One of the best anime I've ever seen. I felt like reviewing it because I felt its current rating is largely inadequate for such an innovative, striking, deep series. Being short is one of its good points, as it catches you quickly and doesn't drag out the plot in useless ways. To put it short: a frightening person appears in Tokyo. A boy with roller blades and a metal bat, who goes around beating people. Without a reason. Apparently, at least. Every episode will introduce you new characters of all sorts, with their lives and their problems, while behind all of them always lags the shadow of the mysterious assailant, Shonen Bat. And you start realizing that what's more creepy, perhaps, is not a little kid bludgeoning random people, but everyday's life, its madness, and the many ways in which people can be truly crazy while apparently sane... till the striking ending, which of course I won't spoil you, as it is one of the best ever. A very weird, original and nightmarish story which manages to make perfectly sense in the end is something rare which deserves a lot of respect; and this is what you get from Paranoia Agent. Just watch it. (show less)

This is my favorite anime of all time! I'm so happy that you can see the English and Japanese versions here, the Japanese for the subtle things you missed on AdultSwim, the English so you can appreciate the visuals you miss reading all the subtitles.
Anyway... The best thing about this series are the stand-alone episodes, which are a lot of them, which lead you on a side adventure that ends in a realization about the fragile nature of the human mind, seemingly Satoshi's main theme in everything, but this time, the entertainment is palpable. My favorite is Ep. 8, I would suggest seeing this one first - if you're into thiller themes with dramatic presentation - otherwise, just sit back and enjoy the most creative and thought provoking series in the anime catalogue.
If you enjoy stories that end (!!!) this is one for you. (show less)

I consider this an interesting, mysterious anime that leaves you wanting to know more about the identity of the 'real' killer or attacker, until you find yourself following this anime until the very last episode. The mysteries reveal themselves little by little over the episodes, where all of the important characters in the story are involved in the search of this 'imaginary or real' attacker who keeps attacking 'troubled or cornered' people. The whole idea of this story can be highly disturbing to some people, but I personally think this is quite a 'mind opener' that keeps you thinking a step further. (show less)