Perfect Blue DVD

—by Michael Poirier

PERFECT BLUE is a beguiling and disturbing anime, a feature length film with the psychotic intensity of THE SHINING and the haunting suspense of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Indeed, the best comparisons I can draw to this anime are live action classics of the psychological thriller genre, since this film is easily the most emotionally evocative thriller I have ever seen animated.
As mentioned in EX's review of PEFECT BLUE's theatrical release in America last year, PERFECT BLUE is a challenging and twisted vision that is clearly intended for mature audiences. This DVD edition features the unrated director's cut, offering the viewer an uncut view into the raw violence, crippling psychosis and ultimate horror at the heart of this anime.
In brief, PERFECT BLUE follows a young woman named Kirogue Mima who has retired from her relatively successful career as an idol singer to become an actress. She lands a role in a controversial television series (kind of a mix between X-FILES and TWIN PEAKS), and she must quickly sacrifice her innocence, modesty and self-image for the role and the demands of her manager.
Mima's old j-pop fans are taken aback by Mima's sexual transformation, and some in particular express their displeasure in creepy (and occasionally homicidal) manners. A web site called "Mima's Room" seems to know far too much about Mima's personal life, and people involved in her new career are hideously murdered. The poor Mima helplessly descends into a paranoid nightmare as the film fiendishly blurs the line between what is actual and what is a dream, what is the bizarre television series and what is the gruesome reality Mima must face. PERFECT BLUE takes many ominous and hair-raising turns as it runs Mima through the emotional wringer, fervently building up to one of the most surprising endings I have ever seen in anime.
This DVD is an excellent presentation of this startling film. The clarity and style of the original movie animation is maintained, and the sound is crisply delivered in Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. Both the Japanese and English dubbed tracks are included, of course, and I found myself especially impressed by Ruby Marlow's portrayal of Mima. She excellently captured the full range of Mima's character as she oscillates from cheerful to crazed, happy to confused, mortified to utterly despondent.
The DVD menus are extremely well presented, with unsettling images and background music (and the clever reuse of the movie's most cinematic moments, such as the quick zoom into Mima's bedroom). Furthermore, the extra features of this DVD are a cut above average as well. You access these bonuses by entering the "Mima's Room" section of the menu. Besides the obligatory previews, you find an image gallery set to PERFECT BLUE's tragic score, a behind-the-scenes filming of one of the original j-pop songs by its Japanese singers, the full English version of that song, plus interviews with some of the voice actors and the director.
I found the interviews to be the most rewarding extras, especially the ones with the English voice actors. Rather than just ask how the actors felt about their roles, the interviewer actually challenged them by asking about some of the haunting themes of the film. Thoughtful answers to such questions as "Do you think fame causes paranoia?" or "Why are people fascinated by celebrities?" show that the actors were truly involved with the disturbing issues suffusing this movie (rather than just looking for a paycheck).
A terrifying, terrific film, PERFECT BLUE belongs on the shelf for any fan of psychological thrillers or groundbreaking anime. If you can handle the mature content onscreen and the volatile subject matter roiling underneath, PERFECT BLUE should not be missed on the most perfect media currently available: DVD.

Released in North America by Manga Entertainment
DVD, 80 minutes
English dubbed/Japanese subtitled
MANG4049-2
$29.95
Available now in the USA
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