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| 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. |
| The conclusion was great. You can't run away from reality, or hide behind lies forever. It was a great moment when Sagi finally realized that. Props to this show for actually making sense, unlike a lot of other "DEEP" anime that waste episodes going on about nothing, only to have a shitty conclusion. Giving it a 8/10 |
| I understand why some feel frustrated by the second half of the anime. It presented itself as a realistic thriller but quickly went into insanity. I enjoyed it, even though I prefer endings that are more explanatory. It was an interesting and beautiful story that will leave marks on you. But I wouldn't blame those who feel somewhat disappointed. It's hard to deal with the transition between realism and fantasy. |
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| Ummm, needless to say that after watching "Paprika", i've given up to watch other Kon's works. But this, this is truly a masterpiece. |
| Well, episode 8 blew my mind.. It bothered me how they didn't die after taking all of those pills, and then I find out from the picture at the end that they had been dead the whole time. It then made me wonder if everyone in the episodes before that were actually dead as well. Then when it started showing the different worlds that people had created, it made me think of What Dreams May Come. All of these people had killed themselves and they were re-living their past lives, they were in purgatory. Forced to live the same thing over and over, as you can see with the old man at the end. He is now younger and going to do the same thing until he is old again. When the detectives wife had a choice of what level she wanted to go to after she had died, that's when it hit home. It is all based on Dante's Inferno. http://www.4degreez.com/misc/dante-inferno-information.html It was interesting reading all of your theories though, and wondering how people can build up so much in their mind out of nothing. It's kind of like listening to a bunch of art critics. |
| Highly disappointed in this series. The first four episodes were great, then episode five was ridiculous and just threw the whole series off for how great it was getting. Then there was a bunch of good episodes, and then this ending to top it all off.. I can't say that I am satisfied with how it ended at all. True, the story was very sad about how the puppy was hit by the car, but it's pathetic how it caused the world to get so destructed and to even come to the end of the world. Just wait, what? is this show taking itself seriously? It seems that the show was given all this complexity within its plot, but in the end, it was all for a little reason. Especially taking in account that there are so many more people who suffer far more pain, suffering, distress than Tsukiko. Although I do think this Anime is clever and interesting in its own light, it was like the show was just trying too hard to be complex and deep. It truly started off so great, but ended so terribly and so I rate it 6/10 |
09890Jan 18, 2012 7:36 AM
| well i guess this episode answered a few questions but when put into simple terms.. didn't all this occur over a dog?! I can see why people enjoy this anime, its very hard hitting and certainly makes you think maybe one day (in the very distant future) i may contemplate watching it again.. but for me the storyline just went off track and even this episode couldn't save it for me, what started off a great anime turned out to be a mediocore and concfusing one IMO. |
Sheepdude said: 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. This. I'm sure Satoshi Kon had those episodes put in for this point even knowing that most average viewers would be too confused by what's going on & how it relates to the plot they'd seen to enjoy the episode. They were very very well IMO, and it's really hard to call Satoshi Kon's work not-entertaining (also IMO). My question then: is it a director's job to make a show that everyone enjoys all the time or to make a show that gets across the point he/she wants to get across as masterfully as possible? Ideally, you'd want both, but looking at Paranoia Agent, I get the feeling it's more (b) than (a) for the average viewer. I don't wrong him for that, but find it hard to rate this masterpiece as a result. So, I'm probably never going to rate this anime though it will always be one of my faves. :) |
Ani-BlastFeb 3, 2012 11:27 PM
| きみ は だれ だい？ ぼく は ラムボ！ ぼく は だれ だい？ きみ は ラムボ！ ラムボ なんでし！ |
Al3xaG said: 5. The story is centered in a loop of time. The old crazy guy even says this at the end of the ed theme if you didn't catch it by the way ep 1 and 13 have the same scenes. So we can assume that his calculations are related to this, being the only person to realize and going crazy after it, yet the ones who suspected about it, instead of talking about him as a crazy person, call him a wise man. Hmm, I think this is wrong. The series isn't centered in a loop of time but rather in a loop of acts and consequences. That is, the process is cyclical, but more in the way that humans will always trip over the same stone. The rest of the post is very spot on, though. I think what makes this series difficult is that it changes constantly in perspective, that is, it starts being a show about real happenings, but as it grows the reality is less and less tangible and in the late part of the show the surrealism and metaphor takes over any logic that was there before. What Satoshi Kon did here, and pretty brilliantly, was mixing the two worlds (reality and hallucination) and make them collide. There is one very interesting shot in this final episode which shows the real nature of Maromi. As many people already said, Maromi and Shounen Bat are the result of not facing your own problems, that is, of hiding behind the comfortability or of denying them. Kon criticizes both and, interestingly, Maromi takes a secondary role during most of the series, like something that is there but remains unnoticed. In the last episode, in which its nature is finally fully shown, there is a moment in which the plush jumps and tries to contain the advance of the Shounen Bat (transformed into a big dark mass). However, its efforts are useless and ends up being part of it and increasing its strength. This shows pretty well how both things feed each other, and while they seem to be contradictory, they are actually the same in a different wrapper. |
| What a great series. In retrospect the similarities between Shonen Bat and Maromi are kinda obvious as both of them serve to release the pressure of the people in their own way. However, none of their long-time effects are lasting. People need to take responsibility to resolve their problems, this is the moral I draw from this anime. |
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| o.o Lol. Oh Maniwa, how you've become that old man. The ending scene before the ending music reminded me of episode one. What an endless cycle. It's amazing how much we'll stretch the truth in order to make ourselves feel better and then the way it manifests. Crazy shiat. To live or to not live, that is the question. Though in this anime it seemed to me that it's far better to face reality than to make up excuses or suicide. |
| HEY! |
| This is one series I know I'll be rewatching, because every episode -- even the second half "filler" episodes -- seem to have contributed more to the overarching story than they let on at the time. Even episode 5, which was put in context by both episode 7 and episode 11. It's interesting to note that the equation Maniwa was solving at the end was exactly the same as the old man's equation from episode 1. So, assuming that the answer is once again 510, I wonder what significance it will have for the new "paranoia agent." eucalyptustree16 said: 7.79 is too low for a series of this level though... This puzzles me, too. There are plenty of anime on MAL that I rate higher than the MAL average, even though I objectively know why they have the averages they do. But I don't know why Paranoia Agent has the average it does -- I feel like it deserves half a point higher than 7.79. |
| This whole serie was all the time insane and something else.. strange But anyway, I enjoyed to watch this and episode 13 "Final Episode" was good. 4/5 |
"A half moon, it has a dark half and a bright half, just like me…", Yuno Gasai |
| All that for a damn dog. Lol This has to be up there for one of the weirdest anime I've ever watched. Overall, I enjoyed "parts" of it, but not all of it. Still an interesting anime nonetheless. |
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