History YMMV / ParanoiaAgent

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: If you strip away the fantastic/disturbing elements, you can take a number of these away from the series. Among them are, [[spoiler:"Don't let lies spiral out of control"]], [[spoiler:"Take responsibility for your own actions and faults"]], [[spoiler:"Don't ever be afraid to face the truth"]], and especially, [[spoiler:"Just because something is comforting or seems to help doesn't mean it's not destructive."]]

** The concept of [[spoiler:one’s own imagined creation]] becoming a menace to everyone around [[spoiler:its creator]] predicted the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode ‘[[spoiler:[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?]]]]’.

** The concept of [[spoiler:one’s own imagined creation]] becoming a menace to everyone around [[spoiler:its creator]] predicted the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode ‘[[spoiler:Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS05E13DoPrincessesDreamOfMagicSheep]]’.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: A line in the opening sequence. ‘No need to worry about a tsunami or anything...’ Eh, turns out, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami they needed to worry about a tsunami after all]].
* HilariousInHindsight: The series revolves around a young boy coming to those who are desparate and screwing badly with their lives and thereby rendering their previous worries mostly moot, to the point of putting them at mortal danger, who’s earned the moniker ‘[[Literature/{{Murderess}} Ha...]]’ er, ‘Bat Lad’.

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Arguably the whole soundtrack (composed by the great Music/SusumuHirasawa, a frequent ''K-On!'' collaborator), but especially the OP and the triumphant score used when [[spoiler:Ikari breaks out of Maromi's LotusEaterMachine]].

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Arguably the whole soundtrack (composed by the great SusumuHirasawa, a frequent Kon collaborator), but especially the OP and the triumphant score used when [[spoiler:Ikari breaks out of Maromi's LotusEaterMachine]].

* UglyCute: Maromi is an intentional example; designed to resemble something innocent and approachable like Hello Kitty, but also designed to be strangely unsettling. His head and body form the shapeof a mushroom cloud.....

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: A line in the opening sequence. ‘No need to worry about a tsunami or anything...’ Eh, turns out, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Tōhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami they needed to worry about a tsunami after all]].

* HilariousInHindsight: The series revolves around a young boy coming to those who are desparate and screwing badly with their lives, to the point of putting them at mortal danger, who’s earned the moniker ‘[[Literature/{{Murderess}} Ha...]]’ er, ‘Bat Lad’.

* HilariousInHindsight: The series revolves around a young boy coming to those who are desparate and screwing badly with their lives, to the point of putting them at mortal danger, who’s earned the moniker ‘[[Literature/{{Murderess}} Ha―]]’ er, ‘Bat Lad’.

* HilariousInHindsight: The series revolves around a young boy coming to those who are desparate and screwing badly with their lives, to the point of putting them at mortal danger, who’s earned the moniker ‘[[Literature/{{Murderess}} Ha--]]’ er, ‘Bat Lad’.

* FanNickname: Due to his actions in the series, Masami Hirukawa is often called "Lolicop."

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: In the last few episodes, Lil Slugger [[spoiler: nearly levels Tokyo]]. Fans disagree about whether this happened because [[spoiler: Misae gave him a serious ReasonYouSuckSpeech, which seemed to cause him physical pain, and may have made him flip out.]] or if it was just a buildup of the [[spoiler: lies, fears, and desperation that created Lil Slugger and drew him to his victims in the first place]]. It basically depends on whether or not you view Lil Slugger as an [[spoiler: actual person with thoughts, emotions, and everything, or just a force of nature acting without any real agency over it's own actions, akin to a landslide or a flood.]]
* AwesomeMusic: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anabfAg06U The opening theme, ]] a cheesy, bombastic, electronic tune that's cheerfulness contrasts the show itself in an odd, yet satisfactory manner.
* CounterpartComparison: The already weird anime is made even weirder when you realize that Shounen Bat is basically a DarkerAndEdgier version of [[spoiler: "Not Me" from ''TheFamilyCircus'']].

* CrowningMusicOfAwesome: Arguably the whole soundtrack (composed by the great {{Susumu Hirasawa}}, a frequent Kon collaborator), but especially the OP and the triumphant score used when [[spoiler:Ikari breaks out of Maromi's LotusEaterMachine]].

