Perfect Blue

This film was way ahead of its time. I love how it reels you in, and never lets you go.

Do you know what it is to be famous, do you think you could handle it? Well now you can experience the trials and tribulations of an upcoming career in Show Business. It's surreal, but to me, an accurate portrait of what life in the spotlight must ultimately feel.

This is a must watch and not because it's anime but because a film like this has yet to be made, any other way.

A beautifully tragic story.
**Slight spoilers ahead:**
[spoiler] Although being disturbing and terrifying, this was a not a bad watch and it did a great job at depicting dissociation and depersonalization artistically. I personally think the mixture of reality and daydreams was a good method to make the viewers to be in shoes of the protagonist and feel her emotional struggles. Perfect Blue was also an interesting emotional roller-coaster with good pacing and the story itself is timeless, so as a result, it keeps you hooked.
Still, I have a mixed feelings about recommending this movie to a small percentage of people since it's very graphic, chilling and gets hard to understand at times for some people. [/spoiler]

This is probably the ultimate display of Satoshi Kon’s mastery. Easily one of my favorite films ever. Perfect Blue captures this deeply human, hard-to-express feeling of psychological discomfort better than almost anything I’ve seen. I’m not even a woman, and this film made me feel the kind of fear, alienation, and exploitation that women experience far too often. It’s intense, it’s raw, and it’s genuinely horrifying, not in a jump-scare way, but in the kind of way that crawls under your skin and stays there for months.

The symbolism is off the charts. There are layers upon layers, sometimes the whole movie feels like it’s one big metaphor, and you can never be sure what’s real and what’s imagined. The surrealism is subtle, and that’s what makes it so dangerous. The line between reality and Mima’s perception is constantly blurred, because that’s exactly what she’s experiencing, and the movie doesn’t give you a safety net or guide through it. You’re thrown straight into this collapsing sense of self.

Mima is an incredible protagonist. She’s layered, symbolic, vulnerable, strong, lost, everything at once, a proper human being, not a trope. And all the other characters feel symbolic too, in this uncanny way. Everything in this movie is designed to disorient you, and it does it masterfully.

The animation is stunning, detailed, aesthetic, and way ahead of its time. The cinematography, pacing, and transitions are insane. It’s beautifully made from start to finish. There are so many scenes that stuck with me, some were disturbing, others emotionally crushing. This film hit hard and stuck with me long after the credits rolled. I honestly think it changed how I think about certain things.

This is the most terrifying horror film I’ve ever seen, and not one jump scare. Just pure psychological devastation. I’d recommend Perfect Blue to anyone who’s not faint-hearted and wants a true, unforgettable psychological horror experience. Just be prepared, it’s not easy to shake off. And I’ll definitely be rewatching it again when I’m ready to dive back into that madness

I love how black swan is inspired in this movie 💗

It blew my mind. I can't wait to see more of Satoshi Kon's work. I highly recommend it if you are into [spoiler] dream sequences, bending reality, Inception... [/spoiler] and all that kind of thing.

made me believe something that never existed.

A mesmeric blend of fragmented realities, disconcerting visuals and social commentary. Some of the best editing I have ever seen, conflates reality and illusion with ease and verve all the while culminating to a deceptively simple finale. Splendid yet trauma inducing animation.

Also shines a light on the dark side of fame and celebrity culture and the dissociation of identity someone might feel working under the lime light. Satoshi Kon at his best, we lost him too soon.

>*"Illusions can't come to life."*

From start to finish ***Perfect Blue*** makes you question what's real and what's not, exactly like what our main character is going through. A journey into pure insanity and confusion! Did any of it make any sense? No idea, and I believe that was the whole point, nothing makes sense when you're going crazy. It portrays excelently the terrifying reality of what it is to be famous and being exploited as a female in the industry. Lots of stalker stressful moments and psychological distress. Made in 1997 but I love the animation style it's very colorful and makes a perfect contrast with the terrible stuff happening between the lines. I also believe animation was the perfect medium for this story, I just can't see it being as good in live-action. Killer soundtrack. I question the inclusion of the gratuitous pornographic sexual violence i'm not sure if it was necessary, it's definitely mysogenic and exploitative - but then again this is a story with strong themes of exploitation. An absolute trip into the human psyche that'll make you question your sanity, *this* is horror!