0107 The Language of the Chinese Orchid

Overview

Image Gallery

The Language of the Chinese Orchid
Episode Information
Kanji	紫蘭の花言葉
Rōmaji	Shiran no Hanakotoba
Air date	November 23, 2012
Opening	Abnormalize
Ending	Monster Without a Name
Episode Guide
Previous ← Return of the Lunatic Prince	Next And Then, Silence →

The Language of the Chinese Orchid is the seventh episode of Psycho-Pass.

Synopsis

After realizing that the recent murders and the Specimen Case are indeed connected, Nobuchika Ginoza takes Shinya Kogami off the case and requests Akane Tsunemori to watch over him. Tsunemori discusses Mitsuru Sasayama's murder with Kogami, and he shows her his one piece of evidence: a blurry image of Shogo Makishima. Meanwhile, Makishima, in a study with Toyohisa Senguji, reveals the circumstances of Roichi Oryo's death and the nature of his shortened life expectancy. Later, Oryo's daughter, Rikako Oryo, continues her crimes with the help of Makishima's colleague, Gu-sung Choe, and abducts Kagami Kawarazaki who is worried about Yoshika Okubo's disappearance.

Story

Rikako Oryo visits her father, Roichi Oryo, at the hospital. The nurse says Rikako's father is aware of her presence and happy to see her. Rikako knows the truth about her father's condition and describes it in a voice-over. Like many others with his disease, her father is unaware of anything, a shell of who he used to be. Stricken, she says, by a disease that will never be eradicated, one people wished for, one called "serenity."

Division 01 at the first crime scene.

After the credits, we see Kogami, Tsunemori and Ginoza looking at the corpse found by the two Public Cleaning Bureau employees. The corpse is staged as some kind of work of art. Ginoza decides to bench Kogami off the case due to his history with the Specimen Case and assigns Tsunemori to watch over him after she lets slip out she is aware of these circumstances.

Back at PSB Headquarters, Ginoza exposes the rest of Division 01 to the facts of the case. The victim is Satsuki Kuzuhara, a student at Oso Academy. The various evidence point towards Kozaburo Toma, the then prime suspect in the Specimen Case. Hearing this, Shusei Kagari asks if it is wise to keep Kogami off the case, as he is the one who knows the most about the Specimen Case. Ginoza replies he sees Kogami's report as of no use.

The photo Sasayama took and named "Makishima".

Meanwhile, at the gym, Kogami trains against a sparring bot. Given he is already provided with the powerful weapon that is the Dominator, Tsunemori asks why he engages in so much combat training. He answers that the weapon being powerful is the very reason why its users also have to be equally powerful as the responsibility of taking a life still lies on them rather than the weapon. After Kogami changes and they get to his quarters, Tsunemori inquires about PSB Special Case 102 (the Specimen Case) and what kind of man Enforcer Sasayama was. Kogami's regret about this case is that he never got close to the mastermind behind Toma. Then Kogami describes Sasayama as a violent, womanizing bastard, while being a funny guy who didn't deserve such a horrid fate. Kogami and Tsunemori's conversation concludes with the former showing her the only lead he has, a picture Sasayama took and whose filename is "Makishima."

Kawarazaki and Shimotsuki concerned.

At Oso Academy, Kawarazaki expresses to her friend, Mika Shimotsuki, her worries about the latest news: their classmates Satsuki Kuzuhara being found dead and Okubo being absent from school since the day before. Shimotsuki adds that Masami Yamaguchi has been absent, too. This makes Shimotsuki sense dangerous, serious trouble and she advises her friend to stay out of it. But in the face of Kawarazaki's concerns for their childhood friend Okubo, Shimotsuki tells her to ask Rikako Oryo if she knows something, as Oryo and Okubo seem to be close.

Scene skip to Oryo in her room at night, addressing someone who is in her bed under the sheets. Oryo explains the philosophy behind her father's art and what a great artist she thinks he was, her father's heart having stopped the day before. She resents him for abandoning his duty as an artist halfway through and determines to carry it out in his stead. At that point, Oryo uncovers the person in her bed, revealing Okubo's corpse.

