Psycho-Pass

Justice, and the enforcement of it, has changed. In the 22nd century, Japan enforces the Sibyl System, an objective means of determining the threat level of each citizen by examining their mental state for signs of criminal intent, known as their Psycho-Pass. Inspectors uphold the law by subjugating, often with lethal force, anyone harboring the slightest ill-will; alongside them are Enforcers, jaded Inspectors that have become latent criminals, granted relative freedom in exchange for carrying out the Inspectors' dirty work.

Into this world steps Akane Tsunemori, a young woman with an honest desire to uphold justice. However, as she works alongside veteran Enforcer Shinya Kougami, she soon learns that the Sibyl System's judgments are not as perfect as her fellow Inspectors assume. With everything she has known turned on its head, Akane wrestles with the question of what justice truly is, and whether it can be upheld through the use of a system that may already be corrupt.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

An edited version of the series received a rebroadcast starting July 10, 2014. 22 episodes of the original series were combined into eleven 46-minute long episodes with some scenes being slightly extended.

Psycho-Pass aired on Fuji Television's noitaminA block. In the 2013 Newtype Anime Awards it was voted as fourth best title of the year. Its 11th episode was awarded "Best Episode" in the Noitamina 10th anniversary fan vote. It has spawned several video-game spin-offs, a novel series and a manga series as well.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Kanshikan Tsunemori Akane
Other:	All Alone With You, Psycho-Pass Movie: Providence
Sequel:	Psycho-Pass 2

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Kougami, Shinya

Main

Seki, Tomokazu
Japanese

Makishima, Shougo

Main

Sakurai, Takahiro
Japanese

Tsunemori, Akane

Main

Hanazawa, Kana
Japanese

Ginoza, Nobuchika

Supporting

Nojima, Kenji
Japanese

Kagari, Shuusei

Supporting

Ishida, Akira
Japanese

Masaoka, Tomomi

Supporting

Arimoto, Kinryuu
Japanese

Kunizuka, Yayoi

Supporting

Itou, Shizuka
Japanese

Karanomori, Shion

Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki
Japanese

Dominator

Supporting

Hidaka, Noriko
Japanese

Saiga, Jouji

Supporting

Yamaji, Kazuhiro
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Wada, Jouji

Producer

Morihiro, Fumi

Assistant Producer

Mori, Akitoshi

Assistant Producer

Shiotani, Naoyoshi

Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation

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Opening Theme

	1: "abnormalize" by Ling Tosite Sigure (凛として時雨) (eps 1-11)
	2: "Out of Control" by Nothing's Carved in Stone (eps 12-22)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Namae no nai Kaibutsu (名前のない怪物)" by EGOIST (eps 1-11)
	2: "All Alone With You" by EGOIST (eps 12-22)

More reviews

Reviews

Mar 24, 2013

animelambie

Recommended

I feel so sorry for anybody who missed out on this anime this year because it was absolutely brilliant. Likewise, I also feel sorry for anybody who didn’t, because Urobuchi Gen ripped their hearts out.

The series is set in the near future in which it is possible to instantaneously quantify a person’s state of mind, personality, and probability of committing a crime, all recorded on an individual’s “Psycho-Pass”. When their “Crime Coefficient” index becomes too high, they are pursued and apprehended by police officers known as Inspectors, and their ‘hunting dogs’ the Enforcers; in this way, order is maintained. Unit One of the Public Safety ...

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Apr 27, 2015

Inferno792

Mixed Feelings

***THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS***

I heard great things about Psycho Pass and it being compared to Death Note, I thought it would be great. But I didn't find the anime to be anything more than your run of the mill dark themed series. Before throwing off my review as a hated one, I would appreciate it if you guys just took a couple of minutes to read what I thought of Psycho Pass

Story - 7/10
The setting of Psycho Pass is a futuristic one in modern Japan, where people who have a high and cloudy Psycho Pass are either adjudged criminals or potent criminals. The ones who ... have a Psycho Pass of above a certain rating are criminals who're judged dangerous and have no hope but the potent criminals can work as Enforcers with the police in order to catch the other criminals.
The reason I gave a 6 in story is because the first few episodes were pretty useless with no real relevance to the plot. The episodes in itself aren't irrelevant, its rather the amount of episodes they wasted in doing so. But the story starts getting good around the 8 episode in the show and continues to be a good one till the 16 episode or so. Around that time, we have a confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonist. The show should have ended there with a few prior things explained before that 16-17 episode mark. The next 6-7 episodes are just stretched out and completely based on plot devices. I think I have spoiled enough for you.

Art - 6/10
The art of Psycho Pass is okay; it's nothing special really. It isn't overly good for an anime released in 2012. Compared to some of the other anime of that time, the art is not up to the mark by a long way. It gets really choppy at times and makes you wonder if this is an anime released after 2010.

Sound - 5/10
There isn't really any memorable soundtrack in this anime. I've watched the anime just a few days ago and I can't remember even one theme of the series. At best, there may have been a couple of decent soundtrack, but that was it. If there was one thing good about the sound of Psycho Pass, it would be the voice acting which was pretty good.

Characters - 5/10
The characters except for the villain, Makishima Shougo were shallow and the character that I hated most, the female MC, Akane Sunamori was just a walking and talking plot device who got a sudden personality change in the last few episodes. She got a perfect opportunity to overthrow the Sibyl System but she doesnt do anything. She gets the chance to kill the antagonist 3 times and she's just too weak to do it. It was just plot manipulation to me. People say that she got a lot of development but she didn't She had a stale, weak personality throughout the entire series and suddenly becomes all brave and decisive in the last few episodes.

The male lead, Shinya Kougami is a smart guy who does what he wants for most of the series except some occasions where Akane tells her not to. At all such instances, he sighs and does what she says even though he knows that the opposite should be done. He doesnt listen to anyone and somehow listens to Akane from the beginning. (He doesnt have feeling for the girl either so that's not why he listens to her).

The antagonist is a good character but he is a Gary Stu. He is intelligent, thin but yet somehow manages to overpower Shinya multiple times even though Shinya works out and has a really good build. He also has surprisingly great endurance, healing really quickly without any supernatural powers. But compared to others, he's the best character and you're questioned whether his actions are good or evil.

Enjoyment - 6/10
Overall, I enjoyed the middle episodes of Psycho Pass the most. The start was okay but the ending was just ridiculous. The middle episodes were really good though, with some exciting scenes. The first few episodes were slow, boring, mostly irrelevant to the plot and completely illogical. The same with the ending. As I mentioned a few times earlier, this show should've been around a 14 episode show. It never really needed 20+ episodes because it was dragged on too much in the end, leading to a nonsensical ending and the episodes which preceded the conclusion to the show didn't have anything to write home about either.

Overall - 6/10
The show could have been really a lot better if there weren't so many plot devices involved and if they would've finished the anime around that episode 16-18 mark where both the males were brought to near death. Also, Akane really started to annoy me when her personality suddenly changed. I like character development and she didn't get any. Her character just took a huge jump in one episode from being a weak, scared officer who can't even use a real gun to shoot the enemy to a brave girl who's strong enough to make her own grave decisions.

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Mar 24, 2014

jawnmewn

Recommended

There is nothing more undefined, blurry, and vague than the line that separates "good" from "bad". What complicates the matter further is the question of "is said action more bad/good than another?" Why do we consider the murder of an innocent person a worse offense compared to something like a bank robbery? Is a doctor who saves hundreds of lives more "good" than a simple volunteer at a homeless shelter? While Psycho Pass may not be a realistic representation of today's societal state, the observation of human morals, psychological concepts, and fluctuation of emotions can all be applied to our methodology of thinking and our ... outlook on life itself.

The premise of the show poses an interesting scenario: what if we lived in a world where it was possible to determine the potential of a person through a simple cymatic scan, and judge/assign that person accordingly? You would be told your aptitude for certain jobs, the extent of your latent abilities, and the likelihood of mental instability and the capacity to commit crimes. This is the world that Psycho Pass is set in. The show follows the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division and the various cases that are assigned to them. Through their work solving crimes, we delve into conflicts of morality, the battle between the righteous and injustice, and the clash between different ideologies about the Sibyl System that made this whole lifestyle possible.

The strongest selling point of Psycho Pass is its cast of well developed and intricate characters. We have Tsunemori Akane, a new Investigator of the Criminal Investigation Division, and her beliefs are what is most commonly defined as "righteous". She is the representation of the ideal yet naive mindset that justice is absolute and criminals must be punished. She holds the law close to her heart, and while very young and inexperienced, she is an intelligent person and attempts to see the good in people. Through her exposure to the more sinister side of society, we observe if she is able to withstand the challenges to her beliefs and how she changes as an individual.

Helping her solve crimes and doing most of the "dirty work" is one of the Enforcers under her, Kogami Shinya. As one that is familiar with the darker side of society and has accumulated a plethora of experience in dealing with criminal minds, he is calculating, intelligent, and physically adept. His outlook on justice and the nature of other people differs from Akane's, and this difference serves as a driving force for the show. While he is normally collected and logical, his emotions do cause him to act irrationally and puts him in precarious situations. His resolve and detective skills are put to the test and we are shown the lengths in which he will go through to reinforce his beliefs.

In addition to these two, we have Ginoza, a veteran Inspector with some very firm and rigid beliefs on criminals and potential and Masaoka, an experienced Enforcer who was a detective but was deemed a latent criminal and is a bit old fashioned. We also are introduced to Kagari, a easygoing Enforcer who was marked as a criminal at the age of five and has been an Enforcer ever since and doesn't think too highly of the Sibyl System and Yayoi, a former guitarist turned Enforcer trying to prevent others from ending up as criminals similar to how someone dear to her did. Rounding out our Unit One, we have Shion, the Bureau's analyst that aids the unit in solving crimes, and Joshu, the enigmatic Chief of the Bureau. The fact that none of these characters are insignificant or unimpactful enough to dismiss is quite a feat, but Psycho Pass gives each and every character depth and relevance to the main plot.

A debate that has stood the test of time is the question: are humans innately good or evil? Do we strive to side by justice because it is in our nature, our personalities, our entire being, or do we do so in order to simply create the facade of appearing as a righteous person? Are our actions a culmination of self interest, in that we do everything for personal gain? Forging relationships, creating bonds; are they simply methods to reach the end goal of personal satisfaction and happiness? Psycho Pass portrays and addresses this issue through excellent storytelling, proficient pacing, and a cast of realistic characters. From watching Akane attempting to defend latent criminals and trying to give them a chance to prove their innocence, to Shinya's drive based on personal revenge and his definition of justice, Psycho Pass keeps its audience consistently alert and interested, with plot twists and shifts that are unpredictable and wholeheartedly intriguing.

The art is bold and catches the eye's attention. From the casual conversation scenes to the dynamic and high tension fight scenes, everything is animated with a finesse that is incredible. While some may dislike some of the characters design, that is ultimately personal preference. The sound is appropriate for a sci-fi show. The OP and EDs are upbeat and catchy and will stick with you even after the conclusion of the show. They serve to build suspense and set the mood, and everything fits into the whole picture to deliver a well coordinated show.

Psycho Pass, I believe, can be considered a masterpiece. With thought-provoking dialogue and plot, an amount of drama and tension that is neither excessive nor underwhelming, and a group of characters that are just as complex as many of us, Psycho Pass delivers an action sci-fi show unlike one we've seen before.

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Poll: Psycho-Pass Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) neurogal91 - Oct 18, 2012	353 replies	by SomeDudeShane »» Sep 23, 2:52 PM
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Makishima, Shougo

Tsunemori, Akane

Ginoza, Nobuchika

Kagari, Shuusei

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Episode Videos

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