Back to trending
Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue

Animation · Thriller · 1998

Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

Movie details

Perfect Blue

“"excuse me... who are you?"”

1998 Animation · Thriller 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.3 / 10

Community rating

Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Perfect Blue?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Paprika

Paprika

Animation · 2006

Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.

Death Note Relight 2: L's Successors

Death Note Relight 2: L's Successors

TV Movie · 2009

L's successor must ponder L's defeat if he hopes to succeed where his famed predecessor failed. At the headquarters of the SPK, he calls upon the Japanese task force to declare war on Light. A recap of Death Note episodes 27–37, with new footage.

The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral

The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral

Action · 2008

Tomoe Enjou is attacked by bullies from his old school and saved by Shiki Ryougi. He asks her to hide him at her place and admits that he killed someone. Several days later, there are still no broadcasts about the murder as if it didn't happen... and when the victims are found, they're alive and unharmed.

Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu

Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu

Animation · 2016

One day, Koyomi Araragi encounters the horrifying vampire, Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade A.K.A. the "King of Apparitions." He saves the fatally wounded Kiss-shot by offering his blood at the expense of his own life as a human. Now Koyomi has to face the vampire hunters to retrieve Kiss-shot’s limbs which were taken by these hunters...

Belladonna of Sadness

Belladonna of Sadness

Animation · 1973

An evil feudal lord rapes a village girl on her wedding night and proceeds to ruin her and her husband's lives. After she's eventually banished from her village, the girl makes a pact with the devil to gain magical ability and take revenge.

The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2

The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2

Animation · 2009

In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.

Mind Game

Mind Game

Animation · 2004

Nishi is a loser who has a crush on his childhood girlfriend. After an encounter with the Japanese mafia, he journeys to heaven and back, and ends up trapped in an even more unlikely place.

Black Swan

Black Swan

Drama · 2010

A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."

The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View

The Garden of Sinners: Overlooking View

Animation · 2007

The story starts following an incident: a young girl jumps from the top of a building. The image provokes a certain dread, as the girl appears to have been a corpse even before she jumped. The case is dismissed, yet more and more of these suicides occur, and all from the same building. Thus began the rumour, that a ghost inhabited the rooftop of the building.

xxxHOLiC The Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream

xxxHOLiC The Movie: A Midsummer Night's Dream

Animation · 2005

Invited to a wealthy client's mansion, time-traveling witch Yuko and her companions arrive to find a group of collectors assembled to participate in a mysterious auction. And the mystery only deepens when the collectors go missing one by one. As more guests disappear and strange occurrences abound, Yuko and her friends realize they must solve the mystery before they vanish as well.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Satoshi Kon

Written by

Sadayuki Murai

Junko Iwao

Junko Iwao

Mima Kirigoe (voice)

Rica Matsumoto

Rica Matsumoto

Rumi (voice)

Shinpachi Tsuji

Shinpachi Tsuji

Tadokoro (voice)

Masaaki Okura

Masaaki Okura

Uchida (voice)

Yosuke Akimoto

Yosuke Akimoto

Tejima (voice)

Yoku Shioya

Yoku Shioya

Shibuya (voice)

Hideyuki Hori

Hideyuki Hori

Sakuragi (voice)

Court is in session

Put Perfect Blue on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.