Perfect Blue

There's a reason why this movie is called Perfect Blue. "Perfect" because the movie itself is a masterpiece and "Blue" because it is truly a dementia that will make you fall into despondent of figuring out what's actually happening.

So..What exactly happened? I can't really write a long-ass review because my entire brain cells had been eradicated after watching this movie. This simple 1 hour 13 minutes of art made me become discerned of the fact that I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer nor the sharpest tool in the shed but a mere hollow headed person who couldn't even mentally grasp the ... details of something he himself refers as a "masterpiece".

In all honesty, I actually understood the first half of the movie. It was simple. A life of an idol. Becomes delusion from all the pressure and anxiety which were lit by her own actions and also boosted moderately by some tryhard fan and other individuals. I thought that this movie would probably just be the same level as other dementia shows/series I've seen. Not until the movie pulls out some naruto clone jutsu shenanigan that wrecks and debunks all of my incisive analysis from pie to zero.

The movie successfully landed on Tilted Towers and managed to make me call it retarded several times due to its nonstop confusions. But hey, that's why I like this movie. In fact, this is exactly my type of thing. A movie that could flex its four genres ( Dementia, Drama, Horror, Psychological ) without feeling doubtful because nobody can doubt their presence.

Not liking this movie is equivalent to inevitably coming to like this movie. Seriously, this movie's radiance of revel is beyond imagination. Who could possibly dislike this movie?

I recommend this to everyone. Ha, jokes on you if you're trying to avoid watching this. Because if you're trying to do so, another self of you will haunt you until you actually watch the movie!

Personas, we all have them to an extent. Even the most consistent and honest people will act slightly different at home with their parents, hanging out with their friends, dealing with their boss, or alone with their lover. But these personas are usually consistent enough that no real issues arise. But what happens when the personas are so different that even we can't tell which is our mask and which is our true face? And those problems are compounded when we're in the public eye and huge numbers of anonymous people expect us to act in just a certain way. Acting 'Out of Character' is ... serious business indeed in Satoshi Kon's home-run directorial debut.

-Story-

This is the kind of story you see once, spend some time to think about it, and then immediately watch it again to test your theories. It starts out well-grounded in reality, but slowly things begin getting crazier at just the right to keep you guessing while never completely overloading you. Oh, you certainly won't understand everything, but you'll know - or think you know- just enough to keep you engaged as you try to refine your theory faster than 'Blue' can throw twists at you. Kon excels at tension and pacing. I've seen 24 episode anime series that handled far less complex stories than this suffer from 'plot pileup' as they desperately try to wrap everything up towards the end, but 'Perfect Blue' manages to pull-off a brilliant mind-screw in little more than 75 minutes. Let me repeat: *75* minutes. That's typically the length of a cheap home video release aimed at children- and Kon did more here than most 2+ hour live-action films can hope to accomplish. Not a minute is wasted and you'd BETTER pay attention.

*As a side-note, as I write this review in 2015 when there are teenagers who have never known an internet-less world, it's fascinating to get a flashback to my childhood as a boy of the 90's. The internet is this strange new thing in 1998, social media is unheard of, the public at large is still being sold on the idea that they too can connect to the 'information superhighway', and even well-known celebrities are fascinated with the idea of people talking about them online. Just a bit of a nostalgia trip for us older anime fans. Like Alfred Hitchcock's 'Rear Window', there's no way this exact plot would work in a film set in today's world.

-Art-

Pretty good for late-90's animation, but not flawless. 'Blue' definitely cheats a bit during long range shots, but that's just a small qualm overall. Character designs are very good- I particularly liked main character Mima's look. She looks cute but not 'cutesy', undoubtedly attractive but not some classical Grecian beauty. The design really sells her persona of a sweet, likable girl who's getting into situations that are at odds with her personality. Demented otaku stalker Mr. Me-Mania has to be one of the most disturbing designs I've ever seen (which is fitting considering his role). The high level of realism in the art is critical to selling the 'psycho-thriller' vibe of Perfect Blue. And while a few other character faces may seem slightly 'off', I have my own theory as to why that would be intentional and not an artistic flaw- but I'm not going to spoil it here.

-Sound-

Even before 'Cowboy Bebop' produced what's typically considered *THE ENGLISH DUB TO END ALL ENGLISH DUBS*, major movies tended to get pretty decent voice work in my experience. After watching 'Blue' in Sub and Dub, I'd call it a toss-up as both are good, but in the event of a tie I personally go with Dubs. Bridgette Hoffman does a stellar job with Mima, able to convincingly go from 'innocent and cutesy' when she's in her pop idol persona, to 'psychologically tormented' in the later half of the film. The OST is rather sparse all things considered, lots music-less moments are used to great effect. When the music is playing it's pretty 90's, but fits the tone well so it ages without significant issue.

-Characters-

This is Mima's story, with other cast members deriving their importance from how they affect her. Or perhaps it's better to say that this the tale of several different Mimas. There's the Mima she thinks she is, the Mima she tries to become, the actress Mima some try to make her be for their own benefit, the pop idol Mima others dogged refuse to get over, and they're all slugging it out for the right to be called the real Mima. In the end every character is driven by and acts in accordance to what they they tell themselves Mima is. And if our leading lady wants to stay on the right side of sanity, she'd better figure out which persona is the real her in a hurry... There's a reason Miss Kirigoe is on my list of top anime characters of all time.

-Enjoyment-

I have a personal bias favoring stories centering around characters locked in an internal struggle with different version of themselves, so 'Perfect Blue' definitely played to my preferences. But even without that bias, this film will still appeal to any anime fan willing to approach it seriously- this definitely isn't a movie you watch just for dumb fun. With its mature storytelling and highly realistic art, this would make a good gateway for new fans who want something adult but think anime is just Pokemon and Dragonball Z.

-Overall-

'Perfect Blue' is of the ultimate arguments against the conventional wisdom that 'animation can't handle a serious story'. Yes, yes it can. Satoshi Kon delivered a nearly flawless psycho-thriller on his first major project that rivals anything live-action can put on screen.

Japanese Anime is interesting in that while there are commercially driven movies and series made simply to sell toys and merchandise, amid the glut of such mainstream productions exist more daring, ambitious experiments which can nonetheless be considered great works of art. Satoshi Kon's directorial debut, Perfect Blue, is one such Anime. It is very rare to see an adult-driven, psychologically frightening suspense-drama that we would mostly get from directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, and the creator of The Sixth Sense and Signs, but Satoshi Kon proves that, if given the proper treatment, animation can be used to not only entertain, but to strike emotional ... chords and leave a lasting impact on even the most jaded of viewers.

