Perfect Blue

Written by Tom Clare in Film Reviews, Wednesday 13 July, 2005

A Deeper Shade Of Blue...

If the only animated film you ever witnessed was something along the lines of The Lion King, you could be forgiven for type-casting the genre as 'something for the kids'. Want to remain in blissful ignorance? Then don't watch Perfect Blue - it will shatter all those fond childhood memories you may have of that big-eared mouse and the angry duck in his sailor suit. For many, it will deliver a sound reality check as to the state anime these days.

The primary reason for my purchasing of Perfect Blue once again involved me falling for a devilishly good trailer. Its surreal depiction of environments and characters was backed up by some thoroughly unnerving music and, very unusually for an anime, an alluring horror-based narrative. But as I learnt to my cost with Smilla's Sense Of Snow, good trailers don't always make for good films. For once, could the film live up to the trailer?

Directed by Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress) and first released back in 1997, Perfect Blue focuses on the teen-idol pop singer Mima Kirigoe, whom after delivering her last performance as part of pop-trio CHAM, announces that she is to quit the group to pursue a career as an actress.

Mima naturally has her doubts regarding the sudden career change, though she quickly manages to land a minor role in the popular TV crime-drama 'Double Bind'. But then things begin to go badly wrong…

The young star receives some hate-mail claiming that she is traitor for deserting CHAM. But this is just the start of her troubles; she soon (rightly) suspects that her every move is being monitored and that she is being followed, possibly even stalked, wherever she goes. An internet fan-site entitled "Mima's-Room" describes her life in alarming detail; all the things she says, her general inner-feelings, right down to the brand of milk she buys from the supermarket - they are all up on display to the absolute horror of the young leading lady.

Fame soon becomes the loneliest place imaginable for Mima. She becomes increasingly paranoid at the threat of her freakish stalker, the rather aptly-named Mr. Me-Mania, and following a seedy photo-shoot, it emerges that many of Mima's closest associates' lives are to be endangered. Media attention is unbearable, and the pressure and paranoia start to break-down her mental defences - she starts seeing her sinister doppelganger, only this version is kitted out in CHAM attire. It taunts her, preying on the regret harboured after leaving CHAM just as they were becoming hot property in the music business. Did she really want to become an actress?

"In the world of make believe - the price of fame may not be worth the cost of identity". Perfect Blue's heroine learns this the hard way, and soon begins to lose grasp over what is reality and what is simply a dream. Days blur into one another, and her ever-growing role in 'Double Bind' soon starts to mimic her situation in real life, though even her closest allies don't seem to see it. In a bizarre turnaround, Mima eventually resorts to reading from the "Mima's-Room" webpage just to remind herself of what she had done that day. If she is not careful, her whole life will spiral out of control, and she'll have more than just the threat of Mr. Me-Mania to worry about…

Well, Perfect Blue is everything your typical Disney flick isn't - scary, violent, gory, creepy and clever. The story certainly steals the show in my book, simply through the way it delivers its thought-provoking message regarding the modern-day celebrity. For all the associates and minders that she has, Mima seems utterly isolated and almost helpless throughout, with only the ever-present threat of her stalker and the old inner-demons to keep her company. Life moves at break-neck speed for the young actress, as even when some of her colleagues are brutally murdered, the show seemingly must go on. I was initially irritated by the lack of focus and direction apparent in the latter stages of the film, but watching again, it almost seems a deliberate tactic on the part of its creators - confusing the viewer (albeit briefly, before rediscovering its direction) to mimic the mind-set of the Mima character.

Visually, the film is immensely stylish and eye-catching. The detail lavished upon the characters in particular is quite superb - facial expressions are carried off nicely and with the minimum of fuss, plus the general movement is smooth and graceful for a change. The smattering of fight and murder-scenes are sufficiently gut-wrenching, and will send a genuine chill down the spine, though be aware that it isn't for those of a squeamish disposition. Enormous credit must go to the designers for conjuring up such an eerie, spooky atmosphere through the use of lighting (or the lack of it) and the soundtrack - I cannot stress how difficult it must be to create such a specific tension in animated form, and yet Perfect Blue (mostly) manages to do so really well.

In terms of the characters, Perfect Blue's are pretty good, although languish way behind the quality of its storyline. Mima at her most basic is a rather plain and uneventful person in truth, though her emotions are increasingly stretched to their limits and through this a little more interest is gleaned. Her nemesis on the other hand, Mr. Me-Mania, has a real screen presence, even though his facial deformities make for a rather obvious-looking villain. Wisely, the story dictates that we actually get to see a little more of the villain and how he operates than in other films - even providing a glimpse of his darkened room, plastered with Mima pictures and memorabilia. Secondary characters are just that; they play their parts just fine though remain somewhat indifferent in the scheme of things.

I watched Perfect Blue firstly in English-dub and then in Japanese with subtitles. To be honest, I didn't really enjoy the film all that much first time around; perhaps as it feels like the viewer is always a step behind the film in digesting parts of the plot that are explained. Second time around however proved a different matter - I wasn't expecting to enjoy it quite so much more, but as I gained a firmer grasp of the storyline, I could also start to appreciate its excellent visuals and soundtrack, as well as a host of clever touches.

The voice-acting as ever plays a crucial role in the overall outcome of an animated film, and once again the original Japanese dialogue beats its English counterpart easily. They say that two things in life are certain; death and taxes, but coming in a close third is the old favourite 'high-pitched female leads in animated features'. The English-voiced Mima is too squeaky and quickly starts to grate, and so if you are willing to tackle the subtitled version of the film, I would suggest that that is the better choice.

The DVD features a range of nifty features, cleverly presented in web-page form under the name of Mima's-Room.com. There's an interview with the Japanese voice-actors (not terribly interesting if truth be told), though the talk with director Satoshi Kon is a little better as he explains his thoughts on his directorial debut in animation - he is rapidly emerging as a real creative talent, given his brilliant track record since this film; Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers are two very different and yet equally effective animations that are soon to arrive in the UK. Also on the disc is the aforementioned theatrical trailer, a rather novel J-Pop music video that is featured in the film, and the usual raft of Manga previews - not bad for £7.99!

It carries an 18 certificate because of its use of nudity and often-extreme violence, and I wouldn't recommend this to the youngsters (though technically I wasn't old enough to watch when I bought it. Ahem). Anime fans are sure to get the most out of this, though some of the more open-minded horror/thriller fans out there may also enjoy it - it's quite likely a matter of taste.

So to conclude, Perfect Blue is an immaculately stylish and thoroughly original slice of animation. If you can overlook the rather mediocre English-dubbing and slightly underwhelming lead character, you'll find a very professional package. Probably not the type of film you'd watch more than a couple of times, it nevertheless succeeds with its brilliant premise and well-judged atmosphere. Not 'Perfect', though well worth a look.

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