Of all the works of Satoshi Kon Paranoia Agent is the one I understand the least and that is an undeniably good thing.
After making his 3rd film, Tokyo Godfathers, Kon had a lot of
leftover ideas that he wanted to use. “Paranoia Agent” is the child of
those ideas. The series follows a group of people living in Tokyo and
their interactions with each other after a series of attacks by a young
boy with a baseball bat known as Little Slugger sweep the city. The
interesting thing about “Paranoia Agent” is that there is no real
central character. Each character gets his or her own time to shine in
the events of the series and relate to the others in one way or
another. If there’s one word I’d use to describe Paranoia Agent’s plot
it would be confusing, but I mean that in the best of ways. Every
episode will leave you confused one way or another but most things are
explained by the end of the show’s 13 episode run. I think that’s one
of the things I appreciate the most about Paranoia Agent. Kon had a
story to tell and made no side trips or tangents in his telling of it
unlike so many anime shows that prolong the lifespan of their show by
filler episode after filler episode. There may be portions that seem
nonsensical at first like the absolutely bizarre episode 4 but
everything is there for a purpose and will ultimately be resolved by the
show’s end.
There’s not much more I can say about the plot without spoiling
anything so I won’t even attempt to but it goes without saying that this
show is dark and very uncomfortable at times. The characters have many
layers, ranging from thought provoking to downright evil. Kon is
obviously not afraid to be political or deal with uncomfortable, taboo
topics in society. There is a wide range of characters here which is
refreshing and it’s interesting to see how he weaves them into each
story he tells over the show’s run. And what a run it is! Paranoia
Agent’s story has so many twists and turns, some great, some unlikely,
and others downright bizarre. If I have one complaint with Paranoia
Agent it’s just that; the plot at times is too weird for its own good.
Some elements are cool and make sense in the context of the world
presented but some, especially as the show gets closer to its finale are
downright weird and made me wish that some things were left
intentionally unresolved so the audience could create their own meaning
behind it.
The animation is pretty standard for a japanese tv show. The quality
is good. Occasionally there are people in the crowd who don’t seem to
move or blink but that’s to be expected. The characters are
well-designed and have a lot more personality than traditional animes.
The voices are also pretty typical for an english dub. They are not
bad, just not particularly memorable but Paranoia Agent is more about
the mystery of the story then the acting anyways. Arguably the most
problematic thing about Paranoia Agent is its availability. The US DVD
set had an incredibly limited release and prices are now around $200 for
the thirteen episodes which is crazy even by anime standards. It’s
not available on Netflix Instant or Hulu but I was able to find all the
episodes in English on Youtube and watch it that way but who knows how
long that’ll last. My advice is watch it while you can. It’s a great
show for those wanting a dark, mystery series that isn’t afraid to be
controversial, just be warned that it’s not for kids.
4 out of 5 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment