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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- What did you all think of this show? I'm surprised there isnt a discussion already about it. Anyway, I thought it was really interesting to see exactlly WHAT shounen bat and maromi were. The ending was pretty confusing though. Wasn't the old man dead? And we never really quite figured out what his huge calculation was for, did we? I mean the last moment of the anime he finishes with the japanese characters "アニ" which is "ani" and he gets all shocked. My first reaction was that he was calculating what was happening in the anime as we were watching it, and then came to the realization that he was , in fact, in an anime. Sort of defying the whole "fourth wall" idea. But I could be completely wrong. Really good show overall. I didn't really understand why they had a few of those episodes in the middle, that seemed like they didn't really relate to the show. (people who wanted to commit suicide, gossiping wives) but i guess that helped to show how people were thinking of shounen bat and how it helped him grow from a hit-and-run assailant boy to a big black blob of nothing. |
KinetaNov 23, 2012 9:24 AM
| The shows in the middle, which seemed unrelated to the actual events, actually advanced the motif of the show. The housewives talking showed just how the stories of shounen bat were feeding off the hysteria of the public. The three people who tried to commit suicide were also feeding shounen bat's energy by looking to death as a way to escape reality, which is exactly what shounen bat's purpose is. I enjoyed this show immensely. It's a very poignant story about how escaping from reality does more harm than facing it. |
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NumaFace said: I didn't notice that, but it's very interesting. Hmm. :/ But, wasn't the old man at the end the detective, Maniwa-or-something? Also, I was under the impression that the people in the episode where they kept trying to commit suicide were already dead - they had no shadows. What could that mean? Indeed he was. He became his successor after being fired and becoming Radar Man, it seems. As for the internet suicide group, I thought about them being dead already only near the end of the episode, when Fubayashi felt his condition getting worse, had no more medicine, yet it was like nothing happened. Also because the photography thing. As for the no shadows, it seems that it started happening after the building where they first tried to kill themselves was demolished. That explains why their latter attempts to kill themselves didn't work, why they saw the man who killed himself at the subway walking out "alive" and why the Shounen Bat ran away from them. |
| Woah, I was clue-less... but now... hell I think I'm no where around D: |
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katsup said: The ending was pretty confusing though. Wasn't the old man dead? And we never really quite figured out what his huge calculation was for, did we? I mean the last moment of the anime he finishes with the japanese characters "アニ" which is "ani" and he gets all shocked. My first reaction was that he was calculating what was happening in the anime as we were watching it, and then came to the realization that he was , in fact, in an anime. Sort of defying the whole "fourth wall" idea. But I could be completely wrong. If you compare Maniwa's calculations in the final episode to the old man's calculation in the beginning of the first episode, you will see that they are exactly the same. So I would read the end of the calculation as "-- Mq^2ア=". And because the calculations are the same, that means the answer is 510. Which was the number of Sagi's hospital room. Though this time it most likely refers to something else. So it means everything is now back in the beginning again. The story made a full circle. It just goes round and round. And that was why Maniwa didn't look so happy when he realized it. And if Sagi is now cured of her past problems, it will simply be somebody else's turn this time. Just like in the first scenes seen in the series (and the last ones) everybody is either lying or saying that something that happened isn't their fault. Sagi's own lie came back to haunt her until she finally admitted it. I liked this series and specially the opening song :D But about the suicide group episode, I would like know what did the girls see in the picture they took. The parts I didn't like were those were Maniwa thought he was in some game -__-' . Maybe I watch this series again so I will understand more :D |
Aoi_ said: I liked this series and specially the opening song :D But about the suicide group episode, I would like know what did the girls see in the picture they took. Those people were ghosts. The girls taking the picture didn't see them until they mysteriously showed up in the picture. Hence the surprise. :-P Overall, awesome series. I'm not really sure about the whole pink/black mass swallowing everything and nearly destroying the city, though. Guess it just adds to the surrealism, but I would have liked it more if everything had occurred inside the characters' heads. |
| The world is about to end because of a puppy. |
| this show turned out to be way more WTF than i thought it would. so in the end, it seemed there was really no point to the "connections" of all the initial victims. and how come about half way through, shounen bat went from knocking people unconscious to flat out killing them. and was reality suppose to be bent so much that those video game style scenes were ACTUALLY happening or was that just what was going on in their minds. too many questions at the end of a show if you ask me |
