This is the one series that justifies anime to me. One of the most comprehensive and multi-faceted critiques of Japanese society (and modern society generally) ever made. The episode centered on the anime studio slaving away on the Maromi series is just savage. Who working in that industry wouldn't have wanted to get all that out? "The burden of responsibility" is right. Kon was a true genius.
'Lil Slugger: A meme given life. That premise alone could carry a show but the anime still broke ground by exploring characterization and social disorders. That episode set in the animation studio is jaw-dropping brilliant and my favorite of the series. Horror is hard to do in animation but that episode pulls it off even with its comedic beats.
Lil Slugger was a demonic meme at that. I never fully understood the suicide club episode until I recently rewatched the series and I think it's there to help establish that there are indeed paranormal/supernatural events going on in the series even though it started off as a psychological event. In short; because so many people begin to believe in little slugger, reality gets warped, and he actually manifests. Love it.
If there is anything this anime taught me is that no matter who or what you are paranoia can lie in anybody whether it be dormant or put on full display. It’s how you deal with it that determines who you are
Spoilers: When I first saw this anime, seeing how Lil Slugger was manifested by the people reminded me of an old saying. "Repeat a lie enough times, and eventually enough people will start to believe it". Except in this case, it is taken to more of a literal extreme, where belief can make fantasy, A reality.
Him just airing out all his unused ideas makes a lot of sense for one of the most memorable episodes, because it has so little to do with Lil Slugger. It’s about three people agreeing to a suicide pact, but when the two men meet the third, it turns out to be an 8 year old girl. What proceeds is wacky hijinks as the men try to ditch the girl while still committing suicide, often sabatoging their attempts to keep her safe. And oh yeah, there’s a twist. It’s strangely morbid but much more upbeat than the rest of the series. A juxtaposition of tragedy that comes off as surprisingly hopeful. Also, one thing that’s interesting about the show is that a lot of the people who feel trapped, aren’t good people. Corrupt cops, pedophiles and adulterers, selfish and greedy and liars. It kinda warranted that the relief Lil Slugger brings, doesn’t last. There’s only a few people who genuinely did t deserve what’s happening to them. Like the young woman who discovers her loving father is lusting after her, spying on her.
Arella Jardin I think in her case, it was more a mercy she got attacked since she lost her memory. Though realistically child protective services need to get involved fast.
So this time I was on Duty in the Marine Corps I had my laptop out watching paranoia agent. The MSgt in the duty hut said, "oh watching that hentai on duty uh?" I say its just some anime right as the new episode opens to a sex scene....he laughed, said "okay, sure" and walked out. Never looked at me the same again....lol
I physically couldn't watch this series for more than 10 minutes, it was so depressing it made me want to vomit. Couldn't read Fight Club for same reason too. There's so much terror and sadness in real life, what's the point of glorifying it in media?
@The Science of Violence nice profile name, really. Yeah, you're right. But for me Paranoia Agent was harder to watch than is₹$ executions. It made me physically unwell.
Such great times these were, going from Saturday Anime on SciFi to Toonami anime block and the unique anime of Adult Swim. Times we will likely never see again on TV.
I guess I have to be really careful not to damage the DVDs I have of some episodes, even if I couldn't (or rather, shouldn't) sell them even if I wanted to. Context: Paranoia Agent and some other animes aired in the middle of the night on weekdays here in Sweden, so I asked my DVD player to record them for me. Then I could watch the episodes after school, and being the diligent girl in a family with a long tradition of recording movies on VHS I also edited out the commercial breaks, divided the recordings into individual episodes and then compiled them on DVD discs. Really glad I did that now, I would have been heartbroken if I didn't and then found out how hard those episodes are to find.
I watched this anime at a Hotel when I was super young and riddled with insomnia, a three month stay in a crappy suite. I was up way too late every night and the Adult Swim anime block is where I saw that Scene in FMA; yeah, THAT one. Not fit for a 7 year old at all, that night's Edwaaaard was quickly followed by Paranoia Agent which was just so surreal and the vulnerability in my child like mindset of 'no one can get hurt' caused by FMA moments before. I only half got the anime at the time, the scares and imagery more than the thought provoking aspects but the image of Shonen Bat followed me for a LONG time indeed, it was the first exposure to non-slasher/trendy horror and it crept into my mind for years, I associated thinking horror with Shonen Bat forming how I saw horror media and later psychological aspects in all media. I later rewatched it years after and it hit me like a truck; the whole thing just made so much sense and changed my opinion on it; it wasn't just a horror anime. It was an anime about the horror that reality and the disconnects in it could destroy a person. Since then I've always tried to hold my psyche on a tight leash, understand and learn instead speculate on things that disturb me. Because all the power your mind has over you; barring exceptions- is the power you give it. This anime helped me forge who I am over the years; and I will always love it for that. Thank you for reviewing this Sage. Nostalgia is so rare for me, I just have such a small niche of media I can look at in that lens but this one anime is just. Important to me, important to how I conduct myself and important to how I see the world. The strength this anime imparted on me both when I didn't understand it on a deeper level and later when I did; helped me grow as a person, this was my first real anime. Sincerely. Thank you Lord High Regent Sage, may your rule be ever long.
I enjoyed reading your comment. I've had similar experiences reading the book series, "Dune" and "Stranger in a Strange Land," and with anime like "Ghost in the Shell" and "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind." Take my Like! :D
There are so many levels to this anime it's impossible to cover them all. Loved reading your comment as well. One of the things that blew me away when i recently rewatched it as well was how pathological lying can become. A lie is not only a distortion of the truth, it's a distortion of reality itself. I think the final episode really got me good with the detective making that remark to how devastated the city looked by relating it to how he remembered the city had looked after the second world war. That society too had chosen to believe in a lie and it led to similar results.
due to its limited amount of episodes for both the first and second series, Kikaider had a very....stagnated story that was all about the "what it means to have a soul" bs.
