Rating: 
Summary: The Line Between Realism and Animation...
Review: I was astounded by the beginning. I won't spoil anything, but Mima's japanese voice along with Yukiko and Rei's match perfectly, and the opening song is just awesome. Throughout the show, there is minimal music, which adds suspense for me, as they aren't trying to cover plot holes with music. To put this story basic, the animation is outstanding...I can't even begin to describe it, the color patterns are really good and the quality, like all DVDs, are crisp and clear. The voices are quite good, although I have yet to listen to the english side.This whole show is just awesome, and although it's not the movie that would keep me on the edge like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer did, this movie definately made me think of certain things. If you liked Akira, the author/creator of this, I believe teamed up with another famous writer, and "anime"-mized this novel to anime dvd. Perfect Blue, in an essance, was Perfect to me. Being 15, I don't mind some of the things I saw in this, but I wouldn't suggest this to younger audiences, but if you're a fan of psychological chillers...get this. Perfect Blue is definately on the top of my shelf from now on. The Line Between Realism and Animation is cut in this movie...things like this CAN happen to people, and this isn't just some popular mecha/shoujo anime...this dvd will REALLY get you thinking about life as a celebrity facing ruin.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Movie, but Falls Short of Perfection
Review: Perfect Blue is one of the most intelligent, creepy, funny, and disturbing films I have seen in a long while. I actually have the subtitled NR version, but I've seen both versions and there's only a few differences. The animation is fantastic, and the voice acting is well done. In the NR version, the length of the "rape" scene annoyed me (too drawn out for my tastes) but it's made up for by Mima's mental deterioation afterwards (rather, it shows the cause and effect). The film is fantastic and what makes it so striking is that it is a somewhat nonconforming anime in the fact that it could easily pass as a live action movie. The storyline is deleciously creepy and the observations made on Japanese pop culture are interesting, to say the least. The only bad thing about this film is the last fourth of the movie, when Mima actually begins to lose it. The manifestation of her old self is muddled and the blurring of days and reality becomes somewhat annoying. It can become tiresome to think that Mima is committing a murder but then suddenly awakens in her bed. But other than its one flaw, this is an sublimely entertaining movie that should be seen by everyone.
Rating:
Summary: One SERIOUSLY intense movie.
Review: Hope you don't have a virgin mind because it's gonna get raped. This is one of the most brilliantly put together movies ever. Perfect Blue is quite a mind trip and will have you guessing the whole way through. And what's better, since you're getting the DVD, you get to see the Director's Cut which features footage never shown in theatres. But every DVD has it's ups and downs. Good
You get a nice set of extras here including interviews with the dub cast, a "making of" documentary, and recording sessions. Bad
The animation in this movie is pretty choppy and dry. It'll make you want to put lotion on it. Plus in the tradition of Manga Entertainment, you get a load of trailers for a lot of animes you probably don't care about, and a non-animorphic transfer. Is it so much to ask for an animorphic transfer, huh Manga?! Also it would have been nice if they included the original 2 channel mix for the Japanese version.(this really isn't a problem though)
I would have also like to see the original Japanese credits instead of these horrible looking iMovie looking credits some of these American companies love to throw in instead. Reguardless of all of this, it's still worth getting just for the movie.
Rating:
Summary: If they made a "Scream" movie into an anime...
Review: Perfect Blue, one those few animes that actually sound good in English or Japanese with English subtitles. Like it says on the cover of the box, if Alfred Hitchcock and Walt Disney made a movie together, this would be it. Perfect Blue is amazing in the fact that it is one of those movies that you think you know what is going on, but it has such a twist in the plot that you don't. Plot: 4 1/2 stars. Though in the grand scheme of thriller movies, it's not that new of plot it's still very deep and full of twists. If you are a person who got lost of the plots of some movies like "Scream", "The Matrix", or "Fight Club", stop! Press back on you're browser and do not buy this movie. This is a movie you must pay attention to the plot or you will be lost. I was lost when I first watched it half way through the movie, but I paid closer attention and all questions were answered in the last 1/3 of the movie. Animation: 3 stars. This is not robots ripping hearts out of people, so the animation is average, but, on the other hand, it doesn't need to be out of this world because the story doesn't need it. Music: 4 stars. Music usually fits the scenes. Sometimes it gets in the way of some scenes, but not usually (That thought is really up to your opinion). Voice Acting: 5 stars. As stated before, I run into very few anime movies where the dialog sounds just as good in English as in Japanese. With the American Dragonball Z out there and terrible voice acting, I am very picky about getting my anime in original Japanese dialog, but this movie pulls off both sides of the Pacific well. Bottom Line: You loved the "Scream" or Alfred Hitchcock movies plus anime? You will love this!
