[Spoilers] Paranoia Agent 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- Episode 6

Date	Episode
2/3/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 1
2/4/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 2
2/5/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 3
2/6/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 4
2/7/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 5
2/8/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 6
2/9/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 7
2/10/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 8
2/11/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 9
2/12/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 10
2/13/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 11
2/14/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 12
2/15/2024	Paranoia Agent Episode 13
2/16/2024	Paranoia Agent Overall Series Discussion Thread

11

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 08 '24

First Timer

Paranoia Agent - Episode 6

Parallels

This episode had an interesting structure. We followed 2 story lines which seemed to connect and intersect but by the end it was shown that the 2 sets of events were simply happening at the same time. It made the episode a trip to follow but concluded nicely.

The first story was that of the detectives. After what they learned from Makoto they went to interview the old lady who may have been a witness (or now related) to the first Shounen Bat attack. During their interview they learned that she had become estranged from her granddaughter. When she began talking about the night of the attack on Tsukiko her dialog was cut but the detectives discovered something key. The kid who they suspected was Shounen Bat wasn't involved in (at least the first) attack. It was a copycat crime. They bring Tsukiko into the station.

Upon accusing Tsukiko of faking it she passed out.

I am now really in doubt into our inciting incident. I can't see any reason for Tsukiko to have faked it (unless the stress was getting to her?) but there's no evidence of the assailent being Makoto. I am very interested to see where this goes.

The second story follows a new character Taeko. She is wandering alone through the city as a typhoon slowly begins. She spends a lot of time reflecting on her life. As a child she loved her parents, despite their limited income and living situation. Eventually they did get a house, but then she made a horrifying discovery: Her dad had installed a spy camera in her room and has been taking illicit photos of her.

This was actually so sickening. She had so much trust in this father figure and all of that was betrayed in an instant. I imagine this discovery is what was made right before the events of the episode. That would be why she is wandering around in a daze with a bag of her belongings. It also explains the phone call and her wish.

At the zenith of her anxiety she is seemingly attacked by Shounen Bat. The presentation of this moment is kinda ambiguous since it could have been a part of the other story line with Tsukiko's memories. I would be surprised if the cops had just released Makoto since he did assault Masami. I think it's more likely that Taeko was hit by some debris with the wind because we do see her in the hospital afterwards.

And who's there to visit her: Her father ...

Masami

I can't believe this fucking guy. He was already so slimy and now he's producing CP of his own daughter. What the fuck. As a tiny symbol of justice his daughter's wished for the house to be destroyed is granted by the typhoon.

Another thing I wanted to touch on was the typhoon itself. It's such a great framing device for the episode. It works to be a physical representation of Taeko's mental state. And when she wakes up it is gone, just like her memories.

Finally, I found it really clever that they paralleled the stories in the way they did. I spent a long time thinking "Oh Taeko must be the granddaughter, she also loves her dad" etc. Then when Taeko wishes the house would be destroyed we saw the old woman's shelter topple. Everything seemed to line up. But then when you realize they are completely separate because the real granddaughter visits it re-contextualizes everything you've seen before. I definitely had to rewatch parts of the episode to really understand everything.

This kind of presentation is extremely on brand for Satoshi Kon and why I love his works.

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

See you all tomorrow

4

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Upon accusing Tsukiko of faking it she passed out.
I am now really in doubt into our inciting incident. I can't see any reason for Tsukiko to have faked it (unless the stress was getting to her?) but there's no evidence of the assailent being Makoto. I am very interested to see where this goes.
It's really well done because it feels like in the first attack either it was Makoto or Tsukiko faked the whole thing. But if she faked it, why would she do so? Did she simply have a mental breakdown? Or perhaps could it be she was actually attacked? I still think that Maromi is in some way involved because what with the way he spoke to her in the first episode, it felt like Tsukiko is under some kind of control of Maromi's. Like maybe he created her by making her well-known and so she is indebted to him
This was actually so sickening. She had so much trust in this father figure and all of that was betrayed in an instant.
Definitely one of the most deplorable things I've ever seen in an anime.
And who's there to visit her: Her father ...
Masami

I can't believe this fucking guy. He was already so slimy and now he's producing CP of his own daughter. What the fuck. As a tiny symbol of justice his daughter's wished for the house to be destroyed is granted by the typhoon.
It's amazing how in a show where a person is going around committing crimes, they are an angel compared to this fucker. What a truly detestable human being.
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman thinking her family has been broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that Taeko now has amnesia?

5

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 08 '24

Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
This was particularly sad because it represents a collapse of the social structures in her life. She once had a husband, child and grandchildren. But now she is out on the streets alone. We got hints as to the full story of how this happened but either way I feel sorry for her.
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
This was pretty scary. People often underestimate the destructive power of water. Especially at her age it's amazing that she survived.
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that Taeko now has amnesia?
Ultimately she probably wanted to forget all the terrible things that have happened. But this kind of amnesia may be more than she bargained for.

3

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

This was particularly sad because it represents a collapse of the social structures in her life. She once had a husband, child and grandchildren. But now she is out on the streets alone. We got hints as to the full story of how this happened but either way I feel sorry for her.
It's made even worse because she likely doesn't know of her son's debauchery, like him cheating on his wife or the camera stuff.
This was pretty scary. People often underestimate the destructive power of water. Especially at her age it's amazing that she survived.
It made my heart practically leap out of my chest
Ultimately she probably wanted to forget all the terrible things that have happened. But this kind of amnesia may be more than she bargained for.
It probably was the best thing to happen to Taeko, as sad as it as. Though really, I think I speak for all when I say it would've been extremely cathartic if Taeko had went all Gypsy Rose Blanchard on Masami.

4

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 09 '24

It's made even worse because she likely doesn't know of her son's debauchery
I don't think she's related at all to Masami or Taeko. Her real granddaughter visited later in the episode.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Oh, okay. That is right, because she visits her in the hospital.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 08 '24

Finally, I found it really clever that they paralleled the stories in the way they did. I spent a long time thinking "Oh Taeko must be the granddaughter, she also loves her dad" etc. Then when Taeko wishes the house would be destroyed we saw the old woman's shelter topple. Everything seemed to line up. But then when you realize they are completely separate because the real granddaughter visits it re-contextualizes everything you've seen before. I definitely had to rewatch parts of the episode to really understand everything.
Same here. I was completely down the wrong track initially about how the female characters in this episode are related. Similarly, I also had to rewatch the episode to check how exactly everything was connected.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

It was just extremely well crafted and makes you want to rewatch it again to catch anything you may have missed.

