Perfect Blue Masculinity

Mima, and Perfect Blue, are the less glamorous side the world of Stardom. Mima's life as a pop idol seems amazing and fantastic while she is on stage performing for her many fans, but at the end of the day, she goes home to a not so glamorous, cramped, public apartment. Perfect Blue, along with most of the other films we will examine, have a strong sense of the male gaze. The male gaze is basically 'the objectification of woman in films and media to appeal to men. This view is used directly in the film and helps to deteriorate Mima's mental state, by creating a split-identity that she ends up having a hard time differentiating between. This split-identity comes in the form of a fan site known as Mima's Room. Mima's Room is written by a fan

Though not female in the biological sense, in the film he states that, “In my heart, I am a female,” after being told otherwise, which is encouraging to anyone; if you feel a certain way about yourself, don't allow others to tell you otherwise. Hana's voice actor, Yoshiaki Umegaki even adds that, “Regardless of being a man or a woman, he had pride in himself as a human.” This trait of his appears often, especially when the gay joke is aimed at him, mostly coming from Gin. Hana is also the most expressive of the group; she doesn't try to hide her feelings from those around her. One thing that Hana dreamed of, but was impossible for logical reasons, was to become a mother. She managed to kind of do this by being somewhat of a surrogate mother to Miyuki and Kiyoko, taking care of their needs much like a mother would. She has a strong maternal instinct, that can be seen when they find Kiyoko in the trash and she immediately wishes to take care of her, and though the others were reluctant at first, they all end up working together to help take care of the baby and help her get home. Her “maternal” and caring behavior does not only stops at the girls, but also stems out to incorporate Gin as well. Though they bicker and she always seems to be the target for Gin's crude humor, she cares deeply for him, even going as far as to break down in tears when she thought he was the dead body the EMT's were hauling away on a gurney. Hana is a kind loving

Their personalities clash, but they still manage to work off one another much unlike Mima and her split-self. Kon likened himself to his character by talking about what he likes to call 'Hoodlum Kon and Satoshi Kon'. He describes these two side as the following, “In the realm of animation, I don't like people who try and push some technique they've just learned in your face. It's low class, like a hoodlum.” Though this is how he describes it, he himself has a side to him that is exactly that: his hoodlum side. He then goes on to say, “Satoshi Kon is the more mature of the two and within that mature framework is where Hoodlum Kon operates.” This could mean that without Satoshi Kon, there would be no Hoodlum Kon and that one personality might not have the ability to work without the other. Much like Atsuko and Paprika, Kon has two sides to himself, that he admits to not even noticing that he incorporated into Paprika. Atsuko and Paprika both have personalities that cause them to disagree often, both having their own opinion on how a certain situation should be handled. They are both extremes; the hyperactive, cheerful one, and the serious, stern one. Both of these personalities need to be balanced to make Atsuko work as a person and come to terms with her inner feelings. and Paprika both have personalities that