Adapted by Sadayuki Murai from Yoshikazu Takeuchi's novel, "Perfect Blue" creates an increasingly terrifying world and pulls you into it with the effectiveness of a Hitchcock suspense classic. [07 Oct 1999, p.F16]
It won't take genre fans long to unravel the mystery, but the pleasures of this film lie elsewhere. Its images of the gleaming, depersonalized Tokyo in which Mima lives out her superficially charmed but lonely life are haunting, and the characterizations are unusually strong. There's plenty for anime newcomers to enjoy, and fans won't want to miss it.
The adventure begins beyond our ordinary lives, alongside someone who has realized their dreams, an emotion we may have never truly empathized with (for most of us). The mysterious curtain of cinema opens to a life we've never witnessed before. And we observe how this life crumbles from within.
Our human minds shield us from delusions we haven't encountered. "Perfect Blue," on the other hand, allows us, unaware of what that means, to empathize with those who couldn't achieve it. "Perfect Blue," in the year it was released, is almost a work of art. The harmony of scene transitions with the narrative is on another level. I got involved in the character's interrogations. It's like I was lost in the character's mind. What more can be expected than a narrative?
Contemporary adult themes that resonate as much as those in Perfect Blue (stalking, the cult of celebrity) have become increasingly rare in this animated genre better known for tentacled demons and cute forest sprites; it's refreshing to be reminded that not everything in anime need feature that lovable scamp Pikachu, either.
The denouement isn't very surprising or enlightening, but at its best this works as both a critique of Japan's pop culture system and an effective woman-in-peril psycho-thriller.
Forsaking the usual anime fantasy terrain for a straight suspense plot that might easily have been executed in live-action form, director Satoshi Kon's debut pic, "Perfect Blue," is a psychological thriller that intrigues without quite hitting the bull's-eye.
The high cost of fame: stress, loss of identity and privacy, intrusive fans. The plot was made in a realistic tone that has no qualms about showing it in a visceral and raw way. Be warned, it is for an adult audience.
This was excellent, the pacing and editing were probably the best for any animated movie ever. Think definitely the most 'adult' and **** up animated movie I can remember watching.