Psycho-Pass

Submission 20,214

About

Psycho Pass is a 2012 anime series created by Production IG, and written by Gen Urobuchi, also known for his work on the Puella Magi Madoka Magica series. Since it's original airing, the series has garnered much popularity online, spawning a significant fandom.

Premise

The Psycho-Pass series takes place in the year 2113, where a new system named 'the Sybil System' is used in order to run a 'Psycho-Pass', where a person's mental stability and probability to commit a crime (named 'Crime Coefficient') is measured using a scan of the brain. If an individual's Crime Coefficient goes past the recommended limit, then the individual is then arrested in order to avoid a crime being committed, whether they have actually committed one or not. The main plot follows the detective Akane Tsunemori, a new detective to the division, who hunts for criminals along with a group of 'enforcers', a group of criminals who have been given permission to assist the police department, who use special guns known as 'Dominators', which are designed to only fire at those with high Crime Coefficients. After finding out that a criminal by the name of Shogo Makishima is responsible for a number of recent crimes, the group sets out to stop him, with Tsunemori soon finding out the truth behind the system along the way.

History

Psycho-Pass originally started out as an anime series which aired between October 12, 2012 and March 22, 2013, and was created by Production IG, and written by Gen Urobuchi. A remake of the first season, edited down into 11 1 hour episodes, will also begin airing in summer 2014, with a second season starting in fall of the same year. A film adaptation is also set to air in winter 2015. A manga adaptation, titled Inspector Akane Tsunemori, also began circulation on November 2, 2012, and is still ongoing. A light novel adaptation was also created, and produced two novels, which were released on February 4 and April 4, 2013.

Reception

Psycho-Pass has overall received positive reception from critics. Hope Chapman of Anime News Network described the series as "overflowing with insightful things to say", while praising the different themes brought up within the series^[1]. Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku also called the series a "compelling cyberpunk mystery", while praising the society depicted within the show. However, he also went on to criticise the series, criticising the use of advanced technologies^[2].

Online Relevance

In North America, Psycho-Pass is licensed by Funimation, and is available for streaming on their website. The show has gained a large online following on many sites, including on Tumblr^[3], Reddit^[4], 4chan's /a/ (Anime and Manga) board^[5], Fanpop^[6], My Anime List^[7], and DeviantART^[8]. There are numerous sites that provide episodic information about the series, such as the Psycho-Pass wiki^[9], TV Tropes^[10] and Anime News Network^[11]. In addition, the Psycho-Pass Facebook page also has over 300,000 likes^[12].

Fandom

The Psycho-Pass series has spawned a significant online fanbase since it’s creation, which has created much fanart and fanfiction. On the Japanese fanart site Pixiv, there are over 12,000 images tagged under “サイコパス”^[13], as well as over 1,500 videos on the video sharing website Nico Nico Douga^[14]. On DeviantART, there are also over 4,000 images tagged related to the series^[15], as well as over 300 stories on Fanfiction.net^[16].

Cause I Feel

Cause I Feel is a meme based around a phrase spoken during the second opening to the original season, 'Out of Control'. The phrase grew in popularity among fans of the series, due to the over the top delivery of the line, leading to many parodies

Hyper Oats

Hyper Oats is a meme referring to a line of genetically produced crops, first mentioned in episode 19 of the anime. Due to the prominence of the oats throughout the episode, it soon became popular with fans, spawning a number of parodies.

Spooky Boogie

Spooky Boogie refers to a character who appears early on in the Psycho-Pass series. Due to the strange pronunciation of the name by the other characters, the character became notorious online, spawning many parodies.