The Holy Warrior

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Paranoia Agent
"The Holy Warrior"
Previous episode	"A Man's Path"
Next episode	"Fear of a Direct Hit"

The Holy Warrior is the fifth episode of the 2004 animated series Paranoia Agent.

[edit] Prophetic Vision

To begin with... Guided by the light beam's red rays... The road that divides the present from the past... The rising sun cherry blossom that steals your breath... Thicket before you know it... The princess is possessed... The sacred sword knocks at the door... The surprise when it opens... Tada, tada, charge!!! And then...

[edit] Plot

Ikari and Maniwa interrogate the boy known as Lil' Slugger, who turns out to be an eighth grade student named Makoto Kozuka. Kozuka admits to the attacks, but he believes that the world around him is a medieval-style role playing game. Kozuka believes that in attacking people, he is liberating them from a villain named Gohma who has possessed them.

Kozuka retells the chronology of attacks from his game-based perspective, and Ikari and Maniwa follow along in a narrative device quite reminiscent of the director's Millennium Actress; Maniwa, taking an emic point of view, especially gets caught up in Kozuka's role playing. The detectives see that his tale corresponds with all of the attacks —with the notable exception of the case of Tsukiko Sagi. However, Kozuka points the detectives to someone whom he believes can help him take the game to the next level, and whom the detectives believe may be an important witness to that initial attack.

[edit] Notes

• Episode Title Appearance: "(the) Holy Warrior" is the name of the video game Makoto Kozuka believes he is from, and is printed on the cover of the strategy guide that Maniwa passes to Ikari for reference.

• The episode references the classic British comedy series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, near the end of Kozuka's fantasy. As the creature appears from the heavens, Kozuka says, "It's-" and is promptly stomped upon with a stylized human foot. This mirrors the opening line "It's-" on every episode of Flying Circus, as well as the iconic foot.

• Kozuka's armor is very similar to the armor worn by the Hero from the original Dragon Quest video game, a very popular role-playing game series in Japan.

• Kozuka's behavior by be reflective of schizophrenia, in that he seems to have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality.

Paranoia Agent
Characters
Shougo Ushiyama | Misae Ikari | Tsukiko Sagi | Maromi
Episodes
Enter Lil' Slugger | The Golden Shoes | Double Lips | A Man's Path | The Holy Warrior | Fear of a Direct Hit | MHz | Happy Family Planning | ETC | Mellow Maromi | Entry Forbidden | Radar Man | Final Episode
Other
Paranoia Agent Original Soundtrack | Satoshi Kon | Susumu Hirasawa