Alternative TitlesEnglish: Paranoia Agent Synonyms: Mousou Dairinin Japanese: 妄想代理人
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 13
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Feb 3, 2004 to May 18, 2004
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.771 (scored by 10645 users)
Ranked: #5402
Popularity: #178
Members: 18,279
Favorites: 356 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama horror mystery psychological |
SynopsisAn elementary school kid dubbed with the title "shounen bat" or "lil slugger" has been going around attacking people with his bent, golden bat. Now, two detectives are investigating so they can stop this kid from making any more attacks, but they will find out soon enough... that this case is much more than they expected. (Source: ANN) |
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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Fallow
45 of 59 people found this review helpful
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13 of 13 episodes seen
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
Paranoia Agent
No. episodes - 13
Story -
It is very hard to give a rating for Paranoia agent that can be surmised using the numbers rating system. The story is quite complicated but excecuted with flair. Any dull moments serve to advance the viewers understanding of the complicated characters and scenarios. Plainly the plot revolves around a series of attacks on people who appear to be unrelated. The plot dedicates episodes to each of these victims and merges their paths together to weave a story of connections and basically highlight the power of Paranoia. This is a gritty and mature anime, it deals with issues such as incest, violence, technology and consumerism, blackmail, hatred, the power of the media and the power of rumours as 'Little Slugger' becomes more fiction than fact.
I won't lie - The last 5 episodes are quite mind boggling, the plot shifts focus on random people and their own issues and encounters. This may frustrate keen viewers as it felt like a MAJOR detour to me... Luckily for us, there is a plot ending and resolution. Even a little closure. I personally haven’t seen something as mentally interesting since Neon Genesis, and that's a statement!
Art –
I fully believe this series deserves such a high rating. The animation was spectacular, fluid and very accurate. Right down to small nuances in each character and the intricacies of clothing and background. Paranoias animation techniques are supposed to be an almost realistic representation of people, not the typical big eyed crazy haired anime moe styles. The same director (Satoshi Kon) also directed thriller classics Big O and Perfect Blue. Kon also directed Tokyo Godfathers, so if you have viewed these titles before you know what to expect. Paranoia Agent utilises a whole variety of cinematic techniques which serves to make the show visually interesting. The reason the art didn't warrent a full score was because in the last DvD I felt that the quality and attention to detail had taken a back seat to let the crazy plot entertain us more.
Sound -
I thought Paranoia Agent did very well with background music, often creating an eerie intensity. The Opening song was as a bizarre reflection of the show. The melody is bright and happy while the lyrics themselves sing a different story. The Opening is very ironic but pretty catchy. The Ending clip and song was really disappointing. It’s really a very simple melody and even the clip was very boring. In the directors comments Kon mentioned that he comissioned the Opening sequence to wake the viewer up, and the closing sequence to prepare the viewer to wind down and relax. Also - I watched this in the English dub, no complaints! A top job. All the VA's matched their characters very well and really brought them to life.
Characters –
If went into too much detail here I would spoil the entire enjoyment of this show. The plot is primarily supported by the assortment of complex and interesting characters. Human emotions, sensibilities and weaknesses. If you're a fan of character driven shows Paranoia Agent should fit you perfectly.
Like I previously mentioned, animation is spectacular and brings the characters to life. Points were lost because the character of ‘Lil Slugger’ was so intentionally vague and this caused me a bit of frustration throughout the series. Although that's just personal... Other than that all of them were very interesting. The characters emotions have also been animated very well, really bringing out the grit of the series and letting us empathise with them. If
Overall -
I had some very Genuine moments of ‘wtf’ because this is the sort of show that illicites, wtf moments. A good friend of mine described the series as ‘General Mind f******’ pardon the language – but that perfectly summarises my thoughts too. If your into being messed around with and fantastic animation this show would be right up your alley. It’s bizarre, intense and very intruiging. Understanding human nature is essentially what this show deals with IMO so be prepared to have to think!
Totally recomend this!
BUT If you're distressed easily I would steer clear of this title because it can be quite confronting.
