t feel comfortable ranking them against each other. But thefailure of Psycho-Pass 2 to re-capture its brilliance couldn’t help but raise the question of how much of a franchise there really was to this franchise.
See, part of what makes Gen Urobuchi’s work so great is how complete and self-contained his stories feel. You come to the end of any of this shows and all emotional loose ends will be tied up, all characters will have reached the natural endpoint of their arcs, and the story’s themes will have been analyzed and dissected to completion. Some writers excel at creating expansive, varied universes you just want to spend endless time in, but Urobuchi’s signature touch is getting in, saying everything he wants to say, and then cutting the cord not a second later. He’s a remarkably efficient writer in that regard, crafting wonderful self-contained mobius strips of darkness that leave you with countless thoughts to endlessly mull over. But because of that, his work just doesn’t naturally lend itself to sequelization. Despite the ambiguity of his endings, his work doesn’t leave behind any dangling threads to pull on if you want to tease out new ideas from the same universe, which means you have to throw entirely now playing pieces into the mix that just might not gel with the tightly crafted clockwork contraption they’re being shoved into. Sure, Psycho-Pass 2 not having Urobuchi on the writing team (as a result of him working on this movie, no less) was a big reason it was of such lower quality, but even when Urobuchi does work on the sequels to his own projects, like with Rebellion, you can’t help but feel like the focus isn’t as strong the second time around. As much as I love the dude’s work, the more of it I see, the more convinced I’ve become that it’s just not really possible to sequelize him without losing the magic that made it work in the first place.
Thank god, then, that the direct movie sequel to the first season of Psycho-Pass has arrived to put those doubts to rest.
It’s some time after Kogame killed Makishima and went rogue, and Akane is in the process of getting used to working as a superior officer under the Sybil System. But things get dangerous when a successful sting operation reveals connections back to an unstable South Asian nation called SEAM. Outside Japan, the world is a chaotic battlefield of warring nations and insurgencies, and the seeming stability of the Sybil System is beginning to attract many to want to adopt it as well. SEAM is holding a trial run on an artificial island created to house clear and clouded Psycho-Passes alike, turning those deemed dangerous into closely monitored slaves. But because the Sybil System is literally the worst and stomps on the unlucky under the guise of being “fair and balanced”, the citizens of Seam are suffering, and a guerrilla army is attempting to overthrow the chairman to stop the adoption of Sybil. And it just so happens that among that rebel army is non other than Kogami himself. At her request, Akane is sent in alone to try and bring him in, and once there, she becomes embroiled in the political scheming and chaos as she attempts both to track down Kogami and unravel the roots of the unrest plaguing the country… and what Sybil might have to do with it.
The best way I can describe this film is that it’s an epilogue to the first season, and somehow just as good a stopping point for the story of Akane and Kogame as the end of the first season. We do catch glimpses of the new characters from season 2, but they’re firmly in the background, which is for the best, because in case we forgot, none of the new characters were interesting. The focus here is on Kogame and Akane, as they come to terms with the people they’re both turning into and whether or not the paths they’ve come to follow are the right ones. And whenever the camera’s on them, it’s like we never even left. The friendship and conflict between these two characters was the true heart of Psycho-Pass, and this movie is a chance to give that bond proper closure, allowing them both a chance to determine how they want to keep fighting against the pain the Sybil System brings. And man, I can’t believe how fucking much I missed them. Their chemistry, the way they bounce off each other, the respect they hold toward each other, the newfound sadness as they try to make sense of the companionship they can never fully restore… god, it’s really fucking good. And without spoiling anything, by the time the movie’s over, it really does feel like a proper farewell to the old status quo. It’s possibly the most outwardly hopeful ending in Urobuchi’s entire oeuvre, a promise that for as hard as the world seems, thing are, and will continue, to get better.
That said, I’d be lying if I tried to pretend the Psycho-Pass movie fully escapes the Urobuchi sequel curse. Once again, now that the story has to expand beyond the tightly constructed parameters it set for itself, it has to start tacking on new additions that threaten to bloat the proceedings down. The politics of the new setting are all very well-realized, and it makes for a nice sort of “bottle episode” feel, but there are definitely a few too many new characters to comfortably fit. There’s a squad of cybernetic mercenaries, in particular, that feels like they’re only here to expand the runtime and give Kogami someone new to fight hand-to-hand. But the gadgets and gizmos they fight with aren’t interesting enough to make them stand out, and the one woman on the team wears the stupidest fucking fanservice outfit with her oversized tits just about spilling out of her shirt, so it just ends up feeling more stupid than anything else. It’s the one part of the film that feels like the second season in a bad way, a sloppy, juveline aping of the first season’s maturity, mistaking shock value for genuine darkness and tension.
