Psycho-Pass

I’m sorry, but this had to be one of the flimsiest whodunit’s I’ve ever seen in any sort of police procedural. Why even bother with the pretense of a murder mystery when there’s only ever one suspect, and he’s the poor sap who’s getting bullied in the middle of a cafeteria right when our heroes arrive on the scene.

One of you lunatics hyped up the arrival of the Dominators as being bringing this show closer to JUDGE DREDD territory, and I was pretty excited about the prospect. The name conjured visions of this team rolling out over-the-top robot enforcers who’d take care of business on the more dicey missions. Instead, they’re just like the handguns we’ve seen so much already, except that they do a little morphin’ before they deliver a bigger bang (a bit like Dredd’s Lawgiver in that respect, I see). If this show’s mad, it’s mad within some seriously narrow parameters.

Honestly, this show would benefit from leaning even closer to DREDD and going whole hog with its satirical intentions. If it went over-the-top, it could still make the serious points it wants to make, but it wouldn’t leave its plot holes and missteps as open to scrutiny as they are, right now.

That said, there is still a lot to chew on, conceptually, in this installment. I’m intrigued by the notion of this Big Government mapping out human nature enough to plan for the unavoidable “defects” of people’s personalities. The whole point of SEVEN SAMURAI (or SAMURAI 7, if you prefer), is that peaceful society has to call on violent, antisocial men during times of crisis in order to get things done.

Well, here we have a model of these violent men’s uselessness being mapped to specific lacunae that peaceful society can control. Likewise, the killer fits into the scheme of personalities that a literal social engineer has worked out to ensure a productive work place. That is, in a very Randian view of things, they recognize that elites (or comparative elites) kind-of need an inferior scapegoat to get their negative thoughts out on and reassert their dominance in order for them to function at peak performance.

Looking over this, I’d almost rather just read an essay by Urobuchi on these ideas instead of watching them get dramatized as shakily as they have been.

Watch this episode, "Rearing Conventions” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.

Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk

Tom ya may be laboring here with a misunderstanding.This is NOT a mystery detective show.Given this is anime an curve balls are more ofthen thrown than strikes.But Conan the detective with Judge Dread gear it aint.Odds are most of time you will "get" who is doing what.As it rolls things will make more sence.

The SAMURAI 7 coment if true is odd.No veteran i have talked to ever wanted to go to war.My father was a Korean war vet violent an anti social does not fit him.Nor the friends i have that served in Vietnam or Desert strom.Tho the coment reminds me of guy i used to work with was a mp in vietnam.He said "Peacenicks want dogs of war when they need to be defended .. then treat them forever more as just a dog."

You got the over view of the world almsot exaclty how i seen it.But it develops further.The bullied worker what happend to him was not suposed to happen.This is a perfect world where the goverment have firm grasp on who will be a criminal an who will not at birth!Criminal thought is illegal an all.

Have ya grasped why the hounds are used?Its so inspectors dont get clouded passes.An yet...

@Lurkero: Most of the scans are not part of the gun. people learn to avoid the scaners The hounds gun tho is the last determination of if they can be "re-educated".Wchich is patched straight into the comp that runs the city.Which also determins if you are worthy of a job or if you are a criminal.

For me its not about the grafics ( tho the animation is good) its the background story that controls the forground here.Their is ryme an reaosn to the crimes an it says more about what people have become over all than what the criminals are.Just as much as the killer here was bullied to point he snaps.The system used him to help lesn the emotions of others..

@Aleasha: Im similar as the series got going i liked it more an more big pictures an small.