‘PSYCHO-PASS: Providence’ Ending Explained: Is Akane a Criminal Now?

PSYCHO-PASS: Providence has finally premiered in the United States, and we’ve already voiced our opinion on this great movie that finally filled the gap between Sinners of the System and Season 3 of this great series. But while the movie itself was great, some fans might have some problems with understanding the ending, especially if they haven’t seen the third season of Psycho-Pass, which actually resolved the whole issue that explained what happened after PSYCHO-PASS: Providence. In this article, we are going to explain the ending of PSYCHO-PASS: Providence and answer some key questions related to the movie and the characters we’ve seen in the movie.

The article is going to be divided into two major sections. One of them will explain the movie’s ending, while the other will tell you about the consequences of the movie and what happened after the movie was completed.

Did Akane become a criminal in PSYCHO-PASS: Providence?

This section will contain many spoilers about the movie, major spoilers at that, so we wanted to warn you that if you haven’t seen the movie, you should stop reading at this point. Let us continue for those of you who want to know what happened.

So, long story short, Japan is discussing the exportation of the Sybil System around the world based on a study that projected how the Sybil would function in various parts of the world.

The projections are contained in the so-called Stronskaya Papers, whose author is killed at the movie’s beginning. After that, the Japanese government and the rebel faction known as the Peacebreakers want to get their hands on the papers and use them for their goals. This is where Akane and her Unit come in.

After numerous issues and setbacks, including major deaths, Akane and her allies finally manage to reach the rebel base in the Kuril Islands, where she faces off against the rebel leader, Tsugumasa Tonami, who Kogami ultimately kills. As Akane correctly deduced, Tonami was actually the “spokesperson” of his mysterious leader, The General, an AI.

And although the Sybil System struck a pact with The General, Akane was firmly against it. Tonami tried to convince her, telling her that the merger between the General and Sybil would be the only way possible, but she kept on fighting and risking being considered a traitor. She continued to fight for what she believed was right.

The whole issue arose when it was suggested that the Sybil System would remain the only “leader” in the world, i.e., that national laws should be abolished and that the will of the people would be completely subjected to the will of the Sybil System.

Believing in people and their desire to evolve and do good collectively, Akane strongly opposed this. Tonami told her that the people don’t care, in general, as much as she does and that they will relish the opportunity of losing all responsibility along with their freedom, but Akane doesn’t want to believe that, and that is why she decides to oppose Sibyl.

After Tonami’s downfall, Akane told the System that she was quitting the Public Safety Bureau, and as she was getting promoted, she took out a gun and shot Director Kasei in front of a crowd and television cameras. This was a shock, especially since Akane did it without even blinking.

Mika immediately jumped in front of her and scanned her with the Dominator, but as Akane was criminally asymptomatic, the Dominator deactivated it. This caused a nationwide discussion about whether Akane was a criminal and how the Sybil System functioned.

Namely, Akane had undoubtedly committed a crime, and the nation witnessed it. But she was not a criminal in the eyes of the Sybil System, the System that was supposed to judge people based on their Hues and their Crime Coefficients.

This was similar to both Makishima and Kamui and Tonami, but the latter two embodied some special concepts, while Makishima was criminally asymptomatic. The System’s judgment was, in this way, proven to be utterly flawed, and Akane, doing her thing, actually proved to everyone that there is a need for national laws to remain in place.

Did she become a criminal? No, not exactly. She knew that Kasei was a robotic embodiment of the Sybil System, so she knew that she was not killing a human being (in fact, Kasei had died more than once before, but never in public, so her survival could always be explained), but the public did not know what. In a letter she sent to Kogami, Akane explained that she did support the System but that she also believed firmly in the people and in the laws.

She elaborates that in the past, people debated what constituted a crime, what was just, and what punishment should be applied. That gave birth to laws and enabled the people to evolve as a society. If that would all disappear, the people would lose a large aspect of what made them people, and it would not be of use to anyone. Namely, Akane firmly believed that the national laws still existing were good for both the people and the System, as she believed that the System could evolve only in a society that evolves as well, and debating what constitutes a crime is a way of evolving.

And this is why she killed Kasei. In the eyes of the System, she was not a criminal simply because she was criminally asymptomatic, and with her example, she wanted to prove how wrong that is and how a society with this being the only undebatable criterium would be a horrible society.

That is why we have to keep the national laws, as they allow us to see what crime really is – crime is not a numerical factor. Crime is an act of violation against society. The Sybil System did not consider Akane, a criminal, but in the eyes of the law, she definitely was one.

Fans of the series know that Akane has a complex and layered relationship with the System. They respect each other, but there is much more to it. That is why the System actually understood and respected her decision; they imprisoned her, but ultimately, since she was never a criminal, Akane was released (see below). And that is what PSYCHO-PASS: Providence was actually all about – teaching us that things are not black and white and that we, the people, are as complex as our acts and as complex as the implications of our acts.

Akane was ultimately released and promoted, just as PSYCHO-PASS: Providence implied

So, what happened to Akane in the end? Well, this is something that fans will surely know, as her fate was revealed in Season 3 of the series. Namely, during Season 3 and the sequel movie, Akane is imprisoned, which was a major shock for the fans, as the series did not provide us with any explanations. The focus was on Shindo and Ignatov, while Akane was just an advisor. She seemed to live a peaceful life while imprisoned, though, and it did not seem like anyone really treated her as an enemy.

The PSYCHO-PASS: Providence finally explained why she was imprisoned, while the sequel movie, First Inspector, revealed that she was, ultimately, released after Bifrost’s defeated and that she was re-hired by the PBS as the advisor to the new director, Shizuka Homura.