Shogo Makishima

Shogo Makishima (Japanese: 槙島 聖護, Hepburn: Makishima Shōgo) is a fictional character who was introduced as the main antagonist in Production I.G's anime series, Psycho-Pass. Makishima is responsible for several crimes, and the main cast (Public Safety Bureau officers) are in search of him. He advocates the destruction of the society created by the Sybil System, in which people are treated according to their stress level, and sees Enforcer Shinya Kogami as his nemesis. Makishima appears in most of the series' print adaptations, and makes cameo appearances in the films Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015) and Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System (2019).

Shogo Makishima
Psycho-Pass character
Makishima on Psycho-Pass website
First appearancePsycho-Pass Episode 1: "Crime Coefficient" (2012)
Created byGen Urobuchi
Designed byAkira Amano
Voiced by

The character was created by writer Gen Urobuchi, who intended to make him look alienated from his society. Director Naoyoshi Shiotani found the character likable, paralleling Kogami. Makishima is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese, and Alex Organ voices him in English.

Critical reception of the character has been largely positive, with his role as a strong villain (particularly his rivalry with Kogami) praised. Makishima and Sakurai's performance were well-received by Japanese fans in a Noitamina poll.

Creation and development

Makishima's rivalry with Shinya Kogami is seen from the perspective of rookie police inspector Akane Tsunemori.[1] Makishima is usually calm (even during violent scenes) because he lacks humanity.[2] According to writer Gen Urobuchi, one of the series' central themes is "fear"; Makishima feels out of place, but could have found happiness if he had been born into a normal world.[3]

Takahiro Sakurai was Makishima's Japanese voice actor.

Naoyoshi Shiotani related to Makishima's dislike of the Sybil System's advanced technology and authoritarianism, and thought the character had more humanity than the policemen hunting him down; he also enjoyed Kogami's similar characterization to Makishima. The director said that parallels between protagonist and antagonist are common in fiction, reflecting a real-world individual's moral duality. Makishima is distinguished from Kogami by clothing color; Makishima wears white, and Kogami black. Their first names are also opposite; shogo is the portion of the day from midday and sunset, and shinya is the time from midnight to sunrise.[4]

Character designer Kyoji Asano said that he might be most similar to Makishima. According to the artist, the character's many facial expressions were the most difficult to articulate. Asano described him as "scary"; Makishima makes no effort to hide his insanity, making him difficult to draw. The designer said that he often had to tweak the handsome character's face to match his actions in the series.[5]

Takahiro Sakurai had no idea what to think about voicing until he read the script for the series finale. Sakurai grew to like the character to the point that he felt like Makishima was not dead. Director Shitoani said that although he originally saw the series from a police officer's point of view, he became sympathetic to Makishima. Sakurai said that despite his delight in killing, Makishima demonstrated humanity when he discovered that his only friend (Choi Gu Sung) had been killed by Chief Kasei. Shiotani agreed; they considered giving Makishima an extra scene in episode 20 in which the character talks to Sung, but it was not included on the DVD.[6]

Alex Organ voiced Makishima in English. Organ considered Psycho-Pass a step above what he had worked on to date; one of his first major roles, the narrative was darker than he had expected. The actor called Makishima complex, and was familiar with some of the series' Shakespearean passages.[7]

Appearances

Makishima is the mastermind behind the many criminal cases investigated by the Public Safety Bureau, including one which led to the demotion of Kogami from inspector when one of Kogami's allies was murdered and his body dismembered.[8] Despite Makishima's murderous intent, his Crime Coefficient (data collected on every member of society) never reaches a dangerous level. He claims that this is because his mind (and body) does not consider his murders and other crimes "wrong", but "sound"; this in turn makes him immune to the Dominator weapon worn by Inspector Akane Tsunemori. During the series, Tsunemori unsuccessfully tries to prevent Makishima from killing one of her friends.[9] Makishima tries to destroy the Sybil System by distracting the Bureau forces with chaos in the streets, but is arrested by Tsunemori after a fight with Kogami. The Sibyl System offers to spare his life if he will join them; he escapes, however, loathing the way the system acts like "gods".[10] Although Makishima tries to convince Kogami to join his planned bioterrorism to weaken Japan's economy and destroy the Sybil System, his plans are foiled by Bureau forces and Kogami kills him.[11]

Makishima also appears in the series novelization, which expands on his relationship with Choe Gu-sung.[12] In the prequel novel, he is the mastermind of the case in which Mitsuru Sasayama died and Kogami became an Enforcer.[13] Makishima also appears in the manga adaptation, Inspector Akane Tsunemori.[14] In the films Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015) and Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System (2019), he appears in Kogami's hallucinations because of their similar ideas about justice.[15][16] Makishima is a supporting character in the visual novel, Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness.[17]

Reception

Critical response

Critical reaction to Makishima has been generally positive. His orchestration of several crimes was praised, but Kotaku's Richard Einsbeis criticized his Deus ex machina immunity to the system.[18] Thomas Zoth of Fandom Post called Makishima's murder of Tsunemori's friends a "horrible" scene due to its impact on the main character, who finds herself helpless to stop the antagonist.[19] Kotaku praised Makishima's balance with Tsunemori in the series' second half.[20]

