Perfect Blue Anime Movie Review

A spoiler-free review of the anime movie Perfect Blue. I simply give my critique of plot, characters, etc. A CHRISTIAN REVIEW IS INCLUDED at the end (which I highly recommend reading, in this case).

Perfect Blue

 

A spoiler-free review of the all-too-revealing anime movie

 

Title: Perfect Blue

Alternate Title: Pafekuto Buru

Genre: Psychological/Showbusiness/Suspense

Episodes: 1 (movie)

Running Time: Approx. 83 minutes

 

Synopsis: When pop-idol Mima decides to branch off into an acting career, everything changes…forever. She soon realizes that amid her bustling crowd of fans is one man who has turned mere fandom into unquenchable obsession. When Mima discovers a mysterious website called “Mima’s Room,” she knows that the stalker has gone too far, knows too much about her. She confides in her professional friend Rumi, who tells her not to worry too much about it.

            As Mima’s acting career progresses, she must continually compromise herself in order to survive in the business. From acting out a scene depicting a woman being raped by her fans to posing nude for magazines, Mima’s life spirals wildly out of control. Those closest to her in the business begin dying in gruesome murders. “Mima’s Room” shows the stalker’s progression toward a more dangerous, active state. Amid the trauma, the line between dreams and reality is continually blurred. In her reflection always seems to be a more innocent, more true Mima. Can she escape her aggressive stalker? And can she know who she truly is and, more importantly, who she isn’t?

 

Plot: I must say that this movie truly had the chance to shine in the plot department. In the end, however, it took that opportunity and completely squandered it by cluttering the plot with graphic depictions of rape and nudity. If the plot stood alone and took on a little more detail, this movie could have been truly great.

            The plot is quite linear, as all of it (without spoilers) has pretty much been described in the synopsis. The stalker’s appearance, movements, and eventual actions are all handled nicely according to the plot. Due to the immense amount of development that must happen in the movie, some things may seem a bit rushed, but those moments are always contrasted by moments of slow bonding time between the viewers and characters.

            Most impressive in the plot is the way the developers handled the blurring of reality and fantasy. Mima’s controversial lifestyle is very traumatic for her, and after some dramatic circumstances, it is no longer easy for the viewer to distinguish between what is a dream and what is really happening " that’s the point. The studio did such a wonderful job with that part that I really never knew if I was watching a dream or part of Mima’s actual life. Additionally, the appearance of another “Mima” adds an intense flavor to the film. The climax is completely unpredictable and, honestly, unbelievable. That’s everything the film had going for it. Now let me tell you why I hated it.

            So many minutes of the movie are spend in explicit, graphic scenes of rape or nudity. I’m not the type that has to have every anime character flat-chested because otherwise it’s gross " that’s foolish. However, giving as much detail as the artists did was completely uncalled for. I don’t need to watch minute after minute of a completely nude woman. While her risky occupation made mention of these scenes necessary, the sheer length and graphicness they were portrayed in completely ruined it for me. What could have been a beautiful movie with an intense and frightening plot squandered precious attention by resorting to sexual scenes. I was not pleased that a perfectly good movie was ruined this way. However, if some people would like to say that these nudity scenes are part of artistic expression, that’s fine with me. You can believe what you want, but that still doesn’t make the movie worth seeing, to me.

 

Characters: Despite being the main character, I found Mima’s performance weak at some of the key points in the narrative. While she played fairly well most of the movie, I never truly felt connected with her. Other characters " Rumi in particular " were gorgeously acted and written as complex and lifelike beings. The artists did a great job in creating emotions through the sight of the characters. Viewers are just as terrified and creeped out by the stalker as Mima is.

 

Animation: Like most anime movies, the animation is nice to look at. Fluid, colorful, and smooth. Nothing outstanding, but nothing much to complain about either. I sometimes found that Rumi looked like a squid simply because her eyes seemed a bit too far apart, but that might just be me.

 

Music: Honestly, I don’t remember a single piece of background music from this movie, and I just watched it. The pieces are not outstanding, with one exception. The music Mima performs during her time with CHAM is a lot of fun to listen to.

 

Ending: Despite my negative outlook on the movie for its large amount of sex-themed scenes, I was very impressed and satisfied with the ending. I never saw it coming, and it actually ended up being a nice, psychological conclusion that threw you into just enough confusion to be exciting. The magnificent and unpredictable ending only makes me wish all the more that the directors would have focused more on developing the story than the sex-scenes. Without those objectionable bits, the movie could have easily been one of my favorites.

 

Recommendation: I would not recommend this movie for anyone. No one needs to watch scenes of naked women or graphic rape. If you’re that interested in the story, I’m sure there’s a fanfiction out there somewhere that would do just fine.

 

Audience: I would not recommend this movie for anyone under age 300. That way, everyone who stands a chance of watching it will be dead anyway, and it’ll spare them the disgust. (By the way, if you’re old enough to watch this movie, you’ve got bigger problems than the objectionable content I mentioned above….)

 

Final Grade: 1 out of 10, for a beautiful, tense story completely ruined forever by scenes depicting rape and blatant nudity. If anyone ever remakes this movie with toned-down sexuality, I’d own it for sure.

 

For the Christian Audience: Why am I even bothering to describe what’s in this movie to you? Conclusion: STAY AWAY! But for those of you who absolutely must know " a graphic, lengthy scene depicting a rape is found in Perfect Blue, as well as several photo shoots pretty much straight out of a Playboy magazine. There is excessive violence in the series (which adds to the effects of the plotline but is graphic nonetheless). At this point, the occasional slips of language are the least of your worries. Don’t watch this movie. It would be rated X if it was graded in America.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: Normally, I don’t have one of these at the end of a review. With this one, I probably should. I just tore apart a movie that so many people think is a groundbreaking work of art, so I’m sure someone will get angry about it. I’m just giving my honest opinion. Remember, this is a Christian review. I’m viewing the movie through a Christian worldview filter, so that’s why I see the movie in such a negative light, and I feel I should inform others about the content of this movie so that they can stay away. That way, only I will have had to expose myself to it and not everyone else as well. Please remember though that I did say that the movie was gorgeous, aside from the immoral aspects.

 

Want to buy Perfect Blue? Click the links below. I’ve set up the links so that you’ll go to a new page to view the item, then you can click and go to the store to buy the item! Enjoy!

 

Click this link for the DVD: <iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=wyvernwriter-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=B00000JL42" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Author's Note

Have you seen Perfect Blue? Let me know what you think! I bet a lot of people will disagree with my review! Feel free to duke it out in the comments if you're offended - I don't mind.