Manga Entertainment Psycho-Pass Season 1 Collection

The Sibyl System is a highly advanced, autonomous system that has created a near utopia by controlling the lives of everyone in Japan. As well as dictating what job a person can do, Sibyl also monitors the mental state of the population and anyone deemed a threat is labelled a Latent Criminal, arrested and either imprisoned or executed as the System decides. Akane Tsunemori is a rookie Inspector for the Ministry of Welfare's Public Safety Bureau who works with sanctioned Latent Criminals called Enforcers, to hunt those who are threat to society..Made by the Production I.G. (the anime studio behind 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex') and written by Gen Urobuchi (writer for 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' and 'Fate/Zero'), this first season of 'Psycho-Pass' is a truly brilliant science fiction anime that has a fascinating setting, interesting characters and thoughtful discussions of philosophy. The series also contains some good action and some quite emotional moments as well.The plot of this first season is quite addictive, looking like it will be quite episodic at the beginning before bringing things together during episodes five to eight. After this point the plot really gets going as the MWPSB try to stop the main antagonists' attempts to attack the Sibyl System. The series also takes some time for some nice world building that is well integrated into the narrative. Most of the main characters have some good development throughout the series with Akane becoming one of my favourite anime characters over the course of the series.The animation of the series is very good realising the setting and its holographic Augmented Reality particularly well and has some great backgrounds. The action scenes are well choreographed and although there is some gore due to the nature of some of the murders and the Dominator's Lethal Eliminator mode but these are relatively minor. The character designs are also very good, especially during the virtual reality moments during episodes four and five.This set includes both the original Japanese version of the series as well as the English dub and I would have to say that, in my opinion, they are both equally good. All the English voices are good with Robert McCollum as Shinya Kôgami and Alex Organ as Shôgo Makishima being particularly noteworthy but my favourite of the English cast has to be Stephanie Young is very good as the voice of the Sibyl System. When I first heard the English dub I wasn't much of a fan of Kate Oxley as Akane but she has definitely grown on me and I now feel she did an excellent job as well.The music used in the series is also very good. All the openings and endings for the season are very nice and the background music is great as well (being reminiscent of 'Ghost in the Shell' in places).This set includes all twenty-two episodes of the show's first season across four discs, as well as episode commentaries, textless songs, trailers and a featurette on Psycho=Pass at Sakura-Con.This first season of 'Psycho-Pass' is probably one of my favourite anime and is easily worth a full five stars. Unfortunately, while still good in places, the short second season of the show (shown in Japan during the Autumn 2014 anime season) wasn't as good as the first but I will still be buying it as soon as it is available.

I am only 6 stories into this series, but what can i say.. this was a welcomed surprise, which i discovered whilst searching for the latest from the 'Ghost in the shell' franchise."Welcome to a world where just thinking about a crime is enough to make you guilty.Bad intentions can no longer be hidden, and the police know exactly which taintedminds are about to cross over to the wrong side of the law. "My one reservation would be the characterization of the rookie female character, which follows the wide eyed bubble gum image typically aimed at a whole different Anime audience. That said the voice of the character had an adult edge and the other female characters are better realized, so too were the male characters.. This is Anime in the spirit of 'Shell' with elements of 'Death Note' there too. eg its subtext on evil, retribution and judgment .This is the future as only Anime seem capable of depicting it, a future where technology, gadgets, bureaucracies, profiles and other autocratic systems are projected as far as they can be imagined, all underpined with elements of philosophy. Serious stuff thoughtfully explored with questions on how such a world might develop. Whilst in some ways it serves to erald the prospects of this technology, it doesn't just look at the best intentions for that technology, but instead looks with a mind to how the potential in that technology might be exploited, or worst, currupted.This is the future now, a marrage of Scifi and Scifact eg our current 'precog' systems like CRUSH - Criminal Reduction Utilizing Statistical History, which i am sure Japan must now have a version of. This could also be seen as the domestic side of that world created in 'Ghost in the shell'. On its more speculative side, this anime has weapons which are connected directly to this system of judgment, systems where the potential for criminal behavior, is taken as a fact and those individuals are punished with no need for further questions or judgment.As mentioned by another reviewer, its Philip K Dick, his 'Minority Report' (with its missed point on the internal subversion of that precog system). A moot commentary.As with anything to do with Crime, or Law and Order, it can be dark in places and for that reason it has a deserved 15 certificate. This is no 'cartoon', and so one should be forewarned, like a lot of Manga it is Not for the squeamish.Once again Hats off to the master minds behind this project. As i say it is thoughtfully explored with the author's 'reasons for' clearly part of the subtext, discourse where there can be no discussion.All this whilst trying to push the other buttons for mass Anime appeal. I can't wait for season 2. With all the talk of bringing 'Ghost in the Shell' to the big screen, this anime could well be the springboard for the next Matrix ;)Tag line:"Welcome to the future. How Guilty are you?"

The anime is well written and brilliant. Suffers from The "Villian has good points" trope, but in my view, that's not a bad thing, and as part of the anime, actually a plot point. Tis a shame though, this is the only season you can get on disc anymore, the later seasons aren't on disc or blu-ray.

Basically, this is an excellent series. It has some interesting things to say about society. It has good characters and a complex, dark plot. It has some of the most awesome guns ever created for an animated series.In a darkly utopian future, everyone's mental state can be measured and displayed through Sybil, an all-powerful administrative system. If your 'hue' gets 'cloudy,' they'll ship you off for therapy, or lock you away for the rest of your life as a latent criminal, or maybe you're too far gone, and then you get blown apart. Handling the application of law are the Inspectors and their sidekicks, the Enforcers. Enforcers are latent criminals with useful talents. A lot of them used to be Inspectors. It's not an easy job.I won't spoil the various twists. Suffice to say that any system like this isn't perfect.Well worth your time if you're into cyberpunk. Probably worth your time if you like sci-fi or anime in general.