Perfect Blue- Limited Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray + DVD]

A great psychological thriller that feels like it could happen (and probably does) in real life. This movie pretty much exposes the dark side of entertainment and fame and does it with a great script and beautiful animation. It's definitely something that sticks with you after the credits roll.

If it weren’t for his tragic death, Satoshi Kon would’ve become the greatest of all time for animation I’m sure. Absolute masterpiece of a film and a fantastic physical.

The best type of movie where you need to watch it multiple times to understand what happened. Your second viewing will be very different from your first.No scene or line of dialogue in the movie is meaningless. The second time you watch the movie you will notice all the little details that you missed during the first viewing.It's not really a "pleasant" movie. The subject matter and the cinematography does a great job of making the viewer uncomfortable, without being too much to bare. When the movie raises the tension, the tension does not persist for too long to make the movie hard to watch.

You know you've entered a powerful world when you suddenly realize you've forgotten that what you're watching is nothing but ink and paint. But, oh my god, what this master of animation does with mere ink and paint is absolutely breathtaking. At first, you believe you're watching just some silly, brainless, pop-culture fluff. And, yes, it is showing you what that culture is like. But almost at the same moment, you become aware of a deep, very dark and twisted level of human depravity and pain.The strangest part of this film is that the director/writer makes you feel sympathy with the worst of the characters he draws for you. Not at first, of course. At first, you are thoroughly repulsed and sickened by these people. But slowly, as you watch what they do and how and why they think as they do, you cannot help but feel a twinge of compassion. They are just as much victims of an ugly, twisted system as those who are openly exploited.I was under the mistaken belief that this turned out to be the last film made by Satoshi Kon, the creator who made Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, besides other impressive films. In fact, Millennium Actress, from 2019(?), was, I believe, his last film. These all are outstanding works of art, not just "cartoons". You get the feeling with his work that had he the funds, he would certainly have made live-action versions of his stories. But, budgets being what they are, he had to settle for anime. Still, his work is just as masterful and important as anything coming out of Ghibli. It's just a shame that this man had to die so young. I suspect we've been robbed of some truly unique and powerful films. Oh, well. That's life -- such as it is.Again, I must emphasize that this film is rather deceptively simple. By the time you've gotten half-way through the story, you are absolutely hooked. Several times, I was rather surprised to realize that my mouth was open in shock at what I was seeing. The power of the sound and images he created is simply overwhelming. You quickly forget that you're watching a film; you are pulled, intellectually, emotionally, totally, into the story this man is telling. And even though the scenes you witness seem to be exploitative, the truth is that he is actually showing you exactly how the entertainment industry exploits the people it sucks into its web.I'm certain he intended this to be an indictment of the Japanese entertainment industry. But we all know that the world-wide entertainment industry operates along the very same lines. In fact, truth be known, it is far, far worse than any of us suspect. Only recently have some brave individuals been able to come out publicly and reveal just how perverse this industry truly is. Yes, we have whistle-blowers in every industry. But the entertainment industry operates at a truly depraved level of exploitation only recently being revealed. Fascinating how this anime director, twenty-some years ago seemed to be one of the first to sound the alarm. Sad, of course, how no one was really listening.

Perfect Blue / B00000JL42*Spoilers*When young idol Mima leaves her pop girl-band group in the hopes of breaking big into an acting career, she becomes entranced with a new website ("Mima's Room") that purports to be written entirely by her and which details her thoughts, dreams, and desires to the public. Although Mima knows that the website must be run by an impostor (after all, if the 'real' Mima was the website author, then she would know that...wouldn't she?), she becomes increasingly confused and concerned when the most private details of her life are posted for all to see - private details that most people would have no knowledge of.And as Mima struggles with her acting career and is forced to make difficult choices in 'how far' she is willing to go to further her career (including a difficult 'adult' acting scene), she becomes increasingly disassociated from reality and cannot seem to tear herself away from "Mima's Room", where the perfect 'Mima' there seems so much larger than life than the 'real' Mima. And what of her various colleagues who keep meeting with serious injuries, accidents, and outright murder? Are the scenes - increasingly violent - that Mima is acting on stage just acting...or is it reality, edited into a TV show in order for her to cope?This particular director, also involved (I believe) with Millennium Actress and Paprika, is a master at blending reality with fantasy (dreams and/or movies) in such a way that you can never be quite sure which is the fantasy and which is the reality. This thriller movie will mess with the viewer's mind, as we wonder what the nature of Mima's life truly is, and whether she is an innocent victim or a crazed psychopath. I was pleased that the resolute ending is clear and unambiguous, but with a touch of irony that I deeply appreciated. I won't say anymore, for fear of spoiling the surprise, but can only say that if you enjoy having your mind messed with, you will enjoy "Perfect Blue".Content warning, though: This movie depicts a lot of female nudity (and not just the common "above-the-waist" variety) and also depicts Mima acting out a graphic rape scene for her TV series - a scene that could be considered highly triggering for some.~ Ana Mardoll