Shinya Kōgami (狡噛 慎也) (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, August 12, 2084) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the anime series Psycho-Pass.

A police officer in a cyberpunk dystopia, he becomes obsessed with assassinating Shogo Makishima, a criminal mastermind responsible for the death of one of Kogami’s former allies. The character has also appeared in manga and novel adaptations of the series, a prequel manga series, a stage play, and the films Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015) and Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System Case.3 Onshuu no Kanata ni (2019), which focuses on Kogami’s life after the events of the first anime season. He reappears in the third television season Psycho-Pass 3, as a supporting character. Additional light novels and manga explore Kogami’s work as an inspector years before the start of the anime.

Kogami was created by the staff of Production IG. Writer Gen Urobuchi created the character to contrast Akane Tsunemori, Kogami’s police supervisor, whose personality and ideology oppose Kogami’s. He was designed by mangaka Akira Amano, who wanted to give the character a strong sense of individualism in contrast to the setting of the series. Kogami is voiced in Japanese by Tomokazu Seki, in English by Robert McCollum and in Spanish by Dario Torrent.

Kogami’s critical reception has been positive due to his interactions with Akane, and his return in the 2015 film was praised after his absence from the second anime season with the third anime season providing his return along with greater depth in impersonation. Kogami has been well received by fans, winning the “Mister NoitaminA” award and placing in Newtype’s popularity polls on several occasions.

History

Date of birth: August 16, 2084. Kogami was born in Kanagawa to Tomoyo Kogami and an unnamed father. He met Nobuchika Ginoza during high school, and they became close friends after Kogami saved Ginoza from bullies. When Ginoza told Kogami about his future plans to become an Inspector, Kogami followed suit and discovered his passion for justice.

In high school, Kogami excelled in social studies, kickboxing, and wrestling, as students had the opportunity to study martial arts to reduce stress. He graduated as one of the top students in his class and scored 721 on his final exam, as did Tsunemori. He later followed his best friend Ginoza to become an Inspector of the Third Division.

Three years before Tsunemori joined the First Division, Kogami was transferred to the First Division and tasked with looking out for his Executives, one of whom was Mitsuru Sasayama. Although they were warned not to get close, Kogami and Sasayama became friends. They received a case that became known as the “Sample Case” because of the fact that the victims were dismembered to then be re-composed by plastination and displayed in public places like insects in amber. Sasayama almost caught the murderer when he himself became a similar victim. Kogami was the first to discover Sasayama’s dismembered body. The horror he experienced made his crime rate rise. Refusing treatment, he continued to work for the Bureau as an Enforcer.

Education

March 2100 – Graduated from Higashi High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. April 2100 – Entered the Nitto School of Social Sciences, Department of Social Psychology. March 2104 – Graduated from the Nitto School of Social Sciences, Department of Social Psychology.

Career

April 2104 – Accepted into the Bureau of Public Safety, Ministry of Welfare; accepted into the Training Institute of the Bureau of Public Safety. September 2104 – Graduated St. Andrews University BSc Computer Science First Class October 2104 – Appointed to the Third Division of the Department of Investigation as Inspector. February 2110 – resigned position due to deterioration of psycho-passport. April 2110 – Appointed to the First Division of the Investigation Department as an Executor. February 2113 – escapes from BOB. July 2116 – is in an illegal immigrant terrorist investigation area, subsequently escapes. September 2116 – Admitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shogo Makishima FAQ