Satoshi Kon and Perfect Blue

        I enjoyed watching “Perfect Blue” and learning more about this amazing director and what sets his movies apart from others. I really admire good editing in films so it was very interesting to see how Satoshi uses his unique skills and cinematography to have the viewer constantly guessing and reevaluating what they are watching… in a good way. 

         I appreciate seeing animated work that has adult themes and is set in a world that focuses on real-life conflicts. In the case of Perfect Blue, the story reflected issues within Japan’s pop-idol images and online culture. However, the main theme of the movie is more focused on a person’s public self vs their private self, and in Mima’s case, she struggles with identifying who she really is. The commonalities in the themes of Satoshi’s works is also interesting as they seem to usually revolve around the parallels between dreams vs reality, identity vs alter-ego, etc. Previously, I had only seen Tokyo Godfathers and absolutely loved it. The rest of his movies are currently on my watch list for the summer, and that includes finishing Perfect Blue!