Customer Reviews

Perfect Blue [UMD for PSP]

5 star:		(131)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Based on a novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, 'Perfect Blue' is one of those anime that successfully attempt the unexpected. Written and paced more like a Hitchcock film than the typical action film, this is a story where the psychological aspects are as compelling as the sometimes-ferocious action.

Mima Kirigoe is an idol singer, part of a moderately successful trio called Cham. Since the career life of these singers is, at best, a matter of a few years, Mima has decided to leave Cham to try her hand at being an actress. She lands a part in 'Double Bind,' a suspense thriller that will test her commitment in many ways, putting her in situations that some of her old fans find uncomfortable. This explodes into her life in a big way when Mima finds an internet website that purports to be written by her.

Whoever is writing the site knows too much about what Mima is going through, and she finds herself stalked by an unhappy fan that has developed a fixation on her. Soon people are dying in gruesome circumstances, and Mima becomes more and more confused about whom she really is and what is real. First time director Satoshi Kon is merciless, making sure that the viewer gets few clues about which reality is real and whether what one sees is in 'Double Bind,' 'Perfect Blue,' or in Mima's mind alone.

This is really a remarkable piece of work. Great care is put into artistic and musical values. It has striking graphic qualities without the viewer ever getting the feeling that the images are overwhelming the story. In addition, I particularly like the imaginative use of color. Of course, the use of music is particularly important in a film about Japanese popular entertainment figures, and Kon makes sure that the film lives up to aural expectations.

This is a rough, gripping film. Violence, murder, and rape are depicted with the deliberate intention of making the watcher uncomfortable. It skirts the edge of being offensive, and is sometimes classified as hentai - animated pornography. It isn't by my standards, but 'Perfect Blue' is graphic enough to offend some people. Take this into consideration before deciding to watch.

Anime can fall into apocalyptic (Akira), cutesy heroine (Sailor Moon), hentai (LA Blue Girl), samurai (Ninja Scroll), or mechanistic (Neon Evangelion). Perfect Blue is notable in that it does not fit in any of those well-trod genres.

After two and a half years of being lead singer with the techno-pop trio Cham, 21-year old Mima Kigiroe announces at a concert that she is leaving the group to pursue a movie career. One of the other members puts it more colourfully, that Mima has graduated from Cham. The move stuns her fans, but Mima sees her time there as wonderful, but felt suffocated by the innocent pop-idol image and that it was time to move on to newer things, such as her role in Double Bind, a psycho-thriller drama series where she plays the sister of a victim. Tadokoro feels that there's "no place for pop idols to appeal to the masses." Acting in this drama will be Mima's "make it or break it" opportunity.

Upon the insistence of her agent Tadokoro to Shibuya, the scriptwriter, and the producer(?) Tejima, her role gradually increases, from the line "Who are you?" to something drastic, involving a traumatic scene Jodie Foster did in The Accused, only it's the stage of a strip club and not on a pool table. Besides, it's simulated anyway. This does indeed change Mima's image, but Rumi Hidaka, her other agent and former pop idol, is upset and even leaves during that scene.

Mima has other problems. She comes across a website called Mima's Room, which initially causes her amusement, as it details an imagined day in her life, "Someone sures knows me"--but when she reads some things that actually happened, she gets scared.

Mima is then confronted not only with those things, but with a version of herself as she was as Cham's lead singer, wearing her Cham dress. This "old" version insists HERSELF as is the real Mima, which makes the real and "new" Mima an impostor. There's also a sinister stalker, a mysterious hunchback with bad teeth that she notices and sees during her shooting scenes.

Meanwhile, people associated with promoting Mima's new career move are getting brutally murdered, such as a photographer who took some nude photos of Mima for a magazine. For an anime, there is some detail in the photos shown that would not ordinarily be seen even in anime of this kind.

There is one puzzling aspect. Despite having a fervent following, it seems inconsistent that Cham never hit the charts, yet when Mima leaves, we learn that Cham debuted in the Japanese pop charts for the first time. Normally, when a key member leaves a well-loved group, a new sound and sliding sales result, (q.v. Spice Girls, Bananarama). Trivia: the fax Mima receives reads "uragiri", which indeed does mean traitor.

