published on January 28th, 2020
I watched Psycho-Pass Season 2 for the first time back when it came out and my apologies if it has changed since, but I remember the general consensus being that Shimotsuki sucks a load of ass.
Now that I’m done rewatching it, I’m ready to play devil’s advocate.
Note that I haven’t seen Season 3 yet and I’m choosing to write down my thoughts as of now in order to better revisit them after that.
First of all, wait, that’s who she was? How could I not notice? This immediately makes her more awesome.
My main argument will be that putting aside the kind of person she is, Mika is one of Season 2′s best characters.
I think everyone will agree that season 2 was much too short. Many plot points were rushed, even more so those that should’ve equated to character development. A few characters were introduced only to be killed off immediately afterwards (may Aoyanagi and Kaede rest in peace) and many were shoved to the side, as the show didn’t have enough time to focus on them. This is how Ginoza’s grief over Aoyanagi happens off-stage and Shion and Kunizuka don’t fuck nearly enough.
Shimotsuki’s arc, however, is perfectly well-rounded. While Tsunemori remains the main character, the show doesn’t shy off showing Shimotsuki’s thoughts, feelings, and important encounters. At the end of the day, everything she thinks, everything she does makes sense. Her train of thought is perfectly fluid.
Now, I’d like to mention something which I think she suffered from. However, I couldn’t tell for sure whether that is also due to this season being too short or that was meant to be - and this is the part where I think Tsunemori messed-up.
At no point in season 2 does anyone stop to have a chat with Shimotsuki. She also makes it clear in early episodes she doesn’t feel like Tsunemori trusts her, even though she has been working for the Bureau for one year and half. We know that she started off as a minor, and yet, she receives no guidance that we know of.
We know that she wouldn’t listen to Ginoza even if he tried, and that Kunizuka isn’t particularly eloquent. Guiding her should be Tsunemori’s responsibility, and yet… she keeps trying to do things on her own, and when she does focus on the capacities of her team, as part of her job, all she focuses on are the Enforcers. Tsunemori knows for certain what task to give new Enforcer Hinakawa (God Bless His Soul™), and yet she never seems to take a moment and discuss or research what Shimotsuki would like to do, or congratulate her when she did a good job. (While she’s completely incompetent on the field, Shimotsuki makes a smart researcher, but I’ll come back to that in a few.)
Now, by no means am I trash-talking Tsunemori. She knows things secret to the rest of the world, and she has many responsibilities her coworkers don’t even suspect - she’s also trying her best to make the world a better place with the few abilities she has. Tsunemori is badass and strong and I love her. Yet… She’s only human, and I think she made a mistake.
I know this is from Season 1, but how am I supposed to find a good screenshot without stumbling upon Season 3 spoilers?
Tsunemori is trying to do things her own way, and with good reason, but Shimotsuki is completely out of the loop. She spends most of Season 2 trying to do what she thinks is right by stopping Tsunemori, because she has genuinely no idea how what she’s doing could possibly be the right thing. Tsunemori doesn’t even act particularly friendly, as she brushes her off when she asks how she’s doing after a battle. There definitely is reason for Shimotsuki to think Tsunemori is going astray.
Tsunemori doesn’t actually want a partner, she’s okay with only having Enforcers, since she trusts them completely. Actually, she could probably deal with pretending Ginoza’s still an Inspector. It’s not her fault Shimotsuki wound up in her team - being that of the only Inspector to know Sybil’s secret -, but it’s not Shimotsuki’s either.
In any case, Shimotsuki tries to find someone she can trust within Kasei. She files her best reports in hopes to fix the situation at hand, all on her own since she doesn’t feel like she can trust her team, and that’s when Kasei stabs her in the back.
Uh-oh.
This is where everything goes downhill, and I think this scene is what showcases Shimotsuki’s weakest point the most efficiently.
She’s smart, and she can definitely tell when something’s going wrong, but she doesn’t want to know the truth. She’s not mature enough to handle it. She screams in terror when Kasei tells her she will reveal Sybil’s entire secret. When she has, she doesn’t even want to think about the bad implications of what she just learned - she forces a facade upon herself, immediately accepting that Sybil must be perfect. Oh, she’s definitely a good toy to the cruel mind of Sybil.