CamsEyeView - Android Kikaider while imperfect is not that awful. After rewatching, it’s still serviceable when compared to other anime from this channel. Epi 1-13 has its share of problems though: >> Clunky or repetitive script in some areas >> Some scenes repeat too often, as if we the audience forgot them >> Annoying child character (esp episode 9) >> Jino development is at times disorienting - some things he doesn’t know then learns (given), but there are things that he knows but were never taught (bike riding)
Samurai Champloo and OG FLCL were both on Toonami within a couple years ago. (OG FLCL was on Toonami this year, in fact. Of course it was in preparation for Progressive and Alternative.) As well as Outlaw Star. (Plus the apparently banned episode.) So it's entirely possible that Toonami'll be able to pick this up.
what an awesome series man, Kon was truly a master of his craft. Perfect Blue is also one of my favourites, and that one is a lot more closer to Lynch's style, specially his 90's movies, like FWWM or Lost Highway.
Hey Sage, will you be doing S-Cry-Ed anytime soon? I love that series, Great Cast, Great Sound, and some real tear jerking moments. Looking at you Kirishima-kun. I remember I used to set the VCR to record the episodes and had it timed perfectly so they'd all fit on one tape. As much as I love the other AS classics I think not nearly enough people know about it and would love to bring awareness of it up.
I would argue that this is amongst the deepest and anime that it was ever shown on Cartoon Network and thus went way over the heads of its younger audience at the time.
For me what drew me to this show was being able to watch different episodes where people just crack. I guess that's the idea is to relate to that sense of dread every day life piles on in small bits until everything becomes too much. Definitely understand that better now than when I first watched it.
I love Kon's work. Something about his method makes linear thinking a fast track to confusion. It took several watches to realize what was going on in Perfect Blue. And then you have his classic endgame that straddles a fireworks show of the concepts and total mind screw. It's a shame he is no longer with us.
Personal story of how Little Slugger terrified me horror movie style when I was a kid. When I was young i would often fall asleep with cartoon network on my T.V. I sometimes come under the conditions of sleep paralysis combined with night terrors (known as Night Hag), which meant a heightened increase in fear and paranoia. As fate would have it, this stating of awakening literally petrified with irrational terror once happened the very moment in the anime Little Slugger's monsterous form was revealed to detective Maniwa. No roars, no growls, no movement. Just the monster glaring with red eyes in the dark as I couldn't even lift a finger. It'd be fun to say this had some lasting effect on me, but really after the overwhelming dread had passed I wanted to see this anime start to finish.
I had a similar thing happen involving the rapping hamsters Kia used for a line of advertisements years ago. It didn't inspire me to watch anything, though.
I sure hope that Paranoia Agent does get a re-release on DVD and Blu-Ray box sets in the future. It was really good and such for a short series with strangest to happen a lot to the characters. You're lucky to get something like this one.
Its funny the way you were disappointed to learn that major elements of the show were effectively Satoshi Kon's effort to use his leftover ideas from his films and manga, when honestly that just makes me love it even more. Its an aspiring novelist thing, where there are so many ideas and characters I loved working on were finally cut because they were superlative or unnecessary to the story. It feels not only wasteful, but poignant to create them, but have no actual role for them to play, like creating a child but then having to give them up for adoption, if you'll forgive an excessive simile. Its almost heartwarming that he was able to give those concepts and characters a little role after all, save his discarded ideas from simply being forgotten.
I haven't seen this series before (it's on my ever-growing list), but hearing you talk about it reminded me of shades of "Welcome to the NHK." I'd love to hear you talk about it one day, provided it's within your cut-off.
This title was always in the back of my head as i watched anime over the years. The surreal opening and the psychological focus on mundane suffering and stress by people of different backgrounds and especially detective ikari's story arc and resolution hooked me. This series along with case closed, the original UC gundam series, and lupin the 3rd kept my interest fresh when i slogged through the moe and slice of life series as i grew older and I've come to respect this series and Satoshi kon for their quality and just how real and surreal it is to witness.
i loved the anime when it came on adult swim so much that i actually brought the entire 4 volume series and the box that came with the 1st volume and it came with a marome doll which i gave to a friend of mine and still has to this day and me and my friend recently this year watched the entire series again and i am glad i kept this anime set because like you said it is very hard to get it and i am lucky to have brought it when it 1st came out and the store i brought the 3 additional copies from Media Play no long exist and it was a great place to get manga and anime, but thank you for finally doing a review on this series it needs to be re-released and seen by more people even today's anime fans
Clicked for the thumbnail, stayed for the insightful dissertation of one of anime's all time storytelling giants!! Satoshi Kon was always the type that made mature anime without having to resort to blood splatter or needless cursing; something I thought showed tremendous restraint.
Paranoia agent is one of those that constantly keeps you in the uncanny valley. I have long been the type to have fantasy worlds I've made up and characters I've made up. Honestly gore in horror is not what unsettles me, it's the psychological. Because nothing is scarier to me than not knowing whether you are in reality. I struggled with nightmares grotesque in every manner from my first dreams, developed insomnia early on, struggled with PTSD at 13 after my neighbors tried robbing me with kitchen knifes(sent them to prison), struggled with revenge lust and genuine urge to kill after the fucker got out of prison and got my shit, then overcame my anger and fell into a 5 year depression caused mainly by guilt for past actions, since I have been realizing how much beauty there is around us. Dunno why I went on that diatribe, I honestly think I get into a sort of recount loop whenever I bring up that robbery, like just thinking about it makes me envision myself as a feral monster. Everytime I have to stop a robbery/shoplift at work I have to stop myself from completely losing it and tearing the person apart because I start to vilify and compare them to those robbers. Afterwords I usually am shaking and on edge, all I want to do is fight at that moment, yet at the same time I'm terrified of myself and usually recount the whole robbery to whoever is closest.
I wish you could’ve took the time to talk more about Susumu Hirasawa... that man is a musical legend and his recent album (under the name 核P-Model), 回＝回 is worthy of a purchase or at least a listen. My favorite song on it is HUMAN-LE. Please listen to Hirasawa’s music to those who haven’t listened to his solo works outside of anime OSTs
Heck yes! Susumu is up there with Yoko Kanno, as one of those people who just plain defines everything good people remember about anime music! Some of my favourite non-anime P-Model tracks which are still like a total dreamscape; "Cyborg", "Ooru", "Birds", "East of Timeline", "Homo Gestalt", "Niwashi King"... Seriously, the guy has just been pumping out amazing music for 40 straight years! Y'all owe it to yourself to check him out!
