Perfect Blue (1998)

Director:

Satoshi Kon

Writers:

Sadayuki Murai (screenplay)
Yoshikazu Takeuchi (novel)

Release Date:

28 February 1998 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The color of illusion is Perfect Blue. (Japanese)

Plot:

A retired pop singer turned actress's sense of reality is shaken when she is stalked by an obsessed fan and seemingly a ghost of her past.

Plot Keywords:

Obsessed Fan | Singer | Actress | Fan | Rape

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Junko Iwao	...	Mima (voice)
Rica Matsumoto	...	Rumi (voice) (as Rika Matsumoto)
Shinpachi Tsuji	...	Tadokoro (voice)
Masaaki Ôkura	...	Uchida (voice)
Yôsuke Akimoto	...	Tejima (voice)
Yoku Shioya	...	Shibuya (voice)
Hideyuki Hori	...	Sakuragi (voice)
Emi Shinohara	...	Eri (voice)
Masashi Ebara	...	Murano (voice)
Kiyoyuki Yanada	...	Kantoku (voice)
Tôru Furusawa	...	Yada (voice)
Shiho Niiyama	...	Rei (voice)
Emiko Furukawa	...	Yukiko (voice)
Aya Hara	...	(voice)
Shinichirô Miki	...	(voice) (as Shin'ichirô Miki)

Also Known As:

Pâfekuto burû (Japan) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated R for animated sequences of violence and nudity, and for brief language.

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Taiwan:R-18 | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated

Company:

Rex Entertainment

Trivia:

The "Big Body" pizza box in the infamous stabbing scene usually gets a few chuckles from English-speaking viewers, who are no doubt thinking about the food's fat content. However, "Big Body" is actually an homage to Susumu Hirasawa (who would later compose music for Sennen joyû (2001) and "Môsô dairinin" (2004), also by director Kon) and his electronically band "P-Model." Big Body is the name of their tenth album, released in 1993.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the English dub version, Cham sings their song at the beginning in English. Later on, when the writer is waiting for the elevator, the radio is playing the song in Japanese.

Quotes:

Mima Kirigoe: Excuse me... who are you? Excuse me... who are you?

Movie Connections:

Remade as Yume nara samete (2002)

Soundtrack:

Hitori de mo heiki

A delusion within a nightmare...

Perfect Blue takes many levels of reality, fiction, dream, and delusion, and merges them into an occasionally baffling but overall thrilling and satisfying film.

Mima is a rising pop star, not yet in the big time, but certainly on the way. She and her management team decide that it is time for her to try something new, so she leaves her pop group to become an actress, and that is when the problems start.

Is there another Mima out there? She is ghost-like, still a pop star, denying this new acting career, ever-smiling... but if she is real, she may be a brutal killer. What of the stalker with the creepy face and violent temper? Is he the one running the website which describes Mima's daily routine in obsessively minute detail? If so, how does he know all these things?

Madness and nightmares blend with the scripts of the increasingly bizarre role Mima plays in her debut acting job. Days repeat, life imitates script, and script imitates life. Are the boundaries between reality and dreams breaking down? ...and who is killing those who Mima is closest to?

Perfect Blue will probably confuse you, and the ending will leave you thinking, but in these days of neat, clean-edged storytelling, a little confusion is good for the soul.

I highly recommend this to fans of thrillers and anime alike, plus it is a great introduction to the world of Japanese animation for those just getting their toes wet. There are no giant robots or sex-crazed demons here, just a tight, clever psychological thriller with one hell of an ending.

Make sure you see it with Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. That done, turn off the lights and prepare to be entertained.