THE REVIEWS Episode 68: Perfect Blue: The Novels

A terrifying read into the novel that inspired a great movie…

What happens when an idol changes her image, and obsessed fans aren’t able to take it? Well, I don’t know. Perhaps they’d try to murder everyone responsible for her change, and then attempt to kill the idol herself to restore the ‘pure’ image of the idols.

Perfect Blue, a movie directed by Satoshi Kon, is a perfect example and representation of that situation itself. I’ve previously reviewed the movie three years ago. It was so shocking yet disturbing that Satoshi was able to forsee the idol-fan relationship problem that happens today and portray it in a 1997 film. That is almost a good thirty years ago. It was like he could predict the future. An exceptional director with fantastic movemaking skills on his DEBUT FEATURE FILM, which is a tremendous feat, he went on to direct Millennium Actress and Paprika, two other outstanding films.

Perfect Blue is still one of my favorite movies up to this day, and I rewatch it from time to time. Back when I first sat through it, I was so confused as to what was happening. However, the more I viewed it, the better I understood about the plot, the themes, and the characters. Mima Kirigoe is an idol who retires as an idol to pursue an acting career, a decision which costed her a trauma of a lifetime. Rumi, the manager of Mima and a former failed idol, developed a second personality as ‘the real Mima Kirigoe’ and plans to murder everyone who ‘dirtied’ Mima, as well as take Mima herself out and become the idol Mima once again. Me-Mania, the fanatical fan of the idol Mima Kirigoe, was displeased with her change to an actress, and worked with ‘the real Mima’, who was Rumi unbeknownst to him, to kill Mima.

Satoshi made use of Folie à deux, and I thought that was pretty creative. Not only that, he was even able to execute it well, which impressed the hell out of me. Perfect Blue was a really extraordinary, well-done movie, and was ahead of its time. I cannot stop complimenting this film. You should watch it when you have free time on your hands.

Now you might be asking yourself where Satoshi got his idea for this movie. Well, Perfect Blue technically is his work, but it wasn’t really completely his idea to begin in the first place. Don’t understand? Let me explain in full detail.

In my movie review, I mentioned something about a book. That’s right, Perfect Blue is based on a 1991 psychological horror light novel by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, named “Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis”. Turns out, Kon was given the green light by Takeuchi to change the story however the director liked as long as he kept three elements in the film; the main character is an idol, she has an obsessive fan, and it is a horror film. Interesting fun fact, ain’t it?

Anyways, since I loved the movie and praised it so much, I decided why not read the light novel? There might be a few differences between the book and the movie, but I think that’s fine. Even better, the English translation of the book was published in 2018, so I was able to get my hands on a physical copy and read it.

To say the movie and the book have numerous differences in an understatement. There’s a huge, stark contrast between the two. It’s like they’re both different, yet the same. For those of you who have read the novel, you definitely know what I’m talking about. For those who have not, let me explain.

Kirigoe Mima is in the third year of her career as a pure and innocent pop idol. Feeling like something big needs to change, she plans to give her image a major update. When the new Mima is revealed, complete with a sexy outfit and a risqué photo book, one of her most obsessive fans refuses to accept her transformation. To restore Mima to the innocent girl of her debut, he puts a terrifying plan to action that throws her life into chaos and mortal peril.

That’s the sypnosis of the book. You’d find some similiarties here. The main character is an idol named Mima Kirigoe, there’s an obsessive fan of hers, and it’s horror, judging by the words ‘mortal peril’. But let me tell you, the horror here does not compare to the horror in the 1997 movie.

Satoshi’s work is a psychological horror, in which Mima struggles with her own identity, goes into a downward spiral of depression about how she might’ve made a wrong choice changing careers, and doubts her own perception of reality because of her losing her mind over the many chaotic and crazy events happening in the film.

