Paranoia Agent

Synopsis:

Paranoia Agent begins with a story about a woman named Tsukiko Sagi who is under alot of pressure at work to create a new character for a plush toy. She's had a huge success with her current one called Maromi but the higher-ups demand more. On her way home one night however she drops her Maromi-on-a-keychain figurine but when she kneels down to pick it up she looks up to see a young boy wearing golden in-line skates bearing down on her as he swings a metallic bat knocking her unconscious. With this, detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa are assigned to the case to find out more about this street assailant. With no leads and no witnesses the two detectives are to the point of giving up hope and blaming the incident on Tsukiko herself considering it a cry for attention but then they receive a report that the mysterious Shonen Bat, or Bat Boy, has claimed another victim...


Reviewer: Endosanity
Number of episodes watched: 13


Review:

For this short and strange series Paranoia Agent really doesn't have that much of a story to tell as it's coming at you with a new presentation as far as animation is concerned. When you watch this show you shouldn't try to connect yourself with the characters or over analyze the plot because that will only make you wonder what in the world is going on. Actually how it's best enjoyed is that when one person is talking what you'll be seeing is what that character is perceiving the in their mind at the same time so while they are talking the world around them is changing and the viewer is the only one who is seeing what's running through anyone's mind at any given time. This can seem hilarious at times or just downright confusing every now and then. You'll also see how an urban legend manifests itself from a simple rumor into a city-wide phenomenon through story-telling and gossip and how people view the Shonen Bat as he contorts his appearance to match the stories being told.

The animation leans toward being more realistic than the classic anime style that I prefer but it's still a good series. The only thing is that it's *supposed* to be confusing kinda like watching one long episode of The Twilight Zone so don't expect to really follow the plot completely. You just have to keep in mind that what you're seeing is what's going through a persons mind and how they perceive the Shonen Bat whether he be a demon or a savior. Not sure if I can recommend this one as I liked it but it wasn't a series I could really get into. Available for rent, hard-to-find-purchase (Geneon is out of business), and shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim check it out if you have a taste for the bizarre.

Paranoia Agent (trailer)
Paranoia Agent (promo)

Recommendation: |Average|

Media type: DVD
From: Geneon
Spoken languages: English;Japanese
Subtitles: English