Customer Reviews

Paranoia Agent

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The songs of Parnoia Agent are visual, bringing images to mind as you hear music that sounds if it comes from another world; some of songs have a haunting quality. Hirasawa's background singing adds to the unique soundtrack. I also loved Susumu Hirasawa's music on the Millenium Actress soundtrack and especially the song "Lotus". It gave me such a inner rush and stirring.

If you're reading this, you probably want to own the title track for Paranoia Agent so you might as well buy this CD. The title track is, of course, absolutely fantastic -- and about twice as long as what you've heard by watching the show.


That said, I would classify much of the rest of the CD as "retro electronica" or "ambient". Many of the tracks make great backgrounds for the show but aren't that interesting to listen to for the sake of listening to. Others, such as "Hero" and "Confrontational Paranoia" are excellent but sound as if they were made from 1980's era synthesizers -- strings and horns that are obviously electronic in origin. It actually reminds me a lot of old computer game music. This is in contrast to modern electronic/synth groups like VNV Nation where pains have been made to make sure that their horns and strings, while synth in origin, sound authentic.

Anyway, it's all kind of moot. If only track 1 had been on this CD, I would have still bought it and loved it, so there you go. Buy it for track 1 and get a bunch of other music you might like to varying degrees at no extra charge.

If your a fan of the show get this disc. If not it's pretty cool anyway. Get it for the songs you don't here that much on the show, like Condition Boy, Escape, and Grandfatherly Wind. Dream Island Obsessional Park is the shows opening theme and probably the best song, If you like it you'll definitely like Grandfatherly Wind.

Paranoia Agent's opening theme is well-known as one of the most unique in animation, and the extended version of the track will not disappoint. There are a few other particularly good songs as well, including Condition Boy from Episode 2, "The Golden Shoes," and Grandfatherly Wind is Hirusawa at his best.

Unfortunately the CD is not very long and many tracks I would have liked to have heard are not featured on it, including other music from "The Golden Shoes" as well as the song played during "The Final Episode" when Ikari destroys the fantasy world. That song is titled Kingdom if you are looking for it.

If you've seen the anime then you pretty much know what's the CD. I will add, though, that the beginning and ending theme songs are on the disk, since some original soundtracks don't include them. The delivery was fast and arrived right when amazon said it would and it was also well protected in the box. So if you like the music from the anime and are looking for the CD, then this is a good buyer to get it from.

Susumu Hirasawa's creations do well to transmit the mood of the animations they accompany. These tracks combine distressed vocals, traditional instrumentation, and a heavy dose of electronics. Some might describe the electronic element as sounding dated, routed in techniques from earlier synthesizer experimentations. I believe this is actually a facet of the musician's style, though your opinion may vary. Compared to Hirasawa's other work, Paranoia Agent exceeds Paprika in its melodic variety. Paranoia is certainly not meant to be beautiful like Sususmu Hirasawa's Millenium Actress soundtrack - a rare and coveted piece of you don't mind importing or purchasing it from an Anime vendor - but there are moments of soaring vocals such as the ones found in the opening track, Dream Island Obsessional Park. Overall the album is very good. You might find yourself going back again and again to some tracks, they are infectious. Other spots on the album are simply mood works; they served they're purpose in the show, adding to the tension of a scene.