Môsô dairinin Online

I saw the Japanese audio version with English subtitles.

This is definitely a series for mature audiences. It's not afraid to go into unhappy situations and unpleasant characters, and show people battling with their various dysfunctions. Very psychological and surreal. If you've never seen Satoshi Kon's other works before, be prepared to initially go "What the...?". (Actually, I was still saying that more than halfway through this series, but that didn't stop me from watching it almost completely straight through.)

Satoshi Kon has a distinctive style of delving into people's heads and meshing reality with fantasy. After first viewings of his works, I always get the feeling I'm going to have to go back several times and figure out everything I didn't catch.

On the whole, this series is very deep and dark, but there are many humorous moments. Some of the episodes depart from the "main" characters and go off in really creative directions. It's not the best series I've ever seen, and it's certainly not for everyone, but it's good. If you are looking for something really different and are up for the mental stimulation, this is it.

I caught this series by accident on Cartoon Network, but I was instantly hooked. This series tackles more weighty topics than almost any live-action drama on television today, and does so with rare intelligence.

Throughout this parable of a city struck with fear over a (possibly imaginary) serial assailant, the show presents some powerful insights on the terrible price of repression, on the thin line between reality and perceptions, and on the fragility of social order. The inter-twining stories of the victims are both entertaining and thought provoking.

This series does not feature giant robots, monsters, or big breasted magical girls. Nor does this narrative stick to simple, linear story lines with obvious heroes and villains. This is a challenging but very rewarding look at the darker side of modern society. It is unlike any anime series I have seen, and I recommend it highly.

PA is a wonderfully beautiful and mind boggling trip into the minds of people.

People who deal with real problems. There's no alien invaders, no demons, no ghosts, no monsters. Only themselves. There's no gratuitous nudity, no fanservice, no sexual innuendo, no awkward teen hero.

We are given one Miss Tsukiko Sagi, creator of Moromi, a popular dog character that everyone loves and has merchandise of in one form or another (think Hello Kitty). One night walking home, she is attacked by an unknown assailant, to be forever known as Lil Slugger, a boy on rollerblades with a baseball bat.

So begins a series that will make your eyes bug out and go "Huh!? I don't get it?!" Don't worry, its like that. Its a great 13 episodes with an emotional and powerful climax thats a metaphor for life itself.

A MUST SEE for anyone in general, even if you don't like anime, this is a masterpiece.

I began watching Paranoia Agent when it premiered on Adult Swim late night a couple of months ago. Needless to say, this show has freaky moments and it will leave you questioning the sanity of the characters, as well as your own.

The story begins with a doll maker named Tsukiko, who constantly feels pressure at her work place from her boss, her fellow co-workers, everyone. Then one night, Tsukiko is attacked by an evil-grinning kid with gold Rollerblades and a baseball bat. Tsukiko wakes up in a hospital and it seems the attack has changed her. But did it change her for better or for worse? As two Japanese detectives are brought in on the case, they discover a rash of other assaults from various other people who range from a snobbish elementary school kid, a nosy tabloid reporter, a crooked cop, a teacher with a double identity disorder and so on. Besides almost suffering from nervous breakdowns and strings of paranoia, they all have one other thing in common: their assailant is the same person who attacked Tsukiko, Lil' Slugger, the kid with golden Rollerblades and a golden bat. At first, the two detectives can't find any connection to the attacks, but as they dwell a little deeper, one of the cops starts to see a pattern of behavior between the victims and their assailant. As more and more clues start piling up, the cops begin to realize that the suspect could be anyone and it can be no one. The suspect is right in front of them or he could be somewhere down the street.

At first, I thought this show would be a waste of time, but I was wrong. It had me on the edge of my seat as I wondered who Lil' Slugger was and why he has a tendency to clonk people on the heads who are mentally and emotionally depressed. It seems that no matter how hard I tried to figure it out, I just couldn't get a possible answer behind the mystery of the show. Kind of like a detective trying to solve a murder. Paranoia Agent is more like a Japanese version of the Twilight Zone, where nothing is what it seems. This show is not to be missed and it will definitely have you on the edge of your seat, from start to finish. But remember, before you pop this movie into your DVD player, check your sanity at the door. The person that you would least likely expect to be the culprit is possibly the one you should be watching out for.

Hello all! For those who like their anime a bit darker, and as intertwined as ivy that grows up the side of a college school building, then this is for you!

Just so you know, the American release of this series is called: PARANOIA AGENT. If you see it in the store, I'd get it, because once it gets out about how cool this series is, you might not be able to get it!

