Perfect Blue is a 1997 theatrical anime film based on the novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis (Perfect Blue: Kanzen Hentai) by writer Yoshikazu Takeuchi. It was adapted by studio Madhouse and directed by the late Satoshi Kon. The film was theatrically released in February 1998 for Japan.
Disclaimer: Due to a piece of artwork presented in one portion of the box set, this post is considered “Not Safe For Work” so reader discretion is advised.
Brief Unboxing Redux Note:
I first acquired Perfect Blue in November 2013 via Amazon and was the first Anime Limited title I had ever acquired. This was unboxed over on my Normanic Vault blog via Blogger. This post is a remaster of that unboxing with better photos, updated information and any added extras. Enjoy!
Background:
“Mima Kingoe is one third of chart topping girl-pop group, CHAM! But she is keen to put the childish career of the pop singer behind her and pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Her fans are sceptical however, and she quickly discovers that the transition is nowhere near as easy or enjoyable as she’d hoped…
After getting a part in a very adult murder mystery drama, her life takes a turn for the sinister. She uncovers a blog detailing her life in intimate detail, and as a real life killer begins to attack the people around her, delusion and reality blend into one and she begins to question her own identity…”
Plot Synopsis via Anime Limited, November 2013.
During the 1990s, there had been a ton of people being exposed to anime throughout the decade and a whole ton of films, OVAs and shows made it to the United Kingdom and Ireland thanks to Manga Entertainment. One film got as much attention as Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll and became a cult classic among film-lovers – Satoshi Kon’s 1997 psychological thriller/horror film Perfect Blue.
Perfect Blue was one of the many anime projects that Satoshi Kon and studio Madhouse collaborated together. The duo also worked together for his later projects; Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, and Paprika. Sadly, the director had passed away in 2010 but his works will be remembered for generations.
Manga Entertainment distributed Perfect Blue for the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States and Canada territories on DVD and VHS. The US & Canada had rights issues for years while the UK & Ireland were able to keep the film in print. But eventually the license for the UK & Ireland had expired, but fortunately it was rescued by Anime Limited who at the time had only just started to distribute. Perfect Blue was the first film for Anime Limited to release on Blu-ray and was also the first English-speaking territory to receive one so it gathered some attention closer to release.
While Perfect Blue did receive another release in 2019 in the form of an Ultimate Edition, I’m going to revisit the old 2013 collector’s edition for this post.
Collector’s Edition Contents:
One of Anime Limited’s perks is providing special collector’s edition releases for their titles and a majority of them have received pretty nice sets. Perfect Blue was of course no exception and it was presented with a rigid box, digipack packaging and some art cards to go into the mix.
As this was one of their first releases, the information and BBFC logos are on the artwork itself but the inside contents is pretty cool. The SRP was £34.99 with the unit count not properly disclosed but was expected to be at least 1000-2000 units.
The Blu-ray was eventually given a regular edition over time.
Physical Contents:
- Rigid Box with digipack packaging
- Information and BBFC logos on the packaging
- 4 Art Cards
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Anime Limited
Released: 27th November 2013
The collector’s edition release for Perfect Blue includes the film on Blu-ray and DVD with one disc each, using an in-house author. The audio options available for the film is Japanese with English subtitles and the Manga Entertainment English dub.
This release is also quite flawed in certain aspects. One notable example was the white subtitles carried over the same English script from the old Manga Entertainment release and therefore it had included a number of errors in the translation. The audio selection on the menu is also in the wrong way around, so 5.1 is 2.0 and vice versa, plus instead of Linear PCM Stereo we got Dolby Digital. These issues were corrected in the Ultimate Edition Blu-ray release.
The white subtitles are unlockable during playback, and the regions are locked to B for Blu-ray and 2 for DVD in NTSC format.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 1:85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | B |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 |
DVD Specs:
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Audio | English Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 |
| Video | Standard Definition in NTSC format 1:85:1 aspect ratio |
| Region | 2 |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 1 |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
- Interview with Satoshi Kon (Director)
- Interview with Ruby Marlow (Mima – English VA)
- Interview with Wendee Lee (Rumi – English VA)
- Interview with Bob Marks (Me-Mania – English VA)
- Interview with Junko Iwao (Mima – Japanese VA)
- “Angel of Your Heart” Recording Session
- “Angel of Your Heart” Full English Version
- US/UK Trailer
- Japanese Trailer
- English credits
DVD On-Disc Extra Features:
- Japanese Trailer
- UK/US Trailer
- “Angel of Your Heart” Recording Session
- Interview: Ruby Marlow (Mima – English VA)
- Interview: Wendee Lee (Rumi – English VA)
- Interview: Bob Marks (Me-Mania – English VA)
- Interview: Junko Iwao (Mima – Japanese VA)
- Interview: Satoshi Kon (Director)
- English credits
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Perfect Blue is available to order through multiple retailers across the United Kingdom. The collector’s edition sold out many years ago, but you can still acquire the standard edition using the authoring of that particular version on Amazon UK and Anime Limited’s web store.
You can check out the Ultimate Edition unboxing on my blog for another look at the film.
The Normanic Vault 
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