Perfect Blue | Dissecting The Most Terrifying Animated Film
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- čas přidán 25. 06. 2024
- Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue is widely considered the best psychological thriller ever made. It certainly gave ME nightmares back in the days, and the best part about it all is that, while it's one terrifying work to watch, it's also an incredibly well made film, and quite beautiful in that regard.
While there are, therefore, plenty of dissections and analysis on this masterpiece, I rarely see anyone discussing this one particular scene that completely freaked me out the first time I watched it.
Let's take a look at that scene, what makes it so scary, and how it ties to the rest of the film, by looking at the wonderful techniques Satoshi Kon utilizes throughout the film.
Rest in peace, Satoshi Kon.
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Extra Credits:
Satoshi Kon's lecture on Perfect Blue (from my bluray) was referred when discussing about the opening fight between Powertrons and King Burg and its meanings.
Otherwise, there are no articles or videos to cite in regard to the research and writing of this video, but I do want to mention that I watched a whole bunch of reaction videos on YT to see if others also found this scene terrifying.
Thankfully, many did, and many were perplexed before the actual image came up, which is important. (I really thought maybe it's just me). So thank you to everyone who reacted to this masterpiece and shared my sentiment.
Timestamp
0:00 Introduction
0:35 The Scene
2:22 Music
3:14 Camera & Misdirection
6:07 Cut
9:33 Red
11:11 The Second Scene
12:50 Perfect Blue
#satoshikon #perfectblue #videoessay - Krátké a kreslené filmy
What's YOUR favourite Satoshi Kon film, and why?!
Paprika, because of its story and the dreamy nature of it.
Tokyo Godfathers but I think his best work is Paranoia Agent.
Millennium Actress, the way the stories of the actress' life and her movies are so intertwined you can't pinpoint where they start and where they finish. And her last words are the best in the whole movie.
I watched Perfect Blue and Paprika back to back when I was in school and I have to say Paprika was the one that stayed with me most effectively. The mix of whimsy and saccharine colors with some really disturbing scenes, the striking surreality of the visuals, I remember it more clearly. Admittedly though, Perfect Blue kind of went over my head at the time. It was disturbing and disorientating and I had difficulty tracking what was happening. I'd love to watch it again now that I'm older and really try to take in the themes and symbolism.
Millennium Actress, it feels the most dreamy to me. But Perfect Blue is a close second
One of the most terrifying aspects of Perfect Blue is how timeless it *continues* to be, despite being released in 1997. The internet and social media platforms were in their infancy when the film was made, but parasocial behaviors were already present enough to be recognized and channeled into the story's antagonists.
Yeah, sadly true that there was already lots of parasocial relationships taken too far that existed. Lots of IRL cases that show it happened a lot even back then... 0_0
You see that purple radio? Double binding? Guess the killers.
Worship the idol so much you would sacrifice the idol for the idol. Sorry, we call them influencers now.
@@HOAXTelevision Kpop idols?
Dude movies foreshadow reality for 130 years 😂
Maybe it’s time we don’t be surprised no more 😂
Satoshi Kon was taken too soon, he was a visionary in psychological anime.
Yeah, the brighter candles always seem to burn the quickest... also F cancer!
for fucking real
Rest In Peace Sir Satoshi Kon.
@@freakles9311 f saying that the best people die young thats a very twisted phrase to say
@@f3r0x_ search for context clues. F is substituted as a derogatory term, in which the commenter probably used to avoid CZcams's very confusing censoring.
One thing i love about Satoshi Kon is how he always added a layer of complexity to his female protagonists that made them really interesting to watch. You can really see this in his film millennium actress too, which is a massive love letter to Japanese cinema and culture. All told through the lens of a legendary actress who struggles to discern between the reality and fiction of her memories. Really worth the watch if you like this film!
yes!! i love his female characters, he handles them as actual characters and with maturity too
it's kind of sad that female characters being interesting is a praiseworthy note... goes to show that we still have a long ways to go
That’s actually my favorite movie. I feel like it is similar, but much more optimistic. I also believe that real love isn’t possessed, and we are happier chasing after it.
