Perfect Blue

'Perfect Blue' is another animated feature film with very adult themes. One point of interest about this movie is that it could be conceivably filmed as a live action, as it does not utilize animation to realise any impossible effects such as the previous movies on my list. In fact, it was first planned as a live action, yet resorted to animation because of budgeting reasons.

It is traditionally animated in the hand-drawn animé style typical of Japan. It is a psychological thriller - a genre not much explored in animation so far. The pacing of the story is electric, the empty space between the score and dialogue leave haunting pauses which the viewer clings to. A creepy atmosphere is present throughout the majority of the film.

The film tackles issues such as the price of fame, self-identity, mental illness. One could imagine a film like this logically leading on to award winning western feature films like 'Fight Club' and 'Black Swan.'