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The Literary Secrets of Psycho-Pass


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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2398
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 9:58 am Reply with quote
I read and watched every entry on the list (i read the bible from cover to cover) and i still think that the first season was rater a shallow procedural with high production values that couldn't keep up with it´s contemporaries as Person of Interest or GitS SAC/Arise or any of the references.
The one exception is Beyond Good and Evil as it proved to be one of the most unreadable books i ever touched. Shudder but i finished it too. Nietzsche is now dead to me.
The short story Minority Report should have been mentioned too as it feel like the biggest influence on the anime and The 120 Days of Sodom (vomit) was name-dropped/evoked a bunch also amonst dozens of other things. Urobutcher is very good with referencing things left and right to make his most average writing feel bigger but he gets to work with one quality director after another so what do i know. Shrug. I gave PP1 a "so so" and i stand to that. (The Dominator guns are the worst btw.)

I liked the mindless 80´s OVA-esque spectacle of PP2 on the other hand so let´s see what the movie will deliver. More own substance and less quotes would be a good start to gain a full identity but another balls to the wall action trip will be fine too.
Read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, C. Clarke´s 2001 or the original Dune books as that is how one writes cerebral sci-fi.


Last edited by residentgrigo on Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:15 am; edited 3 times in total
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:11 am Reply with quote
While "Literary Secrets" and the promise that the writer "deciphers them for us" were... a bit much, I enjoyed reading this article.
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Pipoko



Joined: 13 Jun 2014
Posts: 165
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:15 am Reply with quote
Very interesting read! I noticed some of these, but missed others.

I've seen people say all the book references in the series is just there for the series seem smart, but in Psycho Pass they are all relevant to the story as foreshadowing or to illustrate thematic points.

Psycho Pass is a great series!
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KitKat1721



Joined: 03 Feb 2015
Posts: 948
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 10:19 am Reply with quote
Loved this article! Some of it I remember, but some of your passages gave me a new perspective!
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WanabeSpiderMan



Joined: 12 Jun 2015
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 11:16 am Reply with quote
I enjoyed the read, thank you. I noticed a lot of references but I didn't understand them all, so thanks for the break-down. Very interesting! This increases my enjoyment of the show.
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brace625



Joined: 19 Apr 2009
Posts: 7
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:05 pm Reply with quote
I really enjoyed this article, that it was taking a look at one particular aspect of a show. Also it was the right amount of depth for an article, though I know some people will want a thesis. More please.

While this article wasn't a review, I will agree with the comments above that the show felt like it lent a little too hard on references to make its themes clearer. Though I guess it added character to Makishima, he is well read and he kind of wants you to know it.
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Jackanapes



Joined: 27 May 2015
Posts: 119
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:18 pm Reply with quote
Wow a discussion piece about Psycho-Pass that manages to not only get through the article without decaying into an Urobuchi celebration piece but doesn't mention him once, instead focusing solely on the material. Truly impressive in all honesty. Shocked

Quote:
Urobutcher is very good with referencing things left and right to make his most average writing feel bigger but he gets to work with one quality director after another so what do i know. Shrug. I gave PP1 a "so so" and i stand to that. (The Dominator guns are the worst btw.)


The funny thing is this is extremely noticeable that he often gets paired up with directors whose popularity is either peaking or long established and has never really had to be in a situation where his writing has really had to carry a piece and yet it's always like he gets sole credit for carrying everything he's involved in like he's a Hosoda type that does it all himself. It's a really bizarre phenomenon, but it's not even just that, he almost always gets to be on a project where the character designs really take off or are given extra special attention and handling by the artist and producers like with Madoka, Paradise Exiled and Aldnoah.Zero.

Some people call him the Christopher Nolan of the anime scene as far as being a creator goes but unlike Nolan who has been consistently fantastic over what feels like a decade now and manages to be so with films that tackle quite a wide variety of topics, tones and themes from suspense thrillers about amnesiacs to superhero films to sci-fi mind benders I have not seen the same kind of consistency from Urobuchi who has many just to shows with a sort of opposing extreme elements of societal representation where bad things happen to good people over and over and with varying results at that. I find that very rarely have his biggest hits been anything that he's come up with himself either so much as been asked to write scripts for in an environment with strong veteran support and the ones that seem to spawn from him as an original creator seem to have been stuff he seems like he'd rather forget about like Aldnoah and Gunslinger Stratos.

