Psycho-Pass 2

There’s no easy way to describe the Psycho Pass franchise. To put it together it simply, the story becomes a complex tale to tell in a dystopian world. Just think about it: imagine if you feel like being watched 24/7 in a Big Brother style surveillance society. How would you feel about that? Fearful? That should be a normal feeling considering every person is measured by a state of being known as ‘Psycho Pass’. It tells the limits of a person’s mental state and their probability to commit a crime. This may sound all cool and dandy but in reality is a system with so ... many possibilities. Psycho Pass 2 serves as the direct sequel of the first season to bring those possibilities into chaotic levels.

The second season revolves around several changes. Technical wise, Production I.G. is no longer in charge of the project (oddly enough, they are still involved with the movie production). Instead, we get Tatsunoko Production directed by Kiyotaka Suzuki. Secondly, the series only runs approximately half the length of the first season. That’s right. 11 episodes and apparently, the show is confident enough to craft a story based on the setup of the premise and what it has shown us from the first season. Make no mistake though, certain characters do make returns while new ones are added. Finally, there’s an absence of Shinya Kogami. There’s obvious reasons why he doesn’t appear in this sequel especially for fans who have seen the first season. In regards to these changes, this sequel brings a different picture to view.

From the start, the second season offers a story involving a new mysterious case. To end, it also adds a host of new characters as well as returning ones from the first season. Protagonist and inspector Akane Tsunemori returns after learning the truth about the Sybil System. Her choice is to obey the system by following a philosophy of doing the right thing is in her mind. Joining her includes Ginoza, Yayoi, and Shion as part of the new police unit. They also get some new helping hands including six new characters who plays a variety of roles in the second season. While the show still retains their state of duty, the season is left without Kagami, a man who dealt pivotal blows against the system. At the same time, the Sybil System itself reveals startling new revelations that may change the story forever. For Akane, this season is also about her own personal battle and against another mysterious individual. This can easily be seen at the conclusion of the first episode as we meet Kirito Kamui, a mysterious antagonist who tampers with the Sybil System.

Let’s get a few other things out of the way. The absence of certain characters is something that season 2 suffers from when it comes to expansive development. Fans who have become attached to Kogami will surely feel disappointed with his lack of presence. And to make it worse, we no longer have Makishima Shougo (for obvious reasons). He was a complex character with a dark personality and a difficult antagonist to replace. It’ll take time for people to get used to a guy like Kamui despite their similar dark personalities. Still, there’s also a mistake about the second season with the addition with Mika when it comes to her characterization. The first episode leaves no time to depict her character as someone who is literally a complainer desperately trying to defend the Sybil System. Her ignorance and opposition against her own boss Akane is something to that can be on the line of hair pulling annoyance. At some point of the show, it would come as no surprise if most viewers label Mika to be an idiot.

Despite the additions of such a foil character, the new season still has enough to keep fans involved and eagerly await each episode. I can say this with confidence as some episodes leaves off with thrilling cliffhangers after a built-up of events. It’s also easy to interpret the show that is shrouded in mystery with secrets and foreshadowing. There are also parts during the season as we witness Kamui commence with his plans in secret with hidden motives. It’s easy to tell that he is the type of man who is careful with his moves after he kidnaps and seemingly brainwashes Mizue Shisui, an inspector from Division 2. His smooth talking tells us that he is quite a manipulative character who uses words as his primary weapon to get people to join his side. Not only that but he seems to be personally interested in Akane, a contrast to Season 1’s Makishima Shougo where he is disappointed at her actions. Like I mentioned before, Akane fights on personal terms with her internal struggles as his friends, family, and comrades are put in danger. Season 2 exploits many points with twists of fate with a grim sense of purpose.

There are definitely some problems with the direction of the episodes in this season. In particular, one episode introduces a group of new characters from another unit; a direction that I feel as inappropriate with the lack of characterization already on the current roster. But let’s make this worse. This one particular episode turns into a sour blood fest after some choices are made based on the behavior of the Sybil System. And if you want to guess, Mika is as useless as ever while Akane herself does little to secure the problem. What we get in the end is nothing more than more exposition and graphic violence to add to the shock factor. There’s also the situational ‘cat and mouse’ gimmick that returns in this season as the new police unit begins to hunt down Kamui. Guess who is Tom and who is Jerry. Still, the main part of the show’s problem revolves with Kamui’s methods to manipulate people. A part of his past connects with events of the present that deconstructs the way the Sybil System work. Unlike season 1 that is focused on the flaws of the system, it now becomes a shallow writing with terribly mishandled concept. Honestly, if that is the method that Kamui uses to manipulate people, then this season is doomed. You’ll have to watch it yourself to discover the stone cold truth.

Character relationships are of minimal impact and nothing on par with Akane and Kagami’s development from season 1. There are also strange twists thrown in revolving around with Tougane as well as Mika learns of a terrible fact. Otherwise, most of the other new characters lacks any depth with their characterization. Even Ginoza becomes less interesting despite his initial impressive introduction in this season. I say this with a potential romance angle that was doomed from the very start. Finally, don’t forget about Mika. Or perhaps, I think it should be in best of interests to forget her as much as possible since she is so focused on her own ideology. (even after being exposed to the truth) It’s hard for anyone to feel sorry for her to be honest.

I’ll warn you right now. This show can be a bit of a pain to the stomach at times to watch. If you’re not used to gore and blood fests, then some of the episodes will not be suitable enough. For shock value and blatant attempts to illustrate the grim society of this show’s world, we get graphic violence. With total uncensored footage, there’s bodies exploding with blood raining down that makes this Fall Season’s Terra Formars’ violence look like a joke. On top of that, the show’s visuals downgrades a bit on some episodes with character expressions. You won’t notice it much since it’s not as explicit as the actual violence. Nonetheless, the artwork is only decent with the setting and character designs. I do give some praise to the action sequences though except some parts that are lazily coordinated.

Soundtrack is perhaps a stronger aspect of the sequel. While it doesn’t surpass season 1 in any way, there’s a good measure of coordinating the cryptic OP song to illustrate its themes. Not only that but the OST remains top notch during key moments in this season. Unfortunately, character voice mannerisms becomes a concern at times especially with people like Mika and Sho. The season’s soundtrack does rebound this back though with some of the expressive tones during climatic moments, usually thriller endings that makes the audience hunger for more.

By the end of this season, I scratch my head to wonder what went wrong with the second season. It had a good momentum from the beginning with the introduction of new characters and antagonists. We also found out more of the season’s motives especially involving Akane. Then somewhere down that road, the season decided to turn into bloated writing of its former self. It becomes a shameless example of how not to do a sequel. And in this case, the characters too follow down a road of deconstructing formulation. Now, this season isn’t garbage though especially when it comes to some action and technical features. The initial few episodes in the beginning had a solid momentum and almost every episode leaves with a feeling of thrills; to keep the audience in their seats to look forward to more. There are moments that makes me hunger for more but in the end, it still remains meh.

Psycho-Pass was undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the best, anime of the fall and winter season of 2012. So naturally, when a sequel was announced, people got really excited. They wanted to see more of the mind-games, more of the great characters, and more of the badass detective Kougami. And did this sequel deliver? Not at all.

Before I get into the review, I’d like to give a warning to those who haven’t seen season one of Psycho-Pass since this review will contain a few spoilers of the first season, also, go and watch the first season, like, right now. I’ll also say that, ... as much as I don’t want to, I will inevitably draw comparisons between both seasons.
Also, there’s a TL;DR at the end.


