Psycho Pass: Providence

When a person of interest is killed in a terrorist attack off the coast of Japan, Akane Tsunemori and the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Division Unit One find themselves thrown their most challenging case to date.  Teamed up with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their former ally, Shinya Kogami, Unit One finds that theyre up against a former Japanese Paramilitary Group known as the Peacebreakers, capable of clouding their hues and possessing seemingly immortal bodies.  As the casualties mount, Akane finds herself pushed to the brink like never before in a case that could break her tumultuous relationship with the Sibyl System.

2023 saw the 10^th Anniversary of the franchise I’ve come to consider the spiritual successor to Ghost in the Shell (it even began life as a new GitS project).  Psycho Pass has had a pretty healthy lifespan thus far with three TV Seasons (one of which can more or less be totally ignored) and five movies.  Psycho Pass: Providence marks the franchises sixth feature film after Psycho Pass: The Movie, the Sinners of the System Trilogy, and Psycho Pass 3: First Inspector.  Consider all of the ground covered from the ethical debates around the Sybil Systems existence to how it handles various social and economical affairs and the impact it’s had on the main cast, I wondered just what exactly Providence was going to bring to the table.  Well while the actual case at the center of the film isn’t the most engaging, Providence is nonetheless a very important chapter in the Psycho Pass saga as it fills in missing gaps and answers many key questions that were one everyones minds during Psycho Pass 3.  And in that regard, the film does succeed.
 
Psycho Pass 3 was a clean slate for the series after the disaster that was Psycho Pass 2 (though The Movie and Sinners of the System had their own hand in cleaning things up too) with a brand new Unit One and bigger cases than before.  And while the new cast proved worthy successors to the previous team, the questions were still there.  How did Kogami come back to Japan and sign up with Gino and Sugo as agents for Foreign Affairs?  Why was Shinotsuki (the Scrappy Doo of Psycho Pass) now in charge?  Most importantly, why the hell was Akane Tsunemori of all people in jail?  Two out of those three questions are the main focus of Providence (sorry Scrappy Doo) and where the movie is at its strongest.  We’ve been following Akane and Kogami for a long time now, along with many of their allies.  We’ve seen them work together, get torn apart and get tested by a world that wants to think it’s at peace but still doesn’t have all of the kinks worked out.  Providence actually does what Psycho Pass 2 wanted to do for Akane but never stuck the landing on: pushing her to the inevitable breaking point.  With the enemy she and her team are up against, Akane is either stonewalled or hand held by various elements and the moment when she decides to take matters into her own hands to get justice is a pivotal turning point for the character.  You want to see Akane win in the end, but more than that, you want to hug the poor girl after what she goes through in this movie.
 
I had a theory based on the post credits scene of Psycho Pass 3: First Inspector that the story of Providence is what Akane was going to tell Arata and Kei, the leads of Season Three.  While that doesn’t pan out, don’t think that Providence hasn’t completely done away with the break out characters who made Season Three such a success.  We do get to see Arata and Kei before they join the MWPSB and while they don’t play a large role within the film itself, the fates of certain characters definitely set up the direction of their characters in Psycho Pass 3.  Likewise, Providence works hard and nicely to arrange things for Kogami and companys eventual new status quo.  The report between Kogami and Akane is still one of Psycho Pass’ most important elements and its as strong as ever.  There’s still some bad blood between them and between Kogami and Gino from Psycho Pass: The Movie and Providence aims to clear the air and remind us why these guys are worth following and rooting for.  Also it’s always a pleasure seeing Kogami kick ass in the well crafted action scenes.  Like any entry before it, Providence continues the rather unique approach to hand to hand combat that Kogami is so proficient in.  It’s not about Shonen rapid punches but more natural human movement and understanding of where one needs to hit to do the most damage.  And you know, when that fails, Dominators are still a gory alternative. 
 
While the character work, action and animation are all top notch, it’s the central mystery that ends up being the weakest element of Providence.  Now I’ll admit, it’s been tough for the franchise to find a foe who’s intellect and cunning matched those of Shogo Makashima from Season One.  Psycho Pass 3 presented a fun challenge in a secret cabal making bets on the future outcome of economic and social debacles befalling Japan.  Even Psycho Pass: The Movie introduced the idea of expanding Sybil’s reach beyond Japan.  Providence presents a good physical threat in the Peacebreakers with their advanced gear making them untouchable by Dominators and their leaders ability to utilize their bodies after taking fatal damage and make them almost super zombie like.  But the main foe turns out to be a boring and speechifying villain who has none of the charming nuance of Makashima and who’s plan never rivals that of Psycho Pass 3’s Bifrost group.  Fairing a bit better are newcomers Atsushi Shindo and Kai, the former  keeps the viewer guessing constantly as to how much true involvement he has in the entire affair and the latter is a nice physical foe for Kogami.  Not to mention both have close ties to a central character from Psycho Pass 3 so he has that going for him.
 
Psycho Pass: Providence might not offer a case worthy of endless debate like past stories.  However the overall impact it has on the central cast is the films ultimate goal and it very much succeeds, taking Akane in a direction we’d theorized might be the case by Psycho Pass 3 but weren’t so sure about.  Challenging every characters beliefs and ethics still continues to be a strong sell point for the franchise and the action is as excellent as this movie is gorgeous.  Clearly, Psycho Pass hasn’t run out of steam yet and I cant wait to see what the Sybil System has in store for Akane, Kogami and their fellow Inspectors and Enforcers of the MWPSD in the future.  Here’s to ten years and more to come, Psycho Pass.
 
8/10