Psycho-Pass

There is nothing more undefined, blurry, and vague than the line that separates "good" from "bad". What complicates the matter further is the question of "is said action more bad/good than another?" Why do we consider the murder of an innocent person a worse offense compared to something like a bank robbery? Is a doctor who saves hundreds of lives more "good" than a simple volunteer at a homeless shelter? While Psycho Pass may not be a realistic representation of today's societal state, the observation of human morals, psychological concepts, and fluctuation of emotions can all be applied to our methodology of thinking and ouroutlook on life itself. The premise of the show poses an interesting scenario: what if we lived in a world where it was possible to determine the potential of a person through a simple cymatic scan, and judge/assign that person accordingly? You would be told your aptitude for certain jobs, the extent of your latent abilities, and the likelihood of mental instability and the capacity to commit crimes. This is the world that Psycho Pass is set in. The show follows the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division and the various cases that are assigned to them. Through their work solving crimes, we delve into conflicts of morality, the battle between the righteous and injustice, and the clash between different ideologies about the Sibyl System that made this whole lifestyle possible. The strongest selling point of Psycho Pass is its cast of well developed and intricate characters. We have Tsunemori Akane, a new Investigator of the Criminal Investigation Division, and her beliefs are what is most commonly defined as "righteous". She is the representation of the ideal yet naive mindset that justice is absolute and criminals must be punished. She holds the law close to her heart, and while very young and inexperienced, she is an intelligent person and attempts to see the good in people. Through her exposure to the more sinister side of society, we observe if she is able to withstand the challenges to her beliefs and how she changes as an individual. Helping her solve crimes and doing most of the "dirty work" is one of the Enforcers under her, Kogami Shinya. As one that is familiar with the darker side of society and has accumulated a plethora of experience in dealing with criminal minds, he is calculating, intelligent, and physically adept. His outlook on justice and the nature of other people differs from Akane's, and this difference serves as a driving force for the show. While he is normally collected and logical, his emotions do cause him to act irrationally and puts him in precarious situations. His resolve and detective skills are put to the test and we are shown the lengths in which he will go through to reinforce his beliefs. In addition to these two, we have Ginoza, a veteran Inspector with some very firm and rigid beliefs on criminals and potential and Masaoka, an experienced Enforcer who was a detective but was deemed a latent criminal and is a bit old fashioned. We also are introduced to Kagari, a easygoing Enforcer who was marked as a criminal at the age of five and has been an Enforcer ever since and doesn't think too highly of the Sibyl System and Yayoi, a former guitarist turned Enforcer trying to prevent others from ending up as criminals similar to how someone dear to her did. Rounding out our Unit One, we have Shion, the Bureau's analyst that aids the unit in solving crimes, and Joshu, the enigmatic Chief of the Bureau. The fact that none of these characters are insignificant or unimpactful enough to dismiss is quite a feat, but Psycho Pass gives each and every character depth and relevance to the main plot. A debate that has stood the test of time is the question: are humans innately good or evil? Do we strive to side by justice because it is in our nature, our personalities, our entire being, or do we do so in order to simply create the facade of appearing as a righteous person? Are our actions a culmination of self interest, in that we do everything for personal gain? Forging relationships, creating bonds; are they simply methods to reach the end goal of personal satisfaction and happiness? Psycho Pass portrays and addresses this issue through excellent storytelling, proficient pacing, and a cast of realistic characters. From watching Akane attempting to defend latent criminals and trying to give them a chance to prove their innocence, to Shinya's drive based on personal revenge and his definition of justice, Psycho Pass keeps its audience consistently alert and interested, with plot twists and shifts that are unpredictable and wholeheartedly intriguing. The art is bold and catches the eye's attention. From the casual conversation scenes to the dynamic and high tension fight scenes, everything is animated with a finesse that is incredible. While some may dislike some of the characters design, that is ultimately personal preference. The sound is appropriate for a sci-fi show. The OP and EDs are upbeat and catchy and will stick with you even after the conclusion of the show. They serve to build suspense and set the mood, and everything fits into the whole picture to deliver a well coordinated show. Psycho Pass, I believe, can be considered a masterpiece. With thought-provoking dialogue and plot, an amount of drama and tension that is neither excessive nor underwhelming, and a group of characters that are just as complex as many of us, Psycho Pass delivers an action sci-fi show unlike one we've seen before.

