Psycho-Pass: Season 1 – The Ultimate Recap (Pt.2)

If you enjoy watching anime with crime, thriller, and dark themes and also love sci-fi, then you may already be familiar with Psycho-Pass. This anime is well-known for exploring human nature and the flaws in a seemingly perfect world controlled by the Sybil System.

This is article is a follow-up to the first part of our recap of season 1 of Psycho-Pass, which explores the fascinating world of crime, a paradoxical judicial system, and utilitarian governance. Before we head straight to the episodic recap, make sure you’re all caught up.

Psycho-Pass Season 1, Quick Summary

The story is set in Japan in the year 2112, where an established system called Sibyl maintains a stable society. Sibyl manages all aspects of life, including assigning citizens to specific job fields based on aptitude tests. It also has the ability to analyze every resident’s mental state and predict who is at risk of committing a crime.

After finishing her exams, Akane Tsunemori has become an Inspector, a specialized police officer whose job is to capture latent criminals and prevent crimes. Some of these criminals are not imprisoned but are instead recruited as Enforcers to assist the police in understanding the mindset of other criminals.

Although warned not to get too close to these Enforcers, Akane ignores the advice and vows to work with them to maintain peace and protect the people of her city. As Akane collaborates with Shinya Kougami, she realizes that the Sibyl System’s judgments are not flawless like her colleagues think.

This discovery shakes her understanding of things she thought were absolute. Now, Akane struggles with defining the meaning of justice and questions if it’s possible to maintain justice with a system that may already be compromised.

Episode 11: Saint’s Supper

Shinya Kogami uses a drone to receive a Dominator and defeat Toyohisa Senguji. However, he gets injured during the fight. On the other hand, Shogo Makishima captures Yuki Funahara. But we get to see Kogami being severely wounded.

Tomomi Masaoka attends to Kogami’s injuries while Akane Tsunemori chases after Makishima alone. But during this chase, Makishima explains his motive and his “free will”. Tsunemori gets a chance to kill Makishima using Senguji’s shotgun. However, she fails and then witness Makishima killing Funahara.

Episode 12: Devil’s Crossroad

A former guitarist, Yayoi Kunizuka was institutionalized and deemed a latent criminal. This happened three years ago to the current events of Season 1. Inspectors Shinya Kogami and Nobuchika Ginoza approach Yayoi for investigation.

Upon receiving guitar strings from Kogami, she agrees to assist the inspectors in their mission. But the club being investigated catches fire after Enforcer Mitsuru Sasayama approaches suspects dealing with Molotov cocktails.

This incident motivates Kunizuka to search for Takizaki. She quickly discovers that Takizaki is part of a resistance group. This group sells explosives to overthrow the Sibyl System. After knowing that Kunizuka’s intentions, Takizaki gets away. This leads to Kunizuka becoming an Enforcer.

Episode 13: Invitation from the Abyss

Nuchika Ginoza meets with Joshu Kasei, to discuss Shogo Makishima. Kasei informs him that the real culprit of The Specimen Case is Kozaburo Toma. Toma is Criminally Asymptomatic like Makishima. Akane Tsunemori agrees to undergo a Memory Scoop to create a photofit of Makishima.

Tsunemori’s Memory Scoop gets completed without raising her Psycho-Pass level. As a result, a photofit image of Makishima gets created to assist in the investigation. Ginoza later discusses how Tsunemori manages to maintain clarity in her Psycho-Pass.

Episode 14: Sweet Poison

An unknown man enters a pharmacy and kills the staff to steal drugs. Upon investigation, PSB discovers that his CC was not high enough to trigger the alarm. The same man brutally beats Hiroko Fuji to death with a hammer in front of a crowd and a Psycho-Pass scanner.

Shinya Kogami suspects that the motive for the second crime is related to the victim. This leads their investigation to be focused on Junmei Ito. This man had a grudge against the system and might be involved in criminal activites.

Kogami realizes that the helmets worn by the criminals copy the CC of innocent bystanders. This helps the criminals lower their own CC and evade the law. With the assistance of Akane and Tomomi, Kogami successfully captures the murderer.

Episode 15: The Town Where Sulfur Falls

The helmet killings footage spreads online and causes more criminals to repeat the activity. This leads to the public seeking revenge for self-defense. The PSB tries to control these riots. On the other hand, Shinya Kogami realizes they are a diversion to distract the police.

