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Junko Iwao, Rika Matsumoto, Steve Bulen, Bambi Darro, Syd Fontana ... see more see more... , Rica Matsumoto

Mima was a pop idol, worshipped by the masses until fashion dictated otherwise. In order to salvage her career, she is advised to drop music and pursue acting. A soap opera role is offered but Mima's ... read more read more...character is less clean cut than desired. Regardless, she agrees and events take a turn for the worse. She begins to feel reality slip, that her life is not her own. She discovers (imagines) her identical twin, a mirror image that hasn't given up singing. Internet sites appear describing every intimate detail of her life and a figure stalks her from the shadows. Her friends and associates are threatened (and killed) as Mima descends into a dangerous world of paranoid delusion. She fears for her life and must unravel fact from illusion in order to stay alive. Perfect Blue represents a major change from traditional anime subject matter, analysing the pop icon phenomenon, fame and its psychological impact on the performer.

Flixster Users

86% liked it

18,346 ratings

Critics

65% liked it

23 critics

R, 1 hr. 20 min.

Directed by: Satoshi Kon

Release Date: August 20, 1999

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DVD Release Date: January 26, 2010

Stats: 1,238 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,238)

  • pier007
    July 7, 2011
    pier007
    Classic Hitchcock cat and mouse game with Lynch-ian surreal imagery. A major influence in Aronofsky's "Black Swan".
  • fb535316333
    May 29, 2011
    fb535316333
    Satoshi Kon's mastery in suspense shines here in this psychological thriller that constantly keep's its viewers on their toes. What's really great is the blend of realism into this animated film to the point where the surreal, bizarre portions aren't overwhelmed with suspense of ... read moredisbelief.
  • ariuza1
    January 14, 2011
    ariuza1
    Perfect Blue is like a Giallo animated movie that's like a "Dario Argneto" Flick but with more gore and its animated, I remember "Opera" when I was young with the girl and the nails under her eyes that was just frighting how she is forced to watch her friends be slaughtered. Or ... read morethe bird with the Crystal Plumage how the "killer" tries to murder the witness by running him down with his car. It's all frighting stuff by what about this? As I stated it an animated Italian Giallo film how a famous singer is being stalked by a crazed fan. I myself am a big fan of "Giallo films" and Italian flicks in general not boring Asian cinema unleased the film interest me or I catch it on TV like a normal person. Now this is the kind of movie that I knew I was going to love I don't like anime that much but I just hate to view this.

    Mima Kirigoe is an actress on a long road to "success" she plays rape victim's and even works for a few dollars an hour but after a long time she hits her goal and becomes a hit with her music. But that's not the only thing she is being seeming stalked by a person in a rain coat who even tries to run her down in their car and they push one of her friends out a window, Her past is about to catch up to her as a private detective and her start to dig around and only find the guilt of her past and the ghost in her memory she tried to keep out.

    The movie makes a lot of references to Dario Argneto's movies but overall I really liked the idea as Japanese's "Giallo" film. So the references are obrevsly....
    *Like all Argento's movies Killers with black Gloves and in Rain coats.
    *Close up's of the killers hands.
    *A person remembering a memory and using it in the story.
    *Victims come crashing throw panes of glass.
    *The movie ends were the story starts.
    The list can go on and on for any fan. So yes I loved the story okay.

    The animation quality is just amazing you can see every amazing bit of detail object there in high quality. As well as the blood that "splatters" everywhere and on everything. And I really loved the trick with then camera to catch all the detail like in Dario's Suspira with the music simply just amazing.

    The voice dubbing I am a bit mixed on but overall high stuff that everyone will love, never seen the English dub though. The characters are just your" Dario Argneto" people and there even muddled after some of his characters in his films. Our lead Female is model after Jessica from Suspira and her detective is after David Hemmings character in Deep Red. So overall very likeable with all the personality, OH and the killer big "Argneto" thing.
    I come to a close and I think I have said everything.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    August 27, 2010
    DragonEyeMorrison
    An animated giallo, tense and always with a great sense of suspense and how to build said suspense. Works in ways most so called "thrillers" of the last 15 years wish they could work. Only a director with a true sense of what cinema is about could direct something like this. You ... read morewill be greatly missed mr Kon.
  • lewiskendell
    January 17, 2009
    lewiskendell
    I usually pride myself on figuring out the twist or ending of a thriller long before it's formally revealed, but I'm proud to say that Perfect Blue kept me in the dark right up until it was ready to divulge its secrets. Anyone who likes anime and is looking for a good mystery wil... read morel fall right in love with Perfect Blue.

    It's difficult to give much of a sense of what the film is about with spoiling the plot. But essentially, its about a Japanese pop singer named Mima who leaves her musical group and decides to become an actress. She's not entirely happy about the things that she's forced to deal with in her new career, and she starts experiencing odd hallucinations as people around her start to die in brutal ways. This is definitely an intense movie, and some of the scenes are very violent. It's nothing that a fan of action anime hasn't been exposed to before, but it bares mentioning anyway.

