"So much ink has been spilled about this film ( especially by yours truly), lauding Daren Aronofsky for this shockingly flawless horror story. Such perfection came at a cost, of course, but Aronofsky wasn't the one who paid for it. On the contrary, he stole it, lifting themes and imagery from director Satoshi Kon and his animated fever dream Perfect Blue."
"The premises of these two films are subtly different: Perfect Blue follows Mima - a B-list J-pop idol striving to shed her "good girl" image with a serious transition to film, whose psyche and self-image are fractured after encounters with a stalker-fan - not an obsessed ballerina. But Kon's influence is all over Black Swan, and before that, the psychological horror stories that dominated the 2000s."
"Regarded by many as the most undersung anime filmmaker in history, Kon is nevertheless an essential voice in both animation and horror. His four films are all the rage in an "if you know, you know" sort of way, even decades after their release. That cult status was hard won, and remains a point of contention for fans of his work."
Nina Sayers' whispered "It was perfect" in Black Swan parallels Swan Lake while prompting comparisons between Darren Aronofsky's film and Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue. Perfect Blue follows Mima, a B-list J-pop idol whose psyche and self-image fracture amid a transition to acting and encounters with a stalker, in contrast to Black Swan's obsessed ballerina. Kon gained experience on Akira and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, and Perfect Blue served as his debut feature. The film premiered at the 1997 Fantasia International Film Festival and received festival acclaim, and a new 4K remaster aims to restore its visibility as animated horror.
Read at Inverse
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