The Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville recently added a fourth film, 1997's Perfect Blue (パーフェクトブルー) to a September anime film series that also includes Akira (アキラ), Ghost in the Shell (攻殻機動隊), and When Marnie Was There (思い出のマーニー). A 1999 Village Voice review summarizes:
This storyboard-come-to-life animation tells a contemporary tale of a pop star who is the target of a stalker. Her life becomes a nightmare of multiple personalities and blurred media realities. She even has a home page that tracks her every move.Showtimes and ticket information will follow on the theater's website.
This is a knowing, adult view of what seems to be a young-teenage paradise, a cool world of ponytails, backpacks, laptops and videocams. These are the adulatory fans of pop star Mima, lead singer in a girl group, who announces she's giving it all up to go into acting.
"The pop idol image is suffocating me," she tells her mom in all seriousness.