What They Say
When the CID is brought in to investigate a disappearance of Kimihiko Hayama, they discover that not only has he been killed, but someone has taken over his net avatar, Talisman. The CID tries to track down the fake Talisman in order to find the killer.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Every time I think I get a handle on the point Psycho-pass is trying to make, or an idea of where the show is heading, it throws out something I don’t expect. Still, any show that’s solid enough to get me to sit through the horrifying opening song has to be doing something right.
This time, the world opens on an internet forum called a CommuField. Said CommuField is operated by an avatar named Talisman, and it appears to be run in the form of an advice show. The avatar seeking advice this time is one Lemonade Candy, and it’s easy to tell she’s none other than inspector Akane. She claims to be speaking for a friend, but it’s clear she wants help in trying to understand her colleague Kogami. Talisman advises her to abandon her preconceptions and try and understand him all over again. She seeks further advice from Masaoka, but he tells her just to give up. To understand Kogami, he says, and to see the world like Kogami would mean that her Psycho-pass would become the same as Kogami’s.
The CID is then called in to investigate a disappearance. A man seemingly disappeared two months ago, and there’s no record of him since. Akane wonders if he went on vacation, while Kogami immediately suspects murder. Akane remains unusually naive and innocent, despite everything she’s seen, making me suspect that a Psycho-pass takes negative thinking and cynicism into account when judging a potential criminal. Certainly both Ginoza and Akane seem fairly optimistic and trusting when compared to their latent criminal companions. It’s hard not to wonder if Akane wasn’t chosen for the job because of her tendency to be thick as a brick, instead of in spite of it.
It turns out that the missing man made his money on the internet, and is in fact none other than Talisman, the very avatar that Akane spoke with that morning. When tests for blood come back positive, it’s clear that the real Talisman was murdered and there’s now an impostor taking his place. Akane and Ginoza investigate online, where Akane makes a deal with a “anarchist” avatar named Spooky Boogie. Spooky Boogie sets up a real life meet up at an Akihabara club where Boogie will challenge Talisman for internet fame and glory. The CID will be on hand to investigate and take in the fake Talisman if his crime coefficient exceeds normal parameters.
Unfortunately for everyone, a shady man at the back of the club has a device that can detect Dominators. Everyone’s Holo-suits are hacked to look just like Talisman’s, and in the ensuing chaos the criminals escape. The mysterious conspirators behind Talisman’s disappearance don’t take kindly to Spooky Boogie’s betrayal, however, and soon murder the woman behind the avatar. As the episode closes, plans are made to set up an impostor Spooky Boogie. The point of all of the impersonation is still unknown, but the man with white hair that Kogami is after seems to be involved. And he’s been reading 1984, so we know he’s up to no good.
There’s still a lot of great ideas here. I like the idea that freedom of speech seems to be protected on the internet, as Spooky Boogie is allowed to speak of anarchism as long as her Psycho-pass checks out. The idea of IRL meetups with “Holo-cosplay” avatars is nifty, as is the impromptu police raid where the Enforcers fire randomly at anyone who has too large of a crime coefficient. Still, it would be nice if Psycho-pass would stick with one of these ideas and fully develop it. I don’t doubt that at some point there will be a big reveal where every plot thread will suddenly make sense, but until that point, I must admit I’m a bit lost.
In Summary
Instead of taking one theme and fully developing it, Psycho-pass is taking the more mysterious and frustrating approach of hopping around from topic to topic. This gives us a good overview of the world of Psycho-pass, but it doesn’t aid our understanding in the least. It’s not so much that I’m frustrated that I don’t have the answers, as I always enjoy puzzling things out: It’s that I’m not even sure how I should be formulating the questions. If I knew what clues to be looking for, I’d be getting a lot more from Psycho-pass’s unique and visually striking world.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Funimation
Review Equipment:
Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
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