Spotlight Anime: Paranoia Agent

How would you rate this anime?

15.0%

20.0%

15.0%

0.0%

5.0%

0.0%

I have not seen this anime

30.0%

20 votes

Jan 21, 2011 6:28 AM

santetjan

Offline

Feb 2008

2484

Spotlight Anime: Paranoia Agent

MAL Anime Information Page: Paranoia Agent

MAL Score – 7.77 (by 16812 users)
Ranked - #616
Popularity - #191

For the next week I would like to have a discussion about the anime that focuses on the key elements that we here on MAL use to critically rate an anime: Animation, Sound, Characters, Story, and Enjoyment.

I would like everyone to approach this thread as if you were going to write a review and structure your initial post like this:

Animation - insert rating
Sound - insert rating
Characters - insert rating
Story - insert rating
Enjoyment - insert rating

Animation - discuss any pros and cons of the animation styling used in the series, try to include some specifics.

Sound - describe any of the things you liked or didn't care for in regards to the music and sound effects used in the series

etc...

If you are having trouble writing up a review or coming up with specific pros and cons, please don't worry. Just do the best you can with it and if you can only write two or three sentences about any of the 5 elements then that's OK. Not everyone here is currently at a level which will allow them to articulate their thoughts and opinions.

After your initial post is made you can feel free to civilly discuss issues of contention. I am sure there will be many opinions expressed here that some of us will disagree upon and criticise and it is for that reason that this entire club exists. So I hope everyone has fun and I am really looking forward to watching this discussion unfold.

RESULTS OF THE YOU DECIDE POLL

Paranoia Agent was NOT inducted into the club Anime list:
25 Yes - 46.2%
29 No - 53.7%

35 Don't know this anime - 38.0% of the total number polled
3 Abstained - 3.2% of the total number polled

santetjanFeb 2, 2011 1:22 PM

You do not beg the sun for mercy.

Jan 21, 2011 7:10 AM

live2win

Offline

Feb 2010

2776

I'll try to write this without much spoilers. At first glance, the OP/ED of Paranoia agent can be mildly disturbing. However, when I look back the series, it does complements the story. Paranoia agent has an episode-ish ( forgive me for my lack of vocabulary ) approach and show the audience a variety interesting cases of human behaviours and their issues. The downside was these can be seen as fillers without any coherent link to the plot which I don't agree on. I thought that these 'fillers' were also used to show the growing strength of 'Lil Slugger' and the utter despair of his victims who often succumb to their weakness. It makes this ending scene all the more satisfying.

The underlying theme of escapism was executed very well and for that reason, I'm going to vote Yes.

live2winJan 21, 2011 9:20 AM

Jan 21, 2011 8:31 AM

Lindle

Offline

Sep 2009

2972

Copypastin' mah review:

Paranoia Agent is Satoshi Kon's only TV series, a curveball from his usual M.O. of doing films. Like several of his other works, it strives to confuse between reality and fantasy, often doing so by showing the world as perceived by the characters. Paranoia Agent is, in whole, a story of escapism, how society is falling further into it, and the negative consequences that will follow.

The plot begins as Tsukiko Sagi, a woman responsible for designing the well-known plush toy dog Maromi, is being pushed to create a new design, and is rapidly succumbing to stress. On the way home, in desperate need of a way out, she is suddenly attacked by a boy on rollerskates with a baseball bat. At first, the police don't believe her, and think she is making up excuses, but before long, other people are attacked by the boy now dubbed Shonen Bat (Little Slugger in the English dub). As the series progresses, we see how rumour and truth become distorted, and how Shonen Bat goes from a mysterious attacker into something far, far worse. All of this leading back to the question... just who, or what, is Shonen Bat?

What follows is 13 episodes of social commentary, clever writing, bizarre stream-of-consciousness mindtrips that blur the lines of perception and reality to both the cast and the audience, and overall mystery. Paranoia Agent manages to throw an interesting spin on what initially appears to be a whodunnit thriller. It does, on multiple occasions, dip its toes into the psychological horror genre, and when it does, it does so excellently. These aspects of it make great use of how the audience often does not know how much is real and how much is fantasy, and as a result manage to make some truly creepy moments. Most notably, Maromi is insanely creepy. Yes, Maromi, the little stuffed dog mascot thing. You heard me.

