Paranoia Agent Volume 4

And so ends another Satoshi Kon masterpiece, another befuddling mixture of fractured story telling, surreal visuals and subversive social commentary. Paranoia Agent sure is intensely thought provoking but also- and most essentially- it is entertaining. The frequent moments of black humour and a quirky, ever changing drawing style elevate the story above pretentious artsy territory and instead allow Kon to express his thoughts on modern society in an accessible, compelling way.

Paranoia Agent starts out as a slightly weird crime mystery, but ends in apocalyptic fashion with Tokyo being literally submerged in a supernatural flood of black paranoia. The series concludes having successfully expressed its key message, though question marks and confusion still hang over a lot of what is physically going on. I’m satisfied enough with this ending to spend hours thinking about what it all meant, but I would have loved a slightly clearer (damn near scientific) explanation to be able to put this series to bed.

The key theme (as hinted throughout the show) is escapism; Shonen Bat delivers his victims salvation with a whack to the head. These are people who have been pushed into a corner and have no where left to hide so rather than face reality, they need someone like Shonen Bat to temporarily stave off real life so they can continue running from the truth.

Previous to these episodes, Shonen Bat’s intervention appeared to be for the best, he was saving his victims from outright insanity by providing them with an escape from the stress. Here we begin to understand that his escapism is mere delusion; a temporary stop gap that eventually only makes matters worse.

At this point parallels are drawn between Shonen Bat and Tsukiko’s cute pink mascot doll Maromi. Maromi is now enjoying a wide-spread cult in Japan; even a new anime TV series starring the doll has just launched to an excited public; violent riots emerge when Tokyo’s shopping malls run out of Maromi merchandise.
Just like the desperate people who call on Shonen Bat to escape their lives, the gigantic fan base of Maromi idolises him for the same reasons. This outpouring of dark emotion (all linked through young Tsukiko) inevitably leads us into Paranoia Agent’s supernatural, symbolic conclusion.

The animation seen in these final episodes is outstanding. Madhouse has done a fantastic job in presenting such a fluid, experimental and stylish look for Paranoia Agent. Rarely will you find such an acclaimed series that so effortlessly flicks between surreal fantasy and gritty realism, and it is this marriage of subversive visual quality, almost a distilled illustration of Kon’s jumpy narrative technique, that makes Paranoia Agent such a joy to watch.

In Summary

Prepare your brain for the assault of Paranoia Agent’s final three episodes; this series has made its name on offering up bizarre and surreal mystery and the conclusion doesn’t disappoint on these fronts. I have rarely come across a series that looks as consistently attractive, different and creative as Paranoia Agent and provided you are willing to spend time thinking about what is happening, this is a series that symbolises a lot of what is wrong with modern society. Paranoia Agent may not answer every question it poses, but it conveys its general theme with stylish aplomb.