Perfect Blue (1997) User Reviews

Perfect Blue

[negatively-positive-girl · 8/10 · 21 December 2017]

Plot twist, after plot twist, twisting time at every second. As in every Satoshi Kon film, time is warped, un-bended and bended again, but it is always engaging and fantastical to watch. Black Swan definitely seems to have been inspired by this, for it is simply perfect... blue. Still don't know why it's called that.

A delusion within a nightmare...

[DexX · 9/10 · 7 April 2003]

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.

To say this is a very dark anime is quite an understatement!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 12 June 2016]

"Perfect Blue" is a very, very dark anime...so don't let your kids watch it thinking it's like "Pokemon" or "Inuyasha"! It's also a confusing mind-bending sort of film...one that certainly is unique.

When the anime begins, Mima is in an up and coming pre-packaged Japanese girl bands. However, her agent convinces her to leave this life and pursue a career in films. But this way to success is very dark and soul-crushing and soon they have her in a film featuring a rape, lots of violence and nudity. All the while, Mima struggles with herself. She hates what she's doing but in the world of female pop stars and starlets, she feels a sense of obligation and won't publicly question the folks looking after her career. Now at this point, the film gets weird...really, really weird. Mima seems to be losing her mind and some murders occur...and soon the viewer is confused and they might be seeing the world through the eyes of a lunatic...or a killer! What's it all mean? See the film and TRY to unravel it all...but don't be surprised if you still are questioning what it all means.

This is a very clever film and its plot is deep and very strange...and I liked that. But be forewarned...the film shows some very sexually explicit and violent scenes...even by Japanese standards (the film features pubic hair...something very taboo in Japanese culture). Well done and worth seeing...but just don't let the kids see it or anyone who have been sexually abused as a few of the scenes just might be too intense.

Intense thrill ride

[InzyWimzy · 10/10 · 23 August 2002]

OK, this is definitely one anime movie that really has this creepy feel that clings to you as you watch. The animation is really good as characters and movements appear so life-like, it seems like reality. There's definitely the theme of 'identity' and Mima's difficulty distinguishing reality from illusion. Her paranoia and fear tends to grab your attention and as she asks questions, you ask the same ones. I thought the film also played well with celebrity infatuation and the price of fame. It really had a lot going for it and the different camera angles give a very dreamy, mysterious atmosphere. One great shot is the zoom out from Mima's apartment. I could've sworn that was a real city.

"Who are you?" sums up this movie. What a film. By the way, CHAM's song is really catchy.

Solid, well-executed anime

[Speechless · 20 March 2001]

Perfect Blue is a very strange film. It's anime, but it's set in circa-1995 modern Tokyo, with a story in which everything could be explained in terms of natural phenomena and present-day technology. Furthermore, it's a psychological thriller, a genre which probably hasn't ever been done with animation before.

But even if Japan's animators dabbled in this genre more often, Perfect Blue would still be a bizarre film. It starts off as a fairly conventional thriller about a teen pop singer who may be the target of a stalker, but then the movie goes completely insane, assaulting the viewer with rapid changes of scene, perspective, and context until we simply don't know what to believe anymore. This is done so subtly and gradually that we become completely trapped in the movie's spell, and we end up just staring at the screen in horror, helpless to stop the nightmarish events from unfolding. Rarely has any movie so effectively conveyed the lunatic terror of a character who has lost touch with reality, and once the movie is over, all you can do is just sit there and try to figure everything out. Have fun with it. It's a good head scratch.

Unfortunately, the last minute or so of the movie is much too sappy and uplifting (especially the music on the end credits), cheapening the significance of everything that has gone before. But as a whole, Perfect Blue is an incredibly haunting thriller, a scathing look at the world of showbusiness, and a very worthwhile film.

A new take to old school horror movies...

[jluis1984 · 9/10 · 24 May 2006]

Japanese animation has become a very popular style of animation in Western culture due to the wide range of genres it employs and its many different approaches to storytelling; two elements that immediately set it apart from the common Western style of cartoons that almost always are made for children only. Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue" quickly became a favorite among western fans of anime because it explored themes rarely seen in western animation; themes that had more in common with the horror genre such as obsessions, murders and suspense.