Having seen "Perfect Blue" and "Magnetic Rose", and trying to get a hold of "Millenium Actress", and "Tokyo Godfathers", I'm interested in any work produced by Satoshi Kon. I love how his work makes the story twist a bit more than the usual, and makes you think harder.

The story, which revolves around a character who only becomes known as "Shonen Bat". Shonen Bat is boy in what looks to be his early teens who wears golden in-line skates, and carries a golden metal baseball bat, that looks like it's tried to slug a wrecking ball. The characters, and their stories intertwine with Shonen Bat and with one another. I give it a 9/ 10, and I HIGHLY recommend seeing this anime.

A simply stunning anime, "Paranoia Agent" is a thoughtfully thought out trip into psychosis and the darker aspects of the human psyche. With a no holds barred approach to its philosophical and occasionally violent story telling, it highlights the very best that is achievable through the medium of anime with a plot line that is as dark as it is witty and as disturbing as it is intelligent. "Paranoia Agent" is one of those few serial creations that will have you hooked from the very first episode and have your mind salivating for more once it concludes, it is supremely assured from its style to its substance and will toy with your mind in the best possible ways.

Set over thirteen episodes of crisply created animation, "Paranoia Agent" is a paranormal, psychological thriller which charts two men in the Tokyo Police Force investigated the sudden spates of attacks of members of the public by an entity known as "lil slugger". With the first attack having taken place on the creator of popular creator of the sensationally cute dog "Mamori", we discover that "lil slugger" is a metal bat waving, rollerblading teenager. As the investigation progresses and the police become more attached to the case and more victims fall at the hands of this crazed child things take a decidedly more "surreal" turn as things become complicated.

Successfully fusing style, ideas, intrigue and compelling characters, Satoshi Kon has created not just one of the best anime's in recent times, but also one of the most sublime series in recent times. "Paranoia Agent" is a powerful tour de force that will veer from moments of you scratching your head to shocking your eyes, through to putting a knife through your heart. It is a study in humanity and the human psyche, handling characters in difficult positions that would in other programmes feel contrived and forced. It stretches the boundary of its environment and the sanity of your mind as you find yourself falling as deep as the characters into this surrealistically normal construct. Satoshi Kon has not merely created something that every fan of anime must surely possess in their collection, but something that certainly deserves wider recognition and broadcasting than that what is has achieved already. This is thought provoking entertainment that rivals recent animated hits like "Broken Saints" and leaves many others reeling in its wake, but "Paranoia Agent" must be seen to be believed and understood. Rollerblades have never been so scary.

I only watched the first episode of this series, ("Paranoia Agent" in English), and it is looking good. The animation, as is always the case with Satoshi Kon productions is excellent. Characters have way more depth than too many of those silly redundant anime. For those of you familiar with Kon's world, you will notice some characters common to his world: the homeless, the working folk, the psychotic killer.

The mood of the show at the beginning is similar to that of the excellent "lain" series. Despite this it is very original in its treatment, though some element or "camera" angles are very much like any (live-action) thriller, in the same way that "Perfect Blue" reflected a classic thriller style. There are also some fantasy bits which will arise in the show if I must believe the walking-talking Maromi doll (a doll designed by the main character of the first show). From the looks of it, this is very much worth seeing.

"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.

Insanity, violence and paranormal activity. This is what we've all come to expect from the late great Satoshi Kon creator of such lovely films as Perfect Blue and Paprika. In this event we have a whole anime series called paranoia agent which is a playground for sex, violence and insanity.

The story starts out with a girl that is attacked by an unknown assailant and then the story goes along to reflect the minds of society's 'victims' leading to a very odd but spectacular climax.

The voice acting is well done on both ends. I preferred the English dub on this one as the voices were well done and I liked the translations better. The sub was very well performed but nothing new for me. I feel that you will be happy weather you are a sub or dub fan.

the story starts off very well drawing you in and maintains a very high level of intensity that stays with out throughout. The individual stories are unique and for the most part very interesting not allowing for you to take time and lose interest.

Of course there are down sides...Sometimes it can get confusing and you start to think "eh? what was that about?" The story also starts to flow off on a rather odd tangent that I feel was a tad unnecessary.

In the end Paranoia Agent is a masterwork with minor but noticeable flaws.

In Paranoia Agent, a mysterious boy starts attacking people with a baseball bat, to put it simply. To put it complexly, it's more than that. It is the greatest anime series I've seen, although I didn't know it at first.

