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List of Psycho-Pass characters

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Promotional illustration for the series featuring from left to right: Kogami, Akane, Ginoza, Kagari, Inuzuka, Karanomori and Masaoka.

Production I.G's anime series Psycho-Pass features several fictional characters designed by manga artist Akira Amano. The anime takes place in a dystopia where it is possible to instantaneously measure a person's mental state, personality, and the probability that a person will commit crimes with a device installed on each citizen's body called the Psycho-Pass. It follows members of Unit One of the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division and the crimes they investigate. The protagonist is Akane Tsunemori, a rookie "Inspector" in charge of solving cases and vigilating the Enforcers, latent criminals working for her. She is accompanied by veteran Inspector Nobuchika Ginoza and the Enforcers Shinya Kogami, a former Inspector who seeks the death of a man who kill his late comrade, Tomomi Masaoka, a middle-aged man who used to be a detective, Shusei Kagari, a carefree young man who has been a latent criminal ever since he was a kid, and Yayoi Kunizuka, a former musician turned into a latent criminal after interacting with a terrorist. Across several cases the group encounters a man who has orchestrated several murders, Shogo Makishima.

Creation and design

Director Naoyoshi Shiotani decided on how to make the series' characters after hearing comments comments from The Pet Girl of Sakurasou's director Atsuko Ishizuka. As that for that series the characters were designed first, Shiotani realized it was the opposite for them. They had to create the setting first and then continue with the characters as they "are almost being played by the world." As a result, the cast was designed by manga artist Akira Amano in order to make them balance with the dark atmosphere by having them "palatable and very relate-able." The staff also avoided using bright colors that would stand out.[1] These designs were adapted by character designer Kyoji Asano.[2]

Akane Tsunemori was created as the most relatable character who would question the setting from the audience's point of view and as the heroine who would come between Shinya Kogami and Shogo Makishima. Her growth in the series from an innocent rookie to a mature and haunted person was one of the staff's main objectives.[3] Whenever an episode included violent scenes where the main characters were involved, the team worked on them to make them memorable.[3] As the series was "anti-moe" the team decided to avoid having Akane remove her clothes and instead have Kogami do it.[1] Voice actors have also been credited in the making of the series due to how they added traits to the characters.[4]

Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division

Shinya Kogami

Shinya Kōgami (狡噛 慎也, Kōgami Shin'ya) is the 28-year-old main male protagonist and one of the Enforcers in Unit One.[5] Formerly an Inspector, his involvement in the Specimen Case caused his Crime Coefficient to rapidly increase to abnormal levels. While investigating the case, Mitsuru Sasayama, the Enforcer that worked under him, was on to the mastermind behind the case until he was killed in the same manner as the victims. Instead of seeking the needed therapy, Shinya became so focused on the case that he was demoted to Enforcer by the Sibyl System, restricting his freedom and limiting his movement to inside the Public Safety Bureau.[6] Despite his violent actions, Kogami feels relaxed when Akane Tsunemori is assigned as his Inspector as he believes he will be a detective rather than a killer under her judgement.[7] As a Enforcer, Kogami takes extensive physical training so that his superiors will not have to kill criminals. The two manage to arrest Makishima but following his escape, Kogami is taken off the case due to the Sybil not wishing Makishima dead. As a result, Kogami leaves Unit One to hunt down and kill Makishima alone.[8] He ultimately succeeds and is not seen again by his comrades,[9] although in the audio drama After Stories he contacts Akane about how he will stay away from society in order to avoid being detected.[10] He is voiced in Japanese by Tomokazu Seki[5] and in English by Robert McCollum.[11]

Akane Tsunemori

Main article: Akane Tsunemori

Akane Tsunemori (常守 朱, Tsunemori Akane) is the 20-year-old main female protagonist and the newly assigned Inspector of Unit One. She passes the exams with the highest score for employment on several public sectors and private corporations. She decides to join the police because it is the only place where no one obtained a score as high as hers, thus she believes she is able to do something there that no one else can.[12][7] Though initially uncomfortable with her job, Kogami's joy of having somebody who would stop him from killing innocent people motivates her to work and get along with the Enforcers.[7] Her calm demeaonor, acceptance of society and will to fight to against conflicts prevent her from becoming a latent criminal despite her experiences.[13] The members from the Sybil System are attracted by her traits which results in her learning of their true nature as they want to use her to capture Makishima alive with Akane agreeing only if she if they stop their orders of killing the defecting Kogami.[14] Although she fails, the Sybil members allow her to live under the condition she does not reveal their truth. In the epilogue, Akane becomes the de facto leader of Unit One. Akane is seen briefing a newly recruited Inspector in the finale.[9] She is voiced by Kana Hanazawa in Japanese[12] and by Kate Oxley in English.[11]