It takes a deft hand at writing and characterization to make your audience be able to say "I like the suicide episode. Very cute" and have the rest of the audience go "Yeah! It as adorable! :D"
Remember in the 90's when Sci-Fi Channel had their Saturday Afternoon Anime? The one that stands out to me is Lensmen. I'd love to hear your take on a classic anime most have never heard about.
Admiral Thunderbunny I watched lensmen when I was in Saudi Arabia in my childhood It was broadcasted in a local channel there, so it really brings childhood nostalgia back.
Sage is one of Vash Starwind's heroes. Bennet "The Sage" White! You're The Man! Thanks for all of the interesting, informative episodes. You are flipping hilarious. Thanks for all of the laughs! I love Anime Abandon!
I saw a few episodes on Adult Swim as a kid. The intro got me courious about the show. Ive never forgotten it, even though my experence with it was very little. Now as an adult, I bought the Blu ray. I watched it over 2 days. I am a little dissiponted it didnt go how I thought it would but more impressed on how it did go. Its only 13 episodes long. a MUST WATCH series. So strange and desturbing, yet you cant get enough of it!
@@animem54 Tech TV was a premium cable/satellite channel so there wasn't as much exposure compared to Cartoon Network and other animation blocks in late 90s/early 2000s. It was no Toonami but it was at least interesting.
This is one of my favorites as well. I've often tried looking for it, just in case a re-release went under my radar, but sadly its just not available anywhere. You'd think some streaming service would pick it up at least. Oh, and speaking about themes of paranoia and such, maybe you should review "Welcome to the NHK" sometime. Its not as good, but its subject matter is somewhat related.
Yaaasss! Not enough people talk about this anime. I love it. When I first watched it, the fact that it didn't make sense right off the bat (pun intended), is what drew me in and made me keep watching until the end. You get wrapped up in trying to solve the mystery of Lil' Slugger.
This and Boogiepop Phantom were anime were a few of the ones that defined my foray into anime as a college student back in the early 00's. It's too bad Paranoia Agent's now hard to get copies of. Maybe, in the future, this'll change? Boogiepop Phantom would be a tough nut to crack for a review, but it'd be hilarious to see just how many obscure Prince references people'd spot in there.
"Leftovers good!" ~Quina And really, if this marvelous show was made out of small tidbits woven into a rollercoaster of emotions almost seamlessly, does it really make it any less impressive in outcome?
I think It's not about how we blame fake things for our suffering, but about how you shouldn't make up excuses to not try to face your problems and how the psyche can warp reality.
What about taokeo? What happened to here wasn't her fault just seemed like she had trouble accepting what happened to her and wanted to forget oppose to blame.
Also the teacher with split personaliy felt more about not accepting mental health as a reality and trying to keep it a secrete oppose to not getting help for it. I feel like ignoring mental health and trama plays a big theme as well
I pushed back watching this review for three days. Why? I because wanted to find time to marathon whole series beforehand. Re-watching all 13 episodes back to back with your review was really something - the show still holds up, in some regards even stronger than in 2005, and the review filled in some gaps I've always wondered about. Thank you for delivering a commentary that did this masterpiece justice, Bennett! Also, wow! It sucks that y'all can't find this in the States. I picked it up on R2 DVDs from a dealers' room at an animecon couple years back, so that came as a shock to me.
I loved this series, wish I could find a copy or that it would get picked up for re-released. I'm surprised that there was no comment about the opening sequence of the series. I always found it fascinating.
Oh, Paranoia Agent... On Spain, it was broadcasted around the same period of time (2005/2006) on a Public Adult Space called "Cuatrosfera +18", which practically was an Adult Swim, but public. I never saw it on its original broadcast, practically because I was by then a 6-7 years old kid. But I saw it finally on 2016. I knew the show thanks to a Chilean reviewer called "El Reviewer Random", who made a video about the show on 2013. I wanted to watch the show by then, but I knew I was too young for understand it. And when I finally saw it... It blew my mind. For years, it was practically my favourite anime of all (Now on 2nd position, winning 'Black Jack' The Original TV Show). -- Btw, in Spain it is also kinda expensive. At the moment, its first price was 45€ (Around 50$). Now, the price is just 40€. It's still being expensive.
Oh thank god someone else actually remembers this series exists. Once again thank you Bennett for reassuring me I'm not mad and that someone else watched and loved these older anime. Though i don't often agree with you its nice to hav someone that remembers stuff from before 2005
I will never forget the day the anime Gods truly blessed me with a clearance sale at FYE when they were going out of business. They had the box set of Paranoia Agent for $20. Perfect working condition, and unopened, despite being marked second hand. It's been one of my treasures ever since then, even though it is like pulling teeth to get people to sit down and watch it with me. They don't seem to have the patience, or the curiosity, that I would expect something like this would engender in a person the way it did for me. The takeaway being such a unique message has always stuck with me in so many ways, and as a short story writer, it assured me that my craft of choice can and would be appreciated by the right people if the Right audience was found. Not to mention, the opening gave me chills every single time, and even now, I can't bear to skip over it. Paranoia Agent is a true work of art, and as you said, I truly hope more people will be able to enjoy this masterpiece.
I have been waiting for this review! This series defined my Adult Swim experience and I swear by it as one of my all-time faves! I loved your take on it and agreed with a lot of the points (though I personally related more with Tsukiko's story the first time I watched it). I'm definitely going to rewatch this one soon! Also, I'm sad that Kikaider is considered one of the stinkers...
I agree with the review wholeheartedly. And had a similar experience when I watched it on Adult Swim years ago. It was indeed an addictive show. And one that today is considered binge worthy. Love it
After learning how rare it is, I feel weird that I was able to grab a copy of this from my local HMV. Also I watched it from start to finish and I felt like it really went off the rails at the end but I suppose that was the point
i remember this show very well. i used to stand up late at night to watch this around 11:30pm to 1am to catch the new episode. man, those were the days. thank you for the memory of o.g. adult swim.