After watching this series twice within a short amount of time (a month or so) and still enjoying it to the fullest, I felt compelled to finally write my first MAL review. I will not bother writing a plot summary, you can read the essentials a little further above. I will, however, try to rate the plot. Psycho Pass will sometimes be referred to as PP. Plot: 9.5/10: The series is most of all a police-sci-fi set in near future. This sounds rather cliché put Psycho Pass manages to mix in a variety of genres in a non-confusing way. The near-future/sci-fi is at all time present, whereasthe police-element is sometimes very prominent, making the series almost a crimi/detectives series, and at other times more in the background, the series then focusing on either characters or the way the PP world functions. Likewise is it with the action, coming more in small bumps rather than being all-time present. The series offer only a limited amount of humour as well as a discreet hint of romance, but you can find these things in the series. However, if you're searching for romantic comedy PP is not it. Drama is often quite intense, sometimes even heartbreaking, this making it easier to both relate to the characters and understand the more complicated parts of the story. The plot of PP consists of smaller arcs focused around the same villain. All of these arcs are quite flawlessly done and come together in the end in an almost perfect way. PP is a series with a masterful plot (imo nearly as good and well-written as Death Note). In PP things seem to happen for a reason, not just randomly. A few times it might get boring, but generally PP has a good mixture of genres in the right amount. PP is also a series where you, when watching, will have to focus. The story is definitely complicated and does, as every other really good series, leave you thinking. I sat all the time thinking 'would I want society to be like this?'. Your definition of justice is also something you might reconsider after watching PP. All in all amazing plot, one boring ep. draws down, making it 9.5/10 for me. Art: 9/10 Art is something I have a really hard time rating. For the character design itself is a matter of opinion, not fact. Therefore an anime's art must mainly be rated on scenery and the flow of the animation. The scenery in PP is very beautiful. Buildings, parks, light, everything is done really great. The visuals will often leave you stunned. But even if it's very good, I have seen better (but not often in a series with such a good plot as well), therefore the scenery can only get somewhere between 8 and 9 from me. The animation flow, on the other hand, is quite simply outstanding. Maybe I've not seen the right animes but never before have I seen as good 3D-look-a-like animation as in PP. Square objects are animated in a way that almost make them look 3D, coming out of the screen. Also the way it's sometimes insignificant everyday objects that are animated flawlessly, is both peculiar and perfect. Honestly, I found the animation breathtaking. Another thing I noted, watching PP a second time, was the light reflection. Oh, it was beautiful. Often in the ending we see light hitting water, looking almost like a blazing sea. But it was not this that had me spellbound. It was the way the light reflected in the Characters' eyes. The light sometimes even changed he eye colour, giving the animation a very realistic touch. Really, PP has some dazzling art if you look at the details. Now on to the sound (what a huge review I'm making xD): 9.5/10 With openings and endings can be said the same as with character design, value is based on personal opinion, and therefore OP/END cannot be rated. I can, however, rate the lyrics and fitingness of the music, which I'll try to do. Whether you like the songs or not, the openings and endings can objectively be said as to fitting perfectly with the series. Especially the first OP and END which I think is the most well-fitting pair of songs I've ever seen/heard in an anime. The lyrics were probably made for this series. I mean, seriously, they're just too well-fitting. In the first op the question of society, which is also asked throughout the whole series, is brought up. In the ending we get a song most well fitting for one of the characters.The fast pace these two songs also fits the action of the series, building up even more tension. The next set of songs are good as well, but take on a more quiet, romantic turn, which I do not find fitting for the series. Next up is the background-music. Generally the tracks are both good and well-fitting. There's one which is a bit out of place, and this definitely draws down on my sound-score. Last is the voice-actor cast. Actually I don't really feel skilled enough to rate this, so I'll just say, that I was generally satisfied. I think most voice-actors delivered a great performance and the voices fit the characters. I will say, with my limited skill, that Makshimas' actor did a greeeat job. His voice was a perfect fit. A last remark on sound is another bonus: something rarely seen, the ending-video not being the same each time, but not only that - different parts of the song were chosen to make the most perfect fit - and also - talking in-between two parts of the ending song. What I'm trying to say; the video and song was each time composed to fit the plot flawlessly. That also means: Watch the ending EVERY time, there might be important plot in the middle of it. Last up is characters: 9/10: The protagonist of this series is the young female inspector, Akane Tsunemori. Akane seems to be the standard cry-baby, full-of-justice, irrational, emotional, very annoying character. But I can tell you, she's not. Akane is a human, who acts very human. Who, for instance, is affected by stressed situations, and, who sometimes lets emotion cloud her judgement. Akane is bright, and has a strong believe of what is justice. She's a genuinely good person, who believes in this world, and for that, I don't think she should be punished. She is a newbie, who has to learn, and she does. The development of her character is different from what I usually see - and different from what I'd expected. She is not flawless, and yes, she's (as a character) a little cliché, but she's not stupid and her development is rather original. The male hero of the story is probably Shinya Kougami, a subordinate of Akane and a latent criminal. Even if the story focuses on Akane, the real plot unfolds around Kougami; thus making him almost more of a main character than Akane. Kougami is on first sight, our typical strong, badass, grumpy male-hero. But like Akane, Kougami surprises. I will not say there's much development to his character, it's just us getting to know him. Kougami quickly turns out to be quite the genius, who is certainly skilled at his work but his life is solely focused on his own agenda. Kougami is hard to understand, and even harder to declare as good or bad. His decisions will leave you wondering