First and foremost, Perfect Blue is ABSOLUTELY NOT FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. This is an extremely dark and occasionally bloody thriller that will probably leave young viewers traumatized for weeks. It's about a Japanese pop idol, Mima, who decides to abandon her longtime J-Pop status with her performing group, CHAM, and become an actress. This doesn't sit well with her fans, particularly one deranged, creepy looking schmuck who stalks her from the shadows for a large marjority of the film. Matters take a turn for the worse when Mima takes part in a sexually-charged psycho-thriller series (which requires our heroine to shoot a disturbing rape sequence). A fan-made website details Mima's activities... even her most intimate ones! (She even starts to get hate mail from her fans.) Things get even more out of hand when her "virtual identical twin" (or something along those lines, who still wears the pop idol dress and has a deceivingly cheerful smile on her face) emerges from the website and taunts the young ex-pop idol about her "tarnished reputation." In addition, her friends and associates become the targets of a mysterious imposter posing as Mima.

If there's anything going against Perfect Blue, it may be the second half. While the first half is carefully cultivated and plotted, the latter part of the film becomes a little difficult and confusing to follow, as director Kon switches erratically between reality and surrealism, leaving viewers struggling to figure out what's REALLY happening and what isn't. Suffice to say, this isn't a film for everyone, but what ultimately makes Perfect Blue is how engrossed we are with the film, even when it starts to get more complicated (not in a mind-numbingly incoherent way like, say, Neon Genesis Evangelion), risque (in addition to the aforementioned rape scene--which, although obviously artificial, is quite disturbing to watch--we see shots of Mima posing nude for a perverted photographer as well as a classic scene involving Mima kneeling in her bathtub, clutching her knees, screaming her frustration over participating in such stuff), and violent (there are quite a bit of bloody scenes at points--including one person stabbed repeatedly to death in the eye, hands, back, etc., and occasional shots of brutally wounded suspects via letters containing bombs). I normally cannot stomach these kind of films, but this one is an exception. Primarily because Kon makes us FEEL Mima's plight and compels us to root for her in order to avoid being killed herself. Of course, I was very puzzled at points in the film, but perhaps that is the point Kon is trying to make--some scenes give us the information we are asking for, but with others, we are simply required to interpret them ourselves.

This certainly seems to be the case with the (absolutely unexpected) surprise ending. I won't give it away, but it WILL take one a lot of viewings to truly comprehend the meaning of the last scene.

Technically, the animation falls somewhat short in comparison to some of Kon's later works, notably Paprika. Frankly, though, it's still quite good and complimentary to the tone of Perfect Blue. As far as the sound goes, the music is a mixture of cheesy (but infectious) J-pop techno and a moaning, eerie women's choir vocalizing wordlessly (this succeeds in making the film all the more frightening). The voice acting is top notch on the English version courtesy of AniMaze, inc., with Ruby Marlowe (Mima) and Wendee Lee (Rumi) turning in particularly compelling performances. The vocal tracks in the film are translated well, too, although the somewhat British-accented singing is hard to distinguish at times.

Perfect Blue is disturbing and violent, yes, but as an animated horror/thriller tale for grown-ups, its kinetic direction and dramatic staging is unparalleled.

I was almost afraid this movie might not hold up on rewatch, being the kind of movie that works by catching you off guard and causing confusion while watching. Being one of my favorite movies, after watching, I'd put off rewatching it for those reasons. Luckily, after rewatching it now years later, I can definitely say it's held up to how much I liked it on the first watch. Perfect Blue is definitely a staple of its times, and you can really get a sense of that while watching.

Perfect Blue, which was Satoshi Kon's directorial debut, was originally intended to be an OVA. Just as ... they were nearing the end of production, the decision was made that it would have a theatrical release. So, the movie was made in a way that wasn't usually common for the big screen at the time; it was made to be watched and then forgotten. Because of that, we got a movie that was uncommon for its time in Japan, and it really helped break the boundaries of what films could be.

The story of Perfect Blue is amazing; it keeps you on the edge of your seat and always second-guessing what you've just seen. Even when you've reached the end of the film, you have so many things to think about. The way this film is made only elevates the story itself: abrupt cuts between scenes, shots lingering longer than they should be, little details in the background—all these work together to create a sense of unease when watching, where even on my second time watching, it hit me hard. Some of the scenes can be hard to watch, but I could never look away; it's really captivating in the sense that you don't want to miss anything.

The characters we get in this film are really well-written. We get Mima and the struggles she faces in switching from being an idol to an actress and the cost of those actions on her own wellbeing. Rumi, her manager, and her struggle to try and protect Mima from the industry while also struggling to stay true to what Mima wants. Then the stalker character, who is just so stereotypically creepy you can't help but have suspicions. All these characters work together with their personal quirks to really help build that sense of unease, and they all play their role perfectly.

My only gripe with the film was I wish it was a little longer. With the budget they had and the entire situation around its production, I can't blame them for it at all, but I think it for sure could have benefited. Even so, the short run time is a benefit in a way as it adds to the rushed feeling that you get while watching, and then bam, it's over, and you're just left to think about what you just watched. That said, they packed the runtime to the brim, and I think they did a great job making the most of what they got.

This is a really unique story, and while there have been films made after it that attempt to tackle the same themes, I think Perfect Blue succeeds in being the best. With a perfectly fitting art style, a well-put-together soundtrack, greatly written story and characters, and altogether elevated by the medium of animation, it's an easy recommendation to anyone who's a fan of the genre. If you're in search of a thought-provoking movie and can handle the feeling of unease, you will easily be captivated by the perfection that is Perfect Blue.

This was a brilliant watch, and I'd totally recommend it. It manages to tackle the issues of the industry while being relatable to the audience. The twist at the ending makes sense while being random.

Plot: so the plot is about a girl in a pop group that isn't doing so hot. She loves singing and even took lessons to perfect her craft, yet it wasn't bringing in a lot of money. Her company decided to then pivot her career into acting, and that's the start of her troubles.

Relatable: Most people can relate to the fact of uncertainty. ... We've all second guessed ourselves and asked "Am I making the right choice?" That's what the main character is struggling with. We can all relate to this issue, which draws the audience in and has her sympathize with her character. It humanizes her in a world of glamor and admiration.

Twist: this anime is sort of a thriller and mystery. You're trying to figure out, what's going on. What's real and what's fantasy. The genius thing about the twist is that you think, "huh?" when it's revealed, but then you rethink every scene back in your mind. The movie hints at the twist ending in subtle ways that the audience would glance over before the reveal, but would play it back after the reveal. The twist makes so much sense when you look back at all the evidence, but you never even think of it while it's actually playing!

Cons: aside from the main character, no one else really gets character development. The art is a bit jarring to look at. I get that one shouldn't judge too harshly on art, but as a visual media, it's something that really stands out. It's like looking back on the CGI in old movies. It's so cheesy that you can't help but notice it.

Overall: Despite the lack of development from other characters and the art, it's a good watch.

I've done a lot of reviews for horror anime recently, but Perfect Blue has one major factor that sets it apart from Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, 3x3 Eyes and Mermaid's Scar. It's actually scary. The other three weren't bad, two of them were even good, but they focused more on action sequences than building up suspense and horror. In their case the horror label was more of a tag saying "includes monsters" than an actual genre statement.

