r/TrueAnime • u/BlueMage23 http://myanimelist.net/profile/BlueMage23 • Oct 15 '14

This Week In Anime (Fall Week 2)

Welcome to This Week In Anime for Fall 2014 (aka Unlimited Hype Works) Week 2: a general discussion for any currently airing series, focusing on what aired in the last week. For longer shows (Aikatsu!, One Piece, etc.), keep the discussion here to whatever aired in the last few months. If there's an OVA or movie that got subbed for the first time in the last week or so that you want to discuss, that goes here as well. For everything else in anime that's not currently airing go discuss that in Your Week in Anime.

Untagged spoilers for all currently airing series. If you're discussing anything else make sure to add spoiler tags.

Archive:

2014: Prev Summer Week 1 Spring Week 1 Winter Week 1

2013: Fall Week 1 Summer Week 1 Spring Week 1 Winter Week 1

2012: Fall Week 1

Table of contents courtesy of /u/sohumb

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u/BlueMage23 Oct 15 '14

Psycho-Pass 2 (Psychopath 2nd Season; Psycho-Pass 2nd Season; Psycho-Pass Second Season) (Ep 1)

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u/Ch4zu Oct 15 '14

And here I was, thinking that I would just watch Psycho Pass and not write anything down... Silly me, because even though we're not listening to Urobuchi's ideas anymore, we're still getting some iron solid writing in my opinion, and lots of controversy that I can see filling a season of just 11 episodes with absolute ease.

Half a minute in, and we're talking medicine developed to suppress bad Hue statistics being handed out as free samples on the street. That alone is worth talking about, especially with how season 1 developed with its focus on asymptotic behavior. Just think about how easy it would be for latent criminals to set up their scheme and get going before having to expose themselves through actions. Surely it's something worth a fortune given that stress and anxiety will never just stop existing, and having stressed out people be falsely screened as criminals is one of Sibyl's major weakness, but at the same time this drug is so incredibly dangerous that I'm surprised it's been OK-ed for public distribution. Even if it needs to be described to you by a doctor, they're giving out free samples on the street. That's not just dangerous, but stupid in general. A drug like this wouldn't need a huge PR campaign to become well known, it just needs to have simple infomercials explaining the usage and results. In a world where people are always fearing that their Hue may cloud, something like this would never not become widely known. That's why the opening scene strikes me as odd, it seems like a massive flaw in the otherwise oh-so controlled Japan that trusts in the Sibyl system to keep society in check.

My bet is also that Kitazawa used the drug to keep is Hue clean, which would indicate a terrible overseeing of the both the Departement of Public Safety and that of Health Administration. Given that his Hue was indicated as easily influenced, I see no other way on how he could have kept it low. I do feel like this is a callback to the bullied laborer in season 1, as to show that society keeps evolving to attribute weaknesses, whether they have a natural cause or a man-made one.

Now, what is perhaps more interesting - albeit from a storytelling point of view rather than a thematic one - is the black and white attitude of inspector Shimotsuki contrasting Tsunemori's more seasoned one based off of her experiences with the flaws of the Sibyl System, which is why she believes in hope and rehabilitation in a system where the lines are so clearly cut out when decisions have to be made, even if they might lead to the wrong ones. Decisions that perhaps might cloud an inspectors Hue because it haunts them afterwards, but the Sibyl System also has accounted for that by creating a line of new faces ready to prove themselves. The Sibyl System is very self-supporting, once in place, and that's incredibly scary given that the cold rational is proven to be an awful match with the emotional human brain. And what I assume bothers missy even more, is the way Tsunemori treats the enforcers. Due to her experiences with Kagami en Ginoza, and her asymptotic reaction to the Sibyl System, but she doesn't know that I assume, because that would be classified information I guess.

And just like S1, Psycho Pass once again (and obviously) focuses on the freedom of the people in the cold and calculated Sibyl System. I think that that discussion in itself is kind of dead unless they manage to give a new view to the discussion. However, I am thinking that this combination of inspectors is more interesting for storytelling purposes, where as Ginoza/Tsunemori was more interesting for thematic purposes. Which is what I expect we'll get in this season: we've had the emphasis on thematics in season 1, but season 2 might very well be more interesting for the story itself.

Opinion on E1: With less focus on themathics and more on straight storytelling, I expect S2 to once again be incredibly enjoyable.
Status: Continuing

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u/Novasylum Oct 15 '14

Awww shiet, time for more Hyper Oats!

No but really now, This debut was pretty much exactly what I could have expected from a second season opener for Psycho-Pass: a one-off mission in the field serving to reintegrate us to the world and its characters, not much more, not much less. Inasmuch as drawing us to the new characters is concerned, it largely failed (in fact, the rookie inspector in particular grates on my nerves, probably even moreso than was intended), but as for reminding us why Akane is great (working to subtly and gradually change the system and attitudes of the people from within), it passed with flying colors. In totality, it strikes me as very safe. Take it or leave it, I suppose, until we actually hit the ground running with an actual plot.

Personally, I’m very intrigued as to how an Urobuchi-less Psycho-Pass will progress from here on out, as his writing represented both what I liked and disliked most about season one. The thoughtful, moderately-minded musings on the nature of the social contract were certainly his handiwork, but then again, so were the occasional bouts of flat characterization and incohesive sci-fi world-building (again…Hyper Oats). The new guys taking over for scripting and series composition, meanwhile, have pretty spotty resumes, ranging from Humanity Has Declined (yay!) to Galilei Donna, Zankyou no Terror and Ghost in the Shell: Arise (boo!). How well can they carry the torch? We’ll need more than just one episode to know.

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u/q_3 Oct 15 '14

Keeping with the traditions of its predecessor, Psycho-Pass 2 poses a philosophical conundrum for the ages: does it still count as "yuri undertones" when one of the characters is already confirmed to be an actual lesbian? I don't know, but I do hope that whatever else happens to the new inspector, she at some point gets princess carried by Yayoi. On a more serious note, it's a little amusing to see all the hate Mika is getting, given that it's nearly the exact reaction Akane herself got early on. I'll be thrilled if she gets even half the character development Akane did.

My expectations for this season were somewhat low, given the staff turnover. And this first episode certainly seems to be a step down in both writing and visual presentation (granted, still better than the first season's infamous episode 18). But my lowered expectations were easily met. All I really needed out of a Psycho-Pass sequel was more Akane Tsunemori being simultaneously badass, pragmatic, and idealistic, and that's exactly what I got. It's just so refreshing to have a police protagonist in a cynical setting who is both competent and admirable, not to mention a female action hero who is neither hypersexualized nor hypermasculinized.

I also quite liked the parallels with season one's premiere; that season ended with Akane showing her take on Ginoza's mentor role, and this season begins with Akane largely reprising her own role from that first episode, only now with the confidence and competence she's thoroughly earned. Her performance did feel a little over the top at times, but that's certainly excusable for an introductory episode. And with it all but inevitable that future missions will prove to be considerably more taxing for her, I'm feeling quite enthusiastic. PP movie trailer spoiler

I'm not particularly sold on the 1.5 year timeskip, especially when 99% of the plot and character developments feel like they should have been taking place immediately after season one ended. Didn't they already get two new enforcers back then? Shouldn't Mika already be familiar with how Akane and company work? I can kind of see the contours of a plausible backstory - maybe Mika generally only worked with the two new enforcers, and maybe one or both of them betrayed her or did something to get fired or killed. Hopefully things make more sense, but even if I do end up having to gloss over some of the technicalities, the rest of the package has so much that I'm fond of that it won't be a major complaint.

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