    I thought the pacing was a little slow at the beginning, but this pays off well once the story gets going, so maybe that's not too big of a deal. The art style leans toward realism in a very pleasing way that aids in telling such a serious story. I'm sure that there are not very many serious anime fans that haven't seen Perfect Blue, and with good reason. It's an excellent thriller that surpasses many of the live-action movies in the genre that I've seen recently.
  • Stinger839
    January 2, 2009
    Stinger839
    This movie was WAAAY over-hyped to me, probably because most of the people recommending it were big anime fans who had not seen many psychological thrillers, much less one in anime format (without added scifi elements). This is the sort of film I watch in live action all the time... read more, but not what I expect from an anime.

    The story is dizzying in presentation of alternate realities to the point that I don't think any version is more valid than another and at the end, I still don't know which to believe is dominant, which is a good thing for a story of this genre. However, because this is anime, the story presentation could have been opened to include far more surrealism of image.

    I can acknowledge that this is unique for the anime format, but stacked against its live action peers of the same genre, this is just underwhelming. Animation should NEVER underwhelm in degree of ambiguity and surrealism as compared to live action of the same genre, as I've said previously, the format is open to whatever odd imagery you wish to include. Others may get a real kick from this, but I was just numb to it. I can see why others appreciate it so, but I'm still not impressed.
  • drago25
    June 4, 2007
    drago25
    Enthralling, creepy anime about a woman who makes a move from glitzy, adored pop singer to the world of acting, modeling, and becomes haunted and stalked by what she believes is the pop idol image she sullied by turning to acting. It had a cool concept that was executed well, the... read more animation was unique and top-notch - definitely worth a look.
  • ceWEBrity
    January 23, 2007
    ceWEBrity
    One of the most dizzying films I've ever seen, anime or otherwise. I do have a soft spot in my heart for "blurred reality" mysteries, and Perfect Blue is a superb one.
  • deano
    December 13, 2006
    deano
    Not a bad anime/magna film based on the first time thriller I ever watched.
  • lesleyanorton
    November 8, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    A young Japanese girl rejects Pop Idol stardom to become a serious actress but her alter ego seems to have different ideas.
    A weird anime. The underlying bubblegum-pop-girl-with breathy-dubbed-american-accent-tries-to-become-serious-actreess plot I could care less about, not be... read moreing thirteen. But on top of that you get a nude photo session reminiscent of that bit with Irene Cara in the original Fame, and a followup bath scene that Darren Aronofsky nicked, sorry paid homage to, in Requiem for A Dream. Plus a rape scene that's possibly acting but may also be real - and again if you've seen the last scene of Requiem For A Dream, you'll know what it looks like too. So kind of intriguing and kind of irritating, I'm not sure exactly what to make of it. Think I'll sit on the fence with three stars.

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Critic Reviews

Charles Cassady
December 15, 2010
Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media

Popular anime is mature/violent, despite sunny art style. Full Review

Steve Biodrowski
July 5, 2008
Steve Biodrowski, ESplatter

The film has style and then some -- maybe too much, in fact, but the visual interest always remains high, and the storyline is intriguing. Full Review

Jean-François Vandeuren
February 6, 2007
Jean-François Vandeuren, Panorama

Kon signe d'une main de maître un thriller enlevant et chaotique dont la nature déjantée et le goût pour les effets théâtraux rappellent le Dario Argento des belles années Full Review

Derek Smith
August 19, 2006
Derek Smith, Cinematic Reflections

[An] nime thriller [that] often plays as an examination of identity and celebrity, but ultimately gets so lost in its own complex structure that it doesn't end up saying much at all. Full Review

Nick Schager
May 4, 2005
Nick Schager, Lessons of Darkness

Quite enthralling. Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson
June 12, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Satoshi Kon has created a taut, tense thriller that's a lot more coherent than many sci-fi animes, and deftly weaves several levels of reality up until the twist ending.

James Rocchi
November 7, 2002
James Rocchi, Netflix

Animated Japanese thriller about the price of fame is rich, deep and dark. Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 1, 2000
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

With the freedom of animation comes a more effective blurring of fantasy and reality. Full Review

Dustin Putman
January 1, 2000
Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com

A wildly inventive creation that is just about as adult as an animated film can get, and at times, I even started to forget that it was, in fact, animated. Full Review

Maitland McDonagh
January 1, 2000
Maitland McDonagh, Film Journal International

A must-see for fans of Japanese animation, and might make the genre a few converts. Full Review

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Perfect Blue Trivia

  • Anime film by Satoshi Kon (his first), made in 1997, well received at international film festivals (won awards at Fantasia Festival in Montréal and Fantasporto).  Answer »
  • The japanese animation film 'Perfect Blue' is said to be Hitchcockian due to its seductive use of suspense and violence. Due to her profession, the main character is stalked by a psychotic killer. But what was her profession?  Answer »
  • Which anime movie did Satoshi Kon NOT write and direct?  Answer »
  • In the movie, Practical Magic, what color eyes does Sally's "perfect mate" have?  Answer »
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