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naikou said: I assumed it was in their heads. Or more accurately, the collective unconscious of the main people affected. The city being destroyed seemed to me more like a metaphor than Maromi and black goo literally destroying everything.Overall, awesome series. I'm not really sure about the whole pink/black mass swallowing everything and nearly destroying the city, though. Guess it just adds to the surrealism, but I would have liked it more if everything had occurred inside the characters' heads. |
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Ryderj said: I assumed it was in their heads. Or more accurately, the collective unconscious of the main people affected. The city being destroyed seemed to me more like a metaphor than Maromi and black goo literally destroying everything. except when ikari came out of the underground, the city was practically leveled and he mentioned that it was like "after the war" not to mentioned when it timeskipped to two years later the news guy mentioned that the 'tokyo rebuild effort' was nearly completed |
| It could be both a metaphor and actual events in the anime. I think the whole message of facing reality, owning up to your responsibilities, not trying to escape, etc. along with the revelation that shonen bat is Maromi and that they are both not of reality also tries to make a point about how people escape reality through culture, such as anime. That message kind of lets anything go, as the series is saying, "It's just an anime." |
| I liked it. I'm just wondering what in the world I just watched... o_o Yea, the"ani" thing was bugging me for a while. I saw that whenever he was writing.. wondering if he was writing anime. The only thing that really bugged me was the lady having a heart attack(after she decided to live), and the ran over dog(have a soft spot for dogs). It was a nice touch killing off a ton of people last minute though. Shounen Bat was only killing off corrupted mentally disturbed people that wanted to escape from life. Everyone's like that some times though.. Everyone glows red some times.. Only was a matter of time before a mass killing. Great anime. Brought up interesting stuff. |
| Odd ending for an odd anime, but i liked it , it had creepy songs, not to bad animation and a overall unique storyline. I just hope that cat thing doesn't mean its starting all over again. |
| All that just because of her illusions and her stupid dog? Wow.... Remember guys, don't try to escape from reality, it'll be the end of the world. |
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| This reminds me of Chaos head. With the delusions. The whole didn't make any sense. I thought it was supposed to be realistic, but I guess this works. Was that Maniwa writing the formula at the end of the episode? They still didn't explain the doll guy. I guess that it was a good series, but it was just confusing. |
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| The ending was rubbish in all honesty.Character thoughts were turned to reality just to suit the story and given very little explanation but i did enjoy the eps showing each victims' backstory and how they became 'cornered' |
| When the detective says, "it's just like after the war.", after seeing all the destruction, I remembered after watching the opening first couple of times there's an image with the detective standing (I think) on a water tower in the background is an image of one of the cities blown up by the atomic bomb during the war. Do you think it has a reference to the idea how anime came around due to the atomic bombing of japan during second world war (this is stated in Roland Kelts' book "Japanamerica") and after the second world war that pop culture started to dominate. It could also refer to how people use the "excuse" (quotation marks, as this is left up to interpretation) of the bomb, so that the war could finally end. This would explain the circling, as a time in the past makes this case plausible. |
| "“Religion, the dominion of the human mind; Property, the dominion of human needs; and Government, the dominion of human conduct, represent the stronghold of man's enslavement and all the horrors it entails.”" — Emma Goldman |
| I will take care of what remains of my sanity. |
| I loved the music when Ikari destroys his world. It's not featured in the Soundtrack, or I didn't look good enough. Anyone knows its name or when I can get it? |
 That's some signature, eh? |
| Wow. Marathoned it on this lazy Sunday. One of my first mindfuck/paranormal/surreal anime. I seriously had goosebumps during some of these episodes, I love when an anime or any form of entertainment does this. Kind of left me on a downer. Might hold off on the mindfuck/paranormal/surreal anime for a while after this one. |
Mixon said: I loved the music when Ikari destroys his world. It's not featured in the Soundtrack, or I didn't look good enough. Anyone knows its name or when I can get it? Here is the title of the song. (Written in the notes.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_Agent_Original_Soundtrack |
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| Enjoyed this series and the whole facing/escaping reality thing, and the mindscrewing experience that came with it. Also love the OP. |