Yoshikazu’s work is straight-up gore horror, and might I add, shocking too. Not only is this pretty much a stalker story, it includes greusome murder scenes, and SEX SCENES. YES, CRYSTAL CLEAR, UNCENSORED, DISTINCT SEX SCENES ALSO WRITTEN IN FUCKIN’ DETAIL. I don’t know, but it somehow gave me the vibe that he must’ve enjoyed writing this, like he’s the obsessive fan instead. Personally, I think writers only write something in detail that they know about and love. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyways, in this version, Mima struggles with not her identity, but her song sales instead. Her manager Tadokoro thinks it’s time to switch up her image to a more mature one in order to boost sales, alongside an all-out explicit photobook and racy outfit. A crazed fan named Darling Rose wasn’t able to take it that his one and only idol’s purity has been stained, and so he goes to all lengths to bring her back to her original state.

I’ll start with the characterisation. For instance, seeing Rumi be such a nice and supportive friend of Mima in the novel is so weird, considering how the movie’s Rumi is a completely different person. Mima initially having uncertainty on her new adult image, then embracing it later feels so out of place too.

I’ve seen Mima painstakingly fight for her own identity and to be who she really is, having to deal with multiple murder cases, her idol group doing way better without her, and an insane woman whom she trusted and confided her troubles in. Now, you want me to swallow the fact that the book’s Mima just accepted whatever was thrown onto her and went on with her life? Hell nah, that just don’t feel right.

The really shocking part sets in with the next two characters I’m gonna talk about. Eri Ochial. Remember her in the movie? She’s a friendly and kind actress who starred in Double Bind along with Mima. Guess what? She’s an idol in the book, just like Mima. You know what’s different? Eri, a hateable character in the novel, will do ANYTHING, which includes having intercourse with people, to achieve her goals, which is to kick Mima out of the industry and smear her name. That’s fuckin’ crazy. Just imagine having sex with someone to get a picture so that you can destroy your enemy’s reputation.

Finally, the stalker, known as ‘Darling Rose’. This man is just creepy as fuck. He’s so uncanny not even the movie’s stalker Mamoru Uchida can hold a torch to him. Darling, as I would call him, is not only a cold-blooded murderer, but he’s also a pervert, and of course, an obsessive fan of Mima Kirigoe. He’s more relentless in the novel. He gets her phone number and calls her, sent letters to her, goes to her house, and has this ‘skin-peeling’ thing that he loves to do, and believes that somehow can save Mima. As much as I don’t like him, I got to see what he was thinking of his point of view of why Mima’s innocence was so important to him. Well, I guess all obsessed idol fans are like him, at the very least.

In a nutshell, the characterization here is pretty okay. Nothing too special, and that’s the problem. Not even the main character, the center of the story, Mima, got the perfect amount of attention and details to her behavior and personality. Main characters are supposed to be stars of the show, right? I feel that the stalker stood out more in this story, but that’s also because of the actions he did. Even the side characters are there just to feel like they’re supposed to be there to keep the story going. In short, the characterization’s pretty much a clusterfuck.

The plot. Now, I think Yoshikazu did a decent job on this. Even though the story is so basic, it’s written in such a perturbing, unsettling, frightening manner, and yet I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to see what happened next. What Mima’s reaction to the manager’s decision was, the dirty methods Eri would use to eliminate her rival out of the game, and what Darling would do next to get closer to his objective.

Now, for the gory scenes, here’s a fair warning. It’s utterly disgusting, especially when it’s written in detail so you can imagine it in your brain when you’re reading it. God damn, gruesomeness at its finest. Back to the topic, these scenes are disturbing as hell. The prologue is confusing at first, but the moment you understand what’s going on, you will be repulsed. The actions of Darling will actually make you sick in the stomach. It caught me off-guard the first time I read it, and mind you, I read this in the night. It certainly sent shivers down my spine. And then there’s sex scenes. Need I go on more?

One major problem I have is the ending. I mean, WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT ENDING? YOU MADE ME GO THROUGH THE WHOLE THRILLING, HEART-BEATING, SCARY PART OF DARLING TRYING TO SKIN MIMA ALIVE WHILE ALREADY HAVING HIS FRONT PART OF HIS SKIN REMOVED, AND THEN YOU END IT WITH “At least, in that moment, that was how Mima saw it.”!? I HAVE TO EMPHASIZE; WHAT THE FLYING FUCKERY IS THAT ENDING!?!?!?!?

