• 5Aug 05

  "Paranoia Agent" ends. ...For me.

  Some shows are so good, that one will do just about anything to see the next episode as soon as possible. Well, I got Paranoia Agent (and a few other anime items) on DVD a week ago, and watched the last 4 episodes in one sitting.
  
  That said, I am convinced that PA is one of the best mystery shows ever created.
  
  ****SPOILERS BELOW****
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  Except not quite here.
  
  Just a fair warning so you don't have any regrets: I won't divulge the details just yet, but what I will say in the meantime, is the basic answer to the mystery.
  
  ***READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...SERIOUSLY, THIS TIME***
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  That theory that I conceived in my last blog entry?
  
  It's almost right on the ball.
  
  I kid you not. I'm proud to say that for the first time ever, I've pretty much solved a mystery (and a very difficult one at that.) Lil' Slugger IS in fact a figment of Tsukiko Sagi's imagination. I won't say why, but I will say the number 1 in the old man's equation indeed does apply to Lil' Slugger.
  
  How?
  
  Because the paranoia is produced by ONE person (in this case, Tsukiko Sagi) and then, it spreads like a sickness, as I reasoned in my previous blog entry. The paranoia grows stronger and stronger, which explains why eventually, Lil' Slugger began killing people instead of just knocking them out. (Of course, that's all metaphorical. In actuality, everyone except Ushiyama and Hirukawa was knocked out by THEMSELVES, and not Kozuka.) Ultimately, the paranoia acts like a virus; it starts out small-scale, and then it infects everything.
  
  Hence the title: "Paranoia Agent." Dun dun dunnn!
  
  All in all, the last 4 episodes are great and I will be certain to review them in detail when I have more time. "Paranoia Agent" has been a real blast and I do hope that Mr. Satoshi Kon makes something else that's just as diabolically ingenious in the near future. Or else... *raises bat*
  • Posted Aug 5, 2005 12:20 pm PT
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• 24Jul 05

  The Truth Is...

  What is truth?
  
  "Etc.", episode 9 of Paranoia Agent, helps clarify this (or further distort, depending on the way you look at it.)
  
  So far, to the audience, Lil' Slugger's identity and purpose is an enigma (thanks to contradictory and/or new evidence presented each episode.) Like the audience, the group of gossipers is also speculating as to what Lil' Slugger is up to. Ironically enough though...it is the very idea of the gossiping in the episode that appears to hold a major piece of the puzzle in solving this totally "whacked" mystery.
  
  Every story told in "Etc." deviated completely from the way Lil' Slugger would normally slug someone. This is not to say that they *all* went on wild tangents (most of them did), but there was always something distinct in each of the stories that had an aura of absurdity to it in comparison to the way the Lil' Slugger stories were told in the first 7 episodes (save episode 5, which was like watching a metaphor within a metaphor.)
  
  I'm also guesstimating that when the writer's wife said, "But that's a famous..." (only to be subsequently cut off by the other women), I think she was trying to say that the incident was taken from a famous novel or movie. I don't just say this because it seems like the best fit; I say it mainly because the way the story was presented seemed slightly melodramatic for real life (or rather, anime life.) If this is true, then this would also probably contribute to the "Maromi being popular and acting as a medium" idea somehow.
  
  Another thing that I noticed in this episode was the recurrence of the number 4. First, if you look at how the gossiping women wave their hands, it looks like (to me anyway) that they tuck their thumbs in (hence presenting 4 fingers.) Second, the wall of the nervous student has the number 4 on it. And lastly, the number 4 is heard is when the boxer reaches the 3rd plate of food. Perhaps even more importantly, it is the 4th time he stops that he sees Lil' Slugger with the whole buffet.
  
  What does this mean?
  
