In the year 2118, Japan has stepped away from a system of laws.
Instead, the nation relies on the Sibyl System, an AI biomechatronic computer program. Not only does it instantly evaluate situations and control police officials’ ability to discharge their weapons, it continuously monitors the biometrics of Japanese citizens’ brains as well. This system’s “Psycho-Pass” reveals a person’s criminal potential and gives them a color-coded Hue that notifies enforcement officials to any potential problems.
You could say it’s an always-watching monitor that keeps worries about deadly conflict and messy lawsuits at bay.
You would be wrong, but you could say that.
The problem, of course, is that criminals can get their hands on weapons that aren’t limited by the Sibyl System. And there are also some who have found a way to mentally mask their violent intentions.
A deadly paramilitary organization called the Peacebreakers is one such group. Its members form a powerful, destructive force that’s nearly impossible to control. They recently attacked a ship in search of a particular scientist. Not only did these outlaws kill an entire security detail to get to the professor, they also beheaded her in an attempt to obtain her work.
It’s up to inspector Akane Tsunemori and her small team of Ministry of Health and Welfare agents to solve the mystery behind the attack. What do these terrorists want? How can they subvert the Sibyl System’s scans? Why do they use Christian Bible verses in their attacks? Why is this professor’s research so important to them?
As Akane begins to investigate, however, her efforts are blocked at every turn. Other Japanese government departments deny her access. Enemy forces are tipped off to her team’s actions. And she faces seemingly unbeatable assailants, foes who can mysteriously receive a bullet to the head and keep fighting.
Worse than all of that, Akane begins to piece together a hidden truth that might well shake the Sibyl System—and the Japanese government—to its core.
We meet a number of morally upright characters here, but this story centers on Akane. She’s willing to step up and put herself in harm’s way while her team works behind the scenes.
Akane’s teammates also fight for the greater good. They’re every bit as self-sacrificial as she is, if for only her sake.
A government official is caught between his misguided choices and his love for his family. He momentarily clings to the idea of his loved ones as representing one small piece of redemption for him.
Some of Akane’s associates discuss the fact that the Peacebreakers repeatedly reference passages from the Bible. First Timothy 1:18, for instance, is used to encourage prophecy and warfare. Members repeat that verse a few times.
Eventually we learn that the paramilitary group is set up as something of a cult-like organization with an AI program “general” of their own. [Spoiler Warning] Members have also inserted computer chips in their brains that protect them from the Sibyl System’s Psycho-Pass but exacerbate their cultish behavior.
The group’s leaders speak with religious terminology and refer to their AI program as a god. The AI addresses its followers by saying, “Praise be to my loyal followers.” And on other occasions it speaks directly into their heads, sometimes taking control of their body. Later, when the Sibyl System doesn’t allow Akane to fire her gun, a Peacebreaker says, “It looks like your god has ruled in my favor.” He also calls Akane a heretic for her disbelief.
In fact, Akane openly grapples with the fact that so many people have let AI technology take control over their lives in a godlike way. And it’s not just the Peacebreakers. She determines that she must awaken Japan as a whole to the fact that they mustn’t let technology take away their choice, as well as their need for truth and justice, right and wrong.
Someone mentions that religious passion and cultish zealotry are very similar emotions. A teammate talks about Akane and suggests, “The girl is not a saint, nor is she a Buddha.”
A few female characters sport prominent cleavage.
There are lots of high-action battles and firefights in this film’s story mix. We see scores and scores of people shot, injured and killed. Bullets rip into flesh from pistols and automatic weapons.
Akane’s willingness to sacrifice herself for others means that she takes a few bullets and gets battered as a result. It should be noted, however, that Akane also choose to publicly kill someone by the movie’s end. This is meant to be seen as a self-sacrificial decision to reveal humanity’s greater failing, but it’s still murder.
A woman is, as mentioned above, decapitated (though we only see the blood-pooled aftermath.) There are also a number of close-combat battles in which men pummel one another with gunstocks and batons; they also slash and stab each other with knives and blades. In one such clash, the combatants tumble down rocky cliffs while bashing and hacking at each other.
Someone gets shot in the eye but then rises again to keep fighting. He’s riddled with bullets and doesn’t go down until he’s impaled by a mechanical arm. Groups of fallen soldiers are rigged with explosives and used to blow up a ship’s internal corridors. Several people fall from great heights and are killed.
Massive explosions and fires destroy building and warehouses. Helicopters, planes and robotic turrets rip up stone walls and metal buildings with their fire. A man’s face bears a huge red scar. A guy struggles with a gun in his own hand when a force takes control of his body and tries to make him shoot himself in the face. A father executes his son. A woman is shot and murdered on public TV.
A man shoots himself, committing suicide in his car, and his son discovers the bloodied body.
We hear one or two uses each of the words “h—,” “d–n,” “a–,” “b–tard,” “geez” and “crap.”
Also of note, this film is available to see with English dubbed dialogue or in Japanese with subtitles.
Several characters smoke cigarettes. One guy, Kogami, does so quite frequently. A female terminal operator has an ashtray filled to the brim with snubbed out cigarette butts next to her. Two guys have a glass of some kind of alcohol.
None.
The Psycho-Pass anime series launched in 2012. It has since (through ongoing books and films) crafted a story of a futuristic, cyberpunk Japan that has thrown out the idea of living under a typical system of laws, along with the violence that system produces. Instead, the people have given over their societal governance to a powerful AI network.
Your first question, then, is likely to be: If I’ve never seen any of the past shows or movies, will I be completely lost when I watch this one? And the answer is … not completely. I personally had never heard of Psycho-Pass, but I found the film’s heavy action/psychological thriller plot and vibe easy to engage with. And even though the already established central characters are thrown at the screen in a rush, the voice work and character interactions sort things out well.
And the story?
Well, it’s pretty bloody at times. That’s the main reason for the film’s R-rating. But the film is also immersive and thoughtful. The tale raises questions about we humans, our submission to technology and our immoral, manipulative choices. The story features a group who not only acquiesce to an AI computer program’s guidance, but actually worship it with twisted biblical references.
Ultimately, Psycho-Pass: Providence asks viewers to consider what they would be willing to sacrifice for justice, truth and freedom in a corrupt, fallen world. That’s some heady and real world-applicable stuff for an anime movie. And it’s wrapped in dynamic visuals and a sweeping score.
Those who leap in, however, should do so well aware of this film’s penchant for misaimed spirituality and bloody destruction.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