That ending surely didn’t give me the closure I wanted nor needed. What am I supposed to do with that information? Where’s the aftermath of the events that unfolded? It would’ve been nice to have that, right? I just hate abrupt endings like that. It felt like the story was unfinished. I don’t know if you did this on purpose, Takeuchi-san, but you got me good.

Overall, I think Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphorsis is not a bad read. Simplistic, yet it reels the reader in with its interesting plot and lets them wanting for more, and what happens next. In terms of horror, I think Yoshikazu Takeuchi nailed it quite well. The descriptive writing on the specific scenes, which I admit is really well-written, allows the reader to visualize the terrors of an obsessive fan, as well as the cutthroat idol industry. This novel is very, very uncomfortable to read, but readers, horror lovers or not, would instantly be hooked.

However, I would much prefer the Perfect Blue movie. Not only does it have an excellent storyline, it dives deeper into the themes of identity, reality, and the idol industry. Mima has her own character here, and it’s freaking fantastic to see her finding her true self and then struggle for it. The twists in this movie are so out of this world it blows my mind every time I watch it, and the soundtrack fuckin’ slaps.

Now, you might think the review would end here. I’m done with the movie, and I’ve just finished reviewing the novel. There couldn’t be any more things made, right? Right?

You couldn’t be more wrong.

*sigh* Where do I even start?

Perfect Blue: Awaken From A Dream is a light novel released in 2002 and written by the same novelist Yoshikazu Takeuchi. It is considered a standalone sequel to its predecessor, Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis.

My question here is why even make a sequel to a idol-stalker story? What is there to continue on? You written the story once, and now you’re gonna write it again? Isn’t that just rehashing and reusing the same idea? To add the horse shit on top of the cow dung, there’s not one, not two, but THREE WHOLE ASS STORIES in this book. THREE. MOTHERFUCKIN’ THREE. Yet again, what on Earth is there to add to an idol-stalker story, let alone THREE TIMES? I don’t know, let’s just read it.

The first story is named Wake Me From This Dream. Indeed, wake me up from this dream, because what the hell did I just read? It has a weird kind of premise. The protagonist of the story is a smelly, unsociable, lazy man who falls in love with an idol and worships them like God, like every other sweaty obsessive idol fan. Takeuchi-san, though, somehow feels the need to insult this man in almost EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE of the first few pages, like he somehow enjoyed disparaging the man as if the man is his mortal enemy, the bane of his existence.

Other than that, the premise is strange. In this story, protagonist turns into his favorite idol before getting stabbed by…himself? I think. Some unbelievable phenomenon that just happens somehow without any explanation, leaving me really confused. Sadly, this is the only time in this book where it was unique.

Cry Your Tears is the second of the three stories. When I read this, I thought to myself, “Maybe this book wouldn’t be so bad after all. The first story, despite it being bizarre as hell, had a pretty interesting premise, so maybe the next two stories would be the same too. Perhaps they would have the same concept of an idol-stalker, but the elements and premise would be a little different.” I had hope.

Cry Your Tears follows a young up-and-coming idol Yuma Kawasaki trying to boost her career with songs, revealing outfits, and more events. Meanwhile, a man with elephant eyes is not happy with the recent change made to the looks of his favorite idol, and decided that he should kill her to ‘preserve’ her old image and maintain her purity. Does it ring a bell? Yeah, it does. Maybe it’s because it’s the SAME GODDAMN FUCKING THING AS THE FIRST FUCKING LIGHT NOVEL, FOR FUCK’S SAKE!

Why bother to write a sequel when it’s gonna be the same, identical thing as the first book? Cry Your Tears has the same EXACT plot as Complete Metamorphosis. Not a single bit different. Mima is Yuma, and Darling Rose is the man with elephant eyes. Just compare them. Oh wait, I forgot to add something. Takeuchi-san made the stalker in CYT AS CREEPY AND DISGUSTING AS DARLING. In fact, the elephant-eyed guy might even be MORE creepier and revolting than that murderer. AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS A PEELING SKIN FETISH.

