This is my first review on Anilist, and I'll be upfront that it's mostly me complaining about this movie. I'll be rating this alongside the entirety of S3 of Psycho-Pass since it serves as the bookend to this arc.

Right off the bat, I want to stress that I adore S1 of Psycho-Pass. I watched it shortly after it finished airing and have rewatched bits and pieces of it a few times and as of writing this review, finished a full rewatch just the other day. I followed S2 of Psychc-Pass as it came out...and was sorely disappointed. I stopped keeping up with it after that for a little while, until my love for the Division 1 cast brought me back and forced me to watch the first movie and decide to give S3 a try.

The strongest points of S3 are Kei and Arata. I really like them and their dynamic. They are enjoyable characters who do a great job at balancing out each others' strengths and weaknesses. The show is correct in calling them each others' lifelines. For me, they were essentially the only reason I kept watching the show as the middle started losing my interest. Well, that, and the cameos from Kogami, Ginoza, and Akane.

The other Enforcers fall into the same whole Yayoi, Masaoka, and Kagari issue they experienced in S1 and get minimal screentime. Just enough so that they fit into their plot, but they are still largely ignored and kind of boring. It's unfortunate, because like Yayoi, Masaoka, and Kagari, they have the potential to be extremely compelling characters, but they simply don't get enough focus to reach that point.

Where I take issue with S3 of Psycho-Pass is in its analysis of the rules, themes and motifs set up in S1. Specifically in opposition to Makishima Shogo's existence. Makishima is my favorite antagonist across anything I've seen, so I'll be upfront about my bias there as well. This is what bothered me the most:

Guns. What? Guns are supposed to be outlawed, and in S1 Akane is so horrified about going against Sibyl's decision that her best friend is killed in front of her and the kickback sends her reeling (I know she's more comfortable with them by the time the movie rolls around, but let's not forget she's out of Japan during that). Now everyone's okay with guns and comfortable using them. Even Mika, who is Sibyl's #1 staunch supporter, has no problems picking up a gun and going for it. Ginoza's a sniper now? Guns, in the world of Psycho-Pass, are supposed to symbolize the essence of free will in making choices, and specifically in the utilization of justice. Makishima laments that everyone leaves it up to Sibyl--they're just following the rules conscripted to them by the System. The fact that everyone's suddenly a-okay with firing a gun and knows how to handle it makes no sense, especially since they were treated like such a commodity in S1. The only guns we actually see in S1 (iirc) is the one Kogami uses to kill Makishima and the one the guy with the dogs uses in the middle.

The mental tracing ability and its rules. At first I accepted it as a sort of Will Graham from NBC Hannibal extreme empathy disorder that could be harnessed, but then by the end it became more bizarre. Even then I could accept this but...you'd think Sibyl would have at least experienced this once or twice and want to either utilize it somehow or force the people who have this ability to assimilate into their System.

Arata being asymptomatic and his father and Asuzawa knowing that this makes him a prime target for Sibyl. Even Makishima is surprised to learn about what Sibyl really is. Yeah, I don't buy it anymore. Combine his asymptomatic nature with his mental tracing ability, and frankly, I think Sibyl would have just killed off Homura and forced Arata to assimilate. He's too valuable to them--and too worthless as a pawn. Makes no sense to me.

Speaking of Arata's father, it seems implied to me that he was assimilated into Sibyl against his will and/or to protect Arata. What? He was like six. Sibyl could have easily said 'lol sike!' and gotten him as a kid too. That aside, it's not addressed if Arata's dad is asymptomatic or not. If he is, it seems like being asymptomatic is way more common than we're being led to believe.

Yayoi and Shion's decreasing Crime Coefficients. This one I can let slide a little bit more; in EP1 of S1 there's that girl, the victim, whose Crime Coefficient is through the roof and as Kogami goes to shoot her because she 'can't be cured anymore,' we see it start to decrease. That said, you'd think if there were enough cases of Crime Coefficients going down after people have been in isolation/worked as Enforcers for long enough, there would be more conversation and less stigma around that as compared to what we see. It seems odd and out of place. But like I mentioned, I'm more malleable on this specific point.

Akane becoming an Enforcer. I thought it was implied that Akane was put in prison because she knew about Sibyl and they were worried that if they put her alongside Kogami, they'd work and find a way to somehow dismantle Sibyl together, or she'd relay the truth to him somehow. Akane's whole deal is that she is always able to maintain a clear Hue and a low Crime Coefficient no matter the cause. I find it hard to believe that out of the blue she's suddenly no longer like that. Covering that up would be a pain, or at least be too risky. This is more of a personal theory I have, but I think it makes way more sense for Akane to be the criminally asymptomatic one, but what lets her fly under the radar and simply be 'lucky' and not 'asymptomatic,' is her empathy for people. But that's not really review-related.

Finally, as far as antagonists go, I worry that Psycho-Pass attempts to recreate what they achieved in S1 with Makishima. Every antagonist they've had so far has tried to uncover the truth about Sibyl or take down Sibyl or have some motive associated with Sibyl, and frankly, I think this is really limiting the series. Something I liked about S1 was that it didn't end with Sibyl's dismantling. I think the series could flourish if they stopped trying to associate it with the rules of Sibyl and let themselves explore other types of villains. Frankly, they peaked with Makishima, and I think they need to stop beating the dead horse with trying to create another one. Kogami was onto something when he told Makishima he hoped he never encountered another person like him again.

About art, animation, music, and overall aesthetic, the movie and S3 do not disappoint. Q-Vism and Synthetic Sympathy are incredible openings that stay true to the "cool" Psycho-Pass openings usually have. Everyone looks fairly different and recognizable despite everyone wearing the same black suit. Ginoza gets hotter with every season. The music slaps. Bringing back the original theme every time Kogami gets in a fight is beginning to toe the cheesy line, but it still makes me smile.

This season and movie didn't disappoint me as much as S2 of Psycho-Pass did, and I think if you liked S1 and managed to slog through S2, it's worth a watch. But I won't be watching it again anytime soon--not unless S4 whips up some incredibly compelling backstories and reasons for all the above things i take issue with. Kei and Arata are cool and interesting characters, but they're nowhere near the level of iconic that Makishima Shogo achieved when he quoted Pascal to Kogami while descending a spiral staircase. Sorry, boys.