Paranoia Agent and the Islamic Lessons on Despair and Reality
Paranoia Agent and the Islamic Lessons on Despair and Reality - Previously, we discussed Islamic teachings in the anime "Serial Experiments Lain" and also discussed another video titled "Dissecting Ayanokouji's Thoughts According to Islam." Now, on this occasion, we'll return to discuss another serious anime, "Paranoia Agent."
Weird Anime
An anime that is confusing, yet full of meaning about life. Perhaps that is the most appropriate phrase to describe Paranoia Agent, or in Japanese, Mousou Dairinin.
If you enjoy anime with a similar style to Serial Experiments Lain, you’ll likely be familiar with this kind of storytelling. Yes, a narrative style that is quiet, full of metaphors, and loaded with bizarre anomalies. But that’s the signature of this anime.
Although in my opinion, the anomalies in this anime are rather excessive. And perhaps that’s what led this anime to only receive a rating of 7.66 on anime fan sites. Yes, a relatively low rating compared to its predecessor, Serial Experiments Lain, which received a higher rating.
Yes, the storyline of this anime opens with a scene where the main character named Tsukiko Sagi, a character designer of Maromi — a plush mascot character — is walking home from work on a quiet night. A shy and introverted young woman working as a character designer. At that time, she was also feeling stressed because her boss at the company had started pressuring her to create a new successful character like Maromi, but Tsukiko was completely out of ideas.
Outside of work, Tsukiko also felt lonely. People around her saw her as strange, and even on the street she felt like she was being “followed,” with the world feeling increasingly suffocating.
That night, while Tsukiko was walking home carrying the Maromi doll, she was suddenly attacked by a mysterious figure — a young boy on rollerblades wielding a golden baseball bat. He struck Tsukiko until she fainted. The police arrived and interrogated Tsukiko. When asked about the incident, all Tsukiko could say was that she was hit by a young boy… wearing a cap… and carrying a baseball bat…
And so began the urban legend figure: Shounen Bat (Lil' Slugger). However, it became a mystery because there wasn’t a single witness who saw a boy with a baseball bat hitting Tsukiko. Was this just something Tsukiko made up to escape the pressure? Or did the boy truly exist?
Yes, the theme attempted by this anime is actually quite interesting. But as I said at the beginning, the deeper we dive into the storyline, the more we frown due to its increasingly absurd plot. In the first four episodes, it’s not very noticeable, but starting from episode five, the absurdity becomes apparent — from the narrative entering deeply imagined fairy tale fiction to strange scenes inserted without clear purpose. And the ending also feels very unresolved.
Paranoia Agent Episode 11
However, in episode 11 — about the wife of one of the dismissed police officers targeted by the real Shounen Bat due to her depression — it truly provides a very important life lesson.
Yes, it is told that his wife, named Ikari, suffers from a serious illness that affects her brain, causing her to be unable to control herself from bizarre actions, such as hanging sheets in the rain, boiling an empty kettle, and so on.
However, when Shounen Bat comes to her — known as the urban legend who gives peace to his victims by hitting them and freeing them from all burdens — Ikari refuses to give in and surrender her life to Shounen Bat. That’s because she believes in her husband.
In fact, Ikari had repeatedly felt like giving up and becoming hopeless about her life, but her husband, a police officer, repeatedly gave her the motivation to keep living and face all the problems without running from them.
He said what Shounen Bat does — appearing to save those who have given up — is nothing but false salvation.
Yes, it needs to be noted that in this anime, the victims of the urban legend Shounen Bat all have their own issues and deep despair. For example, Tsukiko in the first episode, who was also Shounen Bat’s first victim, had problems with her job and was depressed due to work demands.
She also struggled socially, unable to connect with anyone, even her co-workers, which made her appear isolated and lonely.
Then there’s the second victim who had many debts owed to loan sharks.
Then Harumi Chono, the fourth victim of Shounen Bat, who suffered from dissociative identity disorder and struggled to suppress an alter ego completely opposite to her true self.
The next victims were the same. They all shared one common trait: facing severe personal issues that drove them to such despair that they wanted to escape from their circumstances.
And Ikari is the only target of Shounen Bat who survived and dared to resist what Shounen Bat offered — an escape from life.
Yes, although this anime may appear strange and absurd, this is actually the way the creator chose to convey the message he wanted to express.
Ikari’s scene seems deliberately placed near the final episode — episode 11 — to give us a depiction of how complex her life was, and also her husband’s, who was eventually dismissed from his position as a police officer due to failing to prevent the disappearance of a suspect thought to be Shounen Bat.
And what Ikari did is very much in line with Islamic teachings.
Islam emphasizes that we should never despair of the mercy and grace of Allah.
Continue to have good thoughts about Allah, for He knows best the destiny given to us.
No matter how heavy the problems and trials we are given, facing them is the best path.
As Ikari said in her dialogue in the anime: “Don’t run from reality; salvation is just an illusion.”
Shounen Bat in this anime is akin to Satan, who tempts humans to give up and fall into despair.
He is even portrayed as being able to pass through walls and approach anyone who feels depressed and wants to escape life.
Shounen Bat can also be likened to the addiction of illegal drugs and alcohol, which are clearly forbidden in Islam.
Why? As Ikari said, all of that is just a human’s way of escaping reality, but clearly, these things do not solve the problem — they don’t truly save — they only provide illusions and temporary pleasure.
Yes, that’s the discussion for now. So it can be concluded that what the creator of this anime wanted to convey through several scenes and the basic premise of the story is very much in line with the teachings of Islam — the teaching of not giving up on the mercy of Allah, not following the temptations of the cursed devil (represented here by Shounen Bat), and the reason why Islam forbids the use of illicit substances and alcohol.
Because all of it only gives temporary pleasure and causes us to run from reality, ultimately destroying the body.
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