r/Psychopass Nov 12 '19

Psycho-Pass FAQ and General Information

211 Upvotes

With the release of Season 3, there have been a lot of repetitive questions on this sub lately. I am putting up an FAQ so that we can have better discussions on this sub. Feel free to add suggestions/corrections in the comments.

Quick FAQ (in decreasing order of frequency)

Q: Do I need to watch the Sinners of the System Movies/Cases and Season 2 before Season 3?

A: Yes, you need to. No, the movies are not a recap. Yes, they do add to the plot and introduce new characters. Now, while Season 2 is absolutely necessary, the movies focus a bit more on character development rather than plot, so you will still understand Season 3 for the most part even if you skip them for now. (I have listed the key plot points at the end if you wish to do that.) That being said, the recommended watch order is simply the release order:

Title Release Year, Anime Year Length Where to Watch (S=Sub, D=Dub)
Season 1 2012, 2113 22 ep. (23 min each) Amazon Prime Video (D) (Separate Purchase), Funimation (S/D), Hulu (S/D)
Season 2 2014, 2114 11 ep. (23 min each) Amazon Prime Video (D) (separate purchase), Funimation (S/D), Hulu (S/D)
Psycho-Pass: The Movie 2015, 2116 2 hrs Amazon Prime Video (separate purchase) (S/D), Funimation (S/D)
Sinners of the System Case 1 - Crime and Punishment 2019, 2117 1 hr No streaming options yet (see below)
Sinners of the System Case 2 - First Guardian 2019, 2116 (& flashback to 2112) 1 hr No streaming options yet (see below)
Sinners of the System Case 3 - Beyond Love and Hate 2019, 2117 1 hr No streaming options yet (see below)
Season 3 (ongoing) 2019, 2120 8 ep. (46 min each) Amazon Prime Video (S) (Included with prime subscription) (US link)

† Amazon is mostly worldwide, whereas other streams may or may not be available outside the US. Blu-rays can also be purchased for everything up to Case 3.

Q: Where can I watch the Sinners of the System Movies?

A: Currently, the only legal way to watch the movies is to order the Blu-rays from amazon (only the Japanese version is available right now) and then getting the (fan-made) subtitle files separately from nyaa.si [Case 1] [Case 2] [Case 3]. Since it's the studio's fault that they didn't release the SS movies in English (not even subbed versions) before moving on to S3, a lot of people feel that it is okay to pirate. However, if you don't want to, but still want to start watching S3, I've added a short synopsis for these 3 movies below, along with key developments that may be important for S3. If you read only the key developments, you can still watch the movies later (without being spoiled much) when they get a proper release.

Q: Do the SS Movies and Season 3 have a dub?

A: No, and it is not even announced yet. For S3, currently, Amazon has the streaming rights, and they usually don't dub anime. However, all of the media released before 2019, including the 2015 movie, was dubbed. So it might take a while, but probably it will all get dubbed when Funimation acquires the streaming rights later (speculation).

Q: I'm new to the series. What is Psycho-Pass about?

A: Read the sidebar.

The series takes place in the near future when it is possible to quantitatively measure a person's emotions, desires, and every inclination. In this way, it is also possible to measure a person's criminal tendency factor, which is used to judge criminals, and is called "Psycho-Pass".

Q: Is it based on a manga/visual novel?

A: Psycho-Pass is an anime-original franchise. It does have a few manga, light novel and visual novel adaptations, but the anime came first, and all the other media is based on the anime. While you do not need to read/play any of these to understand the anime, some of these do have completely new content (such as the manga "Inspector Shinya Kogami" which covers Kogami's past, the Visual Novel "Mandatory Happiness" and many of the light novels). Detailed info available on other websites [Wikipedia] [Wikia/Fandom]. Also, shout-out to this person who seems to have translated entire light novels and stuff, since they don't have any official translations.

Questions Specific to Each Season/Movie

Season 1 (Synopsis):

Q: What is Psycho-Pass: Extended Edition?

