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Dec 7, 2015 7:00 AM

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Jun 2015
2575
So what's so great about this movie? the story was too average to be called a great movie, this would work better as a normal horror mystery-crime movie; not as mind-manipulating bullshit which focuses on our dumb MC who can't even realise that she has been stalked; because her fat friend was actually more familiar with how our MC feels toward her career?!

"News: ...The police is guarding a movie production staff due to some suspicion about a criminal who is targeting its memebers."
Nice but hey, the police didn't do shit through the whole movie.

Question:- A bomb was sent to you through mail then blow up in your face giving you some severe injuries, what do you do?
MC: Let's call the police, I think someone is targeting me!
Fat woman: No, don't worry; the bomb didn't kill him, also it might be a joke after all.
MC: oh! okay.

Fuck this bullshit!!
But i gotta admit, It really has some good creepy moments, And I liked the whole mystery & crime thing; but the whole mindfucking thing was totally unnecessary and ruins the story aspect
5/10
DeagoDec 7, 2015 7:09 AM
Dec 24, 2015 11:09 AM

Offline
Aug 2008
4594
What a twist at the end. Brilliant movie.
But it's important to remember that a movie review is subjective;it only gives you one person's opinion.

http://www.classzone.com/books/lnetwork_gr08/page_build.cfm?content=analyz_media&ch=30

It doesn't matter if you like LoGH,Monster etc.If you are a jobless or college/school dropout living in your mom basement, you are still an unintelligent loser. Taste in anime does not make you a better person.If elitist don't exist, casual pleb and shit taste also don't exist.
Dec 27, 2015 3:02 AM

Offline
May 2014
1151
I'm fucking floored. I mean, I had heard about how this movie would fuck with my mind, but I never thought it would go this far.

I definitely did fuck with my mind, but it did it in the most beautiful way possible. I lost count of how many times I said "Is this scene real or not?" throughout this movie.

Satoshi Kon truly is a genius, an I couldn't even believe that this was his first movie.

9/10.
"You either die an Ashita no Joe, or you live long enough to see yourself become a Naruto."
Dec 27, 2015 3:07 PM
Offline
Aug 2009
39
Deago said:
So what's so great about this movie? the story was too average to be called a great movie, this would work better as a normal horror mystery-crime movie; not as mind-manipulating bullshit which focuses on our dumb MC who can't even realise that she has been stalked; because her fat friend was actually more familiar with how our MC feels toward her career?!

"News: ...The police is guarding a movie production staff due to some suspicion about a criminal who is targeting its memebers."
Nice but hey, the police didn't do shit through the whole movie.

Question:- A bomb was sent to you through mail then blow up in your face giving you some severe injuries, what do you do?
MC: Let's call the police, I think someone is targeting me!
Fat woman: No, don't worry; the bomb didn't kill him, also it might be a joke after all.
MC: oh! okay.

Fuck this bullshit!!
But i gotta admit, It really has some good creepy moments, And I liked the whole mystery & crime thing; but the whole mindfucking thing was totally unnecessary and ruins the story aspect
5/10


First of all, it is great because it constantly plays with your perception of what is real and what isn't. This distortion becomes even bigger when the drama she has to act in looks almost identical to her real situation.

She did realize she was being stalked, hence she kept freaking out all the time and may or may not have seen the stalker zombie dude. Hell you see it in the very first scene where she goes to Mima's Room where goes from laughing face to outright creeped the hell out. No idea why you think she didn't realize it.

The whole "we do not call the cops" and why she believes it is ok:
These are people have helped her for at least a couple years so she trusts them.
Not only that but she is in the middle of a career switch and anything bad with the drama may cause her career to fail.
Was it after all a dumb idea? Sure but we only know that now.

Honestly by your last paragrah it shows you miss the whole point of the movie. We are looking through the eyes of someone under serious stress cause of a major career change (one she didn't want actually) and she gets a creepy stalker after her creating basically a mental breakdown to the point where she doesn't know the difference between the reality and illusion.
Dec 29, 2015 2:59 AM

Offline
Jun 2015
2575
Assirra said:
Deago said:
So what's so great about this movie? the story was too average to be called a great movie, this would work better as a normal horror mystery-crime movie; not as mind-manipulating bullshit which focuses on our dumb MC who can't even realise that she has been stalked; because her fat friend was actually more familiar with how our MC feels toward her career?!

"News: ...The police is guarding a movie production staff due to some suspicion about a criminal who is targeting its memebers."
Nice but hey, the police didn't do shit through the whole movie.

Question:- A bomb was sent to you through mail then blow up in your face giving you some severe injuries, what do you do?
MC: Let's call the police, I think someone is targeting me!
Fat woman: No, don't worry; the bomb didn't kill him, also it might be a joke after all.
MC: oh! okay.

Fuck this bullshit!!
But i gotta admit, It really has some good creepy moments, And I liked the whole mystery & crime thing; but the whole mindfucking thing was totally unnecessary and ruins the story aspect
5/10


you miss the whole point of the movie.

