Four years after his exile from Japan, Shinya Kogami
continues to work as a freelance Mercenary in East Asia. After saving a young girl from a bandit raid,
Kogami finds the girl is determined to become his student and learn the ways of
combat and revenge. As Kogami begins to
reevaluate how far he’s come since killing Shogo Makashima, discord in the
region brings a new wave of violence he cant avoid…as well as a beautiful officer
from Japan’s Foreign Affairs Bureau in need of his special set of skills. This is where the road home for Shinya Kogami
begins.
While I’ve stated multiple times that Sinners of the
System feels like a huge apology to Psycho Pass fans for the abysmal Second
Season, I didn’t expect all three stories to be a bridging point between the
events of Psycho Pass: The Movie and Psycho Pass 3 (and by eventual extension
Psycho Pass: Providence).
Sinners of the
System has done a great job fleshing out or course correcting a lot of the
supporting cast but the final chapter of this trilogy brings one of the
franchises two main leads back to the focal point and it’s about time too.
Much of Psycho Pass’ overarching narrative is
about Akane and her dealings with the Sybil System.
But Kogami is just as important to the shows
success and it’s about time he got a solo story free of the others for a little
bit.
That’s not to say that I don’t miss
him being with his colleagues, it’s just good to get a fun little Kogami
existential action romp as only this guy could deliver.
Like so much of Sinners of the System, Kogami’s travels
through Asia after killing Makashima could be their own separate spin off
series.
The guys clearly in his element
fighting for what he believes, even if it might bring him into conflict with
his friends like we saw in Psycho Pass: The Movie.
But the dude is nobodies fool and if your
intentions prove false, Kogami can and will kick your ass.
And while he is still plenty good at doing
just that, On the Other Side of Love and Hate slows things down quite a bit
compared to Crime and Punishment and First Guardian, mostly offering a more
reflective tale for Kogami for the most part.
Kogami’s constantly at odds with wanting to continue his Mercenary life
while also somewhat longing to see Akane, Gino and his friends again but
knowing it would only bring them trouble.
Then Tenzing comes along and we get to see a more Paternal side that
truly challenges Kogami like never before.
When Francesca asks Kogami if he could settle down where he currently is
and he says he'd consider it, I’d buy it.
The guy shouldn’t retire just yet but its strange to see Kogami debating
whether or not he’s earned a measure of peace after all this time.
It also helps that Kogami is constantly
challenged by his mental image of Makashima, who makes a more than welcome
return to badger his nemesis from the grave, God like Masaoka in First Guardian
you forget just how good Season One has it with its excellently written cast.
Tenzing is pretty stereotypical when it comes to her tale
of loss and want for revenge.
Once we
get all of her eccentric “Train me, train me, Sensei” stuff out of her system,
her story gets better when Kogami analyzes the pros and cons of him training
her and what Tenzing really wants.
He
knows what it’s like to kill and refuses to let her go down the same path as
him.
She does get better and I liked the
pivotal moment where Tenzing has to choose between her desires and her Sensei’s
teachings.
Also along for the ride is
the still sexy as hell Francesca from First Guardian.
On the Other Side of Love and Hate is the
origin of her strong working relationship with Kogami in Psycho Pass 3.
The pair have surprisingly nice chemistry, so
much so that if Kogami is Tenzing’s Father figure, then Francesca acts like her
mom in a couple of scenes, giving Kogami a surprisingly unexpected family unit.
Also Francesca is a whiz with a big boy
sniper rifle and her just being around is…alright she’s hot and we need a lot
more of her in Psycho Pass, there I said it.
The pacing of this final Sinners of the System outing is
slow but it works for the most part when it comes to the deep examination of
Kogami’s current state of being.
But man
when the last act kicks in, so does the action and I think the grand finale on
the train is one of the absolute best action sequences I’ve ever seen in Psycho
Pass.
It’s big, it’s loud, it’s chaotic
and we again get to see those expertly drawn and choreographed hand to hand
fight scenes with Kogami which is always a Psycho Pass highlight.
You’ve also got Mechs, Gunplay, one liner
quips.
How good is this sequence?
No Dominators…and it’s still freaking
awesome.
If this isnt proof we need more
Kogami being a One Man Army side stories, I don’t know how else to prove that.
Psycho Pass: Sinners of the System closes out its run by
setting the stage for Kogami’s return to Japan in Psycho Pass: Providence and
Psycho Pass 3.
His story with Tenzing is
different from any told before and brings out a new side of Kogami compared to
how we’ve seen him around Akane.
Seeing
Francesca in general is always a plus but seeing her get more screentime and
action is even better.
The story has
some nice twists and turns and the action is some of the franchises best (maybe
even more so than in the other movies).
Overall, I’d say this trilogy is three for three in the wins department
and makes me wonder when the heck we’re gonna get another Sinners of the System
Trilogy with new stories for other characters who aren’t Akane or Kogami?
Come on Production I.G. let’s get on this.
8.5/10
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