Yes, I was very skeptical at first. The first episode was...well, weird and a bit disappointing to me. It had little point, and just didn't seem to matter that much. But I decided to give this a chance. So I watched the second episode.

Suddenly, all the questions come up. Who is Lil' Slugger? Who will he attack next? Then, the third episode. And by this point, I was hooked.

And director Satsoshi Kon knew I was hooked. With a reality-blending tale not seen since Perfect Blue, he takes you in. He takes dark themes: schizophrenia, suicide, and murder. But he presents them in such an everyday way that it's not disturbing, and, at the same time, it is.

And every episode is different. You could take each episode by itself, and they would stand alone well. But when you put them together, it's incredible. It's mind-blowing. It will have you guessing until the very last second of the very last episode, and even then, you may not know everything.

It is amazing. It is the best. It is a must-see.

10/10

Satoshi Kohn has made a lot of great anime film's like, "Tokyo Godfather's" and"Millennium Actress". But in 2004, he created an anime show titled, "Paranoia Agent".

The story is about a kid named, Lil Slugger, that goes around Tokyo assaulting people at night with his golden Baseball Bat. Now, the Police have to stop Lil Slugger.

The story is great and what make's this show really great is that, in each episode, the people that get assaulted are facing problem's in reality. Like the character, Tsusiko, she's struggling to make the perfect stuffed animal and sometime's her talking stuffed animal, Maromi, help's her. Also, some episode's have good scare's.

The only problem I have with this show is that episode's 8, 9 and 10 were mostly filler episodes.

But overall, "Paranoia Agent", is a great anime show to watch. Even if you're a fan of Satoshi Kohn's work.

This series is something that should be watched in whole, and most people who rate it badly have either not watched all of the episodes or couldn't figure out the meaning of the ending. Towards the beginning, Lil' Slugger is shrouded in mystery and nobody can even begin to guess where the series goes. However, later on we see that things aren't as they seem and the "victims" aren't random targets. All the while two detectives (with very convincing characters) are trying to make sense of the whole thing. While some parts of the series that hint at its overall plot are a bit random (dolls coming to life and blurting out information), the viewer is kept guessing until the last few episodes, where the pieces finally start coming together. The plot is fresh and unique; a welcome break from the repetitive flow of many anime cartoons.

Ignore those low reviews saying this anime is stupid and messy. The plot and hidden messages are extremely difficult to understand so if you are one that prefers straight- forward anime, do not watch this as you will probably just put this anime off as a messy drama about a juvenile assailant like those who rated this show poorly. There is a filler that is fairly out-of-place, but if you are one that pays close attention to details, this will be the best filler you have ever seen, even better than a mainstream anime's canon episode. I rate this a ten because of its deep, hidden, meaning, how it messes with you psychologically, and also because of its complexity. So, once again, those who rated this low just don't understand what this show is about, and you probably won't unless you are an intellectual human being (Or just search it up).

PA is a wonderfully beautiful and mind boggling trip into the minds of people.

People who deal with real problems. There's no alien invaders, no demons, no ghosts, no monsters. Only themselves. There's no gratuitous nudity, no fanservice, no sexual innuendo, no awkward teen hero.

We are given one Miss Tsukiko Sagi, creator of Moromi, a popular dog character that everyone loves and has merchandise of in one form or another (think Hello Kitty). One night walking home, she is attacked by an unknown assailant, to be forever known as Lil Slugger, a boy on rollerblades with a baseball bat.

So begins a series that will make your eyes bug out and go "Huh!? I don't get it?!" Don't worry, its like that. Its a great 13 episodes with an emotional and powerful climax that's a metaphor for life itself.

A MUST SEE for anyone in general, even if you don't like anime, this is a masterpiece.

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.

To me the series examines the psychological breaking point - the line pass which an individual becomes violent to others and/or self-destructive. Essentially, most of the victims of the "Bat Boy" are casualties of their own impaired judgement resulting from a tragedy or isolation. Each one is fighting a personified and externalized demon - a battle in which rare few succeed.

The world portrayed in Paranoia Agent represents the warped reality of a temporarily deranged individual, unable to cope with stress and struggling to come to terms with reality.

Throughout the series, the detective following mysterious bat boy cases is trying to figure out what he's most afraid of and whether he's strong enough to face his own fears.

Paranoia Agent is the "happy place" people go to, and the pain that it brings when the veils are inevitably lifted.

... 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.

