First Impressions / PSYCHO-PASS

「忍び寄る虚実」 (Shinobiyoru Kyojitsu)
“The Creeping Unknown”

One of the things that I love about PSYCHO-PASS is that it reminds of the crime dramas that I see on American television today. However, it does so with a twist because it is based on a dystopian future where people’s lives are dictated by the Sybil System. The heart of the series is still what I enjoy about crime dramas though and that’s the analysis done on the criminals and what their motives are. I prefer shows like Criminal Minds over shows like CSI because it’s not about the clues that are left behind at the crime scene, but what drives that person to do these things and what message are they trying to send. I thought the original season of PSYCHO-PASS explored that very well, especially in the first half when they went through different serial killers and it wasn’t completely focused on Shougo. I actually really liked the focus on Rikako because she was so psychotic but with good reason (even if her reasons don’t justify her actions). With that said, since PSYCHO-PASS 2 has only 3 months to prove itself, I like how they still try and flesh out the individuals that commit crimes because they’re practically throwaway characters. Someone like Kitazawa Akira (Satou Takuya) is just a way to introduce the mastermind, Kamui Kirito (Kimura Ryouhei), but Akira is still given a proper backstory that explains how he came to hate the Sybil System so much. I hope they mention Akira again somewhere along the lines because it might explain why Kamui chose to help Akira, or why Akira was so devoted to him. Sometimes it’s not just about how they go about clearing their hue, but also about what they’re trying to accomplish by doing so. In the end, it looks like Kamui was genuinely trying to help the fellow… but that might be because he needs a pawn to set up traps in his stead.

WC? stands for What Color? What does that mean to Akane? More importantly, how the hell did Kamui get into her apartment? That is so creepy and how do you not notice when you enter your room? I think it’s too soon to decipher the message that Kamui is trying to send the police force, but it does mean that he’s challenging them by being ”the invisible man”. I can’t tell if he’s trying to provoke them to think a certain way (like – what color are you and does that change?) or is he trying to challenge the system by saying that he can appear clear and off radar? Is he really a hologram? All these questions boggle my mind and it’s a great way to get back into the PP world but that also means that I could be overthinking the complexity of the issue. I definitely don’t think Kamui is an illusion or hologram (and if he is, that’s just too easy…) but that leaves the question of how he has no Crime Coefficient reading. If he can stay off the Sybil System, that might mean that he was never registered on it or not a “real” person by the definitions of Sybil. These are all just theories though so I’d like to hear everyone else’s to see if they’ve caught onto something I haven’t. The joys of blogging an anime original is that there are no spoilers; only speculation!

My favorite part this episode had to be scene with Akane in her room. I think this is the first sign of homage to season 1 because it hints that Akane misses Shinya and she’s even willing to second-hand smoke for him. If that doesn’t say ”I miss you” then I don’t know what does because I would never personally second-hand smoke just to remind myself of someone. Akane and Shinya are not just a couple in my mind (even though that would be sweet), they’re partners in crime and more like best friends that understand one another. I actually like how the shows depicts Akane’s relationships with her fellow coworkers as well because it’s an extension of all the hardships they faced together in the previous season. It would be a waste to flush all that development down the drain and unfortunately, it’s something that Mika doesn’t understand (yet). The way that Nobu has Akane’s back and vice versa is such a great demonstration of trust and Mika needs to start realizing what Akane is trying to do. Her character is going to get annoying very fast if she’s just going to stand in the way rather than help the investigations. Tougane and Akane have interesting dynamics together as well, but to me, no one will replace Shinya (love!. It does seem like they’re trying to play him off as someone that resembles Shinya (with the smoking and his demeanor) but he still gives me the shivers with his strand of hair and strand of hair and and well, the opening sequence kind of depicts him as evil. We’ll see how right or wrong I am.

