Psycho-Pass
A future where a computer reads your mind and decides if you are a criminal.
Last updated: 10 November 2026
Psycho-Pass is a cyberpunk thriller anime by Production I.G. Season 1, directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani with chief director Katsuyuki Motohiro and story by Gen Urobuchi, ran for 22 episodes from October 2012 to March 2013. In its future Japan, the Sibyl System measures every citizen's mental state as a Psycho-Pass and a Crime Coefficient. New Inspector Akane Tsunemori leads a team of Enforcers, latent criminals used as hunting dogs, against Shogo Makishima, a killer the system cannot detect. The franchise continues in later seasons and films listed in the watch order.
About Psycho-Pass
Japan in the 22nd century is managed by the Sibyl System, which scans every passing mind and assigns a Crime Coefficient, a number that says how likely you are to break the law. Cross the limit and the police come, even if you have done nothing yet. Rookie Inspector Akane Tsunemori joins Division One, working with Enforcers such as Shinya Kogami, a former Inspector demoted when his own score rose too high. Their cases lead to Shogo Makishima, a murderer whose coefficient never rises, no matter what he does.
Psycho-Pass is a TV anime from 2012, first released in Fall 2012. It belongs to the Action and Sci-Fi and Thriller genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.
Story & Plot
Psycho-Pass is set in a Japan where public safety is outsourced to a machine. The Sibyl System reads the minds of everyone in range, shows their mental state as a colour called a Hue, and reduces their risk to society to one number, the Crime Coefficient. Inspectors of the Public Safety Bureau police that number with Dominators, guns that only fire when Sibyl allows it, and they work alongside Enforcers: people already flagged as latent criminals, kept on a leash and used for their instincts.
Akane Tsunemori arrives at Division One as the rare graduate who scored top marks for every job in society and chose the police anyway. On her first case she stops her own Enforcer, Shinya Kogami, from executing a hostage taker whose score spiked from fear, and that decision shapes everything after it. Kogami was once an Inspector himself, demoted after obsessing over the murder of his partner's subordinate, a case whose culprit was never caught because the system could not see him.
That culprit is Shogo Makishima. Charming, well read and utterly ruthless, Makishima arms and encourages killers across the city while his own Crime Coefficient stays impossibly low: he is criminally asymptomatic, a person Sibyl simply cannot judge. As his staged crimes escalate from copycat murders to riots in the streets, Division One is pulled apart by the question at the centre of the series: if the system cannot see evil, is the system itself the problem?
Season 1 builds to a direct clash between Kogami and Makishima and a glimpse at what Sibyl really is, and it ends Akane's first arc completely. The franchise then keeps going for another decade, following Akane, Kogami and two new Inspectors through Season 2, a run of films and Season 3, all covered in the watch order below.
Story Arcs & Episode Guide
The Psycho-Pass anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.
| Arc | Episodes | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rookie Inspector | 1 to 5 | 2012 | Akane joins Division One, learns how Enforcers and Dominators work, and starts questioning Sibyl's judgements. |
| The Crimes Behind the Crimes | 6 to 11 | 2012 to 2013 | Copycat murders and a schoolgirl killing case point to a single hidden hand arming the killers. |
| Makishima Steps Forward | 12 to 16 | 2013 | Helmet riots shake the city, Kogami's past case is reopened, and Makishima finally faces Division One directly. |
| The Truth of Sibyl | 17 to 22 | 2013 | Akane is shown what the Sibyl System really is, Kogami goes rogue, and the hunt for Makishima ends in the wheat fields. |
Why Watch Psycho-Pass
- A proper cyberpunk police thriller, closer to Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell than to school anime
- Gen Urobuchi's story pits three clear philosophies against each other: Akane, Kogami and Makishima
- Makishima is widely counted among anime's best villains, a killer the system cannot see
- Character designs by Akira Amano, creator of Reborn!, under the dark setting
- Season 1 is a complete 22-episode arc, and the franchise ran for over a decade after it
Who Is It For?
Psycho-Pass is for adults and older teens only. It contains graphic murders, body horror, riots and long discussions about law, free will and state control. Nothing about it is aimed at children, and several episodes are genuinely disturbing even for regular thriller viewers.
Main Characters
View all characters →Voice Actors
The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Psycho-Pass.
- Akane TsunemoriRookie Inspector of Division OneJapanese voiceKana Hanazawa
- Shinya KogamiEnforcer and former Inspector, hunting MakishimaJapanese voiceTomokazu Seki
- Shogo MakishimaCriminally asymptomatic mastermind behind the casesJapanese voiceTakahiro Sakurai
- Nobuchika GinozaSenior Inspector of Division One and Kogami's old partnerJapanese voiceKenji Nojima
Staff & Production
- Director
- Naoyoshi Shiotani
- Chief Director
- Katsuyuki Motohiro
- Story and Script
- Gen Urobuchi
- Animation Studio
- Production I.G
- Original Character Design
- Akira Amano
- Music
- Yugo Kanno
Manga & Source Material
Psycho-Pass is an original anime created at Production I.G, with Gen Urobuchi building the setting and writing the first season. Novels and manga came afterwards, expanding the anime's world rather than the other way round.
