Perfect Blue

""excuse me... who are you?""

1998 1h 21m JA

🙌

8.3

BANGER

★8.3TMDB · 3,384

AnimationThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“"excuse me... who are you?"”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Junko Iwao
Mima Kirigoe (voice)
Rica Matsumoto
Rumi (voice)
Shiho Niiyama
Rei (voice)
Masaaki Okura
Mamoru Uchida (voice)
Shinpachi Tsuji
Tadokoro (voice)
Emiko Furukawa
Yukiko (voice)
Yosuke Akimoto
Tejima (voice)
Yoku Shioya
Takao Shibuya (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Sadayuki Murai
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

81 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Satoshi Kon, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Masahiro Ikumi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Harutoshi Ogata shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Junko Iwao and Rica Matsumoto and Shiho Niiyama carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Satoshi Kon directs. Hisao Shirai behind the camera. Masahiro Ikumi scores. Harutoshi Ogata cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

181 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
3Made its money back 3.3× over at the box office.
428 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
5Directed by Satoshi Kon, shot by Hisao Shirai. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Masahiro Ikumi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Harutoshi Ogata shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Junko Iwao and Rica Matsumoto and Shiho Niiyama carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: ""excuse me... who are you?"".
10IMDB entry: tt0156887 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 27 themes, including "career", "rape", "based on novel or book", "paranoia".
12Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Hisao Shirai
Original score: Masahiro Ikumi
Editing: Harutoshi Ogata
Runtime: 81 min · 1h 21m
Status: Released
Budget: $830,442
Box office: $2,743,097
Return: 330% of budget
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Perfect Blue (1998)

Also by

Satoshi Kon

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Marr 🇳🇱2015-11-01
★ 9/10
Just seen this on All Hallows' Eve. It's a bit old, but gold! I definitely have to rewatch this, because you just got to pay attention to 'know' what is happening and follow the story. I think you'd better understand/follow the story and that it will make more sense when you watch it a second time. The whole movie experience was pretty much like every time you think you got it all figured out, you learn something new and turn out to be all wrong. I loved all those twists and turns and the is-it-real-or-not feeling like, is it really REALLY happening? Is it really acting for her job as a actress, or is it all just a trick of the mind...
The Movie Diorama2020-01-16
★ 10/10
Perfect Blue perfectly blends psychologically disturbed fantasy with grounded reality. Mima Kirigoe. A pop-idol. An actress. An X-rated model. Public image and its personifying echoes circulate around the world, adhering to the desires of endearing fans alike. But when their inspirational idol haphazardly shifts career, from pop sensation to dramatic actress, the psychosis of the modern consumer society ultimately changes with her. Saddened, angered and crazed. Mima’s abrupt persona altering career move may have developed maddened stalkers, including her fantastically imagined past self haunting the newly suppressed version. The late Satoshi Kon was known for seamlessly blending fantasy with reality. Depicting an opaque blurred line between delusions and actualities. None more so, than in his exaggerated psychologically disturbed work in Perfect Blue. For many the art form of Japanese animation, commonly titled as “anime”, is cited as “childish”. “Anime is for losers” tweeted kickboxer Andrew Tate. Well, if like Mr. Tate you believe anime to be childish, I implore you to watch Perfect Blue. Without illustrating the voyeuristic nature of Murai’s narrative, it is the most accessibly invigorating piece of psychological stimulation, that is strictly aimed towards adults, to ever be constructed from this art form. The complete metamorphosis of a character that questions her own perceived identity through inquisitional explicit acts of graphic nature. Exploring the psychosis of shared delusional disorder and the acute harassment of an obsessive stalker. Kon establishes a murder mystery whilst inciting the emasculation of a vulnerable female’s world. Male controllers, likened to manipulative deities of authoritative powers, are gradually weakened by a mysterious individual. Culminating into a twistingly fragmented climax that grants Mima the independence that she was repressed from. Kon’s intelligence in foreshadowing, the drama series ‘Double Bind’ essentially replicating Mima’s regressive state of mind, allows the audience to question several aspects. He smartly manages to maintain the central mystery without deterring from Mima’s mental instability. He doesn’t stop there though. Kon refuses to relinquish thematic presence in every frame. Exploring the fragility of a rape victim and the traumatisation of such an explicitly heightened ordeal. The dangers of online anonymity and the tarnishing of existing careers. Challenging the extremities of art in all its mediums. The realism of Perfect Blue is what forces its story to be so utterly terrifying. It’s not just a psychological thriller. It’s horror. Kon’s signature animation style is gloriously vibrant as always, with attentive detail towards realistic environments. The grotesque facial features of “Me-Mania”, only possible in this art form, heighten the natural malformed detest we have for him. Ikumi’s audacious score enables the heart to palpitate more frequently with its sharp tones and ethereal voices. And, as rare as this is, the English dub is surprisingly decent. The reality is that Perfect Blue transcends the medium that it is presented in. It stimulates through Kon’s trademark visceral style, allowing the dangers of early Internet culture to produce a thrilling psychologically adept feature that blurs fantasy with reality. I mean, for a film to make me stand up, clap my hands and utter the words “perfection”, it has to be something special right?. Well, Perfect Blue is special, because it is perfect. And yes, with that said it does indeed garner the perfect rating. Quite possibly the best anime feature to ever be released.
GenerationofSwine2023-01-12
★ 10/10
I caught this in High School and it instantly took me as an eerie Alfred Hitchcock show that did an outstanding job of feeding on pure paranoia. It was unsettling, it was scary, and at the time it seemed as realistic as it could be for an anime movie. As I rode through it, I started doubting what was real and what wasn't and that is a hallmark of a great movie, that ability to keep the viewer on their toes.

