Customer Reviews

Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent: Complete Collection

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's fairly rare in the Anime world when you can get a deep involving plot which is thought provoking, but not too out of whack that only the animators and writer can understand what is going on.

It doesn't have giant robots or over excited anime characters with stars shouting and dancing around. It's not that type of series. It's a story...a very good story albiet with extremly dark themes, but done tastefully enough as to use the dark imagery to get points across about the dark side of human nature without grossing out the audience or focusing in on it too much.

If you are looking for action, explosions and an exciting romp of anime this isn't it. If you are looking for intelligent anime with a good plot line and interesting character develolpment (which i must admit is rare sometimes in the anime world) then this is definately worth your money to buy.

Satoshi Kon is one of the most inovative writers/directors. All it took was one viewing of the pilot episode to be hooked. I felt that the first few discs were stronger than the last two. I did especially like the "preview" at the end of the last episode. To say anymore would give away the enjoyment. I highly recommend also Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress by Kon as well.

This is the best anime I've seen since Evangellion. Like Eva, it is difficult to talk about this anime without giving away spoilers. Sorry if my review is a little cryptic, but I don't want to spoil the show for anyone.

For anime fans out there, if you like Eva and Serial Experiments: Lain, then you should like Paranoia Agent. It reminds me a lot of Lain, except with a better thought out plot and conclusion. It reminds me of Eva because there is so much symbolism that this is a show that you'll be able to watch many times and still not catch everything.

On the surface, the show is about an inline skater who hits helpless people on the head with his crooked golden baseball bat. Soon Tokyo, and then Japan, become fearful and fascinated with the assailer. Beneath the surface, the show is about paranoia. It's about the pressure of modern life, and the mythologies we build for ourselves. It's about distinguishing between victimizing and being victimized. It's about the excuses we make for our actions. It's about being trapped when our fantasy and reality come into conflict with each other. That's about as much as I can say without spoiling the show for you.

Paranoia Agent is not a show for everyone. The themes and storylines are very adult. This is a heavy show. It can almost be excruciating at time, with the stress and paranoia it tries to instill in the viewer. Some episodes deal with issues like prostitution and suicide (in other words, this isn't a show for kids). At the same time, P.A. has its lighthearted and dark comedic moments. Still, Maromi, the big headed pink dog, is just plane creepy.

If you enjoy intelligent and challenging entertainment, then please watch this show. I only listened to the Japanese language track with subtitles, so I can't tell you if the English dub is any good. The animation is gorgeous.

`Paranoia Agent' defies most of conventional anime. No giant robots, big guns, or girls with blue hair. It takes place in present day Tokyo and revolves around the lives of everyday workers. It is also unique for being an anthology.

`Paranoia Agent' is not based around the conflict of heroes and villains. It depends mostly on style. The opening credits are arguably the most memorable in anime history. We see our many characters standing in the midst of a disaster, flood, fire, earthquake, nuclear bombing. However they are all laughing uncontrollably in an insane manner, as to make us think that these characters may have come to except the horror of their lives.

The plot: Unlike most anime series `Paranoia Agent' is an anthology, each episode seems to exist on its own, in that we are introduced to new characters whose stories begin and end with that episode, an anthology. The stories are all related in the sense that each of our characters lives in modern day Tokyo and is having trouble in life, generally work related. They all end up being attacked by boy in roller blades, Little Slugger.

The stories are very entertaining in a dark comedy way, from a sleazy reporter who owes money to the mob, a school girl by day and prostitute by night, an anime production team that's behind schedule, friends that keep failing in their many attempts to commit suicide. Little Slugger attacks them all.

As the show progresses, so does Little Slugger. It becomes quite obvious that he is super natural. It also becomes quite obvious that `Paranoia Agent' has absolutely no intention of wrapping things up or ever explaining the truth about Little Slugger or any of the bizarre events. And it doesn't.

I couldn't see this series going on any longer and it's nice they ended it after 13 episodes allowing us to remember it fondly.

`Paranoia Agent' works mostly because of its style. The animation and directing are great. It also works because of its very entertaining stories, as short as they might be.

At it's basest level; "Paranoia Agent" is the story of a girl and her dog. But before you even begin to understand it on that level you will be subjected to a case study on the fragility of the human psyche, the domination of it by media in today's world, the various forms of escapism devised by the human mind, and the power of an animated series to bring together storytelling and metaphor in ways that are impossible in nearly any other format. This is simpy one of the most thought-provoking series of any kind out there and anybody who thinks that the anime genre is split between kid's stuff and pornography should consider this the ultimate vindicator.

"Paranoia Agent" uses an unusual style of narrative. Each episode follows a different protagonist or group and examines their particular brand of escapism/psychosis. Each character is related in some way to one or more of the characters previously met and thus the overall story grows. The binding elements are two characters: the merchandising sensation Maromi the cartoon dog, and a mysterious figure known as "Shonen Bat" ("Lil Slugger" in the English version)- a rollerblading menace who assaults people with a bent baseball bat. Both are symbols of the pervasiveness and power of modern media in warping people's minds and perceptions to the point that an imaginary child-thug can become a murderous demon and otherwise reasonable people can be incited to riot over a child's toy. The characters range from an overwieght otaku who is WAY too into his cosplay dolls (way underused) to a woman with split personalites who threaten each other using her answering machine to a trio of internet friends whimsically attempting (and always failing) to commit suicide together. Then there are the two detectives. The no-nonsense cop whose inability to see past practical reality and recognize metaphor eventually causes him to escape reality altogether in favor of an old-fashioned two-dimensional dream world, and the other who indulges in the world of fantasy and fiction without being consumed by it and becomes the only one who can see the truths of Maromi and Shonen Bat. This is a brilliant illustration of the power of fantasy to portray truths of the world to those with open minds and the power of a closed mind to blind you to those same truths. These and many more characters' stories intersect each other often and help to build the larger narrative which climaxes with the media's self-contradictory cocktail of paranoia-mongering, and mind-numbing comsumer-based escapist comfort becomes a single all-consuming deluge that all began -and must end- with the same little girl.