about the very nature of his character. Even after watching PP twice, I'm still not sure whether I should call him villain or hero. But certainly, for most people, he is a very likeable character. And then to the villain, Makishima: I cannot say much about him without spoiling all of the plot. What I can and will say is that he fights for his own sense of justice, and therefore - as with Kougami - it becomes hard to declare him good or bad. He and Kougami are in some ways very a like. Makishima is a bright, interesting and also annoyingly likeable villain - he can maybe be compared a bit to Light ( of Death Note). The rest of the characters are supports, and I will not write about them individually. As a whole the supports are, as usually, very different of personality. Therefore there is a character for almost anyone to like - and also the characters supplement each other nicely. Kagari, for instance, creates the bit of humour PP has got. I also think there is an appropriate amount of supports, enough to make the story coherent and few enough to not make the story confusing. The characters have a few seen-before elements, but are all in all both likeable, sensible and make the story move forward = 9/10. I will not put enjoyment as part of my rating, but I will say that I enjoyed the series a lot. Psycho Pass has become one of my fave series and is definitely worth a watch. Thank you if you took the time to read this abnormally large review :), I apologize for any clerical/grammatical errors, I am not english XDD.

In short, "Psycho Pass" is a weak, pretentious and utterly misguided show. There are two main reasons for that. First - very general failure of the show in constructing a sensible futuristic vision and second - its not exactly superb writing. At first Psycho-Pass looks like a clinical example of a generic work. It rips off "Minority Report", "Dredd" and many other SF stories. It has generic dystopian setting, generic art style, generic soundtrack - neither of these special nor particularly bad. Just not very promising. But then the basic premise of the story degenerates quickly. Decent dystopias in fiction generally should be at least marginallyplausible and even if they are extremely bad place to live in it should be shown that they benefit at least some individuals in some way. Or at least it should be revealed gradually that they are nightmarish, nightmares being hidden behind idyllic appearances. Ignoring that, Psycho Pass from the very beginning presents its world as pure hell on earth. It is a close relative to Nazi Germany, apartheid South Africa and Stalin's USSR. After realizing it I counted on some in-story justification which would make me believe that this world (overseen by computer algorithm called Sibil System), evil as it is, has any sense. None was provided. The citizens of this world have absolutely no reason to endure living in such place. There isn't even any privileged caste who benefits from the system and there is no overwhelming force which keeps everyone in check. Literally nothing holds the system together. In any even marginally realistic scenario it wouldn't stand a chance of going on for longer than a month without big social turmoil and bloody rebellions on a massive scale. And it should be apparent not only from the outside perspective, to the viewer, but, inside the fictional universe, also to the characters themselves. In fact the entire cast of protagonists not only should notice on rational and political level how evil is the system they are protecting - the story gives them also every emotional, ethical and psychological reason one can think of to openly rebel. Yet they don't, they choose to back up the system instead. Which makes them automatically unconditional villains. And simultaneously complete morons, their choices and actions are so thoughtless and harmful to themselves it's almost beyond belief. It's also the reason why one loses all interest in their fate and in their fight against so called crime. Then we meet an antagonist. For a change, he rebels against the system. By being a psychopathic murderer with a higher goal. As a result he is moron as well - many of his actions are done only for the fun of bloody carnage and are actually harmful to his ultimate plan. Although he is better and a little bit more relatable character than protagonists, still in the end the whole story is about moron villains fighting other moron villains. I simply could not care less. All of that alone wouldn't sanction such a bad rating. But, as I mentioned, on top of that the show was really badly written. Some characters are portrayed inconsistently - our main male protagonist oscillates between an apathetic cynical criminal, hunter obsessed with only one goal and sympathetic obedient detective entirely on the whim, without any justification given by the story. Causes of his intense hatred of main antagonist are also left unexplained, as are many reasons for his actions. Similar applies to main heroine, but because she is a rookie, it's justifiable to some extent by character development. The relationships in the hierarchical environment of police force are portrayed equally incoherently - the superiors and inferiors interact with each other from scene to scene so randomly one gets the impression writers haven't thought it out at all. The show has many underdeveloped characters and plots which looked promising, were played with but were ultimately abandoned in favor of the main story. There are some twists and climaxes later on, but they are unconvincing or fail to incite any emotional reaction. The latter is actually inevitable when you have unrelatable characters. Oh, and the series' lackluster ending is a sequel hook. The other glaring flaw of the show is its frequent violation of the "show, don't tell" rule. It spends enormous amount of time on explaining to the audience what exactly is going on, on delivering pompous speeches on philosophical topics and on quoting famous works, does it have a sense or not. "Psycho-Pass" insults the viewer with its explanations so many times that at some point it even begins to be funny. Another problem arises every time when show tries to be insightful. The writers are trying to discuss serious issues, but everything they achieve is scratching the surface of the problem. The aforementioned pompous speeches are pretentious, shallow and often without actual content. It also looks like writers couldn't decide what exactly they want to discuss, they often raise an issue and then almost immediately forget about it. Nevertheless I hesitate to call "Psycho Pass" a complete shit. It really tried hard to be non-trivial, mature and thoughtful. It tried so much that although I really didn't like the show I finished it anyway. Unfortunately all of its strengths lay in its potential, actual execution is a miserable failure. All what is left for the viewers is to hope that Gen Urobuchi will write some day as good story as he once did.

