Started: Thursday, February 14, 2013
Draft Finished: Saturday, February 16, 2013
Fiction: One-Shot
Rated: PG-13
Disclaimer: The character and names of Psycho Pass belongs to Production I.G. and Funimation.
Anime: Psycho Pass
Genre: Crime
Summary: "To be sincere, you still need sin." Makishima defines the qualities of the Criminally Asymptomatic.
Divine Comedy
A proud look. superbia (pride)
Makishima Shougo learned at an early age that he was different from the people around him. His Psycho Pass was always pure white and would not cloud, not even once. Every choice he made was right in his mind because they all served the purpose of satisfying his curiosity, and despite the nature of his actions, Sibyl's judgment would continue to remain oblivious to his existence. He took pride in knowing that he was different, that he had something no one else seem to have: free will.
A lying tongue. invidia (envy)
To exist with free will, undisturbed by the Sibyl System, he was the envy of society. Having his own independence and individuality gave him the time to pick up certain hobbies. In his hours of leisure, he would read, and through literary enrichment, Makishima found that humanity was a fascinating subject.
No one wrote more extensively about the human condition than the English playwright William Shakespeare, who constantly explored the conventions of inner truth through his grandeur of comedies and tragedies. Makishima learned that self-esteem played a huge role on the human subconscious. Encouragement favored progress and results while negativity produced poor performance. Lies, he realized at an early age of four, had a profound affect on the course of decision making (no matter how small or big the lie may be).
A deceitful witness that uttereth lies. acedia (sloth/discouragement)
After observing and consuming knowledge of the daily life of the average citizen, everyday tasks became mundane to him. It was clear to him that there was no such thing as Paradise when you're living in Purgatory. Only the art of manipulation, a series of amusing challenges, kept his mind off the fact that he was constantly and easily bored. His favorite past time was to test the ego of men; to peel back the mask they hide themselves behind. Although he was never one for socialization, the profoundness of his curiosity encouraged him to manifest their desire to kill. Despair, desperation, loneliness: the constant discouragement from the Sibyl System restricted them to act upon their inner most impulses out of the fear of being caught. He wanted to reveal the nature of their habits with his involvement of a lesser degree, like a conductor of an orchestra, guiding the performers to his set tempo.
Without a conductor, the players would be lost.
A heart that devises wicked plots. avaritia (avarice/greed)
Marquis de Sade's works focused on the dark side of human nature. His oeuvre inspired a philosophy of extreme individualism during a time of hypocrisy and corruptible values of the social elite, and contained depictions of anguish and cruelty while juxtaposing his ideals for extreme freedom, unrestrained by morality, religion or law.
In their current society, the citizens of Japan relied on the Sibyl System to determine their future, living their daily lives like obedient sheep. Those who had an ounce of individual thought under Sibyl's surveillance were like lambs to the slaughter.
Personally, Makishima believed that within every individual, there was a constant strive to question their existence with an unrelenting avarice to find out their purpose in life and to establish their own identity. Like Sade, Maskishima saw the merit of people thriving under pressure in order to reap the benefits of achieving faster results. All they needed was a little push in the right direction.
His lack of empathy made him unbiased to free Japan from further oppression. As long as he got to pull the strings, he was satisfy in remaining anonymous while the others took credit for his expertise and influence.
After all, nothing good ever came from being overly arrogant.
Hands that shed innocent blood. luxuria (lechery/lust)
Nothing fascinated him more than Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution; more specifically, his idea of natural selection. Contrary to popular belief, the alternative description of Darwin's theory Survival of the Fittest was far from the idea that the strong killed the weak out of blood lust. It was a process of adaptation to existing conditions with the appeal that moderate stress had beneficial effects that stimulates the immune system and gave organisms the drive to adapt and survive or suffer the consequences of becoming an extinct species.
Fear was a great motivator to ensure survival, but it also fueled the mind with the natural instinct to kill. Makishima believed that there's value in people when they act based on free will. People had the potential to do good and/or harm to society when given the power to do so, and the end result would be one of the following: they would either act out or remain in fear. Personally, he never cared for the casualties of his acquaintances as long as they did not add up to a statistic. If he learned one thing about murder, it was that the thrill of killing goes hand in hand with death.
Him that soweth discord among brethren. ira (wrath)
Chaos was a healthy and necessary exploit to show that the Citizen's Charter was nothing more than a brazen exaggeration of honest morale. Laws were only meant to represent the basic measures of proper conduct.
In order to see the splendor of the human soul (the ego of men) Makishima had to free Japan from Sibyl's oppression. They did not see it, but they were currently living in Hell. It was his desire to see Japan free from the Sibyl System and if he had to entice an uproar of wrath among men to do so, then it was only a matter of sacrifice. Truth always had a price.
You can never have the good without the bad, because to be sincere, you still need sin.
Feet that are swift to run into mischief. gula (gluttony/indulgence)
Compared to Dante's version of the Inferno, Japan was like a cold metropolis version of Hell. The citizens were slowly losing their mortality living day to day like breathing corpses as they gradually lose their motivation to live. Yet, they continue on with their everyday life like nothing's out of the ordinary, walking around like hollow men.
As for him, Makishima indulged in the joy of alluding Sibyl's judgment, spreading chaos, and running circles around the Inspectors and Enforcers of the Ministry of Welfare. It was an elaborate game he didn't want to cease playing, and all the while, he learned one important thing: there were no rules to the game of life, but how you choose to play the game can have a profound effect. As for his interest in humanity, he allowed himself to be in a sanguine disposition knowing that one day, he would eventually find the answers to his never-ending questions no matter how long it was going to take.
Life may be a bitch, but he was going to make it his bitch, and have a little fun while he's at it.
Living life as a Criminally Asymptomatic, it was only fair.
References:
Dante's The Divine Comedy (The seven sins sum up Makishima's outlook on life and how he chooses to live it, and also alludes to his life's journey to search for the truth)
William Shakespeare (The Fourth Folio, the book which Makishima is seen holding in the second opening of Psycho Pass)
Marquis de Sade (Makishima's favorite red book, which he used as a weapon in episode seventeen as a device for his distraction against the Chief)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (Obviously, Makishima is essentially James Moriarty, a criminal mastermind)
T.S. Elliot's The Hollow Men
Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution
A/N: I've got to say, after episode seventeen, Makishima was a more well-rounded character. You have got to give him props for his decision to choose the lesser of evil. Still, it doesn't make him less evil. I just had to write this after seeing his character development. By all means, I didn't write this to show any sympathy towards Makishima. He is indeed a psychopath. Well, what did you think of this piece? Did you like it? Was it confusing? Do you have anything to add? Please give me your thoughts and review!
Thank you for reading!