Really, I rewatched it to see if I missed anything; still average overhyped movie 5/10. Read this and tell me if missed something



*MAJOR SPOILERS* and there's a little quiz at the end which summarize some Major stuff:

00:07:07: Mima & creepy aka Me-Mania (he's an overly obsessed fan which sucks), at this moment they make an eye contact; Mima knows Me-Mania's face now, but still doesn't know his identity. (also the creepy make a creepy smile). After that she tells people that this is her last song; (btw I liked her last song).
00:09:09: A guy gives Mima a pink envelope.
00:09:48: She actually got three envelopes apparently, including the pinky one.
00:10:09: After a hard day she rests at her room, so what we got? damn there are too many dolls in her small room, we also got a poster of her pop-idol group which is called CHAM, and we got panty shot, and is that a shampoo? wait why the fuck the small details?
00:10:33: She pull out the poster, because fuck it; she's an actor now!
00:11:00: She opens the pink message from that random dude; I says "I was watching Mima, I'm on contact with her room" (Not her actual room, it means a website), what a fucking vague message, but she couldn't understand because she's not familiar with 4chan and doesn't know that the internet is for porn; what a poor pure girl :(
00:12:00: *Unimportant phone call*, she tells her mom about her career state and stuff, but the call was interrupted by another phone call; a silence strange person who was only breathing cliché; but that's actually important since that person got her PHONE NUMBER. so it's either the Creepy or Rumi.
00:13:00: Holy shit! a scary fax message!
00:16:14: Holy Fuck! the creepy dude appears again between the staff? how the hell did he know? Did Rumi send him the address? but why?! even if she were crazy; why would she give a random fan the address; it might be because he's not random, but screw it.
00:17:50: Rumi is listening here to the conversation between the manager and the director about lengthening Mima's roll; hence she developed more hatred toward the manager.
00:18:20: The Manager opens Mima's letter and then BOOM! (that's what you get for opening others envelopes kids).
00:19:35:
Mima: "I think we should call the cops, I think somebody is targeting me!"
Rumi: "Don't worry, it was a probably a joke"
Mimia: "Oh! okay"
00:22:00: After opening her online page, she reads, and reads; the writer know her too well, also knows what happend in the staff workplace and also has a recording of her voice.
00:25:00: Random Dude: "Somebody should save our Mima :(" the Creepy was like: "I will :)"
00:26:23: Creepy everywhere, Mima sees the news; "Takashi Doi was fucked" *Mima looks back* *Creepy dude smiles* it's as if he pasted that piece of newspaper there just to let Mima see it.
00:33:00: And here we go, the illusion is FUCKING STARTED!
00:33:20: Damn that's the worst rape scene I've ever seen, why let only 1 guy rape her? Even Rumi cries at this bullshit.
00:36:16: NO! the fishes die. The bitch cries and breaks everything; calm the fuck down bitch you haven't been RAPED yet
00:37:25: OMG! everything is fucked up! fuck my life, lets break everthing, and SHUT THE FUCK UP ILLUSION!
00:37:50: Creepy dude's room with no tissue paper?! what a nasty guy!
00:39:22: Holy shit the illusion can also appear in the computer screen
00:39:30: wow! it also be in full screen mode, nice!
00:40:00: And now it's in hologhram mode!
00:40:33: Hologhram illusion got some moves, also don't call others "Bitch" and run away, dick!
00:40:20: Takao Shibuya (scenario maker) owned (by a screwdriver apparently)
00:47:00: Apparently the creepy dude can also see the illusion
00:47:09: Other people are also cheering for the illusion WTF?!
00:48:44: Ok this creepy guy has some real brain issues; the posters are speaking to him! He replies: "Imma kill the bitch!"
00:49:11: Illusion hugs the creepy
00:49:56: Suddenly *Creepy Appears between the stuff*
00:50:14: Boo! *Creepy Disappears*
00:51:07: Mima sees the illusion having a cool radio show *Mima is scared* then *illusion run the fuck off* then *Mima run to chase the illusion*
00:52:30: After 1 and half minute of lame chasing scene, the creepy dude runs over her by his truck; and...
00:52:35: BOO! Was it a dream?! or maybe she got unconscious right before she chased the illusion; if it was a dream the question is; since when? Two possibilities; 1- right before the rain scene, 2- right before the CHAM radio show. picking any of these means one thing; there was no radio show. If it wasn't a dream then Mima was probably unconscious during the whole events after the radioshow; dick move author, how the fuck we can know if the radioshow happened or not?! fuck you!
00:52:50: Look closely! It's a cake and tea (maybe coffee), (Stop eating so much of that Rumi or you'll get more fat)
00:53:45: Camera zoom at Mima; Rumi suddenly comes behind Mima; wait...she hadn't finished her cake yet so why is that?
00:53:49: CUT! *Mima fucked up during acting*
00:54:00: (No wonder why you always fuck up Mima; the creepy guy is always staring)
00:54:14: And then he disappears again!; when did this thing happened again?
00:54:26: Boo! *Mima wakes up again* we don't fucking know if this was a time skip or just a damn dream; fuck you again author!
00:54:37: Same damn Cake and tea, look closely! it is putted in the same exact place...So here, let me think, it's either they didn't bother to draw another image here because they were too lazy or this is actually not a second day; logically i'mma choose the latter one, but that doesn't actually add or remove anything from the main plot, the whole events here are just to mindfuck the viewer and make an atmosphere, so don't bother them that much.
00:56:12: This is the one of the most bullshit scene in the movie! How?! How did this person know exactly that the photographer has ordered pizza in the first place?! and how did this person get the clothes?! and that the "BB" cop? Was it stolen from the restaurant? I mean, what am I trying to say here is that this was a well-planned crime for the mindfucked Mima, also the killer uses a screwdriver and targets the victims eyes just like what happened to the scenario maker in the elevator.
0057:00: Here, we see Mima killing the photographer by the screwdriver, some people argue that the killer here was actually Rumi, but no it's Mima and nobody else; and I'll explain who's exactly the killer here the the quiz.
00:57:30: Mima wakes up very scared as if she saw a nightmare
00:57:50: A phone call from her manager; tells her that the photographer is killed; she was unusally surprised, unlike for other previous murders.
00:58:10: You hear the news confirms that the weapon used to kill the photographer was the same as the one used to kill the scenario maker.
00:58:30: Mima opens her closet and see the same clothes that the fake pizza girl was wearing (pizza person got tits btw); Mima here was so surprised and afraid to let anyone know; hence this confirms that she actually has experienced the murder events; which confirms that she is the one who actually killed the photographer NOT Rumi; BUT then again, Rumi was the most fitted for this crime sence (I will expalin this at the end).
01:00:00: Mima doing a murder scene; we see an identical screwdriver to the same one that was used by the killer; (damn this screwdriver is so common in this city)
01:00:11: Boo! Mima wakes up; we don't know if this was a timeskip or a dream here; because fuck the auther for obscuring this such a moments by his cheap dick moves like this
01:00:25: And now they're making her look like in psychiatric hospital (she's actually acting here)
01:03:44: *Creepy punches Mima*
01:05:10: *Creepy wants to give Mima his ding dong*
01:06:25: *Mima smacks the creepy's head with a hammer*
01:07:07: WTF?! she gets her clothes on and see everyone cheering for her; (Don't let Mima's mind fool you) This is just another unnecessary short scene.
01:07:35: Rumi meets Mima after Mima escaped from the theater.
01:07:55: Then they get back to theater (After Mima changed her ripped clothes) and the Creepy disappeared as usual, he probably got up and hid after that hit or...*explained later)
01:08:08: *Rumi drives back to Mima's room*
01:08:25: *Mima wakes up*
01:08:53: *Mima calls her manager*
01:09:11: We see here the manager was killed by a screwdriver; also the creepy dude is killed by the same way with him, WTF?! since when the creepy dude was killed? no info...the only possibly time was after that rape attempt scene; Rumi has met Mima; then Rumi left Mima to change her ripped clothes; at this time; Rumi killed the Creepy dude before they both got into the theater; and for the manager, he got killed before the Creepy dude by Rumi so it was during the rape attempt scene; and since Mima wouldn't have the time to do all that.
01:10:00: Illusion is back baby! IN FAT MODE!; I mean Rumi; here's where the more bullshit begins
01:11:18: Rumi tries to kill Mima; Rumi wants Mima to die; then why the fuck did she waited that long for her to wake up and didn't kill her during sleep? because....? She wanted a decent fight with her and give her a chance to resist? Also Rumi is using the same old screwdriver.
01:12:06: Ok it's sure thing that they're showing us Rumi as an illusion BUT how the fuck she's able to jump from that far without even tumbling?! since when this fat woman has that much of stamina?
01:14:45: After a long battle *Rumi is defeated*
01:17:41: *Movie ends with a troll smile*

