Psycho-Pass - Anime General Discussion

[FlareKnight]

Definitely a screwed up system. I'm rather surprised everyone isn't in jail right now. Don't think bad thoughts or else.

Though maybe shows how unhinged some people are under this system. The second that guy was labelled criminal he went completely off the deep end. Evading arrest, kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, etc.

But possibly the most unbelievable stuff came from how this girl is just thrown into this mess. I mean Akane looks completely lost here. Maybe they are short handed because they keep throwing newbies into this mess and they go insane! Seemingly the only person with some sense left. Crazy ideas like negotiating and leaving shooting as the last resort. Sadly she can't tell her gun to stand down .

[leokiko]

Originally Posted by Helius

The world of Psycho-Pass seems to have a zero tolerance for crimes to the extent that thought alone can constitute a crime. It's definitely unreasonable and the old man with the cyborg arm said as much.

That's pretty much my thoughts on this. The system itself isn't flawed, it's more like it has zero tolerance to any crimes that might be committed, ever. I hope we get a bit of explanation on to why this system was created and more about how it works overall. I'm also very interested on why the crime coefficient of the Enforcers is high. They seemed like normal people, Akane herself said so. Their backstory will be explored through episodic crimes, maybe?

And there wasn't any rape, was there? The guy was with his pants on and girl was still struggling when their team found them.

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

But possibly the most unbelievable stuff came from how this girl is just thrown into this mess. I mean Akane looks completely lost here.

She was also the top of her class, so I guess she was better than most. What I thought was stupid is the fact that the trainees don't learn a thing that might prepare them for the Inspector job. She was supposed to be very smart and capable but came off really badly. The Enforcer explained that the world was unreasonable like that, but that was an rather bad explanation imo. Although, this is the only first episode, can't expect all to be explained here.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Though maybe shows how unhinged some people are under this system. The second that guy was labelled criminal he went completely off the deep end. Evading arrest, kidnapping, rape, attempted murder, etc.

Definitely. The system is pretty oppressive, so the stress level on the population must be off the chart. In that mental state, it's not surprising someone would go on a rampage the second they're labeled potential criminals. The system is a vicious circle. It produces and feed criminality.

Originally Posted by leokiko

That's pretty much my thoughts on this. The system itself isn't flawed, it's more like it has zero tolerance to any crimes that might be committed

Zero tolerance on the possibility of crime is an inherently flawed idea though. Labeling someone as potential criminal might be what pushes them to commit crime in the first place.

[Helius]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Zero tolerance in the possibility of crime is an inherently flawed idea though. Specially since taking actions on that possibility might be what produces the crime in the first place.

Whether something is flawed or not is in the eyes of the beholder, in this case the lawmakers. Public interest and morality at the time are taken into account as well.

Take the recent aniti-piracy law in Japan for example. Now even downloading from an illegitimate source can get you prosecuted, despite the fact that illegal downloads actually drive sales up. What was not a crime before becomes a crime now, driven in large part by public sentiments, greedy companies and over-zealous politicians. Of course illegal downloading is wrong, but same as having criminal thoughts without the criminal act, is it enough to get you criminalised for?

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I have a bit of hard time buying the fact a system as obviously flawed as psycho pass was implemented in that world though. It's so horrible it's not even funny.

The system doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and I really wonder how it's even working, let alone how it got implemented in the first place. (Then again, I suppose we're going to see Shinya(?) spout lines from Orwell's 1984 at some point... eh.)

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Helius

Whether something is flawed or not is in the eyes of the beholder, in this case the lawmakers.

From a social stand point, maybe, but from a logical one if your anti-crime system produces or at least instigates criminality, then that's a pretty big flaw.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Kanon

I have a bit of hard time buying the fact a system as obviously flawed as psycho pass was implemented in that world though. It's so horrible it's not even funny.

You could say this about a lot of real-world justice systems... think about our prison system, for instance.
It seems absurd because it's not something we're used to. That's all.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

From a social stand point, maybe, but from a logical one if your anti-crime system produces or at least instigates criminality, then that's a pretty big flaw.

It's probably not a flaw the lawmakers care about. Like I said, look at the prison system; locking criminals in a building with a whole bunch of other criminals does not do an especially good job of rehabilitating them.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

It's probably not a flaw the lawmakers care about.

But of course. That's why we have Akane as the main character. She cares. Things will go from there.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

It's probably not a flaw the lawmakers care about.

Except, such a system is not a very durable one, which is why I wonder how it ever got implemented...

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by MisaoFan

Spoiler for Episode 1:

The story takes place in a world where people's minds are analyzed then quantified by the system known as "Psycho-Pass". Akane Tsunemori, a fresh grad who enters the force due to her high aptitudes, suddenly gets involved in a rape case. As she gets more exposition told by Tomomi Mazaoka, the unit's chief, she accidentally hurts a young man with a dark past named Shinya Kogami, thus begins the buddy cop tale between Akane, Shinya and the four other cops (plus one scientifist). The thought crime premise sounds interesting, and it gives me strong Chaos;Head vibes because of the dystopian mystery and the future behind the crimes. While the animation doesn't look particularly impressive but not horrible either, the backgrounds are neat, and the effects are pretty realistic. I love the visuals and the characters' interactions, the grotesque violence is here, as it doesn't look too extreme (aside from Fist of the North Star-like human body explosion scene, but doesn't look too disgusting) so I don't mind it. The female emphasis (nice pantyshot ) is present too, and the cast looks delicious. The music is very fitting for a cyberpunk crime drama show, not counting the ending theme. Psycho-Pass becomes one of my favorite gritty treats of the season, and if the next few episodes proves spectacular, it could turn into a instant success.

