reactions to PARANOIA AGENT

[Linksquest]

After watching Paranoia Agent I realized that I had discovered a very deep anime steeped in symbolism and emotion. People who have "watched" PA have had their mixed opinions. It is my opinion that those who have given PA bad reviews or have quite mid-series saying that it was too hard to follow did so out of a lack of understading or an attempting to understand.

Many times I had to rewind a certain sections of the anime to hear something that I didn't grasp the first time. I found myself actually taking notes on the plot as it went along and going through the mental process of trying to figure out what was going on with the use of my notebook. By going through the adventure with my eyes and ears as well as my brain I was fully able to enjoy the complexity of this artistic work of genius.

Never have I come across such a mind bending rollercoaster ride of an anime as PA. I thoroughly enjoyed the cerebral journey and highly recommend it, especially to those who have heard bad things about it, or tried to get through it but could not because of the immense depth that the anime contains. I found the wikipedia entry below to be of great assistance after watching the entire series. It was a great followup and tied up some loose ends I still had within my mind.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_agent

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Be careful when looking at that URL btw, it has a lot of spoilers.

This was definately one of my favorite series of all time. It really annoys me how people assume it's a murder mystery or something. It's much more than that. It's also more than just a "Psychological Thriller". It's detatchment from reality certaintly made Paranoia Agent an amazing series. After watching it again, I better understood some themes and stuff.

[Sami_jane]

been a while since i saw it but it creeped me out. lol
it was a really screwed up anime in my opinion. i liked the opening tho. lol although i dont know why.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

It's not necessarily something which you can watch "A few eps" and make some sort of judgement. The plot is vast and it changes gradually. And it's good that it's creepy XD Creepy is GOOD!

[Myoti]

How "creepy" are we talking here, eh?

I may check it out sometime, as it does somehow peak my own interest, especially in the more intellectual/psychological area.

[CDLviking]

This was definately one of my favorite series of all time. It really annoys me how people assume it's a murder mystery or something. It's much more than that. It's also more than just a "Psychological Thriller". It's detatchment from reality certaintly made Paranoia Agent an amazing series. After watching it again, I better understood some themes and stuff.

That's one reason why I didn't like it as much. In the beginning, when it was much more of a psychological thriller, I enjoyed it very much, but midway through, when it started losing touch with reality, I don't think it was as good of a series. It almost seemed like the abandoned the show and started making a different one with the same name.

[RedMage]

My reaction to Paranoia Agent?

Uh...how 'bout apathy?

[Gooseberry]

I didn't recognize this anime from the title, but my dad saw an episode or two on Adult Swim a few months ago and told me about it. It sounds interesting - I usually like in-depth stories. Of course, a little creepiness is always good, too.

[Tommy]

Never got the chance to catch this show when it aired on AS. How was it?

[mitsuki lover]

I think it was good as far as the Little Slugger storyline went,but would have to agree that in the end it got into being a bit of a surrealist absurdist play.If you want a show that has a lot of hard conceptual ideas behind it Serial Experiments Lain is far the superior series.

IMO one of the best of the later episodes was the one with the trio that made a pact to commit suicide together.It was part sad and part comedic and made you wonder wheter you ought to cry or laugh,it was so bittersweet and funny at the same time.
That was just my reaction to it.You had to see it to understand that I am not taking the episode subject lightly but that is how it was treated,as a bittersweet comic-tragedy.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

After analyzing the story, and looking up some information on wikipedia. I felt that the story was good throughout all 13 episodes. The detatchment to reality was a really good thing as everyone's mental instability worsened and worsened. It requires a lot of thought and interpretation to fully enjoy.

[Linksquest]

I think it was good as far as the Little Slugger storyline went,but would have to agree that in the end it got into being a bit of a surrealist absurdist play.If you want a show that has a lot of hard conceptual ideas behind it Serial Experiments Lain is far the superior series.

IMO one of the best of the later episodes was the one with the trio that made a pact to commit suicide together.It was part sad and part comedic and made you wonder wheter you ought to cry or laugh,it was so bittersweet and funny at the same time.
That was just my reaction to it.You had to see it to understand that I am not taking the episode subject lightly but that is how it was treated,as a bittersweet comic-tragedy.

I know what you mean. That was one of my favorite episodes as well.

[SPOILER] I didn't realize that they were dead until MSP pointed out to me that they had no shadows and that's why the old guy freaked out. I was like "OHhhh!" I wouldn't have caught that if he hadn't pointed it out to me. That is why I said that you have to understand the depth of what is "really" going on to fully appreciate the series." [/SPOILER]

It was definately a black comedy (being a subgenre of comedy and satire where topics and events normally treated serious ~WIKIPEDIA) I found myself laughing and feeling sentimental throughout. There was a large range of emotions that I felt when watching it.