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Ranivus
67 of 89 people found this review helpful
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13 of 13 episodes seen
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| Overall |
8 |
| Story |
7 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
8 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
For those who aren't used to a Satoshi Kon anime, be prepared. They usually start off as a normal type of anime, and then take a serious turn for the surreal. As for Paranoia Agent, it starts off as a normal detective-style anime but then the plot twists and turns worse than a twist-tie on a bag of wonder bread. For those used to Satoshi Kon's work (Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, etc), none of this is news. Personally I enjoy a good "whodunit" anime since I also love CSI, 24, Prison Break, etc. These kind of shows actually get the viewer to really think how its going to unfold next or guess who is the real culprit. Just for general information I watched the whole show on Cartoon Network years ago, but then I rewatched the Japanese version and let me tell you there are ALOT of things they (Cartoon Network) cut in various episodes of the show. They even took out important parts of the show that were very important to making the episode make sense. But after watching the 'uncut' version many things made sense.
Even with that extra knowledge I couldn't help but think that half the episodes had a filler feeling to them. Many times you'll wonder why certain story arcs are being told or how that person is connected to the overall story but it will all make sense in the end (except for episode 09). The character cast is extremely varied, in terms of look and personality. The details show in most of their faces.Whats most noticeable is the older the character is, the more detail their face becomes. The voice acting in the english and japanese dubs are extremely top notch as well. For the serious otakus you'll definitely notice Mamiko Noto's voice or Haruko Momoi, but if you're open minded enough to listen to the english side of the voices you'll notice good voices as well like Carrie Savage or Sam Regal. But the attention to detail don't just stop with character style and voice acting.
Character props and background art is where this show shines the most, from an artists cluttered cubicle to an otaku's room filled with figures. I could have sworn you can actually see a layer of dust on an old bookshelf. Each scene is unique and different and you can tell they put alot of time and effort on all the small details to make this show stand out better than the rest. My only gripe out the artwork is that it is very earth tone and dark. Well not really dark per se but its color scheme is very warm and brownish looking which I didn't like all that much but you will soon overcome the problem the more you watch it.
Another gripe I am not to fond of how Kon draws his characters. Some of them look very normal, ordinary and sometimes cute. But the characters who wear their personality on their sleeves look very drastic. Like abnormaly huge mouths, beady eyes, fishy lips, all very strange to look at. The most that suffers from this type of look are the male figures in the show. I'm not fond of it but im sure most people will enjoy the change of pace from all the cute moe cartoons that plage the anime world.
If you have never seen a Sat-Kon anime, I highly reccomend watching this series simply because it will definitely be a different experience that you should see for yourself. With the outrageous plot twists and holes in some parts, the story does have a few problems overall. Like I said way back in the beggining the story starts out fine then it takes a serious turn for the surreal so take that however you may but I highly recommender this to anyone who doesn't mind a crazy mind trip of "Alice in Wonderland" proportions.
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Recommendations
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Deeply Psychological, excellent and creative action, same studio.
Both Paranoia Agent and Paprika probe the power of man made illusions and how these affect reality to the point of merging with it. Paranoia Agent contradicts linear modes of story telling as the series progresses while Paprika is deliberately oneiric from the start. The artwork is similar and Satoshi Kon's trademarks are very visible in the way PA and Paprika push the limits of animation in general. Image surpasses the role of medium and becomes an experimental endeavour of psychological valence: PA and Paprika offer this autonomy of imagery without compromising a highly complex exploration of what it is that shapes and defines reality.
Another one of Satoshi Kon's masterpieces that uses a lot of the same animation style as Paprika!
Both are directed by Satoshi Kon, both can mess with your mind.
Same man behind the anime's and they're both psychological. Lots of jaw dropping moments where u'll think "What the HELLLL???!!" but in a good mind flexing way
In both delusions merge with reality
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complex stories, similar people, and 'real' world with a supernatural twist
Both Boogiepop Phantom and Paranoia Agent involve a group of people who don't seem to be connected but are all affected by a strange supernatural phenomenon. Both have dark undertones and are very psychological, requiring your full attention.
These series are about people on the edge and how everyone can be driven to psychological collapse if enough pressure is added. Boogiepop Phantom is extremely confusing for the most part and demands constant attention from the viewer, while PA is as odd and requires some analysis to be fully comprehended. A dark atmosphere pervades both efforts; in Paranoia Agent it is edgy and at times quirky, while in BP it remains somber and moody through and through. Both deal with the effects of self delusion taken to the extreme of alienation and conflict.
They both have a very strange psycological atmosphere, they have similar characters and they both deal with human and society problems. The taste this series give you its very similar.
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Opening Theme"Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen/Dream Island Obsessional Park (夢の島思念公園)" by Susumu Hirasawa
Ending Theme"Shiroi Oka - Maromi no Theme" by Susumu Hirasawa
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