Urobuchi Gen certainly made name for himself during last couple seasons. Known for his dark and edgy, sometimes nihilistic approach to writing that leaves trail of bodies and broken characters, it's hard to overlook his works. His works of Fate/zero and Madoka, that definitively left impact on anime scene for better or worse, coupled with Production I.G. creative history of making Ghost in the Shell franchise, made me hope that we would get darker, more Urobuchi-like version of GitS, something I would definitively enjoy a lot. Unfortunately, it didn't take too long to me to get disillusioned that such dream wouldn't come true due toflawed logic and broken foundations of society that entire Psycho Pass world resides upon. Review will contain spoilers of series, so if you don't wish to be spoiled, turn away. Psycho-Pass starts out nicely, introducing us to rookie Inspector Tsunemori Akane venturing into world of Public Safety Bureau, unit specialized for apprehending criminals and suspects judged by all seeing eye that is called Sibyl System. Under supervision of very same system, Bureau works to discover potential threats to society and solve various cases where rules of System have been broken. Hierarchy in Bureau is very clear; Inspectors, such as Akane supervise Enforcers such as Kougami Shinya, former convicts or outcasts of society that Sibyl System decided to recruit as manpower in upholding order. Series continues in episodic way introducing us to world and some specifics in line of work of Bureau such as reliance on Enforcers' ways of solving cases; it takes a dog to hunt a dog. Another nice catch in dog-master relationship between Enforcers and Inspectors are Dominator guns, designed to target only people with high crime coefficient judged by Sibyl. That way it is ensured that dogs remain dogs and cannot rebel against System or endanger innocent people, while Inspector can always point gun towards Enforcer and pacify him due to his high crime coefficient. Psycho-Pass does a great job of introducing us to dystopian, or even utopian world, depending on interpretation, as well as people's concerns over it, both inside of Bureau and in outer world, such as when Akane's friends discuss about their concern with career that is predetermined by System. Unfortunately, as series progresses it becomes clear that only way Psycho-Pass will hold viewer entertained is by adding body count. People we know nothing about, we care nothing about are killed by the same people we don't know/care, whose motives are vague and deluded, in horrible ways, kinda Urobuchi's trademark, but relevance of these events is practically nonexistent except perhaps explaining motives of Psycho-Pass main antagonist, Makishima Shogo and his views on current state of society. Show keeps on using shock elements, such as brutal murders, public chaos, blood and gore to keep up entertainment value. And it does its job well. On the flip side, it adds no intellectual or emotional value to story, but only pictures Sibyl System and Bureau as incompetent bunch, not being able to handle even minor riot started by bunch of renegades immune to Sibyl's judgment. Dominators, their first line of defense against chaos are worthless. Such system maintains lives of countless people across whole country and yet as very smallest problem and it becomes unsolvable until fatal damage has been dealt. But I'll get to juicy details of Sibyl being fundamentally flawed later. For now let's talk characters. Series and Bureau have rather wealthy cast, and as such, it's not possible to fully develop every single one of them. There is more focus on our love triangle of Makishima, Akane and Kougami while rest of the cast are there merely to present view on Sibyl, or sometimes they even receive some development, but it's nothing to write home about, except Ginoza that receives some good development by the end of the series. Akane is easily best character in show and her development is well done. Transformation from rookie with shaking knees into full fledged Inspector with strength to stand for herself, being a guide to future generations of Inspectors to come is really impressive. Makishima would be so proud of how much she changed since their first meeting. Speaking of Makishima, I'm kinda iffy on him. He does represent man with strong sense of individuality, wanting to liberate people from System's *evil* control. If that's the case then what is point of enjoying watching people suffer and messing with others' lives? And on occasions he transforms from *poet* into mindless shounen antagonist wanting to kill everyone in his path. Inconsistent characterization much? What could have been great character was reduced to your random unmemorable guy. Kougami also received great deal of exposure throughout the series and his character is well built. As he degraded into state of mere hound he relies a lot on his instinct when solving cases giving series a lot of dynamics. Coupled with aggressive, if I may say rash approach in solving cases and strong believes towards his own justice