Most of it is influenced by Hitchcock's Psycho, but the violence of the murders recall Basic Instinct and Scream. Then there's the blurring between reality and delusion explored in Vertigo (Hitchcock again) and Alejandro Amenebar's Abre Los Ojos. Double Bind is similar to Silence Of The Lambs (modus operandus of the killer). The upbeat techno-pop and a trio becoming a duo also mirrors Bananarama, although the music is more Pet Shop Boys during their Very period. Then there's the usual lead singer leaving the group for individual fame and more money, as was the case for Peter Cetera and Bobby Brown. And one need look no further than John Lennon and Rebecca Schaffer in terms of demented stalker fans. These influences entwine themselves to yield an exceptional thriller, with a likeable heroine (Mima) to root for, as she grows despite her traumatic experiences.

Don't watch the commentaries or other extras before the film as it will give away key plot points - namely the ending. Go to the official dotcom website of the same name for information about the making of the film. The official site says that this was meant to be a live action film but production was interrupted by the Kobi earthquake and it was decided to change it to an anime. There is a mention of an earthquake in the background of a scene on a television set.

I'm reviewing the version I saw, the Australian DVD release by Madman Entertainment as the licensee for Manga Entertainment. It is unusually Region Coded 1,2 and 4 (the zones of USA and Canada, Europe and Japan and South America as well). However, it is recorded in PAL format and except for Europe, these countries use NTSC, a different playback format. As a general point, make sure your DVD player has PAL playback before buying any PAL disc even if the disc is your region code or region zero (no region code) otherwise it won't play back properly or at all. There might also be differences between this disc and other region versions so check what extras you get.

I don't like watching dubbed live action films but I'm perfectly happy with the English dubbed version on this disc which is well done. The Japanese language track with or without subtitles is also available. It's worth watching the watching the Japanese subtitled version. It gives a different feel to the movie. Some dialogue gets a different emphasis. It also shows up one error in the English dub at 1 hour 1 minute and 32 seconds. Mima should have said "Rika Takakura" not "Mima Kirigoe". This is confirmed by the Japanese language track and accompanying subtitles. This is important as it clears up some confusion that might be created in that scene as a result.

Mima Kirigoe is a pop singer who is quitting her group "Cham" to take up acting. We quickly learn that longevity in the music business can be short in Japan. Starting at ground level in the acting business means she has no choice but to do scenes which are worlds apart from her wholesome pop image. Someone starts stalking her and sending threatening letters. One explodes injuring her manager. Even more disturbingly, she finds a website (called "Mima's Room) that has details of her life that only she could know. Things get really scary when she starts using it herself to find out what she's been up to as her emotional state deteriorates.

Murders of people involved with her acting career start happening. She might be being haunted and terrorised by her former pop persona that objects to the indecent things she has to act out. Mima may actually be hallucinating the threats and that she's being stalked. She may also be hallucinating the murders. She might actually be committing the murders. In fact, she might even be hallucinating her entire career but committing the murders - or not. Or she may be simply be going mad. Believe me when I say anything is possible in this film.

The last 30 minutes continually keep you guessing as the filmmakers keep shifting the ground beneath the viewer's feet. You have to repeatedly question what is real and what it not, a difficult but enjoyable task and you have to especially be on your toes to keep up. What has been going on seems to be conclusively settled, if for no more reason that there is nothing following the end to contradict the final scene. The theme music is quite eerie and totally appropriate for the tone of key scenes in the film as Mima starts her spiral downwards. There is also a frenetic score that perfectly fits the intensity of the murders (or is it 'murders'?).

This is an excellent film and a first class thriller. Within the first few minutes, I had even forgotten that I was watching an animated film. This film has a great twist ending, a killer final half hour and a streamlined plot in a compact running time. 3 things a recent and totally unrelated release "Minority Report" didn't have and needed desperately.

The DVD extras are very good. A screen says you are being connecting you "Mima's Room" and uses a reverse of the pull away shot from Mima's apartment window in the film by zooming into her apartment, past Mima and then displaying a menu for the extras. Commentary from three of the main English voice actors is very informative and thought provoking about how they interpreted the film and decided to play their roles as a result. It is also interesting to compare Mima's English voice actor to her Japanese equivalent's take on the role. This is the director Satoshi Kon's first animated feature and he does a great job.

There is a photo montage using frames from the film and text that details the key events of the film. Also, some studio footage of the Japanese voice actors singing a Cham song and the separate English equivalent (sound only) is an option. There is also some footage of the animators working on the film in the opening menu screen, it would have been nice if a small feature had been added showing the making of the film as well.