Story:- 5/10

Our story continues from about two years after where the last season ended. We see some familiar faces among our main cast, including Akane Tsunemori. We’re also introduced to two new enforcers(Tougane and Hinakawa) and one new inspector who was show at the end of the first season, Mika Shimotsuki(I’ll get into her character later). From there on, the show begins with a new antagonist, (whose name I cannot reveal, so I’ll just call him ‘K’ for the rest of the review.). The story then becomes a detective story of the police force chasing ‘K’.

The story of Psycho-Pass 2 is nowhere near as good as the first season. The reason for this comes from many different factors. The first, and in my opinion, the biggest contributing factor to the story’s lousiness, comes from the fact that this season is only 11 episodes long, half of the first season. That is the fundamental reason of why this story is flawed. 11 episodes is usually not enough time to create any detective story, let alone a complex one. This short length results in massive pacing problems which dampened my personal experience of the show.

The story aims to do too much in such a short span of time. In fact, it houses 4 arcs, in 11 episodes!
First there’s the obligatory introduction that took 2 episodes. Then there’s 3 other arcs, each of approximately 3 episodes(I won’t go into detail since, you know, spoilers)

The second reason as to why this story isn’t good, is the change of writers between both seasons. While I won’t blame the new writer for the bland story, I still think that keeping the same writers in both seasons would’ve been the better choice. For reference the writer for the first season was Gen Urobuchi, the man responsible behind such shows like, Fate/Zero and Madoka Magika, while the new writer (for the script) was Jun Kumagai, who definitely did not have the same acclaim as Urobuchi.

While I will say that the pacing and writing were bad, the story wasn’t terrible, it had a few positives along with the negatives, for example, a both of the arcs in the middle were pretty good, even if they were rushed.

Overall, the story had good promise, and it did fine, but the execution did not reach expectations. With 11 more episodes, and a better writer, this problem could’ve easily been avoided.


Art and Animation:- 9/10

The animation was something that I cannot complain about too much. The art style of the show remains relatively the same, following the saying the “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.”

The animation feels very fluent in all the scenes, and in scenes that had some blood in them this show went all out, similar to the first season. All the action and gore heavy scenes were the main highlights in the show, and even in scenes where nothing was really happening, the animation was still good. The opening and ending animations are also very well done.

Although, I do have a few nitpicks. Sadly, the show still has the habit of making some human characters look stoned, mainly, Akane. Then there are the new character designs, which frankly, most of them look average to just bad. Even the main antagonist ‘K’ wasn’t very threatening at all, far from the brilliantly designed Makashima from the first season. Even the new enforcers, didn’t have that great of designs.

Another fault I find with the animation, is that the show rarely strays away from its comfort zone, meaning that the show doesn’t take a lot of risks with its animation at all, in fact I’d even go as far as to say that the animation did become a bit bland and tasteless at times.

But still these are mere nitpicks that aren’t too noticeable, so honestly, the animation of the show is great.


Sound:- 6/10

The soundtrack of Psycho-Pass 2, while bearable, did not rectify the flaws that the soundtrack of the first season had. While I still like the soundtrack for both seasons, they just don’t do that much for me. The soundtrack still lacks any track that I can listen to outside of the anime, excepting one or two tracks.

Although, while the soundtrack is a bit tasteless; the opening and ending for this season were not. Paired with some great animation, both the opening and ending are really good song that I rarely skipped over.

The voice actors also do their jobs pretty well, both in the dub (which is airing currently) and the sub. The main problem with the sub (or dub) was the distinct lack of any outstanding voice actor, the main reason for this being the absence of Kougami and Makashima in this season.

Overall, while the soundtrack was good, it wasn’t up to par. The opening and ending are both very well done, and the voice actors are good, but sometimes feel a bit bland.


Characters:- 3/10

This is the part where Psycho-Pass 2 lacked the most. The characters in the first season were all very well developed, and even the side characters had proper development. This season just threw that out the window and instead gave no development to any of the characters; aside from the one I hated the most.

A big fault I find with the show’s characters is that none of the side characters were given any respect by the writers. One of the main reasons I loved the first season is because of the side characters and their development, but this season just doesn’t do that.

But that’s not the biggest problem, far from it. The biggest problem this show’s characters have is the main characters, including the main antagonist ‘K’. The main characters comprise of ‘K’, Akane, the new enforcer Tougane, and the new inspector Mika. None of these characters are developed well, at all.

1. Akane Tsunemori:- Akane is the main character for both the first and second seasons of Psycho-Pass. Her character was first introduced (in the first season) as a young learning inspector. By the beginning of the second season, her character had matured, and she has learned to handle situations much more efficiently. But this leads to the problem in the second season. Her character had already developed to extreme heights. Thus, her development in the second season is practically non-existent.

2. Sakuya Tougane:- Tougane is the new enforcer in division 1 (Akane’s Division). His character acts as a “replacement” for the absence of Kougami. .. And that’s pretty much all I can reveal about him, mainly because most of the rest of his character is a gigantic spoiler. But even though he has a large role in the story, his character doesn’t change throughout the show. His character seems like more of a plot-device than an actual character.

3. ‘K’:- ‘K’ is the main antagonist that we learn more about as the show progresses. Now, without spoiling anything, the main criticism I have against him is his goal. His goal, to me, seems extremely basic, and at times I feel that it is uninspired.

4. Mika:- Now, for Mika. Mika is the absolute worst character in this show. By far. Her attitude to both enforcers and Akane herself is complete disrespect, and she believes that all that the Sybil decides is correct. Even to the extent that she would disobey her own superiors. But the most annoying thing about her character is that she was the only person who had potential to improve as a character, but she doesn’t. Her character could’ve easily matured in a way similar to how Akane’s character matured in the first season, and unfortunately, she doesn’t.

Overall, by the end of the show, none of the characters really developed well. The side characters weren’t given any development, and the main characters are either developed very little, or they aren’t developed at all. This lack of development could also be blamed on the short length of the show.


Enjoyment:- 8/10

While I did rag on the show a lot, I must admit that during my time watching it I really did have a good time. Even when the show ripped itself apart during the final arc, I did enjoy it, albeit, for the wrong reasons. The 2 major flaws that dampened my enjoyment, was the hilariously bad story, and the annoying piece of trash, that was Mika.


Pros:
-Brilliant setting
-Very good animation
-Decent soundtrack
-Enjoyable to a certain degree
-The 2 arcs in the middle were very good
-Good opening and ending
-Good Sub as well as Sub

Cons:
-Disappointment in comparison to the first season
-Bland and hastily written story
-The lack of Kougami could disappoint some people
-The main villain wasn’t good
-Character development is non-existent
-Terrible pacing


TL;DR Overall, the show was a huge let-down to people who liked the first season. It’s small number of episodes leads to the bad pacing, as well as the lack of character development. The main villain didn’t have a very interesting goal, and the side characters were completely ignored. For people who are expecting Kougami in this season don’t, he doesn’t even physically appear in the show. The animation of the show is great, and the soundtrack is decent. I enjoyed it while I was watching it, and I think most people will too. As long as you don’t think about it, you’ll at least enjoy it. Thus, this leads me to giving this show a rating of:-

OVERALL:- 6.2/10

This second season of Psycho-Pass introduces a new villain in the form of Kamui who is trying to shake things up with the current society in place being ran by the Sibyl System much like Makishima did in the prior season. Akane has a mostly new team of Inspectors and Enforcers to assist her in this case as she tries to figure out Kamui's motives and origins as he manipulates others to join in his cause.