Rating:
Summary: Destined for Greatness - Perfect Blue
Review: I have seen many animes in the past, but I have to say that Perfect Blue is probably one of the best Japanese animation films I have ever had the privilege to watch. Certainly, one of the reviewers at the New York Times Daily Review was correct in quoting that if Alfred Hitchock and Walt Disney got together to make a thiller, they would have created Perfect Blue. This is a modern film with a modern setting, and the filmmakers have effectively balanced a plausible and realistic background with the surreal images of Mima's delirium. The animation is top notch-fluid, detailed, and very cinematic. There are no cyborgs or magical girls/boys here, folks. Just pure surrealism set in the heart of Tokyo, Japan, amidst the tumultuous pop culture that is part of the real Japan. The blurred transitions between reality, dreams, and the well crafted movie-within-a-movie (also a thriller, inspired by Silence of the Lambs) leave the viewer guessing until the final scene. I kept getting the feeling that the director was a great fan of Jodie Foster's films. Behind all of this resides Mima's character- one which we can empathize with throughout the film. This is a masterfully directed work. This anime is definitely a keeper and a great achievement for Japanese animation. I never thought any other anime could come close to Ghost In The Shell, but I guess I was wrong. Buy the DVD, it's definitely worth it. ~Michelle Harris
Rating:
Summary: Effective Hitchcockian psycho-thriller anime
Review: Anime can fall into apocalyptic (Akira), cutesy heroine (Sailor Moon), hentai (LA Blue Girl), samurai (Ninja Scroll), or mechanistic (Neon Evangelion). Perfect Blue is notable in that it does not fit in any of those well-trod genres. After two and a half years of being lead singer with the techno-pop trio Cham, 21-year old Mima Kigiroe announces at a concert that she is leaving the group to pursue a movie career. One of the other members puts it more colourfully, that Mima has graduated from Cham. The move stuns her fans, but Mima sees her time there as wonderful, but felt suffocated by the innocent pop-idol image and that it was time to move on to newer things, such as her role in Double Bind, a psycho-thriller drama series where she plays the sister of a victim. Tadokoro feels that there's "no place for pop idols to appeal to the masses." Acting in this drama will be Mima's "make it or break it" opportunity. Upon the insistence of her agent Tadokoro to Shibuya, the scriptwriter, and the producer(?) Tejima, her role gradually increases, from the line "Who are you?" to something drastic, involving a traumatic scene Jodie Foster did in The Accused, only it's the stage of a strip club and not on a pool table. Besides, it's simulated anyway. This does indeed change Mima's image, but Rumi Hidaka, her other agent and former pop idol, is upset and even leaves during that scene. Mima has other problems. She comes across a website called Mima's Room, which initially causes her amusement, as it details an imagined day in her life, "Someone sures knows me"--but when she reads some things that actually happened, she gets scared. Mima is then confronted not only with those things, but with a version of herself as she was as Cham's lead singer, wearing her Cham dress. This "old" version insists HERSELF as is the real Mima, which makes the real and "new" Mima an impostor. There's also a sinister stalker, a mysterious hunchback with bad teeth that she notices and sees during her shooting scenes. Meanwhile, people associated with promoting Mima's new career move are getting brutally murdered, such as a photographer who took some nude photos of Mima for a magazine. For an anime, there is some detail in the photos shown that would not ordinarily be seen even in anime of this kind. There is one puzzling aspect. Despite having a fervent following, it seems inconsistent that Cham never hit the charts, yet when Mima leaves, we learn that Cham debuted in the Japanese pop charts for the first time. Normally, when a key member leaves a well-loved group, a new sound and sliding sales result, (q.v. Spice Girls, Bananarama). Trivia: the fax Mima receives reads "uragiri", which indeed does mean traitor. Most of it is influenced by Hitchcock's Psycho, but the violence of the murders recall Basic Instinct and Scream. Then there's the blurring between reality and delusion explored in Vertigo (Hitchcock again) and Alejandro Amenebar's Abre Los Ojos. Double Bind is similar to Silence Of The Lambs (modus operandus of the killer). The upbeat techno-pop and a trio becoming a duo also mirrors Bananarama, although the music is more Pet Shop Boys during their Very period. Then there's the usual lead singer leaving the group for individual fame and more money, as was the case for Peter Cetera and Bobby Brown. And one need look no further than John Lennon and Rebecca Schaffer in terms of demented stalker fans. These influences entwine themselves to yield an exceptional thriller, with a likeable heroine (Mima) to root for, as she grows despite her traumatic experiences.