Nobuchika Ginoza

Nobuchika Ginoza (宜野座 伸元, Ginoza Nobuchika) is a veteran Inspector working with Akane. He coordinates all the Enforcers in Unit One.[15] An old friend of Shinya's, his hatred for those with high Crime Coefficients and his zeal to oust them from society came from the inability to stop his former partner from becoming a latent criminal. Although he still holds a certain degree of trust with Shinya, he dislikes Shinya's Enforcer partner Masaoka, his father. His father's demotion to Enforcer causes Ginoza to constantly tell Akane to draw a line between herself and the Enforcers she works with.[13] During the group's search for Makishima, Masaoka sacrifices his life to save his son from Makishima's dynamite and Ginoza loses an arm shortly afterwards.[16] Ginoza's Crime Coefficient rises too high and he is demoted to an Enforcer, mirroring the fates of his father and Kogami.[9] He is voiced by Kenji Nojima in Japanese and Josh Grelle in English.[11]

Tomomi Masaoka

Tomomi Masaoka (征陸 智己, Masaoka Tomomi) is the eldest Enforcer of Unit One. He is a hardworking and honest veteran who guides Akane in learning how the system works in the Public Safety Bureau. As a former detective, his distaste for the Sibyl System's absolute judgment caused his Psycho-Pass to deteriorate, resulting in his demotion to the rank of enforcer.[17] Masaoka is Ginoza's father but their relationship is so dysfunctional the two never mention it.[13] Nevertheless, Masaoka still cares for his son and guides him across the series, wishing him not take the path he took.[8] He dies while protecting Ginoza from dynamite Makishima threw at him, smiling to his son in his last moments as his face reminds him of himself.[16] Kinryū Arimoto voices him in Japanese while Jason Douglas plays his role in English.[11]

Shusei Kagari

Shūsei Kagari (縢 秀星, Kagari Shūsei) is an Enforcer of Unit One who was detected as a latent criminal at the age of five. He is always telling jokes and sometimes teases Akane.[18] Although he detests the system, Kagari is also annoyed by the criminals' actions During Makishima's infiltration, Kagari finds out the true form of the Sibyl System when he is assigned to track one of Makishima's men. He is killed to keep the secret by the chief using Destroy-Decompose Dominator, erasing all traces of him.[19] His fate remains unknown to all of his comrades except Akane as the Sibyl members make it appear he escaped.[9] Akira Ishida voices Kagari in Japanese and Scott Freeman voices him in English.[11]

Yayoi Kunizuka

Yayoi Kunizuka (六合塚 弥生, Kunizuka Yayoi) is the only female Enforcer of Unit One. She stays calm and collected in the face of even the most brutal crimes.[20] She is a former guitarist in a band who became a latent criminal interacting with a terrorist named Rina. After unwittingly helping the bureau track a terrorist named Rina, a musician she was in love with, she joined the bureau to prevent other people from ending up like Rina. She and Shion are lovers.[9] She is voiced by Shizuka Itō in Japanese and by Lindsay Seidel in English.[11]

Shion Karanomori

Shion Karanomori (唐之杜 志恩, Karanomori Shion) is an analyst in the Public Safety Bureau's General Analysis Division and a latent criminal as well. She provides backup to the Enforcers and Inspectors in their investigation by analyzing the data and evidence sent by them.[21] She and Yayoi are lovers. Miyuki Sawashiro voices her in Japanse and Lydia Mackay voices her in English.[11]

Joshu Kasei

Joshu Kasei (禾生 壌宗) is the Chief of the Bureau. She is depicted as an elderly woman who becomes interested in Shogo Makishima's immunity to the Dominators and orders Nobuchika Ginoza not to murder the criminal. When Makishima's assistant Choe Gu-sung tries to expose the truth behind the Sybil System, Kasei kills him alongside the Enforcer trying to stop him, Shusei Kagari, to stop the leak of information.[19] Kasei is revealed to be a cyborg that the members from the Sybil System use as an avatar with the current user being former criminal Toma Kozaburo (藤間 幸三郎, Kozaburō Tōma). Failing to invite Makishima to Sybil, Kozaburo is killed by the man and replaced with another member of the Sybil who keeps ordering the Bureau.[22] Kozaburo's backstory is explained in the prequel novel The Monster With No Name.[23] Kasei is voiced by Yoshiko Sakakibara in Japanese and Linda Leonard voices her in English.[11]

