I'm not consider myself to be a "shallow" audience who only like simple, thoughtless movie. I enjoy sciences of sleep, pan labyrinth, meeting John Malkovich, and other absurd imaginative movie. And I also consider myself to be anime appreciator, Cowboy Bebop is one of my most favorite I already watched it for more than 5 time.But Paranoia agent is too much for me, not because it is too deep, or too thoughtful,or too intelligence but because it is too stupid and ridiculous. I'm confuse after watching this movie not because the complexity of its meaning but because it have no meaning at all in conclusion. Early episode seems promising but when it is reach to episode 5 things going too nasty from there, my mind is tired not because I feel the author playing with my mind or blow up my mind hardly, but because I feel the author actually fooling my mind with his over wild yet childish imagination.However the early episode seems stunning and solid yet very very very disturbing (but I'm alright with that as long as it have something to offer), it seems fruitful and promising, but as the series goes I know it all just a pseudo it just a fake impression of intellect. The author lost his creativity and ruining whole of it. I really feel that I already waste my life time by watching this film. Don't be fool with the appreciation of the fan boy regarding this movie, because this is the very reason I watch this movie with high expectation.But it really ruin my mood, my time and energy. Unless you want to do experiment on watching a weird illogical movie, don't watch this especially if you want movie that at least have a thin ground of logic as its foundation, but it have everything inside it except logic, it totally absent on it. If I have to picture this movie with one word it will be: sick!

The series starts off with a mysterious attack by an unidentified baseball wielding perpetrator on a young graphic designer. With this the mystery begins, the perpetrator is labelled 'Li'll Slugger' by the media and then a series of other attacks happen across Tokyo. The next is a young middle school pupil, then a corrupt cop. We shift time scales and narratives even realms of consciousness to eventually a final showdown to the root cause of Li'll Slugger's reign. Many unexpected twists happen along the way, each episode is dedicated to a different character.This amazing series by the late great Satashi Kon has all the hall marks of his best work: satire, artistry, pathos and strong character development. The satire in this series is jet black and aimed squarely on Japan, in many ways this series can be read as an artistic poke at modern Japan's cult of weird. Everything is lampooned in this series from kawaii cartoon characters to ritual suicide. It seems that Kon has drawn up a list of many of the weirdest facets of Japanese culture (at least to the eyes of a western audience) and enthused them into this script under the guise of a crime thriller. With all the narrative changes and the strong emphasis on shifting characters, the actual final showdown is a bit of an anti-climax. However it is clear that this series is not intended to be viewed as a completed narrative piece. The series is more about segments with the main thread holding the series together being a focus on modern Japan's counter culture fetish, by the final episode most of what Kon has set out to lampoon has already been achieved, with the finale merely offering a sense of closure rather than revelation.In my opinion this is Japanese animation at is best, Satashi Kon was a genius, he understood that anime can be challenging, political and in some respects a greater medium than movies. It is fair to say that all of his works attempted to bridge this gulf between anime and art, and never is this more evident then in Paranoia Agent. Of all the great Japanese animators Kon was the most creative, cinematic and consistent. Despite the fact that Kon has only a hand full of full features to his name, his impact on modern cinema has been far reaching. Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan are two examples of Hollywood directors who hold Kon in high regard, both directly referencing the work of Kon in their own; Perfect Blue for Aronofsky and Paprika for Nolan. It is no coincidence that both men are two of the most creative and imaginative minds working in movies at the moment.Paranoia Agent is a fine example of Satashi Kon's genius and offered a glimpse at what Kon could have achieved if his life wasn't cruelly cut short. Paranoia Agent is a rare treat and one to be savoured.

When I first got to watch this show on Adult Swim,It was really killer,I have to say that out of all the anime that Satoshi Kon has created,this one is an ace in the hole. I only got to see the first 2 episodes,and they were very interesting. But when the show went off the air on Adult Swim,I had to see it again,and that's when I decided to buy it. When I started collecting the series on DVD,it was even more better. My favorite characters in the series were Keiichi,Tsukiko,and Maromi.My favorite episode in the series was the Happy Family Planning episode.I also want to say that this series is not suited for children,and can also give them nightmares. So if you want to see something killer,then this series is up your alley. And be careful when watching this series,it can mess with your head.

This is a very, very deep series that most people (myself included) will not understand it the first time they see it. It is, quite simply, a masterpiece. With the attacks coming, and slowly narrowing down suspect (occasionally, anyway) and the big twists right in the middle and in the final few episodes (maromi isn't just a stuffed animal) this show keeps the surprises coming. The ending is powerful, even if the epilogue bit is a bit cheesy. You will want to buy the DVD just to see everything again and again. I have not seen a better TV series ever. The rating is really of no consequence, you could probably show this to anyone, even kids, though they would get scared and not understand anything other than the kid smacking people with the bat.