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| I loved the paranoia in this episode. Poor cop is going nuts. |
| I'm marathoning this atm, and I believe there is only one word for this anime: Unsettling. I don't believe I can put it into better words how all the aspects of this anime, especially the mental disorders, reverberate within the viewer to create such... discord. But I like it. |
| e-eh?! Kozuka commit suicide? nah, this getting interesting now. |
omfg, that episode preview at the end, this was my reaction: |
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| How the hell did he die? And man everyone is starting to lose it! |
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| Wow. Things are getting seriously twisted now. What is up with this anime?? (I'm so very hooked though hahaha) |
| "If you can eliminate all the other choices, the remaining choice, no matter how improbable, it is the answer."- Sherlock Holmes |
| Heh, Maniwa is quickly freaking it out. Maybe will be the next victim of Shounen Bat? Pretty scary watch this episode at 1am, btw. 5/5. |
| Shounen bat is dead...? Wut Now there's another guy on the loose! |
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| sad they lost their jobs. |
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| I think Shounen Bat isn't real. I noticed the fake one said something like "if I'm gonna do it anyway...then before that- " I think he was referencing to him wanting to kill himself. The only thing the real Shounen Bat did was grant that wish. And I think the comment Tsukiko made a few episodes back where she said she thought she recognized the boy is related to the old man. The doll said that it couldn't be the same boy because it was so long ago, so it would be impossible for him to be the same age. I don't know how it would be connected though :I |
| Perfect episode! Agree with everyone about the idea that he is like angel granting a wish-nothing could be added! But I like how this series devours me in its atmosphere, I feel cornered, scared and not comfy-masterpiece! |
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| So the kid wasn't really Shounen Bat. I believe him when he said he only attacked those two people, but maybe he is one of several Shounen Bats? Then one Shounen Bat killed the other? Really confusing. I wonder what's going on. I'm also really concerned for the younger detective's mental health. And am I the only one who thinks Taeko's faking the amnesia in order to torture her father? |
| "It's a tragic misunderstanding that could have been easily avoided if he just finished his sentence in time!" — Richard Watterson (The Amazing World of Gumball) |
| I love how paranoid this show makes the viewer with each passing episode, God this is so good. |
| I've been here way too long... |
| Oh shit, they're getting backed into the corner now. |
| Very interesting turn of events. I liked the tone shift and the execution of the scene where that one investigator is asking frequently which person is cornered and the viewer comes to the conclusion that he himself (the investigator) is being cornered. Also it's been confirmed that shonen bat is still on the loose. |
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| I don't understand why the copycat kid and Shounen Bat look just alike. When the character design lady made up Shounen Bat, she drew up a sketch of what he looks like. And then the copycat guy shows up and somehow looks just like Shounen Bat in the sketch? Huh? |
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on 
| Wow, another interesting episode. Given that this anime has the supernatural label, my guess is that Mitsuhiro Maniwa is on the right track, meaning that Shounen Bat can appear and disappear in front of people who feel cornered/trapped. I don't think Shounen Bat is completely imaginary though. Also, given his behavior, I'm guessing Maniwa is going to be the next target. However, if Kozuka was telling the truth when he said he only hurt Shogo Ushiyama and Masami Hirukawa, I guess he just "happened" to be lucky that he hurt someone who actually felt cornered? Also, the cops believe Kozuka killed himself, but he was actually killed by Shounen Bat. Why did Shounen Bat kill Kozuka when he had only seriously injured the other victims? Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking Shounen Bat isn't imaginary. |
BlondieJan 11, 2017 10:03 PM
| What mind fuckery is this?? |
"At some point, I stopped hoping." |
Talon184 said: I don't understand why the copycat kid and Shounen Bat look just alike. When the character design lady made up Shounen Bat, she drew up a sketch of what he looks like. And then the copycat guy shows up and somehow looks just like Shounen Bat in the sketch? Huh? That's what copycats are supposed to do, though, to copy someone else. If he had ot fit the basics, he would have settled for another criminal |
wlundgren said: Talon184 said: I don't understand why the copycat kid and Shounen Bat look just alike. When the character design lady made up Shounen Bat, she drew up a sketch of what he looks like. And then the copycat guy shows up and somehow looks just like Shounen Bat in the sketch? Huh? That's what copycats are supposed to do, though, to copy someone else. If he had ot fit the basics, he would have settled for another criminal That's what they're supposed to do, sure. But if I remember correctly (it's been awhile since I watched the show now) no one knew what Shounen Bat looked like. They just knew it was somebody with a bat and skates. Then the copycat shows up and doesn't just resemble him. They are identical. Just a bit of a stretch imo... |
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| Brilliant episode and directing from Satoshi Kon. The atmosphere of that episode reminded me of a fusion between Texhnolyze and Twin Peaks. Which is never a bad thing. |
| When the show suddenly becomes Texhnolyze |