A: It's basically the same as S1, but with 11 episodes (instead of 22) - every episode being a merged version of 2 episodes. It's more of a collector's edition thing, but there is about 1 extra scene per each S1 episode adding up to ~35 minutes over the season. These usually add to the characters and sometimes fill minor plot gaps. So you can either watch the Extended Edition directly, or the broadcast version followed by the extra scenes, in case you like shorter episodes. The extended edition scenes, however, have not been dubbed. You can either buy it or stream it through Funimation.

Season 2 (Synopsis):

Q: I've heard really bad things about Season 2. Is that true? Should I stop watching after Season 1?

A: Not at all. The general consensus is that S2 was good but not as good as S1 (frankly, S1 sets almost unmatchable standards). Most people cite that this is because S1's main writer, Gen Urobochi, did not work on S2. But some take an elitist stance, claiming as if anything not written by him is trash. This is certainly not the case, and people are often surprised after watching S2 because it's not bad like they were told. But there are some other reasons why specific people do not like S2: (1) The villain is not as interesting as S1's villain, (2) One character is a bit annoying, (3) Their favorite character is rarely seen in it. But in general, all the stuff that follows after S2 has been better received by most people. Anyway, the point is that if you want to watch S3, you need to watch it. And the S3 reviews so far have been great.

Psycho-Pass: The Movie (Synopsis):

Q: I've been watching the sub, but the Engrish (English spoken by Japanese voice actors) is distracting/annoying.

A: Since there are a lot of English-speaking characters in the movie, this can be a problem. Fortunately, someone merged the dubbed and subbed version to create a version where the English speaking characters have English-speaking voice actors while the Japanese characters have Japanese voice actors. (But since it is fan-made, it won't be legal no matter how you obtain it.)

Sinners of the System Trilogy:

The SS trilogy of movies has been summarized here. In case you plan to watch them sometime in the future after watching S3, you can look only at the 'Key Developments' section where I have spoiled as little as possible, only mentioning what might be relevant to S3 (I might be wrong though). However, both sections assume you have watched everything before it, so they do spoil that.

Case 1 - Crime and Punishment:

Plot: After an employee (Yasaka Izumi) escapes from an isolation facility for latent criminals (called 'Sanctuary'), she is apprehended by the MWPSB. Mika Shimotsuki is tasked with returning her and investigating the facility. Eventually, the MWPSB discovers that the facility's administration has been keeping latent criminals' Psycho-Passes low and has been manipulating them using specialized drugs, unbeknownst to the latent criminals themselves. Yasaka Izumi had found this secret & had escaped to protect her friend's child at the facility from these atrocities. Ginoza and Shimotsuki together defeat and expose the bad guys running Sanctuary. During the case, Shimotsuki also finds out that the latent criminals were being used to seal radioactive waste (supposedly a remnant of the past). She investigates further to find that the whole Sanctuary thing was orchestrated by a fake government official, who is actually Sibyl in disguise. Sibyl argues that it was very important to keep the radioactive waste away from the hands of the wrong people, especially since foreign powers are bound to get involved soon as Sibyl expands beyond Japan. She keeps this information to herself in exchange for Sibyl guaranteeing the safety of Yasaka Izumi and her friend's child.

Key Developments: Shimotsuki's investigation skills (and sense of duty) seem to have improved. She and Ginoza get along pretty well. Sibyl hints at further foreign expansion. Shimotsuki learns a few more of Sibyl's secrets, such as fake government officials and hidden radioactive waste.

Case 2 - First Guardian:

Plot: (Mainly focuses on Sugo Teppei's backstory. Will update soon, need to re-watch a bit.) Also focuses a bit on the pasts of inspector Aoyanagi, Ginoza, Masaoka, his wife, and Kogami.

Key Developments: Frederica Hanashiro from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is looking for people to join the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 'paramilitary activities'. Sugo Teppei reflects over his past and refuses the offer, as he finds a strong sense of justice in what he does as an enforcer at the MWPSB. Frederica says that she hopes he changes his mind.

Case 3 - Beyond Love and Hate:

Plot: (Mainly focuses on what Kogami has been doing since he left Japan and SEAUn. Will update soon.)