But you know what? For all those complaints, the fact of the matter is, this movie accomplishes what the second season couldn’t even come close to: it felt like Psycho-Pass. It felt like a proper story set in the world of the Sybil System, with the same pitch-black-yet-doggedly-hopeful dystopian edge and an actual worthwhile addition to the franchise’s overall picture. It’s got great character work between its central players and provides proper closure to the first season’s ambiguity. It’s full of nasty, fascinating technological advances that raise dark questions about the possibilities of future societies. And while I’m still not the biggest fan of the franchise’s aesthetic- Production IG’s early-2010s washed-out bloom look is never not gonna make me have PTSD flashbacks to Guilty Crown- it still takes advantage of its movie budget to pull off some spectacular, evocative setpieces that hit hard and spray dizzying litres of blood across the pavement. It’s also got proof that CG elements can actually blend almost seamlessly with 2D shows, as long as they’re drawn in the same style and actually animated at full frames per second instead of like stuttering dial-up connections. Seriously, I was really damn impressed by how well the big 3D machines and robots integrated with the hand-drawn backgrounds and characters. Never let it be said that this franchise lacks for artistry.
In the end, what I most come away from this movie with is a sense of hope. Not just for the surprising optimism of its conclusion and what it means for the people living in the world, but for the franchise a whole. Urobuchi’s work is hard to sequel, but the Psycho-Pass Movie proves it can be done. It’s still possible to draw legitimately worthwhile follow-ups from his closely woven narratives, to find stories still worth telling even after the curtain falls. Whether or not the Sinners of the System films and third season can make good on that potential remains to be seen, but at the very least, I know this franchise still has life. And that's an achievement worth celebrating.
SirKnight007
Psycho-Pass, one of my favourite anime besides Pokemon, Gurren Lagaan, Steins;Gate and Cowboy Bebop. Nothing else ever drew me in closer and made me binge-watch the hell out of it. Heck! While I was watching Trigun, I put it On-hold for a day or two, and I started watching it, WITH NO BREAKS IN BETWEEN! But when I heard there was a movie, I had to look it up. And let me tell you, it was mid Trigun ALL OVER again (except this time, with Serial Experiments Lain [The show was good, but in a battle of engagement, it was pretty one-sided]). So let's clearour Psycho-Pass and file in our cases, this is Psycho-Pass-The Movie.
Story - 10/10
The show explores a pretty interesting concept, what the world would be like if we implemented the Sibyl System to Third-World countries. Some might say it would work, others might argue otherwise. And that’s what makes the story so engaging. Our main protagonist is also dragged into the conflict of the country of SEAUn, trying to piece the jigsaw pieces and to see the big picture, just like the first episode of the main series. As always, Gen Urobuchi nails this part of the story. Making the world more relatable, engaging, breath-taking and fleshed out, all while going through all kinds of themes, such as, ‘when it’s over, what do you do?’ Or ‘Is the Sibyl System REALLY the best choice?’ Or ‘Is Psycho-Pass 2 part of this movie?’ To the latter, I say, No (PRAISE THE LORD!). To the others I say, watch the movie and see for yourself. Yes, the dialogue can get a little heavy at times, but knowing Gen Urobuchi, he can make ANY exposition engaging. When we hear exposition, we think ‘droning’, ’boring’ or ‘is it lunch time yet?’ When we hear exposition in movies, we think ‘Oh God!’, ‘How much LONGER!!!!’ and ‘Kill me NOW!’ But in this case, none of these points EVER popped up. We think ‘engaging’, ‘wonder’, ‘thought-provoking’, ‘educating’, and ‘Yup, its Gen Urobuchi.’.
