Perfect Blue – 4/5 – Movie Reviews by Ry!
Perfect Blue – 4/5- This is a recommendation review for an anime film that is old, but worth watching. As this is a recommendation review, I had to go and re-watch the film, since it has been a while. Oh, how I feel ashamed in not watching this film in such a long time. This anime isn’t your typical ‘childish’ or ‘action pack’ one. What we have here is an anime, designed for adult viewing, that is a great psychological thriller.
Premise:
Mima, in the midst of the height of her singing career, decides to leave the idol group CHAM, in order to pursue her dream as an actress. Mima begins to climb up the rocky road to success by performing as rape victims and posing nude for magazines, but with these trials, she must deal with a her reflections of the past, as well as an obsessed fan. Intertwining in these, people start to die, and Mima gets lost in what is real and what is imaginary
When it comes to the main character of Mima, she is a very thoughtful, innocence kind of girl. Because of her innocence, she feels the need to fulfill everyone’s wishes, and chooses a different path in her life; which is to act instead of sing. In the anime, the main character develops into much more than a generic ‘pop-artist’ with a ‘coming of age’ story, but a human with a lot of emotional depth and decree. With the choice she makes, her ‘innocence’ persona starts to unravel, which causes her some strife. This leads to the dual realities in her mind, creating a blend with the murders and stalker. As she begins to perform deeper and revealing tasks in her acting and modeling of her body, she starts to mentally unravel and fall deeper into madness. Mima become more suspicious, paranoid and weary of her everyday activities. Mima deep character development helps add to the psychological aspect, because you never know what she is really seeing or what she is dreaming. Outside of her, the other characters are decently developed for the story, but become pieces ‘convenient’ to the plot to help with either:
Past memories
Current events
Become a murder victim
In this anime, you have a lot of standard archetypes present. Outside of the common and generic creations, the world within the film helps envelope realism to them, and you feel their slight importance at times.
When it comes to the direction of the film, it is performed in such great precisions, that you get lost in the psychological terror created. As the main character (Mima) begins to unravel from her experiences in her new life, the film flows in the same emotive aspect, creating the allure of blending dreams with reality. With this, you start to wonder who is behind the murders of everyone in Mima’s life:
Could it be her or could it be the stalker? What if, it could be someone else we’d never expect?
Every great thriller that deals with the psyche does an excellent job in hiding the facts. This anime is no exception. With the complexion of distraught, anxiety, and confusion, the human mind is a victim to these emotions. What you have is a thriller that performs it task in creating a complex situation of the human consciousness, as well as hide the true killer behind this creation.
The visuals are outstanding, even for being a dated anime. With the creation of a modern Tokyo, as well as the psychological effects of Mima, you get a great balance of an alluring and trippy film. The first half visuals stay standard, and helps create a believable Tokyo and surrounding civilians. When the second half kicks in, the trippy elements kick in as well, and you are engrossed in these situations as much as the first. The score is irrelevant to the film, and it doesn’t hurt or help the film.
Overall, Perfect Blue is a great and different kind of psychological thriller. The allure of the breakdown of the human mind keeps the film focused and engrossing. If you are a fan of these kinds of films, or want a different kind of anime to watch, then check this one out.