Perfect Blue: Mima's Mind

In 1997, Satoshi Kon directed a Japanese animated psychological thriller film, written by Sadayuki Murai, that would change the way we see horror in animation. 

Based off the novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, Satoshi Kon plays with the audience's mind as we follow the main character, Mima Kirigoe, a member of a small Japanese idol group, who decides to leave her idol career and transition to the world of acting. Not everyone was happy with her sudden decision to quit the music industry. The situation escalates as she goes further into her acting career, where she would receive threats, becomes a victim of stalking, and gruesome murders suddenly occur. Soon enough Mima starts to lose sense of what is real and what is just in her imagination. 

Unfortunately, many of the scenes that happen in this show are based off true events in the entertainment industry. Mima is a very sweet and innocent girl who holds high standards for herself as she steps out of her comfort zone to pursue her acting career. People abusing their power and influence to take advantage of new and ambitious entertainers, who believe that they must do anything, even going as low as to break their own morals and values, to reach their goals. Throughout the movie, Mima faces a dead end where she must make the risky choice to engage in disturbing activities to gain attention as a rising actress. She is reluctant at first, but soon is persuaded by the glamorized idea of success. This becomes the turning point and trigger of Mima's regret, fear and hallucinations. Not only is she scarred by her choices, she also becomes a victim of stalking by fans who are against her career change. This drives Mima to the edge as she becomes wary of her surroundings and starts to lose her mind.

Further into the movie, Mima starts to hallucinate as events unfold and pursuing her acting career uncovers the darker side of the entertainment industry. Satoshi Kon does an exceptional job of making the audience stray from their perception of what is reality and what is not. Usually, viewers have the upper hand of knowing what is going to happen as a movie progresses through hints and foreshadowing, but in this film, Kon makes his audience feel just as troubled as Mima. Kon purposely mixes reality and the hallucinations together, dreams are weaved unnaturally into the timeline, and scenes occur repeatedly, leaving both Mima and the audience completely stressed and confused. Until the end of the movie, the audience will be left still lost over how the entire film unfolded, how the sense of time and reality was distorted. 

As confusing as it is, it's done this way for the audience to freely interpret and make sense of what happened on their own. Many viewers have their own theory of what exactly happened, but the point is, you're not supposed to know. You are not just a viewer, you're inside the mind of Mima and you're not supposed to understand what really happened and what didn't. With this in mind, dive into Perfect Blue and experience it for yourself, in Mima's Mind.