WARNING: This ESSAY is a Spoiler for Satoshi Kon's Paranoia Agent -- please stop reading here if you wish to avoid spoilers.
So I just finished rewatching Satoshi Kon's one and only television series Paranoia Agent on Blu-Ray. And wow was it so much darker than I ever remembered it. In fact, I think it plumbs depths of human depravity deeper even than Perfect Blue or Paprika.
Analyzing the series as a whole would take an entire book, so I want to zero in on what to me stand out as a few key themes, and also, I want to Zoom in and Enhance on a few Key scenes.
Specifically, this scene:
I don't think I picked up the first time through that Tsukiko had really bad, sudden menstrual cramps that made her let go of Maromi's leash. Maromi was right--it wasn't her fault. But she couldn't possibly tell her Dad the whole truth. Way too personal, and her father, being very strict, was not emotionally available to his vulnerable daughter going through this significant change in her life. The mother seems to be absent, the figure a young girl experiencing the ups and downs puberty would naturally turn to. The blood splatter of the dog-car accident serving a dual symbolic role...also menstrual blood. God, Satoshi Kon was a mad genius. The mere idea of telling her strict father it was because she had sudden painful menstrual cramping that she dropped the leash was so mortifying she made up the whole Lil’ Slugger story to explain it away...
That adds a whole fucked up psycho-sexual layer I completely missed the first time through...and the whole cognitive dissonance between levels of culpability...yes, it was a hot day and she was a distracted tween-to-teen girl already and letting go of the leash lead to the dog’s death...but letting go of the leash wasn’t a conscious act but an involuntary reflex in response to pain stimuli...and because of her strained relationship with her father she couldn’t tell him the truth of it...a painful delusion she buried deep in her psyche. And the cartoon version of Maromi was right---it WASN'T Tsukiko's fault...not really....but damn that return of the repressed is a BITCH....
And like I don’t think her producer was “actually” a victim of Lil’ Slugger, he literally commits vehicular suicide right in front of her....after physically assaulting her then pretending like nothing happened...because he realizes he just destroyed his work relationship with his best artist by roughing her up physically & terrifying her and there's no fixing it or pretending everything's still fine now.
And for Tsukiko personally, cartoon Maromi’s ongoing commercial success was a double edge sword....yes, it’s a cute mascot which she can be legitimately proud of, but it’s also a painful reminder of the violent death of a beloved pet that she loved and whose demise she felt partly responsible for. Not exactly the healthiest creative muse, and hence her creative mental "block" as an artist that she struggles to overcome....This final scene where adult Tsukiko enters the memory of young Tsukiko and embraces real Maromi's lifeless body and apologies from her heart represents real closure for Tsukiko...a final admission of the stark truth of what happened, without reference to fault or blame as such. It's a shame she couldn't have worked her way to this truth on the couch of a therapist, in a safe & supportive environment.
The ending is open enough that maybe Tsukiko produced the adorable cat mascot at the end but the more likely reading is she quit the profession entirely and is in a happier place now...and look, there’s always another artist who will step up to produce the next big thing...and struggle like Tsukiko did to come up with a new thing that’s even better.....For that’s the artist’s eternal struggle, to surpass even oneself...success and achievement being forever fleeting and transitory...forever chasing the next big high....something Satoshi Kon knew as well as anyone.
Also, Ep.10 is so darkly funny....Kon's own j'accuse at his audience and bosses....."we're literally killing ourselves to make this entertainment for you, you ungrateful shits!"
And the ending is so defiantly BRECHTIAN in tone...like Kon is screaming at his audience: "Get out there and experience real life, you fucking gross Otaku!"; escapist fantasy is a fine diversion but it's no replacement for actual life!
The ending is pretty stark...the lead detective is now a widower and still an underemployed security guard. His former police partner has gone insane and is now himself a white-haired mental patient at the very same hospital as the crazy old man who passed away. Tsukiko has cut her hair and seems happier now, while the sleazy reporter is still scraping by, and the crooked, creepy pedo cop still looks after his amnesiac daughter who is spared the memory & knowledge of her father's creepy voyeurism towards her.
I really enjoyed this re-watch and it very much deepened my appreciate of Satoshi Kon's work. I could say so much more about Paranoia Agent but this will suffice for now. Back to sleep everyone....