When I first heard of this series, I was doubting myself whether Satoshi Kon's "Paranoia Agent" would be worth my time. I've watched "Tokyo Godfathers" and thought it was really great and touching. When I watched "Perfect Blue" I began to think what was the point of the movie... it was just about an actress suffering from hallucinations and there were many unnecessary sexual references. I thought that Satoshi Kon was just wasting his time making the anime. It was pretty pointless and too twisted.

Curious, I started to watch the first episode of "Paranoia Agent". I became interested in it after seeing how modern Japanese citizens run their own lives, while trying to deal with their own problems. The main character, Tsukiko Sagi, is the first to get attacked by Shōnen Bat (Lil' Slugger in English). Folowing next is a series of attacks, also conducted by Lil' Slugger, which are aimed at random people. The mystery here is for the police to solve and try to figure out the connections between the victims. The journey continues up until episode 13.

Viewers are also encouraged to come up with their own theories: Why is Lil' Slugger attacking the victims? Is there something deeper about this case? "Paranoia Agent" explores society issues, and also makes us question whether human emotions and psychological conditions are strong enough to create their own illusions. Is Lil' Slugger even real? Just like other Satoshi Kon films, this series also contains many symbolisms, which help us viewers to understand more about the story.

My last word is, if you like psychological thrillers, then "Paranoia Agent" is a must-watch. If you prefer lighter anime series, then don't (because this series can only be understood by more mature audience). The story may be way too complex and seem like it's going nowhere, but once you start watching it you'll become addicted and try to solve the mystery too.

Paranoia Agent is very obviously the work of Satoshi Kon, the creator of Perfect Blue. It's dramatic, bizarre, downright creepy in some aspects, and very, very engaging.

Centering around the lives of the victims of a golden bat wielding, roller blading delinquent called Shounen Bat (translated as Li'l Slugger in the American series), the series is initially coherent and addictive, but towards the end becomes convoluted and confusing. It is my opinion that the series was meant to characterize the nature of paranoia and illustrate its destructiveness (which it did, from the first episode on).

Despite Paranoia Agent's difficult concept and volleying central characters (each episode has a new main character, though the central focus of the show is undoubtedly paranoia itself), it's intense, scary and a rush just to watch.

This 13 episode anime series is really really GOOD! I was very pleased with this. The artwork and animation is absolutely wonderful. The story is very creepy, psychological, and touching. It's also quite bizarre. Each episode centers on a different character; in the special features, Satoshi Kon calls it Character Relay. And because of the character relay, the feel of the episodes can be dramatically different from another episode. For instance, one episode is quite humorous while another episode acts kind of like a documentary on animation. It also has much suspense and mystery thanks to the mysterious Shonen Bat, or in the English translation, Lil' Slugger. Who is Lil' Slugger? Where did Lil' Slugger come from? It was just an overall very appealing, wonderfully done anime. Yay!

Tsukiko Sagi is a very shy woman who works as a character designer; she has had success with Maromi; a cute pink dog but is being pressured to come up with something new. Then one day she is hospitalised and tells the police she was attacked by a young boy who was wearing gold in-line skates and wielding a crooked gold baseball bat. Soon there are further reports of attacks and the young assailant is dubbed 'Lil Slugger' or 'Shonen Bat' (for some reason the name used in the subtitles switches after the first disc). The attacks are investigated by detectives Keiichi Ikari and Mitsuhiro Maniwa.

Episodes tend to focus of different people; sometimes these characters will only feature in one or two episodes; other times they will be people who had been secondary characters before. As the story progresses we learn more about Shonen Bat and how his victims are selected… then there is a revelation that makes us, and the detectives, question everything we've learnt before.

Viewers familiar with the films of series creator Satoshi Kon will know to expect a story where things aren't always what they seem and delusions and things that are imagined are expertly mingled with real events. The story can be fairly dark at times; the darkest, and surprisingly the funniest, episode involves three people who are determined to kill themselves. In fact this episode is so controversial that the UK DVD release has a mandatory one minute, twenty second cut despite having an eighteen certificate! Thankfully this cut doesn't spoil the episode. In short: this is a great series which is a must see for adult anime fans; the story is gripping, the characters interesting and the animation looks good.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

I didn't watch much of the show when it was on Adult Swim, thinking it was too weird to have any coherent story to it. Having now watched the show from beginning to end about three times, I could not have been more wrong. This show is one of the most imaginative and also terrifying shows I've ever seen. It's great at atmosphere, it can be pretty funny when it wants to be, and the entire show is designed to erode your sense of reality. All this with a decent cast of unique characters and a story that is both whimsical and chilling, I definitely recommend this show to fans of horror everywhere. Everyone else, check it out, but don't blame me if it screws with your head too much

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.

