At last, Paranoia Agent brings its disparate main characters together to confront their demons in “The Final Episode.” This one has it all: Kaiju fights, meditations on death, menstrual cramps and literal mountains of slime. Satoshi Kon began work on the series finale right after he orchestrated the beginning, and against all odds sticks the landing.

This week, Ian and Joseph unpack the emotional (and gooey!) climax to Kon’s supernatural detective drama. Along the way they discuss how often anime falters at the end, not to mention how the end of every supernatural series including Paranoia Agent seems to become The End of Evangelion. At the finale, we distil how Kon’s unique sensibilities helped him succeed on his first and only television series when so many other show runners fail.

Recap: 00:00

Analysis: 07:09