ok if we summarize the major events; we most will kinda agree that Rumi was the person who killed all the people who was killed by a screwdriver BUT as I mention above with that bullshit Pizza scene and making Mima unusally afraid and scared after seeing the bloody clothes; If we just ignored that scene everything will probably make a sense.

So here's a little quiz:
Possible killers were: A. Mima B. Rumi C. Creepy
Q1: Who killed Takashi Doi?
The Creepy, Rumi neither interacted or saw this guy; also he was the only person to be killed without using the Screwdriver; He's also the only character to be killed by the Creepy

Q2: Who killed Takao Shibuya (scenario maker) in the elevator?
The answer is B which is Rumi; why? First the weapon which was used there was the screwdriver (Rumi's weapon), Mima is exulded because her decent mental state at that point.

Q3: Who killed the manager?
The answer is B which is Rumi; why? The manager went to his office (which was the last scene we see him alive); at this point the creepy stalked Mima then he tried to rape her; at this moment; Rumi murdered the manager with her screwdriver then went back to the panicked Mima.
Q4: Who killed the creepy (Me-Mania)?
The answer is B which is Rumi again; why? Mima went to change her ripped clothes; at this moment the creepy was injured when Mima hit him with the hammer; he survived but went unconscious; at this moment Rumi got rid of him; probably to hide evidences, or maybe she doesn't even know him in real life; then she dragged him next to the dead manager and then went back to Mima, and brought her back the the empty theater.

Q5: Who is the person who was disguised as a pizza guy who killed the photographer?
The hardest quistion; Creepy is excluded because this person has breasts so the answer here is probably B which is Rumi; but why not Mima? as you saw in the previous murder which was well planned murder, and here again, another very well planned murder; the author here used a dick move to make the viewer think that Mima dreamed of this event; which is so impossible, because if so then that would be unbelievable coincidence; so logically if Mima has experienced this event this makes her the murderer here, also another dick move where she overreact when she heard the news, why am I saying a "Dick move" Because it's wacky to force the viewers into thinking such weak alternative event, and again; that murder was a very well planned, and since Rumi was the mastermind of the most murders. For the clothes which are covered in blood, it's easy for Rumi to put them in Mima's closet.
So again the answer is here Rumi which means Mima did not kill anyone.
DeagoDec 29, 2015 10:13 PM
Dec 31, 2015 6:52 AM
Offline
Jul 2015
412
Deago said:
So what's so great about this movie? the story was too average to be called a great movie, this would work better as a normal horror mystery-crime movie; not as mind-manipulating bullshit which focuses on our dumb MC who can't even realise that she has been stalked; because her fat friend was actually more familiar with how our MC feels toward her career?!