The fact that the film is called Perfect Blue and also features so much red also subverts expectations, right down to the title.
The title means much more than that
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommeSatoshi Kon has said in an interview that he didn't use that title for any significant reason or symbolism, just because it was the title of the original source material. Maybe in the original novel it means more, but Kon never even read the novel, just the rough plot, so maybe it doesn't mean much more than that
Oh God so this is the Last Jedi of anime? I'll pass then thanks local furry creep!
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommelike?
I think is called perfect blue cuz' in the color palet the complementary color of blue is magenta and magenta is part of the red palet
Something that has always creeped me out is happy, cheerful music playing while something horrible is happening in the screen. It makes me feel like I'm a child, seeing something that no one else can see, something painful and disturbing while everyone cheers.
That's why Midsommar's ending was so disgusting for me.
(In a good way).
@@Winter-Alpha-Omegajust like the Funkytown Gore, there’s a funky beat playing in the background while someone is being decapitated in the video
Kubrick did that with A Clockwork Orange, Theres often cheerful music playing while Alex and his droogs cause mayhem, and they all wear white, a color known to be pure. It's a bit like a artform, of confusing human emotion. Anyway that's just my take on it, enjoy your day!
Had that exact reaction when I watched the first half of Danganronpa despair arc or whatever it's called. The hopeful and calm music over characters talking about how great it is that the world is falling appart made me want to run away
I kept thinking what made the radio in the elevator scariest for me. (I'm a security guard who has worked in parking garages like this for a few years now, particularly in an elevator lobby. I've used elevators like this one all day every day for years. And the thing that sticks out to me the most, is that for the most part, these elevators move at a moderate pace. Even the slowest ones will get you to your floor in a few seconds, but it still takes some time for it to reach the bottom and open the doors automatically. But, they go just slow enough, that if someone was really hurrying down the stairs, they could beat the elevator to the bottom floor, easily, even if they started on the same floor. I see it every day.
And at the beginning of this scene, we see him get off of the elevator, and it's empty. Then we see the note on his car, and we figure, huh, some lousy punks are pranking me, they probably did this some time while I was at work and are long gone by now.
But then, we hear the music coming from the elevator and it completely recontextualizes his feelings of safety and mundanity in this situation. Now we think, what if whoever left the note on his car... What if they aren't gone? What if they're still around...?
And then we watch him carefully approach the elevator with unease,
So then when the doors actually open we're expecting to see the killer, but we don't. Instead we see the floor of the elevator, and it's red. (That is far from a common color for elevator floors I'll just say that,)
This was intentional, to contrast the blue radio, and give the environment around it a sense of danger.
Because as soon as you see the blaring radio on the red floor of the elevator, your gut wrenches as you realize, the killer isn't in there. But they did this on purpose, specifically because they wanted you to be looking down, at the elevator, with the music blaring so it drowns out all other sound behind you, which is even louder in big echoey parking garage, and be so puzzled, you're not even not thinking about what could be behind you.
And that's when you realize what's about to happen but it's already too late.
Absolutely chilling.
idk how to describe it but something about the radio on the fully red floor of the elevator just gave me a strong sense of dread
Wow. The boombox being in the elevator and blasting the music suddenly made my blood run cold. I don't know anything else about this movie, I just clicked on this because I like this channel, and wow. I didn't expect it to literally send chills through my body
you should definitely give it a go, Perfect Blue is timeless
Dude watch the movie then come back that's almost a sin lmao
Watching it for the first time while watching the actual film is terrifying. Kon has an amazing ability to pull you in. I felt exactly as you did when I saw this scene, just straight-up afraid. This man was great at his job as a director
Did you end up watching it? 👀
Its free on youtube if you haven't yet!