I can't give away too much of the plot without going into spoilers, but the basic setup is that a pop singer named Mima Kirigoe decides to transition into ... acting and give up her singing career. While working on a television drama she takes several risque steps to strengthen her image as an actress, but things around her start going wrong. People start getting injured and dying and the centre of the action seems to be her. The main focus is on Mima, who begins to go through increasing psychological trauma as a result of the events around her. To make the situation worse, she finds a website that portrays her life in a frighteningly accurate way. There are two major reasons the horror in this film works. The first is that it's very psychological. It forces you into the mindset of the protagonist and doing so enables it to get increasingly jumbled and challenging. The result is that it leaves the viewer confused and uncertain of what to expect. The second reason that it works is because it's realistic. You don't get a visual of clearly fictitious monsters fighting heroes. Instead you get an antagonist who's very human performing deeds that could easily happen in reality, and have to an extent.

The characters are like everyday people. All of them seem very real and this really helps the tone and maintains the realism. This actually makes the ending pretty spectacular since, when you finally know what's happening, it all makes perfect sense and seems even more like something that could happen.

The art is a little dated but it has a superb atmosphere. The characters, background and so on all create a perfect atmosphere for the story. They present some very frightening imagery as well. There's even one scene that's so well drawn that, due to the content of the scene, it's hard to watch. Now that takes skill.

The voice work is spectacular as well. The dialogue is all delivered in a very natural way and it just makes the atmosphere that much better. Iwao Junko is brilliant in the role of Mima and all the secondary voice actors play their parts very well too.

The yuri factor is a 1/10. There's no yuri. Which is really for the best since any romance would be out of place.

My final rating for Perfect Blue is a perfect 10/10. This is a spectacular movie. All the elements coalesce to create a whole that's awe-inspiring, creepy and yes, even frightening. If you're a fan of horror movies it's a must see.

I’ve recently finished to watch both Neon Genesis Evangelion and the related film, the End of Evangelion. It seemed impossible to find something more mind blowing than that, but I was wrong.

This review won’t contain spoliers.


Story 9/10

Perfect Blue talk about a pop-idol called Mima Kirigoe, that is forced by her managers to leave the pop world, that she loved, to become an actress, considered a more economically convenient work. At the beginning she feels free without all the commitments that she had while she was a singer, but after a while something changes and the reality of her as an actress starts to mix ... with the illusion of her as a pop-idol. And a strange stalker is following her...

Even if the story at the beginning might seem clear and linear, while the anime progresses you start to lose the perception of what is true and what is an illusion. Satoshi Kon, the director, manages to involve the watcher in the anime, putting yourself in the shoes of the protagonist and its paranoia. Everything is made even more confusing by the fact that Mima is acting in a film and usually it’s hard to distinguish the reality from the film and from Mima’s illusions too.


Art & Animation 8/10

The art is weird, facial proportions are distorted in nearly all characters except for Mima and a few others. The animation isn’t the best I’ve seen, but since this is an anime from 1998 it isn't really a concern. The staff probably wanted to use the exterior aspect of the characters to externalize how they really are inside: for example, Me-Mania, the fanatic stalker, has a grotesque face that will probably give me nightmares if I continue to think about it.

Colors are mainly dull, the general atmosphere is gloomy and surreal. The art style fits very well the story and the themes discussed, drawings and animation manage to give you the sense of alienation typical of this dementia genre.


Sound 7/10

I don’t remember any particular music except the ending one, that is particularly enjoyable, but that’s probably because you can’t in any possible way focus on the OST while you are watching and trying to understand an anime like this. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the japanese version of Perfect Blue, so I had to watch the english dubbed version, that isn’t as good as I expected. I hope to find it one day in the original language to watch it again.


Characters 8/10

Mima is the center of all the story and the anime is a study of every aspect of her psychology. The story goes really deep in character’s development of not only the protagonist, but also of Me-Mania and Rumi Hidaka, that are a sort of co-protagonists rather than supporting. As I’ve already said in the Art paragraph, the external appearence is also a determinant factor in the analysis of the characters, so you can really have a 360 degrees view about them.


Enjoyment 8/10

If you want to understand Perfect Blue, you can’t lose any single word of it, and even this isn’t enough. I confess that after the last scene I immediately went to search for an explanation. What I found was a list of many interpretations, each one different from the others. After reading two/three of them I only had even more confusion in my head, that’s why I’ll probably watch it again and search for some details that I’ve probably missed.

Perfect Blue manages to catch you since the beginning, when everything becomes strange and you feel that you can only continue to try to understand something. The questions made by Mima are the same you make to yourself, while everything revolves around you and her. She doesn’t understand? Well, you don’t understand too. That’s why I enjoyed this anime a lot, it managed to arise that type of interest that mainly only thriller genre normally does.

Should you watch it? Yes, if the old style doesn’t concern you and you aren’t scared about having your mind blowed, watch it. Just keep in mind that the rating is R+, there are indeed some pretty violent and disturbing parts.

The late, great Satoshi Kon: what a loss to the anime industry. In his feature film directorial debut (technically not his first director position, as Magnetic Rose came out in 1995), Kon brings us a haunting trip through the mind of a Pop Idol-turned-actress, Mima Kirigoe, as she struggles against the challenges presented to her through said change in careers.

The story is an instantly familiar one- a tale that, if you follow the music and film industries at all, have heard many times: the rise and fall of the Disney Pop Princesses. Since the earliest days of child stars- they often times wash out, ... turn to substance abuse, or some other descent into madness- but a few make it out and turn into respectable, talented actors and actresses. Many of these former child prodigies have trouble finding success and being able to reinvent themselves, transcending their "cute kid" act, and trading it in for more credible adult roles. This is the essence of Mima's trials and tribulations. She is your Britney Spears. Your Lindsay Lohan. Your Miley Cyrus. Coming from a beginning of relative success- but wanting more- to mature, to eclipse the role of the teenage star and take on a more mature platform in life, and in status, no longer relegated to a typecast. But, our pasts follow us- and Mima's life is no different.

Torn is the word that best describes her feelings towards her newly minted career in acting. Ambivalent. While Mima's fans clamor for the dainty, sparkly pure pop singer, she pushes forward in a grittier, more mature direction, seeking to distance herself from her past- and as such, goes to some rather extreme lengths, even shocking, to do so. It's the knee jerk reaction that we see from the teen pop stars here, too. An ever repeating, never ending saga of tragedy. Mima takes on any role that she's given, without question. Scenes that involve rape, or murder, she's fine with it because she "wants to be an actress" (irregardless of the fact that these are often seen as "damaging" roles to budding actors and actresses). In her personal life, she shrinks from her former friends, and draws away from her fans, wholeheartedly embracing this new life and career. But, she's still haunted by the mental image she has of herself as the Pop Idol.

