-Paprika is a film under the categories Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Sci-Fi, and Thriller. Under these genres, Paprika does not seem to shine in anything specific, although, sure, it's a Fantasy and Sci-Fi movie about a revolutionary technology that enables doctors to delve into the minds of their patients (the Psychological aspect, I presume). The doctors end up in a mad cat and mouse game when it seems dreams and reality are becoming one (Horror) while trying to find the culprit hiding behind closet doors and abandoned amusement parks (Mystery, Thriller).
-Perhaps the plot itself was not thoroughly thought through by the author of the original novel, but when taking in account the time this was written (1993), the thought experiments tentatively presented by authors back then were a little wishy-washy not-very-solid anyway, so you can't really blame him.
-If you were expecting more details on the Psychological aspect of the technology behind the movie, you'd be disappointed. The movie and director explain the science behind the device by waving their hands and throwing glitters in your face, chanting “Sci-Fi, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction!” The only scientific term used in the entirety of the movie is REM.
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-The thing about Paprika is that its plot does not run deep, but it's a movie crafted around trying to dive deeper. I mean, literally, the plot is about an big, scary, evil man wanting a different body while the scientist who jacked up protocol and didn't manage to apply security features to the earpod (whatever) does nothing all throughout the movie and yet still gets the girl in the end beause his intelligence is just that attractive even if he's 450 pounds, apparently. If Accel World had the masturbatory self-insert that was Haruyuki Akita, in this film we get Kousaku Tokita. Also, I'm quite convinced that the only real reason Paprika was named such is just to make two puns at the end of the movie.
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-Does the story include moral lessons? Sure, yeah. But they're not really lessons that you've never heard of before: Our dreams are creative, they play quite a big role in our subconscious mind, our fears, motivation, and interests show up in them. Does this really pique your interest?
Art (10/10)
-Madhouse was leading in the animations studios' race to flawlessly seam together 2D and 3D in visual art, and it shows in this movie (which was made in 2006; way to go, guys!). This animation studio is a powerhouse in light effects and fluid motion, as well as one of the best in anatomical accuracy in my opinion. The art was very very finely detailed, and had a sense of a Miyazaki film with its love for indiviual character designs. Every movement is finely tuned to smoothly transition from one frame to another without losing the sense of time. Madhouse is especially good at slow motion sequences, most probably because of their leaning towards action-packed shows that enable them to show you just how good they are at messing with motion.
-This animation studio is never one to back down from risky lighting and awkward angles, because they're not afraid to make their characters look unappealing while still keeping that cartoony edge. It's scary how confident they are, but it seemed to work in this film. The directing was easy to appreciate, specially with the focus on the monochromatic reality versus the ever-so-colorful dream world.
Sound (6/10)
-The sound wasn't particularly enjoyable, but I suppose one can say that all the music presented were applicable to their respective scenes. I'm not much of an action anime watcher (I just end up with them) and one quality they all possess is the same rising volume and beat towards the climax of any scene: while most commonly using orchestral music. The sound is not bad, per say, but it's not anything to write home about.
-No notable songs or sounds that sparked true emotion for me. No sadness, no relief, no misery, no anger, no empathy whatsoever on my end.
Characters (5/10)
-The characters all felt one-dimensional to me besides our main heroine. Unfortunately, the reason for her dynamic persona is found out in the middle part of the movie, and it's less of a characterization and more of (alright, completely) a plot device that heavily influences the outcome and overall flow of the story.
SPOILERS
-I really can't get myself around to liking Tokita, mostly because his character only has one scene of “development” and yet it never really helped the plot or anyone else in the least. If he had not dove into his assistant's dreamscape, there would be absolutely no difference in the plot. Maybe one. That would be Atsuko's conscious participation in saving the day, rather than her half-coma state of eating everything in sight. That, in itself, would have been a better ending. Atsuko did not once even show to be a tsundere, and it's bad writing to make her so. Her relationship with Tokita should not have been more than what it was at the very beginning, mostly because Atsuko is an ambitious but caring doctor despite her cool outward appearance, while Tokita is an obese man obsessed with the next project and eating 3 dishes per meal. Tokita's character is toxic, because the starting conflict was a result of his mistake, his investigative skills are abhorrent, and we never get to see any real character development coming from him. It's just. I do truly hate the writing behind his masturbatory, self-satisfying character.
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Enjoyment (6/10)
-Paprika was disappointing for me, but only because the only other movie I've watched about dream-diving was Inception and that was a complete masterpiece with immersive situations. Perhaps if you don't really mind trying-to-be-deep stories you could enjoy this for yourself. I, however, would not watch this again.
