I rented the first volume of Satoshi Kon's tv series Paranoia Agent a few days ago (it includes the first four of twelve episodes). I'm normally not a big watcher of anime tv shows (the last one I really got hooked on was Cowboy Bebop), but I'm intrigued by what I've seen so far of this series. If you like Satoshi Kon's movie work thus far, you should give it a look. Apparently, he used the series as something of a repository for some of the ideas that he wasn't able to use in his movies. It's all nicely animated, probably a little lower-budgeted than Millenium Actress or Tokyo Godfathers, but it looks more like a movie than a tv series. It has a cool opening sequence (just try getting that deceptively upbeat theme song out of your head!) and I also like the little Stan Brakhage-influenced commercial "bumpers".

There's a fairly large cast of characters, and each episode focuses on a different one. After seeing the first four episodes, they seem a little formulaic in some ways (person has skewed vision of reality/split personality, gets hit in the head by Shonen Bat, that helps them somehow), but that may change a little bit with the fifth episode. In any case, I'm interested in seeing where things go even though I'm fully expecting some kind of "WTF?" ending with a lot of questions unanswered. Geneon is releasing the second volume on January 11, and the third and final one on March 8 (having to wait that long is a little irritating, the same goes for their volumes of Giant Robo). Has the Cartoon Network aired any episodes of Paranoia Agent? (There's some nudity that they would cut if they did).

Are there any other recent anime series that are must-sees for someone whose anime viewing is mainly limited to movies by people like Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo (when does Steamboy get an R1 release? Columbia/Tristar's Godzilla: Tokyo SOS disc has a teaser for it), Hayao Miyazaki, and Satoshi Kon? (I might watch some of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex episodes sometime soon)

> Are there any other recent anime series that are must-sees for someone whose anime
> viewing is mainly limited to movies by people like Mamoru Oshii, Katsuhiro Otomo (when
> does Steamboy get an R1 release? Columbia/Tristar's Godzilla: Tokyo SOS disc has a teaser
> for it), Hayao Miyazaki, and Satoshi Kon?

If you liked Serial Experiment Lain, there are a number of recent excellent shows by alumni of that show.

Yoshitoshi Abe (the character designer of Lain) wrote and designed my favorite series ever -- "Haibane Renmei" and did the visual designs for "Texhnolyze" (scripted by chiako Konako, writer of Lain). Visually (and in terms of content) these are about as good as one gets. The two shows are as far apart as one can imagine. The first (a story of young people in a bucolic limbo-esque after life) is largely calm and reflective, the second (a dystopia, in the form of a giant underground mining colony) is brutal and savage.

Ryutaro Nakamura (the director Lain) has directed "Kino no tabi" (Kino's Journey) -- a series that is more fascinating for its literary quality (rather like a mix of Lem, Borges and Marquez) than stunning visuals (not that these are _bad_, mind you).

If one is a fan of Takahata (the other Ghibli giant), there is the absolutely wonderful "Azumanga Daioh" -- which follows a group of girls (including a 10 year old genius) through all three years of high school. Sweet and hysterically funny.

Some Miyazaki fans (especially those who love "Castle in the Sky") have liked "Last Exile", but I found this no better than second-rate.

(Disclaimer -- I dislike anime as a general rule -- so my recommendations might not be very reliable).

MEK

Did you see Satoshi Kon's 1997 movie, PERFECT BLUE? It's a precursor to "Paranoia Agent" and deals with some of the same themes. "Paranoia" ep. 3, in particular, deliberately recalls PERFECT BLUE.

Other series I'd recommend:

"Boogiepop Phantom" (I have a review of this on imdb.com) - 12 episodes. It's a challenging one, definitely in the "Lain"/"Paranoia" mold. And co-written by the writer of "Paranoia Agent." Hard to describe. Psychological horror is one genre it might fit into, but it's so much more than that. This engaged me a lot more than did such live-action films as THE RING, PARASITE EVE, and UZUMAKI.

"Witch Hunter Robin" - it played on Cartoon Network last year or so. 26 eps., I believe. I taped them all, watched the first 8 or so and haven't had a chance to get to the rest, but I liked the style very much and want to sit down and watch the whole series when I can.

"Someday's Dreamers" - 12 eps. More of a drama, with some supernatural content, but dolled up in New Age wrapping, but not so much as to interfere with what is at heart, a powerful coming-of-age tale. I did a review of Volume 3 on Amazon.com.

"X" - 26 eps. Groups of attractive young people, Land Dragons and Sky Dragons, continuing an ancient war, with Tokyo as a battleground. Based on the manga that was also the basis for the 1996 movie of the same name. The series is directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri (NINJA SCROLL, VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST). I think the series is better than the movie. Great music, too. (I have a review of this series on IMDB.)

"Initial D" - not at all like any of these other series. It's a dramatic series (ongoing) about mountain road racers in rural Japan. But also about high school-age romantic awkwardness. The characters in it really strike a chord with me because they behave like real teenagers. I recognize their behavior (something I don't recognize in American movies/shows about teens). Plus, the racing scenes are very exciting. And the "Eurobeat" score is great. And I like the look of it very much. One of the best anime series I've seen in years. (And, finally, yes again, I have a review of this series' first season, "Initial D First Stage," on IMDB)


Of the series Michael mentioned, I've only seen the first two volumes of "Last Exile" (which I enjoyed for its adventure and look) and a couple of episodes of "Haibane Renmei," which I didn't respond to at all. I don't remember why. I don't think I ever got the premise of it.

"Witch Hunter Robin" is currently playing on the Cartoon Network Mon-Wed. nights at 1:30am. It follows "Wolf's Rain" at 1:00am, which I believe was created by some of the same folks who did "Cowboy Bebop". I see that CN is repeating the feature anime READ OR DIE on Christmas night. I missed this when it was on before. Any opinions on this? Is it worth setting the VCR?

RE: "R.O.D. (Read or Die)"
I wasn't aware that Cartoon Network had run this. I'm guessing the feature is a compilation of the three OAV episodes. There was a later TV series, too.
I've seen the three OAV episodes and if that's what's on, it's definitely worth taping. They were absolutely delightful--imaginative, exciting and funny. The OAV eps. are about a young woman, Yomiko Readman, who's a collector of old books and a secret agent for the British Library. She has a secret power involving paper that has to be seen to be believed. It's a real old-fashioned serial-style adventure show with all sorts of clever historical references. (Beethoven plays an important part in the action.) This was made before 2001 and includes a harrowing sequence at the World Trade Center. I'm wondering if that scene's going to be cut out.

Definitely see it.

A little while ago, I was thinking that the opening sequence of this show is a little bit more ominous now in light of recent events in Asia. IIRC, the theme song actually contains the line "don't worry about tsunami" or something like that (and it does include at least one shot of characters in an area that looks as if it was just hit by one). Of course, there was already something a bit unsettling about this opening sequence with the contrast between catchy theme music and happy, smiling characters and the general undertone of impending catastrophe (a little bit Evangelion-like, I suppose)

Geneon is releasing the second volume of Paranioa Agent in a couple of weeks (vol. 3 is being released in March, I don't know when Vol. 4 is coming), and I'm looking forward to seeing some more of this series.