The story revolves around Mima (Junko Iwao), a young singer who is quickly becoming an idol as part of the musical trio "Cham". In order to make her career more marketable her managers make her leave the group and join the cast of a famous TV series. However, her new role is considerable different than the cute image she portrayed in "Cham", as it requires her to do nude scenes including a rape scene. At the same time she tries to adjust to her new job, someone begins to stalk her and to brutally kill those near her artistic career and Mima begins to wonder if she is really doing the right thing.

"Perfect Blue" is often labeled as a classic of Japanese animation because it presents a way different kind of story to those used to family-oriented animation. In is closer to an Italian Giallo than to a normal cartoon both in thematics and in style. The use of animation as a medium allows director Satoshi Kon to create stylish images of high surrealism as well as powerful images of violence. It is not something young children should watch.

Based on a novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, the film offers an interesting and harsh criticism to the "idol culture" in Japan, and its exaggerated portrait of an obsessed fan is an extreme, yet hauntingly realist image of insane obsessions. The story has been labeled as "Hitchcocknian", but its lack of subtlety in terms of graphic violence and nudity, as well as its high level of surrealism puts it closer to the stylish Italian sub-genre of Giallo.

By keeping the story around Mima, Satoshi Kon creates haunting atmospheres of paranoia as Mima feels strange in her new career; while it sacrifices character development of the supporting characters, this approach increases the feeling of isolation and adaptation the story has, making a more effective horror/mystery piece. Like any Giallo, the haunting image of the mysterious stalker is always present, and in "Perfect Blue" the mystery and suspense are very well handled making the movie a great work of suspense.

The animation is very good, and not as flashy as casual anime fans would assume. The movie's mixture of realism and surrealism works very well with the style of drawing and the camera-work is brilliant. Still, while the plot at times gets a bit predictable to hardcore horror fans, it still holds up and keeps captivating from start to end. The original Japanese voice work is very good, so I would recommend watching it with subtitles instead of dubbed.

"Perfect Blue" seems flawless as motion pictures can go, and the odd choice of using animation as medium (it was originally meant to be a normal live action movie) makes it different than the rest. This is a blessing as neither anime fans nor horror fans have seen a quality animated horror movie like this before. 8/10

Thoughtfull psychological thriller that leaves you disoriented and maybe even disturbed

[ryan-bfd · 9/10 · 7 March 2016]

Perfect Blue is a psychological thriller about a singer in a pop trio, Mima, who turns to acting because of the lack of successes that she feels she is achieving in music. Ironically, after she leaves her former singing partners become far more successful as a duo than they have ever been working with her. As Mima turns towards acting, she discovers that a stalker has been making posts about her on his fan-page detailing Mima's day-to day experience as she transitions to acting. These things began to manifest themselves in Mima's mind and embody a separate personality that haunts her throughout this film. I am not usually drawn to anime but this film really poked at my curiosity. Mostly because of the stories I have heard about the esteemed director, Darren Aronofsky, buying the rights to this film for $60k in order to, not only replicate a seen from this film in his critically-acclaimed masterpiece, Requiem for a Dream, but also to allegedly replicate aspects of Perfect Blue in his Oscar-winning movie, Black Swan. At first, I was kind of confused about why he did this. But after watching Perfect Blue, I can kind of see why. This film is one of the most intense and disorienting films that I have seen in a while. So it's understandable that a director trying to achieve the same unique effect would try to mimic this movie. We see Mima's alternative personality, 'pop-star Mima', eat this woman inside-out. Mima moves toward more smutty and gritty content in her new acting career. She is playing a girl that gets raped in the new television series she has been cast in, she is letting a photographer take nude photos of her, and she is slowly retreating into more and more into her own mind while doing so. All while her former co-stars are gaining success without her. This causes this her stalker and her alternative personality that is manifesting her consciousness to become more invasive and violent. This film, at times, allows us to feel the same sort of disorientation and confusion that Mima is feeling, especially with the twist ending that leaves you thinking about this film long after it is finished. There is a portion of the movie where Mima keeps waking up from a sleep after each scene, as to suggest that everything that happened before was just a dream. This sequence left me so confused and the pacing made me so dizzy that I thought I was going to fall out of my seat. There are a lot of scenes in this film where you start to question what is real and what isn't. Perfect Blue is stylistically unsettling and memorizing, but still beautifully animated and edited. The film's score is unnerving. The English-dubbed vocal-performances don't sound out-of-place or corny like they do in most anime. I like how mature this film is. It intensifies until the very end without trying to break the tension with any humor or explain things to the audience. It is a dark look into the psychological darkness of being a pawn in the world of pop- culture. I hope to find some more anime like this in the future. I think that this film is a good stepping stone for anyone who is trying to get into anime. If you are trying to watch something that may keep you up at night, if you are trying to watch something that is thought provoking, if you like films with a complex plot and storyline watch this film. You won't regret it.