Edit: Never mind, it used to be free with Spanish subtitles but I guess it got taken down. Either way, wonderful movie and its not super difficult to find!
Satoshi Kon is a master of transition, timing, and framing. As well as understanding humans. Both for horror, and for the most heartwarming stories.
This movie is one real surreal trip when i watched it yet it flows smoothly and feels like Kon's one big spectacle questioning what's real or what's not. The fact that the incident regarding Bjork's stalker is this film's inspiration makes it more creepy.
I wish björk made a soundtrack to a satoshi kon movie
Actually this occurred before Bjork’s stalker
@@samuraisharkieRicardo was stalking Bjork since 1993 continually escalating until the Sept 1996 incident, Perfect Blue premiered in August 1997. But there were plenty of high profile stalking cases before that, including civilians and celebrities. In fact Sarah McLachlan had a stalker in 1991 that she wrote a song about (Possession) and he killed himself shortly afterwards
I forgot the name of the guy who stalked bjork but if I remember it he died of suicide?
The intensity of the red color in this movie, always send my heart racing.
Perfect Blue wrecked me psychologically when I first saw it. Opening my eyes to the cruelty of anonymity and obsession online when I first watched it so many years ago before social media had even become such a huge thing. The whole film feels off from the faceless crowds to the muted backgrounds lit up by reds. It's an absolute masterpiece
Can we talk?
@@hawkeyenextgen7117no
As a fan of both Anime and Horror, "Perfect Blue" is one of the fewer anime films that really felt close to psychological horror. Not only was it uniquely unnerving and it gets under your skin, but it's scary how relevant its underlying message is. It's still a shame that Satoshi Kon is not here with us anymore. What a true artist he was.
That second murder scene is forever engrained in my brain. Rest in peace Satoshi Kon
He literally has a perfect filmography, such a tragedy we've lost him so early but his work lives on !
Something that really disturbed me were how the eyes were drawn,especially the stalker's one. It remids me of a dead fish,they're so creepy!
I always knew there was something so unusually terrifying about the elevator scene. Thanks for dissecting the scene & thanks for this amazingly and terrifyingly edited video on Perfect Blue. Satoshi Kon is indeed one of my favourite directors. No-one could & no-one ever has used the full potential of animation in telling such engaging and intricate stories, like he did.
"Listen closely, the music is still playing" gave me chills! Your editing was so good :')
What I love the most about this movie is the top notch editing that constantly blurs fact & fiction. It is very hard to pull that off in animation even nowadays but he somehow managed to implement it in his short yet sweet filmography
One of the most unsettling aspects of this movie for me, was that main theme. Not the pop music, but the theme while she hallucinates. That simple repeating melody instills anxiety in me…like the perfect audio for descending in confusion, paranoia and madness. By the end of a couple of her episodes, I felt like I was begging the sound to stop as badly as she wanted it all to stop. Timeless masterpiece ❤
No literally same whenever her hallucinated self floats around and the music is playing it creeped me out
What scared me was realizing that they were still in the parking garage the entire time, probably right behind him, when he intially turned around to look out into the parking garage he was probably staring right at the killer. Then when he turned around at the elevator to the music, the killer probably was right behind him at that point.
Another confusing thing most people don't notice is the last line said by mima "no, i am real" is actually said by rumi's voice actress.
What? Oh my :0
Didn’t that get debunked by Kon? I remember reading an interview where he said that it wasn’t the case. Mima’s voice actor is the one credited at that point too.
@@Joaquin602001 oh
My bad then
Didnt know
@@akankshadwivedi9315 hey, no harm no foul my dude, it’s all good!
perfect blue is really unmatched for me in the way it depicts such utter loss of self, which is so rare to find in media and even less this masterfully done, and this video (and editing!!) made me remember what an Experience that was, so thank you for such a lovely review/vid essay!
This movie is so damn good. It is a masterclass on slowburn psychological horror, my favorite.
This was one of the most mentally disturbing anime films I’ve seen. It really messed with my head.
