Japan

AnimationThriller

CareerParanoiaStalkerCelebritySingerFameFemale protagonistPsychological thrillerMental illnessMadnessSplit personalityAdult animationJ-popCelebrity worshipAnimeAspiring actressCautionaryPsychologicalSuspenseAvant gardeSuspensefulHorrorAmbiguousAudaciousBaffled

Satoshi Kon

Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji, Emiko Furukawa

Sadayuki Murai, Satoshi Kon

Madhouse, Rex Entertainment, Kotobuki Seihan Printing, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation, Fangs Co.

Taglines: The color of illusion is Perfect Blue.

Encouraged by her managers, rising pop star Mima takes on a recurring role on a popular TV show, when suddenly her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered.

Reviews:

Author: Geronimo1967
The young "Mima" has a successful, if limited, career singing with a girl band, but she is restless. Her manager insists he can get her an acting job on a popular soap - and that's the way to fame and fortune. Like so many other impressionable young folks, she tries to follow her dream - but is really only following his, and is soon being photographed (intimately), denigrated and her grasp on reality is soon compromised. When things start to take an altogether more sinister turn, though, we start to wonder just who is responsible for a series of murders amongst those known to hold disparaging views on the young woman. Might she be developing some form of lethal schizophrenia or is she (and are they) really the victims of an over-zealous fan. At times this is actually quite harrowing. The plundering of her innocence by those both venal and neglectful of this young woman is writ large and is really quite depressing to watch. The story itself deals frankly with the unsavoury nature of not just exploitation, but of the pressures the constant search for success can put on a developing mind. This packs quite a lot to think about in in eighty minutes, and 25 years on is still a potent watch.