Genuinely disturbing.

[Pjtaylor-96-138044 · 8/10 · 19 October 2021]

'Perfect Blue (1997)' is genuinely disturbing, especially when it comes to its depictions of sexual violence. It features one of the most upsetting rape scenes I've seen (not that rape scenes are ever anything other than upsetting), even though the scene in question is framed as a consensual simulation, part of a television show that our protagonist, Mima, is filming. The flick also makes a nude photo shoot seem incredibly leery and violating, despite the fact that the shoot is, at least on the surface, entirely consensual. I say "at least on the surface" because the picture never makes it clear whether or not it is Mima's actual desire to do the things she is doing; as a fellow reviewer put it, she consents to these things simply because she doesn't know how not to. Although she constantly says that she chose to become an actress and, in saying so, implies that the horrors she faces are simply unavoidable consequences of that decision (which they should never be), she is never actually depicted as having chosen to be an actress at all; it's her manager who consistently reinforces the idea, with his reasoning seemingly being entirely based on the proposed profits of his decision. We don't know if she herself actually wants to do what she's doing or whether she has just internalised the wishes of others, in a similar fashion to how she internalises the public's hypocritical perception of her to the point that her true self is seemingly lost. In every instance in which Mima consents to being put in a sexualised, typically exploitative situation, she also subsequently expresses deep regret and experiences some form of trauma. Her life is entirely controlled by the men around her, from her all-male fans who leer at her while she's on stage and practically peer through her clothing yet chastise her when she actually shows some skin and expresses her sexuality to her manager who constantly excuses the exploitative situations he puts her in and even pushes for further scenarios in an effort to cement her position as an actress (a position which, again, he is entirely responsible for) to the stalker who watches her every move and impersonates her online in an effort to maintain the squeaky clean image he so desperately desires her to have. Everyone seeks to control her and she herself internalises this control as her own wants and needs. She confuses her true self with the self that other people want her to be, whether that's the innocent pop star or the grown-up actress. Her true self is arguably never seen on screen; if it is, it's whenever she is on her own, away from the public eye, and is able to reflect on her existence. Even the safety of her apartment soon becomes derailed, though. As her realities start to bleed into one another, so do the different elements of the film itself. It blurs the line between reality and the eerily true-to-life television show Mima is working on, between reality and the increasingly disturbing waking nightmares Mima is experiencing, even between reality and reality itself (it often presents us with situations that must be real to an extent, yet it does so in a deliberately confusing and, even, misleading way). The entire movie represents the crisis of personality at the heart of its tale. It brilliantly folds its conflict into its very fabric, trapping us within an uncomfortable and increasingly erratic headspace. You feel as unsteady and as icky as the protagonist, victimised by the plot's horrors and shaken by its mind-bending concepts. It's purposefully ambiguous, purposefully unsettling, as much a horror film as any other to use that label. Somehow, it's even scary in its most realistic moments; it doesn't need to make you question reality to make your skin crawl. I feel as though I'm not explaining it as well as I could be, because there's so much to say and it's so difficult to concisely do so (I'm also aware that I want to avoid major spoilers). This is a movie that practically demands analysis. Despite being animated, it's as real and mature as any film ever has been. It will seriously get under your skin. It certainly got under mine, and it's showing no signs of getting out any time soon. It's one of the few films I can recall that genuinely disturbed me. 8/10.

