Scene Analysis - Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue (1997) is a Japanese anime directed by Satoshi Kon who also directed Paprika (2006). Perfect Blue deals with similar themes to Paprika, a blending of reality and a dream world.

I have chosen the scene where the Dream Mima (who is still a J-Pop idol and dressed as such) enters Mima's room through the website Mima's Room. (38:37 - 40:40)

Characters
2 characters present in this scene. Well technically 3. Those are Mima, Mima's Dream self (dressed in J-Pop attire) and I suppose one could Rumi is also present as she is impersonating Mima all the time. We see Mima is beginning to unravel. She is merely a shell of her former bubbly self. The stress of changing her career has taken it's toll on her. As has the struggle for power between her agents over her career and the strange website that documents her life in precise detail. She has taken on the role of the tortured actress. Unable to differentiate between what's real and the characters she plays and the situations they find themselves in. She plays someone with a multi personality disorder so she begins to thinnk she also has the same condition.

Dream Mima (or Rumi) is fueling Mima's breakdown. Telling her she is no longer worth of being a pop idiol. No more than a "dirty slut". She is the exact opposite of Rumi. She is beautiful, elegant and aggressive. Where as Rumi is fat and passive. Rumi sticks out along with Me-Mania as having these oddly positioned eyes. Close to the side of their heads.

Setting
I think the room represents a clashing of the 2 selves.  The room, often refered to as Mima's Room, is Mima's safe heaven And then there's the website also called Mima's Room which is seemingly how Rumi lives out one of her lives.

Mise-en-Scene
Clearly Mima is tired. Her hair is messy her clothes are baggy and dirty. Also the film return to this bedroom scene several times and everytime it is being more and more cluttered with things. Mima's messiness is emphasised through the juxtaposition with Dream Mima who is still a perfect J-Pop Idol with an angelic glow about her.
When on the screen of the computer Dream Mima's movements are diconjointed. She jumps from one position to another without a tween. This could be showing how Mima's perception of reality is now starting to fall apart.

Camera

1. close up of computer
2. wide shot of mim and room
3. panning shot of text
4. close up mim
5. panning shot of text
6. close up of mima
7. computer screen
8. close up of mima
9. over the shoulder of Mima at computer screen
10. close up of Mima
11. Over Mima's shoulder at computer
12. Half shot of Mima
13. Half shot of Dream Mima
14. Close up of Mima
15. Wide shot of crowd 
16. Wide shot of Dream Mima
17. Down low camera angle and over the shoulder of Mima onto Dream Mima
18. High up looking down over the shoulder of Dream Mima onto Mima
19. Wide shot of room
20. Close up of Mima
21. Close up of Dream Mima

All the shots are very confined. The charcters rarely fully fit onto the screen. This could be to create a sense of madnees in Mima OR (and probably more likely) they are staying true to the confined sapce of the tiny apartment she lives in. They could have shots looking through the roof/ walls to get the whole room in view but the director made the concious decision not to do that. It could also be that the film was originally going to be a live action movie and working in a small space like that wouldn't allow for much room in the shots so perhaps they just never changed the story boards to suit the new animated direction the film took.