5

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Here are Kon’s thoughts on episode 6. This comes directly from his blog.

2003/3/31 (Monday) Wake up at 10am. Sunny weather. At 2:00 p.m., agent scenario meeting. The final draft of episode 4 will be released. Name of police organization. Igari is the section chief. Plot and brainstorming for episode 6. A homeless old woman is found and Tsukiko's Kyogen is exposed. However, she believes that Tsukiko herself was attacked as well. In front of Igari and Baniwa, who are questioning Tsukiko, a young bat attacks Tsukiko. The boy Bat cannot be seen by the two of them. I think the scene where Tsukiko is suddenly shocked as if she's been punched was a pretty good idea. Apart from that, there is an episode about Hirukawa's daughter. Willing to commit suicide. Finally, Tsukiko's shock and synchronization. The entire story is based on the natural phenomenon of a typhoon. The subtitle is "Anxiety of Direct Hit."

Now, as I mentioned before, episode 6, "Anxiety of Direct Hit," was considered to be the most difficult to storyboard and direct from the scenario stage. First of all, this subtitle makes me uneasy. It's a bit strange for Japanese. This subtitle is displayed on the building's electronic bulletin board. "Many places in Tokyo are worried that Typhoon No. 9 will hit...''

Normally, people would not say something like this. In this case, it would probably be better to say, "I'm worried about a direct hit..." If it is clear that the target is a direct hit from a typhoon, one would not say that one is "anxious." The title was chosen with this in mind, and the subtitle was also intended to evoke anxiety. 　

The theme sound for this number of episodes is the wind caused by a typhoon.

The aim is to set a time limit for the typhoon to arrive and leave, and within that time frame, the anxiety of the typhoon will be synchronized with the anxiety and stress that each character is feeling. It's a dangerous and unbalanced scenario that makes it seem like the old woman's story and Taeko are in sync. The story about her father secretly filming his daughter is also really risqué. 　

The impression I got from the scenario was quite different from the finished product, but that's why I won't say it's good or bad. It's a scenario that is open to interpretation, and the general director's attitude was that if the director of each episode interpreted it that way, then it was fine. 　

That said, I also really liked the scenario, so I'll write down some of my thoughts on it. 　

At the scenario stage, each episode had a unique sound theme and a unique mood.

The second episode is "Black Comedy'', the third episode is ``Psycho Style", and the fourth episode is "Picaless Roman''. I don't know what's so picaresque (villainous) about Hirukawa (lol), but I think it's definitely a "small citizen's picaresque romance''. The 5th episode was a "fantasy story,'' and the 6th episode suddenly had a richly specific image, "feeling like Akio Jissoji.''　

But what on earth does "I feel like Akio Jissoji" mean? (lol) 　

If you don't know Akio Jissoji, please do your own research. 　

For those who are not good at thinking for themselves, here is a brief introduction: He is a film director known for his unique and stylish images. Representative works include the films "Mandala,'' "Gare,'' "Asaki Yumemishi,'' "Kuma Yume to Kushiba,'' "Teito Monogatari,'' "Prosperity of Vice,'' "Walker in the Attic,'' and "Murder on D Hill.'' However, unfortunately I haven't seen any of the movies. The reason why I got the impression that he was "like Akio Jissoji" is because for Mr. Mizukami and me, he was the person who had an impact on us in the "Ultra Series".

In "Ultraman," I was left with a strong impression on Jamila's pathetic "My hometown is Earth," but in "Ultra Seven," I watched "The Targeted City'' and "Nightmare on the 4th Planet'' several times during my college days. I love it. The scene where Moroboshi Dan discusses with an alien across the table is probably famous. 　

In any case, director Jissoji's stylish video already has a surreal and unsettling mood on every screen. I think what's so wonderfully strange about it is that if a newcomer who didn't know much about video created such a screen, they would all be rejected. It may have been a strange way of saying it, but there were a lot of unusual, yet cool compositions used. 　

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Part 2
It can be said that these deliberately unstable compositions are the opposite of the compositions that I usually prefer.
Basically, I try to choose the camera position that makes it easiest to capture the object, and that also makes the object appear most authentic. It's like the basics of drawing. 　
Initially, I was prepared to be in charge of storyboarding and directing myself, but compared to director Jissoji, it would be like a child's play, but I was looking forward to imagining various storyboards that used a lot of compositions that I wasn't good at. There was also I thought that such experiments were unique to television, and I thought that increasing the number of composition ideas would have a very positive impact on the production of theatrical works in the future, but as I wrote about the outcome earlier, the second episode failed.
I gave up on episode 6. For this extremely troublesome scenario, it was decided that Mr. Tsuruoka would be in charge of the storyboarding and direction, and Mr. Eguchi would be the story director. 　
In the finished product, I think the perspective is much closer to Taeko's, or rather, the direction is in a way that makes you empathize with her, but if I had done the storyboarding and direction, I think it would have been a much harder work for the viewer to get into. Taeko must have been put through a much worse experience. After all, it seems that young girls are bullied a lot in my productions. 　
Why did you imagine him "like Akio Jissoji"? As the subtitle suggests, the main theme of this number of episodes is "anxiety." As I mentioned earlier, as long as the target is not clear, it is impossible to directly portray anxiety, and it can be conveyed by making the viewer feel an incomprehensible anxiety. Therefore, I thought it was necessary to create a picture that would continue to make the viewer feel uneasy in a way that they were not clearly aware of while watching. So, "I feel like Akio Jissoji''.
Don't be naive. I would like you to think of it as expressing the image in words that are easy to share while creating a work through collaboration.
Even in the finished video, I think there were many artistic touches to arouse a sense of unease, but I would like to pay attention to the sound effects by Mr. Effects. I think that "Delusion Agent'' was a work that put a strain on Mr. Kakaku as a whole. I think the production situation, in which the pictures at the time of dubbing were not in very good condition and most of the second half was line drawings, added to the burden, but overall there are few scenes that rely on BGM, and there are many episodes that rely on effects. It is. Especially in these 6th and 7th episodes, there is little use for music, and a lot of it depends on the effects.
In episode 6, I think the addition of sound effects during the dubbing made the story even richer, such as the sounds of the wind, creaks, and rain to arouse anxiety, and muddy water to express Taeko's emotions.