| I feel a bit mixed on this episode. See, it WAS a great episode, and it did develop the plot. I just feel like this show ... is getting ... a bit obvious? I mean, maybe it's just me. But the idea that Shonen bat isn't a real person has been my suspicion since day one. It's not very subtle at all. The show is literally called "Paranoia Agent". The twists are just not that big unless they're character specific. For instance, finding out that the bad cop was a pedo who liked his daughter? Big twist, especially when his only redeem quality before was providing for his family. This episode, it was realizing that the creepy TV and radio transmissions are coming from the ex police officer. I'm also very surprised that shonen bat made the copy cat kill himself. I feel so bad for the police officers, they got to feel like shit. I do like where the show is going. It's just not wasn't interesting as it possibly could be this episode because it focused on making Shonen bat more obvious, and the characters focused on this episode weren't as interesting (I do like the young police guy tho) |
| observing a woman's body |
| Yeah the paranoia aspect is prolific.The dream sequences illustrate that well. It is just not my taste. However, the plot twists are driving this into territory that I despise "appearance vs reality" related to morally correct figures i.e the policemen. It is highly probably I will not finish this show. I don't like to watch people being driven mad, let alone into hysteria. |
| One nasty aspect to this episode is that I'm sure the police Chief would have been perfectly happy if the kid had confessed to committing all the crimes. Would have wrapped things up and he would have kept his job. And maybe after a few more aggressive interrogations, the kid would have cracked and that would have been the final result, a "happy ending" for everyone except the scapegoat. So it's actually rather important that the kid died before he was able to take the blame for all of the attacks. |
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| Detective Maniwa seems to be losing his sanity as well. I'm curious who is this old guy. He seems to be significant. I knew that kid wasn't the real Lil' Slugger. The question now is: who is the real one? Chief really is bad at his job and kisses his patience so easily. |
| I doubt the criminal is human, is this series going to a supernatural development? I don’t know where the series’ going, there are different options. |
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| Maniwa might be slowly losing his marbles over Shounen Bat but at least he's a step closer to the truth compared to the Chief who's gained a very short temper out of all this. I actually felt pretty bad for the kid since he got killed after being treated so poorly by his interrogators. Hirukawa and Taeko just smiling together was pretty disturbing. This was easily the creepiest episode yet and it's starting to look like Shounen Bat's a malicious supernatural entity that poses itself as an escape mechanism. That has a bit of a Paprika vibe and that's cool. |
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| I love how people are drawn in Satoshi Kon works. they're drawn in such a creepy way that you can tell they're human, but look like empty shells so they end up looking "humanoid" or "doll-ish". Also I think Maniwa is in the same boat as Kozuka where they both have a difficult time distinguishing reality from delusion which is why Maniwa was able to go along with Kozkuka's RPG delusion in that earlier episode compared to the other detective. |
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| Satoshi Kon was the best mindfucker in the entire anime industry :( I doubt Shounen Bat is a person as well. |
| I hate everyone equally |
| This was solid entry, probably my least favourite episode that I still liked though. Mostly commenting just to keep up my sweet streak of commenting on every episode, I find myself with little to say about this. I did find a lot of this episode kind of predictable, with Kozuka being Shonen Bat's next victim or Maniwa being the man behind those weird transmissions, and it also wasn't until the latter half of the episode that I actually found myself enjoying the experience. Maniwa getting closer and closer to the truth was interesting, and Ikari handing him a vacation slip was funny. It was also pretty heartwarming that Ikari did trust Maniwa enough to go through with his last minute rescue attempt. It's nice that Maniwa has picked up on what many viewers have already suspected of Shonen Bat. At this point, I'm guessing Shonen Bat is a Tulpa. A being that is a physical manifestation of thought. Which would mean that Maniwa's current method is only likely to aid Shonen Bat if I'm correct, though clearly he needs something like that to be able to catch him so that might be intentional. But it just makes the most sense, Tsukiko being a renowned character creator in a way with he doll designs at least, and how Shonen Bat managed to grow through walls after Maniwa's own associating that ability with him in his mind with the whole magician act. |
| Now the paranoia is on full throttle as it wraps around Mitsuhiro. The editing between slow and fast pacing just really amps up the creepiness to all of this. Whoa. |
| Holee shit, nice mystery psychological thriller. This episode was so Texhnolyze. The narrative, audiovisuals and tone pretty much feel almost exactly like a Texhnolyze episode. |
| . . . |
| That was one of the best anime episodes I have ever watched in my life. This show really fucking stepped up huh. I swear it felt like I was watching Texhnolyze for a bit, the stylistic choices were similar. Man this episode is a fucking full on full all round masterpiece. |
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| Dammmn can't wait to see how all of this unravels in the end. I'm almost sure the actual Shonen Bat doesn't exist and desperate people hurt themselves while putting the blame on their figment of imagination. I mean, it all checks out except how come all of them see the same-looking imaginary person? I honestly can't predict anything at this point, fuck, I love this show |
| No! i don't want Maniwa to go mad!!! ahhh he was so cute as well. RIP fake shounen bat kid, though he was a copy cat, he didn't deserve to die. |
| opin·ion [əˈpɪnjən] NOUN
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| Oh I see, it's that wonderful Japanese media trope that anyone with an "unusual" hobby is a disgusting disgrace or a lunatic or both. Also, I don't think I like the direction this show is going, I'm giving it one more episode before I drop it though. |
KristiwazhereAug 21, 2023 3:57 PM
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