Very good anime noir

[FilmOtaku · 7/10 · 7 April 2005]

Based on Yoshikazu Tekeuchi's novel of the same name, "Perfect Blue" is a Japanese anime film that tells the story of Mima Kirigoe, a pop idol who decides to leave her musical group while it is still at the top of the charts and concentrate on acting. Unfortunately, this transition does not sit well with one of her fans because an obsessive person who seems to be pervasive in her life soon stalks her. Even when she comes across the fan's website, she finds that the blog entries are not only written to make it seem like they are her thoughts, but they actually ARE her inner-most thoughts. What starts out as a moderately scary obsession quickly becomes a terrifying struggle to both deal with her inner demons and eventually, save her own life.

I once heard "Perfect Blue" described as "Hitchcock does anime", which is a dead-on descriptor for this film. The character designs were slick, the music was good (mostly techno) but the story is fantastic. I honestly was still trying to guess who the stalker was until the end of the film, and the reveal does not disappoint. There are some graphic moments (one is a rape scene on the set of the film she is making) so it does not fall into the stereotypical "it's a cartoon so it must be okay for kids" label that the non-anime viewing public seems assume.

I highly recommend this film, particularly to people who are not very well versed in anime – it would be a really good way to get your feet wet in the genre. There were many times during the film where I actually forgot I was watching animation, the action and story are so all consuming. Perfect Blue gets a strong 7/10 from me.

--Shel

Sooooooo many films have been ripping this movie off all this time and I didn't even know.

[TheOneThatYouWanted · 8/10 · 7 September 2016]

Sooooooo many films have been ripping this movie off all this time and I didn't even know about it. Wow. Just wow. You need to go into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about it. I was just told to check this out because I love trippy types of films that f with your headspace. It is about a pop singer who is transitioning into becoming an actress and crazy sh#t begins to happen. At first I felt like a pervert watching this because you're basically watching a girl run around in a short skirt for two hours but after the crazy stuff starts kicking in and you're required to start figuring stuff out, you'll see there is a method to ever inch of this movie. If anyone can message me and tell me if that is the real her at the end, I would much appreciate it. I swear that isn't her but I just don't know. I'll have to watch it again. They need to make a live action version of this before anymore films rip it off (Black Swan, I'm looking at you)

One of the best anime thrillers that I have seen.

[lewiskendell · 7/10 · 29 January 2016]

I usually pride myself on figuring out the twist or ending of a thriller long before it's formally revealed, but I'm proud to say that Perfect Blue kept me in the dark right up until it was ready to divulge its secrets. Anyone who likes anime and is looking for a good mystery will fall right in love with Perfect Blue.

It's difficult to give much of a sense of what the film is about with spoiling the plot. But essentially, its about a Japanese pop singer named Mima who leaves her musical group and decides to become an actress. She's not entirely happy about the things that she's forced to deal with in her new career, and she starts experiencing odd hallucinations as people around her start to die in brutal ways. This is definitely an intense movie, and some of the scenes are very violent. It's nothing that a fan of action anime hasn't been exposed to before, but it bares mentioning anyway.

I thought the pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but this pays off well once the story gets going, so maybe that's not too big of a deal. The art style leans toward realism in a very pleasing way that aids in telling such a serious story. I'm sure that there are not very many serious anime fans that haven't seen Perfect Blue, and with good reason. It's an excellent thriller that surpasses many of the live-action movies in the genre that I've seen recently.

Third greatest anime of all time!

[dogg01 · 9/10 · 11 June 2001]

On the cover of this film, Roger Corman is quoted as saying "If Alfred Hitchcock partnered with Walt Disney they'd make a picture like this." He couldn't be more right.

The story is about a pop idol Mima, who is sheding her squeaky-clean image for that of an actress. Along the way, she is raped onscreen for a sleazy television show, and does a nude shoot for a men's magazine. This makes her dirty, as her old self tells her. She finds a web site detailing every intimate little detail in her life, and believes that she is being stalked by a strange man. Her personality splits in two, into herself and her old, clean, self which tries to murder her. While she is battling her old self, all of those who contributed to her downfall are being grusomely murdered.