Unlike the first season, Psycho Pass 2 is quite a mess in terms of writing and the amount of time it has to explore things. The first season took its ... time with exploring the unique problems that plagued Japan with the Sibyl System running society, fleshing out its cast and unveiling the true nature and motives surrounding Makishima and the Sibyl System. The 22-episode count for it was enough time for you to think about and feel for the problems facing the major characters and those living within the so-called utopia that the Sibyl System provided.

For this second season though, the writing for the plot isn't as well thought out as a good number of the plot twists and revelations revealed regarding Kamui's origins and his plans in defying the Sibyl System are rushed through and the series relies on infodump expositions at points to fully reveal its story instead of fully showing you what happens. In addition, the majority of new characters introduced in this series either get little fleshing out or are so incompetent that you have to wonder why they were allowed to fill character space. Having this season at 11 episodes greatly limited the amount of time the series could have to explore its plot and characters. Plus unlike its first season, it didn't seem like this series had a clear focus on what it wanted to explore as subjects such as Akane's mental state and the Sibyl System running into some sort of omnipotence paradox are brought up yet either don't get properly developed or they get poorly elaborated on thanks to the show's rushed pace. It seemed like whomever was responsible for directing this season of Psycho-Pass was more focused on highlighting the spectacle of the series instead of the themes it explored from the first season.

About the only genuine praise I can give this second season to Psycho-Pass is its visual presentation. It isn't much different from the first season meaning the high quality animation is retained here with its highly detailed scenic shots and character designs, fluid and intense action scenes and nicely rendered CG animation used for patrol bots, vehicles and Dominators. For as much of a mess as the story was, Psycho-Pass 2 is still one of the year's best titles in terms of visual quality.

But putting aside its animation, Psycho-Pass 2 is still among one of this year's biggest disappointments as a follow-up to its excellent first season. Its storytelling was a mess and the 11-episode run of it limited how much time the series could get into with fleshing out its plot and characters without having to resort to info dumping. Will have to see if the upcoming movie for this will be any better than this pitiful sequel to it.

Somebody needs to tell these producers that it's not okay to replace character development and a real plotline with blood and brains spewing all over the place. Psycho-Pass 2 was literally gore galore, and I can't say I was too happy about it, either. Honestly, I saw more Lethal Dominator (ab)use in one episode than I did for practically the entirety of the first season, and the exploding heads and bodies things just kind of got lame after the first 30 times it happened...

So yeah, flying bloody body parts aside, I have to say that Psycho-Pass season 2 was a really big letdown for ... me. Was there a single aspect of the original series that didn't go wrong in this season? As it turns out, the answer is no.

The plot continues along the same vein of the first season, but struggles and ultimately fails to encompass new ideas about the Sibyl System. The way things were set up in the first season, I was actually expecting Akane to do something about Sibyl in this sequel. Instead of that, all we got were a bunch of strange paradoxical theories and conspiracies that really had no bearing on the show's themes anyway. Jouji's speeches were so confusing and so incredibly irrelevant to the point that I wanted to spew blood everywhere whenever he started talking.

Actually, I take that back. The only part of the show that actually got me seriously wanting to vomit blood was the cast. Half the characters were boring as hell, and the other half were just ... there.

Like, come on: Saiga Jouji makes his reappearance for half of the episodes but it's so obvious that he was just stuck into the story so he could make the plot move. You have Hinakawa, Kagari's completely inferior and practically useless replacement, whose only defining moment was the scene where he called Akane 'big sister'. You have Ginoza, who's a complete disconnect from his character in the first season. He lost his personality along with his glasses, and has a grand total of about 20 lines throughout the whole show. And then you have Shimotsuki Mika, the one character that everybody wanted to strangle to death within the first 10 minutes of episode 1, and really didn't do anything except crap her pants in front of Togane a couple of times and cry a lot.

Togane was actually pretty interesting, up until they butchered his backstory and dragged him down with that mockery of a season finale. I have to admit, I already was slightly peeved at him from the beginning because he was obviously Kougami's replacement (and what was with Kougami's smoke-spectre visiting Akane all the time, anyway?) but besides having the highest recorded Crime Coefficient in history, he didn't actually end up doing anything that interesting.

And lastly, let's talk about Akane. Out of all the characters, she was the biggest disappointment for me - her character was stale, predictable, and showed no development throughout the series. Even after seeing her grandmother's ear in a box and discovering just how screwed up Sibyl is, none of her previous beliefs were even slightly shaken. Yeah, I get that she's supposed to be grown-up and badass, but that doesn't mean that she also has to have the emotional range of a rock. I wanted to see her scream, lose her temper, do something besides act like some frigid, stereotypically perfect police officer poster child that is definitely not the Akane that I know and love from season one.

The art, animation and sound were all average. The OP was pretty cool, but all it did was get my hopes up for the season, especially after that one shot with Kougami tied to the chair. Not sure what relevance that had to the show, seeing as we never actually saw him. Hmm.

If you liked the first season of Psycho-Pass, I would not recommend watching the second one. Besides feeling clipped due to its 11 episode length and having the most melodramatic season finale I've ever seen for such a hyped-up sequel, the characters are not up to par and the plot is confusing and over-complicated. Unless watching people burn alive to the tune of opera music is your kind of thing, I would recommend steering clear of Psycho-Pass 2.

Psycho-Pass 2, like many other sequels, tries to top its predecessor with more blood, more torture and more revelations, only to ultimately forget why the audience enjoyed the original in the first place.

To say that Psycho-Pass 2 didn't have its high point would be false, as the series can still, at the very least, serve as an enjoyable sci-fi action series. However, because the story was constantly trying to shock the audience, many individual episodes didn't contribute much to the story. The early episodes are almost complete copies of those in the first Psycho-Pass, but on a broader scale. Perhaps the series was trying ... to re-immerse the audience in this "utopian" society, but as this series came out only a year and a half after the first Psycho-Pass, this seems highly redundant. It tries to make up for the lack of mystery encompassing the setting with new characters and higher stakes, but the gravity of the situation never feels earned.

These new characters are disappointingly hollow, with only Togane (and arguably Shimotsuki, but the less said about her the better) standing out; to make matters worse, old characters like Ginoza and Shion are side-lined. However, there is one major positive- Akane Tsunemori is now a strong, intelligent and believable heroine. Her actions, be they good or bad, normally feel quite natural, based on her past and present situation. She doesn't act pretentious or egotistic, and her likable character makes this lacklustre cast more bearable. Kamui doesn't approach Makishima in terms of presence, memorability or even intrigue. Lacking in charisma and having to rely on tasteless gore to stand-out, he isn't anything that hasn't been seen before.

Speaking of falling short of the original, the animation quality certainly isn't up to par, despite this series being half its length. Generally opting for generic backgrounds and over utilising CGI, this series is quite a disappointment production wise, particularly from the acclaimed Production I.G., though still slightly above average. The colour palette wasn't tasteful either, with an unusual amount of orange (which, as Aldnoah Zero viewers would know, is difficult to like) contrasting the stronger crimsons and blues applied in the first series.

The sound was appropriate, with the score generally suiting the scene. The application of bombastic classical music did unfortunately ruin one scene, though that scene's writing was so shoddy that Yoko Kanno probably couldn't have saved it. The opening wasn't too pleasant, with enough jarring repeat shots to induce an epileptic fit. The singer's voice definitely isn't to my taste, and I would have much preferred if "Nothing Carved in Stone" returned for the opening. The ending, however, was one of my favourites from 2014, though the lack of visually interesting material prevented it from rising to the level of Zankyo no Terror's ending.