Old school anime hits different, Even stuff I used to watch in highschool which was like 15 years ago feels so different to what we have nowadays
so sad that satoshi passed so young, he has so many amazing creations and had plenty of years left to make more ):
It's really a shame we lost Satoshi Kon as soon as we did. Easily one of the best Japanese directors of all time, animation or not.
Sounds like how we lost that amazing comedian way to soon, his form of comedy was unique and masterful. He would scream a lot of his punchlines, it's a shame when very unique talents are gone to soon. He was hit by a vehicle and died
Rest In Peace Sir Satoshi Kon.
My fav Satoshi Kon film, it’s a shame we’ll never get anything like it again with his passing.
i always appreciated the last shot in the sequence, when the doors open to reveal takao. though theres cars in the carpark, no one else seems to have noticed the blaring music, and there was no one in the hallway when the elevator arrived. it leaves the audience wondering how long he was there before someone found him, because it clearly wasnt for a while. another example of the loneliness and isolation that permeates this film
Spikema's editing and explaination are deserving of their own unpackimg. Expertly done
There's a reason this is one of the highest rated movies of all time. It's a seemingly endless barrage of gorgeously composed shots, explorations of several profound themes, crisp and correct animation with grotesque yet captivating character designs, a soundtrack that ranges from 90's J-Pop to a banshee wailing into a microphone while drums relentlessly pound in your head. Some of the sequences that you'll witness in this movie are so unbelievable they need to be seen to be believed. Perfect Blue is absolutely Kon's magnum opus even though I love all his other work and remains the best movie I've ever seen in my entire life.
Susumu hirasawa is a music legend. Satoshi kons animation with hirasawa's music score has always been a master combination for me as a movie goer. Thus movie has always been my go to for animated horror. Thank you for covering one of my top favorite horror films!
Well said. Both geniuses at their craft and it’s a privilege to see their collaborations.
Perfect Blue is my favorite movie of all time.
No one else has ever captured the feeling of having a stalker and not having anyone to turn to for help.
It's perfectly horrifying, perfectly isolating, and perfectly empowering in the end.
I *adore* this movie.
It really made a great statement about how dangerous and malicious parasocial relationships can be without anyone knowing it. Mima’s slow fall into insanity was insane and heartbreaking to see. My favorite scenes had to be when they were filming “Double Bind” and kept alluding to story beats yet to come in a way felt subtle and not too on-the-nose.
The editing in this video is genuinely disturbing, and I mean that in a good way. I like how you take cues from the movie and add video filters to discombobulate the viewer in the same way Satoshi Kon does. Your editing style has really evolved noticeably over your channel's growth and I appreciate how much of an effort this video must have been.
part of what adds to the horror for me in the first squence you discussed is the ambiguity of HOW he was even killed. we dont see anyone in the elevator when it opens the first time and we dont see anyone except shibuya's corpse when it does a second time and when you think about the fact that someone had to be in the elevator to pause the music during that scene not to meantion the fact that the stereo is just gone when it opens again; which like cool, duh but this whole thing has the set up of a magicians trick, its theatrical, a man gets in a box with nothing inside but a stereo and a man comes out of the box dead with the stereo dissappearing. And with the movies themes about entertainment and acting that is, in the words of a wise scholar, swag as hell.
The contrast between the blue-greys and bright, bold reds reminds me of another one of my favorite films of all time, Suspiria. The bright, blood red of the elevator floor completely takes over the screen, it’s unnerving and shocking and so brilliant. The persistent droning/humming noise that dominates the soundtrack also reminds me of Suspiria, it’s such an outstanding way of invading your mind and really getting to your head. I have watched this film multiple times, and even when I know the twists, the suspense never gets old.
Such an amazing debut. Arguably the most prescient of it's pre-apocalyptic contemporaries.