This movie has been critisized by others on this very site, saying that the film was boring in the first 40 minutes. How wrong they are. In Hitchcock's films, (take Psycho for example) he builds up character for the first half-hour until the slashing. This does the same, because if we were not built up to believe that Mima's character is not real-i.e 3-dimensional, then we would feel no sense of loss and disorientation when all hell breaks loose in Mima's life (and the editing room).

A first class film with twists all the way. Should be seen by any movie fan with a mature mind. Even though it will probably collect dust in the anime section of the video store.

5/5

Only beaten in the anime stakes by Ghost in the Shell (2nd) and Akira (1st). Pure genius.

Not quite Perfect, but still a great movie

[Spinal-Column · 7/10 · 30 January 2003]

The first time I watched PERFECT BLUE I was underwhelmed. I disliked what I perceived to be the 'supernatural' element of the movie. I watched it again several months later, intending to get rid of my DVD, and realised that I had missed the whole point of the film!

PERFECT BLUE is actually a very good, intelligent movie. Director, Satoshi Kon, was employed to make an exploitation flick using the original PERFECT BLUE novel as his source material. Kon disliked the script the studio provided and, when he asked how rigidly he had to stick to the plot, was told that he had to keep three elements of the story: a singing idol, a stalker and horror. Using these elements he and writer Sadayuki Murai created what is effectively a coming-of-age story about a young woman leaving one stage of her life and entering another.

The plot can seem contrived and the ending is a little silly (though it is quite meaningful when looking at the film as a story about growing up). Also the animation is not too great -this was only a straight to video feature, after all. However, if you can get past these problems, this is a very enjoyable movie.

7/10

Disappointing

[myek-84645 · 5/10 · 25 November 2020]

I have heard of this movie sooo many time and I was looking forward to it. But as it ended, I was only disappointed and confused. What started as a good plot, ex-singer losing her mind over fame and her past, turned really confusing at the end. So uh, is Mima seeing ghost ? If her agent is the "singer Mima", how does she not recognize her? Are they both getting crazy? Who killed the Mimaniac? The ending was really disapointing, I would have rater liked it if it was Mima who was seing the ghost, and not the ghost being her agent. That doesn't make a lot of sense.

Outstanding animated mindbender. Fans of Hitchcock, Argento and Lynch will be hooked.

[Infofreak · 5 September 2002]

'Perfect Blue' is the most interesting animated movie I've ever seen. Lovers of cinematic puzzlers from 'Vertigo' to 'Abre los ojos' or the movies of Dario Argento or David Lynch will probably enjoy this one more than your typical anime fan, who might find this too slow, and not flashy enough for their tastes. I don't think 'Perfect Blue' quite reaches the heights of the aforementioned, but it is still a fascinating, multi-layered thriller that improves with repeated viewings. As a look at the illusions of fame and the dark side of obsession I personally found it to be a much more satisfying movie than the more celebrated and flamboyant 'Mulholland Dr.' I strongly suggest that the original Japanese subtitled version is watched rather than the inferior English dubbed one for maximum effect. This is one movie experience that will stay with you for days. Highly recommended.

Succeeds all the way at being horribly scary, in a very good way.

[vkn · 8/10 · 2 November 2001]

Perfect Blue is a storming success in every department. As a movie in itself, it's a brilliant piece of work, packed with style and -very- powerful scares. We follow teen pop idol Mima, who tries to make the switch from singing to TV acting. Everything seems normal enough at first, with just the somewhat funky directing hinting at things to come. But it wouldn't be a thriller if good ol' normality didn't come crashing to pieces to make way for some terrifying madness and violence. Things start to go pear-shaped when the studio staff working around Mima are threatened, and later horribly killed, apparently by an obsessed Mima-fan who doesn't like the new direction her career is taking. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Mima herself is starting to go bonkers with all the pressure. She begins to have visions of a disturbing alter ego, more or less her "old self" from her singing days. And this "other" Mima doesn't want to play second fiddle to the new acting image Mima has taken on; she claims to be the real one, with the flesh-and-blood Mima being the fake. Mima's delirium grows gradually more entangled, until she sinks into a mental state where it's impossible for her, and for the audience to tell what is, and what is not really happening. And there are still those murders going on...

