Paranoia Agent, @_@

[Isaac GS]

I thought they just didn't know those people were there...
They wanted you to think "Fox" was Little slugger, but i'm fairly certain that's not right. Remember, at the end they saw little slugger about to get that person, and chased after him. he ran away from them. Not to mention they did interact with ordinary people a number of times, i believe.

[Sean]

Although they could still be ghosts interacting with people. Though there was a part in that episode when... what's his name... the old guy has a kinda attack in the parking lot that kinda implies that he realizes that he's dead or something.

[Isaac GS]

I wonder when adult swim will start replaying these on weekday nights. that might help us understand what's going on more.

[Arkam]

someone spoiled the ending for me T_T that really sucks.

but i wont spoil it for you guys

[Isaac GS]

lol... I usually have more fun knowing the ending and trying to figure out what happens to get there
EDIT:
So, that was definitely the weirdest one yet... I think i got around half of it XD

This post has been edited by Captain Lunatio on Aug 14 2005, 07:26 AM

[Arkam]

Fox was Lil Slugger. Just not the real one. Kosaka was a boy who wanted to do something big before he commited suicide.

[Isaac GS]

I still think they were trying to mislead you. Because that would then mean that that kid wasn't as delusional as they made him out to be.

[Onemoment]

So....who else just saw this thing end on adult swim?...I think I get it.

[Isaac GS]

Yeah. As usual, they left everything to be explained in the last episode. It makes sense, now.

[DarkMetroid67]

i have only seen a few episodes, this show is just messed up from what i've seen.

[Isaac GS]

They leave everything to be explained in the last episode.

[Onemoment]

Old, but I found this article on this series (LONG):

When this series first started, a lot of people were saying that it was freaky for freaky's sake. And the truth is, there's a lot in this series that's superfluous, with bending of the rules of reality. And a lot of the creepy "fluff" does seem to be there for the sake of being there, but overall, there is a message to be gained from all of it. And a lot of it couldn't be accomplished by adhering strictly to rules of reality - to get the message across, they needed some moments where people had to go "Ok, what the heck is going on?"

But what is the message of this series? Ultimately, after all that mess, and all of that "what the heck is going on"-ing, I think it's actually pretty simple. Here we have a cast of characters who have destructive personal flaws. These personal flaws cause nothing but trouble for them, and they all either try to run away and escape them, or shove them off on other people. Uichi blames the other boy for what happened to him. Marumi tries to seal up her alternate personality and not try to deal with it. Taeko tries to escape her father rather than confront him for his reprehensible behavior, and said father wants someone else to stop him, rather than own up to himself and realize that he's been a lecher and a criminal.

And thus the series gives both these people and their other supporting cast members an escape. An escape that makes these problems disappear, only for them to return in full force, just as badly as before. This is the character of Little Slugger, an unstoppable force that spins out of Tsukiko Sagi's lie - her fear of her own failure and its consequences. This lie, like so many lies real people tell, spins out of control, and becomes bigger. Lies within lies grow, until you can't handle it anymore, and this lie becomes a destructive force that tears people apart.

Little Slugger is this lie. The lie that tears people apart.

The other lie is Maromi, the manifestation of the lie of "it's not your fault." Little Slugger is the lie of blame, while Maromi is the lie of comfort. This lie keeps making you feel like you can escape the other lie, or all your hardships, by trying to be happy when you aren't. This lie also makes you avoid the consequences, makes you ignore reality.

This is also shown in Officer Ikari's dream world. Here, he's living in a world that's nothing but two dimensional, both figuratively and literally. He thinks that this is the world for him, until his wife's spirit appears to him and reminds him that all he's doing is shielding himself. It reminds him of all the things he's left behind, and even if they aren't perfect things, they're still reality. He could have gone on living in that "perfect world", but that perfect world would have been nothing but hollow. The real world may be harder to live in, but it's just that - the real world. The world that's shaped by your failures and your successes, not something that you concocted for yourself.

In the end, the lies of Little Slugger and Maromi only disappear when Tsukiko admits to herself what really happened. When she admits that it was all her fault, and owns up to it. And when it finally happens, the lie disappears, everything unravels, and the consequences are left behind.

Does everyone walk away from Paranoia Agent happy? Ikari seems to be frustrated with his life, and Maniwa is crazy like that old man who I can't seem to figure out. We don't get anything conclusive for the other feature characters, but Tsukiko seems to live a better life, because she's stopped lying to herself, and started living in reality. And even then, it seems that all of these mistakes may be repeated somehow, by other people.

But under it all, the message of Paranoia Agent is this... wake up. Face the world head on. Don't lie. Don't hide. Don't be afraid. Face the facts, and the consequences. It's better than living based on something that isn't real.