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Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue

Animation · Thriller · 1998

Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

Movie details

Perfect Blue

“"excuse me... who are you?"”

1998 Animation · Thriller 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.3 / 10

Community rating

Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Perfect Blue?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Satoshi Kon

Written by

Sadayuki Murai

Junko Iwao

Junko Iwao

Mima Kirigoe (voice)

Rica Matsumoto

Rica Matsumoto

Rumi (voice)

Shiho Niiyama

Shiho Niiyama

Rei (voice)

Masaaki Okura

Masaaki Okura

Mamoru Uchida (voice)

Shinpachi Tsuji

Shinpachi Tsuji

Tadokoro (voice)

E

Emiko Furukawa

Yukiko (voice)

Yosuke Akimoto

Yosuke Akimoto

Tejima (voice)

Court is in session

Put Perfect Blue on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.