Perfect Blue (1998)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Satoshi Kon

Writers:

Sadayuki Murai (screenplay)
Yoshikazu Takeuchi (novel)

Release Date:

28 February 1998 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The color of illusion is Perfect Blue. (Japanese)

Plot:

A retired pop singer turned actress's sense of reality is shaken when she is stalked by an obsessed fan and seemingly a ghost of her past.

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Fan | Obsessed Fan | Rape | Actress

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Junko Iwao	...	Mima (voice)
Rica Matsumoto	...	Rumi (voice) (as Rika Matsumoto)
Shinpachi Tsuji	...	Tadokoro (voice)
Masaaki Ôkura	...	Uchida (voice)
Yôsuke Akimoto	...	Tejima (voice)
Yoku Shioya	...	Shibuya (voice)
Hideyuki Hori	...	Sakuragi (voice)
Emi Shinohara	...	Eri (voice)
Masashi Ebara	...	Murano (voice)
Kiyoyuki Yanada	...	Kantoku (voice)
Tôru Furusawa	...	Yada (voice)
Shiho Niiyama	...	Rei (voice)
Emiko Furukawa	...	Yukiko (voice)
Aya Hara	...	(voice)
Shinichirô Miki	...	(voice) (as Shin'ichirô Miki)
Jin Yamanoi	...	(voice)
Megumi Tano	...	(voice)
Takashi Nagasako	...	(voice)
Akio Suyama	...	(voice)
Osamu Hosoi	...	(voice)
Kôichi Tôchika	...	(voice)
Emi Motoi	...	(voice)
Soichiro Hoshi	...	(voice) (as Sôichirô Hoshi)
Kishô Taniyama	...	(voice)
Makoto Kitano	...	(voice)
Kaori Minami	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Steve Blum	...	Various (voice: English version) (as David Lucas)
Bob Buchholz	...	Cameraman, Actor (voice: English version) (as Robert Wicks)
Frank Buck	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Steve Bulen	...	Tejima (voice: English version)
Bambi Darro	...	(voice: English version)
Syd Fontana	...	(voice: English version)
Bridget Hoffman	...	Mima (voice: English version) (as Ruby Marlowe)
R. Martin Klein	...	Me-Mania (voice: English version) (as Bob Marx)
Wendee Lee	...	Rumi (voice: English version)
Michael Lindsay	...	Cham Manager (voice: English version) (as Dylan Tully)
Dari MacKenie	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael McCarty	...	(voice: English version) (as Devon Michaels)
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn	...	(voice: English version) (as Melissa Williamson)
Matt K. Miller	...	(voice: English version) (as Kermit Beachwood)
Sven Nosgard	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Richard Plantagenet	...	Director (voice: English version)
Jamieson Price	...	Murano (voice: English version) (as James Lyon)
Mattie Rando	...	(voice: English version)
Elliot Reynolds	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Lia Sargent	...	(voice: English version)
Carol Stanzione	...	(voice: English version)
Barry Stigler	...	Tadokoro (voice: English version) (as Gil Starberry)
Paul St. Peter	...	News Reporter (voice: English version) (as George C. Cole)
Sam Strong	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jimmy Theodore	...	Mimi Fan (voice: English version)
Kirk Thornton	...	Yamashiro (voice: English version) (as Sparky Thornton)
Bill Timoney	...	(voice: English version) (as Billy Regan)

Directed by
Satoshi Kon

Writing credits
Sadayuki Murai		(screenplay)
Yoshikazu Takeuchi		(novel)

Produced by
Marvin Gleicher	....	executive producer (english version)
Laurence Guinness	....	executive producer (english version)
Hiroaki Inoue	....	producer
Koshiro Kanda	....	executive producer (as Kôshirô Kanda)
Haruyo Kanesaku	....	producer (english version)
Masao Maruyama	....	producer
Yutaka Maseba	....	producer (english version)
Yuichi Tsurumi	....	executive producer (as Yûichi Tsurumi)
Ken Washiya	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Masahiro Ikumi