Ultimately, this sequel was watchable. It had a couple of interesting characters, above-average animation and a fantastic ending song. Unfortunately, it squandered its potential with the poor utilisation of its cast, shoving unearned tragedy and gore in the audience's faces, and failing to capitalise on its predecessor's success. It isn't particularly memorable, or intelligent, but those looking for some light, R-Rated entertainment should walk away satisfied.

*Note: Review written under the assumption that readers have watched the original Psycho-Pass. If not, proceed with a spoiler warning*

In a world where an entity judges your mental condition, there ought to be a couple of problems. Psycho-Pass 2 investigates one in particular, how can you judge a group of individuals when you are the same type of group yourself? If you brand them negatively, doesn't that just mirror yourself?

Story - 6/10
The MWPSB are working on a case different from anyone they've encountered before. In fact it is a series of crimes all vandalized with the letters "WC?" or as we later learn not so ... far into the series, "What color?". The mystery intensifies as the perpetrators are all connected by one thing - Kamui. They mutter his name under their breath and attribute their crimes under his name. But who is Kamui? What does "What color" mean? Who are they asking it to? All questions are (kind of) resolved.

Story wise, not bad, but not strong either. The psycho-pass world is very interesting, and I felt that they didn't do it justice as well as they did in the first series. Of course, usually sequels are no match for the original, but this took that difference to a whole other level. The execution of this plot was really....confusing. I personally was not able to understand everything that was going on, and had to look up summaries online after each episode. Many can consider this as only a matter of personal comprehension, but talking to other fans of the series drew many of the same conclusions. Perhaps someone who is quick to understand will probably enjoy the plot itself a lot better than I did.

Art 8/10
As always, the art in Psycho-Pass 2 was near flawless. Key word "near". There were times (especially in the last episodes) where the animators obviously got a little lazy. But it didn't affect my watching of the show. I also noticed that the color of blood (of course there was going to be a vast amount of blood in this anime, what did you expect?) was changed in some scenes to make it seem less gory, which kind of did the trick. I'm not super sure on why some shows do this in general (to me, knowing the blood is not real is enough to make me not feel super queasy), but this minor change is understandable.

Honestly, the art was probably the best part of this show.

Sound 7/10
Not going to go super deep into this, but sound in general was fine. The background music wasn't really distinguishable but I could sit through it. The opening was definitely something of my tastes (Ling Tosite Sigure always maintaining that great vibe) and the closing was, dare I say, better than those of Psycho-Pass? Not too much to say about sound this time.

Character 6/10
Akane showed the most potential to show character development, and true she did develop some.
I liked how she used Kougami in her head to work out some of the cases (yes, I am a Kougami fangirl, I can't help it), but other than that, her personality was very flat, and only in the end did she show sparks of emotion. The fact that I can't even remember some of her appearances in episodes should say enough about my feelings as of this series towards Akane (note that I did really like her in PP1)

Togane. Oh, Togane. Togane is a new member of the group, and he is an enforcer. I really, really liked his backstory, but as a character himself, he remained pretty stoic until the end ( wow, I'm sensing a pattern here!). Although, he always did have an air of mystery around him that added to the suspense of the show, but other than that, I didn't see a purpose of him being there. I think the story could have flowed a little bit smoother if they got rid of his ultimate "goal", but not a major dent in the plot over all.

As for Kamui himself, I'm afraid I can't do a detailed character review without spoiling too much. Yes, you do get to see Kamui, but that is where my information stops. I actually think he is pretty interesting and an amazing plot device. Seems to be the only character that I was content with.

For the others, I'll summarize a bit. A little upset that Gino and Shion did not get a larger role in the series. I also did not like Shimotsuki, the new inspector we met at the end of PP1, but I think that was the point of her character. I did like Hinakawa and Saiga, although for Saiga I was a little confused on what exactly he was doing the entire time. But a little internet researching aided me.

Enjoyment 5/10
I really, really hate to say it, but I did not enjoy PP2 as much as I thought I would. I was easily bored through each episode, and I never became excited to see a new episode. It was like I was forcing myself to watch it.

*Another thing: Kougami*
If you are expecting to see Kougami in this series, don't bother. Sorry to break it to you, but honey, he doesn't come. I know, I know, I was sad too.

Overall 6/10

If you are expecting PP2 to be just like the first, you will be disappointed. But, I do recommend you still watch it, but just for the sake of saying you watched it. Not a bad show, but wasn't up to the standard I wanted it to be.

Thanks for taking the time for reading this review!

(This has been adapted from my reddit thread)

Society as we know it exists for one simple reason: law. The rules and regulations put in place are there not as containment, but as verifiable measures for how a person should behave and act on a daily basis. Breaking the rules metes out punishment. Following the law makes one a stand-up citizen. The entity that delivers the final justice is usually known as a government or a tribunal. In other words, a collective existence. Then the important question arises: who judges the judger? In Psycho-Pass 2, the sequel to the very popular Psycho-Pass, explores the answer.

STORY

Psycho-Pass 2 ... begins more or less where the original ended. After a few months, Akane Tsunemori leads a new group of Enforcers with rookie Inspector Shimotsuki. During one mission, an ominous name and question is asked, sparking a wild series of events.

The original Psycho-Pass accomplished essentially three things: developing the world, unveiling the secret, and investigating the idea of morality versus law. To expand further on the latter, the first season explored what it means to do the right action versus the lawful action. This puts the second season in a particular situation. The world does not need any building; we've had that and then some from the first season. There is no huge secret to shock us with; it already happened. This leaves the final portion. That is, what does Psycho-Pass 2 try to do?

What the anime does is tackle the notion of a "perfect judge." An entity so all-knowing and powerful that it is capable of dishing out the correct amount of justice, every time, without fail. Like the original Psycho-Pass, it's an interesting theme that has connections to reality. Looking at the United States, its a country "of the people, for the people, and by the people." The U.S. government judges its citizens, but we in turn judge the government: elections, voting, and impeachment are common practices. Sybil, the "government" of Psycho-Pass, is different. Their conclusions are final, and there is no affecting their decisions...until this season.

In order to go about this, the show incorporates a "mistake," an anomaly in the system that causes those in play to think about just how perfect everything seems. Its a rather interesting situation if only because it creates a paradoxical outcome in which the answer is quite clear.

But there are two large obstacles that impede along the way. First, is the subplot involving numerous members of the cast. Its inclusion doesn't do much of anything except deter from the prominent theme that the show was investigating. It contained a half-baked attempt at a "twist" that wasn't trying to mirror the first season, but was at least trying to emulate it to an extent. For now, the sub-plot served little purpose. Little because its effects on one particular character should become important with the final movie. But for now, we are left scratching our heads as to why such mindless events were taken in the first place.

Speaking of mindless, the violence throughout the anime is very distracting. Now, Psycho-Pass is known for being quite bloody, there is no denying that. But here, the violence is portrayed differently. The first season had violence as a byproduct of the goals in mind. Here in the second season, violence wasn't the byproduct and instead became the goal. Each and every encounter involves massive casualties, body parts, and gruesome acts that don't contribute to the narrative. Rather, they merely take away from the story Psycho-Pass 2 was attempting to weave.

ANIMATION

Following in its predecessor's footsteps, Psycho-Pass 2 maintains the same art style. The characters are normally deathly pale, the city is dark and dangerous, and the Dominators are CG animated. It's a familiarity that is welcome to see, bringing fans of the series right back into the thick of things from the get-go.