"News: ...The police is guarding a movie production staff due to some suspicion about a criminal who is targeting its memebers."
Nice but hey, the police didn't do shit through the whole movie.

Question:- A bomb was sent to you through mail then blow up in your face giving you some severe injuries, what do you do?
MC: Let's call the police, I think someone is targeting me!
Fat woman: No, don't worry; the bomb didn't kill him, also it might be a joke after all.
MC: oh! okay.

Fuck this bullshit!!
But i gotta admit, It really has some good creepy moments, And I liked the whole mystery & crime thing; but the whole mindfucking thing was totally unnecessary and ruins the story aspect
5/10


You can't prossibly talk shit about "dumb" characters doing senseless stuff when you have a Kino no Tabi avatar and banner. That's a nice way to contradict yourself though.
BuoDec 31, 2015 7:26 AM
hi
Dec 31, 2015 9:51 AM

Offline
Jun 2015
2575
Buo said:
Deago said:
So what's so great about this movie? the story was too average to be called a great movie, this would work better as a normal horror mystery-crime movie; not as mind-manipulating bullshit which focuses on our dumb MC who can't even realise that she has been stalked; because her fat friend was actually more familiar with how our MC feels toward her career?!

"News: ...The police is guarding a movie production staff due to some suspicion about a criminal who is targeting its memebers."
Nice but hey, the police didn't do shit through the whole movie.

Question:- A bomb was sent to you through mail then blow up in your face giving you some severe injuries, what do you do?
MC: Let's call the police, I think someone is targeting me!
Fat woman: No, don't worry; the bomb didn't kill him, also it might be a joke after all.
MC: oh! okay.

Fuck this bullshit!!
But i gotta admit, It really has some good creepy moments, And I liked the whole mystery & crime thing; but the whole mindfucking thing was totally unnecessary and ruins the story aspect
5/10


You can't prossibly talk shit about "dumb" characters doing senseless stuff when you have a Kino no Tabi avatar and banner. That's a nice way to contradict yourself though.

What are you talking about? Since when Kino no Tabi is trying to be realistic to be required to have a sense? Kino no Tabi aims to provide its viewers with a deep thoughtful message.
You argue with me of how weak minded Mima was in Perfect Blue; She believed in non-sense, she got too afraid and lost her mind; and couldn't analyzes her situation because she lacks intelligence.
DeagoDec 31, 2015 9:53 AM
Jan 2, 2016 3:59 AM

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Apr 2014
259
Was blown away. Amazing movie, 8/10
Jan 30, 2016 8:48 PM

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Sep 2013
427
My ball hurt so much remember "That Scene"
Feb 13, 2016 5:16 AM

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Oct 2013
1315
That was a mindfuck, still don't fully understand what happened.
Mar 16, 2016 9:06 PM
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Jan 2011
229
Wow. Satoshi Kon is a genius.

I am truly convinced that I have watched something way smarter and more nuanced that will take me a lot of time to understand and come to terms with.

I especially liked the designs of Me-Mania, from the slouching pose to the crooked teeth to that one eye of his oddly shaped off to the side, Kon may have successfully delivered on the most creepy character in ALL of anime. Me-Mania was just so well done/conceived.

I loved how the film didn't spoon feed us the answers to our questions, nor push psycho-babble down our throats. It let us draw our own conclusions and relied on our intellect as audience members to determine what happened. It was such a refreshing experience.

Im going to list my post-viewing thoughts below. Bear in mind that I have not read anything on the movie, and this is just my own speculation to the events that have followed. I still don't fully understand it.

I find myself having a lot of questions after finishing the movie. though it is revealed that Rumi was the actual killer, I feel that perhaps Rumi was a dissociative identity of Mima herself and the most obvious conclusion I could think of was that she had some kind of Tyler Durden thing going on. Tethering my analysis to Fight Club really helped ground me during some of the more loopy scenes during the movie. "You could wake up Boston, New York, Hong Kong, etc. If you wake up in a different place, do you wake up as a different person?" All the sudden, whether in the car, on set, or in the psychologist's office, we cut to scenes of Mima waking up in her bed, and the things of her room changing. Now you could argue that it was Rumi trying to revert the room to the old Mima, but I don't think that argument really holds up. Mima remembers killing that photographer, and she found the clothes in her room after she was done. Sure, Rumi could have put them there, but how could Mima have had such vivid memories of the crime then?

This is kind of like a very bastardized coming-of-age movie in the sense that it is partly about finding one's true self, and not being bound by others' opinions of you. Both Rumi and Me-Mania were affected by the other Mima and represented her turning her back on the industry. But what I couldn't really understand was their motivations. So Me-Mania wanted Mima to become an idol, yet his actions are inconsistent. He stalks and tries to kill her, yet buys magazines and viciously defends her from critics. Rumi wants the best for Mima, yet constantly tries to kill her. I very highly doubt that anything in this movie is unintentional and would love to know if there is any reason for this disparity. Could this have been the personification of actress Mima's uncertainty about the industry? Or was it that she was truly alone? Her idol group goes on to have greater success without her, and people in the acting industry take advantage of her "grown up image" ala Miley Cyrus. Mima, Me-Mania, and Rumi are each seen killing each of the figures responsible for her current predicament. Tadokoro, who signed the contract, Shibuya, who wrote the script, and the Photographer who forced her into those nude poses.