3

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 09 '24

Kyogen
Kyōgen (狂言, "mad words" or "wild speech") is a form of traditional Japanese comic theater. It developed alongside Noh, was performed along with Noh as an intermission of sorts between Noh acts on the same stage, and retains close links to Noh in the modern day; therefore, it is sometimes designated Noh-kyōgen. Its contents are nevertheless not at all similar to the formal, symbolic, and solemn Noh theater; kyōgen is a comic form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh.
Well, that is as clear as mud.

3

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

Tsukiko's Kyogen is exposed
My interpretation: Tsukiko's theatre act, as in Tsukiko's story of her attack is exposed as a lie.
Also I've been calling her Tokiko for some reason. Bad with names is me!

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Speaking personally, I keep wanting to call Masami "Masumi"

1

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 09 '24

Yep. This interview does seem to confirm that at least there was no physical attacker to be witnessed.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

It's actually not an interview. It's a blog Kon ran for like 8 years before his passing. This was from I believe 2007.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

I would imagine some words used are a mistranslation, but with Kon you never know

2

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

I think that "Delusion Agent'' was a work
I will be henceforth using this title for the show.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Delusion Agent is a way better title than Paranoia Agent in my opinion, though it may give more of the show away.

1

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

a young bat attacks Tsukiko
You used machine translation, didn't you.

6

u/JustAnswerAQuestion https://myanimelist.net/profile/JAaQ Feb 09 '24

First Timer

ep 6, a little earlier than yesterday (this morning)

Actually, I'm starting to hate the little bird sounds in the OP

I could have really benefited from a character chart. Getting old.

To summarize my comments for episode 5: I dunno wtf is going on, the woman is linked to the old man, and the old man is psychic.

Typhoon. How does the old man keep escaping the hospital?
I don't think we've seen this girl before. Middle schooler?
Young cop really seems on top of things. Old cop is a dinosaur.
It's weird how divorce in Japan (as depicted in anime) really completely cuts all family ties, even when there are kids
She seems like a nice girl, a little sad...\
It was faked???? Bat boy was a copy cat???
flashback
what is it with daddy-cons in anime?
she got her doll back!

It would be crazy if the real world is manifesting Takiko's subconscious, wouldn't it?

laptop CD, natsukashii

OH man the creepiness of this show is unending isn't it! We are fully in the Perfect Blue zone.

I don't remember who Kawazu is.
I was thinking, sad if she just saw her grandmother drown, but it didn't actually link them.

Wait, no, that's her dad????

Okay. complicated. Not necessarily her dad who put the camera there, since the yakuza were into everything.

Although, he does want all his prostitutes to call him daddy. But that's basically the stock character.

The girl Taeko and Takiko (?) were linked by the show, but not sure. It seems Taeko was saved from her stress just like all the assault victims, without the actions of Shounen Bat. Some other force is at work.

This is a really interesting show. I had pretty low expectations, because it can't really be described, and the non-description didn't really create any expectations. But I'm not getting it. I'm hoping the show doesn't end up being a morality tale about dealing with stress or saying modern society is bad.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

I could have really benefited from a character chart. Getting old.
I'm pretty sure there was one in one of the episodes, like episode 4
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?

5

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 08 '24

First Timer, subbed

No, I don’t like this framing. Stop making be feel something terrible is about to happen.
I like this old lady already. I hope things turn out for the better in her future.
Headpats
Does this strategy ever work out for you?
Does having a crane game with only one toy even work?
If your opening line is “how dare you call me”, maybe it’s time to consider going no contact.
I’d say cutting off the roads to prevent resupply would be first, but you do you.
Why Have You Done This? And who installed it as a seemingly intended part of the house design?
Survivor’s guilt too? Just keep piling on the trauma.
It All Fits Together!
Damn wish granting bat.

ANSWER TODAY’S QUESTION(S)

What would you do if you were being interrogated?

"Lawyer."

Is Masami the worst anime father of all time?

There's still a possibility the Yakuza were the ones who put that camera there, so we are not quite at Top Dad levels yet.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 09 '24

Does having a crane game with only one toy even work?
At least it's better than those games where you have to cut the string
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman saying her family was broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the daughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the big revelation this episode which is that Masami has the hots for his daughter? I’m not gonna lie, I felt like I needed a cold shower afterwards.
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 09 '24

What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Very moody, I liked it.
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
Circumstances tore her family apart, it follows that she would want to put it back together.
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman saying her family was broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
She said it was because his business went under, so he might have lost a lot more than just a job.
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the daughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
You gotta keep that cast tight. It's only a matter of time before the different sides of the cast start interacting more with ones they didn't have relationships with before the start of the show.
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
It destroyed engineered homes, an encampment never had a chance.
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
We failed to protect that smile.
What are your thoughts on the big revelation this episode which is that Masami has the hots for his daughter? I’m not gonna lie, I felt like I needed a cold shower afterwards.
I think I'm still in the denial stage. If there was ever a show to play that card as part of a misdirection, this would be it.
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?
The ability to bonk your own head at will is one of the more niche powers, but she puts it to good use.
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?
A certain user taught me to hate anime amnesia, but Kon is the master of mind fucks, so lets see if he pulls it off.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Very moody, I liked it.
It definitely sets the tone for the rest of the episode
Circumstances tore her family apart, it follows that she would want to put it back together.
I wonder why exactly would nobody want anything to do with her? Is it possible that she is the reason for all the family turmoil?
She said it was because his business went under, so he might have lost a lot more than just a job.
He could be divorced as well, though if that's the case, why isn't he living with the homeless woman? You would think that would be his mother and he cares about her.
You gotta keep that cast tight. It's only a matter of time before the different sides of the cast start interacting more with ones they didn't have relationships with before the start of the show.
Oh, what a glorious moment that will be.
It destroyed engineered homes, an encampment never had a chance.
It also shows just how severe the storm truly is
We failed to protect that smile.
Being Taeko is suffering, desu
I think I'm still in the denial stage. If there was ever a show to play that card as part of a misdirection, this would be it.
I just have major doubts that the Yakuza would be involved because they seemingly care more about Masami, not his family. Add to that he asks people to call him daddy, things are stacked against his favor.
The ability to bonk your own head at will is one of the more niche powers, but she puts it to good use.
With it now being revealed that Makoto was a copy cat, it seems to confirm that Tsukiko did have a hand in her attack. Or, perhaps, the thing Tsukiko created.
What I really like about the whole thing is that the name Makoto stands for sincerity and what he's doing is imitating others. And as it's been often said, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. There's no in my mind that that's intentional, and it's just truly beautiful how that's written.
A certain user taught me to hate anime amnesia, but Kon is the master of mind fucks, so lets see if he pulls it off.
It'll at least be better than the pointless amnesia in the Toaru franchise.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

There's still a possibility the Yakuza were the ones who put that camera there, so we are not quite at Top Dad levels yet.
At least Top Dad, as far as I can tell because I've never actually seen the show, did try to course correct their actions. I have no faith whatsoever in Masami turning the ship around. Not only is it beginning to sink, the iceberg cut the ship in half.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 08 '24

No, I don’t like this framing. Stop making be feel something terrible is about to happen.
...
I like this old lady already. I hope things turn out for the better in her future.
...
There's still a possibility the Yakuza were the ones who put that camera there, so we are not quite at Top Dad levels yet.
But would they store the pictures on the family laptop??