Actual animation is tougher to critique, mainly because Psycho-Pass is generally dialogue heavy. The characters, therefore, are usually found sitting or standing around, talking with one another about the upcoming mission or the leads and facts found from an investigation. It does have its moments: while the violence is distracting, it is quite detailed, shootouts involve rogue robots, etc. When it can, the show does what it can to show that it's more than just a bunch of people chatting.

CHARACTERS

Psycho-Pass is known for its unfortunately weak protagonists. This time around, it's definitely more of a mixed bag. Let's focus on who I consider the most important.

Akane started out as a shy and timid young woman looking to find her place within the system. After the events of the first season, she has become a stalwart defender of society, looking to bring about the justice that she deems adequate. She's kind to her subordinates, but extremely determined when it comes to matters of the law. Her instincts are often right, making her the perfect Inspector. The evolution she receives over the course of the first season, thanks to the antagonist and a friendly Enforcer, was interesting to see. This season, Akane actually doesn't see much development at all. She starts hardened and clear and ends with the same convictions she's maintained all along. The focus appears to be on Akane, as the rather poor sub-plot revolves around her, but she's not. Instead, it's Shimotsuki. We'll get to her a little bit later.

A new Enforcer in the squad, Tougane embodies the "three C's": calm, cool, and collected. But like most men with a sinister face, scraggly hair, and jet-black clothing, there hides a more devilish side. His motivations do not become evident until later on. And what motivations they are. What drives him is simple compassion, but what he does, what he was "designed" to do, isn't enlightening like the other Psycho-Pass antagonists. Rather, it's just evil. And that's unfortunate, because the first season's villain is often regarded as one of the best.

Where Makishima questioned the law, Kamui, Psycho-Pass 2's bad guy, questions the core system itself. His existence is a stain on to Sybil; their inability to adequately judge him reveals their incompetency while simultaneously proving that there is indeed room for improvement. The majority of his actions are shrouded in mystery for a vast majority of the anime, with his final few cards being played in the last few minutes or so. Initially, he seemed like a carbon copy of Makishima, providing little insight or intrigue into the world we were presented with. But as the pieces were slowly put together, his initial question proved to be more worthwhile than at first perceived.

The strongest character from the anime is the infamous Shimotsuki. She acts as the foil to Akane; Akane does what is right whereas Shimotsuki does what is lawful. The anime utilizes what the first season explored. In this way, instead of learning the truth as Akane does, we instead get to see someone on the outside, someone who cannot or will not bend the rules. This is where her rather abrasive and hostile attitude is created. She isn't "bitchy" by nature, she is simply following the rules to a fault. Her personality is dictated by society, and therefore Sybil. As such, her development over the course of the season was interesting to watch. Starting high and mighty, generating thoughts of doubt, immense collapse, and eventual delusion make her an intricate character that is perhaps only rivaled by Makishima.

SOUND

The OP is rather spooky. Relying heavily on the visuals, its constant repetition, drum beat, and vocals portray a feeling of hopelessness that coincide with the feelings of the characters within the show.

Comparatively, the ED is better than the OP. It's a rather catchy tune. It builds and builds until it can't contain itself any longer. The main vocalist mixes well with both the background singers and the very fast tempo, creating a pleasant tune to bob one's head.

The soundtrack has some good pieces. My favorite is the more orchestral, with the quick violin and resounding flourishes.

Voice acting wise, everyone involved gave at least average to above average performances, with no outstanding roles to be had.

ENJOYMENT

If I'm being honest, I actually wasn't liking the second season at first. The villain wasn't fascinating enough (comparatively) and the show didn't seem to have the same feeling of something being "off" that the first one exuded. This is alleviated somewhat the more the show progresses, but it doesn't execute anything as well as what was already done. If anything, their new inclusions, like a purely evil antagonist or the overdone violence, showcase how much it was trying to be like the initial season, rather than being its own self.

That being said, it can get pretty tense during certain moments. The show is by nature a psychological drama that aims to test preconceived notions of society as a whole. So seeing things devolve into a chaotic manner are the norm. The series has and never will be for the feint of heart, nor even for those who cannot interpret or try to understand different perspectives. Its an adult show that highlights what anime can do when taken seriously.

Psycho-Pass 2 did what it had to do, and that was provide a meaningful experience that could be looked at as a continuation of the series. While not as impactful or important as the first season, its atmosphere and world provide viewers with an Orwellian society rife with important questions. With one movie to wrap everything up, I'm excited to see where Akane, Shimotsuki, and the rest ultimately go.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, interesting idea at play distracted by poor sub-plot and overuse of violence

Animation: Good, familiar art style, nice detail, animated nicely where needed

Characters: Fine, Tougane is bad, Akane and Kamui are okay, Shimotsuki is great

Sound: Good, good OP and ED, nice soundtrack, okay VA work

Enjoyment: Fine, serves its purpose

Final Score: 6/10

Sequels can be a tricky business, especially when the original series has such a huge following and is so distinctive in style and theme. There are many different reasons for sequels existing, ranging from additional stories that demand being told to easy fan base cash-ins, and the execution of these sequels also has just as many outcomes. One of the classic examples of what makes a bad sequel is creating one without the writing of the original creator, an occurrence with a notable example being Dragon Ball GT. So, how did the latest sequel lacking ... its original creator's image fare as its own product?

Before getting into my problems with the series, I do want to say that in terms of being a thrilling and compelling detective series, Psycho-Pass 2 definitely delivers, with a huge cloud of mystery and complex clues to be deciphered. This was also aided by the fact that the returning characters from last season are just as solid as they were before, with Akane coming back even better than before and undergoing a huge amount of development in this portion of the series.

With that said, this series falls immensely short of its predecessor, with dozens of cop-outs and plot holes that made this a rather frustrating experience. One of the biggest problems with the series is the writing. Regardless of your personal opinions on Urobuchi's more disturbing and unsettling style of writing, the man definitely knows how to craft an incredible story. However, when someone else attempts to copy his style of writing, they tend to forget that and focus more on the disturbing portion of it. This led to an absolutely horrendous moment in episode 4 where, without spoiling anything, the MWPSB does something so outlandish and out of character that it might as well have been replaced with a neon sign reading "insert 'Urobutcher'-style shocking moment here." There is an incredible depth and complexity to the way Urobuchi crafts his darker style of writing, and to try and copy that in gore alone shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the original story.

Another, let obvious point where the second season falters is its level of intelligence and sophistication. While I did note in my review of the first season that the quoting of famous philosophers was just barely bordering on being pretentious, I certainly didn't want them to take this aspect away from the series entirely, but that's pretty much exactly what happened. Instead, the dabbling into the elements of the human soul has been replaced by conspiracy theory pseudo-intellect that grew more pretentious and annoying by the minute. While they do introduce one new philosophical concept towards the end that was rather interesting, it's effectively drowned out by the huge cluster of random conspiracy jargon being thrown out all over the place.

The new characters are also one of the bigger weak points of this new season. Starting first with our new antagonist, Kamui, it becomes apparent very quickly that he is infinitely less complex and interesting than Makishima was last season, and his motivations for wanting to bring down Sibyl are not nearly as noble, though some of his more minor traits still end up being somewhat interesting. Another poorly executed character was Shimotsuki, who I can only describe in terms that would not comply with the Terms and Conditions of this website. She constantly questions Akane's method of doing things even though Akan's methods always end up producing better results. We've already set up the idea that Akane knows much more about the Sibyl System than everyone else, and yet the story constantly focuses on characters who don't know this about her, and it makes trying to sympathize with them incredibly difficult, especially with Shimotsuki, whose arrogance is only proceeded by her inability to get the job done. As for other new characters, there is one in particular, whom I can't name due to spoilers, which started off promising but ended up being rather pathetic by the end.