Awesome. Can't wait to see it myself.

Love these kinds of shows.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

But of course. That's why we have Akane as the main character. She cares. Things will go from there.

Yup.

Originally Posted by Lenneth4

And perfect blue ?

Anyway despite all the classic disappointed people , i'm going to see that show
It's unusual and for a change it's not a stupid slice of life with stupid kids doing stupid things in stupid schools called cute things.

Have to agree, it's nice to have some variety and I'm not big on the slice of life or romance shows, we could also use more old fashioned straight comedy shows that aren't romcoms IMO. It's been a while since we've had this kind of scifi cop show, basically since GITS: SAC. I always wished that Ergo Proxy had more of that since I really enjoyed that first section with Re-l.

[Klashikari]

The series definitely went straight to the point: there is no question regarding how flawed the system is, but likewise, the world setup looks quite grim and messed up to begin with, so a tolerance free system such as psycho pass is sort of "natural" in a sense.

I'm however more concerned about the consistency of the series: obviously, Akane assignment in this post/unit is just sketchy as hell, even more so how it is really doubtful she wouldn't have a psychological test beforehand to see if she can handle the stress and the situations that could be thrown at her. It is actually as if she literally came from a different dimension/series, so no wonder why her methods and all look pretty alien to the rest of the cast. I assume Urobuchi wrote her as the "human anchor" for the audience, although the disparity is a bit too exaggerated.

Anyway, I will compliment the series for its gritty mood and swift intro, although I surely hope there will be some tweeks in the characters interactions, otherwise we might get too much moral pop quiz over time.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

But of course. That's why we have Akane as the main character. She cares. Things will go from there.

"Fighting the system", huh?

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Except, such a system is not a very durable one

You would be surprised at how many systems don't work on paper but do in practice. Tenuous systems work because people collectively make them work.

[desrtsku]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

Except, such a system is not a very durable one, which is why I wonder how it ever got implemented...

How many years do you think apartheid lasted? And compared to that, the psycho pass system is really more comprehensible considering the setting of their world

[KleenexGhost]

I'm liking it so far. Gotta see where they go with the story. I got a theory on how the series is gonna end, but I'm keeping it to myself until I see the next episode.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Kaisos Erranon

"Fighting the system", huh?

Well, we obviously don't know where the story is going yet, but I did get that vibe from the first episode.

[kuromitsu]

Originally Posted by desrtsku

How many years do you think apartheid lasted? And compared to that, the psycho pass system is really more comprehensible considering the setting of their world

Wait, what? Apartheid and this system that they have in this anime are two different things. We're not talking about just a "bad system" but a system that makes no sense in the long run (or even a short run). As someone mentioned, it's actually creating a vicious circle of crime (that is, violent crime, because I don't see how this system could deal with anything else, maybe they'll touch on that later)... to say nothing of other things that would make the system way too difficult and ultimately self-defeating to sustain.

[Tyabann]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

As someone mentioned, it's actually creating a vicious circle of crime

Throwing ex-convicts back into the world after years in prison with nothing but fifty dollars to their name while allowing prospective employers access to criminal records perpetuates and exacerbates recidivism. Prison doors are revolving ones.
Sounds a lot like a vicious cycle to me. Obviously Psycho-Pass is a lot more extreme but that's fiction for you.

[Arya]

Nice episode, I liked surely the overall quality of it, and the dystopian settings, I like these kind of settings. But I can't say it surprise me, but worked quite well for an introduction episode.
I haven't got well yet how the system works, it's slightly different from minority report, right? In this case an abnormal value of your psychological state means not that you surely will commit a crime, but that there is a higher possibility you will. But even that your values can come back to normality. But given the sudden reaction of that criminal the re educational program doesn't seem to be an option
About Akane, well, I was skeptical about her character given the nature of the show and her role. Now that I have understood her true role I'm still skeptical It would have been nicer having her developing this feeling of rebellion against the system instead of her looking like an alien who came from who knows where

On a side note I found strange that they used the medicine symbol for the CID, but checking this out, it isn't, it seems to be a caduceus, ...a recognized symbol of commerce and negotiation, two realms in which balanced exchange and reciprocity are recognized as ideals ... things got out of hand ehehe

[Dop]

Well, this is certainly not a world you'd want to live in, this future dystopia where machines tag you as a latent criminal even if you've done nothing wrong, and where that evaluation can ruin your life. A world where even the victims of crime can be treated as criminals and executed too.
It's Orwell's "Thoughtcrime" elevated by future technology.

Using other 'latent criminals' to hunt perps down is a classic case of setting a thief to catch a thief, as well.

Akane is the sort of character we've seen in cop shows and movies before. She's the idealistic rookie fresh out of the academy who may be a hot-shot at the theory but is fresh and green when it comes to putting that into practice.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the show develops.

[Lenneth4]

I loved that episode
Psycho pass is definitly one the best current series already , one of the top for me.

Also i dont understand the behavior of the heroine , she acts like a rebel already xd
Maybe it's the connection with the raped victim and such but still , Aren't they supposed to live into a city/world with that system ?

People who dont follow the system or try to act against it are called anarchists xd
I really hope a good justification of this.

Good job , it's already way way better than GC