Anime Review: Paranoia Agent

Once upon a time, say, back in 2016, I was rediscovering my interest in anime, specifically ones I have had some interest in, but never got to watch.  I thought of Paranoia Agent, as it caught my attention.  I never sought it out, for fear of being unsettled.  Nothing personal, but I'd rather not be unsettled by anything animated.  No need to scare my "inner child" now.  So, I talked it out with some friends as to whether or not I should pick it up.  All I got was that the creator of this anime, Satoshi Kon, created another anime that I knew about called Perfect Blue.  Now, that was unsettling.  Still, I was very interested.  So, I gave it a shot and now, I'm reviewing it.



"To begin, trust and hate, love and fate, and all these human emotions are hard to understand.  Social grace, the human race, confuse me.  Whether by fate or odd circumstances, two or more soles become fiercely entangled.  Isn't it time you come with me....for I will set you free?"



That's a sample of the twisted philosophy you are in store for with this 13 episode series that looks to bend the mind, confuse the eye, and possibly unsettle your soul.  Ok, so, it's not a "word for word" philosophy quote from the show, but every time I heard those philosophy quotes at the end, it just messed with my head.  That's what the show can and more than likely will do.  If there's one thing the director loves to do, it's blur the lines of fantasy and reality.  You'll get plenty of that here.



Ok, so here's the breakdown: there has been a multitude of attacks in town.  The culprit is a young boy named "Li'l Slugger".  With roller blades, a baseball cap, and a bent baseball bat, no one is safe from his onslaught.  This occurrence has the whole town talking, mostly through gossip, about what is going on about this.  Amid all this, we see some intertwining stories between a slew of characters, specifically a young woman and an older detective.  The detective is trying to figure out how to solve this mystery, slowly unraveling under pressure.  Meanwhile, the young woman is trying to promote a new plush doll within her company.  However, she is having great reservations about doing so, mostly out of guilt.  So much so, that the new plush doll begins talking to her and coming alive.  I'd go further, but I'm not even sure if I'd understand it, let alone you.


If you're willing to sit down for thirteen episodes, 30 minutes a-piece to go on a dramatic mind trip that may or may not have you scratching your head, let alone unsettling you to your core, this may very well be the show for you.  If you're looking to me for an explanation on what's going on, I can't help you.  Still working on that...next to my unfinished equation for pure sustainable energy....