Psycho Pass 2 has me feeling conflicted. As much as I adored the first season, and still enjoyed this one, I'm feeling quite empty about it afterwards. I'm not left with that same feeling of shock and awe like after season 1, and the biggest issue for me is obvious: characters.
I loved the cast of season 1; Kogami (absent in PP2) and Akane were an excellent dynamic duo of complex characters. Instead, Akane doesn't truly have that same counterpart. The complexity of Shogo Makishima is replaced with a promising-but-falls-short Kirito Kamui, who, although seems to be an intriguing antagonist, can't find a proper place in the anime. The development of enforcers is completely lackluster as well; there is no new development in characters like Ginoza, and big bad Togane feels awfully tacked on as a surprise antagonist (as well as Misako). Enforcers like Sho Hinakawa show tremendous potential as character, but receive little to no screen time in each episode. They more serve as plot advancement devices instead of characters. Shimotsuki also feels awfully tacked on in the advancement of enforcer Togane. These reasons all tend to leave me feeling disconnected from the characters and therefore the show.
Everything else, in all honesty, is great to perfect. The unravelling of the grand scheme is excellent, although leaves more to be desired, particularly Sibyl's end resolutions feeling very rushed. Art is beautiful and sound is magnificent. "Enigmatic Feeling" is perhaps coming close in my favorite OPs, and the outro is well done as well. Characters and dominators look aesthetically stunning, animation is fluid, and character artwork is unique. The characters themselves, despite my enjoyment of Akane as a protagonist, are the downfall of this season.
Story: 8
Art: 9
Sound: 10
Character: 5
Enjoyment: 8
Overall: 7. PP2 features beautiful animation and intriguing story which is subsequently thrashed by severe voids in the characters. A fun, but somewhat less memorable installment, especially compared to its predecessor.