In a turn for the psychological, Kon weaves a narrative that plays out masterfully on the screen- particularly through his cinematography. The use of match cuts is phenomenal- particularly with the use of screens, and then pulling back to reveal that what we were seeing was actually on the set (since the movie is about a film/tv actress). Closeups of faces, pulling away to reveal them in a new setting are used to good effect too, along with textbook mirror shots. He also makes excellent use of jump cuts to create a jarring, unreliable narrative where we're not sure what to make of what's going on on screen and is further obfuscated when we see another layer of perspective in each successive cut. This all serves to create a mind bending visual perspective- but it's not without its faint cues to let the audience know what's real and what isn't, if you're paying close attention. This brings me to another thing that Kon is a wizard with: detail. He rewards the audience by throwing out esoteric bits of imagery and small changes in the setting or characters that, when pieced together, give you a better understanding of the plot in what could otherwise be a real mess. I would not call Perfect Blue predictable, but knowing Kon's style and through paying close attention, one can discern part of the twist- but there are more than just a few "gotcha" moments.

The weakest element of the movie is easily the sound. My copy of Perfect Blue is a hard subbed original Japanese audio- and the sound itself is very quiet, and the equipment used to record with was obviously not the highest caliber (scratchiness, slight echoes, or fuzz). The music too, was very sparse. This may have been an artistic choice, but I thought that it would have benefited from more music, rather than just in moments of action or tension. The voice acting was acceptable- not as oaky as my desk, but not nearly as dynamic as other productions. Bridget Hoffman is a bright spot as Mima in the English version, however.

All in all, Perfect Blue was a great entrance for Kon, and an interesting psychological narrative in the vein of Memento, or The Usual Suspects (though it's definitely not as good as either). If you like mind benders with a very mature tone and content, you can't do much better than this.

To start with,this movie has quite a few gory scenes that might make you cringe and it is exposive and violent in nature,so it is cetainly not for the faint-hearted.

Mima is a pop-idol who is living her dream and is at peace with her job and life.She enjoys quite some popularity among fans of the genre and is well renowned.But not always can you do what you want to in the real world.Her agency wants her to quit being a pop-idol and become an actress simply because of the twisted reason that they weren't making much money out of her.Not wanting to leave what she ... loves doing and at the same time wanting to gain more acceptance and popularity besides fearing that she would otherwise be troubling the people in the agency,Mima decides to take the leap.And then she encounters the harsh reality.She is exposed to the cruel and perverted film industry where everyone starting from the director to the photographer tries and exploits her,be it getting her practically raped by making her shoot a rape scene in a bar or photograph her in full nudes and print them in magazines,and she can do nothing but comply,in fear of not dissapointing her seniors and not getting accepted by the audience.

And then it all begins.Mima starts hallucinating,seeing her former pop-idol self appear out of nowhere and telling her that she is now a wasted woman and just a fake.The real Mima is the pop-idol Mima who still exists.She starts haunting her day and night and soon Mima loses her sanity,she fails to distinguish between reality and dreams.She can't tell what she is doing in her real life and what she is doing in her movie shoots.Additionally,a series of murders starts taking place.Those who tried to exploit her start getting killed one by one of multiple stab wounds and this haunts her even further.She comes across a website dedicated to her where someone runs a blog in her name and claims that the pop-idol Mima still exists and the actress one is an imposter.Her every move is listed in details there,her every secret quoted.She begins to doubt herself in agony and distress and wonders whether she is alive or not,whether all of this is dream and whether it is true that she herself commited those crimes subconciously as some other personality.To add to this,there is a stalker,a fan of hers,who shadows her every move and can't cope with her betrayal to fans of her pop shows and is on the verge of going berserk.

The animation is crude and it fits the atmosphere perfectly.Not once could I turn away from this anime because it was so unexplicably exciting.

The voice acting and sound is good enough and elevates the experience further.

Psychological thrillers are at large,mostly of high quality in terms of storyline and are well thought out which adds to their charm and Perfect Blue stands at the peak of the mountain.With a rarely achieved perfect ending and nail-biting sequences,it leaves no space to ask for anything more.

Calling this show's genre psychological is an overstatement. Increasingly, shows like this don't depend on the psychological nature of the story or detail any more but just try to disrupt our thought and senses by throwing loads of scattered scenes and psychologically make us think they are doing a psychological show...

The story is simple. An pop idol bounces to become an actress but she is dissatisfied and then a murder series happen. The evidences point to a minor, then to her, then at last someone close to her jumps out and claims all the sin.

The art is old-fashioned but that's no problem. The problem is ... an unimpressive soundtrack score. You can't hear any sound at most times because silence is needed. But when sound is needed it doesn't work either.

The thing that bugs me most that this show also use human's stupidity to create thriller. For example, the main character - the idol girl hysterically chases down her shadow to the middle of the street, and then in another scene, she turns her back to and runs away from some injured murderer who wants to take her life.

We all know it's rational to strike back rather then run away, especially when your first hits are successfully landed on the bastard. You would say maybe this is called the "dream factor" because it's more psychologically exciting to run away while you are in a dream because you can do unimaginable feats like leaping over houses. However, in the show, she did that while awake, and I wouldn't be that stupid even in my dream. Or it's the nature of women, except for policewomen, to be stupid at action.

Anyway, an unimpressive story won't make a psychological show unless you forcefully make it like this, so... go waste your time.

While I know a majority of the people enjoyed watching this and I acknowledge that in the end I don't find this genre particularly to my taste, I think an opposing review might be helpful.

I highly disliked this film.

It was around the beginning of my middling anime watching experience. I have watched a range of others before it - Sailormoon, Rurouni Kenshin, X-1999, Eva, Magic Knight Rayearth, etc. - and at the time I thought this would have been interesting change of pace, considering the rave reviews it got, online and off. However, when I watched it, it did not please me.

Okay, first ... things first. The art is very good for its time and realistic. I don't particularly enjoy this particular style but I do acknowledge it is done with skill and suit the subject matter. However, some scenes became all the more sickening, in a mental way, and made the film feel harsher to me as a viewer because of the style used. The music was alright, I took no pleasure in it but it added to the mood and was suspenseful when it was supposed to be and gripping when it needed it. The story was decent, except that it was highly convoluted and the subject matters it took on were difficult and did not allow me to enjoy any element of it.

