Director: Satoshi Kon
Screenplay: Sadayuki Murai
In accordance with the radical by Yoshikazu
Takeuchi
Declare Forged: Junko Iwao as Mima
Kirigoe; Rica Matsumoto as Rumi; Emi Shinohara as Eri Ochiai; Emiko Furukawa as
Yukiko; Hideyuki Hori as Sakuragi; Masashi Ebara as Murano; Shiho Niiyama as
Rei; Shinichiro Miki as Taku; Shinpachi Tsuji as Tadokoro; Tohru Furusawa as
Yatazaki; Yoku Shioya as Shibuya; Yousuke Akimoto as Tejima
Viewed in Eastern with English Subtitles
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Once considered, a truly long time in the past, Ideally suited Blue has stayed with me for a
very long time. The irony is that, in yet any other context, this location would acquire change into a
lurid and uninteresting thriller, as clichéd as the one in the tv show off, Double
Bind, that lead Mima Kirigoe transitions to from an idol singer to an
up-and-coming actress from her idol community Cham. Alongside the truth Satoshi Kon used to be a one-off, this also
grew to change into an intelligent production, the tone and rules modified alongside the oldsters
on the abet of the theatrical movie taking presumably the most efficient route forwards to salvage a large movie
from such subject subject. The irony is that this production used to be intended to be are living
action, adapting Yoshikazu Takeuchi’s source subject subject, absolute best for the 1995 Kobe
earthquake to quit that model and an different intelligent model from
Madhouse studios to be created on a decrease finances. It says the final movie’s
advantage that, even with a 2002 are living action existing, this Kon helmed model
is the definitive adaptation to many.
Returning to Ideally suited Blue, this movie’s deconstructive nature straight begins
with a are living tokusatsu efficiency starting the movie as a chilly opening. These
are a cultural detail, especially with data of this movie getting such
search in the West it even impressed American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, that I in actuality acquire considered in many anime but are very
idiosyncratic and at chance of be skipped over with out batting an eyelid, where actors
dress as Vitality Ranger-love heroes or
grisly villains to entertain kids at theme parks or as a minimum exterior, two
stating how disappointing this regarded to the original television show off. Cham are
presented, a 3 lady idol singing community who are struggling to get
success, and the movie intercuts the efficiency with the banality of our lead
Mima a long way from work searching for groceries.
Satoshi Kon, who tragically died
at too early an age at absolute best forty six, which implies that of pancreatic most cancers, would diagram a
reputation as a director, baring Tokyo
Godfathers (2003), of news breaking down truth, exploring
psychological states and even dreams. Here is where, literalised, Ideally suited Blue takes a brand original stage as a suspense
thriller, where Mima is transitioned by her agency to change into an actress, with a
stalker soon to crash folks “debasing” her. All the draw in which by there would possibly be a
meta tone, as when we are on the TV show off Double Bind, where she is a secondary
persona on, there are scenes being acted out and likewise on the abet of-the-scenes ones
of the cast breaking persona. Mima, as she fears a doppelganger of her exists,
can be beholden to her outdated model self to obsessive fans despite making an strive to develop as a
particular person.
The total fans of the idol community
with their very possess variations of Mima are considered, including the hideous Me-Mania, an
obsessive fan connected to the doppelganger. I would possibly well also no longer abet but mediate of how
phenomenal of the movie now would possibly well be tackling gender politics, as this movie is structured
round a fragmentation between an idealised model of Mima as the Cham idol
singer, the extensive identify of a lurid TV show off and who poses in nude photos, and Mima
Kirigoe herself, a twenty or so 365 days outdated model lady no longer from the metropolis,
wandering along on this occupation of hers as work, who is neither. The idol singer
is yet any other cultural facet from Japan that is distinct. It’s miles in itself no longer a
squeaky excellent industry, nonetheless additionally it is miles prominent how strict among the rules
imposed on female idol singers would possibly well also be, some including no longer even allowing their
stars up to now, to impose an idealised image for fandom with out scandal.
Mima, as she fears a doppelganger
carrying her outdated model Cham costume haunts her, is beholden to her outdated model self to
obsessive fans. The total fans acquire their very possess variations of her as talked about which
we peep, Kon himself tackling this
subject of obsession in a negative gentle, from this to nostalgia, at some stage in
his occupation, but on this particular case there would possibly be an added poignancy of
following a younger lady having to step out of her squeaky excellent persona, an
innocent who sings twee fancy songs absolute best to now change into a truly fashioned human
being, who lives in a tiny condominium and has a frequent lifestyles. Despite the incontrovertible truth that this
used to be in step with a novel by a particular person, and directed by a particular person, contemplating the
animators and production group too, there used to be on this viewing plenty which stood
out by technique of gender politics, a strikingly poignant line in particularly,
when confronted by her doppelganger, when the opposite mocks her with the
the same of “no one likes idols with tarnished reputations”.
