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Summary: I'm a huge fan of Psycho-Pass as a franchise, and believe that it embodies what it means to be a great anime. So it comes as no surprise that I not only watched this movie, but also enjoyed it quite a bit. However, I also strongly believe that Psycho-Pass' strength lies in not its beautiful art nor its amazing soundtracks (both of which are fantastic), but rather on its philosophical explorations and thoughtful plot/character development. As a result, even though I did greatly enjoy this movie, as a fan and honest critic I have to give it a less-than-stellar rating. Now in more depth:

- ... Art: As mentioned in other reviews, the art is nothing short of fantastic. From the initial guerrilla scenes to the final showdown (to avoid spoilers), little can be said to detract from the artwork and animation.

- Sound: The music and OST for the movie are both excellent, and the ending is a thrill for old Psycho-Pass fans. Again, nothing much to criticize here, but nothing much to gush over either.

- Character: This was one of the low points of the movie, particularly in comparison to standard set by the other Psycho-Pass seasons. Unlike in the other two seasons, Akane doesn't really develop at all in the movie, and the denouement where she inevitably has a "showdown" with the Sybil System (no Psycho-Pass story would be complete without one) is disappointing, if only because it shows how shallow the whole theme behind the movie was. (More on this in the Story section.) The only upside in the character department is that Ginoza finally gets some closure, which was great to watch, but otherwise nothing is resolved. Makishima is provided a 10-second appearance just for the fangirl screams, and our protagonists (by whom I mean Akane and Kogami) end the movie at about the same point they started it. As a side note: why the !#$% does Shimotsuki still exist? I haven't been this pissed off at an anime character since the infamous Nina of Code Geass.

- Story: Ah, the story. I'll discuss both the plot and the whole premise of the movie here, since in Psycho-Pass they're often one and the same. In short, it was a pretty awful execution of a potentially interesting idea. The Sybil System, with some improvements and elbow-twisting from Akane, has been functioning more or less well in almighty Nippon, so inevitably we have the question of what happened to the rest of the world. This movie starts to answer that: well, the rest of the world was kind of destroyed. At least, the world as we know it today. Lawlessness and war are the fixtures of the day, and humans have reverted to living in a sort of tribal society.

So what is the benevolent Sybil System to do but to export itself to save the rest of the world? (Hint: white man's burden, Washington Consensus) We see the System exported to southeast Asia, and the consequences that follow; how they go about dealing with the "aboriginals" and imposing law on such a society. Some of the ideas, as with others in Psycho-Pass, are quite interesting (i.e. the collars), and the premise itself is quite interesting. But unfortunately, this is about as much praise I can give, for the rest of the movie's execution is sub-par.

What could have been a fascinating exploration of how the Sybil System deals with the challenges of assimilating a "rabid" population and of the process of building a society from essentially scratch is instead turned into a typical military coup d'etat in which (*spoilers ahead*) the ultimate bad guy turns out to be (surprise!) a criminally asymptomatic puppet of the Sybil System. Hey, it's not like we've seen that as the climax of pretty much every season right? And Akane (surprise!) uses talk-no-jutsu with increasingly strained logic to get the Sybil System to back down. A job well done!


All in all, this movie is, of course, something of a must-watch for Psycho-Pass fans; I mean, if you were raving as hard as I was about the TV seasons, then you probably didn't even read this review before watching it. But simply as a piece of the art form that is anime, and more so as a successor of the Psycho-Pass franchise, this movie was something of a disappointment.

I thoroughly enjoyed Rakuen Tsuihou, as well as Gen Urobuchi's other works, namely Psycho-Pass, Madoka, and Gargantia.

As an introductory aside, I want to start by strongly disagreeing with people who highlight Urobuchi's tendency to kill off character ("the Urobutcher") or his aptitude for plot twists as his main appeal. They are not. What draws me -- and I believe many other viewers -- to Urobuchi's works is their philosophical undercurrents; everything in his films and shows touch upon some aspect of society, humanity, or morality, and the story is often a sidekick (although an exciting one). For example, Psycho-Pass is focused on the impact on ... having a benevolent, all-knowing, but tyrannical autocracy on society; while Gargantia revolves around reflections of a soldier faced with peace and prosperity, and learning to throw away his inculcated beliefs.

With that said, I think Rakuen Tsuihou's main appeal is along the same lines. There are no real plot twists in this movie, besides perhaps the identity of Frontier Settler itself (for the longest time I expected this nefarious hacker to be some evil genius or something). Everything generally works out the way you expect, and I think it's fair to say that most of us know, going in, that Angela won't stay with Deva for long.

But this movie is not about some futuristic sci-fi world of people living in virtual reality; sure, that's the backdrop, but that's not what it's really about. It's main focus is on the dichotomy of Angela and Dingo, and the two societies they represent. This is a dichotomy that exists in today's world just as much as it does in the world of the movie. These two societies might not be spatially segregated as in the movie, but we still have it: the increasing disparity of the haves and have-nots.

Every commentary on this issue in today's society talks about it as if it's a problem to be solved, as if there are only negatives. We live in the world where ambition and the drive to succeed are unconditionally praised, even when that drive leaves us with no time for relaxing or pleasure or trying to truly learn what we are meant to do. I see Rakuen Tsuihou as a commentary on this, and while Angela doesn't exactly do the best job of defending her "high-society" ambitions, I think the movie as a whole does a great job illustrating how this sort of all-consuming career ambition can leave us blind to the true pleasures of life.