Towards the end of the movie, I was reminded a lot of Shudder Island and Lucky Number Slevin for some reason, from the mental hospital to the whole dissociative identity disorder to finding out who you actually are and coming to terms with it. I was still left wondering which scenes and characters were real and which were dreamt up. Perhaps Me-Mania and Rumi were also extensions of her idol persona, and they are not real. As Rumi says, "Illusions can't kill".

tl;dr I don't get it.
Mar 16, 2016 9:10 PM

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Jan 2016
1137
i watched twice already, its pretty great, one of the best.
Mar 16, 2016 10:50 PM

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Jun 2015
2575
callmetheBigD said:
Wow. Satoshi Kon is a genius.

I am truly convinced that I have watched something way smarter and more nuanced that will take me a lot of time to understand and come to terms with.

I especially liked the designs of Me-Mania, from the slouching pose to the crooked teeth to that one eye of his oddly shaped off to the side, Kon may have successfully delivered on the most creepy character in ALL of anime. Me-Mania was just so well done/conceived.

I loved how the film didn't spoon feed us the answers to our questions, nor push psycho-babble down our throats. It let us draw our own conclusions and relied on our intellect as audience members to determine what happened. It was such a refreshing experience.

Im going to list my post-viewing thoughts below. Bear in mind that I have not read anything on the movie, and this is just my own speculation to the events that have followed. I still don't fully understand it.

I find myself having a lot of questions after finishing the movie. though it is revealed that Rumi was the actual killer, I feel that perhaps Rumi was a dissociative identity of Mima herself and the most obvious conclusion I could think of was that she had some kind of Tyler Durden thing going on. Tethering my analysis to Fight Club really helped ground me during some of the more loopy scenes during the movie. "You could wake up Boston, New York, Hong Kong, etc. If you wake up in a different place, do you wake up as a different person?" All the sudden, whether in the car, on set, or in the psychologist's office, we cut to scenes of Mima waking up in her bed, and the things of her room changing. Now you could argue that it was Rumi trying to revert the room to the old Mima, but I don't think that argument really holds up. Mima remembers killing that photographer, and she found the clothes in her room after she was done. Sure, Rumi could have put them there, but how could Mima have had such vivid memories of the crime then?

This is kind of like a very bastardized coming-of-age movie in the sense that it is partly about finding one's true self, and not being bound by others' opinions of you. Both Rumi and Me-Mania were affected by the other Mima and represented her turning her back on the industry. But what I couldn't really understand was their motivations. So Me-Mania wanted Mima to become an idol, yet his actions are inconsistent. He stalks and tries to kill her, yet buys magazines and viciously defends her from critics. Rumi wants the best for Mima, yet constantly tries to kill her. I very highly doubt that anything in this movie is unintentional and would love to know if there is any reason for this disparity. Could this have been the personification of actress Mima's uncertainty about the industry? Or was it that she was truly alone? Her idol group goes on to have greater success without her, and people in the acting industry take advantage of her "grown up image" ala Miley Cyrus. Mima, Me-Mania, and Rumi are each seen killing each of the figures responsible for her current predicament. Tadokoro, who signed the contract, Shibuya, who wrote the script, and the Photographer who forced her into those nude poses.

Towards the end of the movie, I was reminded a lot of Shudder Island and Lucky Number Slevin for some reason, from the mental hospital to the whole dissociative identity disorder to finding out who you actually are and coming to terms with it. I was still left wondering which scenes and characters were real and which were dreamt up. Perhaps Me-Mania and Rumi were also extensions of her idol persona, and they are not real. As Rumi says, "Illusions can't kill".

tl;dr I don't get it.

You don't get it because the movie itself doesn't make sense:
http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=779940
Mar 17, 2016 11:03 PM
Offline
Jan 2011
229
Deago said:
callmetheBigD said:
Wow. Satoshi Kon is a genius.

I am truly convinced that I have watched something way smarter and more nuanced that will take me a lot of time to understand and come to terms with.

I especially liked the designs of Me-Mania, from the slouching pose to the crooked teeth to that one eye of his oddly shaped off to the side, Kon may have successfully delivered on the most creepy character in ALL of anime. Me-Mania was just so well done/conceived.

I loved how the film didn't spoon feed us the answers to our questions, nor push psycho-babble down our throats. It let us draw our own conclusions and relied on our intellect as audience members to determine what happened. It was such a refreshing experience.

Im going to list my post-viewing thoughts below. Bear in mind that I have not read anything on the movie, and this is just my own speculation to the events that have followed. I still don't fully understand it.

I find myself having a lot of questions after finishing the movie. though it is revealed that Rumi was the actual killer, I feel that perhaps Rumi was a dissociative identity of Mima herself and the most obvious conclusion I could think of was that she had some kind of Tyler Durden thing going on. Tethering my analysis to Fight Club really helped ground me during some of the more loopy scenes during the movie. "You could wake up Boston, New York, Hong Kong, etc. If you wake up in a different place, do you wake up as a different person?" All the sudden, whether in the car, on set, or in the psychologist's office, we cut to scenes of Mima waking up in her bed, and the things of her room changing. Now you could argue that it was Rumi trying to revert the room to the old Mima, but I don't think that argument really holds up. Mima remembers killing that photographer, and she found the clothes in her room after she was done. Sure, Rumi could have put them there, but how could Mima have had such vivid memories of the crime then?