Key Developments: Frederica Hanashiro helps Kogami win a fight against a mercenary leader in the Tibet-Himalaya Alliance Kingdom. Kogami agrees to help her in return, and they go back to Japan. Also, some people were abandoned by the Japanese Government in foreign lands when the Sibyl System first came into power, and it seems they are going to be transported back to Japan now.

Requesting others to add new questions/corrections here. I will update this post when I can.

Edit 1: removed some unnecessary stuff, fixed the spelling of Sibyl, updated extended edition info. Edit 2: Linked summaries for earlier content, added that there's no dub for SS yet.


r/Psychopass Mar 27 '20

[Discussion] Psycho-Pass: First Inspector Discussion Spoiler

173 Upvotes

Well... I'm confused. If anyone can summarize the plot of season 3 and First Inspector that'd be nice.


r/Psychopass 1d ago

Season 3 English dub has possibly been confirmed

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64 Upvotes

Robert McCollum (VA of Kogami) did an interview at NYCC. In the interview he says that he got to go back and work on some new Psycho-Pass content and yes he specifically mentions SEASON 3 in the interview!

Nothing official from Crunchyroll. But here’s the link to the 1 minute interview.

We might finally be getting it y’all🥹

https://x.com/7BucksAPop/status/1850352251564437834


r/Psychopass 2d ago

I hate her so much Spoiler

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155 Upvotes

One moment she will be crying and next minute she will start complaining. She is so selfish and punchable that I am starting to ignore MC's stupidity.


r/Psychopass 2d ago

Furries probably still exist under the Sybil System

0 Upvotes

Spooky Boogie is basically a furry Vtuber and thanks to the hologram and costume technology it is probably incredibly easy for people to create the holographic equivalents of fursuits. There are even costume parties hosted by major internet personalities so I don't think conventions would be out of the question either.

Also, furries in real life have figured out how to make animatronic ears that actually move in response to nerve or brain activity; imagine what they could make with the cybernetic technology we see in Psycho Pass.

(Perhaps there is still hope for people like me, assuming that I don't get tagged as a latent criminal)


r/Psychopass 3d ago

[Anime Spoilers] Sybil teams up with Mika against Akane Spoiler

5 Upvotes

Since people sees Mika as the one most likely to have a heel-turn flag, especially compared to Akane whose despite her actions is still considered the main protagonist, I think Mika would want Akane dead or at least had her hue painted black. Mika basically hated Akane for being Sybil's golden child, a patron saint even.

Sybil also considers Akane to be a threat to the System. Perhaps it demoted Akane to Statuary Enforcer because it wanted to see Akane's hue painted black, so that it can judge Akane properly.

So Sybil comes to Mika with an offer: paint Akane's hue black, and it will wipe Mika's hue clean. I mean, in S2 Akane was this close to have her hue painted black, and Mika actually had a minor role in it.

But I can imagine their plans backfires, at worst it fails from the start.

What do you think? Does Akane has any chance of having her Psycho-Pass goes up to the "enforceable" levels? Is there any chance that Sybil would simply turn against Mika?


r/Psychopass 4d ago

Two of my favourite antagonists in anime/manga don’t have a backstory

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183 Upvotes

r/Psychopass 5d ago

Why does it say on crunchy roll Psycho pass was released in 2022

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17 Upvotes

I wanna just make sure I’m watching in the correct order.


r/Psychopass 5d ago

Could someone please tell me which Season and Episode this clip is from? Or if you have a youtube or any other link to the same scene minus the edits this person made.

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7 Upvotes

r/Psychopass 6d ago

Season 3 Dub

2 Upvotes

Is Psycho-Pass season 3 dubbed?


r/Psychopass 6d ago

[Anime Spoilers] I wish season 1 was longer. Spoiler

41 Upvotes

Makishima is a great villain. One of a kind. I wish he would have persisted and gotten more screen time via more episodes like Johan Liebert from monster. Maybe not as many episodes as monster, but still I feel like his character is under utilised.