Surprisingly (and fortunately) this film has not yet been optioned by Hollywood for a remake. This would not be a popular suggestion but IF amongst the current lot of Britney Spears, Mandy Moore et al, one of them did appear in a remake of this film and IF they stuck as closely as possible to this film and IF they did a good job, it would definitely add a dimension to their acting careers. There are obvious parallels as they also are all shifting their focus from their music to acting, which is the theme of this film, especially the downside of that transition and that of fame in general. However, that is a lot of 'if's and probably far too many to give great odds of success. All things considered it's probably good we have fortunately been spared the threat of a remake.

A great movie and a great disc. Go see it, buy it if you can't rent it.

The anime universe is pretty self-contained, and as the canon grows the need to reference the outside world decreases. Most of the famous exceptions (eg Mononoke, Barefoot Gen, Grave of the Fireflies) aim for universal moral messages. Perfect Blue stands out in that it's an anime about contemporary Japan. Although it owes a lot to the thriller genre, Perfect Blue isn't as widely accessible as the familiar storyline might suggest. People who have spent time in Japan will recognize this. Those who haven't should just be aware that despite its being anime, and despite the surreal elements, Perfect Blue is about the real, present, non-anime Japan. The beautifully drawn scenes of everyday life in Tokyo, particularly the supermarket and train scenes, are a nice indication of this.

Perfect Blue tries to do lot of things and mostly succeeds. On one hand, it's a critique of the voyeurism and violent, juvenile misogyny of Japanese pop culture. On the other hand it's part of that culture itself, loaded with these very elements. For the most part, director Satoshi Kon not only manages to do everything, but actually integrates his own balancing act with the story's theme of existence on the margins of a predatory and all-pervasive pop culture. Kon's decision to produce Perfect Blue as an anime -- sometimes criticized on the grounds that it doesn't take full advantage of the genre -- was a stroke of genius.

Toward the end, Perfect Blue loses its balance and becomes more complicit than critical. The final action sequence is video-gamey and the contrived ending explains too much, undermining much of what was interesting about the movie.

Still, this is one of the best and smartest anime around. In its use of anime as a vehicle for examining contemporary Japan, Perfect Blue is highly original. On top of everything the theme song, "Ai no tenshi", is the best Japanese pop song ever. And in a fitting display of voyeuristic excess, the DVD lets you watch it being recorded in the studio.

Perfect Blue is one of the most intelligent, creepy, funny, and disturbing films I have seen in a long while. I actually have the subtitled NR version, but I've seen both versions and there's only a few differences. The animation is fantastic, and the voice acting is well done. In the NR version, the length of the "rape" scene annoyed me (too drawn out for my tastes) but it's made up for by Mima's mental deterioation afterwards (rather, it shows the cause and effect). The film is fantastic and what makes it so striking is that it is a somewhat nonconforming anime in the fact that it could easily pass as a live action movie. The storyline is deleciously creepy and the observations made on Japanese pop culture are interesting, to say the least. The only bad thing about this film is the last fourth of the movie, when Mima actually begins to lose it. The manifestation of her old self is muddled and the blurring of days and reality becomes somewhat annoying. It can become tiresome to think that Mima is committing a murder but then suddenly awakens in her bed. But other than its one flaw, this is an sublimely entertaining movie that should be seen by everyone.

A movie like this makes us question the limits of our own consciousness. It allows us to explore in a space not our own, the endless possibilities and the demons lurking within the human psyche - and alerts us to the reality of what it is we do not know. We should be scared of what we are capable of, not to mention to celebrate our potential. One of the good things about anime is that the simulation seems less real, since it is in this "invented" space. I'm not trying to downplay the effect - as I feel that the impact on the viewer is no less real - just merely stating an observation. Let this not fool you, I am not that naïve - anything in cinema is a simulation, sometimes a simulacra, of reality. However, despite the impact being as real, the images - no matter how explicitly sexual or graphically violent - are not as "real" as in motion pictures. I most certainly don't expect too much of a buy-in on that last comment. However, images seem more sanitized and we don't need to spend so much of the budget on scenes and the potential for good is astronomical. I guess that is why I endorse this genre. I'm as confused about the sexuality and violence as anyone. The Jody Fosteresque traumatic rape scene (ala The Accused) borders on the exploitive. Perfect blue flirts beyond anime at times bordering on hentai.

