Ingress the Animation: Complete Collection

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Probably not since Psycho Pass have I’ve seen a police procedural anime series that had some sort of psychic spin on it that was a refreshing twist on the genre. Now one of Sentai’s latest releases, Ingress the Animation: Complete Collection, casts its hat in the ring to make for a slow but intense show that fans of cop shows, anime, and sci-fi will want to check out.

via YouTube

Taking place in a world where some people are gifted with “psychometry” that allows them to pull memories from an object to see where it’s been, who handled it, and what took place around it at any given time, we enter the life of one who has this power named Makoto Midorikawa. He also happens to be part of the Metropolitan Police Force where his unique ability has helped them solve numerous crimes that would otherwise be unsolvable.

Just when it looked like Makoto was about to solve another case, things take a turn for the worse when his latest case deals with an explosion and he meets the only survivor of it. Upon touching a ring they’re wearing, his mind is exposed to all sorts of secrets involving a potentially deadly drug known as “Exotic Matter” or XM.

Naturally the people in the shadows who are making this powerful substance don’t want their business out there, so now they’re after Makoto to make sure their secrets aren’t made public. It doesn’t help that they have friends in high and low places as Makoto quickly learns as he races to crack this case and hopefully stay alive long enough to do so.

Being a fan of mysteries, I was completely on board with this series as soon as I watched. There was always something interesting going on to keep your interest as Makoto does his best to learn more about XM and the secret lab people behind it. There’s also some other characters that come into play that keep the story and small bits of action moving along that makes these eleven episodes fly by quickly.

Originally airing on Netflix only a few years ago and featuring CG animated characters, the episodes look and sound great in high-definition. As with most CG anime shows, it takes a bit to get used to the so-so framerate of the character animations, but once you do it’s smooth sailing from there.

There’s not much in the special features department outside of clean opening and closing animations and some original Japanese promotional videos. Even still, the real treat of Ingress the Animation: Complete Collection are the episodes themselves which contain just enough mystery, sci-fi, and intrigue to keep your mind from unraveling from the massive conspiracies and dangers it contains.

About the Author: Chris Mitchell