I was so ecstatic when I heard the news that Dark Horse would license PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami.

Well, I love PSYCHO-PASS. But the problem is none of the manga ever get licensed in English or any other language that I can understand.

Sure, I can always hope for the publishers in Malaysia to license the manga. After all, they did license the manga that doesn’t get licensed in English such as Hyouka and Girlish Number.

So, they may eventually license PSYCHO-PASS manga, right?

To be honest, I wish that will be the case. But knowing how annoying the censorship in Malaysia can be, I doubt that we’ll ever get the manga without having tons of blips here and there.

Well, some of the scenes in PSYCHO-PASS are pretty violent. I doubt that a manga like PSYCHO-PASS will get a pass.

Now that Dark Horse already licensed the manga, let’s just hope that they will also consider licensing other PSYCHO-PASS manga.

You can bet that I will be buying the manga in a heartbeat if they ever do that.

What PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami is all about

Here’s the book description that I got from Amazon.

In this prequel to the hit science fiction crime drama anime series, Psycho-Pass: Inspector Shinya Kogami reveals how the legendary Enforcer was once an ace detective! Working within the city-regulating Sybil System, Inspectors must fight crime in a future where a single number measures your criminal tendencies and determines if you are useful to society!

An artificial organ with a numbered brand is the key piece of evidence that leads Section 3 to a network of organ smuggling! They must set up a complicated trap in order to catch the culprit! However, the real perpetrator may not be who they think it is…

What got me to read the manga

I’m a fan of PSYCHO-PASS anime. And I’m also a fan of Kogami, on top of that too. So, how can I not buy the manga when the story revolves around my favorite character?

Even if I never watched the anime before, I will still give this manga a try since I tend to have a penchant for a character who is in law enforcement or the special force.

Wondering what kind of manga and light novels that I tend to prefer? You can read about my preferences right here.

What makes the manga worth reading

If you watched the anime before, you may already realize that we don’t know much about Kogami other than he used to be an inspector just like Gino. And we also know the fact that his hue became clouded as a result of him investigating Sasayama’s death.

Strangely enough, Kogami is the only character that doesn’t have a backstory laid out in the anime. Even Kunizuka has a backstory where we got to know who she was before she became an Enforcer.

Kagari is also another character that doesn’t have any backstory. But he did mention briefly to Akane that he has been a latent criminal all his life. That should give us enough clue about Kagari’s life before he becomes an Enforcer.

I can’t say for sure the reason why we don’t get Kogami’s backstory in the anime. But my guess is his backstory isn’t something that can be summarized in an episode or two.

Remember that Kogami used to be an inspector. And we don’t know much about Kogami’s relationship with Sasayama other than Sasayama being an Enforcer.

Since the manga itself only has six volumes, I can’t say for sure if the story will ever lead us to Sasayama’s murder. As you can see here, the English version only has four volumes in total so far. And the fourth volume doesn’t seem to hint anything about what will eventually happen to Sasayama.

Even if the story doesn’t lead us to Sasayama’s death, the manga itself is interesting since it gives us a glimpse of Kogami as an inspector and how he handles the Enforcers who seem to have a quirky personality.

While most of the characters are the new characters, there are also familiar faces too such as Gino and Masaoka.

Wondering how does Sasayama looks like? Well, you get to see him in the manga.

The concept of the story isn’t that different from the main series. But at least we get to see how much does the Sibyl System impacts society as a whole from Kogami’s perspective while he was still an inspector.

What I didn’t expect when I read the manga

If you already watched the anime before, you probably noticed how wise Kogami is when he becomes an Enforcer. Yes, his wise wisdom may have a lot to do with him who was a former inspector, and also his experience as an Enforcer.

But in the prequel, Kogami isn’t that much different from Akane when she just joined the Public Safety Bureau. Heck, he’s even more rash than Akane too. That doesn’t seem like Kogami we used to know when he’s an Enforcer, right?

Just like Akane, Masaoka also helps Kogami a lot as well. It’s thanks to him that Kogami was able to lead the Enforcers under him regardless of their oddball personality.

Sure, Masaoka is an Enforcer. But he used to be an inspector before he became an Enforcer.

Now that I think about it, it’s ironic that Kogami is heading to a similar path to Masaoka. At the very least, Akane doesn’t end up like him thanks to her optimistic view about life that prevented her hue from getting clouded.

Who should give the manga a try

If you enjoy watching the anime and you’re like me who is a huge fan of Kogami, then there’s no doubt that you will enjoy reading this manga.

But what if you never watched the anime before? Should you give this manga a try?

If you’re into the dystopian, sci-fi thriller genre, then you may enjoy reading this manga even if you have never watched the anime before.

Sure, it can be a bit tricky to understand the term used in the manga and how does the Sibyl system works if you’re not familiar with the anime.

The good news is the manga does give you a brief introduction to how the Sibyl system works in general and the role of Enforcers. So you can still understand the story even if you have never watched the anime before.

Where to buy PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami manga

Here’s the strange part about the manga. When the manga came out for the first time, you can buy the manga in digital and also in print.

But now you can only buy the manga in print.

I’m not sure why the manga is no longer available in digital format. But if you’re okay with buying the manga in print, you can buy the manga right here on Amazon.

Buy PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami on Amazon

Can’t buy on Amazon? You can also buy the manga at Wordery too. What’s more, they also offer free shipping worldwide. Here’s the link to the book page on Wordery:

Buy PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami on Wordery

Over to you

What do you think about PSYCHO-PASS: Inspector Shinya Kogami manga? Are you interested in giving the manga a try after you read about it on my blog? Let me know in the comment below.

P.S If you enjoy a sci-fi thriller story like PSYCHO-PASS, then you will also enjoy reading my techno-thriller, hard science fiction light novel, Trigger Locked.

I’m currently running a promotion for the series where you can get the first and the second book from the series for 50% off on Smashwords. But the offer will only be available until January 1st, 2021.

If you’d like to give the Trigger Locked series a try, then you can buy my books on Smashwords right here:

Buy Trigger Locked Book 1: The Mind Control Assassins on Smashwords

Buy Trigger Locked Book 2: A Silent Killer on Smashwords