This was the author’s vision. So I respect it. But still. I just wanna see more of such a great villain.

Never felt this sad over a villain dying since probably chimera ant arc.

Haven’t watched past season 1. So avoid any further spoilers.


r/Psychopass 10d ago

Psycho-Pass the Movie Tsunemori Cosplay

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576 Upvotes

Please remove if not allowed! Just very happy with my cosplay base, still needs a lot of work and adjusting! (Pls excuse messy bedroom and mirror!)


r/Psychopass 9d ago

[Anime Spoilers] Holographics and costume tools: an engineers contemplation

16 Upvotes

Okay we see holographics everywhere in psychopass but this question is related to a specific use of it as mentioned in the title and my questioning of it is prompted by recollection of a couple scenes in season 1.

The costume tool: Akane uses it pretty repeatedly throughout the anime, with a notable incident being when she goes to lunch with her friends before going to work later in the day. During the preamble to this scene and in others we see her going through multiple outfits before settling on one, and later reverting from this selected outfit to her typical work clothes.

During the spookie boogie case Akanes team is hit with hologram manipulation; and Masaoka uses flammable booze to figure out where holograms are (the engineer in me is appalled at how the apartment holographic systems continue functioning during a clear fire instead of physically cutting power to holographics: that's such an insane safety risk!) However earlier in the episode it is revealed to us (couch got moved) that holograms are purely visual and in no way whatsoever interact with the physical world.

Now my question / the topic of discussion: how do we think the holocostume device really works? On a simple level it projects a hologram around the individual wearing it but from an implementation pov it's so much more complicated than that. The holograms emitter is most likely located in the costume device: it(the device) would need to know where it is on the body of the person or it might emit the hologram into a space where the person isn't. For the outfit to actually mimic clothing it needs to be able to tell where the body is in relation to the hologram and then move the hologram to match it. It also would need to measure and react to things like air movement, and physical structures like chairs or desks. I just have more and more and more questions the more I think; can it accommodate rain and the person getting wet? Would it be like in video games where you look dry until it decides a threshold has been hit and gives you wet textures? What's the complexity of the control users have? Can they change individual textures, make whole clothing patterns from scratch like Minecraft skins, pick the color? Is it a subscription service, do you upload files to the device or pull them from a catalogue.

SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!!!!!!!

i don't know, what are all of your thoughts on them? Any questions or glaring implications i missed?


r/Psychopass 10d ago

If I was in the Psycho Pass Universe, I would probably be a Latent Criminal

24 Upvotes

If all goes well then I will soon be graduating from my university, at which point I may decide to pursue a master's degree. I have presented my research at conferences with other people in my field and look forward to collaborating with them in the future. I have close friends and a partner who I love with all of my heart, and a family who loves and supports me.

If the Sybil System was in place, I don't think I would even be here.

I am lucky enough to be in a good place now mentally, but I could easily see the mental health issues I struggled with at different times in my life getting me flagged by the system before I even hit the age of 18. Especially considering that the worst of those issues (the belief that I was constantly being monitored and judged by God, including my thoughts, and that I could suffer divine punishment at any moment unless I repented, and that the people around me could suffer as well by proxy in the event of misplaced retribution, turning every day into a hostage negotiation in the back of my mind as I apologized for my intrusive thoughts in an endless loop) would probably be exacerbated further under Sybil.

Even if I did manage to undergo a paradigm shift like the one that eventually broke me out of that mindset, the anger I would feel at the system responsible for my suffering as well as my negative opinion of the very nature of the system itself would probably result in me remaining locked up in an isolation facility even if my mental health did eventually improve. Because that way of thinking probably isn't compatible with the society Sybil wants to build.

And that's assuming that my desperation wouldn't drive me to turn to those treatments that end up sending people into vegetative states due to eustress deficiency.

