Are you looking for the watch order of the best sci-fi anime Psycho-Pass? The anime Saiko Pasu (Psycho-Pass) is one of the most popular sci-fi anime. And it is for a better reason! Psycho-Pass deserves a standing ovation for its beautiful storytelling and its mastery of plot twists.
It is a famous and highest-rated Japanese cyberpunk anime series co-directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro and Naoyoshi Shiotani and written by Gen Urobuchi. Psycho-Pass talks about a totalitarian dystopian future where the mind of every resident of Japanese society is quantified using ubiquitous (omnipresence or ubiquity) computer devices to spot would-be criminals.
The main character of this anime is a 28-year-old ex-inspector Shinya Kōgami and a 20-year-old girl, Akane Tsunemori. The story revolves around their lives. And along with the other members of Unit 1 of the Public Security Bureau (PSB).
Psycho-Pass anime aired on Fuji T.V. in the Noitamina time frame between October 2012 and March 2013. A second season of eleven episodes of the Psycho-Pass anime successfully ran between October and December 2014. And then came an extraordinary anime film in January 2015. Despite this, the anime did not stop. Many movies and television anime also come.
Therefore, it becomes challenging for those who want to watch anime. And not knowing the correct order may lower their fun. We don’t want anyone to go through the pain of finding the correct order to watch the anime. We do all the heavy lifting for you and gather all the necessary information in one place.
Here you’ll get all the essential information about anime in detail. And for the bonus, a complete guide to watching the whole Psycho-Pass series, including the four anime movies that are part of the famous franchise.
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Psycho-Pass Watch Order
The famous sci-fi anime series Psycho-Pass was inspired by many well-known Western films. And most notably, L.A. Confidential. The director of this anime is Naoyoshi Shiotani. He mentioned several other influences, such as Minority Report, Gattaca, Brazil, and Blade Runner.
And the latter of which he analogized to Psycho-Pass. And before making an anime series, the Japanese novelist and writer of this anime, Gen Urobuchi, insisted on using a Philip K. Dick-inspired, dystopian narrative (a way of telling a story about an imaginary future that is an anti-utopia).
Psycho-Pass is one of the famous and highly-watched Japanese cyberpunk psychological thriller anime television series. It was produced by Production I.G. (a Japanese animation studio and production enterprise).
After the airing of Psycho-Pass, the anime expanded its global fan base even further. But this is the place where things get pretty messed up. Due to the high success among anime lovers and non-anime lovers, all is well. Several movies and spinoffs were made of this science-fiction anime.
Frankly, tons of content is better than best for franchise fans (otaku). But at the same time made it much more challenging for newcomers to get into the show. And especially for this beautiful show which is worth your time.
If you watch anime without knowing the correct watching order, it can spoil the fun for you. As anime fans, we don’t want anyone’s fun to get spoiled. Therefore, you should take a close look at the following watch orders. If you’re interested in giving Psycho-Pass a try? Read the article till the end.
1. Psycho-Pass Anime (2012–2013)
The plot of the Psycho-Pass anime’s first season consists of 22 beautiful episodes. It is further divided into two most fascinating parts. The first and the most exacting one talks about the work of Inspector Division and gives an understanding of the characters and their mutual relationships. And the second half of season 1, which is slightly more interesting than the previous, offers the final twist to the story. And gives a glimpse of the fight against Shōgo Makishima.
Akane Tsunemori, a 20-year-old female main character of Psycho-Pass, reaches her new job as the second inspector in the team led by Nobuchika Ginoza. He is a tritagonist in the anime. If you’re not familiar with tritagonist? It is the third important person in this anime after the protagonist and deuteragonist.
Let’s continue the story of season 1 with Nobuchika Ginoza informing her about the case she assigns. And she (Akane Tsunemori) leaves with the Enforcers to uncover the suspect, and the story starts focusing on the importance of the Dominator and the connection between the inspector and the Enforcers.
Early on, Akane Tsunemori demonstrates her moral integrity, devotion to justice, and willingness to treat Enforcers as partners rather than tools. Due to her childish attitude, she repeatedly came into conflict with Nobuchika Ginoza and his bedside, who shared differing views. You cannot blame him or her in any way.
Both are correct in their own way. The first few episodes of the show feel like a rollercoaster ride. The first few episodes talk about Division 1 working on sporadic cases. And it doesn’t make sense until the extinction of online avatars prompts a more in-depth investigation. Overall, the first season is all about character development. And it does the job.
2. Psycho-Pass Anime (2014)
Unlike previous seasons of Psycho-Pass, which have 22 episodes, season 2 has only 11 episodes and begins with narration by In Media Res. Season 2 begins with Akane Tsunemori Tsunemori. She leads a restored Unit One that includes rookie inspector 20-year-old Mika Shimotsuki; 28-year-old Nobuchika Ginoza.
They are demoted to Enforcer; Kunizuka, 20, and two new Enforcers, 41-year-old Sakuya Togane and 20-year-old Sho Hinakawa. The team of Unit One has to deal with a new threat in the form of Kirito Kamui. He is another criminal mastermind and invisible to the Sibyl System, also known as Sibyl. He follows a similar approach to Shougo Makishima, who intends to bring down the Sibyl System.
