Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is an anime film made by Madhouse that was released in Japanese cinemas in February 1998.

The film adapts the 1991 novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis written by Yoshikazu Takeuchi. Satoshi Kon made his directorial debut with the film, directing from a screenplay penned by Sadayuki Murai, while Masahiro Ikuno composed the musical score.

Mima Kirigoe leaves her Japanese pop idol trio CHAM! to pursue a career as a dramatic actress, despite vocal disapproval from some of her long-time fans. Her talent agency secures her a minor recurring part as a murder victim in a grim television crime drama series titled Double Bind. As she transitions into acting, Mima discovers an anonymous website called Mima's Room that describes her daily routines and private thoughts with unnerving accuracy. A menacing, disfigured stalker observes her movements from crowds, while Mima struggles to separate her waking life from the scripted scenes of her television role.

Junko Iwao voiced Mima in the Japanese cast, while Rica Matsumoto provided the voice of her manager Rumi. The 81-minute film entered Japanese theaters on February 28, 1998, following an initial festival screening in Montreal in August 1997. Madhouse created the film with an animation budget of ¥90 million, and the release accumulated $3 million at the international box office. Kon directed three subsequent anime films during his career: Millennium Actress in 2001, Tokyo Godfathers in 2003, and Paprika in 2006. His television work expanded further with the 13-episode anime series Paranoia Agent in 2004.

The English-dubbed version first played in North American movie theaters in 1999. At the 1997 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, the anime won the Best Asian Film award. Kon also received the Best Animation Film award at the Fantasporto film festival in Portugal in 1998. The film collected another accolade at the B-Movie Film Festival in 2000, where it earned the B-Movie Award for Best Animated Film. Restored 4K editions returned the film to international cinemas in October 2025.