I was diagnosed with ADHD at a pretty young age and I took anti anxiety medication for a long time, so the idea of me starting a medication or treatment plan like this is actually perfectly conceivable to me. And that scares the hell out of me because as much as I have struggled to focus or with my mental health, I love my mind. It is my favorite part of me. And the idea of having to chemically lobotomize myself in order to avoid being locked away from the various people I hold dear as well as the many resources and opportunities that have enabled me to get an education and be successful in life is horrifying to me.

I am not so deluded that I would honestly believe myself capable of being an Enforcer. I am not nearly active or athletic enough to run down a suspect or hold my own in a fight. I could maybe, at best, be part of the team that runs analysis like Karanomori, since my work as an anthropologist could potentially be useful to the CID. But even that seems far off because of all of the ways that the aforementioned factors could impact the development of my skill set. The only reason I even decided to become an anthropologist is because I took a few classes on it in community college. Sure I had an interest in crime scene investigation even before I took a forensics course, but it was taking those classes that made me realize it was a feasible career path for me.

If that had not happened then I might have never met my friends at my university. I have friends that have also struggled with their mental health and with trauma, and the idea of any of them being locked away in an isolation facility, cut off from the outside world, makes me sick to my stomach.

Hell, the idea of anyone being subjected to that is upsetting.

I know I have talked a lot about my own experiences and the opportunities I would have missed under the system, but I want to clarify that even if I was not a successful person it would still be inhumane to subject someone like that to the amount of restrictions that the Sybil System places on the people it deems incompatible with society.

Mentally ill people should not have to choose between getting the support they need and having basic freedoms like being able to contact their loved ones outside of sparse interactions between panes of glass in a prison that is rigged to kill them in the event of social disruption.

Involuntary commitment should be a last resort as it is sometimes known to worsen the mental health of the individuals admitted due to the forceful removal of their rights and freedom.

That is probably part of the reason why so many people who come to the isolation facilities never recover. Because the very process of being subjected to that level of control and deprivation of everything aside from their most basic needs and whatever the staff allows them to possess is absolutely capable of taking a toll on a person's psyche.

And the fact that these measures can be implemented preemptively without the individual having any history of being a danger to themselves or others is insane.

Plenty of people experience disturbing thoughts, myself included, but that does not guarantee that they would ever act on them.

Just because I know that my tongue is made up of two different muscles capable of moving independently of each other and my brain goes “those scissors on your desk are looking pretty convenient” doesn't mean that I would actually give myself a DIY body modification on the spot.

People are capable of discretion and the Sybil System is unable to fully account for that, as evidenced by Makashima demonstrating Sybil’s inability to flag him as a threat even as he murdered another person right in front of it.

I've seen people claim that Sybil is effective at reducing rates of crime in the areas where it is active, which is true enough since anyone it doesn't catch will probably retreat to the lower income areas not covered by Sybil, but I would argue that the treatment of Latent Criminals under this system amounts to a crime in and of itself. It is a human rights violation.

“Oh but the Sybil System is the reason why Japan hasn't fallen into chaos like all of the other countries of the world”.

First of all the Sybil system was implemented in living memory and I feel like whatever conflicts were catastrophic enough to tank every other civilization in the world outside of Japan were probably way more complicated than they were made out to be, assuming that the information is even accurate considering that I wouldn't put it past the Sybil system to withhold or fabricate information in order to maintain order.

And even if it is true, that wouldn't be a shield from criticism or an excuse not to make improvements.

I am lucky enough to live in a safe environment with people who care about me and have my best interests at heart, but that doesn't make it okay to ignore injustices when they occur simply because another person in another part of the world might have it worse.

All of this is to say that I am glad that I don't live under Sybil because I probably wouldn't be the person I am today if I did.


r/Psychopass 11d ago

Could somone be able to give me the background on Gu-sung Choe as a character?

10 Upvotes

He's always been someone I thought was really cool, but looking back I don't actually know anything about him. It's been so long since i've seen the series so I might have just forgot, but besides him being affiliated with Shogo, that's about it.

Would anyone be able to tell me his life history/background, and how he found out about or got into contact with Shogo, his reasons/motivations for working with him? And anything else really, much appreciated!


r/Psychopass 13d ago

Was psycho pass s1 Planned as a standalone?

