Perfect Blue

This is the best fucking movie I've ever watched. Satoshi Kon is a genius for coming up with this shit. While the plot beneath the movie is relatively simple, the execution makes it super complicated for the viewer, which is perfect for what the movie is trying to convey. The essence of the movie is to tell the story of an idol-turned-actress who is increasingly unable to discern between acting and real life. To show this, the movie leads the viewer on a journey with masterful camera work, amazing sound design, and excellent pacing. After the brief introduction to the characters, cheeky transitions start leading the viewer to question whether something they are seeing is part of a TV drama being filmed, or a real life event happening in the movie. As the plot progresses, this becomes more frequent, and the viewer is lulled into this unsettling headspace of psychological horror. Eventually, it becomes virtually impossible to tell what is real and what isn't. This physically puts the viewer into the shoes of our MC as this is kind of what she is experiencing as well. Beyond the transitions, the looping structure of certain parts of the movie also strengthens this psychological mindfuck. Not only does the movie mindfucks the viewer, it also intentionally misleads the viewer using an unreliable narration in creating false shots and using objects like mirrors to intentionally display an ambiguous narrative. The dialogue in the TV drama shoots also kind of break the barrier between what's real and what isn't, filled with creepy quotes like "There is no way illusions can come to real life." After finishing the movie, I eventually understood the "actual" plot of the movie beneath the misdirection and facades, and all I was thinking is that fucker Satoshi Kon got me good. Re-watching certain parts of the movie now with the "real" plot in mind, everything is logical and the details used in the film all seem deliberate and consistent, really showcasing the genius of the writing and animation work. These are just some of the things that make A Perfect Blue perfect, and this only covers a small chunk of that. Apart from setting the atmosphere through its amazing camera focus, the characters here also feel incredibly unnerving. The main characters in this movie consist of a "nice" female manager and a guy who looks like a literal rapist, and as the movie goes on, it becomes easy to question if either of these characters are actually like what they are doing on screen, or if they are even real. This also adds to the assimilation of the viewer's perspective into the MC's mindset, and with everything element of the movie added in, by the climax of the show the viewer would be completely engrossed in the psychological "zone" of the film, achieving the highest level of story-telling through full-on immersion. Thank you Madhouse, NR.

Story: 10/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Sound: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10 (after finishing the movie; I was absolutely terrified during the movie)
Overall Score: 100/100

What a great ending song to this movie, Satoshi Kon left us too soon :(

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