I thought I’d also mentioned that I noticed the animation has dipped in quality since the last episode… or maybe that’s just me. Some of the character designs are starting to show their differences compared to the first season and not in a good way. The character faces feel much more elongated and pointy compared to being more rounded. As someone who isn’t so touchy about animation quality in general, if I’m starting to notice, then you know it’s bad. At least the key close-up frames are still being animated well though.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: The fact that Akane would secondhand smoke to be reminded of a “certain someone” is so bittersweet =( I miss him too! #pp_anime

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「Fallen」 by EGOIST

48 Comments

    3. I’m 99% sure that he is disguised has Togane… He has the same moves, the same habit of smoking after training and he even smokes the same brand of cigarrets :p
      If that was planed for being the great plot twist of the season, it was badly hidden xD

      Jim Dean
      Reply

  2. When Ginoza says it, Shimotsuki gets irritated and pulls ranks. Yet when Kunizuka says it, she blushes.
    https://randomc.net/image/PSYCHO-PASS/PSYCHO-PASS%202%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2003.jpg

    Speaking of Tougane, I saw a wild theory that he’s actually Kougami in disguise, using the aforementioned advanced holographic technology to fabricate a fake identity in order to get close to Akane. The way he smoked and boxed the robot boxer was way too similar.

    Ling Tosite Sigure has a great OP, though the ED by EGOIST grows on you after hearing it a few times.

    As for the ED, I noticed Kougami’s college professor in season 1 has joined the cast, which is exciting as we’ll get to see more of his good old-fashioned Sherlock Scan detective skills, which Kougami learned a lot from.

    echykr
    Reply

      1. It’s “kimashitawa”, the meme originating from epic yuri series Strawberry Panic, in which one of the characters Tamayo would often use this phrase (roughly translated as “(OMG) it’s coming/happening”) whenever she sees an exciting yuri event “happening”. The meme phrase gets used whenever two girls comes unusually close together.

        echykr
        Reply

  3. oh by the way cherrie, i dont think Akane is necessarily smoking because of Shinya. It’s implied in this ep that Akane is starting to get extremely stressed out. She’s not sleeping much and has been overworking herself as of late. She’s starting to get concerned that her stress levels are going to start affecting her psycho-pass which is why she hits the gym and has now picked up second-hand smoke. She tries to do as little of it as possible to keep her stress down but who knows how effective it is. To some degree though, the smoking could also be her paying homage to shinya but the real reason is to lower her stress.

    In terms of the animation, the faces where more of a problem in S1 on a technical standpoint. As i mentioned before, the more complex your character designs are, the harder they are to animate. S2 has tweaked the character designs a bit so that they are easier to animate and it’s actually for the better because Akane doesnt look like she is this balloon-headed dopey person anymore which allows the characters to be animated slightly better. Regardless, i guess it’s a matter of opinion as to which ones you actually prefer…the cg could still use work (then again psycho pass has always had animation quality dips here and there)

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

    1. I agree with you 100% here. I am in that minority which prefers the new designs. I really had some issues with the awkward character design consistency of the first season. Sometimes I found them really ugly. I like the ‘flow’ of the new style better!

      ljf
      Reply

    2. I think everyone can have their own interpretations of why she’s secondhand smoking in that scene… to me, if your intentions are to keep your stress levels down, you might as well just smoke. It can be less harmful than secondhand smoking =S I’m a romantic so, to me, she’s reminiscing ^^

      I never thought that Akane was too worried about her own Crime Coefficient, but I guess every cop would be to some extent. I always thought that Akane was just watched by the Sybil System (and that scary lady) rather than being judged based on her hue rating because of her unique circumstances. Technically the system could’ve killed her off a long time ago for discovering what it is but instead they let her continue what she does so to me, I think she’s just special.

      Cherrie
      Reply

      1. I agree that Akane’s smoking scene is up for interpretation and i beinng a romantic as well is not against her reminiscing about kogami. But with that ominous narration by Akane at the end of ep 1 and the fact that she has been overworking herself, i get the feeling that she’s about to go through some serious shit and it makes the possibility of her attempting to lower her stress that more relevant. Akane has never been the type to worry about her hue but in this business she’s in, i feel like she probably thinks it’s best to play on the safe side

        sonicsenryaku
        Reply

  5. It seems Mika has the hots for Yaiyoi. Good for her, that she also swings that way. For some reason I think Mika doesn’t really hate Enforcers themselves (though with the exception of Yaiyoi, her opinion of them shouldn’t be that high either) but rather Ginoza. I thought it was funny how she yelled at him for thinking of water closet and dismissing Yaiyoi’s suggestion.

    I think WC? could also stand for White Clear? the lowest hue possible, which Makishima had when he was at zero. Kamui seems to be an intellectual and rebel like Makishima but unlike him he doesn’t seem to be a sociopath.

    My theory on how Kamui was able to reduce the hue of Akira is, that he manged to find out how the brain of criminal asymptotic person works and apply it with some technology or drugs to others. Maybe he found Makishima’s corpse and analyzed it? I also think that there is more to that woman the hologram was based on. In the opining were one or two scenes with air planes and a woman dying in fifteen years ago is imo no coincidence.

    dean
    Reply

  8. It’s interesting our new villain has been confirmed to actually be undetectable by Sibyl rather than simply hiding their identity (similar to season 1’s helmets) as I originally thought; it introduces a whole new range of possibilities for how and why. This ain’t as simple as Makishima’s condition as the person literally is not picked up by Sibyl, even when in front of security cameras. Very likely has something to do with that advertisement in episode 1 about the drug able to cleanse hues.

    Kamui by the looks of things so far could be labelled as an idealist in the same manner as Sibyl and its creators, he was disappointed–almost enraged–that Akane could not see what he was trying to accomplish. Bringing down Psycho Pass hues and eliminating the potential for latent criminals? What’s not to like? That by itself already separates Kamui from Makishima as the latter simply wanted to test individuals for the entertainment, whereas Kamui appears to actually be trying to change the world.

    Of course Kamui’s method (currently unknown) of allowing for manipulable hues and Sibyl System invisibility on the surface seems to mesh with Akane’s apparent set of morals, but things ain’t that simple. Akane is willing to rehabilitate in the confines of Sibyl, making use of facilities (i.e. prisons) to house people until (what can be guessed) those incarcerated are returned to a “normal” state of mind. Kamui on the other hand appears to have the idea that those with clear hues are safe, no matter what crimes they committed before obtaining that hue; it explains his anger at Akane for being ready to shoot Akira, even though Akira had already detonated yet another bomb. So far IMO this looks to be a comparison between the growing debate/criticism on rehabilitation over strict incarceration/death penalty. Both Akane and Kamui appear to value human life and favour rehabilitation, but Akane as mentioned has limits to her goodwill; Kamui looks to take a more radical stance. If this argument holds up, it turns Psycho Pass from what makes Sibyl so bad (Season 1’s focus) into what can make Sibyl good (i.e. what it can prevent).

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. My thoughts exactly; i couldnt agree more. I feel like this is the core essence of what psycho-pass 2 is trying to tackle. I literally breathed a sigh of relief upon knowing that psycho-pass 2 wasnt going to be treading the same ground as the first season (the world building is done, now the series can delve more into this world). The other main theme being handled this season it seems is perception. What is real and what isnt? what is reality and what is fiction? If you cant trust technology or your five senses, what do you trust in a world where everything is run by technology. If memory is based on perception and existence is based on memory, then living in a world such as this makes for a fallible existence and no one can be sure of anything anymore. it really nails in the idea that the whole world of pyscho-pass is indeed a fallible construct.

      sonicsenryaku
      Reply

  9. Could the other reason why Kamui wasn’t detected be because he was also supposed to be dead? Like, he was in that same plane crash that model for his Holo died of? A part of the OP somehow gives a shot of a plane, and someone on it.

    I think this Kamui guy is interesting. Definitely less preachy(?) than Shougo and more sympathetic, perhaps.

    witchhuntress
    Reply

  10. wow i just realized that sakura ayane had her dream come true here in psycho pass, she’s finally able to work together with HanaKana, her admiration ever since she entered the industry. damn i want to know her reaction when she finds out she got this role as HanaKana’s sidekick

    danes256
    Reply

  12. So we got the usual Enforcer exposure this week. That’s good, and I hope they do it more often… because that was one of the weak points from Season 1. I felt like the enforcers beside Kogami and Masaoka barely got some backstory.

    Attention all Mika Shimotsuki haters here:
    Show Spoiler ▼

    That’s my theory though…

    JiCi
    Reply

    1. I fully agree with you.

      Plus I don’t hate Mika but sometimes I find her actions and words a tad to harsh.