The end did get a bit surrealistic. But, again... i better enjoyed it and apreciated it when i better understood it.

[SPOILER] The whole "storybook flatness I didn't understand. At first I thought it represented the officer's sudden uncaring attitude to life- that he no longer cared about the people or places around him so they took on a 2-d fakeness. It wasn't until later that I realized it was the "fantasy world" that he and his wife had said they wouldn't enter.

Then there was that whole dramatic scene where he smashed the walls and went back into reality which I thought was amazing. [/SPOILER]

[Mr. SmartyPants]

The storyboard flatness was definately my favorite part.
[spoiler]Where the husband always told her wife to "never run away from reality". He always stood by her side. Till he himself falls into prey and goes against his own code. By picking up the mamori keychain, he puts his cares into that as "Ad Hoc Relief" Because he did so, he was put into the 2-D Story world where all of his cares were washed away. (Remember when he ignores his partner's distress message by throwing the rock to the tv?) Recall that the 2-d World was made by MAMORI! As when he hit the people, they all turned into Mamori Dolls. It wasn't until his wife came back to HIM and told him that he couldn't run away from reality, which he has just done. He finally triumphs over his escapism and faces reality, by throwing away the Mamori Keychain he picked up.[/spoiler]

[CDLviking]

I thought the story worked much better as a black comedy than as a deep thought show.

[TrigunX89]

It seemed like a very interesting show from what I saw. Unfortunately I just didn't see enough of it. I think I'll have to watch the whole series through before I can give an honest opinion.

[Linksquest]

I thought the story worked much better as a black comedy than as a deep thought show.

Well there were areas of both. As mentioned before the whole escapade with the three was definately black comedy... but so was the whole episode on the creation of the maromi anime:

[SPOILER] Even when that woman was dead there was that explanation of what her job was. The completed box of anime/anime work was continually stolen from the dead people even though it was obvious they were dead. [/SPOILER]

[mitsuki lover]

On the whole I perferred Lain to Paranoia.I thought Lain's ending was more satisfying over all.

[skyblue]

Paranoia Agent is one of my favorite anime (my second favorite to be exact). I do not, however, consider the series to be black humor. That may be the case for episode 8 (Happy Family Planning) though... This series would be best described as smart and enigmatic. Sadly, a lot of people dismiss it as a "meh" anime.

-SPOILERS-



I think that throughout the whole show, people were making lies and making it look like Little Slugger hit them. Kawazu wanted a way out of his debt, asking Tsukiko to help, so he just used her Little Slugger idea to lose his troubles. The ETC. episode contains tons of good examples (the baby lie, the painted flower lie, the test suicide lie, the mother-in-law murder lie, the food lie, etc.)

I love a lot of the hidden tidbits in this show as well:

-Maromi's eyes tend to gaze at important things (like the umbrella in episode 1 which is the same exact one Radar Man uses to battle Little Slugger; or the website with "Creator's File" or something along those lines.
-When you see someone with golden eyes, they're "possessed" by Little Slugger, which probably means they're lying.
-The moon probably stands for truth, so as the moon diminishes, Little Slugger (or the lie) starts to engulf truth.
-On episode 1, while Kawazu talks to Tsukiko, his sundae melts on and off. If you look closely, the sundae looks like the Old Woman. Kawazu says he finds it hard to believe that the Old Woman hit her with a baseball bat at the same time he "swings" the spoon up and down. It makes it look like the Old Woman (the sundae) is swinging the bat (the spoon). Then he drops the spoon which faces Tsukiko. I know this sounds far-fetched, but I think that the Old Woman is Tsukiko in the future.

And this was a long post.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

O.o I never noticed those skyblue O.o

What's the point of the detectives monologue at the very end? It was kinda eerie. Plus how come the police officer was able to nab a fake shonen bat? Was A) The police man not really in any sort of stress, B) That shonen bat just happened to be a fake. Or did the fake come to life possibly after The policeman "jumped right back" into reality at the time of his attack?

edit: Looking back at episode 1, I can't really see too much of a resemblance with the icecream and the old lady.

[Linksquest]

Paranoia Agent is one of my favorite anime (my second favorite to be exact). I do not, however, consider the series to be black humor. That may be the case for episode 8 (Happy Family Planning) though... This series would be best described as smart and enigmatic. Sadly, a lot of people dismiss it as a "meh" anime

You are correct: the entire show is not black humor])

[SPOILER]

I think that throughout the whole show, people were making lies and making it look like Little Slugger hit them. Kawazu wanted a way out of his debt, asking Tsukiko to help, so he just used her Little Slugger idea to lose his troubles. The ETC. episode contains tons of good examples (the baby lie, the painted flower lie, the test suicide lie, the mother-in-law murder lie, the food lie, etc.)

