Review of Paranoia Agent (2004)

Review of Paranoia Agent (2004)

Hey, everybody. It's time for a new review. This review will contain spoilers. I will warn beforehand with SPOILER! and END SPOILER!, and there will be a strike through across the spoiled content.

Back in 2011 I watched a popular anime called Death Note, and to this day it is still my favorite of all anime series. Having just finished Clannad: After Story (a slice of life, romance, comedy, with a few tear-jerking episodes towards the end), I craved something different, something more along the lines of a psychological thriller like Death Note. I researched good psychological anime and a constant on many lists was Paranoia Agent.

Several years ago I saw this anime listed on Youtube in a video about the best anime openings. I have to say it deserved a spot for a good reason, but I'll get to that later. I watched a review on the show, and it seemed interesting. As of today, this series received a score of 7.7 on MyAnimeList (1) and an 8.2 on IMDb (2).

Where best to begin than with the beginning? In this case, the beginning is the opening. This opening would place in my top thirteen anime openings. The song is nothing special, but the visuals are so different than what normally happens in anime openings. It shows the main cast of the show standing in either dangerous areas, or otherwise unpleasant. For instance, Tsukiko is standing on the edge of roof of a tall building, the children are being overtaken by a flood, Harumi and Maria are standing in a dump, Misae is inside her house that is now in ruins, and the whole cast is standing in the middle of a busy street. The strange thing about this is that they are all laughing. They all look at ease, not at all bothered by their locations. These images are unsettling, and when taking close looks at their faces, disturbing. However, that is the same feel of the show.  I've never seen an opening that fits the mood of the series as well as this one. The opening is supposed to get the audience interested in the show, and I think it accomplishes that.

Now onto the show itself. What I like most about this series is that it requires thinking. I like how it kept me guessing throughout most of the anime. Even after finishing the series, I'm still not sure what is real, and what was imagined. This show has major suspense. Granted Paranoia Agent is only thirteen episodes long, but I binged watched it in under twenty-four hours (including needing to break after episode three to go to bed), I was that interested in seeing what happened next.

In the first episode Tsukiko has designed a cartoon dog character called Maromi that has become a huge hit in Japan. She is pressured by her boss to design a new character even though she can't come up with anything. She is considered weird by most other characters, and the only person she trusts is her plush toy of Maromi, who talks to her, and offers her comfort and advice. With all this stress on her, Tsukiko is attacked by Lil' Slugger (Shonen Bat in the original), a boy on gold skates, carrying a bent baseball bat. After the assault Tsukiko is more at ease.

Each episode focuses on a different character. These characters all have some kind of major stress in their lives, and right before a breakdown, Lil' Slugger appears and attacks that person. As with Tsukiko, after each incident, the victim feels better. By episode three, this led me to two major questions. 1) How does this attacker know when people are at the height of suffering? 2) Is he a villain, or a hero there to save people from their own mental issues?

Two detectives are assigned to this case. They question the victims, and the potential suspects. I like how the two investigators are complete opposites, a great example of making the good cop/bad cop work. In addition, it's interesting how this case has a similar effect on both characters in a different way SPOILER!: with Maniwa going insane in his attempt to find and stop this threat, and Ikari falling into depression. END SPOILER!

There is some creepy imagery in this series. Two of the best examples come from episodes two and three. In the second episode, Yuichi, a once popular boy is suspected for being Lil' Slugger. This coincides with the upcoming student council election, and he believes his rival is starting these rumors. When Yuichi hears the other students talking about him, or he dreads what will happen, the world transforms into a more warped, abstract animation style. The blank, white eyes on the characters are chilling to look at.

In my opinion, the third episode wins the award for the creepiest moments. The woman Harumi is fighting among herself--literally. Even when she wants to put that part of her self aside when she gets engaged, life becomes a horror story when she realizes she may not be the one in control. Visually, the climax of this episode is the scariest. SPOILER! Harumi is trying to get rid of Maria (a second personality who is trying to fight for dominance), and she receives a telephone call from herself, just the thought of that happening is scary. I love the image of Maria's hand grabbing Harumi's arm right after she smashes the mirror. Harumi is then being dragged down the street by Maria, who is switching between black-haired and red-haired versions of herself, and then in the next shot it shows Harumi stumbling and struggling against an invisible force. END SPOILER! While the audience can see it is all in her mind, it is real to her, and the way it is animated is brilliant.

For me, the best overall episode has to be number six. This is a good example of fantastic editing. Tsukiko is brought back in for questioning, after the homeless woman gives the detectives an interesting testament. Meanwhile, the teenager Taeko is devastated by a recent happening concerning her family, and all she wishes for is to forget. I just love how brilliant this scene is done. The focus keeps switching from Tsukiko to Taeko, and what is being said of one can relate to the other. Also, there is the story of the old homeless woman juxtaposed with Taeko, that resolves in a major twist--how it is edited to make you believe one thing, when in reality it's something else entirely. It's fast paced and, in my opinion, one of the most intense moments in the series. This episode also has the best ending.

