30 DAY ANIME CHALLENGE | 09

When I first saw this prompt – there was ONLY one person that came to mind- Makishima Shogo. Let me just say – his character sends chills run down my spine. His twisted personality makes him the perfect villain in one of my all-time favorite shows: Psycho-Pass.

“To live is not merely to breathe; it is to act; it is to make use of our organs, senses, faculties – of all those parts of ourselves which give us the feeling of existence” – Rousseau. (Makashima’s motto)

Makishima is the primary antagonist of the series. He’s the mastermind behind a lot of the crimes that the Public Safety Bureau investigate. His personality is cold and calculating. He’s cultured, intelligent and eerily charismatic and he speaks so eloquently that he’s able to manipulate and persuade people with his speech. He’s probably one of the most brilliant antagonists I’ve ever seen.

He’s obsessed with violence and savagery. He seeks out the worst traits of humanity in individuals and uses them as his puppets to carry out his crimes and disposes of them when he realizes they don’t live up to the expectations of chaos he dreams of. He has stated that in doing this he wants to see “the splendor of people’s souls”. These people are often directed by him and act as distraction for the PSB while he works on a larger scheme. His lack of humanity is frightening as he remains incredibly calm and emotionless as he carries out acts of violence. And he does everything with such grace and ease – it’s mind-boggling to think someone like this is pure evil.

He has issues with how humanity has been blindly led on by the SIBYL system; they’ve  lost what it’s like to have independent thinking. His sole wish is the destruction of this society that SIBYL has built due to the personal resentment he harbors against the system itself.  The SIBYL system unable to judge Makishima despite his criminal has maintained a pure psycho-pass. It is speculated that his feelings of alientation from SIBYL for not recognizing him as a “normal human” drove him to lose his mind and drove him to feel like he had to destory it. He has claimed that because he doesn’t consider killing or commiting crimes to be wrong, but rather, completely normal reflects a flaw in the SIBYL system. Kogami states that he believes because of this isolation that SIBYL created and being recognized as a non-entity is what led Makishima down his criminal to begin with – his isolation had just made him that much stronger and that Makishima must have expereinced incredible hardships as a child that allowed his mind to stay pure.

Shinya Kogami is labeled as Makishima’s nemesis; as Kogami and he have very similar thought processes and are both incredibly smart and well-read (which is why Shinya is also one of my faves! I’m not sure if I’ll be able to talk about him in this 30 Day Challenge – that makes me sad!!). He and Kogami understand one other and both are solely focused on the other. Makishima doesn’t agree with Kogami’s trust and belief in the flawed SIBYL system – which is the catalyst that triggers them both being hell-bent on killing one another. They both recognize the flaws in SIBYL, but as a detective Kogami can’t let Makishima get away just because SIBYL doesn’t recognize it, he is forced to turn his back on the MWPSB and capture Makishima on his own. This is exactly what Makishima wants in the end. He wants to force people to think for themselves and act for themselves, and then live their lives of their own will. He believes in this so much that he’d be willing to die at the hands of someone “who has the will to kill”.

Makishima’s character is a work of art. When you first meet him he seems unsuspecting but as the story unfold’s it’s clear he’s a genius mastermind that’s orchestrated all the chaos that runs on in this world of Psycho-Pass. It’s amazing what alienation did to Makishima – it drove him mad that he had to do something for him to be a force to reckoned with. He’s my favorite villain in any series because he embodies such eloquence and grace but underneath all of that is a calculating murderer. It’s really creepy; but that’s what makes him so good!