One of the singular most original animated films I have ever seen. The story is about an ex pop idol who wants to become a filmstar. On a social level, it deals with the obsession of the Japanese industry with violence and sexual exploitation, but what captivated me most was its use of dream sequences. Dream sequences, or various variations of those, are not exactly a new theme. However, in most cases, they do not follow the dream logic to the extreme. Often they reduce to the common world rationality on some level, or tend to clearly distinguish between reality and dreams. However, for me, Kon's film grew organically into a film where the reality smoothly becomes the illusion, as the protagonist falls increasingly into a nighmarish reality. In my opinion, it would be very interesting to have an analysis of the film from the perspective of technological revolution, that analyzes the world of Satoshi Kon's imagination as a product of the tech bubble. To my distinction, the film managed to overcome a story to become existential in nature; pertaining questions on the nature of reality and the distinction between fiction and fact. At its best, it stayed on the level of some of Borges' finest fictions and evoked questions regarding nature of the 'lost' reality in our present age.

"Perfect Blue" is a 1997 anime about a young woman transitioning from a career as a pop idol to a new vocation as a serious actress. She finds that the metamorphosis is not an easy one when she tackles a sexually charged role that upsets her fans. One such fan appears to be stalking her, while her own doubts about this new direction take a toll on her psyche to the point that the line between fantasy & reality begins to become blurred.Produced on a miniscule budget of three million yen (approx. $25,000 in U.S. dollars), it must be admitted that the movie shows its limitations at times in the animation. That being said, while the visuals aren't exactly elaborate, they're consistently kept fresh with interesting directorial choices and dexterous editing that alternates between fantasy & reality with ease.The narrative is, to a certain degree, purposely difficult to follow, particularly as the movie progresses and the protagonist's state of mind begins to deteriorate. However, I found it to be adequately comprehensible on my first viewing. I wasn't entirely convinced by a late twist that seemed to come out of left field but I found that it made more sense on a second viewing.The story combines well-executed elements of the psychological thriller genre with a finale that ventures into more operatic territory reminiscent of Italian giallo. One or both of those approaches may not appeal to all viewers but I find that the movie's overall success as a psychological thriller may actually be overshadowed by its exceptional depth. This is a movie that's filled to the brim with astute observations on perception, idol worship and the nature of reality.This, I feel, is what elevates "Perfect Blue" above most anime movies (and most live action movies, too, for that matter). While it's unlikely to appeal to everyone, if you're looking for a smart and effective psychological thriller then "Perfect Blue" is well worth your time, regardless of any preconceived notions that you may have about anime. Sadly, the director (Satoshi Kon) succumbed to cancer at the young age of 46 but not before producing four distinctive anime films, of which this may be the finest.

A young pop singer tries to break out into acting, only to find that the psychological thriller that she is starring in has eerie parallels to her own life in this mind-bending animated drama from Japan. The plot here is rather challenging to decipher with reality and fantasy constantly blurring into one. It is also often hard to work out whether other characters are talking to her (or about her) in reality or in the film-within-the-film. While occasionally frustrating, this ambiguity is one of the film's best assets as it provides an insight into the thinking disturbed patterns of the aspiring actress and her deepest fears and insecurities. There is also a deranged stalker in the mix and an internet blog that claims to be written by her (but isn't). Also, in a personal identity crisis, she keeps seeing visions of herself as a pop icon, with the doppelganger claiming that the actress version of herself is not her real self. Director Satoshi Kon apparently only opted to animate the tale when interest for a live action incarnation began to wane, however, he manages to come up with such striking images that is hard to imagine the film having the same effect sans animation. There is an especially memorable bit in which the approaching headlights of a truck blur into stadium lights. The film also makes for a surefire curio nowadays with its insight into the early days of public domain internet where everyone could claim to be anyone.

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.