I love the really vibrant reds used in the different scenes, like in the blood, in the elevator and other stuff. It's artistically pleasing.. poetic even I think
Sorry I was halfway through the video when I commented this LOL. I just went through the part you mentioned it
This review is amazing, I could have listened to you talk a whole hour about Perfect Blue. It's one of my favorite movies and I love seeing such brilliant minds appreciate it properly. Excellent video,
saludos desde Argentina 💛
Amazing video dude! I didn't appreciate Perfect Blue for what it was but I knew it was a technical masterpiece and the way you broke down how different techniques and scenes reflect the mental state and tone of the movie made me realize I was underselling it in my mind.
Satoshi Kon is one of my favorite directors and would LOVE a video on his Paranoia Agent series - SO good and extremely layered
This might be my favorite movie of all time. I just empathize so much with Mima. Thank you for making this video.
The first time she saw her alter ego in her reflection, while riding the subway, I instantly thought of the movie "Fight Club" and new it was going to be a split personality suspense thriller.
Yay! New Spikima on one of my favorite thriller animations!
I love your channel so much. I hope you continue making videos. Perfect Blue is one of the best animated films out there. So fucking sad Satoshi was gone too soon.
Awesome video! Just finished writing about how Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan clearly drew from Satoshi Kon's cinematic styles and techniques, to say the least.
wow thanks for pointing that out!
Great. The music playing throughout the video to the buildup at end was an awesome idea
Another great Spikima video on one of my all-time favorite movies.
I've never considered the details you mentioned in this video when I watched perfect blue and other analysis videos! Really cool. I always thought the music in perfect blue to be so unsettling... It gives me a sense of unending anxiety.
always hype to see a new spikima upload
This BLEW me away i loveee dissecting this film you did an amazing job
one of my fave films!! im so glad you made a video of it
This is one of my fav animation film. Such a great representation of psychological horror.
fantstic video, convinced me to watch the movie! I like your channel just for the vidoe essays on movies I've never seen, but this one makes me want to deeply understand perfect blue too.
Just finished watching this and found your video. This scene definitely stood out, great work!
I didn't know about this movie until watching your video and you did a great job at not spoiling anything! I'm about to rewatch it again because there's so many small details I didn't notice the first time because my mind was just focused on figured out what was real or not. Thanks for the introduction to this mind bending movie! 😊
Beautiful analysis.
The best breakdown of a scene I think I’ve ever watched, a scene that gave me chills, but never knowing why or how until it was dissected like this.
And that put into context with the rest of the film and the later murder is such a good break-down of the narrative shifts with the story unfolding. Like, wow. I would’ve never thought of that.
Very, very well done.
Incredible video, as always
I’ve been watching a pretty good amounts of Satoshi Kon’s such as paprika, paranoia agent and this, funny enough I just watched this movie last week and I loved it, now my love of anime has died of by this brought me back to my love of anime and Satoshi Kon’s projects are no exception, great video man.
I really love how this video is set up and edited. You explained all the context without feeling as though the whole plot and/or ending are spoiled AND assured us that this clip’s edited to an extent where we can still watch this movie and not have the fear of the scene ruined for us. Thank you!
this video is so perfectly edited oh my god well done
I like the first murder scene but the second one is the most iconic you don’t have had to seen perfect blue to know part
I never get tired of this channel.
The use of the footsteps is really anxiety-inducing. Nice touch!
Thanks for making this video.
I saw my first Satoshi Kon film recently, Millenium Actress. I look forward to seeing more of his work.
This was stunning work, Sir. Very unnerving. Looking forward to more.
This is one of my fav vidoes youve done keep up the amazibg work :)))
This film will forever haunt me, specially that elevator scene
ah finding this on my youtube homepage makes me want to revisit that movie. thank you
I saw this movie for the first time recently and was absolutely enthralled by it. In fact, I have this video to thank for getting me to watch it. I refrained from watching this video before I actually watched the movie, but, seeing the description of "the Most Terrifying Animated Film" had me too curious. So, thank you.