I found episodes one through seven intriguing. Episode five is kind of silly, but an intriguing look into the mind of that episode's specific character. However, episodes eight, nine, and ten come across as filler while waiting for the next "season" (episodes eleven through thirteen).

Episode eight feels like it came out of the blue. This one follows three people who meet up to commit suicide together. It has nothing to do with the main cast, nor does it move the plot along. Is this episode bad? Not at all. Of the three "filler" episodes, this one is my favorite. It makes for good comic relief in an otherwise tense story. The humor is dark since it centers around suicide attempts and constant failing (the reason for the failures is revealed in the end). The part where they're chasing after Lil' Slugger is hilarious. If you like black humor, you'll probably find this one amusing.

Episode nine focuses on four women gossiping about recent Lil' Slugger attacks. The first story is kind of creepy, and the second one realistic (even though it's clear that in that one it wasn't Lil' Slugger who killed the woman), but they get more ridiculous with each tale. This episode is meant to show how rumors can spread a simple lie into something outrageous. I found this episode to be rather boring. It is good to see how these rumors are progressing, but I think it would've worked better to show maybe a minute of gossip in each episode, rather than filling up an entire one.

Of all the episodes, number ten was my least favorite. Other than the surprise ending I feel that it adds very little to the story. Unless you are interested in the production of animation, you can just skip this one, and it won't miss anything. I honestly feel like this episode is intended for an animation class by using an animation to teach the lesson. While watching this one I kept wondering, "when are we going to get back to the main story?" I understand the point of this episode is that the legend of Lil' Slugger is being blamed for all these acts of violence, but I think that topic was covered better in the second rumor in the previous episode. This one was just too boring for my tastes.

The final act of the story is covered in episodes eleven through thirteen. This is where everything starts to go crazy, well, crazier than before, that all leads up to a shocking ending. There are a lot of different theories as to what actually happens, and I think that's one of the positives to this anime--it can be left up to interpretation. For instance, has Maniwa truly gone insane, or is what he's seeing the truth? Is he fighting Lil' Slugger, or is it part of the delusion? Is what happened to the city in the end due to what we see on the screen, or is it more metaphorical? And then there is the question surrounding Maromi herself. The answers are never black and white, anyone is allowed to believe whatever they want.

This anime does a great job with displaying how a simple rumor can be spread until it reaches out of control limits, whether if it is by word of mouth, or through forms of media such as the television, or in today's time Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, etc. It's important to remember that this anime was released in 2004, before social media became what it is today. If there ever is a revamp (animated or live-action [this is one anime I can see working as a live-action movie or mini-series]), I am interested to see just how much more of an impact today's social media would have on the spread of the rumors.

The character designs are perfect for this kind of show. The people look realistic instead of being all moe, or unnaturally beautiful, especially for the dark tones of this story. I also like that there's such a variety of characters: all different ages, occupations, shapes, sizes, social classes, personalities, etc. The look is different from a lot of popular anime that I think works well for this one.

The pacing works well for the most part. I've already touched on the unnecessary three "filler" episodes, and won't repeat that here. The building of suspense moves at a steady pace, not giving more than what is needed. The calmer scenes move at a slower pace, while the more intense it gets, the quicker the shots and editing (again, done superbly in episode six).

This is just a lingering thought I had about the ending. SPOILER!: That is the state of Maniwa in the last act. I'm assuming that he is imagining Lil' Slugger because he feels the need to fight him due to unfinished business at the end of episode seven. However, he admits that he knows that Lil' Slugger does not exist since he questioned Tsukiko's father and knows the truth about Maromi and the kid with the bat from the initial incident when Tsukiko was a child. However, he is still actively fighting the demon form of Lil' Slugger. This makes me wonder, does Maniwa emotionally need this delusion to help him move on, or is it possible that everything that happens in the last three episodes only occur in Tsukiko's mind?

Here is one of my theories on the final episodes. I'm wondering if it is possible that sometime after she recreated Lil' Slugger, Maniwa approached her with the truth he discovered from her father. Tsukiko running into Ikari's dreamworld is symbolic of Tsukiko trying to run from the truth. Maromi chasing her and Ikari is all in her mind while she is trying to run from the fact that she had started all this hysteria. She doesn't want to face responsibility, despite knowing the truth, just like when she was a child. I'm wondering if Ikari wasn't even there for that last part, it was just something Tsukiko imagined to help support her delusion. 

Or it's still possible that both Maniwa and Ikari had also gone insane from the case, and by Tsukiko admitting her lie, everyone was set free? These are is just some thoughts I had about the final episodes. END SPOILER!

In all, I think this anime is worth watching. It is a good suspense, horror story. The gore is minimal, as the medium relies more on psychological scares. Keep in mind, this is not something to watch while tired, as it does require thinking. It may even take multiple viewings, as I was confused at times, especially with the last episode. The ending, as well as what the overall story is about may differ from person to person.

Paranoia Agent: 8/10

Music: Sarah Brightman
Beverage: XXX Vitamin Water

1. "Mousou Dairinin" MyAnimeList (April 3 2015).  http://myanimelist.net/anime/323/Mousou_Dairinin

2. "Paranoia Agent" IMDb (April 3, 2015). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433722/?ref_=nv_sr_2