Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Batsu

TL;DR: Basically a bonus case that explores the Sibyl system and supporting characters (namely Ginoza and Mika) a bit more, but breaks little new ground for world-building or the plot overall. 6.5/10

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At 60 minutes, "Psycho-Pass Sinners of the System Case 1: Crime and Punishment" is less of a movie and more of a 3-episode bonus arc to Season 2 of Psycho-Pass. Our main focuses are Mika and Ginoza this time around, and fans of Ginoza/Mika can rejoice - they both get plenty of badass scenes, and Gino especially gets a beautiful fight scene towards the end.

Make no mistake, however - this is Season 2-level writing, ... not Season 1-level. In other words, serviceable but nothing groundbreaking. Villains are pretty bland (though decently designed visual-wise), serving just as plot devices so the writers can make a point about society under the Sibyl System. The case is solved rather conveniently and neatly, and kind of predictably in all honesty.

The high points are definitely the characters and the fight scene at the end. Mika finally feels like an actual Inspector with enough redeeming qualities to stand on her own. Ginoza's screen-time allows him to showcase further growth in his character since Season 1, and reveal his thoughts on the other characters. The fight scene at the conclusion of the climax gets deserved full praise from me.

I was massively disappointed, however, that instead of getting new opening and closing songs after all these years, they simply remixed the OPs/EDs from Season 1/2. Remixes that somehow sound worse than the originals. So, a complete let-down on the music side of things.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and was glad to be back with the characters I fell in love with in Season 1, and kind of liked in Season 2. Definitely don't hype yourself up for the story though. And if you have to pay to see it (like I did in theaters), it may not be worth the price of admission unless you're a die-hard Psycho-Pass fan.

Can dead franchises tell new tales? That is the question I sought to answer, or if you prefer my perspective, when coming back to Psycho Pass, after many years. Do we have a team ready to bring some new life to this world, or are we looking for the second coming of Psycho Pass 2, the one that killed the series for several years?

First, it is important to establish why the series was so relevant in the first place, the place where people’s fond memories of the series always came from. The quality of its first season was on its boldness, in presenting tough ... questionings of reality, in this dystopia where crime was gone, but the system took most of our freedom alongside it. The setting committed and thrived on the idea of how far we are willing to go in the quest for safety, to control risks, and eliminate negative consequences, having on the other side the meaning of that search, in regards to the end in freedom of choice.

What particularly fascinated me on the Psycho Pass world was how it puts mental health as one of its primary issues. Now the aspect is the new defining element of status, worth in society, your chances of finding relations, having a job, future and perspectives all hinged on this. Bringing alongside a new kind of anxiety, need for control, and many issues about mind-altering drugs. Those never-ending conversations on Hue, and psychopass, referencing the same idea.

Sure, the series is hardly innovative, or has something new to say on any given topic, you can find similar, but more though provoking content in works like Clockwork Orange, or Minority Report.

Nevertheless, the way Psycho Pass mixed the theme exploration with pulpy bloody action was really fun. The show never seemed sure, if it wanted to be a noir series, filled with style, gunfights, explosions, and epic action set pieces every episode, or to more directly portray ideas, and the subject matter. While those conflicted ambitions never truly worked well together, they made for a complex surface, which is cool enough regardless.

So if you miss the old mixture of sci-fi exploration, with the fun bullshit of a thriller detective story, you better forget about it, because the writers clearly did the same. This movie is extremely straightforward on its choices and topics, and on how it tries (and fails) to only be a fun crime story. Please do not think of only this observation as a death sentence (even though, yeah the lack of ambition is part of what kills the movie).

This is the textbook example, of a narrative that goes through the basic motions, while barely trying something new. If you have seen a movie before you know what to expect, you have tired twists, a couple of cliffhangers, the constant whodunit moments, and the well know questions on what is really happening. Coupled together with the generic sadistic villains, the strong cool dude, accompanied by the women preaching her ideals in long monologues.

