The Film (5/5)

    I have been wanting a region A Perfect Blu-ray (See what I did there) since the Blu-ray format began. I am aware that it has been out in other regions, but I thought it would come out in the states sooner than later, apparently I was wrong. Now Shout! Factory through the Gkids branding are putting the film out for its first ever North American Blu-ray release, and it's quite a long overdue one. Still it's great for this to be out in North America, and I hope this is just the beginning of Satoshi Kon's films to come to Blu-ray in new editions.

    The film for those unaware is about Mima, a Japanese pop-idol who finds her music is falling into unpopularity, and ends up becoming a soap opera actress to help keep her entertainment career going.   However, one of her fans is unhappy with her career decision from squeaky clean pop singer, to the star of sleazy soap opera, and begins to stalk her.  At the same time Mima is throwing herself into her performance and her mind begins to fracture as she begins to lose grip on reality.

    Perfect Blue is one of the anime movies to help break the form into the U.S. mainstream in the late 90's. It is easy to see why that is the case watching the film 22 years after it's debut.  The film blends elements of a psychological thriller with film noir, and a touch of surreal and the bizarre. The film on its base level is a woman-in-peril thriller, but the atmosphere and imagery that Satoshi Kon conjured here helped elevate the film beyond its plot-imposed limitations. The film, while not having the most stunning of animation, manages to conjure a strong otherworldly, and dark atmosphere.

Audio/Video (4/5)

    GKids through Shout! Factory are issuing Perfect Blue with a solid 1:85:1 1080p AVC encoded transfer. Everything looks quite solid here, line detail is fine, and colors for the most part are vibrant, and definitely improve on the DVD, but there are some sections of the film that feel soft. Audio is handled by a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in Japanese, along with 2 other Japanese options (including original mono), and an English 5.1 track.  Everything here sounds quite solid, and comes across without issue.

Extras (3/5)

    There is a featurette called the Lectures of Satoshi Kon, as well as a interview featurette, a look into the recording sessions of Angel of the Heart, and an English version of Angel of the Heart. Also, an SD version of the film that is presented as an extra (I don't understand this one), and additional interviews.

Overall

    A long overdue Blu-ray release in North America, Perfect Blue finally hits Blu-ray with a solid transfer and a decent extras slate. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.