Perfect Blue

If it were live action, this breathtakingly beautiful film would be a fairly conventional psychological thriller. But the fact that it's animated makes it unusual, even allowing for the fact that violence, adult-oriented stories and sexual content are far more common in Japanese anime than in their American counterparts. Mima is a bubblegum pop star, part of a cute-as-a-button trio called Cham. But she leaves the group for a role in a TV crime series called Double Bind. Her agent Tadakoro approves — the shelf-life of an idoru is fleeting, and he sees a more lucrative future for his client in acting. Tadakoro's deeply protective associate Rumi dis...