The story is a simple one but the execution is not. Mima Kigiroe is a struggling entertainer with a bevy of loyal fans. She starts her career as a singer and transitions into a career in acting. Her entrée into this world is a series called Double Bind - of which the subtlety was not missed on me. As yes, the seemingly disjointed story evolves, Mima (as well as the viewers) reality begins to collapse. I have to admit, I was lost several times while watching the movie, about what was reality and what was fantasy, as if the writer purposefully wanted me, the viewer to emulate the sense of utter confusion that Mima was going through. Was it successful? Absolutely! Anyway, coupled with the ever present updates on a website called Mima's Room - we are presented with (as Mima is) with several apparitions. Mima is forced to utter (in a moment of epiphany) that someone sure knows her. For the resolution (or lack thereof) you will need to watch the movie yourself.

What is really "cool" about Perfect Blue particular anime is that it does not fit into one of the many popular categories of anime already out there. It neither fits into the post-apocalyptic strata of an Akira or Ghost in the Shell nor is it romantic (in the Byronian sense) as say something coming out of Hayao Miyazaki. Perfect Blue cuts new ground. Japanese have, for a long time, been interested in psycho-thrillers and the good detective story. What with the popularity of writers like Matsumoto Seicho (Points and Lines - also available on Amazon.com) as well as Sogo Ishii (Angel Dust - also available on Amazon.com) is proof positive of the popularity of mystery and suspense. Make no mistake it is an adult psycho thriller. Having said all that, I am hopeful that this movie is not representative of modern Japan. As a critique of the excesses of voyeurism as well as the sadistic and misogynistic excesses of some manga, Perfect Blue stands head and shoulders above all the other anime features. Is it reflective of Japanese pop culture? On what ground and under what context, that still has to be further explored. Not to belabor the point, for the resolution (or lack thereof) you will need to watch the movie yourself.

Miguel Llora

I have always lived with the opinion that a good thriller movie should adhere to one of two set rules. Rule one: a plot that keeps you guessing to the very end with a multitute of plot twists, complimented with a climax that leaves all previous perception to dust(Take Scream for example). Rule two: a plot that is simple on the surface, yet has an ending that adds a twist not previously noticed(Such as the Sixth Sense or Psycho). Perfect Blue is an example of the first rule. The story surrounds a pop singer (Mima Kirigoe) making a transition from music to acting in a commercialised world. Along the way she suffers scrutiny for her choice of career from fans, fear of being stalked, and dillusions of her actions and very identity when things start to get violent. Visuals and repeated use of certain scenes help examplify the confusion that Mima is experiencing, coupled with a pop and haunting score which keeps the viewers as much in the dark as Mima is and guessing every minute. The ending is a worthy tribute to one of Hitchcock's classic movies, but I'm not going to tell you which one. A top film.

For the first half of "Perfect Blue" I was wondering why this 1999 film, based on the novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, had to be an anime. It seemed to me that director Satoshi Kon was simply trying to show that anything a "real" motion picture could do could be done by anime. After all, "Perfect Blue" is devoid of mythical creatures or futuristic settings, so why bother to use animation to tell the story? But by the end I was too caught up in trying to figure out what was really going on to matter, and when you are talking about a psychological thriller that it as much more important consideration than whether the film is photographed or drawn. Even if the story is rather conventional by anime standards, Kon does take advantage of the medium to tell the story with artistic flair.

The basic story of "Perfect Blue" is nothing new at its heart, but that is hardly a concern. Mima Kirigoe (voiced in the Japanese language version by Junko Iwao and in English by Ruby Marlow) decides to give up being a plastic pop idol to be a serious actress on a television police drama about a serial killer (although the writer has no clue who the killer is at this point). These major career change sets two things in motion for our heroine: First, she has to try to accept the new Mima, who has to endure a rape scene on the show and shooting a nude layout for publicity. Second, she has a fan (Uchida in Japanese, but Mr. No-Mania in English) who does not like the radical change in the objective of his obsession. The link between the two at first is "Mima's Room," a website he has set that reveals far more about her than anyone should know. But then they share something even more disturbing in common: Mima the pop idol starts "visiting" them both and while Mima is degraded by her past self for having sunk so low, her fan is being told the new Mima is a fake who needs to be removed from the picture.

