Animated thriller

Perfect Blue (1999): Cast, Ratings & Plot

Name: Perfect Blue
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Animation
Released: 1999-08-20
Duration: 1 h 21 min
Cast: Rica Matsumoto, Kiyoyuki Yanada, Emi Shinohara, Hideyuki Hori, Masashi Ebara

Perfect Blue is a 1999 animated thriller directed by Satoshi Kon, starring Rica Matsumoto, Kiyoyuki Yanada and Emi Shinohara. It runs 1 hour 21 minutes. Critics gave it 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 67 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 8.0/10.

IMDb rating: 8.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 84%
Metascore: 67

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Watch the trailer Read the plot summary

Released: August 20, 1999
Runtime: 1h 21m (81 min)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Genres: Mystery , Thriller , Horror , Animation
Original language: Japanese
Studio: National Amusements
After the credits: No No extra scene

The story

What Is Perfect Blue About?

The premise of Perfect Blue without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

A pop singer, seeking a career change to acting, finds her life spiraling out of control as the lines between her public image and a fictional character she portrays begin to blur. Haunted by an obsessive stalker and struggling to distinguish reality from illusion, she descends into a psychological nightmare where her sense of self is threatened and her grasp on sanity weakens. The unsettling events force her to confront the dark side of fame and the fragility of identity.

Perfect Blue Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags

rape
obsessed fan
film within a film
hallucination
female protagonist
violence
adult animation
stalker
anime
for grown ups animation
animated nudity
serial killer

+38 more

stabbing
psychopathic killer
mind game
giallo
anime animation
mature animation
nosebleed
detective
f word
cigarette smoking
fbi agent
grindhouse film
beer
knife
traditional animation
hand drawn animation
2d animation
fbi federal bureau of investigation
body count
classic animation
suspense mystery
serial killer crime
pop music
police detective
courtroom
erotic thriller
suspense
neo noir
stabbed to death
execution
f bomb
screaming underwater
serial murder
attempted murder
terror
death by overeating
mysterious murderer
murder investigation

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Cast & crew

Perfect Blue Cast

Rica Matsumoto leads the cast, with Kiyoyuki Yanada and Emi Shinohara. Directed by Satoshi Kon; 10 actors are credited in all.

Director Satoshi Kon

Also Starring in Perfect Blue

· 6 more

From the director

More from Satoshi Kon

More films directed by Satoshi Kon, best-rated first: Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers and Millennium Actress.

Full filmography

Ratings

Perfect Blue Reviews & Ratings

Critics gave Perfect Blue 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and 67 on Metacritic, and IMDb users rate it 8.0/10.

IMDb

8.0 /10
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Rotten Tomatoes

84% Tomatometer

Popcornmeter 89%
See on Rotten Tomatoes
Metacritic

67 Metascore

User score 8.5
See on Metacritic
TMDB

83% User score
See on TMDB

Plot

Perfect Blue Plot Summary

What happens in Perfect Blue from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 15 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 3-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

Mima Kirigoe, an aspiring actress and former member of the J-pop idol group CHAM!, makes the bold decision to leave her music career behind. This transition, however, does not sit well with all of her fans, particularly an obsessive admirer named Mamoru Uchida, famously known as Me-Mania, who begins to stalk her after feeling betrayed by her change from a wholesome image. Amidst the chaos, Mima stumbles upon a website titled “Mima’s Room” filled with unsettlingly detailed diary entries that reflect her thoughts and daily life, igniting her anxiety.

Full summary

The whole story of Perfect Blue, scene by scene

Read the full summary