I have been a fan of all things Japanese for a number of years particularly Anime and whilst I believed I’d seen it all in Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpieces, I have been awe-struck by Kon’s psychological thriller ‘Perfect Blue’. This film has a charm unseen among other anime films and a style of animation all it’s own. Having been originally intended to be a live-action film before budget cuts changed it, the animation displays a very realistic make up, uncommon in most films and series in the genre. The characters contain life-like features as opposed to exaggerated and the backgrounds and use of colour and shadow are exploited so that the world and people look almost photographic, as if the viewer is watching a live action film.

The films opening scene cleverly misleads the viewer into believing they are watching what appears to be a light drama film but just as quickly pulls them into a tense psychological horror shortly after this opening scene through the brilliant camera work and use of music which both play upon the viewers perceptions of the main character. The plot follows the life of Mima Kirigoe, a J-pop sensation who leaves her band to pursue an acting career. As soon as she makes this decision she is stalked by an obsessive fan which causes her life to spiral out of control. The camera work in particular gives the impression that we are looking at Mima’s life through her eyes at time’s, drawing us into her story and throughout the first half of the film make us sympathize with her as the victim in the story. This together with the simple piano chords create a chilling, tense atmosphere throughout which make the audience sit at the edge of their seats.

The film itself presents different layers to the audience which overlap bearing a strong resemblance to Martin Scorsese’s Inception. These layers overlap, playing out a stalker/murder mystery in which the viewer must piece together the parts of the story to try to understand what is real and what is fantasy. In this sense the plot and way it is presented are also similar to Scorsese’s Shutter Island in that perceptions of reality are challenged throughout.

The sheer number of layers to the plot is perhaps overbearing at times as it is not a film to be viewed simply as light entertainment however, if you are looking for an intense and beautifully crafted piece of cinema which will leave you shocked, mesmerized and a little perplexed long after the end then this is the film for you!

Favourite Moments: SPOILERS ALERT!

One of the great aspects of this film is that it really will change your perspective of animated films. Whilst a large part of anime films are comic or light thriller such as Death note, you never expect to feel such shock and horror as you do whilst watching Perfect Blue. An example of this is when Mima delivers a pizza to the writer of the detective series in the film, removes her disguise and murders him. The camera at this point focuses for several minutes on this, leaving a lasting feeling of horror on the audience. This moment I believe is one of the most terrifying scenes if not the most terrifying you will see in an anime.

The use of anime as a medium also adds mystery and magic to the film making it seem ‘other worldly’ at times. The moments in which the ‘Other Mima’ appears particularly when she floats out of Mima’s bedroom build tension throughout and make the story seem like it is set in an alternate reality making the film an elaborate blend of fantasy and psychological horror.