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===Analysis===
===Analysis===
Symbolism plays a vital part in the revelation of the plot, both on the episodic level and in the series overall, a better understanding of which provides more insight into the characters and the story for the original Japanese audience, but to a lesser extent for those unfamiliar with [[Japanese folklore]] and [[Japanese mythology|mythology]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The series' ambiguous ending is a source of enthusiastic debate among fans.
Symbolism plays a vital part in the revelation of the plot, both on the episodic level and in the series overall, a better understanding of which provides more insight into the characters and the story for the original Japanese audience, but to a lesser extent for those unfamiliar with [[Japanese folklore]] and [[Japanese mythology|mythology]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The series' ambiguous ending is a source of debate among fans.


The title of the show also plays heavily into the series. An example of this would be the paranoia that Yuichi feels towards Ushii in Episode 2. He believes that Ushii has been running a [[smear campaign]] against him.
The title of the show also plays heavily into the series. An example of this would be the paranoia that Yuichi feels towards Ushii in Episode 2. He believes that Ushii has been running a [[smear campaign]] against him.

Revision as of 03:04, 5 August 2007

Paranoia Agent
Paranoia Agent
GenreMystery, Paranormal, Psychological, Drama, Horror, Thriller, Black comedy
Created bySatoshi Kon
Anime
Directed bySatoshi Kon
StudioMadhouse

Paranoia Agent (妄想代理人, Mōsō Dairinin) is a Japanese anime television miniseries about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger (Shonen Bat, or Bat Boy in the original Japanese version). The plot relays between a large cast of people affected in some way by the phenomenon; usually Lil' Slugger's victims or the detectives assigned to apprehend him. As each character becomes the focus of the story, disturbing details are revealed about their secret lives and the truth about Lil' Slugger.

It was created by Japanese director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse.

The series first aired on Japan's WOWOW between February 2 2004 and May 18 2004. A series of four English dubbed and subtitled DVDs produced by New Generation Pictures were released in North America and Europe between October 26 2004 and May 10 2005 distributed by Geneon. A UMD version of Volume 1 was made available on October 10 2005. The English dubbed version began airing in North America on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on May 28 2005 followed by an encore airing that began on June 6 2006.

Creation

During the makings of his previous three films (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers), Paranoia Agent creator Satoshi Kon was left with an abundance of unused ideas for stories and arrangements that he felt were good but did not fit into any of his projects. Not wanting to waste the material, he decided to recycle it into a dynamic TV series in which his experimental ideas could be utilized.

In the case of a film to be shown at theatres, I'm working for two years and a half, always in the same mood and with the same method. I wanted to do something that allows me to be more flexible, to realize instantly what flashes across my mind. I was also aiming at a sort of entertaining variation, so I decided to go for a TV series.[1]

Characters

File:Paranoia Agent title screen.jpg
From left to right: Shogo, Yuichi, Taeko, Maria, Ikari, Harumi, the old woman, Hirukawa, and Tsukiko
Main article: Characters from Paranoia Agent

Although Paranoia Agent has an ensemble cast of characters, the following five are the main characters for the plot.

  • Tsukiko Sagi (鷺 月子, Sagi Tsukiko) : One of the central characters of the series, she is a famous, but timid, character designer best known for a cartoonish dog named Maromi. She carries a plush toy copy of Maromi everywhere. She is Shounen Bat's first apparent victim in the series, and the catalyst who jump-starts the plot.
  • Shonen Bat (少年バット, Shōnen Batto) / Lil' Slugger : The enigmatic figure the series revolves around. He appears as a grinning, baseball cap-wearing juvenile who travels on golden inline skates and attacks people with a gold-colored metal baseball bat that is curiously bent.
  • Detective Keiichi Ikari (猪狩慶一, Ikari Kei'ichi) : One of two police detectives assigned to investigate the attacks by the Li'l Slugger. He is extremely old fashioned and yearns for the simpler, less hurried times; he is often chastised for this by his young and idealistic partner Mitsuhiro Maniwa.
  • Detective Mitsuhiro Maniwa : Young, idealistic, and a flexible thinker, Maniwa is the perfect complement as well as foil to the more rustic Keiichi Ikari. He is open-minded and unconventional in his methods.
  • Maromi (マロミ) : Maromi is a popular Sanrio-esque mascot created by Tsukiko Sagi. A pink dog with big black eyes and droopy ears, Maromi is considered rather cute in appearance, making her a parody of real イヤシキャラ (iyashi kyara) (relaxing characters), such as tarepanda and relakuma. The little plush toy is seen by the audience as life-like because it gets up, walks around and talks to Tsukiko.

Names

Many of the characters in Paranoia Agent are often referred to with animal names, especially in each "Prophetic Vision" (a segment at the end of each episode that previews the next) and the episode "The Holy Warrior," in which some characters are depicted as animal-like creatures. In many cases, their Japanese names translate directly to the type of animal which they are referred to as: "sagi" means heron, "kawazu" is an archaic term for frog, "ushi" means cow, "tai" means sea bream or red snapper, "chō" means butterfly (chō-cho can also mean butterfly, possibly alluding to her split personality), and "hiru" means leech. Kamome means seagull.[2]

