Looking ahead for a few months, I expect someone will start a thread, for the third straight year, asking for suggestions on a good Halloween anime. Assuming one would want an anime which could be watched by all in one evening, I would stay away from a series and stick to a movie. The one which comes to mind for me is Perfect Blue, which I have just re-watched for the third or fourth time.

There are no monsters in Perfect Blue. Also, no ghosts, no witches, no vampires, and no zombies. Perfect Blue has something more terrifying – people! And it has the most horrifying force ever created – the human mind.

Mima is the lead singer of Cham, a goody-goody all girl pop singing group, who leaves her singing career to become an actress. She is forced by her agent and others into decisions she later regrets. The job change also involves a change in image, from the pure girl next door type to a more sexy and risqué woman. And not all of her fans appreciate the change. Someone is even ready to go as far as murder to keep Mima as the sweet, innocent girl who sang her way into our hearts. Who could it be? Could it even be Mima herself?

Reality starts getting a bit screwed up, as Mima’s real life combines with her new role in a TV crime series, and with some rather bloody fantasies. Certainly not for children, this anime includes a simulated rape scene and quite a bit of detailed nudity. But the main focus is on Mima as she says sayonara to her sanity.

The film is directed by the late Satoski Kon, who also directed Millennium Actress and Paprika. You can see elements of those films here. Also, Kon would later direct the series Paranoia Agent. I certainly like the direction Kon’s talents were heading in. Unfortunately, he would die in 2010 at the age of 46.

Perfect Blue is a dark and disturbing movie to watch, which is why I liked it. If you like it dark and disturbing as well, give it a look.