The real criminal wants to get close to Sibyl System at the NONA Tower. Meanwhile, Shogo Makishima and his group break into the NONA Tower. The PBS rush to intervene and stop Makishima.

Episode 16: The Gates of Judgement

Shinya, Akane, and Shusei divide into two groups to catch Makishima. Kogami and Tsunemori head to the top floor, while Kagari goes to the basement to locate Gu-sung Choe. On their way, Kogami face Choe’s henchmen and neutralize him.
Kagari goes down a staircase in the basement, defeats an attacker, and takes his weapon and radio. Choe films the core and believes that it will bring down the system. However, Chief Joshu appears and points a Dominator to finish Choe.

Episode 17: Heart of Iron

Shogo Makishima gets apprehended, but Shinya gets interested in his fate. On the same day, Joshu informs Ginoza that Makishima’s case is no longer PSB’s concern. He instructs Ginoza to find out where Kagari is.

Kasei confronts Makishima revealing she is Kozaburo Toma. She tells him about her cybernetic body. Toma explains to Makishima the true nature of the Sibyl System. A supercomputer network composed of the excised brains of Criminally Asymptomatic individuals. Toma invites Makishima to join the System, but he declines. Makishima kills Toma and escapes.

Episode 18: Promises in the Winter

Shinya gets removed from the case. Akane convinces Kogami to promise that he’ll always be a detective. Meanwhile, Nobuchika Ginoza tries to assign Kogami to a different case in Division 02. But Kasei learns about it and orders Ginoza to kill Kogami using his Dominator in Eliminator mode.

Tsunemori shoots Kogami first with her Paralyzer. This causes him to lose consciousness. Later, Tsunemori tells Ginoza that his Dominator might be broken. Upon waking, Kogami finds Tsunemori at his side. Later he assembles a revolver using parts he finds.

Episode 19: Transparent Shadow

Nobuchika Ginoza, whose current Hue status is problematic, decides not to pursue intensive therapy. Instead, he focuses on finding and rescuing Shinya and Shogo. Tomomi disagrees with his approach. He claims that Ginoza is acting too leniently.

But Ginoza is seen to be under the spell of “obsession.” Meanwhile, Kogami seeks advice from Joji to anticipate Makishima’s next move. Their analysis reveals that Makishima might try to disrupt Japan’s food supply in an attempt to force open the country’s borders.

Episode 20: The Place where Justice is Found

Akane gets approached by the Sibyl System. Sibyl requests Akane’s help in capturing Shogo Makishima alive. Makishima finds and kills Nobuaki Kudama, to obtain information. Shinya arrives and leaves a clue for the PSB in the victim’s airway.
Tsunemori communicates with Sibyl and persuades them to cancel Kogami’s execution. By using her detective skills, they discover Kogami’s hint and get informed about the circumstances. Makishima on the other hand arrives at his destination with Kogami in pursuit.

Episode 21: Blood-Stained Reward

Shogo starts his plan to destroy the primary source of food in Japan. Ginoza and Masaoka head to the university’s lab to investigate. However, Ginoza accidentally sets off a trap. The trap triggers an explosion. Makishima suddenly appears and fights with Masaoka.

After a while, Masaoka is able to get Makishima in a headlock, pinning him down. Makishima tries to break free, but he then takes out a stick of dynamite from his pocket. Kogami sees Masaoka lying on the ground, dying. Kogami and Makishima take their knives out and the final battle starts.

Episode 22: Perfect World

Shinya and Shogo battle each other with knives, but Makishima gets away. Tsunemori cries as she realizes that if Kogami kills Makishima, the Sibyl System will come after him. Makishima asks if Kogami will replace him, but Kogami hopes that he never has to.

After a moment of silence, Kogami shoots Makishima in the head, killing him. The Sibyl System demotes Akane due to her failure of arresting Makishima. Sibyl wants to use Tsunemori to their side as a model for the next level of governance in society.

Bottom Line

Psycho-Pass is an anime that brings up thought-provoking themes such as a corrupt government that includes immune criminals. It also explores how human nature can corrupt anything related to society. The anime raises questions about the concept of freewill.

We would like to hear your thoughts on this masterpiece and what do you think about Makishima’s ideology. If you’re fond of anime as much as we are, make sure to visit our website and explore the other amazing anime content we have. We have recently done a comprehensive recap for both part one and part two of Attack on Titan‘s final season.