Mitsuru Sasayama

Mitsuru Sasayama (佐々山 光留, Sasayama Mitsuru) is an Enforcer who works at the MWPSB Unit 1 during flashbacks of the series as well as the light novel The Monster With No Name being dead during the anime series. His sister committed suicide for unknown reasons although Sasayama believes it was his abusive father's sexual assault on her. Sasayama fought against the man during the assault which resulted in him becoming a latent criminal.[23] Despite his cocky and brute personality, Sasayama is a good friend of Kogami. During a case involving gruesome murders, Sasayama finds a lead to the mastermind, Shogo Makishima, but is brutally murdered in the process. The gruesome state of Sasayama's dead body causes Kogami to become a latent criminal as he becomes obsessed with getting revenge for his partner's death.[6] He is voiced by Shintarō Asanuma in Japanese and by Jonathan Brooks in English.

Criminals

Shogo Makishima

Shōgo Makishima (槙島 聖護, Makishima Shōgo) is a humanist on the dark side who is obsessed with cruelty, savagery, and all the worst aspects of human nature. A born evangelist, he possesses both uncommon charisma and a true gift for narrative.[24] It is shown that Makishima may be the mastermind behind the many cases the Public Safety Bureau are investigating, including the one that led Kogami to become demoted from Inspector to Enforcer.[6] Despite his murderous intent, his Crime Coefficient levels have never reached dangerous levels, rendering him safe from the Dominator. He himself claims this is because his own mind and body does not consider him killing people and committing crimes to be "wrong", but rather considers it to be completely "normal," which means his Psycho-Pass does not detect any abnormal or illegal behavior to report to the Sibyl System.[25] These traits result in the Sybil sparing his life to join them but Makishima escapes from them, still wishing to destroy them.[22] He is killed by Kogami after a failed attempt of bioterrorism.[9] He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai in Japanese while Alex Organ voices him in English.[11]

Choe Gu-sung

Choe Gu-sung (チェ・グソン) is Shogo Makishima's right hand man. He is a Korean immigrant who moved to Japan with his family as a kid. He despises the society created by the Sybil System and wishes to remove it. While initially acting as a messenger for him, Gu-sung takes a bigger role in the series when he records the murder of a woman at the hands of a man immune to the Sybil by using an advanced helmet. Using this video to cause several riots in the city, Gu-sung and Makishima take advantage of the Bureau force being busy with stopping the riots to uncover the truth behind the Sybil System. In infiltrating, Gu-sung is killed by Joshu Kasei.[19] In the novelization, Gu-sung is a former member of the Korean People's Army and following his country's defeat he spent a decade wandering until meeting Makishima. He is voiced by Yasunori Masutani in Japanese while David Wald voices him in English.[11]

Rikako Oryo

Rikako Oryo (王陵 璃華子, Oryō Rikako) is a student at Oso Academy. Despite her gentle personality, Oryo is a serial killer who uses the corpses of her victims to create art monuments for her sick father. All of her crimes are orchestrated by Shogo Makishima who appears at her school as one of her teachers. However, Shinya Kogami discovers she is the culprit behind several murders and tries to arrest her. Although Oryo manages to escape from Kogami with Choe Gu-sung's help, she is killed by another of Makishima's underling, Toyohisa Senguji, as her superior no longer sees her useful.[26] She is voiced by Maaya Sakamoto in Japanese while Brina Palencia voices her in English.[11]

Toyohisa Senguji

Toyohisa Senguji (泉宮寺 豊久) is a man who managed to expand his lifespan by becoming a cyborg. He is one of Shogo Makishima's assistant who first appears when killing his underling Rikako Oryo. A sociopath, Senguji is obssessed with hunting preys with Makishima motivating him to hunt down Enforcer Shinya Kogami after he discovered Oryo's identity.[26][27] Fighting Kogami in an area sorrounded by an abandoned place, Senguji is killed in combat by the Enforcer.[25] He is voiced by Chou Katsumi in Japanese while Charlie Campbell voices him in English.[11]

