History YMMV / ParanoiaAgent

* FridgeHorror: Given that Disassociative Identity Disorder is often linked to past trauma, [[NothingIsScarier one can only wonder]] what Harumi Chono went through to have another personality that works as a prostitute.

* FridgeHorror: Given that Disassociative Identity Disorder is often linked to past trauma, [[NothingIsScarier one can only wonder]] what Harumi Chono went through to have multiple personalities ''that are all prostitutes.''

* {{Anvilicious}}: ''Paranoia Agent'' is not remotely subtle in its message that part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]]. While the first few episodes only contain very subtle hints, the later episodes sometimes hit the viewer with the series' main message like a golden bat to the head. [[spoiler:For example, it sure is obvious what Creator/SatoshiKon was trying to say when Ikari destroys that creepy-ass paper town with a baseball bat while admitting that he has to face the reality that he no longer has a place in the world.]] Then again, given the MindScrew nature of the series, it's possible that this was intentional so that viewers would not miss the point.

* {{Anvilicious}}: ''Paranoia Agent'' is not remotely subtle in its message that part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]]. While the first few episodes only contain very subtle hints, the later episodes sometimes hit the viewer with the series' main message like a golden bat to the head. [[spoiler:For example, it sure is obvious what Creator/SatoshiKon was trying to say when Ikari destroys that creepy-ass paper town with a baseball bat while admitting that he has to face the reality that he no longer has a place in the world.]]

* {{Anvilicious}}: Paranoia Agent is not remotely subtle in its message that part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]]. While the first few episodes only contain very subtle hints, the later episodes sometimes hit the viewer with the series' main message like a golden bat to the head. [[spoiler: For example, it sure is obvious what Satoshi Kon was trying to say when Ikari destroys that creepy-ass paper town with a baseball bat while admitting that he has to face the reality that he no longer has a place in the world.]]

* {{Anvilicious}}: While the first few episodes only contain very subtle hints, the later episodes sometimes hit the viewer with the series' main message of [[spoiler:having to grow up and confront reality]] like a golden bat to the head.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Paranoia Agent is not remotely subtle in its message that part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]]. If it was, though, the anime would lose much of what makes its message so powerful. [[spoiler: For example, it sure is obvious what Satoshi Kon was trying to say when Ikari destroys that creepy-ass paper town with a baseball bat while admitting that he has to face the reality that he no longer has a place in the world, but would the scene be even half as memorable if Kon had toned it down?]]

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]].

** Yuichi is something of a JerkassWoobie as well. He's a SpoiledBrat who was essentially bound to take a dose of HumblePie sooner or later, and reacts quite badly at it when it does, constantly antagonizing someone completely innocent and even being ''happy'' as they're attacked by the Lil' Slugger. However, he's also dealing with ostacrized and shunned by absolutely every one of his peers: bullying is never nice, much less when just a day ago everyone loved him.

* BrokenBase: [[spoiler:How much at fault ''is'' Tsukiko over the creation of Lil' Slugger? Some fans point out her lack of refusal to admit blame over the death of her dog Maromi, who inspired the mascot of the same name, is so she'd be looked as a victim. Others have countered that thanks to her implied schizophrenia, she ''didn't'' know her actions would cause so much chaos.]]

* BrokenBase: [[spoiler:How much at fault ''is'' Tsukiko over the creation of Lil' Slugger? Some fans point out her lack of refusal to admit blame over the death of her dog Maromi, who inspired the mascot of the same name, is so she'd be looked as a victim. Others have countered that thanks to her implied schizophrenia, she ''didn't'' know her actions would causes so much chaos.]]

* BrokenBase: [[spoiler:How much at fault ''is'' Tsukiko over the creation of Lil' Slugger?]] Some fans point out [[spoiler:her lack of refusal to admit blame over the death of her dog Maromi, who inspired the mascot of the same name, is so she'd be looked as a victim. Others have countered that thanks to her implied schizophrenia, she ''didn't'' know her actions would causes so much chaos.]]

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: A line in the opening sequence. "No need to worry about a tsunami or anything..." Turns out [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami they needed to worry about a tsunami after all.]]

