Psycho-Pass takes place in a futuristic Japan (I guess) where society is governed by tests which index people's personality traits. The tests help determine best career paths and, most importantly, the likelihood that they might commit a violent crime. Psycho-Pass tells the story of a police division whose task is to stop those who commit these crimes and are likely to do so. A proper synopsis from Wikipedia...
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In the near future it is possible to instantaneously measure a person's mental state, personality, and the probability that a person will commit crimes with a device installed on each citizen's body called the Psycho-Pass. When this probability, measured by the "Crime Coefficient" index, is too high in some individuals those individuals are pursued and apprehended -- with lethal force, if necessary. This task is performed by a special team of potential criminals called Enforcers, who are supervised by police officers known as Inspectors; the Inspectors ensure that Enforcers perform their duties within the constraints of the law. Enforcers and Inspectors employ special weapons called "Dominators" that are designed to fire only on those with a higher than normal Crime Coefficient. The story follows Unit 1 of the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division. |
Psycho-Pass is another piece from Production I.G, directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani, and written by Gen Urobuchi (Fate/Zero, Blassreiter). It's already been licensed in the US by everyone's favorite Chris Sabat employer, FUNimation.
Of the first three episodes the first two are pretty boring and serve to introduce the series, the characters, and the settings. There's a bit of tease in the opening on episode one, plus the start of three, that hint at the greater plot of the series. At its root it appears to be nothing more than a grudge match between the main male protagonist, Shinya Kōgami, and someone who probably dicked him over in the past, Shōgo Makishima. With some random commentary about the human condition thrown on top, I'm sure.
The main protagonist is a new female inspector named Akane Tsunemori who, despite having no experiance or real desire to do what she does, has to manage four criminals who are only working for the police department because it's better than jail.
I know anime is characterized by huge eyes but this is ridiculous
Fortunately Pyscho-Pass' character designs fit right in and match the tone of the series. Unfortunately that means that they're boring and uninspiring. Kogami, Ginoza, Masaoka, etc. all look terribly generic and blatantly keyed toward their personality. What's worse is that Tsunemori and at least one other female character have horribly large and out of place down syndrome eyes. It's as though she were designed separately from the rest of the cast and the weird eyes were forced upon others to assure us that she's not the only one to experiance a generically catastrophic event in her mother's womb. On top of that her facial expressions are exacerbated to continually convey apprehension and other feelings that we already know and hate her for.
I suppose it's too much to ask for some sort of interesting depth this early in the series but everyone seems very stereotypical as though they went through a checklist to determine what characters they needed. Smart yet apprehensive lead? Check. Supportive friends? Check. Quiet loner who may turn out to be bad ass later? Check. Knowledgeable and helpful old man? Mysterious woman? Carefree kid? Douchetastic boss? Check, check, check and check.
Some of the technological elements are nifty in their creativity but their use just comes off uninspired. The holograms, like the ones used to spice up Tsunemori's drab apartment, come off as forced attempt by the show everyone, "ooh, look, it's the future!" Same goes for the magically changing outfits. A cool concept but completely unnecessary at this point.
Worse yet is the base concept regarding everyone's physiological state and how society manages and maintains that balance. It's another aspect that just seems overly forced to me. As though one of the writers had the base concept and everyone else was forced to work around it. It would work a lot better if it wasn't a major cultural element that everyone apparently has to deal with. If it been set up as a relatively new concept (ala Minority Report) it could have gone through some development instead of being a mash of force-fed concepts. Pretty early in the second episode I got the gist that the entire practice (or at least the job placement crap, also forced in to explain why Tsunemori is doing what she does) is like to be questioned and potentially dissolved by the end of the series (also ala Minority Report).
The Dominators are another key element poorly worked into the story. They seemingly have two settings, stun and explode. No in between stages like crippling pain or precision limb removal. When you seemingly open up the series with the alpha and omega of power you leave no room for development. The security locks and adaptive effectiveness seem less like something that can coyly become a plot element and more a forced explanation to support the setting.
I want to say something good about the animation... Other than playing fast and loose with proportions at times it's not bad. The problem is that's more generic work from Production I.G's old Ghost in the Shell crew. It's so uninspired and boring, as if they're just using up the designs that didn't make the cut for another series'. While I'm at it the music is also fairly uninspired and boring. Bleh.
At this point you should already guess that I'm not planning on continuing on with Psycho-Pass. In the first three episodes I saw nothing of interest, nothing to justify sitting through shoehorned drivel to see if actually goes anywhere. Is there potential for a turn around where there's actually some psychological drama and complex development? Sure. Do I think that when they're done building a foundation from leftover chunks of rock someone's going to build an intricate house on top? I doubt it. Especially after the unmitigated disappointment that was Guilty Crown
To sum things up based on the overly used words in this review, Pyscho-Pass is boring, unoriginal, uninspired, and forced.
mfw this series
