Wow. What an ending. I had lost all hope in the show from episode 8, but now I completely understand what Satoshi Kon was going for. There may have been things that let me down a bit, such as the FILLER and stylistic inconsistencies, such as the change in tone from dark and gritty to goofy and silly, the isekai-esque moments, the random divergence from the plot, etc., but I absolutely love the core idea of the show. The metaphors were handled carefully and delivered well. The messages were subtle and delivered with sophistication. The plot remained consistent with the reveal and was genuinely exciting when it was being followed (which makes me excited to rewatch to see what I missed). Somethings weren't handled too great, but everything that was, was handled perfectly.
I love the social commentary, coming from a time of great struggle for Japan. The loop to the beginning was perfect, and so true to society even 20 years later. Everyone is trapped within the rat race, on their digital devices, and no one takes the time to reflect on it. Many of us aren't living sustainable lives, but we use escapism as justification, as if that is productive for anyone. 'It looks just like when the war ended'. Even in peace or conflict, we are all silently struggling. The section with Manikawa replacing the old man was great, as well. Desperately searching for answers as to what has went wrong, only to realise that the cycle constantly continues.
I do wonder as to how much I missed by not knowing Japanese. Someone pointed out that Shounen Bat is a play on words, with Shounen Ba meaning a time of struggle in Japanese. All the characters have names referring to animals, and they somewhat resemble the characters in build as well (Tsukiko 'Sagi' meaning heron, 'Kawazu' meaning frog, etc.). I wonder if there's any other things hidden through translation.
This show was a rollercoaster of emotions. I've landed at a 7.5/10, which I'm going to be rounding down to a 7. Typically I would round up, but I feel the need to be critical as I thought that episodes 5,8,9, and 10 were letdowns. Given that that's almost a third of the show, I feel that it's justified. 7/10 for great ideas, metaphors, atmosphere, and plot, and 3/10 taken away for:
1. the inconsistent delivery, with tone changing from dark and gritty to goofy and silly, the sometimes out of place/unnaturally introduced art style changes, the sudden shift from a plotline grounded in reality to one of fantasy, etc.
2. the filler episodes that probably should've been released as extras, or maybe just not been in the show in the first place (although many people will disagree with me, and some even enjoyed the exact opposite of what I did, liking the short stories instead of the plot)
3. The sudden breaks in the plot, and how they detracted from the mood and suspense.
Rest in peace Satoshi Kon, and thank you for the experience you gave us.
(My interpretation, even if most of it was clarified in the end:
- Everything is a metaphor, even down to the hysteria of the people and the news stories of Shounen Bat.
- SB is a personification of mental trauma, and his attacks are a metaphor for death caused by stress or mental health, typically from suicide.
- The media's broadcasting of the SB attacks is actually the media referring to the Japanese suicide trend.
- Maromi is a symbol of escapism, including all the ways that people escape, such as media, consumerism, work, etc.
- The black wave was a metaphor for mental struggle and suicide. The destruction of the city was a symbol of the devastation left behind by such things. This was especially relevant at the time of Paranoia Agent's release.
- The radios/'broadband' were a metaphor for the way that the internet and media contributed to the suicide culture of Japan.
- Kozuka, the fake SB, blamed the elderly people for orchestrating the attacks as a symbol of how the younger generation are left behind the burden of the last generation.
- The final scene represents the search for answers on how to solve society's problems, only for the answer to be that it there's a never-ending cycle of problems that people refuse to acknowledge/face.
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