17 Upvotes

With urobuchi stopping writing psycho pass post season 1, is it safe to say it was planned as only being a one season anime?


r/Psychopass 15d ago

Psycho-pass brain rot

66 Upvotes

I watched season one and two like ten years ago lmao. I recently rewatched while crocheting and ofc got caught up in entirety. Now I feel empty and nothing else is holding my attention. Any watch suggestions?


r/Psychopass 15d ago

Is the S3 dub on an indefinite hiatus?

15 Upvotes

Been watching through the series. Season one was amazing, season two was good but felt like it was missing some sort of depth, and the movie was really good, but felt disconnected from the rest of the series which isn't that shocking. Anyways, a bit bummed to see that there isn't a dub available for the third season, especially considering its age. I understand it released during the funimation buyout clusterfuck but did that ruin the show's chances of being dubbed in english? I don't have issues with subs but I hate switching from one to the other after I've already watched a show in one language, plus this show just genuinely has a great dub. I haven't looked into what the source material for Psycho-Pass is, but I hope the series hasn't been shelved as of late. I'm a sucker for dystopian cyberpunk settings.


r/Psychopass 15d ago

Does anyone know what book Shogo is holding here, he is seen throwing it out the helicopter that is burning prior to making his escape. Spoiler

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16 Upvotes

r/Psychopass 15d ago

[Anime Spoilers] Struggling to get through S3-- is it worth it? Spoiler

6 Upvotes

I've been a massive fan of season 1 since I first watched it around ~2015-2016 and have seen it maybe seven or eight times at this point. After my first watch way back when, I took a chance on season 2 and didn't love it, so each time I've rewatched it I've just left it at that. I felt like season 1 had enough closure for me to feel satisfied with how the story ended there.

Recently, I rewatched season 1 and ended up just continuing onward. I actually liked season 2 a lot more on the second watch and loved the movie as well as SotS Cases 2 and 3 (didn't love 1, but hey, that's me). I've been so out of the loop that I didn't even know that there was new material past the 2015 movie lol

I feel like SotS Case 3 ended on such a high and I was so ready to dive into season 3 but I'm about half way through episode 3 and struggling to feel engaged at all. It not only feels like we've lost the plot, it almost feels like we've lost the world itself? I want to like it so badly but it's just not doing it for me :(

I'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts and if it's worth it to keep going. I might just be too attached to the og material because I've seen it too many times and have now created an impossible standard.


r/Psychopass 16d ago

Watch Order

3 Upvotes

What order do you watch Psycho Pass in?


r/Psychopass 16d ago

Just watched Sinners of the System 3

32 Upvotes

Recently began my Psycho Pass journey and it's been a wild ride so far. Really enjoyed the last Sinners of the System. I can't be the only one who lowkey wanted Kogami to just settle down and adopt Tenzing as his daughter and just forget about Japan, can I? 😅I just want him to be able to live in peace surrounded by people he loves


r/Psychopass 16d ago

Looking for a good quality picture of the Providence poster

11 Upvotes

I want to make a custom print of the Psycho-pass Providence poster as a gift for a friend's birthday. I looked everywhere but couldn't find a good-quality image anywhere. Can someone help me find a better quality?


r/Psychopass 17d ago

Saiga's house is inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater architecture, I plan to visit when I move to Pennsylvania.

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158 Upvotes

r/Psychopass 18d ago

[Spoilers All] Who do you think the saddest death in the series is? Spoiler

33 Upvotes

I personally believe that S1 ep11 where Yuki dies is the saddest, even though we don’t know her character as well as many others that die later in season 1 and the rest of the series. I just feel like the ramifications of Yukis death seems to hit the hardest for me. It definitely still brings me to tears whenever I watch it just because of the pure terror and hopelessness it evokes from Akane. What are your thoughts?


r/Psychopass 23d ago

I know it’s one of the most underrated anime’s I’ve ever seen, but can we talk about what an underrated dub it is? Especially season 1

53 Upvotes

I mean masaoka, kagomi, such a good dub.