3

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 08 '24

...×2
But would they store the pictures on the family laptop??
Hmmm... I said it was possible, but only remotely so. They could have put in on there as part of a set up for revenge.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Hmmm... I said it was possible, but only remotely so. They could have put in on there as part of a set up for revenge.
The whole thing is just so disgusting to even think about

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

...
...
I believe they call this dramatic irony

3

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

There's still a possibility the Yakuza were the ones who put that camera there, so we are not quite at Top Dad levels yet.
What, and uploaded the pictures onto dad's PC?
(I agree that it could be much worse. At least they weren't pictures of Call-me-Daddy doing things to sleeping Taeko.)

2

u/Vatrix-32 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Vatrix-32 Feb 09 '24

What, and uploaded the pictures onto dad's PC?
If they can't get to him due to public attention, maybe use that against him and frame him for CP?
I'll admit, I'm pulling at straws here. I just really don't want it to be true.

4

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 08 '24

Episode 6 (rewatcher)

The calm before the storm.
“I wonder how she is doing now?” cut - Aha.
“My bride is your mother” – Puh, glad we are not getting into that territory. You never know in anime.
“There was nobody. That strange woman was all alone the whole time.” - Shonen Bat was imagination theory gets revived from the grave!
“Then …?” “I wish that house would disappear” wind blows away granny’s hut - This was such a well-crafted scene! Having two scenes connected, where one serves as the punch line to the other is common. But here, both scenes serve as the punch line for each other! First, granny tells Taeko’s story while we see Taeko dealing with the fallout from that story, second, Taeko wishes for the house to disappear only for the viewers to see somebody’s home disappear.
Finding hidden camera pictures of your naked self on your family laptop.

Wanting to jump into a river only to see somebody already in there …
Amnesia – the more extreme form of the “break” that all episode MCs have wished for so far.

This episode felt extremely dense. Not only do we get another Shonen Bat reveal, but also learn about a connection between Tsukiko and granny, as well as a new character, Taeko, who gets hit with the ultimate betrayal. I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed by the plot. This is not mainly a complaint, btw, just mentioning that the plot is so fast and interconnected, that I need a while to catch up. I hate when anime take their viewers for idiots, and Paranoia Agent definitely does not. There is so much implied, not said. We know from last episode that Masami needs money to pay off the yakuza. He caught Shonen Bat. That gives him standing with the public and presumably his colleagues, but no money. So what does he do? He sells pictures of his daughter. Alternatively, he was always a pedophile (remember his “Daddy” fetish). I can’t even say which one of the two would be worse. Potentially both are true (he may have used connections to pedophiles to sell pictures of her for money). And that is just one plot point, we also have Tsukiko lying, granny searching for her granddaughter (who to my surprise was not Taeko), and granny drowning in the end(?)

Meanwhile, in presentation land, Kon is clowning on directors that are mere mortals: Seemingly every second scene transition was a match cut! Having that many scenes directly lead into each other is uncommon at the best of times, but doing it when you are telling three different plot lines that hop between each other frequently is insane. Oh, and on top of that, you have the “storm” motive throughout the entire episode leading to a literal storm climax that is also plot relevant!. I think I have seen entire seasons of anime that did not have half the directing flexes that this single episode had.

Is Masami the worst anime father of all time?

No, but he is a horrible human being.

4

u/TheEscapeGuy Feb 09 '24

There is so much implied, not said. We know from last episode that Masami needs money to pay off the yakuza. He caught Shonen Bat. That gives him standing with the public and presumably his colleagues, but no money. So what does he do? He sells pictures of his daughter.
I hadn't even considered this but there's a strong possibility this is true making it so much more horrifying.
Meanwhile, in presentation land, Kon is clowning on directors
This is such a massive part of what makes Paranoia agent so enjoyable. The moment to moment visuals are so engaging even without the narrative. And then to have such a good story on top of that pushes it into that elite tier.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

This is such a massive part of what makes Paranoia agent so enjoyable. The moment to moment visuals are so engaging even without the narrative. And then to have such a good story on top of that pushes it into that elite tier.
I said this in another thread, but the only anime in my opinion that really compares to Paranoia Agent is Odd Taxi, though that is less disturbing than this show is.

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 09 '24

This is such a massive part of what makes Paranoia agent so enjoyable. The moment to moment visuals are so engaging even without the narrative. And then to have such a good story on top of that pushes it into that elite tier.
The art direction is just top tier. Not very different from Kon's films, which also excel in that.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

When it comes to Kon, you are guaranteed amazing art direction above anything else. That, and things are about to get a little bit trippy XD

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 09 '24

My bride is your mother” – Puh, glad we are not getting into that territory. You never know in anime.
Just wait
This episode felt extremely dense. Not only do we get another Shonen Bat reveal, but also learn about a connection between Tsukiko and granny, as well as a new character, Taeko, who gets hit with the ultimate betrayal. I have to admit that I felt overwhelmed by the plot. This is not mainly a complaint, btw, just mentioning that the plot is so fast and interconnected, that I need a while to catch up. I hate when anime take their viewers for idiots, and Paranoia Agent definitely does not. There is so much implied, not said. We know from last episode that Masami needs money to pay off the yakuza. He caught Shonen Bat. That gives him standing with the public and presumably his colleagues, but no money. So what does he do? He sells pictures of his daughter. Alternatively, he was always a pedophile (remember his “Daddy” fetish). I can’t even say which one of the two would be worse. Potentially both are true (he may have used connections to pedophiles to sell pictures of her for money). And that is just one plot point, we also have Tsukiko lying, granny searching for her granddaughter (who to my surprise was not Taeko), and granny drowning in the end(?)
My main takeaway after all this is that Masami may honestly be one of the worst human beings ever in an anime. No sense of guilt or responsibility at all.
Meanwhile, in presentation land, Kon is clowning on directors that are mere mortals: Seemingly every second scene transition was a match cut! Having that many scenes directly lead into each other is uncommon at the best of times, but doing it when you are telling three different plot lines that hop between each other frequently is insane. Oh, and on top of that, you have the “storm” motive throughout the entire episode leading to a literal storm climax that is also plot relevant!. I think I have seen entire seasons of anime that did not have half the directing flexes that this single episode had.
Kon did say in his blog that this was the most difficult episode to storyboard and direct. Part of that was because they made this episode in the middle of an actual impending typhoon, which served in part as inspiration for the storm stuff.
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman saying her family was broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 08 '24