Episodes

  1. "Enter Lil' Slugger": Lil' Slugger attacks Tsukiko, whose curious description of the assailant is met with skepticism.
  2. "The Golden Shoes": A popular schoolboy is bullied in school on suspicion of being Lil' Slugger.
  3. "Double Lips": A woman with dissociative identity disorder attempts to defy her prostitute alter ego.
  4. "A Man's Path": A corrupt police officer struggles to pay his debt to the Yakuza.
  5. "The Holy Warrior": A L'il Slugger suspect role plays with detectives during his interrogation.
  6. "Fear of a Direct Hit": Detectives question a witness to one of Lil' Slugger's attacks while a runaway teenager wanders through the stormy city.
  7. "MHz": A detective explores the possibility of another Lil' Slugger and investigates the connections between the victims in an attempt to pinpoint the next victim.
  8. "Happy Family Planning": An Internet suicide pact comes together to meet their fate.
  9. "ETC": A group of housewives share gossip about Lil' Slugger.
  10. "Mellow Maromi": The production staff for a show called Mellow Maromi struggles to overcome shortages and meet its deadline.
  11. "Entry Forbidden": A sickly housewife confronts Lil' Slugger and engages him in a conversation.
  12. "Radar Man": A "superhero" called Radar Man battles Lil' Slugger and investigates his past.
  13. "Final Episode": The series comes to its chaotic conclusion.

Voice cast

Character Japanese Seiyuu English Voice Actor
Tsukiko Sagi Mamiko Noto Michelle Ruff
Maromi Haruko Momoi Carrie Savage
Shonen Bat / Lil' Slugger Daisuke Sakaguchi Sam Regal
Detective Keiichi Ikari Shozo Iizuka Michael McConnohie
Detective Maniwa Toshihiko Seki Liam O'Brien
Masami Hirukawa Toshihiko Nakajima Reg Green
Old Man Ryuuji Saikachi William Frederick Knight
Old Woman Hisako Kyoda Jody Jaress
Misae Ikari Kazue Komiya Melodee M. Spevack
Yuichi Taira Mayumi Yamaguchi Johnny Yong Bosch
Shogo Ushiyama Makoto Tsumura Steven Bendik
Harumi Chono/Maria Kotono Mitsuishi Erica Shaffer
Taeko Hirukawa Nana Mizuki Tara Hudson

Synopsis

An elementary school boy on inline skates dubbed Lil' Slugger (Shōnen Bat in Japanese, meaning "Bat Boy") is said to be responsible for a series of mysterious street assaults in Tokyo. None of the victims can recall the boy's face and only two distinct details are left in their memories: golden inline skates and the weapon: a bent golden baseball bat.

Two police detectives, Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, are assigned to the case to track down the perpetrator and put an end to his crimes. Starting with the first victim, Tsukiko Sagi, a shy character designer who created the immensely popular pink dog Maromi, the detectives follow what little clues they have and try to apprehend the mysterious boy. Just when they think they have solved the case, new evidence about the attacker leads them towards a frightening revelation.

Analysis

Symbolism plays a vital part in the revelation of the plot, both on the episodic level and in the series overall, a better understanding of which provides more insight into the characters and the story for the original Japanese audience, but to a lesser extent for those unfamiliar with Japanese folklore and mythology.[citation needed] The series' ambiguous ending is a source of debate among fans.

The title of the show also plays heavily into the series. An example of this would be the paranoia that Yuichi feels towards Ushii in Episode 2. He believes that Ushii has been running a smear campaign against him.

Social commentary

Satoshi Kon is famous for his use of social commentary and Paranoia Agent is no exception (e.g., baseball bat related crimes in Japan). Commentary on his views of school peer pressure, loss of identity, prevalence of cultural icons (such as Maromi, often seen as a criticism of highly marketable anime mascots such as the poring from Ragnarok Online), ambiguity of morality, nature of social and personal growth, criticism of the harsh conditions of Japanese animators, and criticism of the otaku subculture is found throughout the show. Much of the commentary can be tied to Takashi Murakami's superflat manifesto, with the views of how reality and fantasy are being blurred in postwar Japan. Kon has been critically acclaimed for making social commentary a major and effective part of his work.

Allusions to Other Works

  • In the episode "ETC" there are three women who always say "Of course not, of course not!". This is a nod to Tokyo Godfathers (another of Kon's works) in which the three women say the same thing in a crowd.
  • The episode "Fear of a Direct Hit," ends with Taeko saying to her father "Excuse me... who are you?". This is a nod to one of the famous lines from Kon's previous film, Perfect Blue.
  • Lil' Slugger/Makoto Kozuka resembles Haruhiko (Uchi) Uchiyama in the anime/manga versions of Gokusen.
  • A nurse working in the hospital in one of the early episodes strongly resembles the nurse Kiyoko, the daughter of one of the Tokyo Godfathers.

DVD

Soundtrack

Main article: Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack

The music in Paranoia Agent was composed by Japanese electronica pioneer Susumu Hirasawa.

Opening theme:

  • "Dream Island Obsessional Park" ("夢の島思念公園", Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen) by Susumu Hirasawa

Ending theme:

  • "White Hill - Maromi's Theme" ("白ケ丘-マロミのテーマ") by Susumu Hirasawa

References

  1. ^ "Satoshi Kon-Winner's Interview" (HTML). Japan Media Arts Festival Awardees' Profile. Japan Media Arts Plaza. 2004. Retrieved 2006-06-26. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ The following Japanese words are from Jim Breen's JMDict. Alternative references are listed here.
    • heron (鷺, sagi)
    • frog (蛙, kawazu / kaeru) [1]
    • cow (牛, ushi) [2]
    • sea bream / (red) snapper (鯛, tai)
    • butterfly (蝶, chō) [3]
    • butterfly (蝶々, chōchō) [4]
    • seagull (鴎, kamome) [5]
    • leech (蛭, hiru) [6]
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