Sound complicated? It is, but even if all this talk of metaphors and psychology turns you off, "Paranoia Agent" is still a very fun series that comes highly recommended. There is a ton of black humor, great art and animation, interesting characters with well-written dialogue, one of the best opening credit sequences out there, and much more. And my two year-old absolutely LOVES Maromi. This is a show that can be enjoyed on the surface level, but it that really pays off when you delve into it's social and psychological depths. If you're up for watching one of the best anime series out there, put his at the top of your list.

An anime from Satoshi Kon, who wrote and designed "Tokyo Godfathers", Paranoia Agent offers a dark, chilling, and complex story about people pushed to their breaking point and a phantom who may become an urban legend.

To begin with, there is Tsukiko Sagi, designer of the popular Mamori dolls. But her success has cost her dearly - she is isolated by jealous rivals at work, she's under pressure to create a new doll, and she seems to have lost all her creative spark. Then, out of nowhere, she becomes the first victim of the boy they call the Shonen Bat, or Lil Slugger. But was she really attacked, or did she injure herself out of desperation? And why has her Mamori doll begun to talk to her? Is she losing her mind?

The stories get more and more involved from there as Lil Slugger's list of victims continues to grow. A reporter, a schoolboy and his rival for class president, a tutor, a corrupt police officer and his daughter...and all the connections the cops think they can draw turn out to be dead ends. And just when they think they've got Lil Slugger behind bars, the REAL Lil Slugger appears...

So who or what is the Shonen Bat? All anyone knows is that he's a boy with a golden bat. He may be one man or two men. He can appear before anyone, at any time, but he comes for those who have been cornered, with no way out. And he's still on the loose!

The series features well-written stories and interesting characters with excellent character designs. If you're a fan of dark, complex, thought-provoking anime such as Witch Hunter Robin, Wolf's Rain, or Noir, or if you're just a fan of urban legends, you should definitely give this series a chance. But the kiddies should definitely stick to Dragonball Z and Cowboy Bebop...this series will be way over their heads.

I found this box set by accident when I was looking for some anime. Having now watched it I'm glad I did find it. In it's entiraty it's like 4 seperate anime's which have been interlinked. I would recommend this to fans of any anime. Also invest in the american version.

maybe the other reviewer disliked this anime because it is complex and confusing, but also compelling and mysterious, (unlike DBZ, but FLCL was veeeery unique in a good way) I highly recommend this series.

Armageddon must really hate shows that requires an IQ higher than an intelligent gorilla to understand. I don't see how someone could call this "the worst anime EVER." I'm sure Pokemon or Beyblade is much, much worse than this.

Anyways.. this anime is very interesting. If you you are looking for a mysterious story that will get you thinking; I recommend this anime. If you're looking for mind numbing, pointless fighting(DBZ); look elsewhere.

Satoshi Kon's first television series "Paranoia agent" was greatly anticipated when announced in Japan. After several acclaimed and well recieved films ("Perfect blue", "Tokyo Godfathers") his new series would be psychological thriller. The series was released stateside last year by Geneon and then aired on Cartoon Network in summer 2005.

The show concerns an attacker called lil slugger, a teen on roller skates who weilds a golden baseball bat to attack his victims. In the first episode he attacks a character designer Tsukiko- a woman who's creation Maromi has become hugely popular (think hello kitty). Under pressure and a loooming deadline to create another hit Akiko is attacker by Lil Slugger. The attack buys her more time. Meanwhile investigators look into the attack they can find no evidence to support her story. Did she make lil slugger up to save her career?

The next twelve episodes examine how the the idea of lil slugger goes from a few isolated attacks and spreads to become part of the cultural psyche. The episodes are self contained and yet all connect to each other. Some are better than others. I personally liked one episode in particular in which 3 gossipy women swap lil slugger stories. the episode gives you an idea of how lil slugger has become a part of the nation's conscious and provides a bit of black humor.

Personally I found Paranoia Agent to have one of the strongest set of opening episodes. The first few follow the various lil slugger attacks. We see how they are connected and how lil slugger goes from being a new story to a topic of everyday converstaion amongst people. Later episodes get disjointed and the last few become close to unwatchable.

Despite its great opening episodes the show veers into a convoluted and somewhat unbelievable ending. Many people call it brilliant and fascinating (most also note they watched Satoshi Kon's commentary to help them with what he was trying to say). I think the message was ambitious but the execution of the series ending left a lot to be desired. i believe there is a large chunk of people who gave this show fantastic reviews because they are afraid to say the ending wasnt that good. But in all reality the Emperor has no clothes on and this show's ending was mucky and disappointing in my opinion.

Overall "paranoia agent" is a show that starts out with a lot of promise but in the end fails to keep it. Major Kudos go to the theme song. It really is one of the best anime theme songs and craziest opening sequences for any TV show out there.

I recommend you rent/watch if you can before committing to buy.