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| This anime was really interesting to me. It was hella lot confusing, but good. I get the whole maromi's death causing Lil Slugger to appear in her imagination, but the black lagoon swamp mess was confusing. Anyways, I like how a lot of things connected in this series as it moved along. Things I don't get: Even though Lil Slugger was a part of Sagi's imagination, other characters, including the audience, saw the actual form of him, and his attacks. Does that mean that even though he was an illusion, he actually had a form? Lol, confusing... |
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| Shounen Bat/Lil Slugger was just an amalgamation of people not taking responsibility for their own shortcomings. This is, of course, with regard to the real Shounen Bat and not the imposter Fox who went after the corrupt cop. It all started when Tsukiko's dog got away from her as a kid when she wasn't looking and it was hit by a car (or somehow died, it's been years since I last watched PA so details are hasty). Instead of taking responsibility and saying that it was her fault that she didn't look out for the dog, she avoided responsibility and blamed it on a mythical grade schooler with roller blades and a bat. With the attacks later of Tsukiko after her anxiety of creating a new hit character like Maromi, Kawazu after not being able to pay off the debts of so many people nor being able to write a story, Chou for her not being able to have a stable life with either of her two personalities, etc. All his attacks were on people who had heavy responsibilities and who wouldn't take responsibility for their shortcomings, or failed attacks when people would stand up to him (such as the detective's wife). So, Shounen Bat never had a physical form. He just had an imposter (Fox) who wanted to act as a Holy Warrior of sorts. |
lzumi-chan said: Mixon said: I loved the music when Ikari destroys his world. It's not featured in the Soundtrack, or I didn't look good enough. Anyone knows its name or when I can get it? Here is the title of the song. (Written in the notes.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_Agent_Original_Soundtrack Oh, never thought about looking on Wikipedia. Thanks a ton. |
That's some signature, eh? |
| Really liked this show. Great mind-boggling episodes which in the end all together make up the big picture. Also loved the intro and the music in the last episode. Epic :D |
| I probably regret this post by now. |
| Okay I liked this ending. But introducing supernatural elements when I was expecting a realistic thriller was what disappointed and like aero said: "All that just because of her illusions and her stupid dog?" Main plot was quite weak compared to the episodic stories. I was about to give a 9 but in the end, this gets a 8. |
| A very weird anime overall. |
| Well, I wonder who Shounen Bat will feed off as the main host in the next cycle with Maniwa guiding the next successor. It truly was a circle. Shounen Bat will never die =) |
| 10/10 Loved it!! The music and art were fantastical! |
| I was wondering about 1 thing throughout most of the anime... What the heck was Satoshi Kon smoking when he made this? First half was great. Especially episode 5. Or 6... Or was it 7? I don't remember, but it was great. Then the fillerish episodes started. The suicidal ghost episode was good, but who cared about the gossiping wives anyway? After that, we got a girl and that old lady and that man... I still don't know what their connection was with the actual story. Overall a confusing story. I know that I probably haven't picked up everything, but it was just... too weird for me. I'm in a rating crisis at the moment. It was a great experience up to one point, and then everything just got too long-threaded and I didn't really care anymore. And all of this... because of a delusional introvert girl's puppy dying? I am slightly disappointed. But it was an overall enjoyable ride. 7/10 |
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| This Anime turned out to be more "deep" that I thought it would be in the beginning. Trying to "escape" reality is not the best thing to do. The episode with the "internet suicide group" where they are using death to try "escape" reality, and then story with the detective's wife basically saying that suicide is for those "too weak to accept reality" really enhanced the overall themes. 8/10 Definitely a good psychological watch. |
Will you be able to do.... what must be done? |
SamTheNayru said: I was wondering about 1 thing throughout most of the anime... What the heck was Satoshi Kon smoking when he made this? First half was great. Especially episode 5. Or 6... Or was it 7? I don't remember, but it was great. Then the fillerish episodes started. The suicidal ghost episode was good, but who cared about the gossiping wives anyway? After that, we got a girl and that old lady and that man... I still don't know what their connection was with the actual story. Haha. Have you seen any other Satoshi Kon's works? If he smoked anything at all, it would be a tiny percent of what he was smokin when he made Perfect Blue or Paprika... I actually enjoyed the housewifes' stories episodes. Some were quite entertaining =D Good anime to watch alone after midnight) 10/10 |
| Well this was interesting show but really confusing most of the time. 8th episode was the best for me with the trio trying die. 8/10 |
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STM said: And all of this... because of a delusional introvert girl's puppy dying? suicideducky said: The world is about to end because of a puppy. cough cough *elfen lied* cough cough. |
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