- Original anime created by Gen Urobuchi with Production I.G
- Season 1 aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina block from October 2012 to March 2013
- A manga adaptation, Inspector Akane Tsunemori, ran in Jump Square from 2012 to 2014
- A prequel manga, Inspector Shinya Kogami, ran from 2014 to 2017
- Novelisations and the prequel novel by Makoto Fukami expand the cases and Kogami's past
- The franchise grew to three TV seasons and six films between 2012 and 2023
Music
Yugo Kanno's score blends strings, piano and electronics under the police work. Season 1 uses two openings and two endings, changing at the halfway point, and its first ending act EGOIST grew out of the fictional group from Guilty Crown.
Opening Themes
- “abnormalize”by Ling Tosite SigureFirst opening, episodes 1 to 11
- “Out of Control”by Nothing's Carved in StoneSecond opening, from episode 12
Ending Themes
- “Namae no Nai Kaibutsu”by EGOISTFirst ending, episodes 1 to 11; the title means 'The Monster With No Name'
- “All Alone With You”by EGOISTSecond ending, from episode 12
Series Timeline
- October 2012
Season 1 premieres on Fuji TV's Noitamina block and runs for 22 episodes.
- 2014
An extended edition re-edits Season 1 into 11 double-length episodes, and Season 2 airs in the autumn with 11 episodes.
- January 2015
Psycho-Pass: The Movie takes Akane overseas, following Kogami's trail.
- 2019
The Sinners of the System film trilogy opens between January and March, and Season 3 airs in the autumn with a new pair of Inspectors.
- March 2020
Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector closes the Season 3 story as a film.
- May 2023
Psycho-Pass: Providence, the tenth anniversary film, fills the gap before Season 3 and reunites the original cast.
Release Schedule
- Season 1 episodes
- 22
- First aired
- 12 October 2012 (Japan)
- Season 1 finale
- 22 March 2013 (Japan)
- Franchise total
- 3 TV seasons and 6 films, 2012 to 2023
- Studio
- Production I.G
- Status
- Season 1 complete; franchise complete to Providence (2023)
No new Psycho-Pass anime has been announced since Providence. Details as of 10 November 2026.
Quick Answers
Is Psycho-Pass finished?
Yes. Psycho-Pass has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.
What genre is Psycho-Pass?
Psycho-Pass is a Action and Sci-Fi and Thriller anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Action anime page.
When did Psycho-Pass release?
Psycho-Pass first released in Fall 2012. It is a TV series.
How many episodes is Psycho-Pass Season 1?
Season 1 has 22 episodes, aired from October 2012 to March 2013. An extended edition also exists, which re-edits the same season into 11 double-length episodes with a few new scenes.
What order should I watch Psycho-Pass in?
Watch Season 1, Season 2, the 2015 movie, the three Sinners of the System films, then Providence, then Season 3 and First Inspector. Providence was released last, in 2023, but its story sits before Season 3, so this order avoids confusion.
Is Psycho-Pass violent?
Yes. It is a crime thriller about murder, and it shows graphic killings, including the Dominator's lethal mode, plus riots and psychological horror. It is made for adult viewers.
Is Psycho-Pass finished?
Season 1 tells a complete story about Akane, Kogami and Makishima. The wider franchise continued until the film Providence in 2023, and no new anime entry has been announced since.
Do I need to watch Psycho-Pass 2 and 3?
Only if you want the full franchise. Season 2 follows Akane a year later, and Season 3 moves to two new Inspectors, Arata Shindo and Kei Mikhail Ignatov, with the older cast returning around them. Season 1 works fully on its own.
Watch Order
Here is the release order for Psycho-Pass and the series connected to it. Start at step 1 and work your way down.
- 1Psycho-Pass (Season 1, 2012 to 2013)22 episodes. Akane, Kogami and Makishima. The core story, always start here.
- 2Psycho-Pass 2 (2014)11 episodes. Akane leads Division One a year on, against a new invisible enemy.
- 3Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015)Film. Akane travels to a war-torn country exporting the Sibyl System, and finds Kogami.
- 4Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System (2019)Three films: Case.1 Crime and Punishment, Case.2 First Guardian and Case.3 On the Other Side of Love and Hate. Side cases for the supporting cast.
- 5Psycho-Pass: Providence (2023)Film. Released last but set before Season 3, reuniting Akane and Kogami for the incident that changed everything.
- 6Psycho-Pass 3 (2019)8 double-length episodes. New Inspectors Arata Shindo and Kei Mikhail Ignatov take the lead.
- 7Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector (2020)Film finale to Season 3. Watch straight after it.
Where to Watch
Psycho-Pass is officially available to stream on these platforms:
Streaming availability changes often and differs by country. Please check the platform in your region.