In general though I find it kind of telling that the most popular writers of late that the industry really seems to be pushing hard are people that are primarily famous for writing erotic novels early in their career and where their insight comes from such as Kinoko Nasu, Jun Maeda and yes even Urobuchi. It's not surprising that this would make them a hit with otaku audiences worldwide since the line between the visual novel/light novel and anime industry might as well be non-existent these days as is the bashfulness of viewers when it comes to people mentioning things like their love of specific fetishes like yuri as an example, but I'd have to hope that the industry also has other people from different walks and experiences somewhere in the pipeline otherwise that's another thing that can lead to quick stagnation. It can't all just be light novel and eroge writers coming up with scripts and ideas.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11290
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:40 pm Reply with quote
^ Actually, he was mentioned at least 3 times in the image texts. Wink (those were hilarious, btw)

You know, the "futuristic floppy disk" actually seems like it would be the next generation of physical media. It would be so much easier to just have a BD or DVD (or whatever medium comes next) housed in something like that, that you just plug into your player, without having to fight with getting it out of the holder without cracking it. It'd be more protected from scratches and other handling, and take up less shelf space. It was a good idea when it was for floppies, so I wonder why we completely abandoned its merits?

Anyway, loved the article, especially the image texts. Were those a meta commentary on the "hidden meaning" behind PP? Wink
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Knoepfchen



Joined: 13 Dec 2012
Posts: 698
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:52 pm Reply with quote
Jackanapes wrote:
Some people call him the Christopher Nolan of the anime scene as far as being a creator goes but unlike Nolan who has been consistently fantastic over what feels like a decade now and manages to be so with films that tackle quite a wide variety of topics, tones and themes from suspense thrillers about amnesiacs to superhero films to sci-fi mind benders I have not seen the same kind of consistency from Urobuchi who has many just to shows with a sort of opposing extreme elements of societal representation where bad things happen to good people over and over and with varying results at that.


I couldn't agree less, as Nolan has no clue how to pace a movie so it doesn't get boring in between the (sometimes very well directed) individual scenes for longer than half an hour. But that's probably besides the point here.

Psycho-Pass was a great show. I would have expected Philip K. Dick to be mentioned, though, as the show heavily draws from the themes and stories Dick became famous for, not just The Minority Report. Didn't they even mention Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in the series at one point? It's been a while. The series would be perfect if Urobuchi were just a bit less info dumpy during expositions. I'm a fan, but exposition is not his strongest suit, I think.

Cool read, thank you.
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Gabbomatic



Joined: 21 Aug 2014
Posts: 74
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 12:57 pm Reply with quote
Thanks for the responses! There’s are a ton of other works mentioned in Psycho-Pass. I’d love to have included them, but ran into time and space limitations.

If you want a complete list of references in Psycho-Pass this one is pretty thorough: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/3119/complete-list-of-books-read-in-psycho-pass
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Doodleboy



Joined: 23 Dec 2013
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:19 pm Reply with quote
Knoepfchen wrote:

Psycho-Pass was a great show. I would have expected Philip K. Dick to be mentioned, though, as the show heavily draws from the themes and stories Dick became famous for, not just The Minority Report. Didn't they even mention Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in the series at one point?


Yep, Choe and Makishima compare Sibyl to the society in that book.

Interestingly unlike the film, the Androids in the book are defined to be separate from humans due to lacking empathy in a human society that has a religion based on it.


Last edited by Doodleboy on Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:32 pm; edited 1 time in total
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chex mix



Joined: 28 Mar 2015
Posts: 415
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:25 pm Reply with quote
Holy spoiler landmine! Think you could put a warning at the top of that article listing the books and shows you're casually spoiling the ends of? Seriously, Neuromancer is STILL sitting in my Kindle's "to read soon" folder, and I bet other people haven't read/watched all that stuff. Dude.

Good article, just... come on.
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Hameyadea



Joined: 23 Jun 2014
Posts: 3679
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 1:33 pm Reply with quote
chex mix wrote:
Holy spoiler landmine! Think you could put a warning at the top of that article listing the books and shows you're casually spoiling the ends of? Seriously, Neuromancer is STILL sitting in my Kindle's "to read soon" folder, and I bet other people haven't read/watched all that stuff. Dude.