Cinematography by
Hisao Shirai

Film Editing by
Harutoshi Ogata

Art Direction by
Nobutaka Ike

Sound Department
Les Claypool III	....	dialogue editor: English dub
Shizuo Kurahashi	....	sound designer
Michael McCarty	....	digital tracking
Masafumi Mima	....	sound director
Masafumi Mima	....	sound effects

Animation Department
Koichi Arai	....	animator
Nobumasa Arakawa	....	animator
Ayuchi Baba	....	inbetween animator
Masayoshi Banno	....	background artist
Jeong-im Chae	....	ink and paint artist
Kwak Mi Duk	....	ink and paint artist
Hisashi Eguchi	....	character creator: basic characters
Hisashi Eguchi	....	character designer
Lee Jee Eun	....	inbetween animator
Shigeru Fujita	....	animator
Hideki Futamura	....	key animator
Hitoshi Haga	....	animator
Shinji Hamasaki	....	animator
Hideki Hamazu	....	animation director
Hideki Hamazu	....	character designer
Shinji Hashimoto	....	animator
Akiko Hayashi	....	ink and paint artist
Do Oh Hee	....	inbetween animator
Takeshi Honda	....	animator
Hisashi Ikeda	....	background artist
Yûji Ikeda	....	background artist
Moon Young Im	....	inbetween animator
Kaoru Inoda	....	background artist
Kumi Ishii	....	inbetween animator
Mitsuo Iso	....	animator
Joo-eun Joo	....	inbetween animator
Yuriko Kadomoto	....	ink and paint artist
Chikako Kamata	....	ink and paint artist
Sachiko Kato	....	background artist
Masaki Kawai	....	inbetween animator
Masataka Kawai	....	inbetween animator
Kumiko Kawana	....	animator
Chol-gyu Kim	....	background artist
Geum-soo Kim	....	inbetween animator
Gyung-ja Kim	....	inbetween animator
Hyaong Ja Kim	....	ink and paint artist
Moon-hee Kim	....	inbetween animator
Yong Sik Kim	....	inbetween animator
Yoshihiro Kitano	....	animator
Makota Koga	....	animator
Rei Kono	....	background artist
Satoshi Kon	....	character designer
Kiyoshi Kosaka	....	inbetween animator
Koji Kumasaki	....	inbetween animator
Masahiro Kurio	....	animator
Mamoru Kurosawa	....	animator
Shin Kyoung-Hwa	....	ink and paint artist
Gang Eun Kyung	....	ink and paint artist
Hidenori Matsubara	....	animator
Ok-yun Moon	....	inbetween animator
Hiroyuki Morita	....	animator
Morifumi Naka	....	animator
Kana Nakayama	....	ink and paint artist
Katsuichi Nakayama	....	animator
Mi Ae Na	....	ink and paint artist
Toshiya Niidome	....	animator
Hideki Nimura	....	animator
Takuo Noda	....	animator
Harue Ono	....	ink and paint artist
Soon-ryun Park	....	inbetween animator
Gyung-a Ryu	....	inbetween animator
Kim Hee Sa	....	ink and paint artist
Cho Yong Shim	....	ink and paint artist
Nobumasa Shinkawa	....	key animator
Ai Suenaga	....	inbetween animator
Michiyo Suzuki	....	animator
Masaharu Tada	....	animator
Shin'ya Takahashi	....	animator
Kunio Takahide	....	animator
Hikaru Takanashi	....	animator
Junichi Taniguchi	....	background artist
Hiroshi Washizaki	....	background artist
Sakiko Watanabe	....	inbetween animator
Makoto Yamada	....	animator
Nizou Yamamoto	....	background artist
Tomoko Yamamoto	....	ink and paint artist
Takaaki Yamashita	....	animator
Kazusuke Yoshihara	....	background artist
Park Young-Gyung	....	ink and paint artist
Lee Soon Young	....	ink and paint artist
Park Young	....	background artist

Other crew
Christopher Bottone	....	production coordinator (English version)
Kou Matsuo	....	unit director
Katsuhiro Ôtomo	....	supervisor
Lia Sargent	....	adr script

Production Companies

• Rex Entertainment

Distributors

• Manga Entertainment (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Manga Films (1998) (Spain) (all media)
• Manga Video (1999) (USA) (dubbed)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2000) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Rex Entertainment (1998) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Vendetta Films (1998) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Vendetta Films (2008) (Australia) (all media)

Other Companies

• Mad House  animation production
• Oniro  animation production
• Techno Sound  sound production
• iNoks Records  music production

Also Known As:

Pâfekuto burû (Japan) (promotional title)
Perfect Blue (France) [fr]
Perfect Blue (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for animated sequences of violence and nudity, and for brief language.

