Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) is a psychological thriller directed by Kon Satoshi and based on the novel of the same name by Takeuchi Yoshikazu. The movie was originally released in theaters in Japan in 1997.
Mima Kirigoe, who in the beginning of the film is a member of the pop idol group Cham in her last performance, is about to make the step in her career to be a legitimate actress. During her final performance, as she is about to announce that she is leaving the group a disturbance breaks out between the crowd and a group of delinquents. One of the security guards, an ugly, malformed man, is beaten by the thugs but stands his ground and the disturbance is quelled by a distraught Mima. She then announces her career move and performs her last song with the group. Leaving the show someone in the crowd shouts out to her that he is always watching ‘Mima’s Room’. The man is referring to a fan website that posts information about the idol. Mima decides to check it out and begins to find that the operator of the website knows intimate details about her daily life and posts pictures to prove it. The more she explores the website the more she fears for her own safety.
Mima Kirigoe, who in the beginning of the film is a member of the pop idol group Cham in her last performance, is about to make the step in her career to be a legitimate actress. During her final performance, as she is about to announce that she is leaving the group a disturbance breaks out between the crowd and a group of delinquents. One of the security guards, an ugly, malformed man, is beaten by the thugs but stands his ground and the disturbance is quelled by a distraught Mima. She then announces her career move and performs her last song with the group. Leaving the show someone in the crowd shouts out to her that he is always watching ‘Mima’s Room’. The man is referring to a fan website that posts information about the idol. Mima decides to check it out and begins to find that the operator of the website knows intimate details about her daily life and posts pictures to prove it. The more she explores the website the more she fears for her own safety.
As she begins working on a movie project, playing a multiple personality killer, the messages on Mima’s Room begin to take on ominous tones and the details of her daily life become more acute. She begins to look for who could possibly be the one behind the website and starts to notice the malformed security guard where ever she is. The man only stands there, but it is enough to cause her great concern and fear. All the while her manager and the talent manager from Cham try and keep her positive and upbeat. But when the screenwriter for the film is violently murdered following the filming of a rape scene involving Mima, she becomes very concerned for her own safety. She begins to see visions of the Cham version of herself as a separate person that is trying to sabotage her efforts, trying to revert to being an idol. Her life spins out of control and another grisly murder follows a nude photo shoot she is involved in. By this time she is no longer able to distinguish between reality and fiction as she begins to wonder if the movie she is starring in is not actually her real life. She wonders if she has multiple personality disorder and is the one killing the people responsible for the destruction of her innocence.
This is probably one of the best written anime. The only thing that makes this Hitchcock like movie an anime is that it isn’t live action. This movie could easily be done live. It was my first exposure to Satoshi Kon (before I knew he directed the Magnetic Rose story in Memories), of Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers and Paranoia Agent. The character development focuses primarily around Mima, with the other characters around her being bit players. For the time, the late 90’s, the animation is very good. Now it’s a little dated and the weird character designs tend to stand out more now than in the past. Some of the characters have exaggeratedly wide set eyes and the crazy security guard is very oddly drawn, for a reason. The CG used in the film flows well with the hand drawn animation and the color pallet is vivid. The soundtrack is well done as well, resembling something from a Ghost in the Shell movie for the background with upbeat J-Pop tracks for the Cham songs. For me, who mostly despises J-Pop the Cham songs are catchy but the background music is excellent and fits very well with the movie. The story is very well written and it sucks you in. Not only is it a great psychological thriller, with intricate twists and questionable realities, it is also a great exposition of the otaku culture. Through out the film we are given glimpses into the daily lives of the Tokyo otaku who follow pop idols. We watch them constantly debate and inform each other about the most current events surrounding the idols and some of there dangerous obsessions with them.
This is a great movie for any one who enjoys an in depth story and suspense. If you have not seen this classic I implore you to change that. This would have to be my favorite Kon film as Paprika really disappointed me in comparison.
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