  Well...episode 4 was when Kozuka was captured. It's also when Hirukawa DIDN'T get rendered unconscious. To me, episodes 4 and 7 are pivotal turning points. In episodes 1-4, we had standard procedure: people being whacked into unconscious-ness. In episodes 5 and 6, there was a bit of a limbo-like period. In episode 6, specifically, we found out that Lil' Slugger still existed despite Kozuka's arrest. But then, in episode 7, a major turning point: Lil' Slugger kills. And since episode 7, that's what he's been doing.
  
  One could also make the case that Lil' Slugger's power has been increasing every episode, considering the fact that in episode 6, Hirukawa's daughter got amnesia. It's really quite ambiguous at this point as to how Lil' Slugger's power is being altered, increased, distorted, etc. so I'm not going to jump to any conclusions just yet.
  
  Probably the most interesting thing I noticed though, in "Etc." was the abundance of the circle. Yes, the shape. Or at least, a circular-like shape. To be specific: the gossipers' circle, the room that the student was taking the test in, the mother's womb, the baseball players huddling around the pitcher (plus the baseball stadium itself), and finally, the island in the middle of nowhere with the palm tree on it. What is the significance of this? Well...
  
  Two takes on it:
  
  1. Entrapment
  
  and
  
  2. Letting something go on and on so much, that it simply turns into something near-ridiculous.
  
  Perhaps Lil' Slugger is a complete fabrication altogether.
  
  We know that the Old Man's equation beared the number 1 in it. So perhaps Lil' Slugger was just a figment of Tsukiko Sagi's imagination, a stand alone complex (a la Ghost in the Shell) if you will. Tsukiko saw Kozuka somewhere before and imagined that he attacked her(?) Kozuka himself then got wind of Lil' Slugger and began to mimic him via the holy warrior image. Next, thanks to *Kozuka's* influence, the rumor of Lil' Slugger spread even moreso. Finally, with Maniwa playing the role of the messenger, the rumor of Lil' Slugger is spread everywhere. Hence, people began to believe that Lil' Slugger was the person who was attacking people instead of the people themselves. What I wouldn't understand under this theory is how Lil' Slugger's power "increased." Perhaps the more people knew about Lil' Slugger, the more harm they inflicted upon themselves? And if my theory is true, how can the virus that is Lil' Slugger be stopped? Does it have something to do with Maromi, the *other* popular culture item?
  
  It all sounds a bit convoluted, I know, but I think the important thing to remember is that somehow, Lil' Slugger has SOMETHING to do with the idea of 1, and that truth is a very subjective term.
  
  That's my two cents for now.
  
  All in a all, another fantabulous episode with very insightful things to present. I can't wait to see what happens next!
  • Posted Jul 24, 2005 4:59 pm PT
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• 19Jul 05

  "Happy Family Planning, or How I Learned to Make an Ingeniously Twisted Show"

  Episode 8 of Paranoia Agent:
  
  Happy Family Planning? Those writers sure have a sense of wicked, twisted humor.
  
  I'll keep this one shorter. If you thought Paranoia Agent was messed up before, this one takes the cake. The best way to describe this episode is...
  
  "*laughs and shakes head*
  
  Oh my god..."
  
  A nice combination, wouldn't ya say?
  
  Well, it's like that at least until the end of the episode anyway. The fact that even the suicide gang (namely the old man) was afraid of being trapped in a corner was slowly unraveled. At that point, I could feel the secondary, dark forboding tone of the episode coming to fruition.
  
  Everyone keeps saying that this episode has nothing to do with the previous 7, but it definitely does (why else would it be a part of the series?) I mean, of course the episode made a point of proving that even Lil' Slugger was afraid of them, (then again, was that REALLY Lil' Slugger?) and that conversely, even the dead are afraid. But also, remember the radio frequency? Double-trouble? Perhaps it all has something to do with tapping through to the dead (though I doubt that would be the final conclusion.)
  
  Do discuss! Perhaps keeping this post shorter than the last PA post will make you want to say some-
  thing.
  
  
  • Posted Jul 19, 2005 2:46 pm PT
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