      Plus even by now, she hasn’t fully acclimatised to Tsunemori’s style?

      cruiser2710
      Reply

    2. I understand that Mika has been through a lot, especially being so young and witnessing so much. Her hate for Enforcers (except Yayoi I guess) comes with good reason – but I also think that she should know that being an officer means, you’re going to be working with Enforcers. They’re there to help you and they’re not ALL criminals exactly… just people with high crime coefficients like Nobu. Anyway, I don’t have a problem with her because she’s rude to Enforcers, but more so Akane. Like cruiser2710 said, if they’ve been working together for so long, why hasn’t she realized now that Akane is “different”? Not everything in the world is black and white and I think eventually Mika will realize that there are flaws in the System that Akane is trying to work around. I don’t necessarily hate her because she has tons of room for development, but we’ll see what that comes around.
      I much prefer the Yayoi/Shion ship too… I think Mika falling for Yayoi would be very one-sided… >_>

      Cherrie
      Reply

      1. To be clear, I’m not too fond of Mika’s attitude, but at least I can understand why.

        Enforcers are essentially people that are thought to be at risk of going insane and committing crimes. Read “at risk” though… because they’re not in control of their choices here.

        I’d ship Yayoi with Shion anyday… if the Season 1’s ending and one of the promotional poster weren’t clear enough. Still I would like some explanation about it.
        Show Spoiler ▼

        Then again… watch them point a death flag at either lady so that we don’t get an obvious lesbian couple… TV series of any kind from any region seem to love splitting woman couples in recent years ¬_¬;

        JiCi
        Reply

  13. I don’t think she’s second hand smoking to remember Kogami or as a means of stress control.

    It’s almost as if it’s some sort of cover, a deception. She wants people to think she smokes for some reason. She seemed more concerned with the smell sticking to her than anything else.

    qwert
    Reply

  14. i’m hypothesizing the therapist is actually kirito kamui. or kirito is acting as the therapist. sibyl judges people at the moment, and sometimes their psycho pass drifts and comes down, akane knows when she tried to get the bomber under 300. kirito is maybe trying to win akane over, make her question sibyl more and try to rehabilitate people and make sibyl irrelevant by reducing everyone’s psychopass hue.

    who else would know how to lower one’s hue than a trained therapist. also the therapist was the only one who visited the bomber. the therapist did tell akane to go home and get rest or aka go home read the message i left for you. therapist also works for MWPSB and knows akane and the whole team and would know akane. i mean how would kirito even know about who works for MWPSB like akane, know her address, know how she’s thinking, etc?

    even if the therapist and kamui arent the same or connected, i imagine the motivation is opposing MWPSB because they eliminate (judge) people who are misunderstood or don’t fit into the SIbyl system simply cause they’re different. and while makashima was about letting human nature take control and reveal and witness people’s true selves (which he doesn’t get to enjoy in the Sibyl system and so tries to destroy it), kamui seems to be about just saving people and making psycho pass something irrelevant if it’s something you can just easily fix and maybe make people try to understand each other more than make people understand sibyl and thus each other or using understanding sibyl to understand others. mika has her problem of being unable to understand the enforcers or see things from their view, i imagine kamui is trying to do something to fix that and hoped someone like akane can understand the human soul is not so black and white (ending of ep 2, kirito mad at akane for not understanding and just eliminating bomber-san)

    the dead 8-yr girl has a definite connection, i don’t think it’s random, and conveniently the whole name is blocked out, just mika….likely someone’s imouto or nee-san in the series. or it could be just random but as someone mentioned why have a plane in the op and a figure emerge from it?

    tougane has something going on around him. also former therapist and his foundation directly conflicts kamui’s, why tougane wanted to join interrogation. his family’s foundation relies on psycho pass, kamui is trying to make it worthless. why use drug company’s drug (which was site of bombing) when you can just chat w/kamui? making sure akane doesn’t get too hasty, maybe a watch dog for Kasei.

    and yes kamui is trying to challenge the MWPSB. he caught attention after the 4th bombing. nothing stopped him from just clearing bomber san’s hue every time he bombed and at that point, will never find culprit. kamui wanted them to chase bomber-san and he could’ve just fixed the guy’s hue and psycho pass w/out letting him bomb at all but let him bomb, ambush MWPSB and raise stress levels.

    i enjoy the parallels from this series to real life. we take drugs to fix our heads, our eccentricities, our differences, behavior, things we find wrong with ourselves, depression, etc, much like LACOUSE in the beginning. those that are different, discarded, those fitting the mold, prosper, and it becomes a stale society. it’s like being human is an illness itself that sibyl system and society tries to cure.

    fishies
    Reply

  17. I thought “WC?” was implied to mean “White Clear?” since they were saying “clear” a lot, but now I guess I’m not too sure about it now.

