Psycho-Pass @ Amazon
You can play the game of trying to guess which sci-fi author has created worlds most similar to Psycho-Pass and award yourself bonus points if the characters in the anime agree with your assessment when they have the very same conversation.
It might be tempting to describe Psycho-Pass as a utopian future as this is a Japan in which people no longer worry about locking their doors. As viewers we’re not really given the chance to enjoy the pleasantries as our hero character is a newly graduated cop who’s thrown in the deep end on her first day.
In this future the State have the ability to perceive your “Psycho-Pass” and determine your state of mind or even intent. Citizens who are calm and law abiding have Psycho-Passes that register as clear colours. Those people who have minds that are beginning to get a bit murky have Psycho-Passes that begin to show that distortion. If your Psycho-Passes gets too messed up your Criminal Coefficient begins to rise.
It is illegal to have a high Criminal Coefficient. It does not matter whether you’ve committed a crime or not. If your Criminal Coefficient suggests you have the potential to be a criminal then the State treats you like a criminal.
The rules apply to cops too. Inspectors have to deal with criminals – or potential criminals – while keeping their own Psycho-Pass clear and their Criminal Coefficient down. Given that stress, gun battles and witnessing crime tends to mess with your Psycho-Pass this is no easy matter.
To help the Inspectors the police force deploys Enforcers. Enforcers are potential criminals, people who no longer fit in with society because the AI that governs such things has determined their Criminal Coefficient is too high, but who work for the police instead and help to tackle criminals. The Enforcers are crucial as they’re much better at thinking like criminals than the Inspectors.
There’s one other significant slice of information presented to us in the first episode of this wonderfully illustrated anime. The guns that the Inspectors and Enforcers wield are, in effect, the eyes of the judging AI system. Whenever these guns, known as Dominators, are pointed at someone the gun itself makes a decision. If the gun decides the Criminal Coefficient is low enough then the trigger locks and it will not fire. If the target’s Criminal Coefficient is high then the gun will enter paralyse mode and if the Criminal Coefficient is very high then the gun upgrades itself into a deadly battle canon.
I found the promise of Psycho-Pass to be compelling. What is society like when just the potential of being a criminal is illegal? Would you trust an AI to control your gun if you’re sent into dangerous situations? What if the system is faulty? How could any cop keep their mind calm enough to maintain a healthy Psycho-Pass?
The good news is that the four disc series explores pretty much all of these angles. The rolling start is straight forward and effective. We follow the team of two inspectors, including our newbie, and four enforcers as they try and cope with a series of criminals.
Does it sound hard being a criminal in such a world? Just walking outside will result in one of the ever present cameras detecting your potential for crime. It comes as little surprise to discover there’s a mastermind who’s been helping villains get started and it is this mastermind who becomes the main bad guy.
I say “bad guy” as there’s no doubt this character is truly criminally insane. However, he’s also venting against a Japan that’s effectively become a police state where the wrong thoughts can result in a lifetime behind bars or worse.
This is a mature anime; not in terms of boobs or fan service but in the issues explored and the bloody crimes featured.
By the end of the series you’ll have favourites among all the characters, alive or dead, and you’ll have experienced a whirlwind tour of a future that feels frighteningly possible and real.
I was left wanting more. Psycho-Pass should be on your “buy it now” list.
My copy of Psycho-Pass was provided for review. The complete series becomes available in the UK on 1st September and can be pre-ordered or bought from Amazon.
Check out the comments below to see what other Geek Natives think.
