Paranoia Agent: The Strange Tale of Lil Slugger

This unusual anime starts out simply enough. Tsukiko Sagi is the timid creator of Maromi, a canine version of Hello Kitty, and she is feeling pressured by everyone around her. On her way home from a very stressful day of work she is assaulted by a baseball bat wielding in-line skater. The police investigate, but it would seem a random beating with no real motivation. That is until more victims start piling up. The media name the attacker Lil’ Slugger, and the more people he attacks the more mysterious and powerful he gets. Detectives Ikari and Maniwa are called to investigate the case, but things don’t add up. None of the victims had anything in common except that they were all forced into unfortunate and stressful situations that they had no escape from. Even stranger was that after getting severely beaten by Lil Slugger all the victims are noticeably happier as a result. The investigation starts to take a supernatural turn and the mystery of the wraith like Lil Slugger deepens. I cant decide whether I like this anime or not. At the very least I found it to be different from the normal run of the mill hero and villain or highschool drama anime that flood the market.

Lil Sluggers character can be pretty creepy at times, and the over all feel of the anime is very psychological. The episodes tend to vary with some being creepy and others pretty amusing, but the climax is something that can hardly be described. Opinions on this anime tend to vary, even my own does, but there is a certain almost schizophrenic feel to Paranoia Agent that keeps me interested.