But, unlike Shougo Makishima, who seeks to do so by taking advantage of its flaws (weaknesses) rather than wreaking havoc ( chaos, disorder, or confusion). And warping it into a collaborative consciousness. You can say Shougo Makishima is the invisible main antagonist of this anime series.
Season 2 talks about Shougo Makishima and develop his character in a better way. Like most anime, you have to jump from Season 1 to Season 2 to continue the story. Overall, the second season is about character and story development in depth. The action is far better than the previous one. And yes, the second is way better than the one in all departments.
Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015)
The movie revolves around Akane Tsunemori and her allies in Bureau’s Criminal Investigation. And are dealing with foreign terrorists who have entered Japan and recovered images of their former colleague Shinya Kogami. He is the main character of Psycho-Pass. The foreign terrorists came from the Southeast Asia Union (SEAUn). The Southeast Asia Union (SEAUn) is a state that has started importing Sibyl System technology from Japan.
The motto of importing is to arrest “latent criminals.” Akane Tsunemori is permitted to travel to the SEAUn. She is welcomed to the state by a military procession under the leadership of Colonel Nicholas Wong.
Wong gives the warning not to use her gun, called Dominator. They are not permitted here. And later in the scene, we discover Kogami and Tsunemori are able to escape together in the ensuing chaos. Both go to the base of the terrorist organization.
Foreign terrorists are fighting. They are fighting to liberate their nation from the dictatorship of the Han military. And, of course, from the Sibyl System. Meanwhile, Wong has pretty mad at their action. And want to found them at cost. And meanwhile, she contacted mercenary leader Desmond Rutaganda.
She believes his team is able to help her find Tsunemori and Kogami. Overall, Psycho-Pass: The Movie is about the Southeast Asia Association (SEAUN) and foreign terrorists. Mostly revolves around Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kogami.
It’s safe to say that the Southeast Asia Association (SEAUN) is one of the key venues for Psycho-Pass anime. Psycho-Pass: The Movie is important for a couple of reasons, and one of them develops the world of Psycho-Pass anime. And, of course, you’ll get the answer to what happened to Shinya Kogami after season 2.
4. Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System (2019)
Most anime movies are non-canon, and even if you don’t watch them, it doesn’t make much sense. Because they don’t have a role in the continuation of the anime series, but it is not true in the case Psycho-Pass 2019 movie — Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System. It heavily deals with the after events of Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015). And it is a continuation of the Pscho-Pass season 3. So this movie came in between season 2 and season 3.
The movie talks about enforcer Nobuchika Ginoza which we saw in season 2, and inspector Mika Shimotsuki from Unit 1. They locate a traumatized woman, and it is clear that a drug has changed her state of mind. And it is the duty of Akane Tsunemori’s team to move her to an experimental prison.
This is a special place where cases like this lady are brought for treatment. Akane Tsunemori sends her fellow inspector Shimotsuki and two enforcers, Ginoza and Kunizuka, to investigate the experimental prison. On the other hand, she and the rest of the team investigate the case in Tokyo, Japan. Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System focuses on the experimental prison and the bad stuff happening there.
It is safe to say that this movie set up the events that will lead us to Psycho-Pass season 3, such as returning our favorite characters and introducing new characters as well. Overall, watching this movie is not a bad idea. It has mystery, action, and better story development.
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5. Psycho-Pass Providence (2023)
We can speculate by looking at the poster and the post-credits scene of First Inspector. This movie might cover the events from 2118, i.e., two years before the start of the most hyped Season 3 of Pyscho-Pass. This movie might also explain the suicide of Shindo’s father, the death of Ignatov’s brother, and the imprisonment of Akane Tsunemori.
However, this is only our guess! And chances are high that our guess will be correct as the movie and anime are connected. One of the most talked about anime movies from the Psycho-Pass series, Psycho-Pass PROVIDENCE, is releasing on 12 May 2023.
6. Psycho-Pass Anime (2019)
Psycho-Pass anime season 3 talks about the Public Safety Bureau: the Public Safety Bureau’s newly-appointed agents, Arata Shindo, and Kei Mikhail Ignatov, to Unit One. And Arata Shindo is the main character in this season. If you watch the previous season of Psycho-Pass? You may know Unit One is led by Mika Shimotsuki.
The members of the enforcers are Tenma Todoroki, Sho Hinakawa, Mao Kisaragi, and Kazumichi Irie. The four are amazed at the way Arata probes people through his mental trace. Unit One, Investigating a case involving the new governor of Tokyo, Japan’s idol Karina Komiya. Someone wants to kill the new Governor of Tokyo, idol Karina Komiya.
After some intense investigation, they were able to track down the suspect who wanted to kill her. Psycho-Pass season 3 mainly deals with the new character development. And talks about modern-day issues, such as immigration, corporate financial mismanagement, and genetic manipulation.
7. Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector (2020)
Psycho-Pass 3: The First Inspector was presented as three 45-minute-long episodes.
Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector talks about a 20-year-old inspector, Kei Mikhail Ignatov. He finds himself in a strange situation with an organization named Bifrost. They warn him if he does not act the way they want, they’re going to his wife.
Koichi Azusawa, the former inspector turned Bifrost Inspector uses its hacker Chiyo Obata — the Public Security Bureau coordinates the attack on the tower. Koichi Azusawa wants Governor Karina Komiya to resign from her position.
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