Jacob Chapman of Anime News Network described Makishima as "the voice who speaks to our minds, to the self-assured sci-fi lovers who have 'seen this all before' ... Urobuchi's act of rebellion against making 'just another dystopia' ... he's the key element that makes it a work of thoughtful art rather than wild entertainment."[21] In his Fandom Post review, Thomas Zoth wrote that Makishima's cruelty to Tsunemori made the viewer feel "empty inside."[22] During the series' second half, Kyle Mills called the character "a fantastic series villain."[23] His fights against Shinya Kogami were also the subject of praise;[24] Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network appreciated the series' use of weaponry, but criticized Urobuchi's attempt to make the two rivals similar psychologically. About Makishima's later development, Dong wrote: "It's as if the series was making a last ditch effort to humanize a villain that it had spent the entire time trying to portray as a social aberration".[2][25] Although Zoth first lampooned the use of oats in Makishima's plan, he later found the oat field a good setting for the series finale.[25][26] An ANN reviewer found Makishima's cameo appearance in Psycho-Pass: the Movie as Kogami's hallucinations "a little silly".[27] According to an ANN review of Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System, Kogami must kill Makishima to get revenge.[28]

ANN writer Gabriella Ekens analyzed Makishima's tendency to cite literary works, most notably 1984 by George Orwell (set in a dystopia similar to Psycho-Pass). Ekens compared Makishima and Kogami to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; Makishima (Conrad's Kurtz) forces Kogami's Marlow to abandon his ideals. The character relates to Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche, aligning with Nietzsche about morality and ideals.[29]

Popularity

In a Noitamina poll, Makishima was voted the best character voiced by Takahiro Sakurai and ranked second in the Mister Noitamina category.[30] Sakurai was also praised by Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network for giving the character a "creepily soothing tone".[31] Other polls have included Makishima as one of Sakurai's best anime performances.[32][33] Ekens cited him as her favorite anime villain, and one of Gen Urobuchi's best-written characters.[34]

References
  1. "Media Q&A with Executive Director Katsuyuki Motohiro, Director Naoyoshi Shiotani and Producer Joji Wada (of Psycho-Pass) by Dennis A. Amith and Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)". J!-Entoline.com. May 7, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  2. Dong, Bamboo (March 25, 2013). "The Stream These Girls Can Jump Rope Too, Can't They?!". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  3. "Interview: Gen Urobuchi". Anime News Network. September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  4. "An interview with Psycho-Pass Director Naoyoshi Shiotani". Otaku News. November 29, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. "Check Out The Summary Of The New "Psycho-Pass" Character Designer Interview". Crunchyroll. February 4, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  6. "関智一さん、花澤香菜さんをはじめ、豪華キャスト陣が最終回を迎えた『Psycho-Pass サイコパス』を語り尽くす！　BD＆DVD発売記念イベントを徹底レポート!!". Animate Times. April 11, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  7. Psycho-Pass: Part One (DVD). Funimation. 2014.
  8. "Symbolism of Bletilla Striata". Psycho Pass. Episode 7. November 23, 2012. Fuji TV.
  9. "Saint's Suppe". Psycho Pass. Episode 11. December 21, 2012. Fuji TV.
  10. "Heart of Iron". Psycho Pass. Episode 17. February 14, 2013. Fuji TV.
  11. "Perfect World". Psycho Pass. Episode 22. March 22, 2013. Fuji TV.
  12. Fukami, Makoto (2013). Psycho-Pass 2. Mag Garden.
  13. Takaba, Aya (2013). Psycho-Pass Namae no Nai Kaibutsu. Mag Garden.
  14. Miyoshi, Hikaru (2013). Inspector Akane Tsunemori. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-870623-8.
  15. Psycho-Pass Sinners of the System On the Other Side of Love and Hat] (DVD). 2019. Studio: Production I.G.
  16. Psycho-Pass: The Movie (DVD). 2015. Studio: Production I.G.
  17. 5pb. Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness. NIS America.
  18. Eisenbeis, Richard (January 8, 2013). "Psycho Pass is a Compelling Cyberpunk Mystery (And It's Only Half Done)". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  19. "Psycho-Pass Episode #10 – 11 Anime Review". Fandom Post. January 21, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
  20. Eisenbeis, Richard (March 22, 2013). "The Second Half of Psycho Pass Isn't Perfect, But it's Still Worth a Watch". Kotaku. Retrieved March 22, 2014.
  21. Chapman, Jacob Hope (April 29, 2014). "Psycho-Pass Season One Blu-Ray - Complete Collection [Premium Edition]". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  22. "Psycho-Pass Episode #10 – 11 Anime Review". Retrieved April 19, 2014.
  23. Mills, Kyle. "Psycho-Pass: Part Two (Blu-ray)". Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  24. "Psycho-Pass Episode #16 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. February 12, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  25. "Psycho-Pass Episode #21 – 22 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. March 21, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  26. "Psycho-Pass Episode #19 – 20 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. April 17, 2014. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
  27. Chapman, Jacob. "Psycho-Pass: The Movie". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  28. "Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System". Anime News Network. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  29. Ekens, Gabriella. "The Literary Secrets of Psycho-Pass". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  30. "Winners of Noitamina 10th Anniversary Fan Vote Announced". Anime News Network. March 31, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  31. "Psycho-Pass episodes 12 - 22 Streaming". Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  32. "櫻井孝宏さんお誕生日記念！一番好きなキャラは？19年版 「PSYCHO-PASS」槙島聖護を抑えたトップは…". Anime Anime. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  33. "櫻井孝宏さんお誕生日記念！一番好きなキャラは？10年以上愛される"あの男"が堂々の1位に". Anime Anime. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  34. "Your Most Memorable Anime Villain". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
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