PSYCHO-PASS: Sinners of the System Case.2- First Guardian excels in characterisation.

 

Alright, after enjoying PSYCHO-PASS: Sinners of the System Case.1- Tsumi to Batsu, I had the itch to dive straight into the follow-up case. Interestingly enough, Case.2- First Guardian had a different writer than Tsumi to Batsu, with Makoto Fukami brought back into the series once again whilst Ryo Yoshigami wrote Tsumi to Batsu. Also of note, is the fact that it was seiyuu Kinryu Akimoto's final ever role before his unfortunate death due to oesophageal cancer. As a result, I've been thinking about dedicating this blog post to him, not that it's truly worthy of his wonderful career and tremendous performance as Tomomi Masaoka. 

Set prior to the events of the very first series of PSYCHO-PASS, in the Summer of 2112 in Okinawa, Teppei Sugo works in the military as a rather skilled pilot known as First Guardian, taking part in numerous military operations of the 15th joint task forces for the National Defence Forces. During an ill-fated mission code-named Operation Foot Stamp, his personal friend and mentor figure, Itsuki Ootomo goes missing in action with Sugo unable to provide back-up due to his plane not being properly equipped. Following the tragic mission, Sugo's crime co-efficiency deteriorates and three months later, he is pulled into an investigation by Public Security Bureau's Enforcer Tomomi Masaoka and Inspector Risa Aoyanagi. Sugo is a suspect regarding an unmanned drone attack on the Ministry of Defence building and as such, Risa and Tomomi follow him wherever he goes. The trio head to National Defence Nago military base, where the case unravels and the truth comes to light. 

Before First Guardian was released, the character of Teppei Sugo was kind of just there, having been introduced in the second season with no backstory and nothing to really cling to as far as characterisation was concerned. The one thing that viewers could empathise with him on was his fatal mistake on a very crucial mission. First Guardian fixed all of that by showcasing his background as a military pilot and showing us the awful things he was made to go through. His closeness to his friend and mentor figure, Itsuki Ootomo, as well as Itsuki's wife, Rin, turn out to be tragic connections due to what happens to both in the case. 

As mentioned previously, this was seiyuu Kinryu Akimoto's final performance and it seems fitting in retrospect that the character of Tomomi Masaoka is also given some focus. We see his competency as an Enforcer doing detective work with his instincts bearing fruit and being proven correct throughout the case. He views Risa Aoyanagi as an equal and as such treats her with respect and without becoming overbearing as a mentor figure. We also see a glimpse of his family life with him paying a visit to his wife, Sae Ginoza in a neat little scene which also makes me sad for what happens in the future. We learn from this scene that Sae suffers from a disease known as Eustress Deficiency Syndrome. This disease isn't acknowledged by the Sibyl system and as such, those unfortunate to suffer from it are confined to awful places known as therapy facilities. Conditions are so terrible at those facilities that Ginoza makes arrangements for a drone clinic at her home. Nobuchika Ginoza's hostile relationship with his father also get some screentime with the son often barely tolerating his presence. Their interactions were unfortunately short and consisted of Nobuchika yelling at his father as this case takes place before the first season, but after Tomomi had been demoted to Enforcer from Inspector. 

The previously mentioned Risa Aoyanagi gets some more characterisation in this case than previously. We see that prior to the broken woman that she became in the second season, she was an intelligent and kind Inspector who showed respect to those she felt deserved it such as Tomomi Masaoka and eventually, Sugo. Ironically, she ended up having a major impact on Sugo as due to her attitude and ethics, he winds up becoming an Enforcer. Unfortunately, this also ends in tragedy. It seems like a lot of characters that meet Sugo are destined to meet their ends far too soon. 

As for the plot, it's nothing too out of the realms of believability as far as the military is concerned. I mean, there are certainly cases of them using living humans as a testing pool for experimental weaponry as we see with the gas they manipulate Sugo into dropping onto the team and wiping everyone out. In real life, you had the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki being the most prominent example. There's also the typical revenge narrative thrown in with regards to Rin, but it's handled well enough. I would have liked to have the motivations for the military's actions more fleshed out though as that would have helped give it more depth overall. 

There are a couple of decent fight scenes, although I could argue that one is a continuation rather than a completely new fight. The hand to hand combat is fun and engaging, but I'm biased because I love that stuff. The sparring is cool but rather brief. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Case,.2- First Guardian due to how it built upon characters that desperately needed more characterisation, especially Teppei Sugo. At just an hour long, the time flew by when I watched it. It was also nice to see my main man, Shinya Kogami, again, even if very briefly. I would absolutely recommend this to fans of the franchise and of anime in general as it fleshes out characters and a bit of the world too. In fact, I might recommend viewing it before starting the first season due it chronologically taking place before it.