There are not many characters who have left an impression on the world as big as Heath Ledger did when he played the character of Joker in Dark Knight. The infamous villain has also made his way into the anime world, as he served as an inspiration for an underrated villain called Shogo Makishima from the popular crime thriller series Psycho-Pass.
Psycho-Pass revolves around an organization called the Sibyl System that can quantify the criminality within any individual and store that data to analyze and keep the peace of the world intact. However, there are people who do not agree with their methods and try to end their “tyranny,” and one of them is Shogo Makishima, the main antagonist of season 1.
In an interview, the director of the series, Naoyoshi Shiotani, once revealed that the character of Makishima is inspired by Ledger’s Joker, and he tried to make Makishima have a similar image as the DC villain.
Naoyoshi Shiotani Reveals Shogo Makishima is Inspired by the Joker from Dark Knight
In an interview with MyM Buzz during the MCM London Comic Con, the Pyscho-Pass co-director talked about Psycho-Pass and how he got involved with it, his favorite characters, and also the villain of the first season. Shiotani revealed that Shogo Makishima’s character is based on Heath Ledger’s Joker from Dark Knight (2008).
Shiotani stated:
That’s true. It’s not that I wanted to recreate the Joker but that’s kind of the image that I was going for. The Joker in The Dark Knight was something of an unfathomable mystery, and there’s something really fascinating about that. What Makishima says in the series makes sense, but he’s very extreme.
Shiotani pointed out that the Joker in Dark Knight is a mysterious character, and that’s what makes him so wicked yet popular among fans. Makishima is similar to Joker. He is also a mysterious character who can manipulate anyone to do his bidding, making him more menacing, terrifying, and probably one of the most underrated villains in the history of anime.
Naoyoshi Shiotani’s Vision of Shogo Makishima in Psycho-Pass
According to the director, Makishima has a mysterious personality, and his color defines that mystery. And ironically, his mysterious personality leaves an impression on the narrative, and that’s what makes him a great villain for a psychological thriller series like Psycho-Pass.
Shiotani stated:
He’s kind of an evangelist and he has an attractive quality to him, and I wanted his background, his age, where he’s come from, to be a mystery, and for the same reason his colour is almost invisible. He has no colour, but he has a presence and that makes him a beautiful, mysterious figure.
Shiotani further explained that whatever Makishima says has the ability to captivate people, despite the fact that he is a negative character, which could also be said about the Joker.
These aspects draw parallels between Dark Knight’s Joker and Psycho-Pass’ Shogo Makishima, and even though Makishima is not as popular as the DC villain, he has made quite a name for himself in the psychological anime genre.
You can watch Psycho-Pass on Hulu and Crunchyroll.