You could make an argument the standard story is intentional, the movie is trying to carve a new status quo, dynamics and characters for the upcoming series, after a long hiatus. Even on this regard, how little is achieved is hard to forgive. Our main characters, which are supposedly the thing the movie means to establish, come off as simples as they could. Ginoza is now your tough noir detective dude, and Mika is the irritable brat, trying to prove her worth, and showing real competence when the time calls for. Basically those typical stereotypes are our “new” mains, the movie never allowing much interpersonal conflict, to emphasize their conflicting worldviews and ideologies.

So what is left is a movie treading no new ground, giving us only a new institution, which is meant to exemplify another contradiction in the system (like we do not have enough of those already). Not even its few actions scenes are memorable, leave much impact, or thrill. Ginoza fighting a mech, might come off as cool when watching, but is no Motoko Kusanagi taking out a tank with her bare hands.

The movie is not a complete waste of time, however. The aesthetics are beautiful, placing the story and events in a scenario of dreamy snowy mountains, and mines. So, not much of the flavor of now tiresome oppressive dystopian cities (The blade runner standard aesthetic for the genre). Again we are introduced to the ludicrous never working Sybil system, that appears to malfunction in every episode. Psycho Pass always presented a fun world, with the crazy talking gun, whose job consists of judging people and turning them to bloody pulp, the weird new technologies. In addition, it brings back the old all-seeing lady, which is the personification of the totalitarian system, while always being clueless to everything happening.

In conclusion, the anime never managed to answer my desires, or gave me anything to hope in regards to the series to come. Perhaps there is still a narrative to be told in the Psycho Pass universe, one which progress its concepts, world and characters, but this was certainly not it.

Also, the guy who though this new OP, and ED were a good idea, has no notion, of what he is doing. He managed to both remind me about the better older show, I preferred to be watching, while managing to make the original songs way worse, with the remixing, so fuck you.

As a stand-alone (what this should be regarded as - theoretically), it gets a 7.5/10.
As a movie within a more complex anime, it gets an 8/10. Why?

The animations are on point, pretty much on the same par with anime itself. Although colors shouldn't matter as much as in S2, you can observe a darker tone in most scenes. I can't address the CGI part itself, since I'm not knowledgeable, but it doesn't seem overused, unlike for example: the movie adaptation of the original Berserk anime, or any modern mech-anime.

Most characters returning from S2 live up to their expectations. What probably annoys most people, including ... myself, is the new palette of characters which seem to simply cover the holes of some stereotypes: masked villain, torturer, badass veteran, etc. We are used with thought-provoking and remarkable villains such as Makishima and Kamui and as such, the choice for this role, for example, is indeed quite boring by comparison. I understand that this movie might have the purpose of developing Mika and Ginoza for S3, but they could have chosen a different approach for the new characters. Overall, it reminds me of the ending scene in Rogue One: every new character dies and thus their whole purpose too.

Soundtrack is very good, though this expectable since most of it comes from S1 and S2. It complements the dialogue, fighting and even intermediate scenes such as the pursuit of Ginoza and Mika launched by the Sanctuary.

The plot simply attempts, in a panting manner, to cover too many concepts in a short amount of time (1h) and as such, it fails to exceed in reflecting anything else than what has already been told throughout S1 and S2. I can understand that the scope of this movie was to develop some characters, but the narrative background of choice matters too. It doesn't particulary mean that I didn't enjoy most of it. I really enjoyed both of Mika's speeches (Sanctuary chief and vs Karasuma), the whole concept of Sanctuary (which reminded me of what really happens in the prisons from northern european countries at some degree) and the empathic approach for the intrigue of the movie (the parental love). And maybe there were more, but I may have failed to absolutely understand the whole plot.

So: Why it gets an 8 and not a 7.5? Simply because I had to mention S1 and S2. Without such a complex background, the movie would feel a bit worse, since it struggles to explain in detail the interactions with the PP universe because of its low time limit of 1h.