Production companies

Who made it

Madhouse
JP
RE
Rex Entertainment
JP
KO
Kotobuki Seihan Printing
JP
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
JP
FA
Fangs
JP
ON
ONIRO
JP

Key crew

EditorHarutoshi Ogata
ProducerHiroaki Inoue
Key AnimationHideki Futamura
Character DesignerHisashi Eguchi
Key AnimationMamoru Kurosawa
Key AnimationHidenori Matsubara
Key AnimationHiroshi Hamasaki
Key AnimationKouichi Arai
Key AnimationMakoto Koga
Key AnimationMasaharu Tada
Key AnimationMorifumi Naka
Key AnimationKumiko Kawana
Key AnimationYoshihiro Kitano
Key AnimationHiroyuki Morita
Key AnimationKatsuichi Nakayama
Key AnimationMichiyo Suzuki
Key AnimationMitsuo Iso
Key AnimationNobumasa Shinkawa
Key AnimationHikaru Takanashi
Key AnimationMakoto Yamada
Key AnimationShinji Hashimoto
Key AnimationKunio Takahide
Key AnimationMasahiro Kurio
Key AnimationShinya Takahashi

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

career
rape
based on novel or book
paranoia
stalker
celebrity
singer
stalking
fame
female protagonist
psychological thriller
mental illness
madness
split personality
adult animation
literary adaptation
disturbed
paranoid
j-pop
celebrity worship
anime
aspiring actress
idolatry
suspense
psychological horror
avant garde
psychological drama

Release history · US

When it landed

Theatrical (limited)2023-09-06R· 25th anniversary Anime Expo Cinema Nights re-release
Theatrical1999-08-20R
Theatrical2025-10-03NR· 4K restoration
Theatrical2020-09-06R· 20th anniversary re-release
Digital2025-12-01· HBO Max
Digital2022-09-06NR· Shudder
Physical2019-03-26R· Blu-ray
Physical2021-09-21R· Steelbook (Blu-ray + DVD)
Physical2025-12-23NR· 4K Collector's Edition