Doppelgängers, Disorientation and Double Binds in Satoshi Kon’s ‘Perfect Blue’ [Horror Queers Podcast]

Otaku and Kawaii

It feels like November has barely begun, and yet here we are three weeks in. Like most months on Horror Queers, we’ve been all over the place, including the dream-like pastel world of Jennifer Reeder’s women-centric Knives and Skin and the 25th-anniversary fascist machismo world of Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers. Now we’re pivoting for a return trip to Japan with our second foray into animated fare (after ParaNorman) with Satoshi Kon‘s stunning first film, Perfect Blue.

In the film, Mima (voiced by Junko Iwao) is an Idol being groomed for a career jump from singing to acting. Despite the protests of her manager Rumi (voiced by Rica Matsumoto), Mima agrees to a controversial and confronting storyline on the derivative police procedural ‘Double Bind.’ But her shift into increasingly adult fare doesn’t sit well with all of Mima’s controlling fans, including stalker Me-Mania (voiced by Masaaki Ōkura) whose obsession with the starlet grows increasingly dangerous.

As Mima’s life begins to mirror her character’s journey and she experiences hallucinations, those closest to her begin to die in gruesome ways. Is Mima losing her mind? Is she actually a killer? Or is she next in line to be murdered?

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Episode 204 – Perfect Blue (1997) feat. Jenny Nulf

We’re dipping into the world of animation with Satoshi Kon’s gorgeous debut feature, Perfect Blue (1997). Joining us is returning guest Jenny Nulf, who schools us on Japan’s Pop Idol culture. C/W: sexual assault

Get ready for doppelgängers, disorienting dream-like imagery and commentary on the male gaze and fandom. Plus: multiple readings of the ending, tracing how language shifts over time, Trace’s struggle with nudity & mature content in animated fare, and more on Joe’s childhood imaginary friend.


Cross out Perfect Blue!

Coming up on Wednesday: We’re “celebrating” Thanksgiving with a trip to Camp Chippewa and Addams Family Values (1993)

P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for more than 210+ hours of additional content! This month, we’ve got episodes on the morals and ethics of True Crime, Fall’s box office smash Smile, the absolutely wild Barbarian, Anya Taylor-Joy’s culinary thriller The Menuand an audio commentary on the sequel that’s better than the original, The Collection (2010), just in time for its 10th anniversary!

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