Psycho-Pass 2

davidbastias Dec 19, 2014

8

I loved the first season of Psycho-Pass, in fact it is even my favorite anime of all time. I have rewatched it countless times and believe it is a show that transcends anime. You can imagine my excitement when they announced that a second season was coming. Unfortunetly, my anticipation became to drop as I learned that Production IG would not be working on this season and was being replaced by Tatsunoko. Now I have nothing against Tatsunoko, they're actually a really good studio but they aren't Production IG. Then I found out that Gen Urobuchi would not be returning this season and would only be there to assist as an advisor. The new man taking his responsibilities would be Tow Ubukata. I'm actually a fan of Ubukata especially for what he did with Mardock Scramble but he isn't on Urobuchi's level. So although both of these things were going to slightly hurt the production, I still felt like the second season of Psycho-Pass should have still have been good right? Well Kinda... Story The story was by far the weakest part of this season and the most disappointing. We only got 11 episodes at the end of the day so it's not much to work with. I'm upset they couldn't find a way to get up to 13 because then the story might have been given more time to develop. There are some good plot twists (even though you can see most of them coming) and it still delivers on the action from the first season. The biggest problem with this season, is that the plot just seems too basic or too plain. The first season of Psycho-Pass had a plot that really went for it. It made you think and the things happening in the story seemed to tell a story far more grandiose. Although this season tries to do the same thing, it doesn't do the first season justice and even feels a bit ridculous at times. I really can't blame Ubukata for this though, he got screwed. Think about it, Urobuchi writes the first season then takes off to go work on Aldnoah.Zero, Expelled from Paradise and most importantly the Psycho-Pass Movie. I imagine Gen telling Ubukata, "ok, so I got the beginning of this story done and I know how I want it to end. Although, I don't know what to do with the middle so you go ahead and write it and just try to fit these things in so I can use it in the movie". I think Ubukata was held back with this series, maybe being restricted on what characters could do and how the plot could go. The Psycho-Pass movie which is a sequel to this season is being made at the same time so this season couldn't do anything that crazy that would alter the entire landscape of things. In the end it shows, we are left with a plot that has no effect on the Psycho-Pass universe besides our new characters or old characters getting a bit more development. I really think Ubukata did his best with what he got to work with and although it wasn't bad, it ended up being nothing special. Animation I don't have much to say when it comes to the animation. It's obvious that it doesn't look as jaw-dropping as the first season since Production IG isn't animating it and the budget is really going to the movie (again they set this season up to fail). It still looks good though, the city and landscapes look great. The fight scenes are well animated and it still looks amazing to see someone get blown up with a dominator. All in all, it's well made and still looks good. Sound I'll split this part in 2, the voice acting and the actual sound of the series. The voice acting is great, obviously you get the same actors like Kana Hanazawa giving a great performance just like they did in the first season. The new voice actors did an incredible job as well especially Ayane Sakura as Mika, she did a really good job with her and I think she has a bright future ahead of herself as a voice actress. Keiji Fujiwara as Togane was another great addition, the guy sounds like badass and always gives a good performance wheter he's voicing a father figure or a villian. I also want to shoutout Takahiro Sakurai (the voice of Makashima) for voicing Sho Hinakawa. He didn't have that many lines but it was cool to see him still involved with the series in a way. As for the music, Yugo Kanno is back and so are a lot of the sounds we are used to from the first season. It's an amazing OST and one of my favorite things of Psycho-Pass. As for the opening, Ling Tosite Sigure is also back! It's a catchy song and really gets you excited for the episode, while giving you that vibe from the first season. The ending theme is by Egoist, who we should all be familiar with by now. I love this ending theme and it's a song I will be listening to far after this anime is over. The sound was the best part of the season, it really stole the show.  Characters With Makishima and Kougami gone, the rest of the characters have really big shoes to fill. Akane is now our sole main character and I loved it. She really has matured from the first season and we get to see her develop even more this season. Something I really enjoyed was that they took really minor characters from the first season and gave them some time to shine like Aoyanagi, Shisui, Saiga and of course Mika. The other divisions of the MWPSB get more screen time this season and it's really interesting to see how differently they operate from Division 1. Mika Shimotsuki is a great addition to the team, she has huge character development through the series and is the saving grace of this season. I didn't want her to be another Akane and she isn't. She is the exact opposite and has different ideals entirely. I can't wait to see how she is in the upcoming movie. Sakuya Togane will probably spark your interest early and he has a huge role in the series. The staff did a good job going into his backstory and we learn more about Togane then characters we have known for a long time. I enjoyed his character a lot and was a personal favorite for me. My only problem with the characters was the main villian, Kamui Kirito. I didn't think he was awfully written, but he just wasn't a great villian, he wasn't Makishima. Kamui and Akane, didn't give me the epicness of Makishima vs Kougami where ideals where clashing and it made you question who was the real villian. To wrap this section up, Kougami and Makishima are such great characters, that with them gone it was too hard for the new characters to take their place. All though it tried, it wasn't the same. Psycho-Pass 2 had good characters but I wish it took that next level I was looking for. Overall Overall, I did enjoy Psycho-Pass 2. It wasn't a great written story but it was fun at the end of the day. If you overlook some of the things in the plot, you'll have a great time watching it. It hits a lot of the same beats the first season did, good action, great tense moments, well done characters, sound is amazing, etc. It isn't on the level of the first season but that doesn't mean it isn't a good anime, it's better then most things on this season. I'm not a biased fanboy, I can see and I admit the problems with this season. The fact that they were making the movie at the same time as the second season, with different production companies and different staff is ridiculous, and ultimately I believe that this season was set up to be a failure. Through all of it's faults, it turned out a lot better then it should have and I highly recommened it to anyone who watched the first season.

