#kunizuka yayoi

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by 모찌롱

[frankie-bell]

PSYCHO-PASS Original Character Designs by Akira Amano, pt. 2

(pt. 1)

[courtesanofdeath]

Psycho-Pass Providence - May 2023

[ppdaily]

Happy Birthday, Yayoi!

[aer-in-wanderland]

PSYCHO-PASS: Providence - According to Japanese Twitter

After a long wait (or maybe it just felt long to me), PSYCHO-PASS: Providence finally hits North American theaters this week (14 July 2023), before becoming more widely internationally available in early August.

Unfortunately, as I'm not currently in Japan, I've not yet seen it. Fortunately, I speak Japanese, so I've read pretty much everything I could find about what happens. If you're like me and can't wait to see it in cinemas/don't mind major spoilers, this post is for you.

What follows is a compilation of everything my sister and I know about PPP -- drawing from fan talk on Twitter, director and writer interviews and tweets, and other official promotional materials only available in Japanese -- without actually having seen it.

We also explain some of the major plot points and go into detail on the real-life works referenced in the film, so if you watched it but feel like you could still use some clarification (as many Japanese fans did), this post might be for you too.

Once again, this post is nothing but spoilers (to be taken with several grains of salt as there is a certain amount of guesswork involved), so read on at your own risk.

*Note: "SN" denotes tweets/quotes by director Shiotani Naoyoshi.

We open on a snowy, stormy night, January 2118 (2 months post-SS Case.3).

A team of armed mercenaries board a transport ship off the coast of Kanagawa, Japan and set about killing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Suppressing Action Department (SAD) agents on board. 

Among them is Kai Mikhaylov, a Russian agent with a large burn scar on the left half of his face.

Kai Mikhaylov (VA: Kase Yasuyuki): A member of the “Peacebreakers.” In order to obtain the Stronskaya Document, he launches an attack on the ship Milcia is on. 

Leading the mercenaries is fellow mercenary Bokamoso Murray, who sports distinctive red dreadlocks.

Bokamoso Murray (VA: Shirokuma Hiroshi): A combatant affiliated with the “Peacebreakers.” He operates in tandem with Kai Mikhaylov; beginning with the assault on the Grootslang, he works to seize the Stronskaya Document. 

For the record, the Grootslang (the ship’s name) is a mythical giant snake rumoured to dwell deep in a cave in the Richtersveld, South Africa. It’s said that anyone who encounters it will meet with misfortune. Well then.

Indoors on the same ship, we find Dr Milicia Stronskaya, who has been invited to Tokyo from Russia to participate in an important political conference. 

Milcia Stronskaya (VA: Tsuda Shōko): A researcher and global authority on behavioural economics and statistics. She establishes the basic theory simulation referred to as the “Stronskaya Document.”

Realising the ship is under attack, she hurriedly sends a communication to someone, apologising under her breath as she does so.

She pulls out a gun just as a helmeted mercenary bursts into the room, and she shoots him dead. You can tell from how she handles it that she’s competent.

Kai charges in next, dodging her shots and pinning her down.

Leaning over her, Kai calls her “professor,” at which she startles. He then says to her, “There’s nowhere left to run.”

Kai shoots Dr Stronskaya, killing her. 

Bokamoso shows up then and says to Kai, “You screwed up, huh, Kai,” and “We’re switching to Plan B.”

Meanwhile, Kogami Shinya, one of our two main protagonists, heads to her rescue.

Kōgami Shinya (VA: Seki Tomokazu): Special Investigator, Suppressing Action Department, Overseas Coordination Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Age 33. He was living a nomadic life abroad acting as a mercenary but was recruited by Frederica and returned to Japan; currently, he’s pursuing international incidents. He prides himself on his advanced combat techniques and honed physique.

Kogami makes an insane jump from an aircraft wearing a wingsuit. (I’ve seen him described alternately as Batman, Captain America, and a flying squirrel here lol)

SN: What colour suits a man who flies... Thinking about it.

Kogami proceeds to fight his way through the enemy soldiers with his typical efficiency.

Unfortunately, he arrives too late to save the professor, and the mercenaries have already absconded with her head. The reason for this is explained later.

On deck, Bokamoso and his team board their aircraft and make their escape.

Kogami, who has followed them out, takes aim at the aircraft but is tackled to the deck by a reanimated SAD agent. The man’s mouth doesn’t move but we hear a voice quoting what appears to be a passage from a religious text.

An explosion goes off and Kogami breaks free of his attacker and escapes the conflagration by jumping into the ocean.

Backlit by the flames and treading water, Kogami — vexed but composed as usual — reports on the situation via his device.

<<Opening Credits>>

OP: 「アレキシサイミアスペア」 (alexithymiaspare) ~ 凛として時雨 (Ling tosite sigure)

We cut to the opening credits, set to Ling tosite sigure’s “Alexthymiaspare.” The group also contributed to the soundtracks for PP1, PP2, and PP: The Movie (M1), so this is one of many ways in which the film “returns to its roots.”

The credits are then followed by a brief shot of the Sibyl System accompanied by the following text: 《"The Sibyl System," a vast surveillance network that assigns numeric values to and governs human beings’ mental states. Detectives who carry "Dominators" — guns that measure "crime coefficients" — pursue "latent criminals" before they commit crimes.》

The next morning, our other main protagonist, Tsunemori Akane, now Chief Inspector of the CID, attends a meeting of senior bureaucrats to discuss the proposed abolishment of the Ministry of Justice and the old system of law.

Tsunemori Akane (VA: Hanazawa Kana): Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Public Safety Bureau. Age 25. She commands the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department. She possesses an incontrovertible sense of justice and a stalwart mentality that makes it difficult for her Hue to cloud; she makes an appeal for maintaining the law under the Sibyl System.  

