This anime got such good reviews and high ratings that I, someone who is actually somewhat interested in psychological anime, felt almost bad giving it a measly 4. I'm sorry. Despite all the recommendations for me to watch this, I couldn't bring myself to say I enjoyed it. I got through it and that was about that. Oddly enough, it was an anime that proved to me that a series can have an intriguing premise... with ugly art, boring music, and straight up awful characters.
Story/ 7
The story was the part that I didn't mind. Overall, it was fresh and inspired. However, the answers
...
to certain mysteries seemed so anti-climatic to me. For example, while watching, I was fascinated by what Shonen Bat ('Lil Slugger in the English version) could be a metaphor for. While he did end up representing something fairly thought-provoking, his origins just felt a little too specific and lame to me. The scene revealing his origins left me feeling unsatisfied and perplexed about the rules of this world. The story ended up being an awkward mix between realistic and complete fantasy. But, overall, the premise of Paranoia Agent was something new and outside the box. Satoshi Kon, the director and a writer, is known for his psychological stories and meaningful satires. Paranoia Agent solidly told a story about guilt and mass panic and I loved this theme. But the final execution just left the taste of disappointment. The plot just never managed to entertain me.
Art/ 4
I won't say the artists didn't know how to draw. Clearly they did and they had a wonderful grasp on anatomy and proportion. When I say the art was terrible, I'm speaking of the style. Yes, yes, clearly this is a personal opinion. But, honestly, this anime had some of the ugliest characters I've ever seen. Besides that, the color palette was dull with Maromi (the pink stuffed dog) the only thing that was at all interesting to look at in the whole anime. Many will not mind the hideous settings and characters this show had to offer. But, personally, the many unattractive characters put a damper on my experience.
Sound/5
Can't say much about sound because I recall very little of it. But the company and composer responsible for the music in Paranoia Agent are also well known for working on projects such as the acclaimed film Paprika. Considering that I liked the music in Paprika, the soundtrack in Paranoia Agent was likely decent. As for the opening, it was catchy and pretty famous, but it isn't anything you'll ever see on my iPod.
Characters/ 3
Oh dear, these characters. Where should I begin? First of all, out of the tons upon tons of characters, I can count on one hand the ones that ended up being of any lasting importance. That's not something bad, per se. We've seen this kind of thing in anime such as Death Parade. But for the sake of review, it causes me to take a pretty general view on the characters. And, in general, few of these people were likable. For example, most of the male characters were simply disgusting creeps. If aliens had only Paranoia Agent as their knowledge of humanity, they would think that the majority of men were sexual predators. We got a reporter who allowed children to watch porn, a dad who peeped daily on his daughter as she changed and chilled with prostitutes, and an otaku who also bought prostitutes to pleasure him as he fantasized about his anime figures (to make things worse, I am still not sure of this particular character's purpose). I understand that these characters were required by plot to have issues. But when most of a cast of characters have zero redeeming qualities, the show starts to become hard to watch. The only people who remotely interested me were Tsukiko, the creator of Maromi, and Maniwa, the young, spunky detective. At least both had lasting value and weren't scum. Although, if either of them got killed, I still wouldn't have been heartbroken. Finally, there's Shonen Bat, the boy causing all the damage. I don't want to spoil too much, but basically he's a terrifying child who clobbers those looking for a way out of their problems. Because of what he really is (explained at the end of the series), he has little characterization apart from violence and the occasional creepy grin.
Enjoyment/ 3
I know you're supposed to grade anime mostly on the plot but who can enjoy the plot when the characters are boring and the art is hideous? Anime is made up of many parts: writing, sound, art, and animation. If one of those doesn't make the cut, it brings the series down. Such was the case with Paranoia Agent. Satoshi Kon was certainly on to something with the story but nothing else was enjoyable.
Overall/ 4
I wanted to be nicer but, in the end, I can't say my feelings about this show were enough to give it higher than a 4.
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Mar 18, 2016
Mousou Dairinin
(Anime)
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This anime got such good reviews and high ratings that I, someone who is actually somewhat interested in psychological anime, felt almost bad giving it a measly 4. I'm sorry. Despite all the recommendations for me to watch this, I couldn't bring myself to say I enjoyed it. I got through it and that was about that. Oddly enough, it was an anime that proved to me that a series can have an intriguing premise... with ugly art, boring music, and straight up awful characters.
Story/ 7 The story was the part that I didn't mind. Overall, it was fresh and inspired. However, the answers ... 
Sep 28, 2015
Yu Gi Oh
Story/ Let's clear up some confusion. This wasn't the version dubbed by 4kids that you look back on with nostalgic fondness. No, this was the anime BEFORE that. The one that was actually more concerned with adapting the manga source material than selling trading cards. This Yu-Gi-Oh anime (often called Season 0 because it starts from the beginning) followed the sweet, often bullied Yugi Muto. However, after he solved the millennium puzzle against all odds, and became possessed by a dark entity. This more serious, more confident "Yami Yugi" surfaced whenever normal Yugi came into contact with a cruel human ... 
Sep 27, 2015
Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu
(Anime)
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Japanese: Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu
English: Parayste: the Maxim Story/ 9 Who knew that a story centered on a gooey, talking arm could be something other than silly and gross? On the contrary, Parasyte was something that held my attention and remained exciting throughout all 24 episodes. In short, the plot followed a 17-year-old named Shinichi who was only partially taken over by a parasitic creature. Basically, the goal of a parasite was to get into a person's skull and eat the brain before essentially becoming the body's brain itself. In Shinichi's case, the parasite only made it into his arm before it was stopped by Shinichi. ... |