In technical terms, Paranoia Agent is Satoshi Kon, Madhouse and Susumu Hirasawa all coming together on one project, which inevitably means it will excel in every single one of these aspects. The art is a strangely realistic style, if often somewhat exaggerated. The animation is completely fluid throughout the series, and is surprisingly produced to much the same level of high quality as Kon's movies are. The directing is, of course, top-notch, and as mentioned before Kon is a genius at blending reality and delusion in such a way that you often have to take a second to wonder what's going on, in the best way possible of course. The English Dub is excellent, and while nobody really sticks out, it's definitely one I'd recommend over the original Japanese track. The music is often very cheerful, and this is used as juxtaposition against the events of the series, creating something downright weird in the process. In particular, the opening and ending themes are some of the most unsettling things ever shown in anime.

Paranoia Agent does have some flaws, mind you. One is in the pacing. It's entirely possible that Kon's lack of experience (or transition into) the medium of a TV series caused this, but around the middle, a lot of the episodes don't really seem to tie in to the plot. Rather, they come across as episodes that strengthen the point of the series, but don't really lend themselves to it as a story. This is easily forgiveable in that the episodes in question are quite strong in their own right (and in some instances, oddly comedic). Another valid, yet easily forgiveable fault that the series has is that in its switching between the real and unreal, it takes some steps that seriously raise disbelief. In general, it's all done for the sake of a clever metaphor, but it's something that will undoubtedly nag at the back of the mind, especially at the ending, which is a rather monumental example of this.

Overall, Paranoia Agent is an extremely clever series. It's probably the most accessible thing in Kon's discography, if not necessarily (though quite arguably) his strongest. It's been described as a mindfuck series, but I'm not entirely sure it would fit into that category. For the most part, it is a realistic and grounded setting in which abnormal elements are introduced, and barring the aforementioned dips from reality it mostly stays that way. Regardless, Paranoia Agent is one of those anime I would definitely recommend to pretty much anyone, especially those into psychology, who would most likely love it for its insights and observations of the human condition.

Animation/Graphics: 10/10
Story/Plot: 8/10
Music/Background: 10/10
English Dub: 9/10

Overall: 9/10

For Fans Of: Paprika, Boogiepop Phantom.

LATEST REVIEW (01/03/2020) - BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA - HEROES:RISING

Jan 21, 2011 9:15 AM

ladyxzeus

Offline

Dec 2007

9219

As all Satoshi Kon works... Middle is fabulous, beggining and end ruin it.

Waratte Oemashou Sore ha Chiisana Inori

Jan 21, 2011 11:08 AM

NeverKnowsBest26

Offline

Sep 2009

1759

ladyxzeus said:
As all Satoshi Kon works... Middle is fabulous, beggining and end ruin it.

I'd have to say the complete opposite, the beggining and ending were great. The middle was still very enjoyable, but all the side-stories it presented were somewhat distracting, and ultimately detracted a bit from the series. Still, it is an incredible series, and certainly deserves a yes from me.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone.

Jan 21, 2011 4:39 PM

akai-kitsune

Offline

Oct 2008

539

judojon said:

ladyxzeus said:
As all Satoshi Kon works... Middle is fabulous, beggining and end ruin it.

I'll agree with this one.
Although I think that the middle part with all of the side stories were also quite well done.

Jan 21, 2011 9:18 PM

idlezeal

Offline

Sep 2008

1075

ladyxzeus said:
As all Satoshi Kon works... Middle is fabulous, beggining and end ruin it.

Well, I think Millennium Actress was almost perfect from start to finish..

I felt some of the episodes have really sloppy execution. Oddly enough, the episode I enjoyed the most is that about a trio that met for a group suicide, in which I thought is quite detached to the main story.

Jan 24, 2011 6:30 PM

katsup

Offline

Oct 2007

3010

I love Kon so much, but this is definitely his weakest work. The beginning seemed very promising, but towards the end the plot just disappeared. The sound and animation are flawless, but the plot fell short. Kon works best with shorter things, in my opinion.

|| Drama/Movie list ||

Jan 25, 2011 12:51 AM

Dozer

Offline

Mar 2008

1148

Definitely his only work on par with Millennium Actress. One of the greateest anime series ever made.

Let's not foreget the guy has a brilliant sense of humor!

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Spotlight Anime: Paranoia Agent

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