Why I like: Paranoia Agent

Paranoia Agent (PA) was one of the first series I ever watched, back in its original run in the US in the mid-2000s. At the time, I was absolutely blown away. It really hit on every point that makes a series memorable to me: a deep, psychological plot, stunning visuals, and a great protagonist. Needless to say, that was in 2004, when my viewing palate was mostly honed on Full Metal Alchemist and Inuyasha. Recently, I went back and re-watched the whole series, and my perception of the series changed dramatically. It’s not groundbreaking: the dialogue is often stilted, the plot is overly trope-laden, and the production quality, especially when factoring in the English dub, is downright cringe-worthy at times. I realized it was pretty much the anime equivalent of Crash (2004), seemingly deep and brilliant at first glance, but incapable of standing up under any critical scrutiny. Despite all of these failings, I realized I still absolutely love this series.

You could write a book about the themes and symbolism in Paranoia Agent, but I will keep this intentionally short. My enjoyment of this series really comes down to the overriding theme: people refusing to take personal responsibility for their actions and then having to face the consequences. Either they are taken over by their denial and selfishness in a whirlwind of torment (ie Little Slugger) or they accept the consequences of their actions (ie Detective Ikari). Each character gets lost in their own subjective, post-modern view of ‘their’ world and role. It’s always someone else’s fault. The opening and closing scenes of the show reflect this as it cuts into a swathe of echoing voices yelling and screaming, “It wasn’t my fault!” To this day, I haven’t seen anything else that quite addresses this post-modernist attitude of deflecting responsibility that has become so prominent in Western society.

In my opinion, the best part about how they handle this theme is in Detective Ikari. He’s one of very few characters to do the noble thing and accept the consequences for his actions, for his failures. One of the most poignant points of the show is when he starts destroying his illusionary world, saying, “There is no place for me in the world, and I’ll just have to accept that.” It’s not glamorous; the show doesn’t try and sell the right thing as easy. Ikari loses his career, his wife, everything.

I don’t expect this series to resonate with everyone. Paranoia Agent has a lot of problems; there is no denying that. However, personal responsibility is a theme I hold in high regard for a lot of different reasons. It functions as one of the cornerstones of my personal philosophy, and it is enough to keep Paranoia Agent afloat as one of my favorite series of all time.

 NOTE: The Japanese version is significantly more watchable due to the lack of the horrific English voice acting. However, the fansubs are pretty godawful, so it is a definite trade off.