    I’m also of the mind that Akane is second-hand smoking with reason to reduce her stress. Whether she does it consciously or unconsciously to remind herself of Kougami is another thing, but I do think it definitely relates to him.

    While trying to not be too critical, Mika’s character design really throws me off. She hasn’t been shown to do anything remotely useful to the team. All she has done so far was make smartass retorts not only to the Enforcers, but to her superior officers, namely Akane. I read her background, and I do remember her from season one, but she’s so far have been a hamper on my experience watching this. The blush with Yayoi was definitely cute, but in the context of this show, it feels forced and unnatural. She is probably being set up for some kind of development but it comes off as a bit too forced for me, and I can see this show actually benefiting or at least losing absolutely nothing for cutting her out.

    bolton
    Reply

  18. Pretty brilliant follow up to the fantastic premiere, i’m really glad PP is living up to it’s legacy even with the studio changed, now it’s time to speculate about what the heck is going on here, i’ll use bullet points to make it easier to follow.

    -Tougane is very peculiar, the OP tries to hint at him being something more than just your average enforcer, they hint a relation to Kamui (a scene with half of his face being replaced with Kamui’s face) as well as something else (half his face dark with a red eye) which could mean he could be an android (like the head of the police force from season one, she does appear in the OP here too and is replaced by Tougane in a quick camera cut), one made by Sybil to keep a very close eye on Akane to make sure she keeps her secrets and continues to forward the plan she and Sybil reluctantly agreed too (moving society forward bit by bit to the point where Sybil is one day not needed), his similarities to Kougami make really think Sybil intentionally made him this way so that Akane can get comfortable with him pretty quickly .. it’s kinda creepy if you ask me .. but that’s just a theory so far.

    -Kamui too is very peculiar, he might be like Shogo but a slightly more varied case or he could be something else entirely, he could be an android remotely controlled by someone (Kougami !!?), or a cyborg with a metal shielded brain, think Ghost in the Shell (not much about cyborgs in PP world), either way he isn’t a hologram cause hologram don’t twist your arm and make you fire your weapon by force nor do they itch WC? on walls .. he surely was using one, and that point also seems important, the girl he based the hologram on, i think this might be like Terror in Resonance, he used that girl specifically for his hologram cause he knew Akane will figure it out and he is using that to point her in the direction of an old case, the girl supposedly died in an accident, maybe this “accident” was something else and Kamui is trying to make it resurface or using it to make a statement like his WC? comment, there is also the fact that he seems too familiar with Akane .. enough to choose her to put his message right in her bedroom (he clearly could have killed her if he wanted) and enough to know her moral values and mindset to the point that he had expectations of her to save Akira, who is Kamui and how did he get to know her in the first place are big mysteries for now, more reasons to keep watching, oh .. and did i mention he is shown in the OP with blue enforcer-like eyes, probably hints at him being a former enforcer (like someone we know).

    -Where is Kougami !?

    And did i mention that i LOVE that new OP, it’s so brilliant, not only does it have some fantastic animation and very catchy song specifically made and timed with it (or the other way around) but it also foreshadows many upcoming revelations in a very neat way so you don’t know whether the hints are supposed to be literal or metaphorical (like the half of Tougane’s face turning into Kamui’s face, it can be interpreted in many ways), and it’s also quite psychedelic, i mean some of the parts really unsettling and down right creepy (like the repeating sequences) and set a foreboding and dark atmosphere for the show (some parts in the middle of the OP even remind me of From the New World creepy vibe .. the green dead person lying in water, the blood splashes, girl in water, … etc)