This is kind of like a very bastardized coming-of-age movie in the sense that it is partly about finding one's true self, and not being bound by others' opinions of you. Both Rumi and Me-Mania were affected by the other Mima and represented her turning her back on the industry. But what I couldn't really understand was their motivations. So Me-Mania wanted Mima to become an idol, yet his actions are inconsistent. He stalks and tries to kill her, yet buys magazines and viciously defends her from critics. Rumi wants the best for Mima, yet constantly tries to kill her. I very highly doubt that anything in this movie is unintentional and would love to know if there is any reason for this disparity. Could this have been the personification of actress Mima's uncertainty about the industry? Or was it that she was truly alone? Her idol group goes on to have greater success without her, and people in the acting industry take advantage of her "grown up image" ala Miley Cyrus. Mima, Me-Mania, and Rumi are each seen killing each of the figures responsible for her current predicament. Tadokoro, who signed the contract, Shibuya, who wrote the script, and the Photographer who forced her into those nude poses.

Towards the end of the movie, I was reminded a lot of Shudder Island and Lucky Number Slevin for some reason, from the mental hospital to the whole dissociative identity disorder to finding out who you actually are and coming to terms with it. I was still left wondering which scenes and characters were real and which were dreamt up. Perhaps Me-Mania and Rumi were also extensions of her idol persona, and they are not real. As Rumi says, "Illusions can't kill".

tl;dr I don't get it.

You don't get it because the movie itself doesn't make sense:
http://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=779940


Now that I've had about a day to digest the movie, the more I think about it, the more I feel that the ending of the movie was just a cop-out by Kon in an attempt to throw the viewer for a loop. There was not enough substance within the film to justify Rumi being the culprit for all the killings, and no real indication of anything more than a mild protectiveness over Mima's purity as her agent.

The film was billed as a psychological thriller about Mima dealing with an obsessive stalker who kills everyone close to and around her. This being the premise, I felt that Me-Mania was disappointingly underused and mishandled, particularly in the final moments of the film. It waxed poetic about him protecting the old Mima, yet showing him incapable and unable to follow through on his convictions once confronting her in person. Kon paints Me-Mania as this phantom who knows everything about her, and follows her like a guilty conscience she just can't escape. He stalks her every move and types up her daily activity and "thoughts" on a homepage he made for her, wrestling control of her identity from her. He is most effective when we see him in the crowd, or catch a glimpse of his long hair/offset eyes amongst the cast or watching from afar. In one of the scenes, Kon makes an obvious reference to The Silence of the Lambs' Buffalo Bill, where 2 characters discuss a serial killer who takes his victims' skin and wears it to "become them". Kon obviously wanted to draw a connection here between the 2 men, right down to the long hair and off-putting appearance. The reason that Buffalo Bill was so effective as a "villain" if you will, is that he remained this phantom, and Clarice and the other characters played on his terms. The final confrontation was extremely tense and gripping, and Buffalo Bill had the high ground until the very end. Me-Mania's convictions to "kill" the new version of Mima would have been far scarier if we were able to see that he had the ability to back up his claims. Instead, the final confrontation with Me-Mania on the stage as the "rape scene" sees him screaming psychotically in a high-pitched voice. Mima hits him over the head with a hammer and he stumbles back. The next time we see him, he's just…dead. Like, that's it. Goodbye, we're done, thats a wrap. Like Kon fired the VA and didn't know what to do with the character. Had Me-Mania been a 100% silent character who just heavily breathed or grunted, I think would have made for a far more effective and immersive conclusion to his arc.

I also felt that him raping her was totally out of character as well, considering that he was painted as a closet otaku who was keen on protecting old Mima's image. I would have figured that such strong convictions would have caused him to just go straight for the kill. But as you point out, he wasn't actually responsible for any of the deaths, it was almost all Rumi. That being said, what purpose would his character really serve other than to draw our attention away from Rumi to focus on him, a simple character that might just be an extension of Mima's imagination.

I feel like Kon had some sort of message, so if Im missing something HUGE, just let me know. It would really help me wrap my head around this thing. These reservations are purely my own, and I have yet to see anyone else bring up the same complains that I have, particularly regarding Me-Mania. I still feel that this film is an absolute masterpiece and a tour-de-force of modern animation and my views on it are a product of my thoughts and thus are purely subjective. Its sad to think that you didn't think of it the same way.
Apr 4, 2016 4:53 PM

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1929
I must say this movie has got me confused a bit, but I still liked it. It's exciting, has a good story, and is visually pleasing.

I respect your opinion as long as you respect mine.
Apr 13, 2016 8:14 PM
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Aug 2015
2011
The animation of the crowd in the first few minutes look as if they were cut out and then placed into the film in a similar fashion to South Park. Or is it just me?
Apr 25, 2016 5:58 AM

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Aug 2014
1867
I liked Black Swan, and i heard this movie is similar, or maybe that Black Swan took its main ideas from it, I agree.
Not your typical anime movie.
I dont think its that confusing I agree its complex but its not very hard to understand, I actually wanted more creepy moments, i feel there wasn't enough.