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Japan:R-15 | Taiwan:R-18 | Australia:MA | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-12 | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated

Company:

Rex Entertainment

Trivia:

The "Big Body" pizza box in the infamous stabbing scene usually gets a few chuckles from English-speaking viewers, who are no doubt thinking about the food's fat content. However, "Big Body" is actually an homage to Susumu Hirasawa (who would later compose music for Sennen joyû (2001) and "Môsô dairinin" (2004), also by director Kon) and his electronically band "P-Model." Big Body is the name of their tenth album, released in 1993.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the English dub version, Cham sings their song at the beginning in English. Later on, when the writer is waiting for the elevator, the radio is playing the song in Japanese.

Quotes:

Mima's Ghost: Let's end all of this. We don't need two Mimas now, do we?
Mima Kirigoe: I am Mima!
Mima's Ghost: [laughter] That's funny. Mima is a pop idol... and you're just a dirty old imposter
Mima Kirigoe: You're the imposter! I'm not gonna take this anymore!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 21 Grams (2003)

Soundtrack:

Season

A new take to old school horror movies...

Japanese animation has become a very popular style of animation in Western culture due to the wide range of genres it employs and its many different approaches to storytelling; two elements that immediately set it apart from the common Western style of cartoons that almost always are made for children only. Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue" quickly became a favorite among western fans of anime because it explored themes rarely seen in western animation; themes that had more in common with the horror genre such as obsessions, murders and suspense.

The story revolves around Mima (Junko Iwao), a young singer who is quickly becoming an idol as part of the musical trio "Cham". In order to make her career more marketable her managers make her leave the group and join the cast of a famous TV series. However, her new role is considerable different than the cute image she portrayed in "Cham", as it requires her to do nude scenes including a rape scene. At the same time she tries to adjust to her new job, someone begins to stalk her and to brutally kill those near her artistic career and Mima begins to wonder if she is really doing the right thing.

"Perfect Blue" is often labeled as a classic of Japanese animation because it presents a way different kind of story to those used to family-oriented animation. In is closer to an Italian Giallo than to a normal cartoon both in thematics and in style. The use of animation as a medium allows director Satoshi Kon to create stylish images of high surrealism as well as powerful images of violence. It is not something young children should watch.

Based on a novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, the film offers an interesting and harsh criticism to the "idol culture" in Japan, and its exaggerated portrait of an obsessed fan is an extreme, yet hauntingly realist image of insane obsessions. The story has been labeled as "Hitchcocknian", but its lack of subtlety in terms of graphic violence and nudity, as well as its high level of surrealism puts it closer to the stylish Italian sub-genre of Giallo.

By keeping the story around Mima, Satoshi Kon creates haunting atmospheres of paranoia as Mima feels strange in her new career; while it sacrifices character development of the supporting characters, this approach increases the feeling of isolation and adaptation the story has, making a more effective horror/mystery piece. Like any Giallo, the haunting image of the mysterious stalker is always present, and in "Perfect Blue" the mystery and suspense are very well handled making the movie a great work of suspense.

The animation is very good, and not as flashy as casual anime fans would assume. The movie's mixture of realism and surrealism works very well with the style of drawing and the camera-work is brilliant. Still, while the plot at times gets a bit predictable to hardcore horror fans, it still holds up and keeps captivating from start to end. The original Japanese voice work is very good, so I would recommend watching it with subtitles instead of dubbed.

"Perfect Blue" seems flawless as motion pictures can go, and the odd choice of using animation as medium (it was originally meant to be a normal live action movie) makes it different than the rest. This is a blessing as neither anime fans nor horror fans have seen a quality animated horror movie like this before. 8/10