Review

I'm conflicted on Perfect Blue. I don't care for anime, first off. There are very few that have gotten past my barriers and touched my heart. Mostly just Ghibli. But I had seen Perfect Blue mentioned in reference to Lynch's works and I'm always happy to expand my mind with Lynchian twistiness. I'd also heard that this film is actually in fact good and not just on the anime scale. I do like most of it. The Lynch influence is loud and extremely clear. But I found the resolution wanting. It felt odd for things to devolve so much and then just...resolve cleanly. We start to have no idea who we even are and in the end...oh no actually all is well and we're good now? It felt very weird. Imagine if Inland Empire Sue just gets up after the stabbing and everyone, Sue included, heads home. All happy to have finished up the film. That's a bit what it felt like to me. I'm not saying I have a problem with the story itself. But something did not emotionally resonate with that ending. It felt off.