rather than relying on Sibyl's judgment, he is definitively entertaining character to watch and works well as main male character overall. One character that I found to my liking despite having lack of screen time is Tomomi Masaoka. He represents the old way of thinking about detective business and due to him being unable to adapt to Sibyl he became Enforcer. High crime coefficient or not, he still remained good person despite Sibyl's tag on him and a good father. This is way to off character and have impact on viewer, (as well as Ginoza) not some nameless, faceless dolls that served no purpose in the first place. That being said, there is one hidden gem in characters, one that deserves special mention for breaking the show. Yes, it's everyone's favorite Sibyl System itself. We can tag it as character, no? It is understandable that Sibyl wants to recruit people that they cannot judge as it would add another dimension to understanding similar type of people as well as lengthen duration of System itself. Brains don't last forever after all. But how in the world would such system came into existence in the first place? From what I see recruits and members of Sibyl are people with strong individuality, different view on world or in another words, social outcasts, people that must not exists in world by Sibyl standards. Such people, treated as junk, criminals and defects would then form a cornerstone of what is meant to watch over country and ensure that everyone is judged by same standards with fairness? Really? After all, same society treated them like trash, and now they are here to ensure those very same people live happily ever after? Did Urobuchi become too soft or what? If I were one of them I sure as hell know where I would send them to. And even if what I said is hypothetically not true, we have living recruit of the System. What did Makishima do when he was invited to join? Yeah, exactly that. Smacked Kasei, broke few bones or circuits and gtfo'd away. At this point in series I was actually hoping Makishima would join into Sibyl and work against it from the inside rather than trying one man army entire System himself. It would make sense seeing how much freedom is actually granted in system just by talking with Chief Kasei, who was his old apprentice. He could have noticed that man behind mask isn't collective mind of Sibyl but rather an individual that he actually knows and can recognize his personal traits. He could have easily seen that individuality still exists inside Sibyl and work from there, especially considering how much authority is given to you, going as far as to change Dominator readings, as seen when Ginoza was meant to shoot Kougami. Easy way to mess up entire system in eyes of common people, working from inside. But no, he decided to solo the world, and that task was pretty easy actually, considering 99% of food for country is produced on one field and he only needs to mess food production. What was purpose of this again? To make one mutation or one disease (or one Makishima) to wipe out entire food supply of a whole country? I call that sloppy writing. And how did Sibyl ever come into existence? Following the same trend – sloppy writing. Sloppy writing aside, technical parts of the show are ok for the most part. Animation, albeit inconsistent at times does its job well by showing Psycho-Pass world as it is. Action sequences are well done, not much complains. Character designs are fitting to dark mood of series and technology is designed pretty well, especially Dominator guns. Sound is another strong point of series as all openings/endings are catchy themes with fitting lyrics to set mood of show and are also choreographed well. Sound throughout the series is good, from sound of bones breaking to musical background fitting to scenes and it's used well to improve overall atmosphere. Special award for best voice acting goes to Hanazawa Kana for voicing Akane. From her shaky starting lines all the way up to her confident self, voice acting remains great and always fitting Akane's character. Ending of series was done very well with some things left open to interpret as seeing fit, but after dust settles all we have is another sci-fi anime that didn't use its premise well, but rather used fanservice named gorefest and Urobuchi's name to sell. If you like to see body count rising and people suffering, chances are you will end up loving Psycho-Pass a lot. Police business and individual cases are interesting, and it's fun to see how characters have to actually use brains here and there to solve cases. Action is decent throughout the whole show, and overall experience of show is pretty positive, but if you actually wanted something that can use full potential of given setting, you might be a bit disappointed in presentation. I only hope that Urobuchi becoming too mainstream won't affect his writing too much in his future works, but seeing trending of mainstream things, inside or outside anime industry, it feels like rather ominous sign. Then again, it might just be me reading into it too much...