What happens then is a collapse of reality, both from the psychological perspective of Mima and the viewing perspective of the audience. People who have harmed Mima in some way start showing up dead and the lines between reality and fantasy become totally obliterated. The result is not only disorienting, but also totally compelling. I have seen lots of films like this where I am supposed to put myself in the shoes of the main character as such reality and fantasy become indistinguishable, but few of them succeed as well as the last act of "Perfect Blue." There is a point where Mima wonders if maybe she was hit by a truck she avoided at one point in the story because she can no longer remember the last moment in her life she knew to be real. The paranoia of both Mima and the audience becomes complete.

The animation is rather simplistic, but still provides the stylized realism of detailed drawings that makes anime visually compelling. Kon takes advantage of the medium throughout the film in ways that would never have occurred to the director of a "regular" film. There are also certain scenes, as when the stalker Mr. Me-Mania hears his beloved target Mima talk to him as she speaks from every picture of her he has plastered on his wall, that certainly work a lot better as animation. The revelation of the truth during the climatic scene is actually done so subtly that I almost did not catch it.

To return to my original question as to why "Perfect Blue" was made as an anime, I have to wonder if there is some sort of taboo regarding nudity in Japanese films. I have no idea. But I know that in the hands of a western director this story could have easily descended to the level of an exploitation film. The end becomes something anticlimactic, but given the torturous web that was constructed I doubt any ending could be totally fulfilling. Besides, there is something to be said for the ironic commentary of Mima's goodbye.

The DVD includes a clip of the "real" CHAM trio recording their song in the studio and access to a faux Mima's Room web site. There are also brief interview clips with some of the vocal talent on both sides of the ocean and a rather disappointing chat with director Kon, who seems unable to offer any insights into this production. "Perfect Blue" is an ambitious anime that succeeds well enough in the second half to forgive any faults in the first. Thanks to Marc Ruby for the heads up on this one.

Perfect Blue, one those few animes that actually sound good in English or Japanese with English subtitles. Like it says on the cover of the box, if Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney made a movie together, this would be it. Perfect Blue is amazing in the fact that it is one of those movies that you think you know what is going on, but it has such a twist in the plot that you don't.

Plot: 4 1/2 stars. Though in the grand scheme of thriller movies, it's not that new of plot it's still very deep and full of twists. If you are a person who got lost of the plots of some movies like "Scream", "The Matrix", or "Fight Club", stop! Press back on you're browser and do not buy this movie. This is a movie you must pay attention to the plot or you will be lost. I was lost when I first watched it half way through the movie, but I paid closer attention and all questions were answered in the last 1/3 of the movie.

Animation: 3 stars. This is not robots ripping hearts out of people, so the animation is average, but, on the other hand, it doesn't need to be out of this world because the story doesn't need it.

Music: 4 stars. Music usually fits the scenes. Sometimes it gets in the way of some scenes, but not usually (That thought is really up to your opinion).

Voice Acting: 5 stars. As stated before, I run into very few anime movies where the dialog sounds just as good in English as in Japanese. With the American Dragonball Z out there and terrible voice acting, I am very picky about getting my anime in original Japanese dialog, but this movie pulls off both sides of the Pacific well.

Bottom Line: You loved the "Scream" or Alfred Hitchcock movies plus anime? You will love this!

Perfect Blue is a strange and wonderful movie, and this DVD really does it justice. The menus are beautiful and fit the film perfectly, and the extras are refreshingly good. We actually get interviews with the three main actors and actresses who contributed their talents to the (pretty good) English dub; it's beautiful and kind of strange to hear them speak in a normal conversational tone about the film and its meanings. The interviews with director Satoshi Kon and Japanese voice actress Junko Iwao aren't as good, but at least they're there. Everything else is good for an anime DVD release, and the film... well, you have to see it and make up your own mind. A lot of people hate it and others (like me) think it's great; everybody will agree, though, that it's confusing as hell at times thanks to some crazy editing. The movie tries to take us into the psyche of a crazy person, and for this film that means not knowing what's real and what isn't. You really lose track of reality, because the screenplay keeps turning the old "The character wakes up and it's all a dream" cliche on itself. After a while you forget whether it's a dream or not, and you start to sympathize with the insanity of the various characters. It's a powerful and unusual film, one of those movies you keep thinking about six months after watching it, and I think everyone should experience its lunacy.