I don’t mind if there’s something majorly different. In movies, the main concept is always the same between the first and second film, as well as its subsequent sequels, but they all have a different premise. Here’s an example. John Wick 1 and John Wick 2 has the same concept; a hitman named John Wick goes out to kill people with his martial arts skills. However, the plot differs. John Wick 1 sees John coming out of retirement to seek revenge against the men who killed his dog, which was left by his late wife. John Wick 2 sees John forced to do a crime lord’s bidding because of an oath the former swore. See, they have two separate premises, but two same concepts. It can be done. It has been proven before that it works, so why the hell can’t the same be done for Perfect Blue’s first and second book?

I haven’t even talked about the writing. Oh my, Takeuchi-san describing this stalker man is worse than I thought.

“The feeling of its cold metal against his skin calmed him, as if he were a babe and the knife were his mother’s breast. The sensation of the metal traveled across his skin and through his body, reaching into the depths his mind.”

I am unsure if the English translation is accurate to how Takeuchi-san wrote it. If so, what the fuck is this? What the fuck am I reading? What the fuck is this analogy? I written so many fucks in this review already, but that’s how much I’m appalled by it. Worse of all, I was unprepared going in, and its shock value was so intense I had to do a double take.

Cry Your Tears…has that SAME GODDAMN ABRUPT ENDING as Complete Metamorphosis! It’s really trying to be ambiguous, but it feels more like it’s unfinished. Would it hurt you to share the aftermaths of an event, Takeuchi-san? So we can get the closure we want and wish for?

Even When I Embrace You is the third and final story in this compilation. Finally, I can get this done and over with. This is about a young idol named Yukiko Tsukioka who gets stalked and followed constantly by a guy in a bunny suit. It has a different premise, holy shit. After reading a carbon copy of the first book, I never expected something to switch up. Pigs must be flying, aren’t they?

Anyways, this story is the most confusing, bewildering, and weirdest thing I’ve seen in Perfect Blue: Awaken From A Dream. The stalker can somehow teleport anywhere without any logic or reason. He disappears and appears like he is the wind. Not explained, as usual. The fight between Yukiko and the bunny man is pretty interesting though, but that’s sadly the only good thing coming out from this. The ending’s fine.

One gripe I have with this story, or generally this whole Perfect Blue novel series, is how all the stalkers have unimaginable, powerful, godlike strength. Most of their body sizes don’t match the strength they possessed, yet they are able to somehow pin the idol down in each and every story, making her unable to even come up unless she has a weapon on hand or nearby, throw her around like a rag doll, and surviving after so many hits that should’ve killed them, like getting their eyes stabbed, falling off from a higher ground, and even WHEN ONE’S THROAT WERE IMPALED AND SKIN WAS PEELED?! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU EVEN SURVIVE THAT?

At last, I’m done with the both books. I know there’s a 2002 movie, but I’m not watching that. Right now, at least. Probably next time. I do gotta say, one thing I give these light novels credit for is the way Takeuchi describe the disturbing scenes. As much as they were mentally horrendous to my mind, the writing was really specific and detailed, so much to the point I can imagine them. I think that’s a good thing.

If I were to say what I think is cool about Perfect Blue as a whole, it’s how they portray fans of idols. It’s pretty dang accurate, save for all of the exaggerations of the stalkers depicted in the novels. It is really creepy and disturbing to see and read how crazy fans are so obsessed with their favorite idols and what the fans could do just to get up close to them, especially in this time and age where we have social media.

Unlike the past where fans could only do so much without the internet to get near to their idols, fans could pretty much stalk an idol’s life from their SNS accounts. By the way, it doesn’t only happen to idols. It can happen to literally ANY celebrity or in fact ANYONE, and that fact alone is disturbing on its own.

I can’t begin to tell you how sad and disgusted I am hearing all of these incidents. The Björk stalker, Ena Matsuoka, Mayu Tomita, Christina Grimmie, Yuki Koh, and many more. Innocent people were injured, or even worse, lost their lives because of fans who took their admiration to an unhealthy level. No other horrific incidents like those should ever happen again. No more lives should be lost because some fan can’t accept who their idols are. If they really are fans, they should be supporting them, and not trying to kill them because of the decisions they made for their own lives. I just pray that everyone stays safe out there, including the celebrities.

I hope you enjoyed my review. It’s a small Christmas gift from me to you. Once again, stay safe during this festive season, everyone, and thank you all for taking the time to read my review.

Merry Christmas!