View Full Version : Toon Zone Talkback - Of Serpents and Shounen Bat, Delusions and Paranoia
This is the talkback thread for Of Serpents and Shounen Bat, Delusions and Paranoia (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=10957).
I think what Ben is trying to say is: Paranoia Agent rocks.
http://news.toonzone.net/images/2006-06/splash-paranoia.jpg (http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=10957)
The Myst
06-06-2006, 03:58 PM
One of my favorites and one of the greatest animes of all time.
I must disagree with Ben in this case. Paranoia Agent plods, plods, and plods some more. I could never get into it during its original airing.
The Myst
06-07-2006, 04:39 AM
I guess we're two different people. There will always be... Saved By The Bell.
I must disagree with Ben in this case. Paranoia Agent plods, plods, and plods some more. I could never get into it during its original airing.
I'll grant that if that style of narrative manipulation and suspense doesn't appeal to you, you're really not going to enjoy the show. But PA does have more daring ideas in it than almost anything else on television. And compared to most of its brethren in intellectual futurist anime (which pretty much boils down to the works of Chiaki Konaka) it's a roller coaster.
I only regret that I didn't have time to flesh out this article a bit more... that's what I get for leaving things to the last minute. Ah well.
The Fullmetal
06-09-2006, 10:30 PM
Oh man, I remember when this show was in its first run. The show's plot was good and all, but hearing a certain expletive from Sam Regal was even better. Now that honor has gone on to Ricard Epcar (4 times). :D:D:D
K-S-O
06-09-2006, 10:37 PM
Ah, PA is running again! Too bad that I cannot stay up to 1:30 AM and that my VCR is not as functional as it used to be. I suppose I should pick up the boxset whenever I find one.
The concepts behind Maromi and Li'l Slugger are such intriguing ones.
J'onn J'onzz
06-12-2006, 10:26 AM
This is my first time seeing it... I've seen episodes 1-3 so far, and am about to see episode 4 on the [adult swim] fix. One was good. So was two. Three was awful. Time to see about four.
v1cious
06-12-2006, 02:19 PM
This is my first time seeing it... I've seen episodes 1-3 so far, and am about to see episode 4 on the [adult swim] fix. One was good. So was two. Three was awful. Time to see about four.
you thought three was awful?:shrug:
J'onn J'onzz
06-14-2006, 12:47 PM
Yeah, I had no idea what was going on, and it confused me very much. There were two women accusing each other of being fakes or something. One got engaged to some guy. The other got mad and yelled at her on the answering machine. That's all I got out of it... Four was much better, though. Five looks to be good from the preview.
Yeah, I had no idea what was going on, and it confused me very much. There were two women accusing each other of being fakes or something. One got engaged to some guy. The other got mad and yelled at her on the answering machine. That's all I got out of it... Four was much better, though. Five looks to be good from the preview.
Those two women were the same person, just with different personalities struggling to be top dog.
Xibom
06-16-2006, 01:50 AM
Sooo, I'm rewathcing the Happy Family Planning episode, and I just have to know what the episode was actually about. This episodes only meniton of lil' slugger was Fox, the pretend little slugger, being set "free" by being killed, since he always wanted to die.
My guess is these people belive their alive, but were never real,...something like that. Maybe never born, since the whole episode is named after a Condom brand.
...But really, what' going on.
J'onn J'onzz
06-17-2006, 03:46 PM
Sooo, I'm rewathcing the Happy Family Planning episode, and I just have to know what the episode was actually about. This episodes only meniton of lil' slugger was Fox, the pretend little slugger, being set "free" by being killed, since he always wanted to die.
My guess is these people belive their alive, but were never real,...something like that. Maybe never born, since the whole episode is named after a Condom brand.
...But really, what' going on.
Good thing I'm as confused as you, or that would be a spoiler! But yeah, I was surprised when the cop cought Li'l Slugger in episode 4.
Kagetsu
06-17-2006, 04:28 PM
Sooo, I'm rewathcing the Happy Family Planning episode, and I just have to know what the episode was actually about. This episodes only meniton of lil' slugger was Fox, the pretend little slugger, being set "free" by being killed, since he always wanted to die.
My guess is these people belive their alive, but were never real,...something like that. Maybe never born, since the whole episode is named after a Condom brand.
...But really, what' going on.
I really liked that episode,,, did I miss it this time, it's running so often I just can't tape them all so I'm hit and miss.
Maybe I'm wrong,,,
I believe they were alive and most likely commited suiside. they simply don't know they are dead. like they guy that jumped in front of the subway. Why the Happy Family planning is used escapes me completely :sweat:
This show with it's psycological underpinnings is good enough to watch several times. admitted my favorites are Happy Family Planning, Fear of a Direct Hit, and Double Lips, but the whole series is very well done and different from almost anything else.
Read throgh the artical,,, can't follow it too well but let's see if I'm right to diagree because I fail to see the paradise connection. Lil' Slugger seems to be different as the story goes. At first for Tsukiko, he is someone to blame. When he reappears it's to give her a reason to escape the pressure of her life. Until he feeds on enough missery and gets strong enough to kill, he seems to give people a new direction to erase past problems. Nearer the end he simply is an unstoppable monster erasing everything. The base idea that when you have no where to turn, a hit in the head can help, kinda drew me to this show more than anything.
Read throgh the artical,,, can't follow it too well but let's see if I'm right to diagree because I fail to see the paradise connection. Lil' Slugger seems to be different as the story goes. At first for Tsukiko, he is someone to blame. When he reappears it's to give her a reason to escape the pressure of her life. Until he feeds on enough missery and gets strong enough to kill, he seems to give people a new direction to erase past problems. Nearer the end he simply is an unstoppable monster erasing everything. The base idea that when you have no where to turn, a hit in the head can help, kinda drew me to this show more than anything.
But that's just it -- even if subconsciously, they're just using Li'l Slugger to escape from their own shortcomings. The show's message is that both mindless, antisocial contentment (Maromi) and making excuses (Li'l Slugger) are poor solutions to life's problems. The hit on the head doesn't help, it's just the quick way out of the hurt. The fundamental problem doesn't get solved.
jbanks97
06-19-2006, 06:00 PM
Sooo, I'm rewathcing the Happy Family Planning episode, and I just have to know what the episode was actually about. This episodes only meniton of lil' slugger was Fox, the pretend little slugger, being set "free" by being killed, since he always wanted to die.
My guess is these people belive their alive, but were never real,...something like that. Maybe never born, since the whole episode is named after a Condom brand.
...But really, what' going on.
(My memory of this episode is not 100%-I haven't seen it since first run), but
I think all of the characters in Happy Family Planning
Killed themselves in the very begining of the episode or possibly before. They all are clearly dead by the end, when they appear in the ghost photograph. None of the characters apparently realize it (even the guy in the subway thought he was still alive). The old man eventually comes to his second "last pill ever" towards the end, despite having taken his last pill at the begining of the episode.
I think it's interesting though that "these characters" really freaked (the real) Lil' Slugger out when he ran into them. Lil slugger always seemed to sadistically enjoy stalking the dark parts of the characters lives, forcing them to accept their own pesonal problems, but these characters didn't have lives anymore so I guess he realized he had no power and it freaked him out.
Either way-very disturbing yet entertaining side story of PA. I'm a fan.
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