I recently read an article about the current state of the anime industry, with some production studios struggling to make profit and others forced to churn out half-baked anime titles because of smaller budgets to work with. I don’t know if it’s because of that or because I have access to more titles than I did a decade ago, but it does feel that there are fewer series that actually make a lasting impression. And there are even fewer that would fall in the category of would-be classics, or titles that you could easily recommend to a wide range of audiences.
While more apt for mature audiences, Psycho-Pass could very well fall into that category. It’s a title that, despite the sci-fi themes and violence it features, is universally appealing. The series offers a compelling story partnered with a strong lead character, excellent world building and nail-biting suspense that keeps you engaged until the very end. It’s worth viewing even if you’re not inclined to sci-fi as a genre.
The second season of Psycho-Pass aims to build on all the successful elements of its first outing, once again pitting Inspector Tsunemori Akane with an adversary who somehow flouts the absolute judgment the Sybil System exercises over humanity. While Mikishima Shogo helps individuals perform crimes that comes naturally to them, the mysterious Kamui Kirito is somehow able to help latent criminals keep their Psycho-Pass clear. What’s more, he encourages these individuals to perform acts of violence that will cloud the psycho-pass of others, subjecting them to the judgment of the Sybil System. At each turn, Kirito asks Tsunemori “WC?” or “What color?”, leaving her puzzled as to whose color the mysterious criminal is referring to.
Tsunemori faces the new adversary with a mix of familiar and new faces. Enforcer Kunizuka Yayoi and analyst Karanomori Shion are still part of the team, but Ginoza Nobuchika is now an Enforcer after his father’s death finally blurred his psycho-pass enough to be labeled a latent criminal. New members of their team include Inspector Shimotsuki Mika, Enforcers Togane Sakuya and Hinakawa Sho, and former psychologist turned analyst Saiga Joji. The new combination of personalities come with its own set of new challenges for Akane, especially with Inspector Shimotsuki’s narrow view when it comes to the Sybil System and the roles of Enforcers in their team, and the questionable fascination Enforcer Togane has towards Akane.
Psycho-Pass was never one to shy away from scenes of violence and the second season seems to embrace it even more, what with Kamui’s followers focused on affecting the psyche of large groups of people. But the series has never served viewers with gratuitous violence, making sure that those graphic scenes serve the narrative more than providing shock value. Since I’m not much for gore, I can at least say that watching those violent scenes is a necessary evil in order to fully appreciate Psycho-Pass and the wonderfully complex themes that it covers.
There’s much to appreciate in the second season of Psycho-Pass, offering yet another intriguing mystery to follow. While the storytelling is still strong, I would have to admit that it took longer for me to be fully engaged in my viewing. I initially felt that there were far too many elements happening, giving the impression that the first season’s storytelling was more tight and structured. As it turns out, those elements weren’t as fractured as I feared. In the concluding episodes of the short eleven episodes of the second season of Psycho-Pass, I was rewarded with the unveiling of a larger picture that was in parts entertaining and in parts horrifying in its commentary about the darker sides of humanity.
The first season is still, in my opinion, the stronger of the two, and I feel that you could only fully appreciate the second if you were able to witness the beginning of Akane’s journey. But the second season of Psycho-Pass isn’t in any way diminished by that observation. I thoroughly enjoyed my viewing of the story between Akane and Kamui, though I do miss Kogami and wished he wasn’t just some weird phantom from Akane’s past in this season.
I enjoyed Psycho-Pass‘s second season, even if it does make me wonder about the possible horrors that could very well be real in the future. But aren’t the best sci-fi dystopian stories meant to make you feel that way?
Happy viewing!!
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