The characters, to me, were not accessible and hard to sympathize with. Or you sympathize but it's just painful. Their actions and the actions of the general ppl in the story were constantly brutal, usually with blatant sexual violence, but it was fairly one-sided, leaving me with no room to describe the experience with "enjoy" or "like". I also did not like how loneliness became shameful and criminal, and seemed to be a theme that had no other dimension... maybe delusional... but nothing that just is. Everyone get lonely, I don't understand how EVERYONE becomes warped by this isolation. It's like the movie is crying out that isolation, from society and others, will always lead to the path of deviants. At least, this is the impression I get from it since the clearest recall I have of this all lead to some form of eventual criminal deeds. The story was also convoluted enough and the characters were shown in such a way that I only felt I was taking bad things from it because it only had bad things to give. I can see the darkness in society but it was almost like the world was devoid of any goodness and decency, or at least, it is so overshadowed by falsehood and madness that it can't be counted on to be real. When I think on this anime I only vividly remember the terrible sexual violence, the humiliation and fear of the main character and the villains. These are not things I want to take away from anything I watch but these are the ONLY things I feel I took away from this film, at least they overshadowed all else.

The main character only resounds with me at the ending act, but fails to connect me to her throughout the movie as a shining light and more as a constant victim that struggled... somewhere that doesn't feel like triumph and isn't exactly defeat. I don't enjoy watching an entire movie about someone who is defined by the entire show as a victim, and while some people may feel she overcame her obstacles, I did not feel that way at the end of it.

Was it a well done anime? Visually, yes. But did I enjoy it in any way, no. I can only think on this anime and say I really hated watching it. I don't mean it bored me, I mean I disliked the characters and were genuinely disgusted at points in the story, I did not enjoy the story in any way, and in the end, it just leaves a bad impression in my mind as a whole.

I would not watch or recommend this anime. It is a singular opinion, but I did not feel that the marriage of crime to surrealism in this case worked for me in anyway. And well I can stomach violence and human folly, this one was the entirely wrong mixture for me to like or even feel tolerably toward.

I gave it a 3, on the merit that it was well made but having seen it and processed it, I did not in any way enjoy the story it had to tell or the way it was told.

First of all, if you haven't watched this but you had watched Black Swan, then try to forget Black Swan or you'll be trapped on Black Swan atmosphere like I did when I watched it for the first time. Yes, BS might be inspired by Perfect Blue, but the storyline itself is really different, some scenes are related or similar but no, this is not BS. You need to sit down and relax while you're watching this or you'll stuck in a confusion, like I did due to thinking how PB is similar to BS.

But anyway, enough with Black Swan, Perfect Blue is a masterpiece, ... thriller fans would enjoy this even you've never watched anime before. Exactly no drama, this is why the storyline is fast and to the point, thriller all the way. Some scenes are quite graphic, while nudity, violence, and gore might be not bothering anyone, rape scenes might be not enjoyable, but the main character face her rapist in a proud way, so feminists need not to rant about it.

It's just for a beautiful anime, I was hoping a more memorable music, but no. I'm not sure whether the story itself so enjoyable that I forgot about the music, or the music itself not really remarkable, I didn't remember wether it has a soundtrack or not.

Overall, you gotta watch this. This is a masterpiece, like Spirirted Away, this is something an anime fans should watch at least once in their life time.

Once again, I’m exploring into the material of the late Satoshi Kon and see how much of an influence and mind fuck they can be. Only time, it involves the subject of pop idols in Japan. What is a pop idol, you may ask? A pop idol in Japan are media personalities in their teens to twenties who’re considered to be very appealing and attractive…..to at least for a few years. I would say it’s like the similarity to most Disney Channel / Nickelodeon or any other squeaky clean celebrity; adored by the public but when you try to transcend yourself out of that image, ... it gets harder to do that so. The only thing sometimes the consequences can be a bit worse, as that happened in the film.


Mima Kirigoe, a member of a Japanese pop-idol group called “CHAM!” who decides to pursue her career as an actress. Some of her fans are displeased with her sudden career change, particularly a stalker named Me-Mania. As her new career proceeds, Mima’s world becomes increasingly reminiscent of the works of Alfred Hitchcock: reality and fantasy spiral out of control, including string of murders claiming the lives of her TV show colleagues and Mima discovers that Me-Mania is the least of her troubles.



Now getting into the story, I say that the plot and the whole story is still relevant to today as when you want to further your career but there is some backlash from fans who think different of that and only see her as something for their enjoyment and theirs only, even so far is to actually start stalking you, putting your life and your psyche in danger and it delves into the dark side of the transition from an idol to an actress or whatever career you pursue after that. For those that say the pacing felt slow, well, I wouldn’t say that as an insult as it takes a while to get into the story and plus, its 80 minutes long….it didn’t manage to be too overbearingly long. I like that it dealt with what I just previously mentioned and doesn’t skimp through the details of that. Plus, there are some surprises that I didn’t expect watching this for the first time and the second time (yeah, I watch this twice) it finally got to me with what’s going on with Mima’s pop-idol personality haunting her. I also have heard of comparisons to the 2010 Darren Aronofsky movie Black Swan, which does share similarities with each other although Aronofsky said that it didn’t have much of an influence.



Characters are sort of interesting in a way to study and about them. I like Mima and I get her whole transition and seeing how it’s not the easiest thing to do and you can sense that during that rape scene (As in “filming a rape scene in a film, not actual rape happening”) and preferably when she first revealed it to everyone. The supporting characters seem alright like Rica, Mima’s manager who was against her transition but I was with Tadokoro, Mima’s office manager who looks at the crossover in a positive manager.



This film was released in 1997, as in you know the animation for this film is going to look dated but for it is pretty good vintage, especially vintage material from Madhouse and like many of their earlier productions, they have their stylistic choices of artwork and felt like it was suited for a live-action film, although in actuality, animated makes it more interesting.



Musically, aside from the pop idol songs I heard in the movie, there isn’t much that really standout to me. It’s an alright score and all but slightly somewhat vaguely memorable to me. As for the English dub by Animaze, I quite like it. It was on par with their good English dubs in the ’90s and I really did love the performances for Mima (Ruby Marlowe) and Rica (Wendee Lee) as they really standout for me when watching this.



FINAL VERDICT: I say this as an anime fan, you should give this a watch and I say the same thing as a movie buff but seeing Black Swan before and noticing the comparisons, I wouldn’t call it as “Anime Black Swan before live-action Black Swan” that quick. Hell, I forgot about the whole Black Swan thing once I watch the movie. It has its insightful, artistic, and psychological elements that make it all into a good Satoshi Kon movie, maybe not his strongest but I still recommend it to most audiences.

This is definitely a film you need to watch more than once. I think it’s pretty close to what you would get if David Aronofsky, David Lynch and a very young Walt Disney decided to make a movie together. I like adult anime and “Perfect Blue” fits the definition. This is not for children. A Pop Idol, Mima Kirigoe, decides to become an actress and in the process appears to descend into madness. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, It isn’t. So much information is packed into Mima’s journey that, even when you’re paying attention, you might find it confusing at times. I found watching it ... the second time was even more enjoyable that the first time but don’t let that put you off. This script pays homage to several master directors and is extremely well done. Even the English language dubbing is tight enough to not be distracting. There are threats on Mima’s life, she’s stalked and has a fake website put up in her name. Add letter bombs, stabbings, disassociative personality disorder all tied to a non-linear story line and you end up with an haunting psychological thriller with a more suspenseful ending than a lot of well known mainstream motion pictures. The tagline sums it up beautifully: The Color of Illusion is Perfect Blue.