The animation was produced as a joint project between Production I.G. and Tatsunoko Production, and this is one of the few areas that's actually improved since the first season. The cityscape is incredibly well-crafted, the CG blends nicely with the traditional 2D animation, and the character designs, Akane's specifically, are much more refined and appealing. I will say that there was a significantly higher amount of gore in this season though, but this is more due to the nature of the mediocre writing than anything else.

The dub is actually a rather unique case, as this, along with Laughing under the Clouds, are the flagship titles for FUNimation's new Broadcast Dub system, where episodes are dubbed a few weeks after they come out, cutting the time gap between initial air date and dub release by a gigantic margin and taking a huge step forward in an industry where dubs are starting to lose their relevance. While I wasn't able to watch the dub completely before writing this review, I was able to see seven of the eleven episodes with the broadcast dub, and I'm happy to say that's it's just as good as the dub for season one. Kate Oxley and Josh Grelle return as Akane and Ginoza, while Cherami Leigh and Clifford Chapin bring strong new voices to Shimotsuki and Kamui.

Yugo Kanno also returns for the soundtrack composition and brings us one of the best soundtracks from this season. Rather than stick to one general style, he brings whatever accompaniment is necessary to fit the scene, from quick-paced electronic tunes to bombastic operatic orchestrations, though I will say the latter bordered on being pretentiously ironic at certain points. As for opening and ending themes, we are met with even more familiar faces. "Enigmatic Feeling" by Ling Tosite Sigure plays us in with a fast-paced rock/electronic track, while "Fallen" by EGOIST covers the outro with another heavy electronic track laced with hard rock. Additionally, "Fallen" is currently available for purchase on iTunes, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Overall, while Psycho-Pass 2 isn't necessarily bad, it falls incredibly short of its previous iteration. However, I do still believe it is necessary to watch this series, especially with the upcoming Psycho-Pass movie on the horizon for next year, written by Urobuchi this time.

Oh My Oh my after what went down this season I wouldn't be surprised if my psycho pass went out of control You see psycho pass is my favorite show of all time so to see it being treated like this is just disappointing to say the least.

Story :5 Well after the amazing first season you could imagine how hyped I was for this but all that hype soon turned to dust as I heard that Gen Urobuchi wouldn't be working on the script for season 2 and the result of that is painfully obvious a real clusterfuck We see Akane a lot more matured ... from season 1 as she works to stop the new villan Kamui and let me put it to you like this he is by no means a Makishima Shougo sure he's a good villan but not that good he's trying to set the world straight because well we all know how fucked up and useless sybil is and while this is going down many shocking secrets are revealed but no spoilers just know that they fucked the story up.

Art:9 This was the only improvement from season 1 the Art looks a lot better and the character designs are awesome.

Sound:8 Well the music is by no means comparable to the first seasons but it still shines in it's own way with a new op that is not half bad and a ED that is great.

Characters:4 This has got to be the biggest disappointment from this season besides Akane being a badass now The rest of the characters were treated like garbage we see a new character named Tougane who at first seems really interesting but in the end is wasted and treated like trash lets just say he becomes a momma's boy and we also see the new villan Kamui he is alright his goals are pretty much to destroy sybil and change the world because sybil is retarded and he himself carries a lot of secrets mindblowing ones that will make you go WTF and also My man Ginoza was hardly in this season like really fucking stupid and when he did appear he just didn't seem near as interesting at the first season where he actually mattered to the story this season he was basically a waste the rest of the characters are just shit I'm looking at you Mika.

Enjoyment:7 while this season was a huge letdown compared to season 1 I still somewhat enjoyed it because I adore psycho pass so much I just overlooked the huge ass flaws and just sat back and went with the flow.

Overall:6 Well we all want wishes to come true and I made a wish that this season would be just as good if not better without Gen but My wish was never heard.

When it's all said and done this season was just one huge let down an abomination to the psycho pass series at the end of the day just pretend like this season doesn't exist to save yourself some pain.

Every once in a while i don´t get disappointed with some series that I expected to be bad .. Psycho-Pass 2 is one of them. After seeing many many people saying that compared with the first season, Psycho-Pass 2 sucked .. well i disagree.

Unlike the first season, this one acquires a much faster pace without losing much of it. While in the first season we have some episodes that just are totally useless, the second season goes straight to the point and ends it quickly so it doesn´t get boring like the first season.

Even though i have to admit, it was a litle ... bit worst. The fantastic world that Psycho-Pass managed to create isn´t so well explored as it is in the first season.
The rest is pretty much the same.

Story: 6/10. Well .. it is the same thing. It's like if i was going to create, let's say a second season of Death Note where the same things happens but with "different" characters.

The setup is exactly the same thing as it was in the first season. Literally it looks like a copy, and i just hate it. I wanted something new.. but that doesn´t happen.

Even tough we have tiny twists that made me surprised and at least that was nice.. but it needed to be something different.

Art: 8/10. Same thing. Nothing changed. The scenary still looks good for the most part, the characters are still well drawn and the movement still fair.

Sound: 8/10. Well .. the track used are exactly the same, which is nice. For who watched the first season will want to keep the enviroment that the first season had, so they did well keeping all of them.

What really surprised were both the opening and the ending. The clip for opening looks deficient, it is the best word to describe it, but the song is just fucking amazing. I loved it. The ending .. also great. They both portray the feeling that Psycho-Pass gives to you so they are perfect to start/finish every single episode.


Character: 6/10. Meh. New characters were introduced. The thing is .. they suck.

The guy that works with Akane sucks compared to her old partner (Kougami)... the villian of this show is way worst that the first one (Makishima) and the rest of the cast just remains the same with the exception of another new character that no one cares about because he simply has 0 ZERO 0 ZERO 0 ZERO development. Why he even exist? I don´t know ...

About the main Villian .. i missed the other one so much :/ I think they tried to make another character like Makishima but it just didn´t worked out. He even has the same motivations but and let's say the same way of thinking but ... he sucks. He is boring, not interesting and his design is not even nice.

One thing that I have to tell you is that Akane got so much better with this second season. I loved how with one of the new characters, Shimotsuki, they managed to magnify Akane.

She is no longer that younger detective that nothing knows about the world .. with the "THING" that happens in the first season (who saw knows what i'm talking about) she looks much more mature and professional. She is now the boss of the first squad and that is just awesome. See her on the comand bring us the memories that we had of her in the first season and it really feels good seeing her evolution.

Enjoyment: 8/10. Even though the show is kinda crappy at all points, the acelerated pace is one of the things that they made right. It's much more easier to see and enjoy than it is with the first season. However, the ending .. for the second time, it's not an ending. I mean it is a ending but a weak ending.

Did you ever watched CSI ? Or something close to it? Criminal minds, NCIS, whatever any kind of police series .. This season looks like a big episode of one of those series. It looks like they could keep releasing seasons of Psycho-Pass because the only that they made with this season was adding a new villian and let the detectives solve the case. The secondary plot that is going on with the main plot, let's call it the Togane's arc is the only thing "new". The only thing that the first season didn´t had. But it's not a great thing. I mean the build up around it is crappy and the story isn´t appealing enough to make me care.


Overall: 6/10. With all of those mistakes, I can´t give a higher rate. But in one hand the anime is fun to watch and for me that is paramount.

If you watched Psycho-Pass first seaon and you liked it, thrn i recommend this anime .. if you haven´t, well check my Psycho-Pass first season review and see if it makes you watch or not.