Great video! Paranoia Agent is one of my favorite anime and you did it justice. However, I think the presence of the otaku is not irrelevant. I interpret it as Kon's way of addressing how some people indulge in escapism, which remains thematically in line with the rest of the series.
Man that was an interesting series to watch as a teenager, I'd love to rewatch it now that I'm older. Might be able to catch things I didn't know before.
Wait, what about Reign The Conqueror? That anime was also on Adult Swim (at least as I recall), now nearly impossible to find, and was like an acid trip with Alexander the Great thrown in there for some reason.
Humans were not meant to live without meaning. Nietzsche said "He who has a 'why' to live for can bear with almost any 'how'." Some people bore through the worst that the Soviet Gulags or the Nazi concentration camps had to offer, and still came out the other side full of life, with joy to share. That's because they had a sense of significance to carry them through. When you contrast their suffering with that of Little Slugger's victims, it's no contest. And it's no wonder the characters would want to manufacture some sort of meaning behind their circumstances. It's not some debt or fear of personal embarrassment that takes these characters out. It's a void of meaning. This anime's insight into the human condition is admirable.
love to see this and have it get the attention it deserves I'm super jealous of you and your dvds I've been trying to collect all the Adult Swim and Toonami shows for years on dvd and I can't seem to find those particular dvds anywhere so like you I hope they get rescued from limbo as well they deserve the title of anime classic as much a other anime too
I remember watching Paranoia Agent back in my late teens, and even though I wouldn't put it in my top 10 anime list, it's moral that we all must face reality stayed with me. Now I get about creating your own little world to escape reality for a pseudo happiness, but what if you had the ability to manipulate the reality you live in and create your own happiness (like making wishes for examples)? Is it equally wrong, or at least fall under the same level of running away from your problems and showing that your too weak to face what's actually there?
I've had my copy for years. Glad I have it. I did not realize it was so rare now. It is among my favorites. Knowing that it is "leftover" ideas....matters not at all to me. I am not even sure why it would. Does everything need to be some grand scheme to make it more significant?
Few years back : Ah man I really liked pilot candidate as a kid I wonder if Sage is gonna review it....ohhhhhhh.... This year: Man I sure did love Android Kikaider I wonder is Sage likes it as we...... ohhhhhhhh.......
I like the idea of pilot candidate but I think the writers should get back together and sorta reboot the IP and improve what was good and fix everything that was bad.
Fun fact: this was one of the late Robin Williams' favorite anime.
With his performance in One Hour Photo, that explains a lot.
This is the one series that justifies anime to me. One of the most comprehensive and multi-faceted critiques of Japanese society (and modern society generally) ever made. The episode centered on the anime studio slaving away on the Maromi series is just savage. Who working in that industry wouldn't have wanted to get all that out? "The burden of responsibility" is right. Kon was a true genius.
I agree... Its funny that this was made at the advent of social media, kinda predictive
Apparently Robin Williams was a fan of this anime, even had a signed copy of the DVD.
"I wanted to avoid spoilers"
The detective's character arc: Am I a joke to you?
'Lil Slugger: A meme given life. That premise alone could carry a show but the anime still broke ground by exploring characterization and social disorders. That episode set in the animation studio is jaw-dropping brilliant and my favorite of the series. Horror is hard to do in animation but that episode pulls it off even with its comedic beats.
I agree. There aren't that many anime that I would consider a decent horror. It's hard to create horror in animation.
Lil Slugger was a demonic meme at that. I never fully understood the suicide club episode until I recently rewatched the series and I think it's there to help establish that there are indeed paranormal/supernatural events going on in the series even though it started off as a psychological event. In short; because so many people begin to believe in little slugger, reality gets warped, and he actually manifests. Love it.
If there is anything this anime taught me is that no matter who or what you are paranoia can lie in anybody whether it be dormant or put on full display. It’s how you deal with it that determines who you are
Spoilers:
When I first saw this anime, seeing how Lil Slugger was manifested by the people reminded me of an old saying. "Repeat a lie enough times, and eventually enough people will start to believe it".
Except in this case, it is taken to more of a literal extreme, where belief can make fantasy, A reality.
To me, Satoshi Kon is one of the most underrated Japanese animated directors. It's sad that he's no longer with us :(
The brightest stars burn the fastest.
I've seen his work and have to agree. He was one unique aminator and storyteller.
RIP, Kon-san, you are missed and always remembered.
I HAVE BEEN WAITING 4 YEARS FOR THIS DAY
Was it worth it?
MAY YOU SAVOR IT
Glad to a comment of this kind after 6 years.
Him just airing out all his unused ideas makes a lot of sense for one of the most memorable episodes, because it has so little to do with Lil Slugger. It’s about three people agreeing to a suicide pact, but when the two men meet the third, it turns out to be an 8 year old girl. What proceeds is wacky hijinks as the men try to ditch the girl while still committing suicide, often sabatoging their attempts to keep her safe. And oh yeah, there’s a twist.
It’s strangely morbid but much more upbeat than the rest of the series. A juxtaposition of tragedy that comes off as surprisingly hopeful.
Also, one thing that’s interesting about the show is that a lot of the people who feel trapped, aren’t good people. Corrupt cops, pedophiles and adulterers, selfish and greedy and liars. It kinda warranted that the relief Lil Slugger brings, doesn’t last. There’s only a few people who genuinely did t deserve what’s happening to them. Like the young woman who discovers her loving father is lusting after her, spying on her.
Arella Jardin I think in her case, it was more a mercy she got attacked since she lost her memory. Though realistically child protective services need to get involved fast.
So this time I was on Duty in the Marine Corps I had my laptop out watching paranoia agent. The MSgt in the duty hut said, "oh watching that hentai on duty uh?"
I say its just some anime right as the new episode opens to a sex scene....he laughed, said "okay, sure" and walked out. Never looked at me the same again....lol
A Marine has no friends while on duty.
the OP song for this series is both majestic and haunting.
Majestic! That’s the perfect word for it
two years after this video,Funimation would rescue the license. I suppose Sage upgraded it to a Bluray copy by now.
