www.paranoiaagent.com/ <--- official website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_Agent <--- great explaination
The first episode will be on at 1:30 am on the 19th on Cartoon Network
The difference between American and Japanese culture. We(Americans) have this need to have everything explained. We don't want things to be left unsaid. It annoys us. We like everything to be tied in a nice little bow and ending the way it "should" end. We want things uncomplicated and easy.
Where as with the Japanese culture the unknown is highly prized. It allows people to draw their own conclusions. Paranoia Agent is like that. Why does Shounen Bat(aka Little Slugger) attack the people that he does?
Is he real? Or is he a scapegoat for others to cover up their crimes, or his he a ghost? Are his victims really victims or are they secretly relieved because it provides a relief from the problems they are facing?
Lil' Slugger, however, seems to be a malevolent being that feeds on rumor, fear, and paranoia. At first, his acts seem like an extreme case of juvenile delinquency. However, he only attacks people who have various forms of extreme stress, depression, or emotional trauma. The victims are so overwhelmed that they enter a state of paranoia as they fight their inner demons. He turns his targets into victims, and as victims, they can escape the desperate situations in which they find themselves right before the attack (e.g. Yuichi, who uncannily matches Lil' Slugger's description, is eliminated as a suspect when Lil' Slugger assaults him). However, Lil' Slugger is a shallow and (when not fatal) temporary solution to any dilemma.
Maromi the pink cute dog in the show seems to have something to do with Lil' Slugger. Where Lil' Slugger purpose is to inspire fear and "Paranoia" Maromi sole purpose is a comforting innocence. At a time when Japanese culture is know for unthreatening creations such as Hello Kitty or Sailor Moon, the director does something amazing, he reveals the fears, sadness and pain that are hidden by the modern embrace by things that are cute.
In a reality where people are surrounded by people and things, yet feel utterly alone, Paranoia isn't just a curse but almost a nessacity . Fear of little slugger is a connection to a world that otherwise wouldn't have meaning at all.
Sorry for going all intellectual on ya.
Wijg: The bomb exploding in the begining has to do with the Atomic bomb we dropped on them and how that bit of history may or may not impact the lives of the Japanese. One of the characters in the anime was there during that attack and his feelings of guilt play into that one of surviving when so many others did not.
