... was brilliant.
As much as I love Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments: Lain, I must say that Kon's series is almost as deep and thought-provoking as both shows. Certainly, it was more bizarre than either, but considering the fact that this was Kon's work, that's not too surprising.
Kon's first and only anime series bears quite the resemblance to his latest, but not final (this is his last feature: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555101/), film, Paprika. I came to lose my liking for the film after repeat viewings, but after seeing Paranoia Agent for the first time, I might re-check it again.
The series is basically a satire on contemporary Japan. Anti-escapism message was one of the show's major messages. The way people can become disillusioned by reality and obsess over what is not real in their world. In the show, Maromi, the dog character was an obvious example of escapism in Japan. Maromi=escapism is alluded heavily in the show. A major example is when Det. Ikari retreats into a fantasy reality during the last episodes. When he destroys the false world, all the destroyed objects turn into toy Maromis.
Information, or the flow it, was another frequent theme of Paranoia Agent. Lil' Slugger himself, or itself, is an entity formed from false information and how his presence continues to grow because of the way his existence is presented to one another. Episode 9 even pushes this idea further. In addition to the rumor/gossip thing, there were comments on the media, which presents information the way it wants to. In the series, the way the media manipulates citizens for Maromi promotion is quite a nod to consumerism.
There are ideas of how society actually hasn't progressed much over the past decades. Japan seems to have changed significantly after the war, but has any society ever been perfect, or close to being perfect, in the first place? The series contains considerable amount of commentary on aspects of modern Japan. Many, if not all, of the elements satirized weren't part of Japan many years ago, but does that actually mean people themselves haven't been the same. To quote the Dream Confession at the very end of the series, "In the beginning, a story emerges at the end. After it goes 'round an 'round, it's back at the beginning. If one picks up the stepping stones and connects them together, they form an eternally recurring, infinite prison." All of the characters were very rich and interesting. The first episode didn't really grab me, but episode 2 really made me got into it, as it was the episode that started focusing more on the characters. Seeing each character getting cornered to the point of them desiring to be hit by Lil' Slugger was really something. It's fascinating how many these characters have little to no connection to Sagi, the individual responsible for creating Lil' Slugger, yet be heavily influenced by what she created.
Paranoia Agent is nothing less than a masterpiece. It's not THE best anime series I've seen, but it has plenty of ingenious moments and dark humor that are enough to entertain you while simultaneously keep your mind occupied with twisted ideas the series produces.
As much as I love Neon Genesis Evangelion and Serial Experiments: Lain, I must say that Kon's series is almost as deep and thought-provoking as both shows. Certainly, it was more bizarre than either, but considering the fact that this was Kon's work, that's not too surprising.
Kon's first and only anime series bears quite the resemblance to his latest, but not final (this is his last feature: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1555101/), film, Paprika. I came to lose my liking for the film after repeat viewings, but after seeing Paranoia Agent for the first time, I might re-check it again.
The series is basically a satire on contemporary Japan. Anti-escapism message was one of the show's major messages. The way people can become disillusioned by reality and obsess over what is not real in their world. In the show, Maromi, the dog character was an obvious example of escapism in Japan. Maromi=escapism is alluded heavily in the show. A major example is when Det. Ikari retreats into a fantasy reality during the last episodes. When he destroys the false world, all the destroyed objects turn into toy Maromis.
Information, or the flow it, was another frequent theme of Paranoia Agent. Lil' Slugger himself, or itself, is an entity formed from false information and how his presence continues to grow because of the way his existence is presented to one another. Episode 9 even pushes this idea further. In addition to the rumor/gossip thing, there were comments on the media, which presents information the way it wants to. In the series, the way the media manipulates citizens for Maromi promotion is quite a nod to consumerism.
There are ideas of how society actually hasn't progressed much over the past decades. Japan seems to have changed significantly after the war, but has any society ever been perfect, or close to being perfect, in the first place? The series contains considerable amount of commentary on aspects of modern Japan. Many, if not all, of the elements satirized weren't part of Japan many years ago, but does that actually mean people themselves haven't been the same. To quote the Dream Confession at the very end of the series, "In the beginning, a story emerges at the end. After it goes 'round an 'round, it's back at the beginning. If one picks up the stepping stones and connects them together, they form an eternally recurring, infinite prison." All of the characters were very rich and interesting. The first episode didn't really grab me, but episode 2 really made me got into it, as it was the episode that started focusing more on the characters. Seeing each character getting cornered to the point of them desiring to be hit by Lil' Slugger was really something. It's fascinating how many these characters have little to no connection to Sagi, the individual responsible for creating Lil' Slugger, yet be heavily influenced by what she created.
Paranoia Agent is nothing less than a masterpiece. It's not THE best anime series I've seen, but it has plenty of ingenious moments and dark humor that are enough to entertain you while simultaneously keep your mind occupied with twisted ideas the series produces.