P.S.: To be honest, I don't think I have understood all the ideas and the judgement behind them that the whole PP tries to convey. It is often good to remind that "the most dangerous prison is the one you don't see".

Psycho-Pass s2 is often regarded as a massive downgrade from s1, a criticism that is sometimes undeserved, but still definitely holds merit. The (original) movie was a return to near-s1 quality in some aspects but cut down the mystery and tone of the TV seasons.

Psycho Pass SS Case 1 is a 1hr movie continuing the series from where it left off, and brings back Mika, Akane, and Ginoza investigating a mysterious site where latent criminals are kept as workers.

Although there is a mystery present in the first half of the film most of the loose ends are uneventfully closed, probably to keep the runtime down, ... but still keeping enough to make the movie satisfying with a main mystery developing in the middle of the movie.

Art looks fairly standard for the series, a bit more noticeable cgi than before - likely to continue in the other SS entries and the soon-to-release S3.

Music consists of a remixed s1 OP and ED combination that doesn't sound as good as the excellent originals, but has some nice visuals, and some familiar sounding bgm tracks that are still pleasant to hear.

Overall, the series is worth watching for anyone that enjoys the series and has already seen all prior entries. It doesn't break any new ground but has a satisfying conclusion and story, especially for it's short length compared to other arcs. With 2 more SS entries, and 8 confirmed long episodes for s3 starting in late october, there is about to be an abundance of content for fans of the series. For those expecting a return to s1 quality, wait for S3 and hope it's good.

What the... did I just see?

Season 1 is one of my few 10s here in MAL. I´m in the minority that liked season 2 quite a lot as well. And I even found the first movie half-decent. But this? No story, no character development, no action, no nothing. Sure, art and sound are quite good but... who cares if everything else is so poor?

The worst offender is the totally absurd and nonsensical plot. Without going into any kind of spoilers, just remember that in Psycho-Pass world there are TONS of drones and robots for industrial and police work, as it has been established in previous ... seasons. Just with that in mind, the whole premise falls apart. You´ll understand if you watch it.

Oh, well, here I go to watch Case 2, like the masochist I am :P

I'll keep this review short and sweet as MAL will let me.

Story was unnecessarily convoluted and not really explained well; if you take the time to understand it, it's not worth the effort. Nobody's motivations really make sense and the conspiracy they hype up, as well as the resolution to it, are honestly laughable. Like you're either going to cringe or laugh; it's that dumb.

The characters are flat as hell in this movie, especially Mika, who they decided to essentially completely rewrite because she sucked so much in S2. The result is you have a character that acts completely different despite having no development ... to do so.

So basically: story sucks, characters suck, art looked great as always, sound was good. Overall, movie sucked. Watch something else.

Well, I've gotta say that even though I enjoyed being back with these characters, this film didn't really do much. Not bad, just... alright.

So, art and sound-wise, Psycho-Pass is still doing all the wonderful things it always has. The BGM in this film still kicks during the fast-paced scenes, and the wide shots of buildings and landscapes still looks gorgeous. This film does also animate its fight scenes extremely well. This film did keep the fighting to a minimum, though, which is unfortunate because it's one of the things this series does best.

Character-wise, I loved getting to relax with these characters again. I've always ... thought the cast balanced itself out very nicely, and this film was no different. I was glad to see that really well-written chemistry between characters come to life between Mika and Ginoza for this film. Story-wise is where we hit a speed bump. It wasn't that the story was poorly written-- in fact, Psycho-Pass usually does well when it comes to telling a story and handing down information as it's needed. The issue was just that it wasn't too terribly interesting. Psycho-Pass, I think, works a lot better when there's a long-haul sort of plot to unfold, so this one-hour format didn't suit it. It felt slightly rushed, and a bit weird to have a plot that only lasts for the duration of this film. That being said, I did feel like we got to see a bit of character development and world-building that wasn't really seen before now, so the story wasn't all off-kilter.

If nothing else, I was just glad to hang out with these characters again, killer story or not. Off I go to finish the SS series.

Mika's Big Break!

Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi is an isolated case involving Mika Shimotsuki, Nobuchika Ginoza and Yayoi Kunizuka as backup. Their case involving Izumi Yasaka, a psychological counselor in Sanctuary, a Latent Criminal Isolation Facility out in Aomori where they have to escort Yasaka back to the facility but with some investigating, things aren't as it seems in this "paradise".

Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi seems to be taking place during the second season BUT retconned the "point of no return" scenarios as they somewhat retain some of their second season stuff (also the other ... tip off being Shou Hinakawa being there). What this movie actually greatly improved on immediately in watching this movie was Mika as a whole as the second season absolutely assassinated her character but this movie gave her a bit of justice in this respect as a result giving off the vibe of her steadfast and "action first, talk later" take on investigating that Akane is the exact opposite take on so it was kinda refreshing and new to see Mika actually take on a case. Like Mika still has her extremely strong sense of justice and it was greatly shown through her investigation of the facility.

Ginoza has some good character development reinforced with his contrast and comparison to one of the higherups of the facility of Rojion and the entire "hunting dog and puppy" take on with this as Rojion thinks him being free makes him a "hunting dog" within the facility while he sees Ginoza as a puppy obeying all orders to his Inspector. The dynamic of Rojion and Ginoza does show of Ginoza staying by the law and not trying to end up like Kougami and much like Mika stick to the sense of justice and finish the case. Rojion on the other hand for LA sees, is what would of happened if Kougami was let loose and let his justice darken under a corrupted higherups at that. The dynamic between the two was pretty interesting as a result.

All the while Mika, Ginoza and Yayoi are in Aomori, Akane and the rest dig into the case and much like Yayoi gives not only the audience but clears any holes within the case at hand. Well with Mika and Ginoza being in focus, it's kinda expected for Akane to take a step back with this one and generally give them backup.

The entire case in hindsight gives us a microcosm of the Sibyl System and it's problems much like what the first season was trying to in trying to outright destroy it from the inside out. The analogies are all there, the Sanctuary being Sibyl System, the higherups of Tsujicho being Joushuu Kasei, the rest of the staff being the enforcers and the inmates being the population under the jurisdiction of the Sibyl System and heck even the final moments in wrapping up the case, Mika confronts this to the instigator to bringing light of this case having links to Sibyl as well.

Side Note: It's kinda fitting for the setting to be in Aomori as it's where one of the ruthless prisons in Japan (that of Abashiri Prison and the infamous escape artist Yoshie Shiratori) resided, so it's like Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi is also taking on what happens with the Sibyl System in prison and the "treatment" it gives to it's inmates.

The animation done once again by Production IG, well it's Production IG and not even their test cases, they went all out with the animation with this one, everything from the character designs, backgrounding and the action scenes and uncensored as always. As for the voice cast, Ayane Sakura did exceptional with her devil may care attitude as Mika, Kenji Nojima got to flex his cadence a bit as Ginoza and as much as Yayoi was backup, Shizuka Ito was great as well. LA's favorite voice actor oddly enough became Ayane Sakura, thank for the fact that this movie gave LA a different tune about Mika as a result.

Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi feels like a good direction and even recovery from the dismal second season's damage it did to the franchise and sure it was an isolated case but from patient zero finally getting recovered and showing her actual true self of Mika was a great step forward and for an isolated case still had some thematic relevance to the series so it wasn't a throwaway case much like the first Psycho Pass movie. LA is very much anticipating the next cases will bring and if Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi is just the appetizer, LA thinks LA will get a great meal and dessert with the rest of the movies but that in due time, but Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi was nonetheless a decent installment to the Psycho Pass franchise and a great step forward away from the abysmal second season.

Sin and Punishment

Watching Psycho-pass for the first time was such an experience, but that was ages ago. I have coupled through the second season, it turned out decent, not as bad as people say, of course, when you're missing one of the best antagonists “Makashima”, then it's excusable.
The brutal detective thriller has started to fade out of my memories, with only the biggest moments still brought up by me to this day on my Anime discussions, but watching through this movie was like cycling through my collective memory folders that relate to this Anime, remember every detail fro the series as I sit through the whole thing.

