Psycho-Pass: Season One, Part One

A century from now in a world of hologram-based environments, drone-robots, and 3D cosplay avatars, the omnipotent Sibyl computer runs brain scans on the populace, ever vigilant for deviant thoughts and personalities. An elite corps of inspectors—armed with mind-reading guns that can either stun or execute—hunt such "latent criminals." Naïve rookie policewoman Akane quickly discovers that officers aren't immune either; a cop whose "crime coefficient" goes too high is demoted to a pariah caste of "enforcers." Yet, Akane forms a strong bond with just such a tainted lawman, Kogami, as they work together on a succession of sometimes nail-biting homicide cases that are linked by a shadowy master villain who mentors murderers in the name of free will. The noir-ish material borrows liberally from films such as Minority Report and The Silence of the Lambs, but this title should also have crossover appeal for fans of police procedurals (J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas series comes to mind). The heavy violence here includes dismemberments, as well as briefly bared breasts in gruesome art installations/murder scenes. Compiling the first 11 episodes from the 2012-13 first season in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-MA, extras include audio commentaries, and interviews with the Japanese production team at a fan convention. Highly recommended. [Note: Psycho-Pass: Season One, Part Two is also newly available.] (C. Cassady)