Technical Aspect: 7
Story+Characters: 8
Enjoyment: 8

Overall Final Rating: 8.0/10

Apr 30, 2016 2:20 PM

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Nov 2015
332
Thank you Kon for the amazing movie.
May 3, 2016 12:33 PM

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Jun 2014
4129
Holy shit this movie blew me away. Really amazing stuff. Satoshi Kon was a genius.
:3
Jun 28, 2016 2:15 PM

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Jun 2015
2372
This was a one mind twist movie. Unfortunately I didn't get what happened in the end. I need to think it over.
If you are going to disagree with me, don't bother talking to me. I will seriously hurt you!
Aug 15, 2016 5:03 PM

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Feb 2013
24143
Her friend almost killed her.
That pig in that dress didn't look good at all, too bad that she saved her.
Nov 22, 2016 8:26 PM

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Jul 2009
21077
Dang that was intense ... really loved it! Definitely some great characters and animation (it looks so good for 199x) and man that was an enjoyable if not confusing ride. I can really see this being something I watch again and catch different aspects of knowing what's coming up. The confusion between reality and delusion was really well shown and the use of the Double Bind show was really powerful. Discussed it with the friend I was watching it with and we came to a somewhat reasonable conclusion I think, but man that really hurt my brain lol XD This was about a 9.5 for me, really close to a 10 but just didn't have quite that extra bit even though everything was really good (well, maybe the music was just OK :P). So a 9/10, well deserved! Gotta watch the rest of Satoshi Kon's movies now :P
Nov 26, 2016 5:17 PM

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Jan 2015
671
OH MY GOD this movie was amazing! Loved it! 9/10, almost a 10
Nov 27, 2016 10:07 AM

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Dec 2012
586
I was understanding everything, or so I felt, until they threw this Rumi thing at us. Now I'm confused. Especially reading that nobody shares my same theories and thoughts. Agh. @_@
Dec 11, 2016 11:50 AM

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May 2010
2452
That twist left me jaw-dropped for a minute.
And I always loved being made to distinguish the reality and fantasy.

Satoshi Kon, you're brilliant.

But the ending seems like there's more to it cause the way it ended was kinda convenient for me. idk.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.

Next on the list - Paranoia Agent. :D
Jan 3, 2017 1:40 PM

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Mar 2011
170
What the actual fuck, this was great.
Jan 14, 2017 9:09 PM

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Nov 2013
474
I've had the soundtrack CD for this film almost 20 years.. finally got to see the actual film tonight. Well, it was like one big, long nightmare. The lines between reality and madness are so thin as to be imperceptible.

Very unusual was the extent of nudity in this film. I thought Japanese film industry was prohibited from showing pubic areas. A lot of anime 'digitize' those areas, but this film was explicit. How'd they get around the laws?
Jan 17, 2017 2:21 AM

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1490
I generally like this genre but this movie wasn't up to the standards I was hoping for. I thought the choices of scene cuts were impressive, to keep the viewer in a blurred state of reality, but the story wasn't thrilling to me. It's possible pop-idols and acting aren't really interests of mine but... I'm going to say it was more because it comes off pretentious.

I didn't really care about Mima or the people dying enough to be on the edge of my seat. I didn't feel that roller-coaster appeal. It was predictable Rumi was drawn to resemble a much older, filled-out version of Mima to carry the plot and climax. Usually with a psychological thriller, I'm in awe, want to read more about it, want to tell people about it, think about it for days afterwards. This just doesn't do it for me and I'm really upset that it doesn't because I WANTED it to x'D

My score is average, 5/10.
LycanJan 17, 2017 2:24 AM

Jan 20, 2017 2:53 AM
Ceasefire NOW

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Aug 2009
3700
I was not prepared for this and I do not know if I would have ever been prepared for it. xD RIP my brain.
Jan 22, 2017 1:55 PM

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Dec 2015
15134
That was one hell of a mindfuck. 7/10.
"At some point, I stopped hoping."
Jan 25, 2017 12:40 PM
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Jan 2017
1
Perfect Blue Movie analysis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjpH6VYJE9M
Feb 6, 2017 9:34 PM

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Apr 2016
254
So, basically... David Lynch teamed up with Argento to make an animated 80s slasher.

Considering how much I like each one of those people/things individually, I would've hoped to like this more. It had some great unsettling moments, but the ridiculousness of the whole Rumi twist kinda soured it for me.
Feb 9, 2017 12:36 AM

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Dec 2015
722
This film was a bigger mind fuck than Paprika but surprisingly the plot tied up neatly to the end. Guessing Rumi and the fuckface took turns murduring, it was kind of obvious with Rumis long absence while the director was murdered.

Don't quite understand how Mima was able to dream exactly what happened..
~
Feb 20, 2017 12:37 PM
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Jul 2018
564612
Great execution of a psychological thriller, although I think Mima experiencing that dream where she kills that photographer was too vivid and forced, when in fact it was Rumi who killed her using the screwdriver. A really great movie overall to keep you thinking and at the edge of your seat, 9/10.
Feb 26, 2017 9:02 PM

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Sep 2015
677
What a crazy trippy little movie. Not sure how I felt about the ending twist. Of Rumi-chan being the killer and all. I think it might have muddled the movies message for me a little. But I still really enjoyed it. It was a brazen thought provoking examination of the culture around J Pop idols. And it did so with crazy visuals, a creepy as hell atmosphere and quite the twisting narrative. I also feel like it was a big influence on Persona 2. Besides the J Pop Idols and the fact the film explains the Jungian concept of the Persona to the audience. It just visually reminded me of that game a lot. Either way crazy movie, will probably watch again, need to get on watching the rest of Satoshi Kon's films.
Feb 27, 2017 1:51 AM

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Jul 2015
27
Moves/series that are unpredictable are a rarity, and Perfect Blue pulled it off throughout almost the entirety the story on multiple levels!