If you didn´t liked Psycho-Pass first season, then skip this one. Nothing changed, so if you didn´t liked the first season i'm not seeing you liking this one..

I really enjoyed watching the series, however was expecting much more. Literally.
Biggest problem I had was the story...was just missing the build up the first season had.
I had searched for the new episode on the usual fansub release date expecting episode 12. Had to look it up to find out the series had actually ended. I was really expecting another 11+ episodes to this series, only in small part due to the length of the first season. After watching the last episode, I had no idea it WAS the last episode. It seemed more like the ending of ... a major arc, sure, but not the finale of an entire season. It lacked closure and left a lot of wanting.

How do you live up to the first season of Psycho-Pass? A villain like Makishima, and two great lead characters in Tsunemori and Kogami, it's hard to top. And But I don't think that Psycho-Pass 2 is trying to top season 1, or even reinvent itself. Instead, it's a continuation, like if season 1 had been 11 episodes longer. And it succeeds incredibly in this sense, not feeling like a new show. I'll start off with the characters. The new cast of characters, and the old, are rather hit or miss, which was an issue with the first season. You have Tsunemori, a fantastic character ... and the show protagonist again, and an enigmatic villain this season, yet no new character peaked my interest other than the villain, and that's because you know nothing about him until the final half of the show. The writers did a great job not giving this seasons villain the exact same motive as Makishima, and instead spicing it up, as well as adding a side villain. The new inspector seems to function as a foil to Tsunemori, acting irrationally at times, and seeming to think she is in competition with Tsunemori. She however does experience some satisfying character development by the end of the show. The other new characters like the red-haired enforcer just don't have enough development, and Ginoza and Yayoi are pretty much ignored in any development as well. Luckily, the story is what is gripping about this season. Like the first, this story is a deconstruction of itself. Urobuchi created the world of Psycho-Pass just to break all the rules, like "What happens if you can't read a criminals Psycho-Pass?". This season, while including some of the old deconstruction elements, is building up to something new and rule-breaking, and it is enthralling. Every week since it aired, I waited to find out what it will be. The new "twist" kind of let me down, though that stems from trying to compare Season 1's twist to this one's, and it felt rushed. The ending was also a pretty major let down, and doesn't really explain anything. The animation is good, nothing standout, apart from the brutality of the show. It's really taken a violent turn, and the animation luckily fits it well. The final half of the finale takes a noticeable dip in animation quality. The soundtrack is fantastic as well, with the OP and ED being some of the best this season. The actual OST is also very fitting, with a sci-fi feel to it to match the cyber-punk nature of the show. All-in-all, the best way I could think of this show was as a supplement to the movie, and to explain a bit of what has gone on between Makishima and the movie. The season as a whole felt rushed, mainly because they only focused on one case the whole time. The story was still alright however, and the soundtrack continued to be great, while the characters took a back seat to the story. Overall, 5/10.

*tl;dr at the bottom of the page

After finishing a solid season one of Psycho Pass, I found out that there was a second season and I couldn't ignore it. I wanted to review the two seasons of Psycho Pass together, but after watching the second season it became clear that the quality of the anime significantly worsened. That is why I will review the two seasons of Psycho Pass separately, and now on to the review.

The second season of Psycho Pass occurs eighteen months after the first season. We meet new character additions to division 1 of the MWPSB and a new antagonist seeking ... to confront the Sibyl System.

The plot of Psycho Pass 2, especially the second half of the anime, is quite disappointing. The first half of the anime gives a sense of suspense and anticipation of what will happen next that really made me sit on the edge of my seat. It really hooked me in and I couldn't stop watching. The second half, however, made me scratch my head multiple times in confusion. The build up for the main antagonist Kamui was really well done, but the build up fails to deliver at the end as the anime hits a giant brick wall. The plot holes are inconsistent with the characters and the story and simply make little to no sense at times. Oh the plot twists, don't even get me started on those.

Continuing from its first season, the animation is great. It is the best part of Psycho Pass 2 and the saving grace of it. I could have easily given this anime a 4 or 5 instead of a 6 if it was not for its animation. The anime uses darker colors especially well to reflect its dark atmosphere and the dark atmosphere effectively set the tone for it. The music is the kind you would expect in a psychological and sci-fi anime, but nothing extremely special. The ending song is my personal favorite for this anime and I enjoy the osts quite a bit as well.

And here we get to the characters, oh boy do I have a lot to say. I can write a whole essay alone just by ranting on about my least favorite character, the new inspector in division 1, Shimotsuki, aka the "relentless bitch". So relentless bitch is an extremely despicable character who believes that she is always right and refuses to listen or hear from others. She looks down on enforcers and even her fellow investigator Akane as well. Not only that, she is also extremely weak and indecisive to the point of making you want to flip tables and never gets anything done. Did she even fire a single shot this whole season? And then we have the new enforcers as well. Hinakawa and Tougane. Hinakawa is an expect on holograms and is shy, not a whole lot to say about him. Tougane is a strong enforcer that resembles Kougami from season one. Tougane had the most potential out of all the new characters, but the anime fails to effectively develop him as a character.

Then we have the new antagonist Kamui. While some people say that he is basically the same as Makishima from season one, I give him a little more credit. The anime does show how far Kamui is willing to go to achieve his goals, and he does some things that Makishima would probably never do. However, his goal is extremely similar to that of Makishima and he basically drives season two into another "freedom vs order" argument.

Finally we have the original characters from season one. I was quite frustrated with how they treated Ginoza and Kougami. Ginoza becomes a complete side character despite the huge influence and development he had in season one. Kougami doesn't even make a physical appearance in season two, just what the fuck. They spent so much time on Ginoza and Kougami in season one just to completely throw them off to the side in season two that I question how they came to that decision in the first place. Akane actually does get good development as it shows her new role as the senior investigator of division 1 and the effects of her decision to accept the sibyl system for the time being. She is the one breath of fresh air among all the other characters in this anime.

I did not enjoy the second season of Psycho Pass as much as I did the first season. It is not good sequel to the solid first season and only drags this series down as a whole. And god, I still can't get relentless bitch Shimotsuki off my mind.

"Enough you Idiot! Shorten it to 20 words or less!" -Saitama (One Punch Man)
(tl;dr) PP2 started off great and had some potential with its plot and characters, but fails to deliver at the end.

MIGHT HAVE SOME SPOILERS!

Story (8) :

Psycho-Pass 2 continues with its psychological style on questioning the society and thus the Sybil system, showing the flaws of the so to say perfect system. Much like the first season, we get a new "type" of person that isn't recognized by the system and it is hardly predictible how the ending will turn out. However, the mysteries involving the new anti-hero were less interesting than the ones we got to see in the first season.

Art (8) & Sound (9) :

The art isn't different from the first season and is still nice. Same for the soundtracks, opening ... and ending theme.

Character (5) :

I have to say, I was dissapointed. The characters where dull, especially compared to the first season, where the villain had a lot of charisma (in my opinion) and had so much presence in the anime. In season two, he is quasi inexistant. I know he is supposed to be a "ghost", but his personality was just not there. Same with Kogami, and I'm not saying this because he didn't get to appear as a person in season two. The producer tried to make Tsunemori a second Kogami to fill that "gap" of the missing super detective, but with no success because it didn't make her more interesting. The other characters where dull, even the new ones who had each a distinct personality. None of them really standed out. The villain could've so much better but yeah, he wasn't...