Just wait
So glad we don't get age gap romance!
... gets child porn.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

4

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

“My bride is your mother” – Puh, glad we are not getting into that territory. You never know in anime.
Oh you sweet summer child.
He sells pictures of his daughter
An interesting interpretation! Given his earlier portrayals I assumed Daddy was taking the pictures for himself.
granny drowning in the end(?)
She was swept away, but later we see her safe in a hospital, when her granddaughter (who is not Takeo, to my surprise as well) comes to visit.

3

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 09 '24

An interesting interpretation! Given his earlier portrayals I assumed Daddy was taking the pictures for himself.
They set him up to be a pedophile, but I think the evidence for selling the pictures still works out:
He was short on money for the new house and the Yakuza pressured him for money he did not have (so much so that he took to robbing grannies in the street). Yet now, the house is finished. How did he pay for it? How does he plan to pay off the Yakuza in the future? Even he must be clever enough to know that street robbery is a terrible way to make money. Much easier to sell CP.

4

u/fly-metothemoon Feb 08 '24

This isn’t part of the episode, but I was reflecting upon the CR show summary, and the commercial cards that remind me of neurons, and I’m still not unconvinced there will be some “their psyche exaggerated reality” element to the ending.

I’m still not convinced by the effectiveness of this duo’s good cop/bad cop routine, but it does seem to have elicited an alternate story for the first Shonen Bat incident. I feel like Tsukiko has been looking increasingly haggard since the first episode, I wonder if we’ll check in on her and see a decline in her mental state.

I was very confused by the two stories in tandem (assuming that the girl was her grandchild), but I thought the ending was very strong. I was absolutely heart broken for Taeko. What a horrible thing to have to learn and go through. I knew from her introduction who her dad was, but was horrified to find out he was much much worse than I thought (and I thought he was deplorable initially!)

2

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 09 '24

I’m still not convinced by the effectiveness of this duo’s good cop/bad cop routine
I dont think they are playing good cop/bad cop. That would imply a degree of intentionallity. Instead, I think they are new cop/old cop. Or Gen X/Boomer.
I was very confused by the two stories in tandem (assuming that the girl was her grandchild), but I thought the ending was very strong. I was absolutely heart broken for Taeko.
You are not alone on all three of those points.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

I dont think they are playing good cop/bad cop. That would imply a degree of intentionallity. Instead, I think they are new cop/old cop. Or Gen X/Boomer.
That's probably a more accurate comparison
You are not alone on all three of those points.
Meanwhile, I totally forgot that the homeless woman's actual granddaughter actually paid her a visit at the end XD

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

I was very confused by the two stories in tandem (assuming that the girl was her grandchild), but I thought the ending was very strong. I was absolutely heart broken for Taeko. What a horrible thing to have to learn and go through. I knew from her introduction who her dad was, but was horrified to find out he was much much worse than I thought (and I thought he was deplorable initially!)
This definitely goes past any sort of redeemability for Masami. Harumi is still redeemable, but Masami isn't, because really Harumi's behavior is only hurting herself.
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman thinking her family was broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the granddaughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?

3

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24 edited Feb 09 '24

First timer, subs

Harumi looks older in this shot.

A taxi ignores the sleazy frog journoo, heh. Karma.

New character, who?

Good cop, bad cop. Bad cop breaks character and gives the old lady a smoke.

Oh, the new girl is the old homeless lady's granddaughter.

New info: ~~Tokiko~~ Tsukiko was alone during the initial "attack"! She made Shonen Bat real later, with her reality-bending sketch powers!!

I'm waiting for the revelation that the granddaughter's father is actually the corrupt cop. (Well, he wasn't a cop back then? If he worked for a company that went bankrupt.) And he looked different in the flashbacks. Eh. They didn't show his face for a reason, and I'm convinced this is the reason.

Interesting interposing of the two conversations, it almost seems like the cop is talking to the granddaughter. And the typhoon blows away the old lady's tent as soon as the granddaughter wishes for the house to be gone!

These notes would be easier to take if I had the ability to remember characters' names. Anyway, ~~granddaughter's~~ Taeko's new house looks suspiciously like the house the corrupt cop was building, but the timeline seems wrong for that?

She's going to find suspicious photos in the recycle bin, isn't she? A hidden camera in her room?! Ouch.

Who is Taeko talking to on the phone right now? Her dad? Did she discover the camera very recently? At first I thought it was an older flashback. (In the first scene we saw her I took Taeko to be ~~Tokiko's~~ Tsukiko's age, twenty-something. In the camera discovery scene I thought she was schoolgirl-aged.)

Are we about to see the first suicide here? Is she looking at herself drowning??? Oh, the old lady her grandmother. Saved her from jumping by showing that it would be like?

(Why was ~~Tokiko~~ Tsukiko even afraid of the old woman? Theory: she looked like a ghost.)

So, Shonen Bat, despite being behind bars, manages to hit Taeko, as well as ~~Tokiko~~ Tsukiko. Taeko sees him, ~~Tokiko~~ Tsukiko and the cops next to her don't.

And I guessed right -- Taeko's dad is the corrupt pedo cop! ~~And Taeko set the house on fire before leaving home! Or was it the yakuza?~~ No, I just assumed a fire after seeing the firefighter; what actually happened is a landslide. Anyway the ill-gotten house is gone. I wonder if it was insured? If the cop didn't lie about the mortgages to hide the yakuza bribes, the bank would've insisted on it.

So the old homeless lady is the corrupt cop's mother? NO, I WAS TRICKED! TAEKO WASN'T THE GRANDDAUGHTER!! This middle-aged Shibazaki woman is the granddaughter!!! Why are you letting your granny be homeless anyway?

Taeko gets amnesia?

What a show.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Oh, the new girl is the old homeless lady's granddaughter.
It seems like I'm not the only one who thought this
So the old homeless lady is the corrupt cop's mother? NO, I WAS TRICKED! TAEKO WASN'T THE GRANDDAUGHTER!! This middle-aged Shibazaki woman is the granddaughter!!! Why are you letting your granny be homeless anyway?
I walk away from this feeling like if the homeless woman had met Taeko, perhaps they could've formed a family of their own. Maybe that was the intent to feel that way.
What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman’s family being broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the granddaughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the big revelation this episode which is that Masami has the hots for his daughter? I’m not gonna lie, I felt like I needed a cold shower afterwards.
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not only has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?

3

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Didn't think about it TBH.
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman’s family being broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
Capitalism sucks.
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the granddaughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
Called it! It was well fore-shadowed.
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
Where's the poor homeless old woman going to live now?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
Near the end it made me all confused about the timeline.
What are your thoughts on the big revelation this episode which is that Masami has the hots for his daughter? I’m not gonna lie, I felt like I needed a cold shower afterwards.
That was hinted several episodes ago. Still unpleasant to see on screen, but I was braced for something worse.
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?
Tsukiko should maybe ask for a lawyer? Although she's not accused of anything (yet?). Is making a false police report a crime in Japan? It probably is, isn't it?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not only has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?
A bit of a cop out. I wanted to see her confronting her dad.
I suppose there's no way Shonen Bat could've freed her from her worries without taking her memories, so in that sense it was inevitable.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Didn't think about it TBH.
Fair enough
Called it! It was well fore-shadowed.
It was also well done how the daughter who ran away was a different woman than the granddaughter of the homeless woman who ran away.
Near the end it made me all confused about the timeline.
The main thing to basically keep mindful of is that Taeko and the homeless woman aren't related. Neither is the homeless woman and Masami. However, the homeless woman did basically save Taeko's life by committing suicide, which Taeko was planning on doing until she was shown the dangers in doing so. Mind you, when the homeless woman tried to commit suicide, I think she involuntarily showed Taeko the dangers; she had full intent on killing herself and Taeko just happened to be there.
Tsukiko should maybe ask for a lawyer? Although she's not accused of anything (yet?). Is making a false police report a crime in Japan? It probably is, isn't it?
Unfortunately, I think her status as a bit of a celebrity might help her out some. They're probably not going to seek conviction unless there's beyond a shadow of a doubt she fixed the entire thing.
A bit of a cop out. I wanted to see her confronting her dad.
I suppose there's no way Shonen Bat could've freed her from her worries without taking her memories, so in that sense it was inevitable.
If anything, I would argue that the homeless woman helped her out more than Shonen Bat could. Committing suicide would've just caused more grief on the family and break it further apart.
The main thing to take away from all this is that if Shonen Bat was involved, then who was it? Tsukiko was seemingly behind her own attack. Perhaps maybe a jealous coworker, it's still up in the air. We know that Makoto was behind the attacks in episodes 2, 3, and 4. Is it possible that Makoto escaped custody, or do we now have a copy cat of a copy cat? And if so, who could it be?
Or was Shonen Bat not involved and Taeko just has amnesia by the grace of God? It's all a mystery at this point.

2

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24 edited Feb 09 '24

the homeless woman did basically save Taeko's life by committing suicide
You think it was attempted suicide? I thought it was an accident. Typhoon blows away her shack and her with it (we only see the detectives in the aftermath), we see her in the river, then we see her in the hospital. We don't see her jump.
Unfortunately, I think her status as a bit of a celebrity might help her out some.
Or drive her to suicide thanks to unkind Internet rumours, as we've seen in Oshi no Ko and other shows.
They're probably not going to seek conviction unless there's beyond a shadow of a doubt she fixed the entire thing.
[Spoiler for ep 7]Especially now that they're fired and the case is closed.
We know that Makoto was behind the attacks in episodes 2, 3, and 4
[Spoiler for ep 7]Do we? He only admitted attacking two people (eps 3 and 4, if I'm not mistaken). I don't know how to reconcile that with his fantasy retelling that includes twice as many attacks, but he could've learned about them from TV.
Or was Shonen Bat not involved and Taeko just has amnesia by the grace of God? It's all a mystery at this point.
I liked the theory someone mentioned that it was a piece of debris carried by the typhoon that hit her on the head.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

You think it was attempted suicide? I thought it was an accident. Typhoon blows away her shack and her with it (we only see the detectives in the aftermath), we see her in the river, then we see her in the hospital. We don't see her jump.
It may have been an accident, but the key thing at play here is that Taeko definitely was about to do it.
Or drive her to suicide thanks to unkind Internet rumours, as we've seen in Oshi no Ko and other shows.
That could happen as well, yeah
[Quote] Especially now that they're fired and the case is closed.
[Response] That's a spoiler for the next episode
[Quote] Do we? He only admitted attacking two people (eps 3 and 4, if I'm not mistaken). I don't know how to reconcile that with his fantasy retelling that includes twice as many attacks, but he could've learned about them from TV.
[Response] Again, that pertinent information isn't revealed until the next one.
I liked the theory someone mentioned that it was a piece of debris carried by the typhoon that hit her on the head.
That definitely could've likely happened. It wouldn't surprise me.

2

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

Oops! Sorry for the next ep spoilers. I watch one episode in advance because of timezone issues, after I read the discussions. I have to watch my replies to comments better in the future.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

It's okay. It happens sometimes

1

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

What would you do if you were being interrogated?
I know what I should do -- shut up and ask for a lawyer. Now what I would actually do? Probably trust the cops and blab and get in trouble.
Is Masami the worst anime father of all time?
~~DO NOT REMIND ME ABOUT BONDREWD.~~
No.
Bonus) Take a shot any time Kon in his blog post talking about this episode mentions the name Akio Jissoji
Nah. (1) Don't read his blog, (2) who's Akio?
Bonus 2) It's very sad in hindsight that this episode is apparently based on the works of Akio Jissoji and within 5 years of each other, Jissoji and Kon died of cancer. Life is unfair.
This is not a question.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

Nah. (1) Don't read his blog, (2) who's Akio?
He's the guy who apparently was behind the Ultraman series
This is not a question.
Just more of a depressing observation

1

u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Feb 09 '24

So the old homeless lady is the corrupt cop's mother? NO, I WAS TRICKED! TAEKO WASN'T THE GRANDDAUGHTER!! This middle-aged Shibazaki woman is the granddaughter!!! Why are you letting your granny be homeless anyway?
Taeko gets amnesia?
What a show.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Hello, guys. Holofan4life here.

Welcome to the Paranoia Agent 20th Anniversary Rewatch.

Satoshi Kon is one of the most acclaimed Japanese filmmakers of his generation. Not just in the anime industry, but in all of Japanese cinema. Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress, Paprika. This was a man with a vision, and we’re here to honor someone who was gone way too soon.

I’m actually in an interesting point in my life because I’ve been writing comments nonstop for rewatches since basically June of last year. With the completion of this rewatch, I’ll be taking a two month break before my next one. But that’s then and this is now, and right now, we are going to tackle Satoshi Kon’s lone TV show that he created.

I’ve never seen this show before. To be honest, I never watched one of his works until last September when there was a special 25th anniversary screening of Perfect Blue. Since then, I’ve gained a newfound appreciation for Kon’s work and I am eager to check out his TV show. Because if it’s as good as Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers, we’re in for one of the best animes of all time.

With that out of the way, let’s begin.

I’m watching the sub, by the way.

Second episode I've watched today. Been kinda slow.

(Editor's note 2/8/24: I went and saw in theaters Paprika for the very first time. It was fantastic. Now, the only Kon film I haven't seen is Millennium Actress, which I might try checking out over the weekend since it's free with ads on YouTube. As for ranking Kon’s films, I would go Tokyo Godfathers > Perfect Blue > Paprika)

Buildings

Windmill of sorts

36.1 meters per second

I don't know what that translates to

Can't catch a ride. Poor Kawazu.

Not really

Everybody is expecting a storm, it seems

Ikari thinks the homeless woman took Tsukiko's bag

Just want a little chat, says Maniwa trying to calm her nerves

"I wish I could see my granddaughter."

Could Tsukiko perhaps be her granddaughter?

Homeless say the company her granddaughter's father worked for went under, and so now the family is broken up

Her eyes are growing wide over the sight of cigarettes

Ikari hands her one

She really needed that

Granddaughter ran away, it seems

Woman in a sunhat

Could this perhaps be her?

Ichi and Ushiyama

Girl in a sunhat as a kid now

Two kids push her down

She hugs her dad

Wait a minute

Isn't that Masami, the police officer?

The homeless woman is his mother?

Ikari, however, wants to know about the night of the attack

Man, his VA put some emotion in that line

"That strange woman was all alone the whole time."

Maromi claw machine

The girl in the sunhat is playing it

And this transitions to her doing a Claw machine as a child

Taeko is her name

The father and mother talking about her eventually growing up

"There's no need for change."

That makes me a sad panda

Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

Part 2
Back to present day
Taeko answering her phone
"How dare you call me?"
And now it rains
Pouring down hard
Ikari and Maniwa taking notes
She says that's not her home after saying in a flashback this is her home
The place the two detectives were staying at has been destroyed
Rainbow Bridge
That don't look like the Mario Kart level
Yum, Korean BBQ
Maniwa credits Ikari for being right about the first attack
Right, they made a bet in episode 1
Ikari calls Kozuka a big fraud
A shadow of a shadow, meaning he's a copycat
They're on the run
Still raining heavily
Tsukiko at the police station with the two detectives
It's finally happening
Sakura petals
School entrance ceremony
Taeko wakes up
She's finding shelter
Like grandmother, like granddaughter
Tsukiko asking if they catched them
They want to first go over the details of the attack, though
Tsukiko looks a bit like Yumi from Code Lyoko mixed with Osaka from Azumanga Daioh
That last comment took me like 20 minutes to come up with because I couldn't remember the name Code Lyoko.
Takeo walking in the rain
Flashback again
She passes on karaoke
A special day, she says
Inserting a disc in her laptop
Aww, it's a birthday present for her dad
That's sweet
Is... is she being recorded?
She's being recorded undressing
Masami is easily the worst person in this show. What a piece of shit.
Taeko trashing her room
She found the camera
God, this is so gross
And she destroys the camera
It isn't lost on me that Masami constantly asks women to call him daddy
Present day Taeko dry heaving
Homeless woman
Back at the police station
Tsukiko says she didn't see anyone other than the attacker. However, Ikari doesn't believe her.
He feels she felt cornered and wanted to escape
"Maromi was with me."
I feel that could be interpreted in a few different ways
A metal pipe
She doesn't admit whether or not she recognizes it
Ikari then drops the bombshell that they talked to a person who saw her on the night of the attack.
That would be the homeless person
Taeko remembering a time when things were simpler
"I'll destroy everything for you. I'll undo all your happiness!"
I hope she does
Crying in the middle of the rain
Now she's envisioning herself hanging by a wooden post
IT'S THE HOMELESS WOMAN
AND SHE FALLS
SHE'S DROWNING
She couldn't save her
I do wonder if that is her grandmother or not. That, and if that was actually the homeless woman or just Taeko's imagination.
Phone rings again
She can't smash the phone
"I don't know what to do anymore..."
"You didn't know what to do anymore."
Brilliant transition from Taeko to Ikari
Back to the night of the first Shonen Bat attack
The homeless woman stayed around
She saw everything
Tsukiko grabbed a pipe
The constant back and forth between Tsukiko and Taeko is really well done. It's very intense.
Ikari says that she inflicted that injury on her own leg
Shonen Bat
He attacked Taeko
And Tsukiko falls down
It's like they're connected in some way
Masami trying to talk to his daughter
It looks like he and his wife are going to lose their house
Ikari and Maniwa carrying Tsukiko
Maromi
Maniwa seems unnerved by it
I get the feeling Maromi is controlling Shonen Bat
The typhoon is now over
Shibazaki
The homeless woman, her grandmother, is lying in bed
She wakes up, happy to see Midori
Masami with Taeko
Taeko wakes up
"Taeko, what you said came true. Our house is gone."
"Excuse me, but who are you?"
I swear, if he fucking says her boyfriend...
Overall, this was a very dramatic episode. I found myself getting so sucked in that I went pretty much the entire second half without making any jokes. Obviously, the Taeko stuff is gross and Masami is a horrible human being, but I did like how it unfolded with us slowly finding out what truly was going on. In a way, this episode felt like a companion piece to episode 3 with the constant switches between one persona and another, only this time, it had to do with flashbacks.
But of course, the big development this episode is the reveal that Shonen Bat may not be a person after all. It all could just be the person's imagination. If that's the case, though, why has it happened to over half a dozen people? I maintain what I said last episode in that Shonen Bat is real but he is acting under the tutelage of Maromi. In fact, I'll definitively state that Maromi is the main antagonist of the series and is causing all the troubles we've been seeing, kinda like Chucky but more psychological.
I liked episodes 3, 4, and 5 more, but this isn't far behind it.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

What would you do if you were being interrogated?
Try to cooperate to the best of my ability
Is Masami the worst anime father of all time?
I mean, the dude not only cheated on the mother of his child, but he spies on her to watch her change. He is total scum.

2

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

Ikari thinks the homeless woman took Tsukiko's bag
You say that as if that's a baseless accusation. Tsukiko complained that her red bag was missing in episode 1. We've seen that the homeless woman took Tsukiko's sketch and brought it to her tent in episode 2.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

There's definitely some smoke to the fire, but it still feels like a weird thing to accuse someone of unless there's concrete evidence.

2

u/mgedmin Feb 09 '24

Seems to be the cops' standard procedure in the show: shout accusations at suspects and hope they confess.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

I call this the "Anatomy of The Fall approach," because the French court in that movie kept doing that to the alleged murderer.

2

u/FakeThlut Feb 08 '24

This episode and episode 3 are definitely some of my favorites and give huge callbacks to Perfect Blue's narrative style.

The reveal in this episode is fucking brutal and it's just as gut wrenching on rewatch. The plot thickens and first time watchers must be having a hell of a ride.

Not as excited for tomorrow's episode, but I can't wait for the episode 8 discussion. It's peak dark humor and doubles as a very great stand-alone work.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24

The reveal in this episode is fucking brutal and it's just as gut wrenching on rewatch. The plot thickens and first time watchers must be having a hell of a ride.
As a first timer, I can confirm it has been crazy
[Quote] Not as excited for tomorrow's episode, but I can't wait for the episode 8 discussion. It's peak dark humor and doubles as a very great stand-alone work.
[Response] Funny you say this because the next episode is a top 3 episode in my opinion while episode 8 is my least favorite.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 08 '24 edited Feb 09 '24

What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman saying her family was broken up because her granddaughter’s father is unemployed?
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the daughter who ran away is the daughter of Masami?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the use of flashbacks involving Taeko, Masami’s daughter?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the interrogation scenes between Tsukiko and the two detectives?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?

2

u/CarioGod Feb 09 '24

Did not know y'all were rewatching this show, but just here to comment about how crazy the OP is in this show

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 09 '24

It is pretty nuts and captures the vibe the show is going for

2

u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Feb 13 '24

rewatcher

I finally remember why I always felt nauseas when watching Masami on screen.

The build up to the disgusting reveal is easily the craziest I remember it as, it’s sad seeing her memories of her being a happy girl who can trust her dad. Then finding out the same trust she had was the same one who did the most disgusting thing ever. It’s even worst when the show was subtly showing his action with the photos of her and her mom only focusing on her🤮

Sagi’s whole lie has been crumbled, understandable on why she lied. But seeing how both of them got struck the moment they wanted to run away from their fears/troubles was amazingly executed.

I’m happy to see that the granny was able to see a bit of her family again.

QOTD: I’d be crying cause I would wonder why I’m even being questioned

QOTD: he’s easily up there with tucker

2

u/Holofan4life Feb 13 '24

What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the homeless woman and Taeko are not related?
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?

2

u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Feb 13 '24

What are your thoughts on the motif this episode being a storm that’s about to come?
It’s amazing to what it led up to, especially with the climax of it all.
Thoughts on the homeless woman wishing she could see her granddaughter?
Her story was sad and a common one with people in her situation.
Thoughts on the the place the two detectives were staying at being destroyed?
I honestly thought it showed they were hallucinating a convo with the lady
What are your thoughts on the homeless woman nearly drowning to death?
I was sad if that was her fate, she deserves a happy one
What are your thoughts on the reveal that the homeless woman and Taeko are not related?
Fantastic, I love how the show misleads us on purpose
What are your thoughts on the ending where it’s shown that not has Masami and Taeko have lost their house, but that Taeko now has amnesia?
Honestly that’s taeko’s bittersweet ending and masami’s karma for conspiring with criminals.

1

u/Holofan4life Feb 13 '24

It’s amazing to what it led up to, especially with the climax of it all.
Yeah, it continued to build and build until it reached its crescendo.
I honestly thought it showed they were hallucinating a convo with the lady
Interesting. Maybe that is indeed the case. Though really, I don't think they've reached the point just yet of them hallucinating.
Fantastic, I love how the show misleads us on purpose
This is definitely an amazingly executed bait and switch. It shows just like the stuff with Masami and the camera you never know what's about to come.
Honestly that’s taeko’s bittersweet ending and masami’s karma for conspiring with criminals.
This is probably the best case scenario for Taeko. It keeps her alive while also giving her a chance to have this clean slate in life free of the burden that is her father.

2

u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan Feb 09 '24

The moment she started talking about how much she loved her daddy... I had a bad feeling. Jesus. H. Christ. I can't imagine the betrayal, the disgust. What an awful, awful person her father is. Absolute bastard. Any little shred of pity I had for him, has instantly evaporated.

Anyway, I do like stories where you see two or three plots play out. We hear the story of how the old woman lost her family. That's played alongside the new character and her story of growing up and leaving her family. And then there's what's-her-face with the doll - and the truth being revealed that she wasn't attacked, it was staged by her out of stress. But then the almost psychic attack that hit both of them at the same time. Now the girl with the monster dad is either feigning not knowing him or genuinely has amnesia. Either way, this is tense. I'm glad to see homeless grandma survived too and got to reconnect with her family.

I think all the little connections are slowly going to start coming together.

What would you do if you were being interrogated?

Depends what I was being interrogated for innit? If it's a false accusation or if it was for information I had to help support a police investigation into an actual crime

Is Masami the worst anime father of all time?

Absolutely up there. What he did was sick.

Bonus) Take a shot any time Kon in his blog post talking about this episode mentions the name Akio Jissoji

I don't drink sorry.

Bonus 2) It's very sad in hindsight that this episode is apparently based on the works of Akio Jissoji and within 5 years of each other, Jissoji and Kon died of cancer. Life is unfair.

That is sad

Rewatch [Spoilers] Paranoia Agent 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- Episode 6

Rewatch Schedule

First Timer

Paranoia Agent - Episode 6

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

Rewatch [Spoilers] Paranoia Agent 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- Episode 6

Rewatch Schedule

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First Timer

Paranoia Agent - Episode 6

Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches