Shogo Makishima IQ

DeductionSolving new problems from thin information

8/10

StrategyMulti-step plans that account for other minds

9/10

KnowledgeDepth and breadth of what they know

8/10

InventionBuilding or devising something genuinely new

6/10

AdaptabilityRecovering when the plan breaks

7/10

Reading peopleUnderstanding what other people want and will do

10/10

1. Evading the system

   Strong evidence

   Season 1

   Makishima remains outside the system's ability to flag him as a threat. The story presents this as his defining feature. Operating inside a surveillance society takes planning and discipline, and the show gives it a plausible explanation. It is spoiler-heavy, and the full explanation affects how we read it, so we describe it only in general terms. The reasoning behind it is a mixture of luck and design, and the series is careful to show effort on his side.

2. Using other people

   Strong evidence

   Season 1

   Makishima supplies tools, ideas and encouragement to people who then commit the crimes he wants. He identifies the right individuals and gives them a push. It demonstrates a strong model of human motivation and long-range planning. The method makes him very hard to catch, which is the thing the detectives struggle with. He gives each helper a reason, a tool and a nudge, and then lets events run. The method is hard to prove from outside, which is part of why investigators struggle.

3. A scholar of literature and philosophy

   Moderate evidence

   Season 1

   He quotes books, discusses ideas and connects his plans to a worldview built from reading. The scenes show a wide knowledge and a love of argument. It is part of his character design, so it supports knowledge more than reasoning. His taste for old books is a way of showing a rich inner life and a justification for his views, and it gives the writers a vehicle for his arguments. Being well read is useful, but the story gives him no particular test of knowledge.

4. Out-thinking the police

   Moderate evidence

   Season 1

   The Public Safety Bureau cannot trace him for much of the story, and he stays ahead of Kogami and Akane Tsunemori. Eluding a trained team is a sign of competence. The writers decide how long he can avoid them, which limits how far we trust the result. The Bureau tracks him through many cases without a clear result, and he is always a step ahead. It is a consistent pattern, but it is the writers who control the gap, so we credit the habit and not each step.

5. Understanding the system's flaws

   Moderate evidence

   Season 1

   He sees the weakness in the system that governs society and builds his plan around it. Spotting a flaw that others have missed is a mark of independent thought. We count it as moderate because the story is built around the idea. He spots a gap between what the system claims to measure and what it actually does, and builds his plan inside it. The idea is the core of the series, so it is as much a theme as a measure of his intellect.

1. Obsession drives his plan

   Season 1

   Makishima's fixation on proving his worldview leads him into a confrontation he could have avoided. A mind that put survival first would stay hidden. His need to be seen as right overrides caution, and it makes the later parts of the story possible.

2. Dependent on a few helpers

   Season 1

   His plans rely on tools and agents he cannot fully control. When they fail, the plan suffers, which shows a limit in redundancy. Each helper is a possible point of failure, and a more careful planner would have built in more safeguards against that kind of loss.

3. Outmatched by Kogami in the end

   Season 1

   The final fight is physical and personal, and the detective prevails. It shows that Makishima's strengths lie in influence, not in direct conflict, which narrows his range. His edge disappears once the contest becomes direct and personal, which suggests that his intelligence works best at a distance.

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