Looks like there are still anime out there that don't have a harem or only feature characters of one gender and actually have a story. Psycho-Pass is a sci-fi show that reminds me very much of Ghost in the Shell. Well, its done by the same studio, Production I.G.
The concept of Psycho-Pass is that in the future, this super computer system called Sibyl will be able to detect people's personality and mental state. What this means is that Sibyl can tell people's propensity to commit crime and their potential or abilities. It is an utopian Japan where almost everything is automated and everyone who exceeds the crime index is mostly locked up for the good of society.
Psycho-Pass is a rare anime that takes a high concept and runs with it all the way. No surprise that the writer is Urobuchi Gen who wrote Madoka. Expect violence, unexpected twists and of course lots of people dying. What was most enjoyable for me was the story exploring all sorts of themes flowing from its sci-fi premise such as happiness and free will. I'm not going to address the philosophical issues because there are too many things to cover and I would not be able to do them justice.
I really hated the main character Akane in the beginning because it seemed to me Urobuchi made her so incompetent as if she never had any training so as to be able to explain everything to the audience. Not to mention the incident with her friend but as I came to understand the world of Psycho-Pass more, I could understand why Akane started out the way she was; namely a person living in a society governed by Sybil.
It is so fun watching a mature anime that actually has a story to tell and not made to sell figures. It takes awhile, about 5 episodes for the story to get going for me but once it did, it was a thrilling ride to the end. I've only got two complaints; firstly there were some action scenes where characters are suppose to be quiet and they keep discussing philosophy without worrying about giving their position to the enemy and secondly, the music wasn't that good. There was an episode in the middle where I suddenly noticed some nice action music but generally its nothing memorable.
Thanks to Shane for recommending Psycho-Pass. I mostly get my anime news from Sankaku so its always famous anime that usually turn out to be crap. Must watch once you get past the early episodes and realise what the story is about.