Perfect Blue (1999)

[InformationGeek]

Hey guys.  I been doing some more research into some anime movies recently and this one has popped up on my radar.  From my understanding, the director also did Paprika and Tokyo Godfathers.  A lot of his work is suppose to be good, but this is said to be his big breakout movie that brought into the spotlight.  For those who have seen it, what is your opinion on it?  From my research, I heard it is pretty brutual and is one of the few animated movies out there to actually have a rape scene in it.  Yeah... plesant right?  Anyways, what's your thoughts?

[SPazzo]

I saw it a couple years ago.  I've seen a few of Satoshi Kon's films (Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika) and I do remember really liking Perfect Blue.

As for the brutalness of Perfect Blue, I don't remember it being that much worse than Akira (1988).  But, like I said, it's been a few years since I've seen this one.

[dean]

I really enjoyed it.  I seem to remember the trailer promoting it as a Hitchcock style film; it's somewhat billed as a psychological thriller, and boy does it mess with the main character's head.  I especially liked the climax of the film, but have to say the ending left me a little cold, but only the last few minutes. 

That being said, I freaking love Satoshi Kon's work, and Perfect Blue is by far my favourite.  Loved Paprika too, but they are very different films if you're looking for a comparison.

It's not exactly a brutal film, I've seen way too much awful hentai for it to be even close, but it sure is uncomfortable in parts.  The rape scene is somewhat unique in how it is shown, but I won't spoil it by telling you why.

This is definitely a must-see anime movie: Fantastic!

[Mofo Rising]

Dean is right.

Information Geek, you are clearly a fan of anime, so you owe it to yourself to seek out Satoshi Kon's work. He's what you might call really, really good.

I don't care for most anime, but the stuff Satoshi Kon puts out is amazing. If you haven't seen Paprika, drop everything you are doing and watch it.

[lester1/2jr]

I liked the song from Paprike but I didn't get the movie

[Fausto]

Perfect Blue is an incredible film. Satoshi Kon really messes with your head. I love his movies, although my favorite work of his has to be the series Paranoia Agent. Just remember that you can't rely on normal, everyday logic to make sense of any of it (either the movies or the series).

Interesting fact: Darren Aronofsky bought the American remake rights to Perfect Blue just so he could re-create a single sequence:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anlHmGA-Bvs

[feiyen]

wow that was creepy. He also wrote the script for "Magnetic Rose" One of the 3 short films in Memories (1995) a definite must see. Also his working on his latest project THE DREAM MACHINE though its targeted for younger viewers. I guess we shall have to wait and see.

[akiratubo]

Perfect Blue is an excellent psychological thriller.  It might be the best I've ever seen, in fact.  This is a good movie to show to someone who thinks anime is all giant robots being driven by little girls who flash their panties while surrounded by speedlines.