After performing as the star of a J-pop music group, Mima Kirioge decides to leave the group and pursue a career in acting. Mima sacrifices a lot to support this transition, ditching a clean-cut image and accepting a TV role that involves her acting in a brutal rape scene. These changes take their tole on Mima, who is further disturbed by the discovery of “Mima’s Room”, an online blog about her written like a diary from her own perspective (with eerie details on her daily routine). Mima attributes the blog to Me-Mania, a disfigured stalker who turns up wherever she is. When members of the TV production are murdered, it is all too much for Mima to handle—she begins to fear she might be involved and suffers from psychosis, believing she is being pursued by her former pop-idol self. I won’t even hint at how this all wraps up, but it’s a perfect 90’s psychological thriller that pushes the boundaries of the type of storytelling you might assume anime is capable of.
“Perfect Blue” was recommended by a fellow Cast Member, who mentioned that the film is a favorite of filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (who recreated a scene from the film in “Requiem for a Dream”). In the same vein as Aronofsky’s work, this film was super dark and falls just outside of my preferences. Mima is a full, complex, tragic character. I mean, this film could have been called “Mima Has a Bad Month”. Still, it’s a generally well crafted premise that constantly left me guessing. And the animation was absolutely stunning. And finally, I always love getting glimpses of Japan—even if it’s dark, murderous Japan.