Good article, just... come on.


While I understand your point, I also think that an article that its second paragraph is...
ANN wrote:
Ranging from ancient political philosophy to English theater to pulp sci-fi, Psycho-Pass casts a wide net of references. While many bookish names get dropped in the story, these titles also have a ton of influence on the story and ideas of Psycho-Pass, as well as many other classic cyberpunk anime. So, whatchu talkin' bout Shogo?
...notify the reader that spoilers are incoming. That, and the large, bolded title of each book.


Also, Makishima Shōgo takes the meaning of "facebook" too literally Laughing
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Jose Cruz



Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 1757
Location: Brazil
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:12 pm Reply with quote
Jackanapes wrote:
The funny thing is this is extremely noticeable that he often gets paired up with directors whose popularity is either peaking or long established and has never really had to be in a situation where his writing has really had to carry a piece and yet it's always like he gets sole credit for carrying everything he's involved in like he's a Hosoda type that does it all himself. It's a really bizarre phenomenon, but it's not even just that, he almost always gets to be on a project where the character designs really take off or are given extra special attention and handling by the artist and producers like with Madoka, Paradise Exiled and Aldnoah.Zero.


However, by far the best thing Shimbo directed is Madoka. Is it a coincidence? No, it isn't. Urobuchi only wrote 2 series by himself, Madoka and Psycho-Pass and I liked the writing in these two series far more than in the average series. He is incredible well talented writer, managing to make very well paced powerful, intelligent and entertaining dramatic stories. Truly a gifted artist which explains his popularity among fans of animation.

Quote:
Some people call him the Christopher Nolan of the anime scene as far as being a creator goes but unlike Nolan who has been consistently fantastic over what feels like a decade now and manages to be so with films that tackle quite a wide variety of topics, tones and themes from suspense thrillers about amnesiacs to superhero films to sci-fi mind benders I have not seen the same kind of consistency from Urobuchi who has many just to shows with a sort of opposing extreme elements of societal representation where bad things happen to good people over and over and with varying results at that. I find that very rarely have his biggest hits been anything that he's come up with himself either so much as been asked to write scripts for in an environment with strong veteran support and the ones that seem to spawn from him as an original creator seem to have been stuff he seems like he'd rather forget about like Aldnoah and Gunslinger Stratos.


Nolan's movies are fun and entertaining but they are not powerful and intelligent. He is just a hollywood entertainer. It's very different from Urobuchi's stuff and I would think that there is no similarity at all between the two so I don't know why you talk in that way as well. You are the one who suggested that people compare the two, where did you read that?

Quote:
It can't all just be light novel and eroge writers coming up with scripts and ideas.


They are not and never will be so don't worry.

Knoepfchen wrote:
The series would be perfect if Urobuchi were just a bit less info dumpy during expositions. I'm a fan, but exposition is not his strongest suit, I think.


I love info dump though. Nothing makes me happier than watching a 10 minute long lecture about something I find interesting. I guess that's one of the reasons why I love his work. Very Happy
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Nosehair



Joined: 23 Feb 2015
Posts: 79
PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2015 2:57 pm Reply with quote
so im going to come into this conversation with little knowledge of urobuchi, other than what i have read in this thread. but i did notice a familiar theme. seems like he is popular and a fan favorite among anime writers and creators. though people on this thread are saying that he has little talent and owes most of his success to the directors he is paired with. that's a pretty polarized audience. whenever i see a group like this, one with diehard fans on one hand and hardcore skeptics on the other, i think that this urobuchi fellow must be doing something right.

if you have seen the movie private parts about the famous radio host howard stern he got more listeners than any other radio station talk show, mainly because half the people hat listened to him hated him so much they had to hear the next thing he said so they could converse about how wrong and idiotic he was.

urobuchi gets paired with top tier directors because his stories generate a curiosity in the general audience, which attracts a fanbase, as well as naysayers that all want you to listen to their reason why he is so bad.

from what i have seen of urobuchi's works, he knows how to take key peices out of other artists works and sew them together to make his own entertaining story, and i personally see nothing wrong with that. as long as you have a compelling story that leaves the viewer satisfied, whether it be with fanaticism or skepticism, is a good piece of entertainment.
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