One of the best Mind-Fucks of anime.
That opening…
ruclips.net/video/-anabfAg06U/видео.html So good
I mean, it mentions Mushroom Clouds. As in ExPlOsIoNs. Yikes.
I physically couldn't watch this series for more than 10 minutes, it was so depressing it made me want to vomit. Couldn't read Fight Club for same reason too. There's so much terror and sadness in real life, what's the point of glorifying it in media?
The Ending of Paranoia Agent is "St Elsewhere".
@The Science of Violence nice profile name, really. Yeah, you're right. But for me Paranoia Agent was harder to watch than is₹$ executions. It made me physically unwell.
> Director is dead
> Companies who made it are dead
> It's expensive
So basically it's completely OK to pirate this. My mind can't be changed.
Paprika and Tokyo Godfather's has their own Blu Ray release
Brayan Argandona Florentino now perfect blue
Literally can watch it on RUclips for free
Funimation, animego, or Discotek will save it. Them or it becomes a Netflix original Anime
Such great times these were, going from Saturday Anime on SciFi to Toonami anime block and the unique anime of Adult Swim. Times we will likely never see again on TV.
And now it;s come full circle, back to adult swim Toonami right now!!
Huh. Had no idea my Paranoia Agent DVDs were worth so much. Thanks for the heads up, Sage! xD;
How much you want for them?
keiichimorisato98 - Certainly not the $200 USED copies of a vol 1-4 box set!
I lost a bid at $185.
Wrath's Heinous Anus Was Devoured by Happy Scrappy - New (of the vol 1-4 box set) are going for $400.
I guess I have to be really careful not to damage the DVDs I have of some episodes, even if I couldn't (or rather, shouldn't) sell them even if I wanted to.
Context: Paranoia Agent and some other animes aired in the middle of the night on weekdays here in Sweden, so I asked my DVD player to record them for me. Then I could watch the episodes after school, and being the diligent girl in a family with a long tradition of recording movies on VHS I also edited out the commercial breaks, divided the recordings into individual episodes and then compiled them on DVD discs.
Really glad I did that now, I would have been heartbroken if I didn't and then found out how hard those episodes are to find.
@@helenanilsson5666 gj. Probably should transfer them digitally since the tape's film does eventually degrade over time
I watched this anime at a Hotel when I was super young and riddled with insomnia, a three month stay in a crappy suite.
I was up way too late every night and the Adult Swim anime block is where I saw that Scene in FMA; yeah, THAT one. Not fit for a 7 year old at all, that night's Edwaaaard was quickly followed by Paranoia Agent which was just so surreal and the vulnerability in my child like mindset of 'no one can get hurt' caused by FMA moments before.
I only half got the anime at the time, the scares and imagery more than the thought provoking aspects but the image of Shonen Bat followed me for a LONG time indeed, it was the first exposure to non-slasher/trendy horror and it crept into my mind for years, I associated thinking horror with Shonen Bat forming how I saw horror media and later psychological aspects in all media.
I later rewatched it years after and it hit me like a truck; the whole thing just made so much sense and changed my opinion on it; it wasn't just a horror anime. It was an anime about the horror that reality and the disconnects in it could destroy a person.
Since then I've always tried to hold my psyche on a tight leash, understand and learn instead speculate on things that disturb me. Because all the power your mind has over you; barring exceptions- is the power you give it.
This anime helped me forge who I am over the years; and I will always love it for that. Thank you for reviewing this Sage. Nostalgia is so rare for me, I just have such a small niche of media I can look at in that lens but this one anime is just. Important to me, important to how I conduct myself and important to how I see the world. The strength this anime imparted on me both when I didn't understand it on a deeper level and later when I did; helped me grow as a person, this was my first real anime.
Sincerely. Thank you Lord High Regent Sage, may your rule be ever long.
I enjoyed reading your comment. I've had similar experiences reading the book series, "Dune" and "Stranger in a Strange Land," and with anime like "Ghost in the Shell" and "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind." Take my Like! :D
There are so many levels to this anime it's impossible to cover them all. Loved reading your comment as well. One of the things that blew me away when i recently rewatched it as well was how pathological lying can become. A lie is not only a distortion of the truth, it's a distortion of reality itself. I think the final episode really got me good with the detective making that remark to how devastated the city looked by relating it to how he remembered the city had looked after the second world war. That society too had chosen to believe in a lie and it led to similar results.
Hello from the future, Paranoia Agent has now been saved by Funimation
Thank you New Generation Pictures!
I saw this right after watching serial experiments lain and man was that one introspective as hell summer
'Next time'
Oh I remember that show.
......I had no idea what was going on in that show, probably moreso than Paranoia Agent.
due to its limited amount of episodes for both the first and second series, Kikaider had a very....stagnated story that was all about the "what it means to have a soul" bs.
CamsEyeView - Android Kikaider while imperfect is not that awful. After rewatching, it’s still serviceable when compared to other anime from this channel.
Epi 1-13 has its share of problems though:
>> Clunky or repetitive script in some areas
>> Some scenes repeat too often, as if we the audience forgot them
>> Annoying child character (esp episode 9)
>> Jino development is at times disorienting - some things he doesn’t know then learns (given), but there are things that he knows but were never taught (bike riding)
Same! Man, I feel old now.
Samurai Champloo and OG FLCL were both on Toonami within a couple years ago. (OG FLCL was on Toonami this year, in fact. Of course it was in preparation for Progressive and Alternative.) As well as Outlaw Star. (Plus the apparently banned episode.) So it's entirely possible that Toonami'll be able to pick this up.
what an awesome series man, Kon was truly a master of his craft. Perfect Blue is also one of my favourites, and that one is a lot more closer to Lynch's style, specially his 90's movies, like FWWM or Lost Highway.
Makes me glad I caught this series when I did in 2005. I didn't realize it was so hard to find.
Nice to see Suave also doing his part to raise awareness for Movember
The mustache suites him.
ΝΙΚΟΣ ΝΙΚΟΣ isn’t suave just Bennett in a satin bathrobe?
