Shogo Makishima

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).

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. Makishima is usually calm (even during violent scenes) because he lacks humanity. 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. Director Naoyoshi Shiotani regarded Heath Ledger's incarnation of the villain Joker from ''The Dark Knight'' as a major inspiration for Makishima; both characters are seen as criminals but the audience at the same time does not consider their way of thinking wrong.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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". 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.

Makishima also appears in the series novelization, which expands on his relationship with Choe Gu-sung. In the prequel novel, he is the mastermind of the case in which Mitsuru Sasayama died and Kogami became an Enforcer. Makishima also appears in the manga adaptation, ''Inspector Akane Tsunemori''. 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. Studio: Production I.G. Makishima is a supporting character in the visual novel, '' Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness''.

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. 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. ''Kotaku'' praised Makishima's balance with Tsunemori in the series' second half.

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." In his ''Fandom Post'' review, Thomas Zoth wrote that Makishima's cruelty to Tsunemori made the viewer feel "empty inside." During the series' second half, Kyle Mills called the character "a fantastic series villain." His fights against Shinya Kogami were also the subject of praise; 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". 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. An ANN reviewer found Makishima's cameo appearance in ''Psycho-Pass: the Movie'' as Kogami's hallucinations "a little silly". According to an ANN review of ''Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System'', Kogami must kill Makishima to get revenge.

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.

Popularity

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Makishima, Shogo
Comics characters introduced in 2012
Male characters in anime and manga
Psycho-Pass
Martial artist characters in anime and manga
Fictional anarchists
Fictional murderers
Fictional schoolteachers
Fictional terrorists