Anime Review: Psycho-Pass

Let’s talk about Gen Urobuchi. Recently, he’s made a name for himself by being the writer of both Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero, two very popular anime that many people claim to be some of their favorite anime of all time. As for me, I’m someone who thinks that just because Gen Urobuchi is attached to a project doesn’t mean that it’ll be all that great, because, while I absolutely adore Fate/Zero, I have mixed feelings about Madoka Magica. The two anime both share the same aspects that are present in pretty much all of Gen Urobuchi’s work; both are darker versions of their peers (Madoka in comparison to an average magical girl anime and Fate/Zero in comparison to an average fantasy anime), they’re both philosophical to a degree (being laced with many underlying themes), and have a lot of dialogue. The main difference between Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica and the reason that I believe Fate/Zero to be so much better, however, is the fact that Fate/Zero already has a world, characters, and story to build off of. Yes, as much as I hate to admit it, Fate/Zero is essentially fanfiction written by a fan of the franchise, since the majority of the ideas and characters already exist in the Fate franchise. Saber, for example, is a character that Gen Urobuchi wrote in accordance to her identity in Fate/Stay Night, depicting her with the end result of her character in mind. Madoka Magica, on the other hand, is something that is entirely Gen Urobuchi’s idea, and while it was above average, I’m not really a fan of the show. There are a lot of world-building problems, and the characters were depressingly one-note and not all that developed (with the exceptions of Homura and Sayaka). Then there’s Psycho-Pass. I consider this anime to be the epitome of Gen Urobuchi just being Gen Urobuchi. It’s dark, grim, attempts to be philosophical, and boy the amount of dialogue in this anime rivals Christopher Nolan movies. So, is Psycho-Pass any good, or is it a shot in the dark? Sit back, relax, and read on as I review Psycho-Pass.

The Setup:
Taking place in a Japan of a dystopian future, we are introduced to the Sybil System, a system that dictates every motion of human life. Most importantly, the system measures the crime coefficients of their citizens, or their Psycho-Pass. If your Psycho-Pass is clear and your crime coefficient is under 100, then you’re less likely to commit a crime. If your Psycho-Pass is cloudy and your crime coefficient is high, then you’re declared a latent criminal and are either put under arrest, sent to a therapy organization, or killed, depending on how high your crime coefficient is. The police force focused on in the show is Unit 1, and the officers use special guns called Dominators that kill, paralyze, or are harmless depending on the crime coefficient of the target; in other words, the guns basically do all the dirty work while the inspector doesn’t use their own opinion or will to judge them. Meet Akane Sunomori, a new inspector for Unit 1 who, on the first night of the job, is introduced to the “hunting dogs” of the police (Fullmetal Alchemist anyone?) called Enforcers. They are latent criminals whose crime coefficients have raised to a point of no return, and they do the dirty work for the Inspectors so the Inspectors’ Psycho-Passes won’t rise. The Enforcer who captures Akane’s attention, however, is the mysterious Shinya Kogami, a silent man who seems to hate his work but carries it out regardless. As the two become closer, they delve deeper into a conspiracy plot that threatens to destroy the world that they live in today. To be perfectly honest, I have no problems whatsoever with the setup. In fact, I think it’s brilliant. A dystopian world where people are judged solely based on a logical reading rather than a judicial system and human error? Sign me up! It’s realistic in a sense, because our society is becoming more and more dependent on technology, and, while I’ll cover this more in the story section, the show does do a great job of showcasing possible ways in which technology will eventually control society. I wish I could say that much for the rest of the show, but I can’t.

The setup promised an interesting and deep science fiction anime; yet that is not the case

The Characters:

