Perfect Blue
is a 1997 Japanese anime psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. It is loosely based on the novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, with a screenplay by Sadayuki Murai. Featuring the voices of Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji and Emiko Furukawa, the plot follows a member of a Japanese idol group who retires from music to pursue an acting career. As she becomes a victim of stalking by her obsessive fan, gruesome murders take place, and she begins losing her grip on reality. The film deals with the blurring of the line between fantasy and reality, a commonly found theme in Kon's other works, such as Millennium Actress (2001) and Paprika (2006).
Plot
Mima Kirigoe, member of a J-pop idol group named "CHAM!", decides to leave the group to become a full-time actress. Many of her fans get frustrated and disappointed by her change from a clean-cut image, particularly an obsessive fan known as Mamoru Uchida or Me-Mania, who starts to stalk her. Following directions from a fan letter, Mima discovers a website called "Mima's Room" containing public diary entries written from her perspective, which has her daily life and thoughts recorded in great detail. During her former idol and acting career, she is joined by manager and former pop-idol Rumi Hidaka and her agent, Tadokoro. Mima confides in Rumi about "Mima's Room", but is advised to ignore it.
More details
author | Sadayuki Murai |
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director | Satoshi Kon |
editor | Harutoshi Ogata |
genre | crime fantasy horror thriller |
keywords | act being stalked daily life dissociative identity disorder film folie à deux id idol group j-pop kill mental instability mental institution murder pervert prime suspect psychosis real life shoot stalk struggle |
musicBy | Masahiro Ikumi |
producer | Hiroaki Inoue Hitomi Nakagaki Masao Maruyama Yoshihisa Ishihara Yutaka Tōgō |
productionCompany | Madhouse |
publisher | Rex Entertainment |
theme | animated anime japanese magic realism narrative police psychological thriller rape serial killer shinpa |