This was one of the most surprising series for me to watch in a long time. A gritty and dark, detective showing within a dystopian world (Japan), where judge jury and executioner is big brother as well. Part one of this series starts off with fresh out of school Akane Tsunemori as she takes a ‘job’ as a detective for the Public Safety Bureau. Funnily enough her taking the job was her choice due to her aptitude in every professional career. Cause normally Big Brother (the Sybil system) chooses for you. There she gets the ‘rough’ treatment with a nightmare of a first assignment (psycho rapist, psycho victim etc.) and begins to question her role in the PSB. Her dynamics with ‘demoted’ veteran Shinya Kogami is what drives the story and Akane's growth as a moral embodiment of justice.
As for other features of the anime: Opening by Ling Tosite Sigure ‘Abnormalize’ – the same band that did that tear jerking opener for Tokyo Ghoul. Ending by Egoist – which really suits the ends of each episode. Funimation voice talents of Kate Oxley, Robert McCollum, Terri Doty (as Sybil robots), Alexis Tipton, Brina Palencia, Jason Douglas and more. On the japanese dub side the most notable I could think of was Kana Hanazawa, who in my opinion was a perfect choice for Akane (especially later on in the series). It was pretty good that the CGI used actually melded quite well with the crisp 2D animation. Especially with some of the Horror-flick level gore that presented itself in this show (even in part one). The sound effects and musical scores used in the scenes were well placed and added loads to the drama. Sadly this is only part one of series one which leaves on quite a cliffhanger – if you want to call it that, like many cop shows do after a big reveal or explosion. Great to have a clean opening for ‘Abnormalize’ though since it is a very suitable opening.