Perfect Blue is easily one of the finest anime films of the 90s, and it’s now getting a 4K theatrical re-release this October.
Perfect Blue was the directorial debut of Satoshi Kon, a former assistant to Katsuhiro Otomo, but he made his own distinct mark with reality-breaking anime.
The film covers the life of Mima, a J-Pop idol, who wants to move on to other things and have a more involved career in acting.
However, her fanbase isn’t best pleased with this, and what follows is a thriller where Mima gets stalked and starts to question her grip on reality.
The obvious stalker trope is also flipped on its head with a remarkable twist, and many of the themes that Kon covered about fandom and identity were eerily prescient.
Kon’s career before he was a director is also fascinating, and you should definitely check out Memories, which Kon also worked on. Mainly, this was the spark of inspiration for Kon to deal with stories that fused fantasy and reality.
I can also highly recommend Millennium Actress, which is a very sweet and thoughtful film that tends to get overlooked compared to Kon’s other edgier works.
Perfect Blue will be released theatrically in 4K by GKIDS on October 3.
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