Psycho-Pass
Solid dystopian science fiction. I watched through this anime series, and I think it's worthwhile, all told. In some ways, it's slow to get moving, but the second half of the series really gets rolling. It manages several reveals pretty well along the way. And the ending feels decent and appropriate - which told me even before I looked that this was produced as a TV series before any manga or novels. It also floats some pretty heavy questions of ethics.
The series pitches the idea of a mega-city-ish Japan with a few massive leaps in technology: extensive use of holograms, wide-spread surveillance with heavy aptitude testing and instant profiling in the Sibyl System, lots of drones and automation in all sorts of areas, and of course the Dominator firearms. Dominators are pretty potent with their real-time threat assessment and modes ranging from knocking someone out to putting large holes through drones, but their limits become apparent too. They're used in law enforcement, wielded by assessed unreformable criminal Enforcers and their Inspector handlers.
The story is centered on effectively a police unit of these Enforcers and Inspectors as they deal with crimes that come up. Of course, there's a mastermind-ish nemesis for the heroes. There are some gruesome cases. But things cut pretty deeply toward the heart of the whole situation. Different characters hold different viewpoints, but it all makes the viewer consider the value of freedom versus security and if people can be happy when everything is done for them - things like that. There really are some heavy questions behind it all, and no particular easy answers. And when the dust settles, it's interesting to see what has (and hasn't) changed at the end of the story arc.
Probably the "scariest" part of this possible future imagery to me is the complacency in people. This is a society that not only has become comfortable with constant surveillance and assessment, but it relies upon it to the point of having trouble coping with even isolated failures. I look around, and that strikes me as an entirely feasible evolution that's not so far-fetched and it worries me.
I'm given to understand that there's a second season in the works for later in the year. I'm not sure how that's going to go. Like most people, I see something I like and the prospect of more is appealing, but I've also come to realize that it's hard to recapture what made a first installment great as that usually includes revelations and/or changes that can't really be duplicated in a follow-up.
The series pitches the idea of a mega-city-ish Japan with a few massive leaps in technology: extensive use of holograms, wide-spread surveillance with heavy aptitude testing and instant profiling in the Sibyl System, lots of drones and automation in all sorts of areas, and of course the Dominator firearms. Dominators are pretty potent with their real-time threat assessment and modes ranging from knocking someone out to putting large holes through drones, but their limits become apparent too. They're used in law enforcement, wielded by assessed unreformable criminal Enforcers and their Inspector handlers.
The story is centered on effectively a police unit of these Enforcers and Inspectors as they deal with crimes that come up. Of course, there's a mastermind-ish nemesis for the heroes. There are some gruesome cases. But things cut pretty deeply toward the heart of the whole situation. Different characters hold different viewpoints, but it all makes the viewer consider the value of freedom versus security and if people can be happy when everything is done for them - things like that. There really are some heavy questions behind it all, and no particular easy answers. And when the dust settles, it's interesting to see what has (and hasn't) changed at the end of the story arc.
Probably the "scariest" part of this possible future imagery to me is the complacency in people. This is a society that not only has become comfortable with constant surveillance and assessment, but it relies upon it to the point of having trouble coping with even isolated failures. I look around, and that strikes me as an entirely feasible evolution that's not so far-fetched and it worries me.
I'm given to understand that there's a second season in the works for later in the year. I'm not sure how that's going to go. Like most people, I see something I like and the prospect of more is appealing, but I've also come to realize that it's hard to recapture what made a first installment great as that usually includes revelations and/or changes that can't really be duplicated in a follow-up.
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