Reception

Publications for anime have given positive response to the series' characters. Despite being concerned regarding the "weak characterization" in the series, The Fandom Post's Thomas Zoth praised the relationships of the cast such as Nobuchika Ginoza's and Tonomi Masaoka's.[28] Rebecca Silverman criticized the characters for often monologuing about their philosophies. The development of Shinya Kogami and Akane Tsunemori has also been well received by Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network due to the impact both have in the series' climax.[29] Shogo Makishima also received positive response with praise owing to his orchestration of several crimes but criticism to his immunity to the system by Kotaku's Richard Einsbeis.[30] His fights against Kogami were also the subject of praise.[31][32]

The staff behind the series noted the series attracted a female viewership since the conflict between the male characters appeared to attract the shonen ai genre fans.[1] Although Shiotani also wanted the series to be "anti-BL", he believes the fight scenes between male characters unintentionally attracted more female fans.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Directors's Panel with Katsuyuki Motohiro, Naoyoshi Shiotani, and Atsuko Ishizuka". Anime News Network. March 30, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  2. ^ "Kyoji Asano art gallery opens today in Koga City". Japanator. February 10, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  3. ^ a b "Media Q&A with Executive Director Katsuyuki Motohiro, Director Naoyoshi Shiotani and Producer Joji Wada (of "PSYCHO-PASS") by Dennis A. Amith and Michelle Tymon (J!-ENT Interviews and Articles)". J!-Entoline.com. May 7, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  4. ^ "Psycho-Pass Chief Director: Word 'Moe' Is Banned Among Staff". Anime News Network. October 11, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2013.
  5. ^ a b "狡噛 慎也". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  6. ^ a b c "Symbolism of Bletilla Striata". Psycho Pass. Episode 7. November 23, 2012. Fuji TV.
  7. ^ a b c "Those Capable". Psycho Pass. Episode 2. October 19, 2012. Fuji TV.
  8. ^ a b "Promises Written in Water". Psycho Pass. Episode 18. February 21, 2013. Fuji TV.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Perfect World". Psycho Pass. Episode 22. March 22, 2013. Fuji TV.
  10. ^ Psycho Pass Vol. 8, After Stories. Production I.G. Toho. 2013.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Funimation Reveals Psycho-Pass English Dub Cast, Trailer". Anime News Network. December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  12. ^ a b "常守 朱". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  13. ^ a b c "Invitation from the Abyss". Psycho Pass. Episode 13. January 17, 2013. Fuji TV.
  14. ^ "The Place Where Justice is Found". Psycho Pass. Episode 20. March 7, 2013. Fuji TV.
  15. ^ "宜野座 伸元". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Blood-stained Reward". Psycho Pass. Episode 21. March 14, 2013. Fuji TV.
  17. ^ "征陸 智己". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  18. ^ "縢 秀星". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  19. ^ a b c "The Gates of Judgment". Psycho Pass. Episode 16. February 7, 2013. Fuji TV.
  20. ^ "六合塚 弥生". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  21. ^ "唐之杜 志恩". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  22. ^ a b "Heart of Iron". Psycho Pass. Episode 17. February 14, 2013. Fuji TV.
  23. ^ a b Takaba, Aya (2013). Psycho-Pass Namae no Nai Kaibutsu. Mag Garden.
  24. ^ "槙島 聖護". TVアニメ「PSYCHO-PASS サイコパス」 (in Japanese). Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  25. ^ a b "Saint's Suppe". Psycho Pass. Episode 11. December 21, 2012. Fuji TV.
  26. ^ a b "And Then, Silence". Psycho Pass. Episode 8. November 30, 2012. Fuji TV.
  27. ^ "Fruit Of Paradise". Psycho Pass. Episode 9. December 7, 2012. Fuji TV.
  28. ^ "Psycho-Pass Episode #13 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. January 22, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  29. ^ "Psycho-Pass episodes 12 - 22 Streaming". Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  30. ^ Eisenbeis, Richard (January 8, 2013). "Psycho Pass is a Compelling Cyberpunk Mystery (And It's Only Half Done)". Kotaku. Kotaku. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  31. ^ "Psycho-Pass Episode #21 – 22 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. March 21, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
  32. ^ "Psycho-Pass Episode #16 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. February 12, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2013.
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