Perfect Blue is one of the greatest psychological drama anime of all time. It was written by the master of mind bending, trippy anime: the late, great, Satoshi Kon. An interesting fact is that it is one of the favorite films of American director Darron Aranovsky, who paid Kon's studio royalty money for the right to reuse a scene from Perfect Blue in Aranovsky's "Requiem for a Dream". It is also interesting that Aranovsky denies that this film influenced Black Swan, despite the obvious parallels that he himself acknowledged were highly suspicious. Anyways, time to move on the actual review.
Plot: 9/10
The plot is that a young pop singer named Mima decides to leave her J-pop girl band and seek greater fame and glory as an actress. This greatly disappoints her fans including a very creepy stalker who calls himself the "mimaniac". Mima also notices that someone is claiming to be her online and running a website called Mima's Room. Mima has a hard time as an actress and is forced to take roles she really doesn't want including a rape victim. Eventually the stress starts to really effect Mima's mind and she begins to lose the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality, much like the stress induced delusions and hallucinations of the ballerina character Nina in Black Swan. Even the names are the same, just replace "m" with "n". The difference is that Mima actually does have people out to get her including a deranged serial killer who is hellbent on becoming the "real" Mima. The story's many twists and Mima's delusions and hallucinations gave the plot a very dreamlike quality. It can be a bit confusing at times if it is your first time watching it. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will simply end by saying that the plot was very well done overall.
Characters: 9/10
The main character Mima shows us that celebrities are normal people who are effected by stress and worry just like everyone else. However, they have legions of people worshipping them as if they're Gods and obsessing over their every move. It is especially hard for female actresses and singers that have to deal with the added pressure of having to always look sexy. The stress and expectations that celebrities face can take a real psychological toll and helps explain why so many celebrities act out in outrageous fashion or have complete psychological breakdowns. Mima never turns to drugs, crazy religions, or any of the other typical American celebrity coping mechanisms. Instead, she tries to carry all the weight and burdon of fame by herself. The film also examines the negative impact of obsessive otaku culture through the Me-Maniac and looks at Japan's objectification of women. Another interesting character is Rumi, who is supposed to be Mima's manager and a voice of reason. However, she is an ex-idol who is obsessed with getting back in the spotlight and cares more about living through Mima than she does for Mima herself.
Art: 10/10
This is an artistic masterpiece! Even though it was made back in 1997, it still looks beautiful and fresh. The amount of color and detail that went into every frame of this movie is amazing. The backgrounds, characters, and animation are all superb. Nothing else to say here. Two thumbs way up!
Sound: 7/10
If I had any single criticism of this film, it would be that the soundtrack probably could have been better. It was fine, but sometimes didn't always fit the dark tone of the movie. That ending song!
Enjoyment: 8/10
The movie can be slow at times and quite confusing at others. Some scenes are very tense and uncomfortable and this isn't a happy "popcorn" movie. It may not be the funnest movie to watch, but it is a movie everyone should try out.
Overall: 9/10
I know it feels like I gushed praise on this film without objectively looking at the film's flaws, but this is honestly a very good movie. It is by no means a perfect film or necessarily Kon's best film, but I honestly really liked this one. If you are interested in psychological anime, older anime, or critically acclaimed anime, I would check this one out!