Granted, the "movie within a movie" gimmick has been done before so often that it doesn't even strike me anymore as original. Reality-twisting is also something I've seen before. All the same, Perfect Blue managed to impress me enormously, and scare my socks off like no other film. There's something about not knowing for sure (as a viewer) what is and isn't for real that always keeps one intrigued. Particularly during the more violent moments (and the film does get seriously nasty), one is constantly praying that it's -not- for real. "Go on, snap out of it, Mima. This is too scary to be real, you're just having another vision...right? Right?" The leitmotiv of a second self also intrigues me, and I found it delightful trying to pick out which Mima was really the "real" one. Just how strong is "false" Mima's presence in reality? Is she a complete phantom of the imagination, or does she have a litteral, physical presence of some kind? And most of all; out of these two versions of herself, which one does Mima really want to be? If you can't tell for sure what does and doesn't really happen, you also might not take everything the characters declare for granted. The ending does provide a somewhat logical explanation that ties up all of the insanity again, but that doesn't mean the fun of figuring this out for yourself is completely spoiled; you can very well not take the ending entirely for granted either (while it makes sense, there are some bits about the explanation it provides that don't completely gel with me). Lots of re-watchings and picking apart of hints is in store for me there. Love it when that happens ^^.

A few tiny niggles; the animation quality in the first half of the film is not quite breathtaking, and seemed decidedly below-par for movie quality animation. Luckily, it picks up later on, becoming pleasingly smooth. And by the time you reach the terror of the later part of the film, you're already too frightened to really be picky about animation quality. Some of the violent and/or explicit scenes are very nasty indeed (ewww, straight people, sick man), but they serve the purpose of enhancing the fright factor very well, rather than just being needless grotesqueries to please the gore-junkies in the style of that hideous Akira. The film is a complete success as a frightening, surreal and involving thriller (though I do still like Jinn-Roh much better).

But another reason to rejoice is that Perfect Blue is a step in the right direction for the general public's image of what anime really is. Sure, the enlightened few among us for whom Evangelion is standard fare, and who can give detailed insights into the latest CLAMP titles already know that anime is not "a genre". It's a medium in itself, and the Japanese animation market can, and does treat every imaginable genre and subject, often with skill that leaves feeble Hollywoodian efforts miles behind itself (in the case of Perfect Blue, it speaks volumes that a celluloid character such as Mima manages to become more lifelike and sympathetic than any sillicone tarts Hollywood chucks around the screen). It's hardly uncommon to see a genre such as a psychological stalker-thriller treated in animation to the Japanese. Heck, they've done every other imaginable thing under the sun in animation, and a damn good job they do at it as well. It's just a shame that hardly any of the really good stuff ever makes it over to the West, thus creating a distorted image for casual western viewers. We do seem to have made some progress from the Akira Aftertaste years, where anime was generally put on the same line as sex and violence and very little else (side-step; how come nobody ever raises a finger when live Yank actors engage in orgies of the most brutal porn and bloodshed in just about every Hollywood flick ever made, but the whole world screams bloody murder when an anime character so much as takes his socks off? Live Yanks can get away with everything?). Now it's "anime is just pink-haired fairies in giant explosive turbo robots". They're getting just a tiny bit warmer, but maybe Perfect Blue will get the message across to a few others that anime embraces a diversity that ranges from Sailor Moon to Wings of Honneamise (and I'm just globally sketching here), with a reasonably large number of people getting to actually see this. A quite decent English dub that doesn't hamper the film too much is also a plus, though a dub will of course never equal the original. It might help to keep the above paragraph in mind for a Perfect Blue viewer not initiated to the big picture of anime. In any case, it's an impressive movie for anyone, worth seeing for being so unique, gripping and masterfully scary. I'll think twice before I look into a mirror for a long time to come after this...

A final note about the notorious comment that this could be a Disney-Hitchcock hybrid. Hitch perhaps, but comparing this kind of quality to Disney's paper-flat commercial slop is simply an insult to Perfect Blue.