* 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 its own actions, akin to a landslide or a flood.]]
* {{Anvilicious}}: While the first few episodes only contain very subtle hints, the last sometimes hit the viewer with the show's main message of [[spoiler: having to grow up and confront reality]] like a golden bat to the head.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anabfAg06U The opening theme]], a cheesy, bombastic, electronic tune whose cheerfulness contrasts the show itself in an odd, yet satisfactory manner.
* BrokenBase: A debated argument with fans of the show is [[spoiler: How much at fault ''is'' Tsukiko over the creation of Lil Slugger?]] While most people would point out [[spoiler: her lack of refusal to admit blame over the death of her dog Maromi (who inspired the mascot of the same name) is so she'd be looked as a victim, considering her reasoning for Maromi's death and what lead to the creation of Lil Slugger was an implied ''period cramp'' and her implied schizophrenic mentality, it's usually considered she ''didn't'' know her actions were causing chaos to (and later on destroying) Tokyo]]. Then again, considering Kon's [[MindScrew usual shtick]], it was probably left this way for people to discuss.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: A line in the opening sequence. ‘No need to worry about a tsunami or anything...’ Turns out [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami they needed to worry about a tsunami after all...]]
* HarsherInHindsight: The show revolves around the idea of a single strange attack [[spoiler: that began as a hoax]] that gets picked up by the media, incidents increase, and rapidly becomes a national crisis. As WebVideo/SuperEyepatchWolf points out, this ends up bearing an eerie resemblance to reports of clown attacks in 2016.
* HilariousInHindsight:
** The series revolves around a young boy coming to those who are desperate 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’.
* UglyCute: Maromi is an intentional example; designed to resemble something innocent and approachable like Hello Kitty, but with an unsettling twist. His head and body form the shape of a mushroom cloud.....
* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Part of being an adult means accepting the world as it is rather than hiding behind [[{{Escapism}} fantasy]] or [[NeverMyFault denial]]. Are these themes subtle? No. Were (and are) they relevant? EVEN MORE SO with the increased use of Social Media and sheer ease of access to comforting fantasies through the internet since 2004.
* {{Squick}}: Hirukawa taking pictures of ''his own daughter undressing in her bedroom'' with a hidden camera; Indeed, anybody else would've probably also thrown up after discovering something so vile about one of their own parents.
* UncannyValley: Many of the characters can fall under this.

** Harumi Chono's alter-ego Maria, who often sports a deranged, puppet-like grin.
** Masami Hirukawa, a short, stout man with a gaping huge mouth and large lips to boot.
** Akio Kawazu, who's wild-eyed, perverted grin almost comes across as froglike at times.

** 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.]]
** Tsuki and the trainee in the episode "Mellow Maromi" also qualifiy.
** 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 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.]]
** Misae Ikari, [[spoiler: who's struggling with multiple illnesses and such and yet devotes everything to her husband despite her fears and insecurities that he doesn't love her anymore/could be cheating on her, a very sad AdultFear reality that most spouses deal with. She does however go into IronWoobie since unlike half of the characters who are attacked by Lil Slugger, she just accepts reality as it is and refuses to back down despite feeling broken and tired]]. Chief Ikari as well, considering [[spoiler: it's shown throughout the anime that he ''does'' love Misae, but her health state does drag him down terribly]].
** Tsukiko, [[spoiler: having your dog killed at a young age and then pinning the blame on a fake attacker to not get in trouble and having ''that'' become a living entity ([[MindScrew of our implications anyway..]]) that begins attacking (and later on) destroys Tokyo really leaves a mark on someone]].
* {{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 and besides, [[Magazine/WeeklyWorldNews it's already taken]].

* 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 ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'']].

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

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anabfAg06U The opening theme]], a cheesy, bombastic, electronic tune whose cheerfulness contrasts the show itself in an odd, yet satisfactory manner.

* BrokenAesop: The show asks the main characters to face up to their problems, even as it goes to great pains to convey that most of them have nowhere and no one to turn to for support in doing so.
** It's debatable, but Tsukiko Sagi may in fact have a legitimate mental illness, such as schizophrenia. In which case, she might very well be ''unable'' to understand her delusions aren't real, or at the very least unable to do so without professional help.
** Harumi Chono, in real life, would have long since been institutionalized. No therapist worth their salt would allow a patient with [[spoiler: dissociative identity disorder]] to [[spoiler: prostitute herself.]] There are thousands of ways that could go wrong and cause undue harm and trauma to the patient, potentially exacerbating their condition.

* {{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 and besides, [[WeeklyWorldNews it's already taken]].

* BlackComedy: The show occasionally has tones of this trope, but [[spoiler: episode 8, "Happy Family Planning," takes the cake.]]

** 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’.

* BrokenAesop: The show asks the main characters to face up to their problems, even as it goes to great pains to convey that most of them are shown to have nowhere and no one to turn to for support in doing so.
** It's debatable, but Tsukiko Sagi may in fact have a legitimate mental illness, in which case her aesop could be completely broken.
** Harumi Chono, in real life, would have long since been institutionalized. No therapist worth their salt is going to leave a patient with [[spoiler: dissociative identity disorder]] to [[spoiler: prostitute herself.]] There are thousands of ways that could go wrong and cause undue harm and trauma to the patient, exacerbating their condition.