I love a lot of the hidden tidbits in this show as well:

-Maromi's eyes tend to gaze at important things (like the umbrella in episode 1 which is the same exact one Radar Man uses to battle Little Slugger]

Err... Let's see Here are my thoughts :

[SPOILER] I don't think that in every case people are lying on purpose. Tsukiko didn't even seem to know it herself: she seemed to have created her own fantasy world so well that both the fantasy and the reality melded together into the same world (Maromi talked to her when she was stressed about something or when she had to make a tough decision, etc.). If they lied... they lied to themselves. In most cases they "needed" or "wanted" lil' slugger to come on by because they didn't want to deal with their problems. They wanted someone to blame, someone to temporarily relieve them from the stress of everday life.

What was so enjoyable to me was that it was a psychological mystery where I played a crucial part. I had to reason: "What is really going on here?" The whole existance of Lil' Slugger was a key point: "Does he really exist... was he merely a scapegoat? Did he have basis in reality and then grew larger in the fantasy world?" All these answers are unified and answered with the revelation that Maromi and Lil' Slugger are the same: both of them ad hoc relief (specifically made for relief) of the mind.

With the moon: on wikipedia they go into depth about what the symbolizes.

When they have golden eyes they are possessed, eh? I can't remember really seeing this often, though i vaguely remember seeing it. I think it was more the golden bat reflecting off their eyes: They are seeing Lil' Slugger in their mind and that added to the anticipation.

The Old Woman is an older version of Tsukiko? Really... why do you think that? Well... if she is Tsukiko in the future she can time travel and she doesn't like herself: The old woman sees Tsukiko and tells the officer that Tsukiko was not attacked and was all alone (and more details about what really happened). Why would Tsukiko wish to refute her own claims?

[/SPOILER]

I'm glad to see someone else so interested in this masterpiece of a series. I would highly suggest taking a look at the wikipedia entry on this matter. I think anyone (experienced in this series or not) would find it very helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_agent

[skyblue]

You are correct: the entire show is not black humor])



Err... Let's see Here are my thoughts :

[SPOILER] I don't think that in every case people are lying on purpose. Tsukiko didn't even seem to know it herself: she seemed to have created her own fantasy world so well that both the fantasy and the reality melded together into the same world (Maromi talked to her when she was stressed about something or when she had to make a tough decision, etc.). If they lied... they lied to themselves. In most cases they "needed" or "wanted" lil' slugger to come on by because they didn't want to deal with their problems. They wanted someone to blame, someone to temporarily relieve them from the stress of everday life.

What was so enjoyable to me was that it was a psychological mystery where I played a crucial part. I had to reason: "What is really going on here?" The whole existance of Lil' Slugger was a key point: "Does he really exist... was he merely a scapegoat? Did he have basis in reality and then grew larger in the fantasy world?" All these answers are unified and answered with the revelation that Maromi and Lil' Slugger are the same: both of them ad hoc relief (specifically made for relief) of the mind.

With the moon: on wikipedia they go into depth about what the symbolizes.

When they have golden eyes they are possessed, eh? I can't remember really seeing this often, though i vaguely remember seeing it. I think it was more the golden bat reflecting off their eyes: They are seeing Lil' Slugger in their mind and that added to the anticipation.

The Old Woman is an older version of Tsukiko? Really... why do you think that? Well... if she is Tsukiko in the future she can time travel and she doesn't like herself: The old woman sees Tsukiko and tells the officer that Tsukiko was not attacked and was all alone (and more details about what really happened). Why would Tsukiko wish to refute her own claims?

[/SPOILER]

I'm glad to see someone else so interested in this masterpiece of a series. I would highly suggest taking a look at the wikipedia entry on this matter. I think anyone (experienced in this series or not) would find it very helpful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_agent

I agreed to and liked your response. Now here's my response: (and I'll put an appropriate spoiler box this time )

[SPOILER]

More on the golden eyes: There are quite a few instances when a character or something has golden eyes. Here are some I can think of on the top of my head...

-Kawazu's eyes turn gold when he looks under Tsukiko's skirt after dropping the spoon (episode 1)
-golden eyes drawn on Yuichi's poster (episode 2)
-Yuichi's eyes turn gold when he sees Lil' Slugger from a distance in Yuichi's mind (episode 2)
-The mafia has a stuffed tiger with golden eyes and a crane (I think it's a crane) with gold eyes (epsiode 4)
-Hirukawa's eyes turn gold after he takes the pill Makabe gives him. (epsiode 4)
-practically all of the people in the stories have their eyes turn gold in the ETC episode, especially the man stranded on the island when he looks through the binoculars with large golden eyes (epsiode 8 )
-throughout the series, there are numerous golden glasses which take the place of golden eyes.

