The main character, Akane, is an honour student who chooses to join the police force. She is assigned a group of detectives who have previously been placed in isolation by the system but were allowed to leave under the condition that they work in catching 'latent criminals' such as themselves. They are treated as hounds who live secluded from the rest of society and must obey all of Akane's instructions. However, their relationship is more akin to that of a child tasked at babysitting its parents as Akane is new to this world of crime: scared, innocent, and naïve. Understandably, she starts off about as passive and useless as Sakura from Naruto. But have faith as after facing brutality after brutality, her character does begin to grow over time. Initially, I was afraid it would turn into one of those shows where the power of kindness and friendship puts an end to everything. However, I am happy to say that this is not the case as the anime remains grim and cold-hearted throughout.
You'll have to be patient as although Psycho-pass has a rather slow start to get you used to the world, the pace will ramp up towards the second half of the season. The anime feels similar to Detroit: Become Human in the way it tackles themes of society and morality. Rather than gory action, much of the evil in Psycho-pass is slow, calculated, and invisible. It does a really good job of conveying the feeling of how there is always a threat looming in the background through the use of its dark cinematic and atmospheric soundtracks. I've especially enjoyed how the show uses motifs, both in its soundtrack to show how danger is approaching and in its dialogue to demonstrate character development. The characters in Psycho-pass are genuinely intelligent and knowledgeable as they think logically and plan well before they act. Their dialogue often borrows quotes from philosophers and sociologists, so I can imagine that bookworms would have a feast with this anime.
Speaking of philosophy, I've really enjoyed how in-depth Psycho-pass goes during the later stages where it reveals its true nature: it's not about who is the hero and who is the villain; it's about who decides what is good and what is evil. The turning point was this morbid scene where a woman was getting beat the shit out of by a hammer in the middle of a busy street. No one in the crowd was batting a single eyelid because none of the scanners were flagging the assailant as a threat. This was a wake-up call for society as the validity of the Sibyl system is brought into question. I got really invested in how the show explores the ramifications of society's over-reliance on the system, how it naturally develops into riots, and the predicament that our detectives are placed in as they defend a system that they are now beginning to realise is corrupt. I loved how these detectives began asking more meta-questions, such as what exactly this world defines as crime in the first place, and I enjoyed watching their characters develop as they begin to apply personal judgements to situations they would have previously just followed orders from the system. This is also perhaps the first time where we can truly call them detectives. I like how Psycho-pass portrays things not as black-and-white, but as full of grey areas. This quote by the antagonist really stuck with me: "Who isn't alone in this society? The time when our connection to others was the basis of our selves is long gone. There's no place for communities in this world where everyone is watched over by the system and lives within the system's standards. Everyone stays in their own little cell and the system tames them by giving them each their own personal serenity."
9/10
A gripping and intellectually stimulating show. On to Season 2!
