Psycho-Pass focuses on a future where each and every citizen is judged by the Sibyl System. There are scanners on every corner, and they can tell by scanning you whether you are likely to commit a crime. If you're found to have a high likelihood of committing a crime, you are labeled a latent criminal. This means you get sent away for therapy. It's a nice way of locking you up. If your scan reveals too high of a chance of you committing a crime, you may be sent away to be executed.
The policeman of the age utilize drones to assist in enforcement. They also have special guns that have the ability to judge your crime coefficient.**** When they judge you, the gun will either stun or execute you. Everything is decided by the all knowing Sibyl System. Additionally, some latent criminals are recruited to act as enforcers. They are allowed to help hunt criminals, but they have to follow strict guidelines and be accompanied by an actual detective with a low crime coefficient.
This is not one of their guns. This is a Nerf gun
that Mark totally painted for our
steampunk costumes.
Don't judge.
In this future, people have given up some of their freedom to live in a safe society. Many people no longer lock their doors because anyone likely to break in would have already been picked up due to the scanners. Frankly, the citizens do not expect violence and scarcely know how to react when they see it.
Of course, not all is perfect. If it was, there wouldn't be a police force. They wouldn't need to use latent criminals to catch those individuals that are a danger. The first episode opens with an incredibly dark crime and does a great job of setting up the world and its problems. At this point, Mark and I are about half way through season one, and it is quite good. Psycho-Pass has a great story and asks you to engage your brain, which is nice.
This is a Christmas ornament, not
one of the drones form
Psycho-Pass.
The animation style is quite good. The female lead, Akane, does cause us to yell out "Derp!" at least once an episode due to her character design, but it is a byproduct of trying to make her look more innocent.***** The other characters do not suffer that particular flaw. They have solid designs.
Derp! Well, that's just her hand. You need
to see her face to get the whole
picture. Google it!
Sound and voice acting in Psycho-Pass are also top notch. The music comes across as very cinematic at times and does not seem as cheap as the music in other, similar anime. We are watching the anime dubbed******, and the English speaking cast is pretty good. I haven't taken issue with any of the voice acting. I've watched dubbed anime with atrocious voice acting; this is not that anime.
If you're a fan of science fiction, you should give Psycho-Pass a shot. Don't watch it with your preschooler. Don't watch it with your 3rd grader. Psycho-Pass is most definitely an anime for adults.******* There is a good story told through good animation and voice acting. Don't let preconceived notions keep you away from something you might enjoy. That being said, I realize it isn't for everyone. I'm just saying you should at least give it a shot. We're watching it on Netflix, so if you have Netflix, you can burn 22 minutes and see if it is worth your time.
*There are a lot of anime fans that are obnoxious, but you get that with any fan base. Each group has fans it would rather not claim. Don't let a few weirdos turn you off to something that may actually be worth experiencing.
**To a degree, anime faces an uphill battle due to the notion that anything animated is a cartoon, and cartoons are just for children. With the quality of some of the more recent Pixar and Dreamworks entries, you would think we would have moved past the idea that a medium is a single genre. Looking for evidence that you may have run into that anime is not just for kids? Check out Kill Bill Vol. 1. Tarantino uses an animated sequence to provide the backstory of O-Ren Ishii, and to take inspiration from Nathan Explosion, it is just brutal.
***This is actually one of my favorite anime, and I strongly suggest it to anyone who is looking for a good movie.
****This is the show's shorthand to describe your likelihood of committing a crime.
*****Large eyes in anime are often a sign of innocence. Before balking at anime using that in character design, remember how adorable it was in Shrek II when Puss did his big eyes, cute kitty thing.
******For those not familiar with anime, it can be dubbed or subbed. Dubbed anime is re-recorded with an English speaking cast. Subbed anime has subtitles at the bottom of the screen. You listen to the original Japanese audio track and must read the dialogue. Both types have their fans and can be good. It's really your call. Neither way is better or worse. There is no right or wrong way to watch anime.
*******It's not that type of adult anime. Those are out there, but this one isn't dirty. Get your mind out of the gutter!
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