The official name of the conference, which is being held at Nona Tower (i.e. the Ministry of Welfare’s HQ), is “Review Meeting on the Topic of the Overseas Expansion of Industry RE: the Sibyl System.”

Shindo Atsushi — father to PP3 protagonist Shindo Arata — is also in attendance, alongside officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shindō Atsushi (VA: Sugō Takayuki): Director-General of the Statistics Department, Minister’s Secretariat,  Ministry of Health and Welfare. One of the elite who started his career as an Inspector [at the CID] and entered the MHW. He’s involved in the exportation of the Sibyl System, immigration policy, etc.

For the record, this is the same conference that Dr Stronskaya was originally scheduled to attend at Atsushi’s invitation.

Akane is the only woman and by far the youngest person present, but she doesn’t hesitate to say her piece. When it’s her turn to speak, she opens by saying, “‘Under the Sibyl System, the law is unnecessary.’ Is that truly the case?”

Akane is basically the sole voice of dissent, while Atsushi assumes a more neutral position. 

During the meeting, Atsushi receives a text message, which he checks covertly before stashing his device in an inner pocket of his suit jacket.

Moments later, Akane receives a red alert on her device and excuses herself.

Atsushi calls a break in the meeting while Akane steps out to take a call from Mika.

Shimotsuki Mika (VA: Sakura Ayane): Inspector, Division 1, Criminal Investigation Department, Public Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare. Age 21. The youngest Inspector ever inducted. At the time, she took a negative stance towards Akane’s way of thinking, but the two have a good working relationship now. She’s competitive but possesses both presence of mind and rational judgement.

Director Shiotani tweeted a quote by Rousseau that I saw someone identify as having been in reference to this scene. It’s not clear to me though whether a character quotes it aloud, or if Shiotani just meant it as an overarching theme:

SN: “Keep this truth ever before you—Ignorance never did any one any harm, error alone is fatal, and we do not lose our way through ignorance but through self-confidence.” by.Rousseau

from Rousseau’s Emile (On Education), Book III

SN: “Real knowledge is knowing the extent of one’s ignorance.”〈matcha emoji〉

from Confucius’ Analects II, Political Philosophy

Keep reading here.

[monica2080]

PSYCHO PASS PROVIDENCE Animax Cafe

[temporarilyunstable]

Psycho-Fes 10th Anniversary Key Visual

Confirmed Cast:

Hanazawa Kana as Tsunemori Akane

Tomokazu Seki as Kogami Shinya

Nojima Kenji as Nobuchika Ginoza

Ayane Sakura as Shimotsuki Mika

Touchi Hiroki as Sugo Teppei

Official Website

[sekainofantasy90]

狡朱 Shinya/Akane ❤️

Artist/Credits: https://twitter.com/hitochan1031211

[hard-times-paramore]

Free my girl, her only crime was partying too hard

[uramichi-s]

Psycho Pass: Character design by Akira Amano.

[gabbyp09]

[all-blues]

by はるかわ陽

[frankie-bell]

Would love to hear more about your classification of Mika as bisexual demisexual. I get the bi part but really curious why you think she might also be demi??

I’m so glad you asked! As someone who falls on the ace spectrum, I’ve always been drawn to characters who read that way as well. The first time I watched Psycho-Pass, I didn’t think much of Mika’s sexuality. I did note that she’s probably bi, given that she seems to have crushes on both men (Ginoza) and women (Yayoi, Kagami), but that’s about it. Upon second viewing, however, I noticed a few key things that felt incredibly familiar to me.

The first is that Mika, unlike Akane, Kougami, or even Arata, doesn't seem to experience immediate sexual attraction. In PP1, it's clear that Akane is attracted to Kougami long before she gets to know him personally. A clear example of this can be found in the infamous sparring dummy scene, where she (quite literally) gets caught gaping at his bare chest. Then you've got Kougami, who falls quickly into a flirtatious back-and-forth with Frederica Hanashiro after she shows up in Tibet, looking to recruit him for SAD/MOFA. And finally, there's Arata. In addition to remarking upon Shion's beauty a whole five seconds after meeting her, he is immediately smitten with Governor Karina Komiya after conducting a brief interview with her. Mika, by comparison, seems utterly unaffected by other characters' perceived attractiveness, regardless of whether they're male (Shizuka Homura) or female (Rikako Oryo).

Which brings me to the crux of my argument. Throughout the series, Mika appears to have feelings for three characters -- Kagami, Yayoi, and Ginoza. The first is her childhood best friend, the second is the person who offered her comfort during one of the darkest moments of her life, and the third is her most trusted protector. Each and every person Mika develops romantic feelings for is someone she trusts implicitly and, perhaps more importantly, knows intimately. This is textbook demisexual behavior. Note how Mika's crush on Yayoi doesn't materialize until several years into their relationship. Same goes for Ginoza. In the beginning, Mika can't stand him. But time and experience change her perception, and by PP3, he’s her #1 confidant. It’s only then that we see her blushing, stammering, and losing her cool around him. She’s attracted to him *because* she knows him so well. For prototypical people, there’s a spark of sexual attraction upon first meeting someone, but for demisexual people, it’s the exact opposite. Attraction and desire are certainly possible, but only after a strong emotional bond is formed.

I also find it interesting that Mika seems to eschew physical contact, unless it’s with someone she feels incredibly close to/comfortable with. Case in point, the scene in Providence where Atsushi Shindo touches her. When she hid behind Gino, I was like, “How (demi)sexy of you.” Granted, this is just my personal headcanon, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

[therosecrest]

[ppdaily]

Psycho-Pass Providence Characters Design

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