Perfect Blue
I will admit what originally drew me to this film were the big names involved in it; Manga studios, the producers of Akira and Ghost in the Shell, along with the directors of both brilliant films, created this beautifully animated and thoughtful analyzation of the psychology of dangerous fandom and of the stalkee, as well as a strong commentary on the status of most pop icons in the Japanese movie industry.
After I sat down and watched this beautiful peice of cinema from start to finish, I had to watch it again. Not out of confusion or lack of plot explanation; the story uncoils perfectly with genius editing and amazing sequences of animation, but I had to watch it again because it was so good.
The story follows the flailing career of a pop singer turned actress whose obsessed fans feel betrayed by her movement into film and away from the music industry, and as she discovers her fans' feelings, her own mental health begins to detereorate as the stress of her career pushes her to make all the same choices as most struggling actresses do. But as she learns more about her fans' opinions and her own link to her current personality fade, she becomes trapped in a bizarre loop of reality where the stresses of showbusiness pull at her mind and the comments of her fans and society degrade her self-esteem.
This film lives up to the mammoth expectations fans of Manga Corps have of the products produced by Manga, and even exceeds them, in my humble opinion. Added: Sunday, July 21, 2002 Reviewer: Evan Rider Score: Related Link: Sputnik7's Perfect Blue Preview Hits: 1825 Language: eng
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