At Senguji's mansion, Makishima and Senguji discuss the disease known as "Eustress Deficiency Cerebral Infraction," said to be the cause of most deaths deemed "heart failure from an unknown cause." Due to this disease and despite the medical advancements achieved, life expectancy tends to decrease. As a prevention, Makishima outlines the benefits of experiencing some stress. He then tells the story of Rikako's father, who fell victim to this very disease, was once a predominant illustrator with a talent for drawing cruel, vivid nightmares using girls' bodies as motifs. Of strict morality himself, he viewed his art as a mean to enlighten the populace to the cruelty that dwells in the dark depths of the human heart. However, the appearance of Psycho-Pass assessments completed his mission but as a consequence made his life lose its meaning.

Oryo's malicious smile.

In her room, Oryo calls Choe before leaving with a wheeled suitcase. She then puts it in a garbage chute before going to meet Choe in a building outside her dorm. The room they meet in disappeared from the blueprints after one the Academy's renovations. The suitcase is seen lying on a mattress. Choe has delivered to her the plastination resin and Oryo fills up a tank with it. In their conversation, the motivations of each party is revealed, as well as the nature of their arrangement. Oryo then picks up the suitcase and opens it, revealing Okubo wrapped in plastic. She tells Choe to watch the news as her next "prank" should be discovered soon. Hearing this, Choe activates a holo making him appear as a student and decides to leave as he doesn't do well with the sight of blood. Once alone, with a malicious smile, Oryo picks a saw to start hacking up Okubo's corpse.
The scene then skips to when Division 01 discovers her second "artwork."

Okubo's floating head.

Back at Oso in the Arts room, Kawarazaki visits Oryo to ask about her friend Okubo. As she does, she gets close enough to see what Oryo is painting (a naked Okubo). While Kawarazaki is stunned by her discovery, Oryo decides that she would make a fine addition to her "Yoshika exhibit." And leaving her no time to react, Oryo puts Kawarazaki to sleep using a syringe-type tool. When Kawarazaki awakens, she finds herself bound and gagged in front of Okubo's floating head. Oryo then announces to her what the theme of her next "artwork" will be: the touching reunion of childhood friends (i.e. Kawarazaki and Okubo). Hearing this, Kawarazaki gives way to her utter terror.

Characters

List of characters in order of appearance:

• Rikako Oryo
• Roichi Oryo
• Satsuki Kuzuhara (as a corpse)
• Shinya Kogami
• Akane Tsunemori
• Nobuchika Ginoza
• Shion Karanomori (flashback only)
• Yayoi Kunizuka
• Shusei Kagari
• Tomomi Masaoka
• Mitsuru Sasayama (mentioned only)
• Shogo Makishima
• Mika Shimotsuki
• Kagami Kawarazaki
• Yoshika Okubo (as a corpse)
• Toyohisa Senguji
• Gu-sung Choe
• Masami Yamaguchi (as a corpse)

Trivia

• Roichi Oryo hospital room number is 1102.
• The first body (Kuzuhara) is found in a park in Daikanyama, Shibuya.
  
  

Quotes

"Whoa! You've got the sparring programme on the highest difficulty level! Are you really human, Kogami?" (Tsunemori)

• "Yeah. I mean, all it takes is one Paralyser and I'm out like a light."
  

— Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kogami's exchange

"Our weapons are powerful, but it's for that very reason that their users have to be even stronger. In the end, the Dominator doesn't kill people. I do. In order to keep that in mind, I have to feel the pain here."
— Shinya Kogami to Akane Tsunemori

"I lost count of how many times he tried to grab Karanomori and Kunizuka's butts."
— Shinya Kogami to Akane Tsunemori - (about Mitsuru Sasayama)

"My father used dismembered bodies as the subject of many of his drawings. That's because they symbolize the contradictory nature of the self. I had great respect for my father. He was aware of his obligation as an artist and continued to focus intently on using his creations to enlighten people. I think even now that he was a great artist indeed. That's why I simply can't forgive him for abandoning that duty halfway through. Yesterday, my father passed away. He's been as good as dead for a while, but finally even his heart gave in. But I'm okay. I'm not sad. I, his daughter, will carry out my father's duty together with you all. Don't you think that's wonderful? It's exciting, isn't it, Yoshika?"
— Rikako Oryo to the deceased Yoshika Okubo