Oh boy, the characters. While there were a few exceptions, the characters were not very memorable, and I’m pretty sure that the only reason that half of them were there is to explain everything to the audience. As I stated before, Gen Urobuchi loves dialogue, and Psycho-Pass is filled to the brim with overly complex and uninteresting dialogue. Some might argue that this is because I watched the English version and not the Japanese, but let’s be real here folks; the translators had to translate the Japanese into English, so it’s not like the Japanese dub is free of guilt. I also get the feeling that if I were watching this anime in subs, I would fall right to sleep, because I hate reading exposition even more than I hate listening to it. Okay, I know that some exposition is required in order to explain some of the necessities of the world that the story takes place in, but there’s a fine line between explaining what a story is about and explaining every…single…DETAIL…about everything that’s happening. This deprives pretty much every character of both depth and personality, as all they did half the time is explain everything. I also can’t help but criticize the fact that the characters don’t talk like normal people. The expositional dialogue just makes them feel like robots, and I was actually begging the cast to show some form of human interaction throughout the entire anime. There was one moment where Kogami snaps at a robot, saying, “What’s your problem?”, but that’s the only scene that I can remember. And it was with a freaking ROBOT! The only exceptions were Akane and Ginoza, another inspector in Unit 1. Akane is actually a very well written character, with clear character development from a naïve police officer into a hardened detective, who will stop at nothing to solve a case. She is also presented to the viewer as flawed, and someone who doesn’t always win. This made her rather relatable, but the only problem is the fact that she wasn’t especially interesting; in fact, the only reason I liked her at all is because of her wonderful development. Then there’s Ginoza. Again, he’s held down by exposition, but he’s the only character besides Akane that actually came across as human to me. He isn’t always likable, he can be standoffish, and is insecure about what he really wants to be in life and whether or not following the Sybil system is the correct choice. I especially liked where his character went in terms of development, and it’s the only subtle aspect about the entire show. Now that I think about it, in most of the reviews I’ve read, Ginoza is never mentioned. Why is that? He’s the best character in the entire show! There are two other characters that are important to the plot, which are Kogami and Makishima. Kogami is the standard “cool” character, and nothing about him truly stood out. Sure, he was enjoyable to watch, but he was encumbered more by the exposition than any other character except for Makishima. Makishima is a character that the creators tried to make interesting, but he’s someone who I would call the prime example of why these show’s characters are flat and boring. All he does is quote literature, and I mean it when I say that that’s all he does. Everything he says always seems to be a literary allusion, and it’s actually what angered me the most about him. Gen Urobuchi, I’m glad that you like English literature. I’m glad that you think it’s brilliant. But, let’s be real for a second; just because you quote something that’s smart doesn’t make you smart, unless that specific quote truly exemplifies what the point is that you’re trying to get across; but even then, you’re essentially stealing someone else’s work. For example, there’s a point where Makishima quotes Moby Dick, and it has no point whatsoever. In fact, I’m going to provide a scenario where a Moby Dick quote would make sense: say that Kogami is fighting Makishima, and Makishima realizes just how determined Kogami is to take him down. He could then say, “There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.” This would refer to Kogami being wise in his ordeals to catch an evil villain, but that there’s also a madness in his work, a madness that caused Kogami’s crime coefficient to go haywire and cause Kogami to become obsessed with his work. Granted, it would still feel out of place and forced, which is the cast’s main problem to begin with, but at least it would make sense. The side characters have little to no merits, which are disappointing, but it’s far from this show’s worst flaw.

Makishima: 

The Story:

The story of Psycho-Pass was solid and was paced rather well. The first half mainly deals with a "criminal-of-the-week" type plot, and then the second half focuses more on Makishima. Though it's not bad, I felt like it was rather standard for a dystopian setup, which is really disappointing. Well, maybe it’s just because I’ve read and seen a lot of stories within this genre, but it’s still kind of generic. My main problem with the story, however, is the fact that everything seems to be set up to make you interpret it, whether it is the dialogue or the visuals. This is probably the biggest problem of Psycho-Pass; it seems desperate to make you think about its deeper meanings and themes without really displaying them through character interactions, which is where themes are normally present. As a comparison, think of Edward and Alphonse Elric. Through their interactions with each other, you learn that one of the main themes of Fullmetal Alchemist is family and the importance of kin. The theme isn’t forced upon you, but, rather, displayed through the two characters. Sure, they also bring it up in their conversations, but it’s because of a conflict or some other reason, not just for the sake of bringing it up. These aspects make the themes a lot more powerful as the anime shows how it affects the two characters. Psycho-Pass decided to take the opposite route, by forgetting about the fact that themes are brought up through character interactions and just flat-out telling us what it wants us to think. For example: “Oh, is technology bad? Well of course it is, but we’re also so reliant on it! What should we do? Choose a side already! We must rely on humanity, as we are the ones who defend the law!” Do you notice how different it is when I just tell you what the themes are rather than incorporating them into character interactions? All it does is slow the story down and dehumanize the characters, therefore making Psycho-Pass not such an enjoyable experience. The anime, however, does do a pretty good job displaying a society that's been consumed by technology. It took advantage of how we use technology today and increased it exponentially, but never to the point where it's unrealistic. It's a logical view of the future, which is essential for any dystopian show. The show was at its best when it focused more on action than it did dialogue, of which admittedly Gen Urobuchi is really good at writing. If there’s one thing I’ll praise in both Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica, their action scenes were fantastic, and Psycho-Pass’ were no exception. The problem is the fact that there aren’t a lot of action scenes; the majority of the show is just focusing on uninteresting characters talking about pretentious things. That doesn’t sound very entertaining to me.  

The story focuses on Akane as she discovers a conspiracy behind the Sybil System

The Animation/Sound:

Produced by Production IG, all I can really say is the fact that the animation is standard for the production company. It’s fluid, stylish, nails the dystopian look, and has great character designs. I especially liked the blue lighting that was featured whenever the dominators were used, and the little touches that one might not normally notice. For example, if you watch the flashback episode (episode 12, to be exact), take a good look at Kogami in comparison to what he looks like in a normal episode. You’ll see that he looks a lot thinner and not as broad as the modern Kogami, which shows how life as an Enforcer has changed him physically. Interesting addition, no? As for the music, the OST is pretty good, with the best song being Dominator. It will be featured below. The openings and endings are all a good listen too, with my personal favorite being the first opening. Strangely enough, it was the most deep and thoughtful part of the show; though that’s a really sad fact when you think about it. Then, should you watch it in Japanese or English? Um…I guess you should just go with your personal opinion. The dub isn’t bad, but the performances are also affected by the sheer amount of bland dialogue and therefore just sound boring and uninteresting. I’m not sure if the Japanese dub is better, but, hey, to each his own.

Dominator: