Search - Paranoia Agent - Serial Psychosis (Vol. 3) on DVD

A disc of filler. But by God, it's brilliant!

The Mark Inside | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The three episodes presented on this disc have very little to do with the characters we saw in volumes 1 and 2, but manage to be every bit as interesting, compelling, and sardonic as the first two volumes. This disc (but the second episode especially) shows how other people feel about Shonen Bat and how he's suddenly become a media phenomenon. Some people are trying to catch him, some want to be killed by him, and some just want to see him and have a good story to tell. The first episode is about three people (an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young girl) who meet in a chat room and enter a suicide pact. They attempt suicide in various ways but seem to be thwarted each time, but then decide to search for Shonen Bat to `save' them. This creepy and darkly humorous episode seems almost like a Takashi Miike film shot specifically to fit my taste. It never gets too over-the-top but manages to have some "Wow, you could never get away with this in America" moments. The second episode analyzes Shonen Bat as an urban legend/pop culture icon. Five women (including the young wife of a scriptwriter desperate to fit into the group) exchange increasingly improbable stories and rumors about Shonen Bat. To focus on characters we've never even seen for a one-shot episode in the middle of a series is one hell of a risk, but Satoshi Kon takes it and makes it a great episode for fans of urban legends and lore. The ending slaps you upside the head, but somehow doesn't feel forced. The third episode is about the animation process of your standard anime. A "Maromi" (that weird little plush dog) cartoon is being made for television by a small animation studio with an impatient staff. The staff is being picked off one by one by Shonen Bat, and the surviving animation team tries to meet the deadline at whatever cost. Maromi guides us as to who the staff members are and what their importance is, which gets us calm before everything goes very, very wrong. The animators must have loved doing this one, but must have been constantly looking over their shoulders. Imagine "The Player" as directed by David Lynch in an anime studio. Each episode is it's own story, which works shockingly well for this kind of show. My only fear now is that the final episodes won't be able to wrap everything up in time!"