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Satoshi Kon’s eerie fantasy grows darker and more disquieting as it progresses. All Tokyo is fixated on the seemingly random violence of Lil’ Slugger. In episode 9, a group of gossipy housewives trades increasingly outrageous stories: Lil’ Slugger brained a pitcher during a major league baseball game; he attacked a man on a desert island; he appeared in a pregnant woman’s ultrasound. After swapping lies, one of the women is ecstatic to discover her husband has been beaten by the mysterious adolescent. Episode 8 reveals Kon’s black sense of humor: An old man, a younger man, and an adolescent girl ineptly try to fulfill an online suicide pact. When they see Lil’ Slugger at an inn, they eagerly pursue him. Kon loops back to the main narrative when violence strikes the studio that’s animating Maromi, the cute little dog created by Tsukiko, the first victim. (Rated 16 and older: violence, tobacco and alcohol use) –Charles Solomon