Paranoia Agent is a cult classic series that is primarily known about thanks to its short run on [adult swim] in the early 2000's. Unfortunately, its low episode count, difficult-to-digest nature, and less-than-stellar dub prevent it from attaining the superstar status that other shows like Dragon Ball and One Piece enjoy. 'Tis a sad reflection of the fact that, as the two animated incarnations of Fullmetal Alchemist proved, the audience at large is more interested in arbitrary face-punching than in food for thought. But if I started on that, I'd be at this all day. The point is that Paranoia Agent, as with anything touched by the late and great Satoshi Kon, is anime not only as entertainment, but as an art form.

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Writing: Those who are familiar with my other reviews already know that writing is by an extremely wide margin the most significant (some might say the only) factor in my judgement of a series. It should come as no surprise, then, that Paranoia Agent boasts damn near the best in the industry. Death Note trembles, Baccano! bows, even Ghost in the Shell must pay respect to the concrete-but-interpretive, grave-but-whimsical, layered-upon-layered-upon-layered narrative of Paranoia Agent. As a series that originated from a series of unused ideas too short to be adapted into films, it's an incredible achievement that Kon is able to work the seemingly-episodic narrative together into a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. Not only this, but such that there's an awesome amount of depth to the delivery such that--on an anecdotal note--I pick up on something new each and every time I re-watch the series, like the significance of the title Happy Family Planning being placed as a brand on a package of condoms as an allegory for the plight of that episode's trio, or the subtle foreshadowing of Tsukiko's secret as early as the first episode.

A good writer knows how to make his plot, setting, and circumstance work for him, and Satoshi Kon does this in spades. As the mysterious Lil' Slugger/Shonen Bat begins to feed on the rumors and paranoia of the cityfolk, suddenly all of their seemingly-disconnected experiences, and even a series of completely fabricated tales of the inline menace, begin to show great significance. Paranoia Agent illustrates flawlessly how even the smallest choices in life are still choices, and choices have consequences. The contribution of humans, as individuals, to a far greater whole affects all of us in ways we rarely think about, and (this is especially apparent in the introductory montage of various people avoiding their responsibilities) we are all individually responsible for the whole that results from our contribution. The series is an anthole: The further down you dig, the more intricacies you find, and the more complex you learn the whole to be.

Animation: True to Satoshi Kon's style, the visual production values on the series are extremely high for its era, and remain well above average today. A generally very realistic, true-to-life art style beautifully animated to mimic the human form, Paranoia Agent is symbolic of what has always been to me the selling point of animation: the ability to portray any world you want to, even the real world, without being limited by the confines of real world physics. Satoshi Kon is historically a master of this, as he employs some incredibly creative and experimental animation and composition techniques that have influenced the entire film industry, taking place in a very realistic animated world not unlike our own, but injected with just a little bit of the supernatural. Movement is fluid and seamless, and the characters all breathe personality without having to be identified by wacky getups.

Sound: As may or may not be common knowledge, I've always been partial to dubs. And like anyone who was introduced to the series through [adult swim], the dub was the first version I saw. My immense respect for the series extended to the dub until my last watchthrough, where I took a step back and realized that the dub is very mixed in terms of talent. The veterans like Michael McConnohie, Michelle Ruff, and Liam O'Brien all bring it home beautifully with stellar performances on all fronts, but much of the show's other talent, and especially the newer folks, leaves much to be desired. There's a big difference in quality between main characters and bit characters, whose voice lines are at times abysmally performed. And of course, because Satoshi Kon's work is so thorough with its animation, going beyond the typical anime technique of nondescript three-frame mouth flaps, the detailed lip movements conflict with the English dialogue at times, creating a Gojira effect. The subbed version is, of course, absent all these issues. There are still some terrific deliveries from McConnohie and O'Brien in the dub, though, so go with your preference.

The music comes from Kon's standby composer, Susumu Hirasawa, and while not the best listening music (I own the soundtrack), fits the show to a T. From the wonky brass to the abstract synth, the strange and unsettling nature of the show's events is captured flawlessly, and with plenty of theme variation, as well. Speaking of, the somewhat infamous theme song is a disturbing earworm if ever one existed, with an opening sequence to match.

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Satoshi Kon is a legend among anime directors for a reason, right alongside the likes of Hayao Miyazaki and Katsuhiro Otomo. Paranoia Agent is a triumph of animation celebrating all that he represented in his work, and this 13-episode series is required watching for anyone claiming to be an anime connoisseur. It's a psychological thriller like you've never seen before.