It was co-directed by Naoyoshi Shiotani and Katsuyuki Motohiro and written by Gen Urobuchi, with character designs by Akira Amano and featuring music by Yugo Kanno.

An episodic video game adaptation called Chimi Chara Psycho-Pass was developed by Nitroplus staffers in collaboration with Production I.G.

All of the stories take place in an authoritarian future dystopia where omnipresent public sensors continuously scan the mental states of every passing citizen in order to determine their criminal propensity.

Psycho-Pass is set in a futuristic Japan governed by the Sibyl System (シビュラシステム, Shibyura Shisutemu), a powerful biomechatronic computer network which endlessly measures the biometrics of Japanese citizens' brains and mentalities using a "cymatic scan."

Psycho-Pass is seen through the eyes of Akane Tsunemori, a rookie Inspector within Unit One (aka Division One) of the Ministry of Welfare Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department.

Makishima is Criminally Asymptomatic (免罪体質, Menzai Taishitsu) – a person persistently assessed by the Sibyl System as having a low crime coefficient despite all actions and attitudes, thus protecting him from Dominator harm.

Tsunemori is accompanied by veteran Inspector Nobuchika Ginoza, a strict man who looks down on Enforcers; Tomomi Masaoka, a middle-aged Enforcer who used to be a detective; Shusei Kagari, a carefree young man who was marked as a latent criminal in childhood; and Yayoi Kunizuka, a former musician turned into a latent criminal stemming from a relationship with a terrorist.

's interest in making a successor to Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor, hiring Katsuyuki Motohiro—who became the series' chief director—and veteran I.G.

Motohiro and his staff were surprised with Gen Urobuchi's contribution to the highly acclaimed anime series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

The use of moe (slang) was banned at staff meetings because they appreciated dramas like Mobile Suit Gundam and Patlabor that focused on conflicts between male characters.

[11] Director Naoyoshi Shiotani cited several other influences, including Minority Report, Gattaca, Brazil and Blade Runner; the latter of which he compared very closely to Psycho-Pass.

[1] The psychological themes were based on the time Shiotani watched Lupin III during his childhood because he thought about adding "today's youth trauma" to the series.

[12] Across the series, time limits resulted in the ending songs being removed or replaced with instrumental versions to avoid cutting scenes from the episode.

[7] Following the first series, Yugo Kanno made remixes of the original background themes as the staff found them enjoyable and might come across as appealing in the process.

According to Sibyl's rules, the police can decompose her, but Tsunemori delays action, choosing to bring the woman's Psycho-Pass level back to the acceptable range by speaking gently to her.

The identification of latent criminals is partially based on the emotions judged by society to be negative, such as sadness or anger, being scanned by the Sibyl System.

On June 12, 2015, the Chinese Ministry of Culture announced that they forbade the release of Psycho-Pass along with 38 other anime and manga titles which were deemed to "include scenes of violence, pornography, terrorism and crimes against public morality that could potentially incite minors to commit such acts.

"[41] In September 2013, it was announced on the official site of Noitamina that a second season and a new-original theatrical film project was in development, later called Psycho-Pass: The Movie.

[47] In February 2016, Funimation released a preview for the dubbed version and announced that the film will run in over 100 theaters in the United States and Canada.

[50] In March 2018, it was announced in the live stream of Fuji TV that a three-part theatrical film project was in development, titled Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System.

[65] A new series of novels focusing on four characters by Ryō Yoshigami began publication in the August issue of Hayakawa Publishing's S-F Magazine on June 25, 2014.

[32] Hayakawa Bunko JA also published the Psycho Pass Genesis book in December 2014, which revealed the origins of Sybil and Tonomi Masaoka's involvement.

[68] The game features an original story written by Urobuchi, taking place during the time period of the anime's first six episodes and focusing on a new set of protagonists confronting a new enemy on a remote island.

[70] A virtual reality game will be made in 2020 by Pretia Technologies and organized by Fuji TV's Digital Design department in anticipation of the upcoming film in Q2 2020 called First Inspector.

"[80] IGN also listed Psycho-Pass among the best anime of the decade, and wrote that the series is "a psychological thriller with multiple layers of mystery" that "kept us on our toes through the entirety of the first season.

[84] Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network praised the show for its "high level of interest" in depicting its dystopian world.

[20][85] Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis called it a "compelling cyberpunk mystery", praising the society depicted and the series of murders orchestrated by Shogo Makishima.

[20][87] Bamboo Dong of Anime News Network gave high praise stating that from episode 12, the series was "a real blast to watch" and that she was glad with the development of the protagonist, Akane Tsunemori.

However, she severely criticized the plot twist regarding the Sybil System's true identity calling it "one of the stupidest revelations in the history of anime".

[20][85] Hiroko Yamamura from Japanator noted the series' high budget and praised the animation style and the focus on details and technology.