There are times when you forget you are watching animation

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 7 August 2008]

Roger Corman is quoted as considering this a cross between Walt Disney and Alfred Hitchcock, whilst others have referenced Argento and Lynch. Whilst I'm not particularly keen on any of these comparisons, it is certainly true to say that this film, even though it is animated, is much closer to live action than what we normally consider animation. There are times when you forget you are watching animation, the urban shots of Tokyo are mesmerising, and I have certainly never seen so much blood in an animated film. I was going to say violence but I guess there is plenty of that in a Tom and Jerry short. This, of course, is much harder edged and although it begins in pink, girlie, teen idol territory it is not there for long and there are delirious sequences towards the end when it will not only be the person on screen who is having an identity crisis!

My love to Satoshi Kon

[tadis90 · 10/10 · 28 May 2019]

Well, what can be said about this movie that hasn't been said. To me personally this movie is flawless. It is the embodiment of all the things that I love about the Asian cinema. It has the dark tone: emptiness, shallowness, hopelessness etc.

Satoshi Kon is a visionary, his movies are ahead of their time, I know that both Perfect Blue and Paprika inspired many western movies such as Inception, Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream and many others. I love the way that he handles such complex story lines. If you can get through the layer of complexity you will soon realize that these movies are not complex just for being complex, these stories are a heavy commentary on how our society functions and how an individual functions in such society.

Among many other topics, Perfect Blue touches on the double identity that almost every person assumes. The public persona and the private. It shows how chaotic can everything get once you lose track of which is which. It shows how even the seemingly perfect people can sometimes be perfectly lonely. Hence the title. Perfect Blue, which I think suggests perfect sadness.

In my opinion this movie is timeless and the topics that it touches on are ever so relevant these days. It is unfortunate that this genius of a movie maker had to meet his untimely demise.

Dreaming of real fame comes at a cost.

[lost-in-limbo · 8/10 · 13 September 2006]

Mima Kirigoes is part of a young idol group Cham, but she decides to move on and kick-start a career as an actress with some help by her pressuring agent. To change her image, she accepts some confronting roles, which eventuates into her downward spiral between realities and virtual. She discovers an Internet site that knows her every move and those responsible for growing success in the acting industry end up brutally killed.

Well, what can I say? Simply, I forgot that I originally saw this wonderfully, stunning anime picture before. I don't know how it left my mind, because it's very chilling and effective across the board. Based on Yoshikazu Takeuchi's novel, "Perfect Blue" is an intoxicatedly, shocking psychological thriller that does resemble some works of Lynch, Polanski, De Palma and rightly so, Hitchcock. Even a giallo imprint shines heavily within the mixture.

The mature plot boldly plays it cards at a mild pace and eventually forms a structure like a rubrics cube. I wouldn't go out of my way to call it complicated, but there's stylish imagination and cerebral details that gladly doesn't fall into a convoluted mess. The characters' persona's are well defined and emotionally attachable. It can turn into an uncomfortable ride, where dazzling images of fact and fiction skews into one. You can't help but get those disorientating spells that the distraught Mima succumbs to on her journey to find her feet as an mature entertainer. Where her dreams become her anxiety, as she's too sensitive to how she's being perceived then being her true self. Her clean-cut image becomes tainted and a growing obsession towards her takes its tole on her fractured and vulnerable mind.

Paranoia, delusions and a dreamlike air are cooked up with an array of tension and creepy visuals. The animation isn't a visual goldmine, but its showered with powerfully focused and flashed up images that manage to keep the viewer at bay. The pressure building dialogues are quite biting, and the revealing twist catches you off guard because of the superb use of artificial dreams with its fast editing and exhilaratingly moody soundtrack.

You don't have to be a fan of animation to enjoy this piece. So, if you come across it, give it a chance.

Perfect Blue

[bretttaylor-04022 · 7/10 · 27 September 2022]

This is the most explicit animation i have ever watched.

It's okay but that is it, which is about how i feel about most anime films.

A manufactured pop star in a girl band is encouraged by her agent to become an actor.

Her first role is morally demanding as it involves rape.

Also an obsessed fan is also writing an online diary about her but from the perspective of her Girl band persona who is appalled at her new pursuits.

