Anime has experienced a tremendous boom in America as of late. With popular shows like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Pokemon exploding onto the TV scene, it's about time anime got play at the movies.
The first anime movie I had the pleasure of seeing on the silver screen was Perfect Blue. And it was a fantastic! Comparable to any major live-action motion picture.
Perfect Blue, from Manga Entertainment, is directed by up and coming director, Satoshi Kon. It is the story of a pop icon named Mima Kirigoe who leaves her girl group, Cham, to explore new opportunities in the world of acting and a solo singing career. Her fans become distraught when Mima's first television role includes a scene where she is raped. To complicate matters, a web page dedicated to her, knows a little too much and now Mima must deal with a crazed stalker, killing people who "forced" her to do things (pose nude, act out a rape scene, leave the Cham) the stalker feels was not right for Mima. And as the media, the fame, and success of Mima's career spiral upward, Mima gets caught up in the tabliod and internet rumors and begins to unravel, not knowing which part of her life is real and which is just an act. Of course, the viewer has a hard time figuring this out as well.
As the murders increase, the question centers around who is committing these crimes. Could it be Mima herself? Just when you think you know the answers, something happens to make you question everything all over again. Not until the last scenes, are you sure of anything, but when it is all over, the movie makes sense, and you leave very satisfied with your viewing experience.
And many others have felt the same way as Perfect Blue has won awards for Best Animation Film at Fantasporto as well as winning the Public Prize for Best Asian Film at Fant-Asia in Montreal. From watching this movie, I can see why it won these awards. Unlike most Japanese animation films, this film does not deal with futuristic themes, cute creatures or martial arts karate. It is the first film of its kind to deal with contemporary issues. That is what makes it so cool.
As you watch Perfect Blue, you forget you are watching what would say is just a cartoon. It seems so real. Mima struggles with identity problems, and must find out who she really is. She deals with negative press and peer pressure. One scene displays Mima's efforts to learn how to use the Internet, which is very real in this day and age. No rocket ships, or crazed robots doing battle with one another. This movie deals with real emotions and real people who you only know for 80-minutes, but remember them for a lot longer.
One problem I did have with this film was how Mima was considered a pop icon. When she leaves Cham, the band goes on without her. And it is without her that the band places in the charts for the first time ever. So, how is Mima an icon if when she was on the band, they weren't popular enough to make the charts? Dwelling on this issue would kill the whole concept of the film. Since this question will come to you in the film, I'll help put your mind at ease by suggesting that this may be a cultural thing and cult hits are more important than mainstream ones. That would explain the band KISS.
Overcoming that question, the rest of the film's questions get answered with time, so be patient. While things appear confusing and too fast paced, it will all come to you.
This film has some violent scenes and nudity, but nothing was gross about it at all. There was a sense of real artistic value in this film. The music was catchy, especially one song in the beginning. Even the dance numbers seemed well choreographed. The movie serves as a peak into the world of entertainment and how it can be great one moment and dark the next.
In a time when there are only a handful of films to really talk about, Perfect Blue is definitely one film that should not be missed. Perfect Blue gets a perfect score in my book. If you have any quesitons or comments about Perfect Blue or this article please e-mail me at Badseed@ybfree.com.