Enjoyement (5) :

I did like the anime but what annoyed me where the characters. They just couldn't grasp my attention and in the end I just watched because I wanted to know how everything would end. Many other people found it very enjoyable but if you are not keen on psychological stuff or thinking together with the inspectors and all, I woulnd't immediatly recommend it. But, it is a nice change of anime from time to time ^^

This continuation just has too much of a convoluted and messy story to really stand at the same ground as the first season.

Starting right where we left of, the story is centered around Akane, new and returning members of Division 1, trying to apply justice in the distopian Japan where Sybil reigns as it avaluates a persons capability of becoming a latent criminal. This time around, we have our antagonist, Kamui, who wants to prove that the sistem is not perfect, and confronts the Public Safety Bureau, with his various schemes, all while we progressively learn various plot points about Sybil, and the cast. ... The problem is the repetition of the main arc plot, all this has been done... the diference is that there's a much more focused approach, and with a reduced number of episodes it doesn't allow for much world or character building.

The animation is fenomenal, it's really gripping to watch. All the effects, many color contrasts, with the technologic vibe and dark tones, relating to the type of story and world we are settled in. Overall this and the sound are the best aspect of this second season.

The characters are another problem, especially Kamui, first he is introduced as a poor man's Makishima, but as the story unfolds, he develops a lot more, and his backstory and goals help in that matter, but they are not as solid as Makishima's. Akane is the only real character who has a development and personality, maturing since the first season and dealing with the various problems she encounters. But the missing part is that there isn't really any strong connection between her and the antagonist, any real tension between morals like Makishima and Kogami and even her in S1. And the rest of Division 1 is really a miss, since they are not as developed, only Tougane and while promissing, his integration in the story isn't that good.

It started well enough, and you can say it is extremely well paced, it was gripping, but the problems emerging were to many that, while good to stand on it's own, doesn't really compare to the brilliant first season, not progressing in any way in its conclusion, serving as a good action oriented sci-fi with a confusing plot embedded.

So far, this second season seems to be terrible... was expecting more from how season 1 ended. Actually, I feel that Psycho-Pass ended well in just season one and I am satisfied with the ending of the first season but the second season just doesn't seem to make me excited.

Story - 6
It's a continuation of season 1 with new characters added in the cast, no more Makishima and Kougami... however I am pretty disappointed because I don't find this that interesting as the first one. It's like they're repeating things that already happened and going " how could this be! " with things that have ... already happened before in season 1. The villain's character isn't very exciting for me and I find some of the new characters irritating in general.

Art - 8
Pretty much the same as before but I think the first season really was better in terms of character design and the characters are not that bland-looking.. I don't mind the new one. The animation seems to be the same and not lacking in quality at least, and it keeps up with season one for the most part. I wish the animation for the opening song was more interesting rather than clips being replayed, maybe I'm weird.

Sound - 8
Good. I think it still matches the story for the most part and they still have EGOIST, nice.

Character - 5
Like I mentioned before, I felt that the new characters were irritating and I liked the season 1 characters more. Just not a fan of characters whining 24/7 and questioning everything.

Enjoyment/Overall - 6
It seems terrible right now but I will finish this anime and decide for myself if this is worth it. I may rewatch the first season, I believe the story was perfect and didn't need a second season.

Where is my Kougami? Waited too long for the anime to release and then there is no Kougami - disappointed. The anime plot turned out good - if you start this season with no background of first season (I know it sounds highly unlikely and makes no sense but) then you could probably find it interesting and good.

Tsunemori now has a new set of enforcers and she tries to find out the secrets of Sibyl while solving few cases. There wasnt anything new, not for me at the least. The continuity of characters were missing and it felt like a new series to ... me...

Okay to watch if you want to finish the anime, its not that bad, but you could start realizing the repetitive plot here and there - the animation and music is excellent though.

I gave the first season of Psycho-Pass a 9, so you can say that the second season is really disappointing. I would have given it a significantly higher score if it were the first season though. The reason - they are basically identical. The second season is virtually the same as the first, just add a new freshman inspector Mika Shimotsuki, who admires Sybil almost religiously and does everything by the book, even when it leads to deaths of innocents. There's a new villain but he's virtually a copy of the one from the first season - again, he's someone who cannot be judged by ... Sybil and commits horrible deeds in public and again, Sybil attempting to eliminate the threat as silently as possible in order to avoid having to recognize its own flaws. There are also new enforcers and just like the first season, not all can be trusted.
This review seems really short and I'm really trying to remember whether there's anything I might have missed but I really can't find anything. No real reason to watch, maybe except if you plan to watch the movie and/or 3rd season, which takes place after the events of this season.
Regarding art and sound - exactly the same as the first season, which is to be expected, so no change in scores here.
Overall, this had great potential but ended up as a major disappointment.

Subjective rating: 8/10
Objective rating: 6/10

Psycho-pass 2 does a good job expanding on the ideas presented in the first season. While the narrative was not as well crafted, I personally still enjoyed it a lot. As for the characters, it's not the different cast of characters that I find problematic, but rather the lack of depth to them. Even the returning ones felt very hollow, aside from the most directly main ones. The art and animation was as good as expected, although there were a couple odd cgi scenes towards the end. I'd say it's worth watching, but certainly no masterpiece.
(mini review)

*No Spoilers*
This review is for Psycho-Pass 2, the second season of the series.

Summary:
Psycho-Pass is a psychological, detective-style show set in the future. Law enforcement is governed by the Sibyl System, which utilizes a person’s hue and Crime Coefficient to determine their mental state and likelihood of committing a crime. Unfortunately, this season introduces less interesting and even feebly written characters and unclear themes compared to the first season. If you are interested in sci-fi or detective shows, this may be of interest to you, although it pales in comparison to the previous season.

Story: 5/10
Season 2 picks up about 1.5 years later, when Akane and some ... less-interesting characters follow the case of Kamui, a new antagonist. Although there are some plot twists, the general story is convoluted with some completely predictable character reveals. By the end of the story, the themes are quite jumbled. Many of the plot twists with characters’ identities are unsurprising and disappointing, and this is partially due to the plot rather than just the lack of the characters’ depths. One of the primary flaws in this season is that the Sibyl System’s rules have changed to make the plot viable, and it detracts from the story. In Season 1, a certain identity (no spoilers) is rotated out to balance governance. In this season, however, this is not the case, which causes a plethora of issues. Overall, the story would have made more sense if the government established in Season 1 abided by the same rules this time and didn’t have such lackluster themes and motives.

Art: 7/10
The art is fitting, and the detail in the cityscapes is pretty. This season isn’t as breathtaking, partly due to the repetitive and bland setting.

Sound: 5/10
The music is average. The voice acting (sub) is sufficient. There is nothing special about this soundtrack, and the opening and ending themes are by no means an improvement from the previous season.

Characters: 4/10
Overall, the characters in this season are weak and uninteresting. Ironically, the most interesting character is a quiet, awkward fellow who likes some Holo fashion and coding. Akane’s character is blander and takes a step back from the end of Season 1, except for when she is being a bit of a boss in the beginning. Shimotsuki also plays more of a role in this season, though her character is an amalgamation of Akane’s dislikable traits from Season 1, amplified, with little growth until the very end. Throughout this season, there really aren’t any intriguing dynamics between the characters, and there’s no compelling villain. In fact, the antagonists are a huge setback and don’t really solidify or ponder any clear themes. Generally, the characters are weak in this season, and it makes for a less interesting adventure.

Enjoyment: 6/10
I didn’t dislike this season, but I also didn’t find it particularly deep or meaningful. It has lackluster characters, and the plot and themes were not as thought-provoking as in Season 1.

Overall: 5.4