She starts to struggle to separate herself from the character she is playing and the pop star and starts to struggle with reality.

The obsessed fan is also murdering people close to her within the film crew which is mirroring what is happening in the plot of the film she is staring in.

Perfect, blue or not

[kosmasp · 10/10 · 2 December 2020]

I have to admit, it took me too long to watch this in the first place. I was aware of the infamous nature of the movie, but never exactly to what degree. I did think this was more in the corner of Hentai (won't go into what that is, I'll leave that up to you), which was wrong thinking.

This is horror (and I guess part drama) and quite the exploration of fame and what it does to some. What it is able to do to ones psyche. And very visually displayed. The lines are quite blurred between reality and fantasy. But the social commentary is not just vivid, but also very clear to see for everyone! I may have been missing on this for over 2 decades, but I found it and I do appreciate it very much

Solid, but not sticky

[petersaarloos · 7/10 · 23 November 2020]

As a fan of Lynch's work, I've seen many people compare this to movies like Mulholland Dr. Being thoroughly disturbed by the latter film, I expected this to be similarly disturbing. Having seen it, I don't think it is. Perfect Blue is a good and thrilling watch, owing much to its sexual buildup. The fragility of the main character in the hands of her environment is effective. The themes of the film are reflected in its symbolism. For that, it does better than most. However, unlike e.g. Lynch films, the film rounds out a bit too well and, at least for me, doesn't really leave the viewer disturbed or confused. What I both love and hate so much about Lynch films is that they succeed so well in emulating the feeling you have after just waking up from a dream, trying to puzzle together the strange images that are left in your memory. Perfect Blue, by contrast, simple gave me the epiphany of a decent plot twist. I would recommend this movie as a thrilling, sexy psychological trip. I would not warn anyone that they might lose sleep over it, as I did with Mulholland Dr.

What is real?

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 17 April 2008]

"Perfect Blue" is the story of Mima Kirigoe's transition from being a singer in a pop group with a squeaky clean image to an actress in racy murder mystery television series called "Double Bind".

While she is willing to leave her old image behind it is clear that somebody will do anything to protect that image. People around her who are involved in pushing her further from her old self are murdered and she is directed to a web site that was made my somebody who clearly knows far too much about her to be a stranger.

As things go wrong for her Mima starts to hallucinate, seeing her old self who keeps telling her that she should have remained a pop singer. Frequently we don't know if what we are watching is reality, an hallucination or a scene from "Double Bind". The film deserves a second viewing to help you understand some of the confusion... After seeing it a second time I raised my vote by one.

While this isn't a perfect anime it is very good even though the animation is cruder than Satoshi Kon's later works; I suspect the rough look may have been deliberate. If you believe animation is solely a medium for children's films this will change your opinion, it is closer to "Basic Instinct" than it is to "Bambi".

Perfect Blue (1997)

[MartinTeller · 7/10 · 6 January 2012]

A pop star tries to make the transition to acting, but all these pesky murders keep getting in the way. It's basically anime giallo as Satoshi Kon channels Argento and Bava in this psychological thriller. It gets a bit repetitive at points, but it provides a few surprises and is sufficiently entertaining. The short running time is a big asset, any more of this and it would probably wear out its welcome. I did think most of the animation was rather mechanical and unappealing, though. Also, despite the quasi-feminist viewpoint, there's an awful lot of rape. However, I enjoyed it more than the other two Kon films I've seen.

Interesting but not Satoshi Kon's best work.

[Locut0s · 5/10 · 3 May 2010]

The film revolves around a Japanese pop idol who leaves a girl group to start a career in acting. However she is uncertain about her move and is followed by ghosts both real and imagined from her previous life. Like in Paprika Satoshi Kon plays with the meaning of reality and what it means to be sane. The sense of paranoia and uncertainty of ones own senses when experiencing an emotional trauma is well conveyed here. However ultimately the film feels too flat for my tastes. Paprika is a lively colourful and imaginative romp into the world of insanity. This on the other hand is much more controlled and realistic, and while that would usually be something that recommends a film here it ends up falling flat. I kept hopping the film would sprout wings and explore the realm of paranoia and insanity the way only anime can really do so but it never really truly delivers.