Paranoia Agent

Ahh Paranoia Agent. I got filtered by episode 5 a whole decade ago (why does it seem like I watched most anime a decade ago) and stopped watching, even though I love Satoshi Kon and by that point I had watched most of his movies. The time to clear this off my "on-hold" list has come. Let's begin the review!

Paranoia agent is a fun one. I'll try to avoid core spoilers because if you want to watch it, they'll ruin the vibe. I'll still go over the main plot points, and mention the ending in as a non-spoilerish way as possible. Because of that I won't be able to say much at all, now that I think about it. The basic gist of the plot is this - people are being attacked by a myterious boy on inline skates, armed with a golden bat. Two detectives are trying to figure the mystery out. Despite what people say about this anime being an insane mindfuck where you'll barely make something of the plot and things are happening non-linearily - it's not true. The plot happens in a clear linear order, however there are some surreal elements, namely in episode 5 where a lot of people including me quit watching because they got confused with the sudden shift from reality to "magic" (but actually it's straightforward, I'll get on that later), and the last few episodes. The plot suddenly loses traction after episode 5 and moves away from the main characters and victims, onto how people deal with this phenomena. Everything you need to know about this show when going in is in the japanese title. Mousou (妄想, translated as paranoia) Dairin (agent). 妄想's actual meaning is delusion, from what I can find online and from what I heard on the show itself. I'm not sure paranoia was a great choice because paranoia is a type of delusion, but not the type this show is dealing with. To put it simply, this show is dealing with social contagions and mass hysteria. If you're interested in those topics do give it a watch! Episode 5 is just the cops playing into the suspects delusions except it's portrayed in a silly way through the wonders of animation, although I still think that episode is a bit boring compared to everything else lmao.

One thing I'm miffed about is the ending, which is done in a typical Satoshi Kon style where everything goes off the rails, the magic (delusions here I guess) and reality start mixing a bit too much. Personally, I don't think there was a need for that. You can still perceive it as just a metaphor I suppose, but I would've preferred if it was more down to earth. Also, leave it to Satoshi Kon to showcase the most vile examples of male depravity, in episode 6 specifically. I cried for that girl for about 10 minutes straight after the episode ended, and it was her dad's disgustingly innocent face that got me. It hurts because it's too real. Also, episode 8 was amazing.

Lastly, reading about this anime online once again reminded me of the sad state of anime watchers. Why are they all such brainlets!! I won't blame them too much, maybe they're literal kids, but reading all of the "all of this over such a small thing??" comments about the conclusion and main message of the anime really had me stunned.