Story: 9
From the first few seconds of the anime, we are thrown straight into the action where Akane Tsunemori, on her first day as an Inspector, has been called upon to assist in apprehending a dangerous man, as judged by a system that controls Society. She is told to do so using her subordinates known as Enforcers, latent criminals assisting in the protection of the law. While the story may seem like it starts out with random arrests, by the end all of these have either become important to the main plot of the story or important to character development.
The story starts out rather simplistically. Akane is tasked with arresting criminals, whether latent or current, because the Sibyl System tells her to and takes interest in Shinya Kougami, the seemingly most capable of the Enforcers. This goes on for the first few episodes and the gradually grows more and more complex. By the end, I found myself turning the concepts over in my head multiple times before it all made sense.
Art: 10
Psycho-Pass' art has everything I think a sci-fi police anime should have. I was immediately pulled in by the amazing details in the illustration of the city, both outside view and inside view. As promised by Urobuchi, this anime is devoid of any moe and many scenes can be quite cruel. I was not disappointed. I may sound like somewhat of a masochist here, but the fight scenes and crime scenes throughout the series were amazingly detailed and outstanding (as expected of Urobutcher).
Sound: 10
The OST of this anime is, in my opinion, the strongest point, if not art. OPs and EDs were very catchy and matched the show perfectly, but what really makes the OST great in Psycho-Pass is the music during the action, mystery, and philosophical points. Every event was matched superbly with music, even at points where a song that wasn't meant work with a certain event worked beautifully. In fact, the usage of the OST has probably become my favorite of any series, be it anime or not.
Character: 9
The characters of this series always remind me of The Dark Knight. You have Inspector Akane Tsunemori, the face of justice, as Inspector Gordon, Shinya Kougami, the badass crime fighter without any rules, as Batman (aside from one rule), and Shougo Makishima, the badass villain who seeks to bring out humanities worst aspects, as the Joker. During the series, the characters are introduced pretty early on and thereafter develop in more detail, to the point where I felt like I actually knew each character, whether they were a supporting character or a main character; protagonist or antagonist.
Enjoyment: 10
I find that science fiction is always the toughest type of story to write. In order to write a true sci-fi masterpiece, one must have a thorough understanding of every scientific aspect that the incorporate into their story. That being said, I rarely encounter any true science fiction masterpieces. However, when I do, I'm certain of it, and Psycho-Pass is a science fiction masterpiece and worthy of a spot on my favorites list.