@@Mitwadus shhh... (don't ruin the illusion).
Free rides for the ladies.
Hey Sage, will you be doing S-Cry-Ed anytime soon?
I love that series, Great Cast, Great Sound, and some real tear jerking moments. Looking at you Kirishima-kun. I remember I used to set the VCR to record the episodes and had it timed perfectly so they'd all fit on one tape. As much as I love the other AS classics I think not nearly enough people know about it and would love to bring awareness of it up.
I would argue that this is amongst the deepest and anime that it was ever shown on Cartoon Network and thus went way over the heads of its younger audience at the time.
For me what drew me to this show was being able to watch different episodes where people just crack. I guess that's the idea is to relate to that sense of dread every day life piles on in small bits until everything becomes too much. Definitely understand that better now than when I first watched it.
I love Kon's work. Something about his method makes linear thinking a fast track to confusion. It took several watches to realize what was going on in Perfect Blue. And then you have his classic endgame that straddles a fireworks show of the concepts and total mind screw. It's a shame he is no longer with us.
Personal story of how Little Slugger terrified me horror movie style when I was a kid. When I was young i would often fall asleep with cartoon network on my T.V. I sometimes come under the conditions of sleep paralysis combined with night terrors (known as Night Hag), which meant a heightened increase in fear and paranoia. As fate would have it, this stating of awakening literally petrified with irrational terror once happened the very moment in the anime Little Slugger's monsterous form was revealed to detective Maniwa. No roars, no growls, no movement. Just the monster glaring with red eyes in the dark as I couldn't even lift a finger.
It'd be fun to say this had some lasting effect on me, but really after the overwhelming dread had passed I wanted to see this anime start to finish.
I had a similar thing happen involving the rapping hamsters Kia used for a line of advertisements years ago. It didn't inspire me to watch anything, though.
I sure hope that Paranoia Agent does get a re-release on DVD and Blu-Ray box sets in the future. It was really good and such for a short series with strangest to happen a lot to the characters. You're lucky to get something like this one.
The UK got a Recent Reprint of the dub on DVD.
Funimation later this year is rereleasin it
I got my at rightstufanime.
Suave with a mustache fits him perfectly
The series is a re-release in blue-ray! I do want to check it out sometime!
Its funny the way you were disappointed to learn that major elements of the show were effectively Satoshi Kon's effort to use his leftover ideas from his films and manga, when honestly that just makes me love it even more. Its an aspiring novelist thing, where there are so many ideas and characters I loved working on were finally cut because they were superlative or unnecessary to the story. It feels not only wasteful, but poignant to create them, but have no actual role for them to play, like creating a child but then having to give them up for adoption, if you'll forgive an excessive simile.
Its almost heartwarming that he was able to give those concepts and characters a little role after all, save his discarded ideas from simply being forgotten.
I haven't seen this series before (it's on my ever-growing list), but hearing you talk about it reminded me of shades of "Welcome to the NHK." I'd love to hear you talk about it one day, provided it's within your cut-off.
I love the intro theme to this anime. Such a great song.
This title was always in the back of my head as i watched anime over the years. The surreal opening and the psychological focus on mundane suffering and stress by people of different backgrounds and especially detective ikari's story arc and resolution hooked me. This series along with case closed, the original UC gundam series, and lupin the 3rd kept my interest fresh when i slogged through the moe and slice of life series as i grew older and I've come to respect this series and Satoshi kon for their quality and just how real and surreal it is to witness.
Is Bennett ever going to cover Millennium Actress or Paprika at Some point?
Probably. Paprika passed the ten year cut off date 2 years ago now, so its fair game.
He already has I believe. I remember the Millennium Actress one.
I wish he does Millennium Actress! Really good one
I don't care what anyone says, Kikaider had its moments and "Theme of Gemini" is a fantastic theme song.
Zelkiiro - Still interested in covering the faults I don’t remember since we likely haven’t seen since our teens.
It's from the father of Super Sentai its unofficial sequel became part of VR Troopers
Yeah, the whole soundtrack is banging. The main theme song is downright chilling
"For every penthouse, there is an outhouse."
I was positive the next review was S-cry-Ed when you said that, lol.
i loved the anime when it came on adult swim so much that i actually brought the entire 4 volume series and the box that came with the 1st volume and it came with a marome doll which i gave to a friend of mine and still has to this day and me and my friend recently this year watched the entire series again and i am glad i kept this anime set because like you said it is very hard to get it and i am lucky to have brought it when it 1st came out and the store i brought the 3 additional copies from Media Play no long exist and it was a great place to get manga and anime, but thank you for finally doing a review on this series it needs to be re-released and seen by more people even today's anime fans
.......
Here you go. You must have run out.
The part where you find out the corrupt cop was spying on his daughter getting dressed permanently fucked me up.
Nice! How generous of them.
SFDebris' review of this was my first time hearing about this anime. What a trip!
It’s interesting how the opening credits are hidden spoilers once you have the context, but just bizarro imagery until then.
Sage, I hope before you shave off the 'stache, you record a bunch of future shots with Suave. It fits the character so perfectly
Magnetic Rose was what made Kon one of my favorites, but Paranoia Agent was what made me remember his name.
Clicked for the thumbnail, stayed for the insightful dissertation of one of anime's all time storytelling giants!! Satoshi Kon was always the type that made mature anime without having to resort to blood splatter or needless cursing; something I thought showed tremendous restraint.
I’m surprised you went through that whole review and didn’t talk about the intro... that amazing intro.
Paranoia agent is one of those that constantly keeps you in the uncanny valley. I have long been the type to have fantasy worlds I've made up and characters I've made up. Honestly gore in horror is not what unsettles me, it's the psychological. Because nothing is scarier to me than not knowing whether you are in reality. I struggled with nightmares grotesque in every manner from my first dreams, developed insomnia early on, struggled with PTSD at 13 after my neighbors tried robbing me with kitchen knifes(sent them to prison), struggled with revenge lust and genuine urge to kill after the fucker got out of prison and got my shit, then overcame my anger and fell into a 5 year depression caused mainly by guilt for past actions, since I have been realizing how much beauty there is around us. Dunno why I went on that diatribe, I honestly think I get into a sort of recount loop whenever I bring up that robbery, like just thinking about it makes me envision myself as a feral monster. Everytime I have to stop a robbery/shoplift at work I have to stop myself from completely losing it and tearing the person apart because I start to vilify and compare them to those robbers. Afterwords I usually am shaking and on edge, all I want to do is fight at that moment, yet at the same time I'm terrified of myself and usually recount the whole robbery to whoever is closest.