CaptainSlow Dec 19, 2014

6

What I Liked: Animation was good for the most part. Shimotsuki, and her evolution throughout the series from by-the-book faithful to a conflicted individual. The opening theme, along with its animation, had a great thriller feel to it. The ending theme. What I Didn't: Both the opening and ending themes leads you to think this series has psychological thriller written all over it. Characterisation was weak, leading many characters to be one-dimensional and completely uninteresting. Togane, and his evolution from mysterious possible-antagonist to laughable Mummy's Boy villain. The fact that this season lacked the imposing, dystopic feel of S1. Heavy reliance on shock and gore. The fact that the series seems to be confused as to what genre it should be. The use of Akane's grandmother as a plot device. Final Verdict: A muddled mess of a sequel, Psycho-Pass 2 attempts to be a psychological thriller, a futuristic cop-drama and a high-octane action spectacular but fails miserably at being all three. The psychological and philosophical intrigue of S1 is watered-down or practically non-existant, usually exchanged for gruesome mass-deaths or violence, and many of the characters suffer from a lack of characterisation or development. All-and-all, it's a disappointing and hollow follow-up to a strong first season.

PurplePeopleEater Oct 24, 2015

6.5

It's too short!!!! The first season was 22 episodes. It's true that the first season had to introduce ALL the characters and the setting as well as explain things, so it makes sense that it would be long (although I don't consider 22 episodes a long season or even close). The second season still had to introduce characters though because they got rid of at least half the characters in the first season! Unfortunately one of the characters no longer present is Kougami too. Anyway, my point is, this season was too short. Some parts of the story felt rushed too. The end didn't wrap up as neatly either. We never did really find out if the new inspector girl ever got a cloudy psychopass for even a moment even though mentioning her psychopass wasn't uncommon. She, as well as several other characters, were not developed as well either. I feel like I know quite a bit about the characters from the first season but not so much from this season. Even if it is a second season using the same setting and similar ideas from the first season, 11 episodes is still too short, especially if you mess around with the characters and their roles. IT'S TOO SHORT!!! I'm so tired of so many animes being so short, except for the less interesting, repetative, cliche ones that end up on daytime american tv. (Yes, I am aware I have a similar rant in the majority of my reviews).  The story was fine but it wasn't as well developed and it felt a bit rushed. It was similar to the first season in the fact that a new type of person arose that Sybil was unable to judge.  The animation was the same as the first season. It was averge and I am really thankful they didn't show the two puppies dying really. It was still a bit much for me, but it wasn't like Efen Lied.  The sound was average. It wasn't very unique. I didn't really notice it much except for the part with the opera. I don't think I ever watched/listened to the opening and ending since I usually don't. The characters were not as solid as they were in the first season and they didn't bring Kougami back. The inspector who became a latent criminal seemed very different from the first season too which seemed weird but it could have been due to the events during the first season. Sadly, the new characters, besides Togane, were not as developed as before. The new inspector seemed to play a decent sized role, but we never learned much about her so it wasn't as interesting and it left loose ends. Conclusion is eleven episodes is not enough and if you make the first season 22 episodes, then the second season should be 22 episodes. I won't be surprised if we never see a season three. I think shortening the second season was a gigantic mistake.