The most psychologically disturbing movie I have ever seen would have to go for this one. This film is from 1997 but is somehow far scarier in our modern world where social media dominates our lives. To give you a brief introduction, it’s a Japanese psychological horror/drama.

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SYNOPSIS
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It is about a female pop idol who quits her job but has difficulty quitting her identity. Like every desperate Disney kid, she tries to kill the good girl persona by being a bad girl. Unfortunately, one of her previous fans turns into a stalker and becomes violent after she stars in an adult movie. He believes our protagonist is an imposter out to ruin the real Mima's reputation. It's wild.

-creepiness personified-

One of the main antagonists of the story is 'me-mania', he was originally just one of Mima's fans, but after she quits the band he turns into a violent stalker. Even before he starts acting erratically, he is very unsettling. His design is intentionally ugly bordering on the uncanny valley and that sets him apart from the crowd.


Culturally, we tend to associate evil and ugliness. Even if we look at our bedtime stories, those wicked witches are usually ugly as heck. This medium lends itself to creating a disturbing image of a man. Yet, because of the context, we accept it as a 'normal' person.


The artistic design manages to visually convey the creepiness women feel when confronted with 'nice guys'. I don't know how else to put it. Even when this character does good things, you'll still find your skin crawling.

-the imagery of ownership-

One of the reoccurring themes in perfect blue is 'losing control'. This takes several forms. One of the most blatant is the symbolism of Mima not owning her pop idol identity. She may have created it and nurtured it, but her fans are the ones who own it. To the point, she can't kill it. A fantastic reappearing symbol of this is her stalker continually pictured holding her in his hand.


Later on, we find him controlling web pages and acting like her. To him, the pop idol is Mima, and because Mima is no longer the pop idol, she is an imposter.

-movement-

One of the better-known aspects of this movie is the 'ghost'. Again the director and artists have managed to capture a mental state of dysphoria and personify it. It's genuinely terrifying. Her identity as a pop idol becomes a completely independent entity. She can't catch it, just like she can't in the real world. Even when she chases it down the ghost just skips away from her like the end of the rainbow.



The visuals really capture the feeling of losing control. We see Mima's desperation to chase the ghost and she just can't. Not to mention the ghost is a little like her inner voice. It says lots of cruel and disgusting stuff. We also see the ghost by Me-Mania's side as a loving mother.

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REVIEW
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This movie is pretty fantastic. The amount of time you spend on this movie is worth every single moment. It's pacing, plot, and delivery, especially the Japanese voice acting stands out the most. Watch in Japanese dub with English sub.


The central plot of the movie revolves around pop culture, where you enter the main character's psychology and try to understand what she is going through. At a point, you start to get quite confused as to what's happening, though, not too much. there will be a few pieces of the puzzle which will keep the suspense till the very last five minutes, and a climactic five minutes it was!


I thought it to be VERY emotional, melancholic, and ecstatic all at the same time. The movie makes sense after you finish watching it and give a good five minutes to put pieces together, and if you paid close enough attention, you will understand it at the very end!


I was completely invested in this movie from beginning to end. I loved the animation and style of the film. The world, specifically Mima's room was so incredibly detailed.

The atmosphere of the film is extremely stressful. It really made me feel uncomfortable. In my opinion, what really carries the film is the empathy developed for Mima. I just felt so bad for her throughout the film. What's more depressing is that I'm pretty sure lots of young girls trying to achieve fame are going through similar feelings as her as we speak.


It’s well worth a watch. That is if you have interests in psychological stuff. It’s like a cautionary tale about social media use.