I would've never expected a horror film, animated or otherwise, to become one of my new favorite movies. It's beautifully disturbing and a shining exampe of "Nothing is Scarier" done right. What makes it most effective is how grounded the movie is, there are no supernatural elements involved at all, the things we see happen are things that can happen to anyone. Anyone, famous or not, can become the target of a stalker, anyone could be ambushed and murdered, in public or in the comfort of their own home, and anyone can be driven mad by stress, fear, or jealousy. It's terrifying, because anything that the characters in this movie go through could happen to _you_ .
Another thing I absolutely loved was the ambiguity, I love how the movie kept me guessing and how by the end I was _still_ left with questions. Sorry to gush, but this really is one of the most masterfully made movies I've seen recently, though it's an older one.
OK so that critic was pretty awesome
great take! that elevator scene is genius
Can I just say my good Sir, that a video essay on Satoshi Kon requires a video with exemplary editing. And you have delivered!
the scene where she figures out it’s not her room is such a beautifully terrifying scene. one thing that still gets my though, is trying to figure out what was Mr. Me-mania’s doing and which was Rumi’s doing, as well as which delusion is whose, like in the scene with fake mima behind Me-mania, was that Rumi in her dissociative state, or Me-mania’s delusion.
Loved Paprika but never quite checked out Perfect Blue. This is a reminder that I need to watch it and come back to this video.
Have you thought about doing more long form videos? I feel like those would be great with your calming voice and energy
Great work..!
I happened to see it on the big screen when I was 13. It hit hard, bit I am glad I watched it.
If you have anything to say about Paprika, don't hold it back!
Santoshi kon's Paranoia agent is underrated series.... Highly recommend one of my fav....
0:15 good god that got me. without an audio cue or loud noises at that.
Aight just from the first scene, no other anime scared me like this. Most other animes scare me by brutal gore or pictures but, this right here.
satoshi kon is a true legend. took animated cinema to another level.
I love you Spikima Movies
The death of Satoshi Kon has been such a big loss, I was really sad when it happened. I felt the same thing only when Kubrick died.
and another thing I noticed in Perfect Blue, is that both photographer and film director were stabbed in the eye..
Even just imagining these scenes in my head, my eyes hurt
i decided to watch the movie before i finished this video (i had a few spoilers but nothing tooo bad), and im really glad i did. it was such a unique experience, quite unlike any other feeling ive felt before.
(spoilers below)--
in the section where things start to get blurry and the drama is mixed with mima's real life, i felt like there was nothing i could do but sit and cry, like you said, not only because of the lack of any coherent story but also some kind of element that really brings something out of you. incredibly unique and i will definitely be checking out more of satoshi kon's films.
What makes this film so terrifying? Easy answer. The soundtrack, by a huge mile.
_Virtua Mima_ is scary as hell.
It’s such a good movie. I couldn’t tell what was real, and what wasn’t.
In such a short runtime, Kon did an amazing job with misdirection, multiple conflicts, and doing a great job tricking you into thinking what's real and what's not
I literally just bought this on blu-ray the day before this video came out!
7:18 I also want to call out the subtle use of focus points in this scene. I just got done with "What makes movies sad" and in that video the narrator talked about how they keep the eye's focus in the same spot for the montage, allowing the audience to focus on it. However, this movie seems to do the opposite, constantly making your eyes move side to side and scan the scene, making us subconsciously on edge.
Perfect blue,mononoke hime,paprika and ghost in the shell is the perfect animation you can show to someone who like movies but doesnt like anime/animation
The first time I watched Satoshi Kon’s entire filmography I was high on acid and it was a great experience.
I'm very curious to hear your dissecting on Skinamarink. It would amazing.
The 90s and early 2000s were the decade of mind fu*k anime.
Dude, your videos were always good but what is this thing? Been here from the first couple of videos, stellar improvement
insanely good video
I remember seeing this when I got into anime, and didn't get it. I have to rewatch it now
You should go over the "I heard it too" short film, that one is just terrifying to me