And yet, I think Sybil made a mistake by hiring her as an Inspector.
Mika isn’t a bad person in the least, nor is she incapable, but it’s obvious that she can’t take a decision on the field. She’s far too immature for that - or should I say, she doesn’t want to take control. She wants to be able to ignore what’s wrong (so she tried to do in Season 1, even though she knew where to look) by following Sybil’s orders. This sounds like the perfect citizen for Sybil, but it’s not what they need at the Bureau. Even though Shimotsuki has good instinct and knows how to research the information she needs, she can’t - because she doesn’t want to - counteract Sybil’s weaknesses.
This is why Sybil needs someone like Tsunemori.
Sybil’s ideal Bureau would know their secret and be ready to defend it, yet they can’t allow just anyone to know, as most of the population isn’t ready to learn such a thing. Shimotsuki perfectly showcases that by avoiding to think about it, else her hue would likely darken.
Anyway, this isn’t about Sybil.
I can’t really defend her lack of attempt to avoid abiding to Tougane’s blackmailing other than by saying the ending of Season 2 was particularly rushed and we didn’t get to see her internal fight enough. This is the only time Shimotsuki’s actions aren’t the focus when they should have been.
It does highlight her lack of self-will. She is unable to take a decision on her own… No matter how much it hurts her. Similarly, she wasn’t capable of pulling the trigger on Tougane.
So, what’s my defense of Mika Shimotsuki?
As a character, she is the best Season 2 has to offer.
As a person, she would do an amazing office-worker.
What led her to the Bureau were probably her great thinking abilities and whatever her past trauma made her wish. Either she wanted to work on Kunizuka’s side, or she wanted to be able to protect people with her abilities, unlike she had when she led her best friend to death by refusing to act…
Unfortunately, she isn’t strong enough yet.
Shimotsuki is much too immature, but if she manages to grow up, I think she could do great things. Unfortunately, the environment she’s in might only make her worse - a youth spent in a closed environment, untrustworthy coworkers (from her point of view), guilt and secrets she didn’t want to learn might make her want to indulge in her flaws.
I haven’t heard much good about season 3, but I hope she remains a good character.
Bring me back to the essays list
Bring me back to the index
Did I make a mistake when pasting this? Please contact me.
Now that I’m done rewatching it, I’m ready to play devil’s advocate.
Note that I haven’t seen Season 3 yet and I’m choosing to write down my thoughts as of now in order to better revisit them after that.
First of all, wait, that’s who she was? How could I not notice? This immediately makes her more awesome.
I think everyone will agree that season 2 was much too short. Many plot points were rushed, even more so those that should’ve equated to character development. A few characters were introduced only to be killed off immediately afterwards (may Aoyanagi and Kaede rest in peace) and many were shoved to the side, as the show didn’t have enough time to focus on them. This is how Ginoza’s grief over Aoyanagi happens off-stage and Shion and Kunizuka don’t fuck nearly enough.
Shimotsuki’s arc, however, is perfectly well-rounded. While Tsunemori remains the main character, the show doesn’t shy off showing Shimotsuki’s thoughts, feelings, and important encounters. At the end of the day, everything she thinks, everything she does makes sense. Her train of thought is perfectly fluid.
Now, I’d like to mention something which I think she suffered from. However, I couldn’t tell for sure whether that is also due to this season being too short or that was meant to be - and this is the part where I think Tsunemori messed-up.
At no point in season 2 does anyone stop to have a chat with Shimotsuki. She also makes it clear in early episodes she doesn’t feel like Tsunemori trusts her, even though she has been working for the Bureau for one year and half. We know that she started off as a minor, and yet, she receives no guidance that we know of.
We know that she wouldn’t listen to Ginoza even if he tried, and that Kunizuka isn’t particularly eloquent. Guiding her should be Tsunemori’s responsibility, and yet… she keeps trying to do things on her own, and when she does focus on the capacities of her team, as part of her job, all she focuses on are the Enforcers. Tsunemori knows for certain what task to give new Enforcer Hinakawa (God Bless His Soul™), and yet she never seems to take a moment and discuss or research what Shimotsuki would like to do, or congratulate her when she did a good job. (While she’s completely incompetent on the field, Shimotsuki makes a smart researcher, but I’ll come back to that in a few.)