9/10
Mar 7, 2017 10:37 PM

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Dec 2016
103
My god, this was a very fucked up psychological thriller, and this comes from someone that have seen some horrible shit on the internet (not proud of that XD). Still, probably one of the most intense and intriguing films I've ever watched. I've never appreciated acting skills on any animated movie before, so this fells pretty unique and the pacing was great too. The soundtrack was fitting and the sound fx spotless. During the final minutes I realised how well done was the animation. Finally, a very satisfying ending and somehow unpredictable. I'd fell bad not giving this a 10/10..
Mar 8, 2017 12:15 AM

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Mar 2012
729
Pretty amazing second half, but the problem lies that the first half was incredibly and dreadfully boring ...I really liked how they blurred the scenes together so even the viewer couldn't discern real from fiction. What a ride this was, a solid 8/10


"To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment"
Mar 14, 2017 4:24 AM

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Dec 2014
819
I don't know what I watched so I don't really know if I liked it or not. I've never been a fan of things that get trippy like this. It just wasn't for me I guess.

6/10
Apr 19, 2017 1:03 PM

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Aug 2014
17
At first I kinda enjoyed it, then I thought it's getting predictable and boring.
Holy shit i was wrong, the second half was intense.
Parts where you didn't know whether the action's happening in the drama or in reality and all the twists were amazing.
Didn't see any of that coming, loved the action and the ending.
9/10
May 15, 2017 3:02 PM

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Dec 2016
3523
The mental fuckery that occurs during this movie is not cool mayn!
“I love heroes, but I don't want to be one. Do you even know what a hero is!? For example, you have some meat. Pirates will feast on the meat, but the hero will distribute it among the people! I want to eat the meat!” - Monkey D. Luffy
May 26, 2017 6:30 AM

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Oct 2015
4124
Holy SHIT the mind games in this anime. I was focusing on the wrong antagonist the whole time -.-
Jun 7, 2017 12:43 AM

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Oct 2015
6915
That was the most psychological anime i have watched, because i could not comprehend what was reality and illusion. That was cool twist where it turned out Rumi-chan was the one who was messing with Mima-chan, i thought all along it was Me-mania who was the mastermind. There were times i thought Mima was the one who was insane, but it turns out it was the scenes of the movie she starred on.
How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb --- Dr Strangelove

Jul 7, 2017 1:55 PM

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Apr 2017
2718
Excellent movie! It seemed predictable to me at first but really turned out to be plain brilliant.
Aug 5, 2017 7:19 PM

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6641
Okay, I think I got it, but I'm sure someone's gonna tell me I'm wrong.

Rumi was running the "Mima's room" site that was giving all the details of Mima's life - even though it appeared like at times it was the stalker Me-Mania guy doing so. She used Me-Mania, a former obsessed fan of Mima, in order to carry out vicious murders against the people surrounding her.

Mima's hallucinations and inability to distinguish life from reality seemed to have gone away after Rumi was out of the picture.
"No, son, you may not have your body pillow at the dinner table!"
Aug 5, 2017 9:14 PM

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Aug 2016
3589
my favorite movie so far. even if I found better movies, 8.27 in MAL is really low for something so well done.
:v
Aug 11, 2017 2:54 PM

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Jan 2010
115
Interesting movie and terrifying at the same time.

What I understood is that the stalker was indeed there all the time however even if he wanted that Mima returned to be an idol he would never harm her. I also believe that it was indeed him that run the website. On other hand who took the actions (murders) was indeed the Mima's manager, you can check how she gets shocked once she knows that Mima will become an actress, when she tells that she will do the rape act and when she does the photo session. However now that I think off it, the stalker should be the responsible by Tadashi Doi critical condition (the troublemaker guy that appear punching him in the beginning).

Well that's my thoughts, I now understand why this' a classic. :)
Sep 13, 2017 10:00 AM

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Sep 2014
4463
Wow! That was intense!
The way the story suckes you in is amazing. I really was not sure what was a dream, an illusion or reality. The confusion by her and the role she played felt so real.

I dont think I ever saw a movie which "trapped" me into the story this much. (And I think I saw quite a lot Live Action and Anime movies)

Wow! nearly 20 years old now, thx MAL for even letting me know this exists!

Also the ending was one of the most "out of place" feelings I ever had (like everything is so dark and intense and suddenly all light and friendly "Im real" whaaaaat)

Would recommend to anyone with a taste for .. greatness?
"This emotion is mine alone.
It is for Madoka alone." - Homura
or how I would descripe Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.
Sep 13, 2017 12:32 PM

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Nov 2016
2949
This movie is fucked up. Certainly messes with your mind a la Requiem for a Dream style. 7/10
Oct 5, 2017 11:52 AM

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Apr 2012
845
Can't believe I put off watching this for so long. Some synopsis or trailer many years ago made it seem like something I wouldn't be interested in.

Pretty intense and the music really helped with that.

The only inkling I had about Rumi was that she may've been raped herself, hence why the scene they were shooting set her off. Think it'll take a rewatch to see how she was behind everything (even though I could tell what was real and what wasn't, at least I'm pretty sure I could). Clearly she was running the website and chatting to the stalker there though.

It might be a *bit* convenient that the TV show mirrored real life so closely, but then it's possible Rumi was internalising it (and acting it out) as much as Mima. And we're clearly meant to be drawing parallels ourselves from what we're told of the show. Can put a lot down to PTSD if Rumi really was raped.

I don't really get how Mima could mistake a dolled-up Rumi for herself though, dancing around like a fairy and stuff. It's not like they look very similar :P
BlackoutingOct 5, 2017 12:07 PM
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