Since it’s a holiday and all, I did myself a favor and watched one of the movies sitting for a long time now in my never ending watch list and got a great treat for the occasion but it came with an even greater trick that left me with a great mind blowing experience and all of that happened within 81 minutes and 44 seconds!

Without further ado, let’s get this one rolling!

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Perfect Blue

Genres: Dementia, Drama, Horror, Psychological

Studio: Madhouse

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I mentioned that this is a show for the occasion but it is not exactly scary but the show nonetheless would keep you in the edge of your seat for a completely different reason. Beware though because the show is not suitable for young audience for its nudity, violence and other adult contents.

The show is misleading at first because of the idol thing that may shy away unsuspecting viewers of what they have stumbled into. Anime about idols have a niche dedicated fans but to be honest it is not for everyone so I would like to clear it out before talking about the show because it may be overlooked by many based on that fact alone. This is not an idol anime show, let’s be clear with that ok?

Perfect Blue is a story about a former pop-idol, Mima Kirigoe that is transitioning into becoming an actress but if only things were that plain and simple I wouldn’t be here writing this now right? There is a catch of course, the show explored the dark side of the entertainment industry that I am quite sure most of us have heard of one way or the other because we are living in an era with almost all gossips and information you may want to know is available in the flick of a finger or a click of a mouse and there are tons of issues regarding this particular topic anyway, of course the land of the rising sun is no exception to that. However that is not just about it, the show used that premise to deliver the effect of the decision that Mima did, not only to the people around her, but to the person most affected by her decision, Mima herself.

Old time anime fans for sure know how idols are treated in Japan, they are exalted by their fans that is why to become an idol various rules are set for them because they must appear pure in the eyes of the public. The show did just like that, the dedicated fans of the protagonist wanted her to continue being the idol that they all loved but she decided to become an actress and make a drastic change in her image… maybe drastic won’t cut it, it was a total flip in appearance like a total 180 and that doesn’t sit well with some people.

That is basically the show’s premise but that is not yet the catch, it is about the psychological part that is both thrilling and unsettling at times. The first half laid down the ground work for that mind boggling second half. It started with the announcement of the retirement from the idol unit, CHAM! of the protagonist and her first role in a crime drama series that seemingly ties up with the actual off camera scenario of the show. This makes more impact when the show got to the point where what's real and what's not became the focus later on.

I did mention that the show explored the dark areas of the entertainment industry and that is where everything really picks up. First in the book is that popularity equates to more fans, but more fans doesn’t always equate to positive things because it also increases the tendency of having fans that are too obsessed in the mix, in other words, stalkers. This is the earlier focus of the show but it is just one of the ingredients used to spice things up and make the experience more thrilling for the later parts. Having a stranger over the net know you in and out, your favorite brand of milk, your daily routine, your tendency to use your right foot when getting off the train, in essence everything there is to know about you is scary right? Then what if that person poses as you over the net and document everything you have done for the day? That is the dynamic of the earlier part of the show and demonstrated how anxiety slowly eats away on Mima.

Next is a more direct take on the shadows of show business, taking advantage of up and coming artists. The first time she had the experience was during a rape scene in the show they are taping and her dead looking eyes made it clear how much painful it was for her and even her manager can’t contain her emotion and felt nothing but guilt and regret for putting her up for that role. She was a pure girl in the eyes of many just a while ago when she was still a pop-idol but now she herself has planted a seed in her mind if what she is doing is really the right thing for her to do. Her breakdown scene when she was alone was a powerful way of demonstrating how chasing after bigger goals always requires greater resolve and sacrifices. This is the second factor that combined with her growing anxiety made her mentally unstable and thus the stage for the real psychological thriller is finally set so we head on to the second half with that in mind.

The second half is confusing, not because it was badly written but because it was so well done that even the viewers won’t be able to tell what’s real and what’s imagination anymore, the line between reality and illusion was blurred. The show did that by transitioning from an off camera scene to an on camera scene then to an illusory scene and finally transition to the protagonist waking up in her apartment and repeating that cycle for numerous times. The transitions made it hard to grasp what really happened in reality and what happened only in her mind but it is not a bad experience, I believe it was the intention of the show because even the protagonist herself can’t tell whether she’s dreaming or not and what better way is there to relay that feeling by making the viewers themselves feel lost right? That is one of the aspect of the show that I truly find remarkable but I was surprised to know that there is still something in store for me - murder.

The murder In itself is a staple when it comes to thrillers but how the show portrayed it is what made the difference.It is a psychological thriller that doesn’t clearly point at who the culprit is, let me rephrase that, it was pointing at 2 possible suspects - Mr. Stalker and the protagonist herself, but are they really the ones behind the murder or is it someone else? I won’t be revealing the answer because that is the greatest treat and trick of the show but let’s take a look at their cases.

First up is Mr. Stalker that totally looks suspicious, but having read and watched many crime solving shows, it is premature to decide with looks alone so don’t go jumping the gun now. However it is not only his appearance, but also his actions that are dubious, he is a stalker after all. He is present almost everywhere Mima goes and is one of the people most affected by her decision. He is trying to preserve the image of Mima when she was still the idol that he so loved and admired; and he won’t stop at any cost to accomplish that.

Come on, look at that cute innocent smile. How can he be the killer right?

The other one is Mima herself. She has been under troubling times and extreme pressure, anxiety is eating at her, she has been doubting her course of action and as a result has been hallucinating about another version of herself that claims to be the real her. She’s been put into risque roles that something inside her felt like revolting and from a third person point of view, I would say that she had screws loosen up during the course of the show and attributing her condition to the people that made her that way doesn't seem far fetched making her a likely suspect as well.

I won’t be spilling the beans but I don’t know if I am just not cut out to be a detective but I totally missed the spot on this one and that made me write this after watching it because I would like for everyone to see how great of a show this one is and I would like to show how anime can deliver almost any type of entertainment and should not be judged “just because it's an anime”. I wouldn’t recommend for minors to watch this though, because it screws with the mind and I don’t mean with the twists of the story alone but also because of the maturity of the topics presented both in aesthetics and possible effect of it in ones mental well being.

Conclusion

I highly recommend the show to anyone seeking a great thrilling story, anime fan or not, go give it a shot and see for yourself what anime can really offer aside from the usual Good vs. Evil story lines. Though the show is a little bit old, the animation doesn’t pose much problem towards enjoying it, in fact I think it suits the show better this way rather than using modern animation style, it adds up to the maturity and regality of the show.

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That’s all for this week from yours truly, see you again next week with my mid season Fall 2018 anime list. Thanks for reading till the end!

Ciao~