Paranoia Agent
January 24th, 2007 | researchmaterial
I was obsessed with this title sequence for months, back when the show was being serialised…
(And it’s nice that all the video sites’ content has matured to the point where I can find and store this stuff here in my outboard brain)
They are actually showing reruns of this show Adult Swim right now. It’s running Sundays at 11:30 EST.
I’m still not sure what exactly was the Little Slugger supposed to be. Was it some sort of malicious spirit brought to life by Tsukiko – her own personal daemon that started affecting lives of other people.
Or was he just product of some sort of mass hysteria phenomenon – in which people unable to deal with their lives would somehow dream up their own little slugger.
Or was it both…
It’s a good show.
This was a great show and I can’t wait to see Paprika – The film about delving into dreams that the same crew are doing now.
Nice redesign btw.
Yes, Warren.
Hell yes.
Freaky-great Satoshi Kon stuff — and a freaky-great song by Susumu Hirasawa, to boot (his score to Millennium Actress is a masterpiece). And yes, also dying to see Paprika!
Yep, those who were ignorant of the power of Paranoia Agent soon were revealing to me the depths of their obsession with the theme song… Proved I wasn’t the only crazy one–
to those that posted about PAPRIKA–thanks, I didn’t know about it.
It;s been so hard to get people to watch ‘serious’ anime; and after my friends watch PA they realize that anime has moved into new sublime/psychological territory…
One of my favorites animes.
Still can’t say I’m entirely sure what Paranoia Agent was about, although I enjoyed it thoroughly, especially the opening. My interpretation was the whole thing was a reflection of how Japanese society has changed since the war, away from taking personal responsibility and dealing with reality, preferring the hyper-real, cutesy stuff to anything that actually exists. Hence, Hello Kitty is destroying Japan, with its evil twin of Shonen Bat as a made-up bogeyman rationalizing a withdrawal from reality.
The last episode of PA ranked pretty high on my WTF-o-meter, though.
I am glad to learn I am not the only one who is mesmerized by this. I find myself watching this opening at least once a week. There is something about this, from the music to the sequence of images that grabs you and refuses to let you go.
I downloaded the soundtrack and had it looping in my car for at least a month.
Translated lyrics. It’s more powerful when you realize the lyrics fit perfectly with the imagery. It’s a happy song about utter doom and destruction.
The title, “Yume No Shima Shinen Kouen” (by Japanese electropop artist Susumu Hirasawa) refers to Dream Island, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay made entirely of garbage.
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
Marvelous mushroom shaped cloud in the sky
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The afternoon of the birds feeding on an ally
I shall talk to you with my hand on the grass in the sunbeams
See, our dream is blossoming on the lunch bench
Keep the sound of waves in your heart
Keep the melancholy on the bottom
Extend the bridge to tomorrow
Without worrying about a tidal wave
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
Such a marvelous vapor trail
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The afternoon of the people passing on the popular street
I shall walk with you, holding your hand with a smile
See, the voice of “it’s all over” is drowned out by the wind
Without worrying about tomorrow
let your destination slide
Lock up your heart
Without believing in an avalanche
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
Flaming rain that I used to see in my dreams
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The afternoon that I woke up by the office window
I shall go out with you since I was invited by the sunbeams
See, our dream is blossoming on the lunch bench
Listen to the wind blowing against the grass
Throw away melancholy
Believe that tomorrow will be fine
Without worrying about the meaning of the dream
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
Marvelous mushroom shaped cloud in the sky
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The afternoon of the birds feeding in an ally
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The dream that we raised on the lunch bench
Raa-eee-yaa Ra-Ra-ee-yo-ra
The afternoon that was born in the sunbeams
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