Perfect Blue is the first film that Satoshi Kon had directed. Even in his earliest attempt, Kon had displayed his prowess in distorting the reality. This is one of the most gripping psychological thriller animations I've ever seen. What exactly makes this film became inspiration for other films such as Black Swan?

Details

• Directed by: Satoshi Kon
• Produced by: Hitomi Nakagaki, Yoshihisa Ishihara, Yutaka Tōgō, Masao Maruyama, Hiroaki Inoue
• Screenplay by: Sadayuki Murai
• Based on: Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi
• Music by: Masahiro Ikumi
• Cinematography: Hisao Shirai
• Edited by: Harutoshi Ogata
• Production company: Madhouse
• Distributed by: Rex Entertainment
• Release date: July 1997 (Fantasia Festival); February 28, 1998 (Japan)
• Running time: 81 minutes
• Country: Japan
• Language: Japanese

Synopsis

From MyAnimeList.net:

Perfect Blue revolves around the main protagonist, Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop idol group named “CHAM!”. After evaluating her situation, she decides to give up her idol status to pursue a career as an actress, what she believes to be the next step in making a name for herself in the industry. However, one of her most hardcore fans, Me-Mania, is less than happy about the path she has decided to take.

Now reborn as an actress, Mima accepts an interesting role, ignoring her manager, Rumi Hidaka's reservations about it. While on set, strange things begin to happen to people who are involved with the film. As time goes on, Mima begins to break down mentally, struggling to distinguish fantasy from reality.

Will Mima be able to escape the grip of her stalker and turn in a break out performance, or will she descend into madness?

Story

What if I told you that there is someone out there who claim that they are the real you, and you are the fake one? At least, that's how Mima feels upon discovering that her identity may not be as real as she thinks. Perfect Blue is a perfect example of how impactful the influence of characters on audience. Moreover, it is up to the director to guide us through his visions that frankly can't be comprehended unless being examined carefully.

If you have watched Kon's other films, you will have guessed how this movie plays out. It starts out to be very simple and in a way, very relatable to our daily lives. I was impressed with how accurate Kon portrays the pressure of being a pop idol. Idols are constantly pushed away from their comfort zone. Some in fact deliberately create controversies and gained reputation from scandals. It's the same with Mima, who has decided to become an actress rather than spending her life as a female idol.

However, just like many of his movies, things might not be as what they seem. Disturbing accidents started to occur though once Mima embarks her role. This is where reality shifts to fantasy and it becomes really difficult for us and her to know what is going on. You can pretty much notice your decreasing sanity as the frequency of these disturbances increases. Just like Mima, we, as the viewers, become disoriented with the reality, and in some way become increasingly paranoid with the idea of being replaced with somebody. There is also this repeating question of "Who are you?" when Mima is rehearsing, acting, or even in the climax scene, summing up the film in its entirety.

Red herrings and misunderstood scenes that will make sense once you understand the context are common things in the movie itself. The mystery itself is a simple one, yet given the condition, we as the viewers are left with little clues to figure out what is really happening. This movie has also predicted the price of being fame in the digital era, long before internet was even a thing. Stars are constantly being harassed and their privacy is violated for the purpose of entertainment.

I might say, the ending is quite satisfying for me. I always thought nothing can pretty much surprise me at this point, but it proves me wrong. The reality bleeding really helps to impede my visions, making me blind as a mole for the plot in the process. That's how powerful Kon is. This is one of the best psychological thriller animated films I've ever watched.

Visual

The animation is superb compared to its contemporaries. The characters are designed to have mimics and body gestures that helps us see their emotions. While some of them are not really relevant, there are times where it gives a contrasting feeling of realism and surrealism. The scenes are carefully crafted to flow into another without ever spoiling and exposing the concealed intentions of Satoshi Kon. There are so many times where I thought these scenes must be a dream, later to be shown to be a reality. Yet, the opposite stands true, where reality seems to be just a vivid dream.

There are certain color motifs throughout the film, most notably red and white. These colors are used
frequently by Kon to convey what is the mood of the situation, or whether it's a dream or not. It is cleverly used in the most subtle way, but if looking carefully reveals what it is for. For example, white in most cases is a symbol of purity, innocence, and virgin. On the other hand, red is a symbol of alluring, seductive, perverted, but at the same violence and confusing. There are scenes where both are present, giving ambigious meaning to the situation.

Audio

Pleasingly disturbing is how I would describe the soundtrack. It blends atmospheric sounds to give you the feeling of dread and there is alsothis one chanting song that is stuck in my head. It is played when you know there is something odd with scene or you know there will be something bad. The electronics sound also helps to entrance the audience to this paranoia. It also uses a cheesy pop song in a way for it to be terrifying, like playing it with a tape with no one around in an empty elevator in an empty building. Imagine something like that happens to you!

Characters

These are all humane characters, with their own problems. But, what I find most interesting in Perfect Blue is how Satoshi Kon able to project these interesting characters in an exciting way, even if they are not necessarily good people. For example, Me-Mania, while he is a character which has a severe obsession with Mima even to the point where he is willing to do anything just to make "her" happy is depicted as a very dedicated and determined person but has this thick aura of delusion of him being the only who can protect the "real Mima". There are also these simple characters such as the director, the producer, the screenwriter, the managers, and many more that are depicted at high accuracy with their real life counterparts. Mima faces a lot of problems that modern idols have to deal in order to secure their future. The plot twist that reveals a hidden side of a certain character is also great, because while it is heavily hinted that Mima is hallucinating, things might be as real as they can be.

Conclusion

Perfect Blue is another example of what you can achieve in animation. With its creepy atmosphere and thrilling scenes, it shows many people are not what they appear to be. And certainly, you can't judge a book by its cover, even then you can't be too sure with its content, because there is always a possibility that they have their own innermost and darkest desire that might be disturbing in its own right.