With such an interesting concept, it feels like lost potential when it comes to the story, especially the ending, which I found actually bad.
The fun adventures in the dream world will only do so much if the characters are uninteresting. Chiba has so much potential for being interesting, but they never delivered on it at all. We don't learn why Paprika exists and how she came to be, we don't learn anything about Chiba's past! There is very weak character development for her, but it all boils down to "she used to be cold and mean to this guy but now she's learnt to open up a bit more, and she got together with the guy she was mean to because she was worried about him". What??? When did she start to like him so much?? She was worried about him yes, but that does not equate to wanting to be together with a person??
The only good story arc was the police officer/ detective. Despite him not being the main character, he got an actual backstory, a point of interest/conflict, and a resolution to said conflict. And the unique setting helped in this resolution. I just wish the main character's arc could have been as well developed as his, because everything about him was so interesting, and moving at times! The chase sequence, the hotel hallway with the body, that was some great stuff!! Why didn't the protagonist get any of that? Why was the resolution to her story defeating the cliche bad guy and then getting together with the person who she yelled at the last time they spoke?