However the opposite facet is no longer
glamorous both. Presumably one of many darkest theatrical anime made, it has one
of presumably the most unlucky but morally well completed rape scenes in both are living
action or animation, provocative one Mima acts out on the Double Blind TV show off as
her persona turns to stripping absolute best to be mobbed by the male pundits. It
involves the on the abet of-the-scenes of every person breaking persona, the major rapist
apt an actor asking between takes if she is k, yet the scene is aloof
unlucky with emotional aftershocks for her, acted out in the taking pictures of
the movie in beefy with total depth to the converse material. Now there would possibly be a brand original
edge that, in the machinations, there would possibly be an added creepiness of the
screenwriter writing a scene for an ex-idol, as spoken in the dialogue in
regards to her agency searching extra of a job for her, to shed her innocence. Even
that it leads to her persona growing a extra than one persona and being published
to be the killer of girls folk feels extra love a lurid shock to salvage TV viewers on
this viewing, Mima having to put up with this to change into a large actor as she
goes along.
Outside of notoriously lurid
anime love Urotsukidôji or others
with dangle precariously (or tumble into) the same ball park, Ideally suited Blue is a miserable and intense
production by technique of grownup converse material but with out stepping over into trashiness.
With industrial synth and eerie community vocals including to the mood, by Masahiro Ikumi ahead of Kon realized his frequent collaborator Susumu Hirasawa, Ideally suited Blue does quality as a thriller but is surely of the
fear genre in mood and converse material. Even the one dated facet, from a time when
the earn used to be original and had extraordinary terminology love “URLs”, is aloof
uncomfortably linked about unsuitable personas, a unsuitable autobiographical diary of
Mima’s lifestyles she finds online scaring her, starting her psychological breakdown,
thanks to the draw in which it even knows precisely what foot she steps off a subway prepare
with first.
It’s miles a bloody movie, presumably the
most intense in Kon’s occupation belief
his work can be very grownup, even over Paranoia
Agent (2004) which didn’t panicked a long way from subjects love suicide, but there
is a tone and famous aspects right here that in the novel day would startle even the arena
of uncut fan fine anime with erotic converse material. A few of it is all straight away
subversive, such as how many of the victims in a series of murders are male
characters. A few of it is miles the depth of scenes of violence on the total. One
such thing is that, with Mima’s nude photo shoot, you might well also honest acquire depiction of female
pubic hair. In Eastern culture, I in actuality acquire considered male and feminine genitals blurred
in art, and even Eastern pornography is censored for depictions, and whether Ideally suited Blue used to be an exception in its
house land or no longer, it would possibly perchance probably well acquire a better shock for a viewer (even Western fans
exterior of uncensored hentai) to peep. One scene, where a male sufferer is stabbed
to loss of life with a phallic weapon of a screwdriver, even goes as a long way as acquire cuts
to the nude photo shot mid-stab, and projected on the tv in the
background of the crash, intercutting an eroticised female body to a particular person being
penetrated violently with a weapon.
Where Ideally suited Blue fully hits its waddle is when all truth breaks down,
starting with microscopic systems, such as seeing police sirens in the following scene but
absolute best to pull abet to peep rather one utilizing a toy whisk-on automobile. With very
realistic persona designs, even having a mischievous touch of cutting to an
exaggerated stereotype of a female anime persona in one scene, a toy model
with comically great eyes up in opposition to the digital camera, you might well also wonder why this would possibly occasionally also
no longer be in are living action with the exception of the incontrovertible truth that Kon’s movie is entirely plastic in its skill to distort truth
which implies that. Literalising psychological states, contrasting the proper Mima with
a Cham idol Mima whose pores and skin even glows and looks unreal, and with a long way extra
preciseness salvage away with the “it used to be all a dream” twists by
television plotting invading her proper lifestyles and bending truth. Double Blind
scenes blur to psychological diagnosis Mima herself with obvious tips, clichés
from a trite TV show off coming extra meaningful when she herself is scrutinised.
This grew to change into Kon’s trademark, a
willingness to bend his worlds to scrutinise its characters.
[Major Spoiler Warnings] It’s possible you’ll well argue this uses mammoth cartoon.
The culprit is in actuality Rumi, an older larger lady, and Me-Mania looks entirely
alien, but Ideally suited Blue is
fortunately aloof extra sophisticated than this. Here is a truly straightforward location, with
dedication, a excellent conclusion where Mima even states in the last shot and line
she has realized herself, but the execution entirely succeeds in including weight…especially
when the final scene I in actuality acquire talked about, in the Eastern dub, has a play with
which bellow actor says the final line for added distortion of what’s proper. [Spoilers End]
Returning to Ideally suited Blue, it is miles aloof a success. It didn’t near from an abrupt
spark of genius thoughts. Kon worked his
technique up as an animator, moreover as in writing screenplays, and this used to be created
by Madhouse, so this used to be a
collaborative effort where every person used to be on fire growing with. The enormous thing
is that, making a lasting impact when Manga
Leisure bought the licence, Ideally suited
Blue is aloof held aloft, no longer an obscurity, and that Satoshi Kon in his transient occupation never dropped the ball after this
initial promise.