Story ... (7/10):
Something I found very un-Pasycho-Pass-y is the simplistic outline of the plot. I couldn't help but notice how straight forward the whole thing is, with the movie starting up by setting a mental facility. Introducing characters whom expressions scream if “I'm the bad guy”. It felt like a solved case as soon as it began, which made it more of an action-oriented case than one that demands critical thinking and mystery thriller that the parent show excelled at.

Art (8/10):
I'm always a complainer whenever I see CGI heavily used on an Anime, however, Psycho-Pass has always been one of the exceptions. The 2D and 3D elements communicate flawlessly, sometimes, even hiding the fact that what's going on the screen is fully CG.
Character design is one of the strongest visual strength that I love about this series. It does the realistic anatomy so well, that you might mistake it as a rotoscoped live action. I like the backgrounds as well as how well they manage to blend all the animated elements into a fully digestible visual package.

Sound (8/10):
Hearing the first opening of the first season was all I needed to approve this aspect of the movie. It is just so good, it stands the test of time and it brought back the same chills it did back when I was first watching the series episode by episode.
The voice acting is appreciable, no overly-cute moe moans, just a trembling audion that shows how horrifying the played scenario is.
The OSTs are spanking, straight up.

Character (8/10):
What I think is a reason enough for anyone to watch this movie lies in the characters. No, I don't mean the general cast, but speaking specifically about Miku.
It's a popular opinion in the fandom how hated Miku is. I sided with the same mentality here, but not for so long.
It seems like a character arc for her, this entire movie is just her taking on a case, showing us the third party, how it's done, she no longer whines, she no longer hesitates. She is the inspector everyone wanted her to become.
A word for the antagonists, not anything that leaves a lasting impression, pretty forgettable if you asked me as I'd take any minor village from the TV show over these two.

Enjoyment (8/10):
What a comeback. Just about to time delve into the three movies and the third season, and oh boy, I say it again. What a start.
Just the kind of movies that puts you on the run, a quick recap of what the show is about, building up for what to come next.
Although the case at hand was not anything of immersing like the show spoiled us, but the spirit and the adrenaline rush is there when the moment calls for it.

Overall (7.8/10):
For a long-time-breaker, someone that hasn't seen the show in what counts by the ages, yes, definitely see it. It is not going to give you anything new per se. But it does bring back the topping and the appeal of the first two seasons. I would still put the first major movie “Psycho-Pass: The movie” above this any day though.

This one feels like is could have been a filler episode in the first season, which is a big improvement over the last movie (the full feature). This movie at the very least has more depth than just people shooting each other.
The movie begins with a woman named Izumi Yasaka, a latent criminal, arrives at the Tokyo police station and turns herself in while asking for help but she can hardly speak. Turns out she escaped from a special facility for latent criminals called "Sanctuary", where the public safety ministry has no authority and therefore reluctantly agrees to repatriate her, but it is obvious she's ... terrorized by it. Inspector Shimotsuki and enforcers Ginoza and Kunizuka accompany her and inspect the facility. At first glance it seems to be a paradise compared to the regular correction facilities, but something about the behavior of the staff just doesn't feel right.
This movie is more of a thriller genre and less psychological so I wouldn't say it's as good as the first season of the TV anime, but is still well-made. It's also the first time in the franchise where inspector Tsunemori is not the main character (she does appear but not frequently), which will (unfortunately) be the case in the future as well.
Art and sound are just the same as the TV anime so I give the same score. Overall, nice thriller movie. Not the best I've seen but nonetheless not bad at all.

The first case file was written by Ryo Yoshigami, a new writer on the scene who previously only wrote for a game called Metal Gear Survive. So this is basically his anime debut as a writer.
And for a writer debut, especially a debut in the Pycho Pass Franchise, this movie is quite fair. Nothing special, nothin great not even pretty good. BUT considering the fact that all these other so called "writers" have more "expierence" but still managed to fuck up the whole PP Universe with the quickness, you have to give Ryo Yoshigami special credit for actually knowing what the fuck he was doing ... unlike his companians. Thats why I gave this case file a 6, even tho just from a pure PP standpoint its probably just a 5.

The movie is basically a Stand Alone Tile in the franchise and doesn't claim any association with previous or later PP installments. Its literally just a case that needs to get solved by the bureau. But this fact actually helps the movie to be somewhat enjoyable and makes up for good fanservice and even a little action and tension. You don't have to worry about plotholes neither.

If you wanna say a last goodbye to this cash grabbing machine that Psycho Pass now has become, I actually would recommand watching this movie for a last dose of at least acceptable PP goodness.

Important to note that starting off, all 3 SS cases do not have Tow Ubukata's involvement in any way. Shiotani, who has been involved with every aspect of the franchise, is in charge here. Production I.G. is also back for this passion project, which is why it feels so much like season 1. Though this film feels slightly different as there's another new writer here, Yoshigami, who is clearly a Mika fan. Anyways. it's a solid entry.

Case 1 rectifies Mika's arc in Season 2. But really, given how badly that season went, it would've fit better after S1 or the first film. Either way, it ... does a great job of redeeming/developing her character and her subsequent promotion later on feels earned.

Case 1 also explores Ginoza's character a fair bit, giving us more insight on his resolved turmoil with Kogami, and how he's been adapting to life after Masaoka's death.

Title should've been Psycho-Pass: Mika appreciation film.

Every single moment in the movie, Shimotsuki Mika is extremely expressive and have the the most detailed animations. The director for this film is clearly a Mika simp. I like Mika too but theres a limit to everything. The team really put a lot of emphasis on Mika. Mika KAWAII.

This is a *SPOILER-FREE* review.

Story 2/10
If plot-holes did not exist, then perhaps the story would get a 5/10 pass. The story director or the story writer for this section of the psycho-pass universe clearly underperforms. From a well-written story of Psycho Pass Season 1, to this crap. Clearly, milking the ... dead dog is the last thing you should do if you want to revive interest in the Psycho Pass franchise. Rather than take the time to some research, the story of Psycho Pass Sinners of the system case 1 is nothing more than ideas mushed up in the worst way possible. A false attempt at making a rather simple plot appear as complex.

Art 8/10
As always, production IG animation department knows what they are doing. Every scene blend well together. Nothing much can be said other than it is amazing. Just like in Season 1, 2, and the movie (2015) the animation and art standards are extremely high. CGI is used very professionally. I don't anyone could hate the art.

Sound 6/10
The opening and ending theme are merely remix of already reused OST. The ost by itself is good, but when you add this useless remix of EDM it is rather questionable. I don't mind when OST are being reused but at least do the music justice by not remixing it. Voice acting as always, fits each characters. Not once, did the voice of any characters felt weird or out of place. Sadly, nothing new is added. Background OST, SFX, these are all reused, and thats fine for it is used properly. My only complain is the dumb decision to remix the opening and ending of Season 1 and then slap it onto this movie.

Character 5/10
Character design by itself is always good. But what was done poorly is once again tied with the poor story. Out of nowhere, characters just "happen" to do things. In Season 1, none of this unexplainable stuff just "happens." Many times, the story just goes "i don't care, i write whatever i want to write" which is evident in the many scenes portrayed. Antagonist characters were well defined, but it always felt short. As if many scenes about them were removed from the final cut of this film. Overall, each characters were true to their nature which is the only reason that this gets rated 5/10.

Enjoyment 5/10
I watch this, because I'm not the type to just drop an anime. Once I start it, I will continue it all the way until the end. I just wish Sinners of the System Case 1 could be written better. Everything just seems like a lazy attempt to make Psycho-Pass interesting. Unlike Season 1 and 2 which I would strongly recommend anyone to watch it and also re-watch it. This film does not deserve to be re-watch. Only watch it because you like Psycho Pass and want the full story. For the sake of the Psycho-Pass universe, I will continue onwards to Psycho Pass: Sinners of the System Case 2.

Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.1 - Tsumi to Bachi serves as a direct sequel to Psycho-Pass II having it's primary focus on Inspector Mika Shimotsuki and Enforcer Ginoza.

ACTUAL REVIEW :

Story : 6/10.
This story can be best described as a S2 story writing without any "disturbance" in plot by own allies.
Story Summary :(Potential Spoilers)
An unusual incident occurs - The case seems deeper than it is in surface - No direct cooperation from Sibyl system - introduction to the shady enemy hideout - threads become lose one after another as story progresses - A cool action scene - Dio-Jotaro moment - Villains dead - Case ... not closed - Oh It was ....'s plan all along.
Now I'm happy that the story writing did improve compared to S2 but paled in comparison to S1.

Art : 7/10.
A consistent art-animation as previous seasons. Never Doubt Production I.G.

Sound : 8/10.
Really good sound tracks, As long as they don't hamper the watching experience they don't bother me.

Character : 6/10.
The only major character with any form of significant development/progression is Inspector Mika Shimotsuki. Now, this is an hour long movie so expecting all major characters(who've already had a significant character moments in previous seasons and movies) is a bit too much. Inspector Mika Shimotsuki did grow-up on me,,just by a lil. bit and watching her in a scene wasn't as enraging as watching S2 and Psycho-Pass Movie and her progression as a character was a major highlight for me.
On the Other hand, the villains/antagonists of this movie were just bad, no form of evil presence was felt while watching them. Copy-paste a bad-character archeotype with a weird hiearchy and you'd get the antagonists of this movie.

Enjoyment : 8/10.
I love Psycho-Pass series. Regardless of the villains or plot, my attention is mainly toward Sibyl System and it's effect on the MCs and vice versa. Considering this movie as a prequel to S3, it served as a good watch.

Final Vedict : 7/10
This is just an hour long movie focusing on a case and it is fairly interesting as a stand-alone movie.And yeah,this story is a cannon.
If you just hate Inspector Mika Shimotsuki then you might not like this as the primary focus is on her. But watching this isn't a loss if you like Psycho-Pass series as it'll make easier to understand her character who's relevant in S3.

It's terrible, and I'm not part of the "everything after s1 is bad" team I actually really liked s2, but that movie is horrendous.

Story: Probably the worst part, I won't go into much detail to avoid spoiler, but to put it simply. The premise is interesting, so far the story was almost solely focused on the sibyl system so it's an interesting idea to show other government agencies and how they interact with the inspector. Well, at least it would have been if the other agency wasn't so dumb. And the premise is really the only part with potential the rest is cliché, with forced ... "twist", and the ending somehow managed to be even worse than the rest.

Characters: I'm only going to speak of the ones introduced for that film since there's not much to say about the one introduced in previous seasons. They're all absolutely terrible, the supporting cast is bland and uninteresting, but the villains are where it gets really bad.
First, they're cliché, the instant you see them it's obvious that they're the villains just from the way they look: you got the hunched back mad scientist, the sexually inappropriate nurse, the bad mercenary who also a rival, and finally the cult leader with a creepy smile.
Secondly, they're dumb and wouldn't look out of place in your average (bad) children cartoon.
Also, they tried to flesh out a bit more some of the executioners but since the new characters they're made to interact with are so uninteresting it doesn't work.

art: meh, the CG isn't that great but it looks alright, definitely worst than what came before tho.

sound: Most of it is okay, again not as good as before but not bad... except for one thing, the VA for Izumi Yasaka (the drugged woman who crashes into the HQ at the start of the movie) does a terrible job, considering the lines she had to work with though, she probably isn't to blame.

Overall, don't watch it, almost everything in that movie is bad. And I've yet to watch the other 2 cases but it doesn't really seem like the event of that film will matter anyway.