    Can’t wait for next week XD

    Hunter-Wolf
    Reply

    1. i really like ur interpretation of psycho pass.. that was brilliant and we have many questions surrounded psycho pass 2nd season .

      and ar u pretty sure that half of tougane face is kamui? because it also looks like kougami, kamui’s hair have similar type with kougami so im not sure about that .

      riku
      Reply

  19. For all we know Tougane…

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Reikakou
    Reply

  20. Fun stuff, fun stuff!

    I’m very happy to see that the atmosphere of S2 is just like what I learned to love in S1. And for me, it’s hilarious to see how the rules-stickly Akane from S1 has mellowed out and now is the calm, relaxed and still very competent veteran 🙂

    Shimotsuki is going to be fun. The taming of the shrew is a good setting that never gets old for me. And yes, I hope her development with Ginza and _especially_ Yayoi stays as enjoyable as it is atm!

    Mentar
    Reply

  21. Is is just me or has the writing for the Public Safety Bureau characters taken a nose dive?

    I like the first season of Psycho Pass because it is a smart series. The mystery component of the criminal cases was developed pretty thorough, just like Cherrie is writing in her post here, and the characters actually tried to think about what could be happening. But this episode, it is as if the first season never happened. “Someone doesn’t show up on the scanner or has irregularities in his Psycho Pass!” “OMG IMPOSSIBLE THE SYSTEM IS WITHOUT ERROR SO THIS PERSON MUST NOT EXIST” Erm, so the main antagonist or the helm technology from season one didn’t exist? Were completely forgotten, by even Akane?

    I can understand keeping the secret of what the Sybil System actually is to be known only to Akane, but if they keep this level of writing up the second series won’t hold a candle to the first. The first thing Akane should think about is that the Sybil System must not want to see or actively erase the existence of Kamui. Not him not being there.
    This deduction is eventually made by her, but for the wrong reason. “Let’s assume Kitagawa is not completely crazy, someone must’ve been there!” -right. So you forgot how the Sybil System works…

    Maybe my expectations for this series or certain characters are too high after season one, but so far my hopes have been met with a poor sequel.

    oatmeal
    Reply

    1. Maybe I wasn’t paying too much attention, but I think only others except Akane (and possibly Gino) think Sibyl is infallible. Their inability to believe this stuff can happen may just be a clue as to how Sibyl, though found out to be imperfect last season, is still not imperfect to everyone’s eyes. Because anyone who thinks so is singled out by the system in some way or another. Immediately. Why do you think Akane is able to serve still? If she had gone and said stuff about what she learned about Sibyl, do you think she’d still be working as inspector?

      witchhuntress
      Reply

    2. Sorry, just to add. While Shougo was undetected at some point, I don’t think he used a holo before. He used that helmet thing. Why only Akane seems to think of the possibility of truth in Kitazawa(?)’s words? She was trained by Kougami and Masaoka not to see things just by face value. While the others may wont to do because it makes their work easier. Heck, Sibyl is supposed to make everything easy for them. It’s built to ensure no recurrence of crimes.

      witchhuntress
      Reply

  22. Doesn’t it make perfect sense if
    Show Spoiler ▼

    gen
    Reply

  23. i have some point here,, akane asked to herself that if the smell is enough to make her remind of him . im not thinking in romantic way but surely kougami is the person that akane thought as we know the bones of their relationship was stronger back then. perhaps she want to hear current news about kougami

    the writer of psycho pass story might changes but if there is no appearance of kougami, fans must be upset and it will involve psycho pass rate.

    beside, at the end of psycho pass first season, we dont know that kougami is really shot makishima’s head or not and what is the meaning of kougami last scene in his new room?
    there are so much clues and unfinished story from psycho pass 1 ..

    well let us see and hope kougami will do his movement .

    riku
    Reply

  24. Now I want a prequel to how their world decided on relying on the Sibyl System.
    When Aoyanagi cannot believe that a person of that low a Crime Coefficient level is capable of doing that, that moment is kind of sad and disappointing for a police force.

    I hope thats not our future.

    Is Kamui special or has he just found a loophole in the Sibyl System?
    The Psycho-Pass method cannot be relied on now since Kamui’s hack(?) works.
    First security hole in 30 years?

    And that LACOUSE in episode 1?

    iron2000
    Reply

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