I wish you could’ve took the time to talk more about Susumu Hirasawa...
that man is a musical legend and his recent album (under the name 核P-Model), 回＝回 is worthy of a purchase or at least a listen. My favorite song on it is HUMAN-LE. Please listen to Hirasawa’s music to those who haven’t listened to his solo works outside of anime OSTs
Heck yes! Susumu is up there with Yoko Kanno, as one of those people who just plain defines everything good people remember about anime music! Some of my favourite non-anime P-Model tracks which are still like a total dreamscape; "Cyborg", "Ooru", "Birds", "East of Timeline", "Homo Gestalt", "Niwashi King"... Seriously, the guy has just been pumping out amazing music for 40 straight years! Y'all owe it to yourself to check him out!
I've been gone for so long that the sage looks like he should be the frontman for a queen cover band. Awesome.
This just reminds me how we missed a great Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldridge movie when Kon passed away.
Well Bennet you got your wish granted. Funi is rereleasing Paranoia Agent on Blu Ray later this year
I like the suicide episode. Very cute
Context is for bitches
I can't wait for my personal suicide episode
@@Revealingstorm. looking to adopt?
It takes a deft hand at writing and characterization to make your audience be able to say "I like the suicide episode. Very cute" and have the rest of the audience go "Yeah! It as adorable! :D"
Happy Family Planning has me so torn...
Could you please review Serial Experiments Lain?
FINALLY!!! A NEW VIDEO WOOHOO!!! MORE POWER TO YOU FROM THE PHILIPPINES hehe
Remember in the 90's when Sci-Fi Channel had their Saturday Afternoon Anime? The one that stands out to me is Lensmen. I'd love to hear your take on a classic anime most have never heard about.
Admiral Thunderbunny I watched lensmen when I was in Saudi Arabia in my childhood It was broadcasted in a local channel there, so it really brings childhood nostalgia back.
Sage is one of Vash Starwind's heroes. Bennet "The Sage" White! You're The Man! Thanks for all of the interesting, informative episodes. You are flipping hilarious. Thanks for all of the laughs! I love Anime Abandon!
You're rocking that mustache, Sage! Love it
I saw a few episodes on Adult Swim as a kid. The intro got me courious about the show. Ive never forgotten it, even though my experence with it was very little. Now as an adult, I bought the Blu ray. I watched it over 2 days. I am a little dissiponted it didnt go how I thought it would but more impressed on how it did go. Its only 13 episodes long. a MUST WATCH series. So strange and desturbing, yet you cant get enough of it!
Sometimes, abandoned ideas make good stories. I can imagine Satoshi Koen was quite talented in creating stories from fragmented ideas.
Tech TV's 'Anime Unleashed' titles in the future? Boogiepop Phantom, Betterman, or Silent Möbius perhaps?
I thought I was the only one who remembered this block!!
@@animem54 Tech TV was a premium cable/satellite channel so there wasn't as much exposure compared to Cartoon Network and other animation blocks in late 90s/early 2000s. It was no Toonami but it was at least interesting.
Definitely don't forget Abenobashi!
@@deathsyth8888 really? I guess I was lucky because I got it on basic cable.
I miss that block so much! remember they played Hack//Sign alot?
It's $30 on Amazon currently for the complete series 😊
This is one of my favorites as well. I've often tried looking for it, just in case a re-release went under my radar, but sadly its just not available anywhere. You'd think some streaming service would pick it up at least. Oh, and speaking about themes of paranoia and such, maybe you should review "Welcome to the NHK" sometime. Its not as good, but its subject matter is somewhat related.
Yaaasss! Not enough people talk about this anime. I love it.
When I first watched it, the fact that it didn't make sense right off the bat (pun intended), is what drew me in and made me keep watching until the end. You get wrapped up in trying to solve the mystery of Lil' Slugger.
Paranoia Agent was my stuff when I was younger. My favorite episode was the Happy, Family Planning one.
This and Boogiepop Phantom were anime were a few of the ones that defined my foray into anime as a college student back in the early 00's. It's too bad Paranoia Agent's now hard to get copies of. Maybe, in the future, this'll change?
Boogiepop Phantom would be a tough nut to crack for a review, but it'd be hilarious to see just how many obscure Prince references people'd spot in there.
"Leftovers good!" ~Quina
And really, if this marvelous show was made out of small tidbits woven into a rollercoaster of emotions almost seamlessly, does it really make it any less impressive in outcome?
I’d say the opening is the opening is the perfect representation of the show as a whole
I think It's not about how we blame fake things for our suffering, but about how you shouldn't make up excuses to not try to face your problems and how the psyche can warp reality.
What about taokeo? What happened to here wasn't her fault just seemed like she had trouble accepting what happened to her and wanted to forget oppose to blame.
Also the teacher with split personaliy felt more about not accepting mental health as a reality and trying to keep it a secrete oppose to not getting help for it. I feel like ignoring mental health and trama plays a big theme as well
Crap i messed up the tutor had a idenity dissociate disorder.
I pushed back watching this review for three days. Why? I because wanted to find time to marathon whole series beforehand. Re-watching all 13 episodes back to back with your review was really something - the show still holds up, in some regards even stronger than in 2005, and the review filled in some gaps I've always wondered about.
Thank you for delivering a commentary that did this masterpiece justice, Bennett!
Also, wow! It sucks that y'all can't find this in the States. I picked it up on R2 DVDs from a dealers' room at an animecon couple years back, so that came as a shock to me.
It looks like Funimation might have saved this
I loved this series, wish I could find a copy or that it would get picked up for re-released. I'm surprised that there was no comment about the opening sequence of the series. I always found it fascinating.