Art – 10/10
What did you expect? Of course, the art is great. It has Great shot composition, atmospheric settings and, of course, gorgeous visuals. And we can NOT talk about Psycho-Pass’s visuals without talking about the gore, and talk about gore I shall. You know it’s Psycho-Pass when gore is kept to a bare minimum, but show it SO well. For those of you who were unlucky enough to watch Psycho-Pass 2, you must have noticed that the Dominator was used too many times, as opposed to the first season, where the paralyze mode is used the most, and the Lethal Eliminator is preserved for the perpetrators. This is akin to the rules from, where else, OUR world. Police are highly advised AGAINST using guns on an unarmed civilian, but rather as a means to intimidate criminals and force them into a corner. The gun holds a LOT of responsibility, just like our Dominators. How will they be used? Who will be at the receiving end? Is this gonna look like a sexual innuendo? Why use it? There’s a lot to consider it. It’s not just a weapon of awesomeness; it’s a glow stick of HEAVY responsibility, with enough firepower to WRECK SHIT UP!!
Sound – 9/10
It’s the same as always. That’s what I like about this movie; it stays true to what Psycho Pass is about.
However, in the case of the sub, it gets kinda shaky. Approximately, one-third of the movie is plastered in ‘engrish’. It really gets in your nerves from time to time. I know they’re foreigners, but couldn’t you ask a foreigner to do that? It’s not that hard. If there’s one engrish I can handle, it’s from Kana Hanazawa. Her English was pretty fluent, even though it falls into engrish territory. All in all, this might be the weakest point, but I can’t tell, not until I hear the dubbed version (which might take a while).
Characters – 10/10
Just like how we cannot talk about Psycho-Pass without the Dominator, we can’t talk about Gen Urobuchi’s work without talking about the characters. The story takes places after the events of Psycho-Pass (NOT the second season, as I do NOT consider it canon), and the character’s growth is quite evident. Akane Tsunemori is back, and she’s not as naïve as she was before. She now has a lot of responsibility on her hands, considering she’s going on a business trip to SEAUn to determine the worth of the Sibyl System. She was one of my favourite characters of the series, and it’s good to see her character grow. Some of you may be thinking, “HEY! Where’s Shinya Kougami? Well, he’s here too, but for spoiler reasons, I cannot disclose what he is doing at the moment, but it does show what would happen when someone from a highly sophisticated justice system quit and try to look for some peace and quiet. He’s a man looking for some piece and quite, only to find wherever he went was a battlefield. I mean, COME ON! He went through a LOT, and the guy couldn’t just catch a break. And here’s where the movie throws a curve ball of jaw-dropping proportions. The characters from the second season, is back, though minor, and their characters are more stable. Yeah, even I couldn’t believe it. If you saw the second season, your perception of them might be little critical. But when I saw it, it kind of makes sense. And let’s not forget about the side characters, they played a HUGE role in the series. From the twists, the climax, AND the action scenes, they never lose their spotlight. And let’s not forget about Sem. He fought with a machine gun, WHILE WEARING A LUNGI! For those of you who don’t know, a lungi is a long piece of cloth. It’s like a poor man’s towel; less absorby, it's more like a substitute for pants. It is to Bangladesh, what the towel is to space (So long, and thanks for all the fish).
Enjoyment – 10/10
Guys, I put Serial Experiments Lain on hold, just to watch this gem. OF COURSE I ENJOYED IT! However, this time I won’t factor in my enjoyment, but rather the enjoyment of the fans. I am a fan, but this isn’t about me. It’s about YOU. The movie came weeks after the second season, so people might have been turned off and avoided it. For those who didn’t, were REALLY lucky bastards. For those who didn’t watch the second season, they’ll definitely enjoy it. But for those who did, will find it to be a breath of fresh air. It’s like wearing a pair of fresh new underwear on the morning of New Year’s Eve after taking a bath. It feels GREAT!!! But will newcomers enjoy it? If they want to, they’re better off watching anime first, and avoid the second season for the sake of not ruining their vibe.
Overall – 10/10 (Of course! WHY NOT 10/10?)
Ask me if I recommend it or not one more time, I swear I’m going to douse your face into a bucket of freezing water, and then punching you in the face while yelling’ “NO SHIT SHERLOCK! OF COURSE I RECOMMEND IT!!” Many people thought that Psycho-Pass 2 would give the series some closure, when in reality; this movie did a better job of doing that. Being a Psycho-Pass fan, this movie really put me in déjà vu territory again. Just like how I put a series on hold just to watch Akane get pushed into the action right away, I put another series on hold just to watch Akane go back to where she was in the first episode, but this time, she’s better and stronger. Strong enough to take the job and make it out even stronger than before. You can tell that the staff pulled absolutely no punches on this one, and it definitely shows.But this is not the end of the sci-fi marathon. Oh no. Next we’re diving into an anime that just seems to get better and better, as time goes by.
