If you’re in the mood for a wild ride through a dystopian, cyberpunk future where crime-solving involves more psychology than bullets, then it’s time for a PSYCHO-PASS binge!
This anime drops you into a world where the government can literally scan your brain to predict your criminal tendencies. Think Minority Report, but with cooler gadgets and way more existential dread.
PSYCHO-PASS isn’t just about chasing bad guys; it’s a deep dive into what happens when society lets algorithms decide who’s naughty or nice. Plus, who doesn’t love a good crime thriller with a side of philosophical debate?
1. PSYCHO-PASS (2012)
| Episodes | 22 |
| Aired | Fall 2012 |
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.
2. PSYCHO-PASS 2 (2014)
| Episodes | 11 |
| Aired | Fall 2014 |
Taking place one-and-a-half years after previous series, having learned the true nature of the Sibyl System, Akane Tsunemori chose to obey the system, believing in both humanity and the legal order.
She’s part of a new police section and spends her everyday life facing down criminals. Unbeknownst to Akane, however, a monster who will shake the system to its core is about to appear before her.
3. PSYCHO-PASS: The Movie (2015)
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Winter 2015 |
Year 2116 – Confident with the success of the Sybil System, the Japanese government begins exporting the technology to other countries.
However, when foreign terrorists begin slipping through the System’s security and attacking from within, Inspector Akane Tsunemori is sent overseas to investigate. When her hunt for justice forces her into a standoff with an old ally, will she be able to pull the trigger?
4. PSYCHO-PASS Sinners of the System: Case.1 Crime and Punishment (2019)
| Title | PSYCHO-PASS Sinners of the System Case 1: Tsumi to Batsu |
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Winter 2019 |
In the winter of 2117, a runaway vehicle crashes into the Public Safety Bureau Building. The driver is identified as Izumi Yasaka, a psychological counselor at the Sanctuary, a Latent Criminal Isolation Facility in Aomori Prefecture.
But right before her interrogation, Inspector Mika Shimotsuki and Enforcer Nobuchika Ginoza are tasked with promptly escorting Yasaka back to Aomori. What awaits them there is a false paradise.
5. PSYCHO-PASS Sinners of the System: Case.2 First Guardian (2019)
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Winter 2019 |
2112; the summer before Akane Tsunemori was assigned to Division One of the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department.
Teppei Sugo, an accomplished pilot of the Defense Force’s 15th Joint Task Force, joins the military operation in Okinawa. Three months later, an unmanned combat drone opens fire on the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo.
Enforcer Tomomi Masaoka of CID Division One is dispatched to Sugo’s military base to investigate the truth behind this case.
6. PSYCHO-PASS Sinners of the System: Case.3 Beyond the Pale of Vengeance (2019)
| Title | PSYCHO-PASS Sinners of the System Case 3: Onshuu no Kanata ni __ |
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Winter 2019 |
Following the incident in the Southeast Asia Union (SEAUn) in 2116, Shinya Kogami resumes his vagrant journey.
In a small South Asian nation, Kogami rescues a bus of refugees under attack by armed guerrilla forces. Among the refugees is a young lady by the name of Tenzing, who begs Kogami to teach her how to retaliate against the enemy.
Just what do the girl who desires revenge and the man who has exacted revenge see as they gaze upon the edge of a world from which there is no escape?
7. PSYCHO-PASS 3 (2019)
| Episodes | 8 |
| Aired | Fall 2019 |
“Justice” opens up a new world. In the near future, the Sybil System, a surveillance network that quantifies human souls, maintains public order.
In a changing world, detectives with Dominators, guns that measure “Crime Coefficients,” pursue “latent criminals” before they commit crimes.
The third series of PSYCHO-PASS follows two inspectors seeking the truth: Arata Shindou and Kei Mikhail Ignatov.
8. PSYCHO-PASS 3: First Inspector (2020)
| Episodes | 3 |
| Aired | Spring 2020 |
Tokyo, 2120. In a society overseen by the Sibyl System, Inspectors Arata Shindo and Kei Mikhail Ignatov of CID Unit One clash over truth and justice. Koichi Azusawa, the mastermind behind a string of crimes, sets his sights on the CID itself and launches an assault on the Public Safety Bureau Building. Unit One is in peril like never before—a case that will try Arata and Kei’s loyalties.
9. PSYCHO-PASS: Providence (2023)
| Episodes | 1 |
| Aired | Spring 2023 |
January 2118. Chief Inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department, Akane Tsunemori, receives a report of an incident on a foreign vessel – the body of Professor Milicia Stronskaya has been discovered.
Behind the incident is a group known as the Peacebreakers, a foreign paramilitary organization and a new outside threat who are targeting the professor’s research documents known as the “Stronskaya Papers.”
Reunited with Shinya Kogami, a former fugitive from the Criminal Investigation Department, Akane grapples with a case that quickly escalates beyond their expectations.
The Stronskaya Papers could reveal a truth that would shake Japan’s government, and even the Sibyl System, to the core. It is in this untold story that the missing link is revealed.
So, there you have it—your essential guide to diving into the dystopian depths of PSYCHO-PASS.
Whether you’re here for the pulse-pounding cyberpunk action, the complex moral dilemmas, or just to see who cracks under the pressure of a crime-ridden society first, this anime has something for everyone.
By the end, you might find yourself questioning not just the characters’ choices, but your own—and that’s the beauty of it. So, load up the next episode, keep your Crime Coefficient in check, and remember: in this world, justice is always watching and so are you.
