Paranoia Agent
Synopsis
Sagi, the creator of a famous dog plushy is suddenly attacked one night on her way back home by an unknown person. That person was later described by her to be a boy on roller blades carrying a bent baseball bat. All of a sudden, cases of being attack by this shonen bat pops up all around Japan as days passes. Who is this mysterious boy with the bat? Why is he attacking all these people so randomly?
Review
After watching 6 episodes of Fafner and god knows how many episodes of Princess Tutu, I needed a change. Turns out that Paranoia Agent was exactly what I was looking for.
So what makes this anime so unique you ask? Well, other than trying to bring the audience examples of farce and satire, Paranoia Agent also brings with it an analysis of the conditions of people in Japan and how a simple incident evolved into an idea that personified itself into something much more.
Who exactly is this bat boy that has been terrorizing the people around Japan? What started as an isolated incident with Sagi turned into national news as the number of victims claimed by this bat boy grows exponentially. I want to go into the plot of this anime but I feel like it is necessary for me to analyze a few things and clear some stuff up ( some of which I can’t even explain)
In the beginning, a number of people are introduced to the audience, most of them with some kind of personal problem. We have Yuiichi who gets his reputation ruined because of bat boy. Also, we have Hamuri is a personal tutor of Yuiichi who struggles everyday with her MPD (mutiple personality disorder). These people and many more were victims to boy bat. But the question is why are these people targeted? As explained later on, boy bat is only fabricated. He is nothing more than an idea summoned by the human mind: escapism.
The plot and the theme is a little difficult to explain but I’ll try. But keep in mind, you have to look at the whole picture in trying to understand this. What I love most about this anime is how well reality is blended in with the fiction surrounding the boy bat. For up until the middle of the anime, the viewers are tricked into thinking that he is some petty hit and run person attacking random people. But just when you think boy bat is caught and questions are resolved, more questions are brought up as the culprit himself is killed by …the boy bat? But how is that possible? I mean, he attacked Ushiyama and a police with his bat right? Now, this is where it really got me interested. The person caught, himself, is incorporating his imaginary world with reality. He thinks his bat is a holy sword and he is only attacking demons or something and denies his involvement with the other people attacked by the boy bat.
As explained later on, boy bat seeks out those who are pushed to the edge. He attacks people as a favor and provides them with a feeling of vindication of whatever is happening with their life. The second half of the anime delivers nothing less than interpretations. We witness people who suffer from their own struggles in life and how they are brutally attacked by this boy bat unwanted. He is nothing more than an idea/feeling. But somehow, he is uncontrollable. One episode I want to mention is the episode where three people over the internet meet up to find ways to commit suicide. This bizarre yet comical episode is a great example of farce. Maybe I’m crazy, but I believe this episode is an attempt to show human folly and making seem acceptable. I mean, look at how reserved the people in that episode was. Other episodes satire the problems with Japanese society and how people seek relief from their everyday life. The ending… well.. I don’t want to spoil it but it ties many things together. But I do want to comment that a few things were thrown together just to end it. Nevertheless, nothing short of being great.
Surprisingly, the characters were really well developed. In only 13 episodes, it is amazing what Paranoia Agent tries to do. I think there were more number of characters resolution than the number of episodes. But what’s important is how each character contributes to the theme of the anime. In a sense, the characters develops as the story develops. And while it seems at first none of the characters have anything to do with each other, many of these characters are linked directly and indirectly like Hamuri and Yuiichi. Pieces of a puzzle don’t look like anything but put them together and you get a picture. I feel like I’m watching Boogiepop Phantom again.
The animation is also unique. The colors stress more on making the characters realistic much like what you would see in Perfect Blue or Tokyo Godfathers. I especially like this type of animation and the environment these colors present to the viewers. In addition to the animation, the music was also well done. The opening theme is incredibly addicting to listen to. And knowing the person that I am, I usually skip the opening theme. Other than that, sorry to say I don’t remember much of the music in the anime itself.
One last thing I want to point out is the opening theme which I took great interest in. Here is what it says
‘Ah, The lost children are a spectacular mushroom cloud in the sky…
Ah, The lost children are comrades to the little birds that have infiltrated these lands…’
In addition, if you look at one of the animation scenes of the opening, you see a mushroom cloud in the background. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with the anime but it’s something to notice.
I have to get me a Mamori…>__>..
The Breakdown
13 episodes to top off a wall-o-text I typed. Enjoy it!