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: If you strip away the fantastic/disturbing elements, you can take a number of these away from the series. Among them are, [[spoiler: "Don't let lies spiral out of control."]], [[spoiler: "Take responsibility for your own actions and faults."]], [[spoiler: "Don't ever be afraid to face the truth."]] and especially, [[spoiler: "Just because something is comforting or seems to help doesn't mean it's not destructive."]]
* TheWoobie: The delusional Makoto Kozuka is apprehended and suspected of being Li'l Slugger [[spoiler:but is killed by the real one. Slugger attacks those driven into corners, and Makoto was stressed by the intense and physically abusive interrogation from Ikari - as well as the rest of his life, as implied in episode eight - to the point that he wanted to die, much like the ghosts of Zebra, Fuyubachi, and Kamome in episode eight. Unlike them, however, [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor he gets his wish]] when he is bloodily beaten to death at the hands of Lil' Slugger.]]

** Maniwa. [[spoiler: He ends up going insane and ruining his life, but it's necessary in order to combat Lil Slugger, and in case something akin to Lil Slugger ever appears in the future.]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: If you strip away the fantastic/disturbing elements, you can take a number of these away from the series. Among them are, [[spoiler: "Don't let lies spiral out of control."]], [[spoiler: "Take responsibility for your owns actions and faults."]], [[spoiler: "Don't ever be afraid to face the truth."]] and especially, [[spoiler: "Just because something is comforting or seems to help doesn't mean it's not destructive."]]

*** Each member of the animation team could be a JerkAssWoobie. They were pressured to reach some deadline, and because of Lil' Slugger -by extension, themselves- they each DIED to complete the first episode of a series. However, the JerkAss comes from, yes, picking on the idiot of the team, and ALSO from the fact that none of them cared if the others died to complete the show, so long as the show was completed. And the ending before the "Take a rest" part... Dear lord... no wonder they all went nuts, with higher-ups like that.
** Maniwa. [[spoiler: He ends up going insane, ruining his life, but it's necessary in order to combat Lil Slugger, and in case something akin to Lil Slugger ever appears in the future.]]
* {{Woolseyism}}: The choice to change Shonen Bat's name to "Lil' Slugger" for the English Dub; if they had gone for a more direct translation it would have been "Bat Boy," which doesn't sound quite as iconic.
** Besides, [[WeeklyWorldNews it's already taken]].

** What about Tsuki? She definitely qualifies too.
** The trainee in the episode "Mellow Maromi" arguably also qualifies.
*** This troper saw each member of the animation team as a JerkAssWoobie. They were pressured to reach some deadline, and because of Lil' Slugger -by extension, themselves- they each DIED to complete the first episode of a series. However, the JerkAss comes from, yes, picking on the idiot of the team, and ALSO from the fact that none of them cared if the others died to complete the show, so long as the show was completed. And the ending before the "Take a rest" part... Dear lord... no wonder they all went nuts, with higher-ups like that.

** Maniwa. [[Spoiler: He ends up going insane, ruining his life, but it's necessary in order to combat Lil Slugger, and in case something akin to Lil Slugger ever appears in the future.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: In "ETC", the gossipers share ridiculous stories. The first to come up is the story of a kid vomiting out typed text and dying, believed to be connected to Lil' Slugger by the typed word "bat" landing on his forehead. The next story involves a girl and her overbearing, abusive gaurdian. They women say "How tragic" and so forth. We get to the new girl telling ridiculous stories, some more and some less, and she gets singled out.

* HypocriticalHumor: In "ETC", the gossipers share ridiculous stories. The first to come up is the story of a kid vomiting out typed text and dying, believed to be connected to Lil' Slugger by the typed word "bat" landing on his forehead. The next story involves a girl and her overbearing, abusive gaurdian. They women say "How tragic" and so forth. We get to the new girl telling rediculous stories, some more and some less, and she gets singled out.

*** {{YMMV}} though since he was a complete and utter moron and not endearingly so either.
*** Like [[{{DeconstructorFleet}} many other things in this show]], Saruta Naayuki might be a Deconstruction of TheWoobie in that we obviously feel for the guy in that everyone pushes him around, but then the viewer starts to see ''why'' that's so. He's incompetent, idiotic, and self-centered, and even when the audience sees his coworkers have good reason to hate him, he [[{{UnreliableNarrator}} grumbles to himself about how unfair they are, skewing the truth to his favor.]] [[spoiler: [[{{TomatoInTheMirror}} And that's nothing compared to Tsuki]].]]