Re-released in acknowledgment of its 20th anniversary, there is no arguing that Perfect Blue is a groundbreaking anime. A twisted psychological horror, the film gets under the seemingly innocent skin of Japan’s idol culture – the teen J-pop princesses and the otaku, or obsessively proprietorial fans who follow them. It’s particularly perceptive about the emotional cost to the girls, marketed on their youth, once they are forced to move on to another career. But I found it very hard to get past the eroticised approach to rape and sexual violence which is a pervasive stain on this otherwise intriguing film.