Oh, Paranoia Agent...
On Spain, it was broadcasted around the same period of time (2005/2006) on a Public Adult Space called "Cuatrosfera +18", which practically was an Adult Swim, but public.
I never saw it on its original broadcast, practically because I was by then a 6-7 years old kid.
But I saw it finally on 2016. I knew the show thanks to a Chilean reviewer called "El Reviewer Random", who made a video about the show on 2013. I wanted to watch the show by then, but I knew I was too young for understand it.
And when I finally saw it... It blew my mind.
For years, it was practically my favourite anime of all (Now on 2nd position, winning 'Black Jack' The Original TV Show).
--
Btw, in Spain it is also kinda expensive. At the moment, its first price was 45€ (Around 50$). Now, the price is just 40€. It's still being expensive.
Oh thank god someone else actually remembers this series exists. Once again thank you Bennett for reassuring me I'm not mad and that someone else watched and loved these older anime. Though i don't often agree with you its nice to hav someone that remembers stuff from before 2005
One of my favorites! Glad you spoke so highly of it. Seems like it’s been mostly forgotten.
Whoa! Didn't know you made it onto RUclips sage, great to see ya back! Also dude you look good!
Paranoia Agent also has the best opening for any TV show ever.
Not any anime. ANY show.
I will never forget the day the anime Gods truly blessed me with a clearance sale at FYE when they were going out of business. They had the box set of Paranoia Agent for $20. Perfect working condition, and unopened, despite being marked second hand. It's been one of my treasures ever since then, even though it is like pulling teeth to get people to sit down and watch it with me. They don't seem to have the patience, or the curiosity, that I would expect something like this would engender in a person the way it did for me. The takeaway being such a unique message has always stuck with me in so many ways, and as a short story writer, it assured me that my craft of choice can and would be appreciated by the right people if the Right audience was found. Not to mention, the opening gave me chills every single time, and even now, I can't bear to skip over it. Paranoia Agent is a true work of art, and as you said, I truly hope more people will be able to enjoy this masterpiece.
I have been waiting for this review! This series defined my Adult Swim experience and I swear by it as one of my all-time faves! I loved your take on it and agreed with a lot of the points (though I personally related more with Tsukiko's story the first time I watched it). I'm definitely going to rewatch this one soon!
Also, I'm sad that Kikaider is considered one of the stinkers...
Is one of the cops voiced by the original Vampire Hunter D, Michael Mcconihie?
I agree with the review wholeheartedly. And had a similar experience when I watched it on Adult Swim years ago. It was indeed an addictive show. And one that today is considered binge worthy. Love it
R.I.P. Satoshi Kon.. I love Paprika..
After learning how rare it is, I feel weird that I was able to grab a copy of this from my local HMV. Also I watched it from start to finish and I felt like it really went off the rails at the end but I suppose that was the point
7:14 "I'm in here damn it!"
i remember this show very well. i used to stand up late at night to watch this around 11:30pm to 1am to catch the new episode. man, those were the days. thank you for the memory of o.g. adult swim.
Great video! Paranoia Agent is one of my favorite anime and you did it justice. However, I think the presence of the otaku is not irrelevant. I interpret it as Kon's way of addressing how some people indulge in escapism, which remains thematically in line with the rest of the series.
Man that was an interesting series to watch as a teenager, I'd love to rewatch it now that I'm older. Might be able to catch things I didn't know before.
Review milk Chan
I kinda want to see him review it to actually.
No that's for Suave.
Its basically Japanese ATHF only even lazier.... and done.
@@Terminalsanity
Lol
Wait, what about Reign The Conqueror?
That anime was also on Adult Swim (at least as I recall), now nearly impossible to find, and was like an acid trip with Alexander the Great thrown in there for some reason.
Humans were not meant to live without meaning. Nietzsche said "He who has a 'why' to live for can bear with almost any 'how'." Some people bore through the worst that the Soviet Gulags or the Nazi concentration camps had to offer, and still came out the other side full of life, with joy to share. That's because they had a sense of significance to carry them through. When you contrast their suffering with that of Little Slugger's victims, it's no contest. And it's no wonder the characters would want to manufacture some sort of meaning behind their circumstances. It's not some debt or fear of personal embarrassment that takes these characters out. It's a void of meaning. This anime's insight into the human condition is admirable.
love to see this and have it get the attention it deserves I'm super jealous of you and your dvds I've been trying to collect all the Adult Swim and Toonami shows for years on dvd and I can't seem to find those particular dvds anywhere so like you I hope they get rescued from limbo as well they deserve the title of anime classic as much a other anime too
Wait, weren't those gossiping old ladies the same ones in Tokyo Godfathers? Or is it just me?
No wonder why I thought you talked about this anime! You mentioned this anime on your Top 10 Anime. I forgotten about that.
Ah this one brings back memories. I remember being super confused the first time I saw this one.
I remember watching Paranoia Agent back in my late teens, and even though I wouldn't put it in my top 10 anime list, it's moral that we all must face reality stayed with me.
Now I get about creating your own little world to escape reality for a pseudo happiness, but what if you had the ability to manipulate the reality you live in and create your own happiness (like making wishes for examples)? Is it equally wrong, or at least fall under the same level of running away from your problems and showing that your too weak to face what's actually there?
I've had my copy for years. Glad I have it. I did not realize it was so rare now. It is among my favorites. Knowing that it is "leftover" ideas....matters not at all to me. I am not even sure why it would. Does everything need to be some grand scheme to make it more significant?
This is my favorite Satoshi Kon work so far! It used to be Paprika, but there's just something about Paranoia Agent that deeply calls to me.
I wish "Paranoia Agent" would get a NA blu-ray release!
Few years back : Ah man I really liked pilot candidate as a kid I wonder if Sage is gonna review it....ohhhhhhh....
This year: Man I sure did love Android Kikaider I wonder is Sage likes it as we...... ohhhhhhhh.......
I like the idea of pilot candidate but I think the writers should get back together and sorta reboot the IP and improve what was good and fix everything that was bad.
At least in the UK it's not too hard to get the dvds of this show, I think it only ever came out in complete box set form.