Paranoia Agent

Paranoia Agent

Promotional logo image
妄想代理人
(Mōsō Dairinin)
Genre Psychological thriller/horror, Mystery, Satire
Anime television series
Directed by Satoshi Kon
Produced by Masao Teshima
Written by Seishi Minakami
Satoshi Kon
Music by Susumu Hirasawa
Studio Madhouse
Licensed by
Network WOWOW
English network
Original run February 2, 2004 – May 18, 2004
Episodes 13
Novel
Written by Satoshi Kon
Yuichi Umezu
Published by Kadokawa Shoten
Imprint Horror Bunko
Published May 2004

Paranoia Agent (妄想代理人 Mōsō Dairinin) is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger (the English equivalent to Shōnen Batto, which translates to "Bat Boy"). 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, details are revealed about their secret lives and the truth about Lil' Slugger.

The series and its themes have been compared to those recurrent in the filmography of David Lynch.[1][2]

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 used.

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.[3]

Storyline

Tsukiko Sagi, a shy character designer who created the immensely popular pink dog Maromi, finds herself under pressure to repeat her success. As she walks home that night, she is attacked by an elementary school boy on inline skates. Two police detectives, Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa, are assigned to the case. They suspect that Tsukiko is lying about the attack, until they receive word of a second victim.

Soon the attacker, dubbed Lil' Slugger (Shōnen Batto in Japanese, meaning "Bat Boy") is blamed for a series of street assaults in Tokyo. None of the victims can recall the boy's face and only three distinct details are left in their memories: golden inline skates, a baseball cap, and the weapon: a bent golden baseball bat. Ikari and Maniwa set out to track down the perpetrator and put an end to his crimes. Their hunt is unsuccessful, however, and the investigation eventually leads to both men losing their positions as police detectives.

As the attacks continue, it is revealed that they are not random. Instead, Lil' Slugger seems to target people in crisis, and the attacks, though violent, lead to some improvement in the life of the victim. Maniwa becomes convinced that Lil' Slugger is a supernatural force, driven to rescue the desperate from their tragedies through violence. He becomes obsessive, broadcasting his warning about Lil' Slugger via shortwave radio and seeking a way to kill the supernatural assailant.

As public fear of Lil' Slugger intensifies, so do his (supposed) attacks, and the line between truth and fiction becomes blurred. At the same time, public anticipation for the launch of the Maromi television series reaches a fanatical high, almost as if the fear of one is feeding (and feeding off) the anticipation for the other.

Things come to an end on the night that the Maromi show is set to air. Ikari, now a private security guard, and Maniwa, now a wandering "knight," attempt to battle Lil' Slugger, now an incredibly powerful force. They confront Tsukiko, and she confesses that Maromi was based on a real puppy that Tsukiko had in childhood, whose leash she had one day accidentally dropped, allowing the puppy to run into traffic where it was killed. Instead of taking responsibility for the puppy's death, young Tsukiko invented a story about a bat-wielding, skate-wearing puppy killer—Lil' Slugger's first "attack."

Ultimately, Lil' Slugger is a paranormal figment of Tsukiko's guilt and fear, brought inexplicably to life when the adult Tsukiko desperately needed to escape her responsibilities and then fed and nurtured by the fear of the populace. In a way, Tsukiko does fulfill her job by creating a character (Lil' Slugger) that becomes just as big a sensation as Maromi. When Tsukiko finally confesses the truth, and in doing so accepts the guilt for the death of Maromi, Lil' Slugger is defeated.

Characters

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

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.[4]

Media

Anime

The series first aired on Japan's WOWOW between February 2, 2004 and May 18, 2004. Geneon had licensed the anime in North America and released the series on four DVDs between October 26, 2004 and May 10, 2005. A UMD version of Volume 1 was made available on October 10, 2005. The English dubbed version began airing in the U.S. on Adult Swim on May 28, 2005 followed by an encore airing that began on June 6, 2006. In Canada, it began a run on the digital channel G4TechTV Canada on July 27, 2007, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The anime is distributed by MVM Films in the UK.

Soundtrack

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

Opening theme:

Ending theme:

Film adaptation

In December 2009, the Japanese cult-film director Takashi Shimizu announced plans for a movie adaption of the anime.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Paranoia Agent volume 1 Anime Review by Rich (Webmaster) Animetion UK
  2. ↑ Series review: Satoshi Kon's "Paranoia Agent" Ivan Rúmar Blog (Spanish)
  3. ↑ "Satoshi Kon-Winner's Interview". Japan Media Arts Festival Awardees' Profile. Japan Media Arts Plaza. 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-12-11. Retrieved 2006-06-26.
  4. ↑ The following Japanese words are from Jim Breen's JMDict. Alternative references are listed here.
    • Heron (鷺 sagi)
    • Frog (蛙 kawazu / kaeru) RUT.org
    • Cow (牛 ushi) RUT.org
    • Sea bream / (red) snapper (鯛 tai)
    • Butterfly (蝶 chō) Rut.org
    • Butterfly (蝶々 chōchō) RUT.org
    • Seagull (鴎 kamome)RUT.org
    • Leech (蛭 hiru) RUT.org
  5. ↑ Takashi Shimizu Produces 'Paranoia Agent'

External links

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