There's probably a lot that I have missed though...

More on the Old Woman: Evidence that supports that she might be Tsukiko is in episode 5 (Holy Warrior) when it is said she belongs to a tribe who are short in nature and make nothing but lies, but the truth is hidden in their words. The Old Woman also squashes Harumi (fantasy) and pretty much stops Taeko from jumping into the current, if that means anything. And why else would she be called "Old Woman"? What is there to hide? We know that the Old Man is the previous Radar Man, but what about the Old Woman?

There's another thing I don't understand about this show and that is the flowers which appear in virtually all of the episodes. What do they mean?

[/SPOILER]

[Linksquest]

The thing with Paranoia Agent is that one cannot see it only one time. After seeing it for a second time, MSP understood more of the symbolism and things made more sense to him (How do i know? Cause i saw the whole series with him in an afternoon with him at his house! XDDDD yessss! Animeeeeee XD!).

I think I will have to re-watch all of the episodes again to better grasp all of the nuances and deeper meanings of the series. I think that is something that marks this anime as a great one: each time you watch it you can pick up on something new.

[Orange Kitten]

I watched the series through Netflix. I got hooked on the first DVD. Then the second DVD wasn't as good. Then the third DVD sucked. And by the fourth I just wanted to finish it so I knew how it ended. I got VERY bored by the end.

Now, I love symbolism in film. One of the main reasons Eva is my favorite show. However, the entertainment was lost in PA midway through.

Here's my opinion...they couldn't finish the series in only 6 episodes...so they had to bump it up to 13 which made a lot of 'filler' episodes. They could have probably finished it in 8 episodes, but an 8 episode series is impracticle for a television series in Japan.

Happens to a lot of shows unfortunately.

Other than that, good show; worth watching (at least the first half lol)

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Filler episodes? I only found two episodes to be actual filler

[Orange Kitten]

Filler episodes? I only found two episodes to be actual filler

What I'm saying is that all the stuff that was said and implied in the later episodes could have been said in only a few...instead of 5 maybe 2 for example...but since they had to make it 13 episodes, they had to stretch it out...so they threw a little importance here...a little there...in each episode.
That's my theory.

[Linksquest]

What I'm saying is that all the stuff that was said and implied in the later episodes could have been said in only a few...instead of 5 maybe 2 for example...but since they had to make it 13 episodes, they had to stretch it out...so they threw a little importance here...a little there...in each episode.
That's my theory.

Well... that's something that is used in many series... not even just anime series. Many other storyline driven plots (which are not no-linear) have filler episodes. But, when I watched Paranoia Agent there wasn't really a time when i thought "oh... look... this is a filler episode!" Happy Family Planning could be considered a "filler episode" but I thought it added some interesting perspective as well as adding more depth to the series. It showed the versatility of the anime writers for PA. They weren't just tied down to one story cycle.

Much of the "filler episodes" were there to make a social commentary.

Satoshi Kon is famous for his use of social commentary and Paranoia Agent is no exception. (for baseball bat related crimes in Japan: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1074427.stm) Subtle commentary on his views of school peer pressure, loss of identity, prevalence of cultural icons (such as Maromi, often seen as a criticism of highly marketable anime mascots such as the poring from Ragnarok Online), ambiguity of morality, nature of social and personal growth, criticism of the harsh conditions of Japanese animators, and criticism of the otaku subculture is found throughout the show. Much of the commentary can be tied to Takashi Murakami's superflat manifesto, with the views of how reality and fantasy are being blurred in postwar Japan. Kon has been critically acclaimed for making social commentary a major and effective part of his work.

[skyblue]

What I'm saying is that all the stuff that was said and implied in the later episodes could have been said in only a few...instead of 5 maybe 2 for example...but since they had to make it 13 episodes, they had to stretch it out...so they threw a little importance here...a little there...in each episode.
That's my theory.

I disagree. The series feels one way when you begin it. Then, halfway through (episode 7), a turning point occurs and causes the series to feel different. Why is this? It's because the last half of the series shows a much greater blend between real and fake. Sometimes something you see is only inside someone's mind, so you think it's real, but it's not.

[Linksquest]

I disagree. The series feels one way when you begin it. Then, halfway through (episode 7), a turning point occurs and causes the series to feel different. Why is this? It's because the last half of the series shows a much greater blend between real and fake. Sometimes something you see is only inside someone's mind, so you think it's real, but it's not.

Very well put... it all begins to lead to the climactic end. The insanity increases... and ceases to make as much sense as the beginning because that was the way it was planned. as skyblue already said, the lines between reality and fantasy are melting away.