Rating:
Summary: An animated thriller worthy of hitchcock
Review: I have always lived with the opinion that a good thriller movie should adhere to one of two set rules. Rule one: a plot that keeps you guessing to the very end with a multitute of plot twists, complimented with a climax that leaves all previous perception to dust(Take Scream for example). Rule two: a plot that is simple on the surface, yet has an ending that adds a twist not previously noticed(Such as the Sixth Sense or Psycho). Perfect Blue is an example of the first rule. The story surrounds a pop singer (Mima Kirigoe) making a transition from music to acting in a commercialised world. Along the way she suffers scrutiny for her choice of career from fans, fear of being stalked, and dillusions of her actions and very identity when things start to get violent. Visuals and repeated use of certain scenes help examplify the confusion that Mima is experiencing, coupled with a pop and haunting score which keeps the viewers as much in the dark as Mima is and guessing every minute. The ending is a worthy tribute to one of Hitchcock's classic movies, but I'm not going to tell you which one. A top film.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like it
Review: After I saw Millenium Actress and Tokyo Godfathers, I had the highest hopes for other anime by Satoshi Kon. I guess he just set the bar so high with those movies that even he can't always meet the standard he created. Perfect Blue is watchable. It says some interesting, even disturbing things about what it means to change. It just didn't have the impact on me that the other movies did.
Rating: 
Summary: Severley Over-rated
Review: I found Perfect Blue to be one of the most overhyped anime's to this day. I find little about which is original, memorable or interesting in any way. The story is a farce - anyone who watches mysteries or movies in general can pan out the plot by the middle of movie. What more evidence can you see about this anime's forgettableness then the fact that the last review was posted
August 2003? The animation is average, so is the sound.
I suggest those out there think about whether they really enjoyed this rather then echoing other reader's opinions, or the opinions of what they read on anime review sites. Imitating another reviewers opinion doesn't necessarily make you more open minded or knowledgeable about the whole anime scene. Learn to recognise a crap movie when you see one.
You want something mindbending? Watch Lain, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira...et cetera....oh and just for records, Cowboy Bebop is almost identical to Trigun which was made before it and has a much better storyline, humour and characterisation, and while Cowboy Bebop attempts to be a bit more 'adult', it lacks originality. Face it - you just want to jerk over the chick in the tight orange top. Metropolis is a peice of utter **** too. I've never seen a movie which could potentially make a human being go insane if seen a second time. Stay away from these anime's, people - they might represent popular anime culture but in every genre, there's the real deal and there's the commercially viable otaku wannabe fakes.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect In Deed
Review: Imagine if Walt Disney were alive today, he then worked with master directors Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick on an adult animated film. The result of this partnership would be Perfect Blue. This is the most interestingly thought provocative and graphic animes that I have ever seen and I have seen my share of graphic animes. But the story which centers around an aspiring singer turned aspiring actress Mima as she leaves her cutsy teen pop group for a hopeful chance at real stardom as an actress. For me this film was unsettlingly ingrossing from the opening to the ending. The characters are so thurougly thought out and the script is good in either langauge. You can easily take a side on the characters considering there are some sterotypical characters, mainly her managers, one who doesn't like the actress idea and one who is happy about it, but it's better if you just sit back, brain turned on and enjoy the drama, the horror, and the thrill of this suberb creation from Director Satoshi Kon and Screenwriter Sadayuki Murai, based on the original story by Yoshikazu Takeuchi. Warning: Mature audiences only. Anyone younger won't understand the masterpiece of this work.
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