When I sat down to watch Perfect Blue, I was definitely excited. My all-time favourite movie is Black Swan, and I have heard any number of comparisons between the two. So from the outset I was interested, and I can say I was fully satisfied after watching it. Perfect Blue is a fantastic animated movie and easily one of the best psychological thriller films I have ever seen, but a couple of minor things didn’t make it as good as it could have been.

Story
Mima Kirigoe is a pop-idol, part of the j-pop group CHAM! However, to the dismay of many of her fans, she ... has decided to leave that part of her life behind her and make become an actress. Her first role is in a TV. show called “Double Bind”, a psychological drama series. As she makes her transition, she discovers her former band members are having more and more success while Mima is struggling. Eventually she discovers a website called ‘Mima’s Room’ which recalls the intimate details of her life. She turns to her manager Rumi Hidaka, but is told to ignore the site. From this point her mental breakdown begins.
The story is easily the standout part of the film for me. It is really well told and the scenes where you see Mima’s breakdown are pure brilliance.
It is a pretty hard hitting story, and will leave you thinking by the end of it. From the very outset you get a great feel for the character Mima, and you want to see her do well. Her actual breakdown is also incredibly well done, as I said before and is probably the best part of the story.
There are a few scenes that really stand out, especially when the hallucinations start playing with what Mima believes is real or not. This was pretty amazing to watch, although for some it will leave the film a little bit hard to follow. Also the scenes where Mima is running after the hallucination were very nicely done, and certainly help create the breakdown really well. Even the scene in the strip club was great (if a little bit protracted in my opinion) because it really helps build the character, and the tone for the rest of the film.
I would love to mention more, but I would just be spoiling what happens, so I’ll stop on this subject now!
The other characters aren’t quite as well developed in my opinion. Rumi is quite interesting, and is someone I would have liked to know more about because her role in the story is so important, and in the end I didn’t really understand how her story was actually resolved. Me-Mania was pretty well developed, and he made for a great character, but I think I would have liked to know more about him as well.
This under-development in the characters leaves the ending feeling almost disjointed from the rest of the film. At first when I saw the resolution in sight, I was pretty excited. I thought I saw what was going on, but (and maybe this is actually a good thing) it turned out to be completely different to what I wanted. It left me thinking, okay it was a twist for the sake of having a twist. Saying that, I did like the ending, but it could have been better or possibly just could have been hinted at better.

Visuals
The animation is top notch, all the movements are pretty fluent, and I think there was only one scene where someone’s arm moves in one of those fantastic ways without breaking. Apart from that I am fairly sure everything else was really nicely done. By today’s standard it is pretty average, but definitely not bad.
The look of things like Mima’s apartment, or the city itself really helps build the atmosphere. The city seems over crowded, a place that makes you feel like you’re always been followed. On the other hand you have the apartment which is small and cosy; a haven from the outside. Yet once she starts receiving the emails, it seems like a prison, where the world watches her from the outside. These sort of visual aspects in the film really build the tone, and add that creepy atmosphere you need to make a psycho-thriller work.

Sound
I’m going to start with the voice acting now. I loved it. Mima’s voice actress Junko Iwao (Hikari Horaki in NGE, I believe and Tomoyo in Cardcaptor) does a superb job. She sounds sensitive, yet confident, but as her breakdown begins her voice almost becomes empty with emotion. All her lines are well delivered (especially those about the internet… which I thought were hilarious… Sad times before the internet)
The rest of the character’s give great performances but Iwao does manage to outshine them all. I think the only voice that maybe wasn’t as great as it could have been was Me-Mania. His voice suited the role, but I was expecting something a lot different. Not a criticism by any means was just waiting for something different.
The music was something that didn’t stand out to me for some reason. It didn’t take down the enjoyment of the film for me, considering I only notice the music when it is truly spectacular. I did actually like the songs CHAM! sing because I feel they suit the type of group they are, and in the elevator scene, I thought it was really damn cool.
I haven’t seen the dub yet, and I may try and update this review when I have. The rest of the sounds in the movie are great, everything helps build the atmosphere, which I really liked. All I can really say on that.

Overall
I gave good few criticisms, but I want to say now, it’s a fantastic movie. Highly recommend it, if you’re a fan of psycho-thrillers. The ending is a little jarring, but the story is solid, the voice acting great, and the characters believable (for the most part) I have read that the movies could have worked better as a live action movie, and I am inclined to agree. However I don’t think the scenes where Mima was chasing the hallucinations would have been as well done, and ended up just been a little bit silly.
Overall Perfect Blue is a brilliant movie and really worth a watch. One of those movies that I think my dad would like, and he isn’t the biggest fan of animated movies unless they are Pixar!

Movie: Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー)
Genre: Anime/Thriller
Release Year: 1997
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Satoshi Kon (Rest in Peace)
American License: Manga Entertainment LLC.

Story (no spoilers!)
The story is about Mima Kirigoe, a Japanese pop-star who want's to become an actor. She leaves her band CHAM to become successful in a crime series. However the series doesn't work out that well and her ex-band gets more and more success. In the middle of this she finds out about a stalker who updates about everything she does on a special site called Mia's room. Then she starts having hallucinations.

After this the story takes a few very nice plot turns, but I won't spoil them ... for you.

The story is very strong. It leaves a big impact on you. It's not what you expect from your average anime, but that's for the better. The hallucinations work really well in this movie, however it also causes some minor flaws in the story. There are 2 main complaints I have about the story. First off, the hallucinations get really weird. With the hallucinations going on, and the shootings of the scene's it sometimes becomes kind off hard to follow, and really hard to understand what is real and what is just in her mind. However one might argue that this is for the better. On one hand it does surely increase the impact and strength of the story, and the neat thing about it is that it doesn't really destroy any reality of the story which is a nice achievement. However I think they went a bit over the top with it. Secondly, I feel that the character development on Mina herself is not enough. The build-up to the climax is really neat, however the conflict starts off to early. To summarise it, we never really get to know the "normal" Mina. Overall however, I would not say that this destroys the story. Once you're sucked into the story (for me around the 20 minute mark) the build-up doesn't form a problem any more, and as long as you pay close attention, you'll understand what's going on (at least you'll understand what you're supposed to understand).

Also I wished the story would have stopped 10 minutes earlier. I don't want to spoil anything, but to be fair the story doesn't end open enough for me.

Visuals.
the visuals are stunning. for today's standards they would already be al right, and for back then, the visuals where just awesome. The more action-full and gory scene's are drawn beautifully.

Voice Acting (DUB!)
The voice acting of this dub is great. The real
Mima (Ruby Marlowe) doesn't have an emotionless voice (as some voice actors are nowadays struggling with) in the hallucinations, she sounds extremely happy which adds to the scariness. Also, most of the side characters have good voices, no voice actor stands out, and neither does anyone really sound bad.