It's a mystery to me why Satoshi Kon's animated Dolmio puppet designs get such a positive reception. His reasoning for making half his characters look like disturbing cast offs from glorified passatta adverts is anyone's guess, and for me personally his stories lack the depth that is so often accredited to them. Paranoia Agent is a good example of this kind of over-hype.

A similar thing occurred to me when I watched Perfect Blue on its release. For the life of me I couldn't work out exactly what it was I supposed to think was so very good about it. The story didn't add up, was impossible to substantiate in a believable universe without attributing dementia to everyone within it, and had character designs far more disturbing than it's own leanings towards controversy. This is exactly the same as Paranoia Agent.

Story 5/10

The series starts out rather promisingly. The albeit very bland (frankly pathetic) main character gets attacked by what becomes know as "shounen bat" or "lil' slugger", or various other things. Struck down whilst under severe pressure at work (she is a character designer who has only had one idea since she was a little girl), she begins a trend for such attacks on similarly distressed people. There is some promise there, and I admit to having been intrigued enough to have higher expectations than before starting the series. After that it completely falls apart. The series is barely held together through its loosely connected and tiresomely formulaic middle-episodes which ultimately amount to an "etc" to what has gone before.

I read an interview with Satoshi Kon which described the 'budding idea' of Paranoia Agent as a collection of ideas left over from his films. Well, that explains a lot. A lot of disjointed concepts in one place, in quick succession, lacking, in my view, any charm or appeal.

Characters 5/10

The characters introduced in the first half of the series are interesting despite their looks. They have at least some level of on- screen charisma, unlike the leading lady whose unspoken pondering on self worth is tedious to the point of embarrassing. The shounen bat character itself is one of the big letdowns of the series. Visually unappealing and lacking in personality. The diversion into preposterous fantasy that his arrest leads to is also one of the worst writing choices made in an anime, from my perspective. Later characters have little to offer. Some are even as boring and faceless as the lead (can you tell I didn't like her?).

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I'm completely sick of this kind of pathetic female anime lead. The limp-wristed, downward looking mute. Rei Ayanami's with no moments of relief. And this character in itself is supposed to carry the series into the brackets of "psychological", or "mindf___". It is far, far too readable to succeed.

Animation 7/10

Apart from the hideous cross between the Wind in the Willows and King of the Hill that are the character designs, the animation quality is generally very high, if (contrastingly) nondescript. Nothing in the mes en scene makes it stand out from other recent series. In later episodes it does experiment with more interesting (though not wholly original) concepts such as animating the backing sheets minus cells, and using a version of puppet theatre to describe a man's ideal world. Whether I am just a sceptic or they were solely used for budget reasons rather than anything artistic I don't know. In any case it has been done before, though I did like the puppet world.

Sound 6/10

OP is nice the first few times (as is the sequence), but gets old. Incidental music is nothing special. Not good, not bad.

Overall 6/10

There's nothing here to bring me back, or anything much that I will remember. Having said that the scenario with the disgusting toad-like old man and his daughter was well put together.

In sum it was not much fun to watch this. In fact in places I wanted to just delete the damn series (relentlessly bad swordplay episode anyone? ). In a way I am glad I finished watching it, though perhaps not so glad that I started it.

To be fair, the last episode was a lot better than I had expected. The story was not surprising in contrast to what several reviewers have said (sorry!), nor was it powerful or did it carry an important message. BUT, if you liked Perfect Blue and similar series/movies, you may well like this too. Plus, it is only 13 episodes long. You could do worse things than watch this.

"When darkness overcomes the heart, Lil' Slugger appears." This story is unique, not only because it puts its characters at the brink of emotional breakdown and pushes them over to free them, but because instead of following the good guys throughout, it follows the villain throughout its many victim's encounters and woes. Lil' Slugger is the villain, in the form of a young child with gold inline skates and a gold bat who attacks those who feel emotionally cornered.The show focuses on the vanity of humans to look for the easy way out in desperate situations, because when someone is emotionally cornered the easy way out is always most appealing. It is later revealed the solution Lil' Slugger offered to the many cornered persons is temporary. Also introduced in the story is the lovable Maromi, a cartoon dog who's adorable looks and kind voice comfort the people of Tokyo. They become dependent on this dog over time and merchandise can be found everywhere you look. The creator of Maromi is the first one attacked, and the key to unlock the secrets behind Maromi and Lil' Slugger.