Now, by no means am I trash-talking Tsunemori. She knows things secret to the rest of the world, and she has many responsibilities her coworkers don’t even suspect - she’s also trying her best to make the world a better place with the few abilities she has. Tsunemori is badass and strong and I love her. Yet… She’s only human, and I think she made a mistake.
I know this is from Season 1, but how am I supposed to find a good screenshot without stumbling upon Season 3 spoilers?
Tsunemori is trying to do things her own way, and with good reason, but Shimotsuki is completely out of the loop. She spends most of Season 2 trying to do what she thinks is right by stopping Tsunemori, because she has genuinely no idea how what she’s doing could possibly be the right thing. Tsunemori doesn’t even act particularly friendly, as she brushes her off when she asks how she’s doing after a battle. There definitely is reason for Shimotsuki to think Tsunemori is going astray.
Tsunemori doesn’t actually want a partner, she’s okay with only having Enforcers, since she trusts them completely. Actually, she could probably deal with pretending Ginoza’s still an Inspector. It’s not her fault Shimotsuki wound up in her team - being that of the only Inspector to know Sybil’s secret -, but it’s not Shimotsuki’s either.
In any case, Shimotsuki tries to find someone she can trust within Kasei. She files her best reports in hopes to fix the situation at hand, all on her own since she doesn’t feel like she can trust her team, and that’s when Kasei stabs her in the back.
Uh-oh.
This is where everything goes downhill, and I think this scene is what showcases Shimotsuki’s weakest point the most efficiently.
She’s smart, and she can definitely tell when something’s going wrong, but she doesn’t want to know the truth. She’s not mature enough to handle it. She screams in terror when Kasei tells her she will reveal Sybil’s entire secret. When she has, she doesn’t even want to think about the bad implications of what she just learned - she forces a facade upon herself, immediately accepting that Sybil must be perfect. Oh, she’s definitely a good toy to the cruel mind of Sybil.
And yet, I think Sybil made a mistake by hiring her as an Inspector.
Mika isn’t a bad person in the least, nor is she incapable, but it’s obvious that she can’t take a decision on the field. She’s far too immature for that - or should I say, she doesn’t want to take control. She wants to be able to ignore what’s wrong (so she tried to do in Season 1, even though she knew where to look) by following Sybil’s orders. This sounds like the perfect citizen for Sybil, but it’s not what they need at the Bureau. Even though Shimotsuki has good instinct and knows how to research the information she needs, she can’t - because she doesn’t want to - counteract Sybil’s weaknesses.
This is why Sybil needs someone like Tsunemori.
Sybil’s ideal Bureau would know their secret and be ready to defend it, yet they can’t allow just anyone to know, as most of the population isn’t ready to learn such a thing. Shimotsuki perfectly showcases that by avoiding to think about it, else her hue would likely darken.
Anyway, this isn’t about Sybil.
I can’t really defend her lack of attempt to avoid abiding to Tougane’s blackmailing other than by saying the ending of Season 2 was particularly rushed and we didn’t get to see her internal fight enough. This is the only time Shimotsuki’s actions aren’t the focus when they should have been.
It does highlight her lack of self-will. She is unable to take a decision on her own… No matter how much it hurts her. Similarly, she wasn’t capable of pulling the trigger on Tougane.
So, what’s my defense of Mika Shimotsuki?
As a character, she is the best Season 2 has to offer.
As a person, she would do an amazing office-worker.
What led her to the Bureau were probably her great thinking abilities and whatever her past trauma made her wish. Either she wanted to work on Kunizuka’s side, or she wanted to be able to protect people with her abilities, unlike she had when she led her best friend to death by refusing to act…
Unfortunately, she isn’t strong enough yet.
Shimotsuki is much too immature, but if she manages to grow up, I think she could do great things. Unfortunately, the environment she’s in might only make her worse - a youth spent in a closed environment, untrustworthy coworkers (from her point of view), guilt and secrets she didn’t want to learn might make her want to indulge in her flaws.
I haven’t heard much good about season 3, but I hope she remains a good character.
Bring me back to the essays list
Bring me back to the index
Did I make a mistake when pasting this? Please contact me.