Music.
The music is alright, there is not to much of it and generally it does not add to much to the story. I did not really like the music Mima's band played, however that's really a matter of opinion. However the music does have a few very, very neat moments, especially in the scary parts where you hear these sound which really build up a lot of tension.

Re-watch Value.
The re-watch value of this story is decent but not great. A lot of the story rests on it's hallucination and mystery. In a normal story this would destroy the replay value. however because this story is pretty strong, you surely want to watch it again after a few months.

Verdict.
This movie is a must see to every anime fan. The story might (at least with me it did) leave an impression which will not go away very soon.
Furthermore, this movie is one you want to show to open minded friends who do not like anime (because they have a stereotypical view of it). This film is especially a recommendation to all the people who liked ''A beautiful mind'' and ''Psycho''.
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review (c) @ tswgeneration@hotmail.com

I can form only one reason why this movie is as underrated as it is. We, the viewer, are too afraid (or blind) to admit that we're exactly like the main character in this film. I can say this because when I first watched Perfect Blue I too thought it was just 'clever', a smart little psychological thriller for me, the 'smart' viewer. It's taken me another watch to realise how close a modern social comment this movie realy is. And I believe none have come as close. I've seen other shows with great little stories that I can get engrossed in, escape in and ... all that, but none that really comes as close to saying who I am(and I believe many other people are), as Perfect Blue. That's why it is truly terrifying.

Mima, a pop star gone actor, lives for others, she is their play-thing. They are able to use her, because really she is nothing but what they've consructed her to be, as Mima so perfectly puts it "excuse me, who are you?...excuse me, who are you?", whereas she really should be asking 'who am I?'. A question none of us can really answer, because we only know who we really are from what people tell us. Our only sense of identity is gained from those around us, others tell us who we truly are, because really we're just a patchwork of other people's personalities. For example, if you were to gather all the people that know you, they would be able to write a more accurate definition of you than you yourself could. Mima is a perfect example of this, she is everything that her fans wish her to be, she has to be or she'll no longer be worshipped, or even appreciated by the masses.
Satoshi Kon doesn't stop there, and that is what makes this a masterpiece, now that Mima has become an actor he has the chance to tear apart, while meticulously dissecting, the game we all act in our day to day lives. But none of us know it's all an act, an elabourate ruse where we buy new costumes regularly, reafirm who we are by acting how others think we should, and lose all sense of our real, proper self. It is when we try to find this real self that those closest to us, family or friends, get angry or dissapointed. Because we've broken away from the pigeon hole that they've placed us in, we have stopped being the person that is most able to help them, and become our own person. This is what I believe to be the reason behind Kon's murderous stalker theme, someone who you thought could never turn on you, who you thought wanted the best for you, is really just using you. This is what sends that chill down my spine, Perfect Blue so subtly defines people, yet most of us still continue our day to day lives, our conditioning and indoctrination has won out over reason. We continue to act.

Perfect Blue isn't just a thriller about a murderous stalker, I see it also as an accurate depiction of people suffering under the current system and mode of thought. Satoshi Kon masterfully achieves this by reflecting us, the viewer, back at us by showing Mima a mirror image of herself. She is adored, worshipped, controlled, raped, hated, but worst of all, she is me.

(TLDR Review at the bottom, as usual, thanks for reading.)

Reality. What does that even mean?

As defined (by Google), it follows that reality means:

>1. the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.
>2. the state or quality of having existence or substance.

Caring about only the first meaning for it in this case. How can one be sure of what is and is not reality, is having a look at something enough to tell you whether or not it is real, the mind plays tricks, surely sight cannot be the only thing needed to come to a rational ... conclusion, what about all the senses? Might as well use calculation and reasoning as to why such is such. But, is that even enough?

The human mind is something I always found interesting, we as a race, have come up with so many ideas as to why and how things are the way we are, namely in the subject of philosophy, in a practical sense, science seems to do well in that category. Regardless of all these fantastic ideas literally able to make us leave this planet and destroy cities to the point where natural disasters look like child's play, we sometimes have a weak mind. Not all of us are super intelligent or talented. Even those in such a gifted state are still liable to unfortunate outcomes of disabilities or illnesses that can arise.

Satoshi Kon's adaptation of Perfect Blue plays out such an event, does it do it well in such a category? Let's have a look.


Narrative:
As usual, the synopsis describes the beginning. What I will say about the beginning is that there is no real distinct theme to it, it is just events playing out to what slowly becomes a mess, and that is exactly what Perfect Blue is, a mess, but not in some bad way. Perfect Blue, is well, a (near) perfect mess. The movie slowly goes down this route of taking in small bits of inconsistencies that add up to make what is a mentally distinct difference between a fictional realm and a real realm, but visually it stays consistent in that the fiction and reality are matched in what can be viewed, what I mean by that is that it confuses, just all on a real-world plain. It is stories like these that tend to be great at the horror aspect, because instead of just jump scaring for the sake of it, the build-up to what is an unknown entity existing before you is what gives that element of horror, what's better is that the movie being in a state where full initial comprehension is pretty much most likely not going to happen, you enter a world where you are observing something you don't fully understand, and that is fine, it adds onto what is the mess of the world Perfect Blue is. From what I believe, it isn't really supposed to make too much sense. It's a great way of using the human psyche to actually get a grasp of what the characters in the anime feel, even better as it isn't half-assed too, this is something that would genuinely frighten people if they were in the same situation. Another thing to touch on is the shock that is written here. I haven't seen a ton of true horror other than Higurashi (and to some degree Another), but something that got me with both, specifically both, is how they slowly turn into disturbing events, mostly physical, but the mentality of these broken characters are also quite visible. It is no longer a sentiment of looking at such in this conspicuous time, but how it draws out from what was the start and what will be the finish. It is really dark stuff and the way it plays into that deserves nothing but praise.

As for the characters in the movie, I honestly would really like to believe that they are ideas rather than individuals, by that I mean this anime can be interchangeable, kinda like School Days. In other words, different people can be used in the same scenario and the same results can come about. I tend to not like an embodiment of an idea if they are not embellished or encapsulate themselves with a lackluster spirit. Unlike School Days, that isn't the case with Perfect Blue, as with what I had mentioned before, the shift into the mess that is fiction vs reality is done in a way that makes the characters more than just "I am going through a hard time right now", though, an idea will always be an idea, characters like Mima, Me-Mania, Rumi all lacked some unique self-identification for themselves, as they were people who were made to do what the story demanded. It is a little letdown, as you cannot fully appreciate the characters, but they were all pretty good in regards to what the story brought forward instead of being plain tropes. I won't lie though, Mima's character still somewhat sticks to me even if she doesn't have a lot of individualistic qualities. In any case, pretty good characters.


