[Tyto]

I really have to ask, what's with the hate on Paranoia Agent? I'm genuinely surprised. It's always been one of those series like Cowboy Bebop that goes on the general list of "things-that-actually-defend-anime-as-an-artform-and-not-just-boob-jokes-and-giant-swords".

Anyway, the 2 series I always feel I have to go out of my way to red-flag are Higurashi no Naku Koro ni/When the Cicadas Cry and Elfen Lied.

They're both well known and notorious for their supposedly dark and gritty violence, but that's just the thing, it's all cheap uninteresting violence with poor and often irrationally schizophrenic character writing, terrible plot progression, terrible art design, and in the case of Higurashi just outright terrible art. The violence itself isn't actually anything bad enough to scare anyone away, it's just all so poorly done and ill conceived that it's not worth watching.

Both try to pitch the horror/suspence/psychological thriller angle, but neither succeeds in using anything beyond overdone cliches. The horror twists are more predictable than the sun rising in the morning and what little suspense there might be left in any given moment is usually ruined by the god awful art quality. Also I can't help but hate the "wannabe hardcore" vibe both shows ooze of like sweat oozes off a fat kid on a treadmill.

And for the record, Elfen Lied is pronounced "ɛlfɪn liːt" and NOT "ɛlfɪn laɪd" It's German for "Elf Song". I hate hearing kids calling it "Elfen L-eye-d" as in "I told a lie". Do people normally just take random guesses at how to pronounce words without stopping to wonder if it has any meaning? I could accept assuming the Lied was English if it weren't so clear that the Elfen wasn't, and once you realize that Elfen is German, I'd only hope you make the logical connection that Lied is as well.