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Perfect Blue

Play trailer 1:01 Poster for Perfect Blue R 1999 1h 20m Mystery & Thriller Anime Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
85% Tomatometer 59 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
A mysterious figure stalks a pop star when she becomes an actor on a television show.
Perfect Blue

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Perfect Blue is overstylized, but its core mystery is always compelling, as are the visual theatrics.

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Critics Reviews

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Cody Corrall Chicago Reader 10/08/2021
Kon thoughtfully depicts a woman on the verge of madness as her squeaky-clean image devolves into the compromising and gruesome roles she plays in her acting career... Go to Full Review
Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader 10/08/2021
This engrossing animated thriller somehow displays realist gore, nudity, and sexual violence in a tone not too far from that of a children's adventure; its innocence stems in part from the convincing naivete of the heroine. Go to Full Review
Kim Newman Empire Magazine 09/22/2020
Strange, stylish and intelligent, this is a rare anime film that delivers on its Eastern promise. Go to Full Review
Glen Schaefer The Province (Vancouver) Apr 14
2.5/4
Is an audience raised on Chuck Jones ready for the animated psychological thriller Perfect Blue?... Disturbing and definitely not for children. Go to Full Review
Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Apr 6
... one of the most intelligent and compelling uses of animation in Japanese cinema and a fascinating look into the world of Japanese pop-idols and fan worship. Go to Full Review
Sydney Lee Horror Movie Talk Dec 4
10/10
The sense of dread, doom, and anxiety get bigger and bigger until it all comes to a head at the end of the movie. It is emotional, thrilling, scary, and hard to follow, but that is what makes it perfect. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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GEORGE Oct 4 Words can't describe the impression this film has left on me. Utterly amazing. See more Joseph P 09/10/2023 An absolute masterpiece, RIP Satoshi Kon See more Steve O 09/07/2023 Fun, creative, suspenseful! Satoshi Kon is a master animator that keeps you guessing what's happening. There's twists and turns. If you haven't seen his other works, I highly recommend Paprika and Millenium Actress TW: Sexual Assault is a big part in two scenes. See more Ben W 09/07/2023 This was crazy! Totally more crazy than I thought it would be. Really good and intriguing, but confusing. See more Jody C @JodyCazz 1d A well made psychological thriller that was genuinely uncomfortable for the whole ride. I wont spoil anything but this movie goes through the idea of identity and purpose and does it all in a very smart and artful way while still being capable of showing some rather dirty and filthy scenes. Very good for a first and second watch as well since once the secrets are out it can be interesting to see how it all got set up. For its time its pretty effective. Think of an animated shutter island with more focus on losing ones self. Scare Factor: 4/10. See more Jonathan K @aFIREintheattic 2d What do you even say after a movie like that, except "brilliant". An incredible, incredible film. If this wasn't anime and was released today, where it was the first time anybody had ever heard that story or a similar one (I see you Darren Aronofsky), it would be so well known. People would be losing their minds for it. It's just so expertly done. As a psychological thriller/horror, or whatever it is, you feel it, you feel like you're going crazy watching it. It really takes you on a ride, and it's terrifying, freaky, wild, and difficult to watch. It's almost overwhelming, just so well done, and a really good thriller plot on top of it all. Told in that sort of mind-bending fashion, it's just very excellent. I'm still tripped out well after it ended. See more Read all reviews
Perfect Blue

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A mysterious figure stalks a pop star when she becomes an actor on a television show.
Director
Satoshi Kon
Producer
Hiroaki Inoue, Haruyo Kanesaku, Masao Maruyama, Yutaka Maseba, Takeshi Washitani
Screenwriter
Lia Sargent
Distributor
AVCO Embassy Pictures
Production Co
Rex Entertainment
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Anime
Original Language
Japanese
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 20, 1999, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 3, 2025
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 26, 2019
Runtime
1h 20m
Sound Mix
Dolby
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)