Audiovisuals:
I need to state the obvious, these visuals are outdated, which means I am not entirely sure how I should rate it, however, I will just put into words that it looks very good. Probably entices some nostalgia element, but in itself, it looks really well-drawn, I will admit that the lack of detail is present, but I would imagine that that is a product of its time, even so, it was pleasing to look at regardless. Having a look at it too, realistic character designs do not seem very prevalent, and it was pretty much moe blobs and what have you, so I give the benefit of the doubt here and am probably being nicer than I should be with the score I am allocating to it.

With audio, it is the same as visuals, but the difference in time doesn't matter. The OST was pretty damn uncanny, how they were used can also be viewed as uncanny. Something about the sounds where just off, it disturbed balance ever so slightly, and from the cover, you can probably tell that cheerful music will lead to demise, and that spectral sounds would lead to some disturbing event to be witnessed. It is a really clever way to use good music and better the mood it tries to present, making for a better experience to immerse oneself into. I must also point out, that this OST did not stick to me, it was a movie, it did stick better than other movies, but it wasn't like it glued down to me, even after listening to it multiple times did not affect. I still thought it was pretty well made but it was a minor complaint I had. Other than that, nothing really to point out.


Enjoyment:
Now, I have to admit, Perfect Blue isn't *all* that enjoyable to me, I still of course really liked it, and found it well worth my time (probably worth yours as well), but, well, it just didn't deliver to an expectation I had already thought it would do, mainly because this is a representation of a really good idea, if there was more to it, I would have enjoyed it a lot more, unfortunately, I didn't find myself loving it to a high degree, in number terms, let's say 9-10 kind of enjoyment. I suppose the lack of understanding of what was happening was also something, but I don't think that would affect people to a universal degree, if anything, the mind wrap elements should make most people enjoy this. All in all, quite enjoyable stuff and depending on how you are will affect how you enjoy this, though I don't see the majority saying this is below at least a "good".


Overall - 8.2 (8)
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TLDR Review:
Story - 9: The (near) perfect mess. Great story around what is real and what is fantasy, the writing into playing into such themes are something that only deserves praise.
Visuals - 9: Old, but it is greatly drawn, the benefit of the doubt due to when this was released. Still looks very well made.
Audio - 8: Pretty good eerie audio, was used cleverly, but it doesn't stick. Still does well.
Characters - 7: Ideas rather than real individuals. They are still quite good to witness since the story in itself was a nice idea executed well, but I cannot bring myself to like these characters as people, just an idea.
Enjoyment - 8: I enjoyed this quite a bit, but not to a higher level simply because it was missing some detail that would have made it better, still really good though.

Overall - 8.2 (8)
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I will be honest, another petty reason I wasn't a fan of Perfect Blue is that I had my expectations subverted, and I usually don't mind such happening, but I managed to fool myself into thinking it would be a Madoka Magica type story where idols were basically the magical girls getting what they didn't bargain for, like a stalker story but that is just it. I mean, I was about to write a whole review on the stalker side of things too be I guess I didn't because that isn't what the movie is all about.

Anyways, this was enjoyable, would for sure recommend this, I'd go as to recommend this to people who have never watched anime as well, it is really good honestly. Just depends on how good it is for some individuals. For a first of one of Satoshi Kon's I can really see why the dude is loved as much as he is, I will be watching more of this legend's works.

Who are you? That ubiquitous question is everywhere in our lives. Are we the joker, the slacker, the jock, the nerd, the hipster, or are we even any of those things? Does it even matter what we think? Maybe the people around us know more about who we are than we do ourselves. With these questions in mind Perfect Blue takes us on a journey. Not a literal journey, but a journey within a certain Mima Kirigoe.

The film begins this journey right after Mima decides to quit her job as a singer. She has been a singer with a group called “CHAM!” for a couple ... years with no real success. After deciding that she has no future as a singer, she starts a new career as an actress and quit “CHAM!”. This shift in her career makes quite a few ripples in her life. Her fans are angry and want her back as a singer, she’s afraid someone is stalking her, there is enormous pressure on her to succeed as an actress, and to make matters worse the TV show she’s acting in wants her to do a horrifying rape scene.

Mima is so confused and scared that she doesn’t know anything about herself anymore. She has been split in two. There’s Mima the pop singer and there’s Mima the actress. Everyone has their own idea of which one she is, but she is at a complete loss, thrown into confusion by the various pressures around her. She finds a website online called Mima’s Room, an insanely detailed blog that writes about her daily life as Mima. The Mima found in this blog hates acting and rejects everything the real Mima is doing. Mima’s strained metal state leads her to believe that this version of her might just be the real Mima. Maybe the person writing Mima’s Room knows more about her than she does. She is left disoriented and unable to tell which one is real and which one is fake.

The way Perfect Blue captures that internal struggle is the key to its success. Satoshi Kon gives us an eye into Mima’s mind. Everything she goes through we go through. From the trauma of acting in a brutal rape scene to the self-doubt and total confusion that Mima feels throughout the film. By using disorienting cuts, dream sequences, and constant red herrings, the audience never gets a full grasp of what’s going on. Satoshi Kon keeps us as paranoid and in the dark as Mima is throughout the film.

There are few films that I feel so utterly taken over by. Where the movie ends and I find myself questioning everything around me. I just have to walk around and just think. Think about what I had gone through and what it meant. This movie did that for me. I left this place and entered another entirely. I entered Mima’s head and had come back with something. I can’t say that happens very often. Sure, I see a lot of great movies and some even move me, but I can’t say they ever take me where Perfect Blue took me. In an age where everyone seems to be racing for the most shocking thing they can think of, something that can make you ask yourself questions and leave you with something is truly precious.

Perfect Blue is a visionary tale which any true anime fan should add to their to-watch list immediately. It was produced in 1997, which makes me wonder why I'd never heard of it before, but it's withstood the test of time very well. The art, predictably, is a bit dated, but it does not detract from the enjoyment for me at all.

This anime is basically a psychological thriller, and should never be viewed by children under any circumstances. It contains violence, exploitation, and sexual abuse. I've seen a lot of disturbing anime, but this is definitely near the top, with scenes ... that made me want to throw up, punch my monitor, or simply look away. The beauty of Perfect Blue, though, is that you can never being yourself to look away.

The plot starts out innocently enough, but quickly becomes quite confusing. The main character is a pop idol-turned-actress with delusions of being a killer, starring in a drama series about a killer who has delusions of being a pop idol-turned-actress, who stars in a...AHHH! Nevermind, suffice to say you will have no idea what the hell is going on until the final scene. Even now, I am still thinking back to what was fantasy and what was reality. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Complaints: The craziness level was a bit much, even for me, but such ambition definitely deserves praise. My biggest problem was with the very very last scene before the credits roll, which seems so out-of-place with the events leading up to it. It pulled me right out of the immersion. I'm going to pretend that scene never existed and give this outstanding work a 9.