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.

... 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.

"Paranoia Agent" along with shows as "The Maxx" "Twin Peaks" "Riget" and "Broken Saints" is one of my favorite series, and along with "Cowboy Bebop" it is one of the best anime series ever made.The plot of "Paranoia Agent" manages to be surprising and deep, without being pretentious or forced: In many ways, this show reminds me "Twin Peaks" since both shows start with an unusual mystery, but instead of being solemn or super-serious as shows as "Lost" or "The X-Flies" in Paranoia Agent, the thrills and the mystery are combined with the appropriate quantity of comedy and heartwarming moments,and even some bits of cutesy (Though while the plot advances, this cutesy turns dark and creepy) If you like television shows as "Twin Peaks" or "The Maxx" you should definitely give this a look. It definitely deserves more appreciation and recognition.I would give this eleven stars if I could.

Hi everyone!I just finished watching paranoia agent and it was great! I really enjoyed it, though in the end I really didn't understand the cinclusion. I've found a few "This is what I think happened" type explnations, none of them seem to make any sense.Up to a point, I thought I knew what was going on but then the last episode came along and now I have no idea.I should point out that this ALWAYS happens to me. If a movie or TV show has any kind of meaning that isn't pointed out a million times, I'll miss it. I still don't understand fight club at all.Anyone know exactly what the hell happaned in the last episode? What was going on with Chief Ikari's world? Why did Tsukiko suddenly appear there? What on earth was the huge blob? Why did we go back to the start at the end?I'm so confused.