Perfect Blue is a 1997 Japanese psychological horror-thriller anime film directed by Satoshi Kon. It is loosely based on the novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, with a story by Satoshi Kon and screenplay by Sadayuki Murai and Satoshi Kon. Featuring the voices of Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji and Emiko Furukawa, the plot follows a member of a Japanese idol group who retires from music to pursue an acting career. As she becomes a victim of stalking by her obsessive fan, gruesome murders take place, and she begins losing her grip on reality. The film deals with the blurring of the line between fantasy and reality, a commonly found theme in Kon's other works, such as Millennium Actress (2001) and Paprika (2006).
The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the earliest verifiable films dating from 1912. Before the advent of film, Japan already had a rich tradition of entertainment with colourful painted figures moving across the projection screen in utsushi-e (写し絵), a particular Japanese type of magic lantern show popular in the 19th century. Possibly inspired by European phantasmagoria shows, utsushi-e showmen used mechanical slides and developed lightweight wooden projectors (furo) that were handheld so that several performers could each control the motions of different projected figures.
Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (1984), Angel's Egg (1985), Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993), and Ghost in the Shell (1995). He also holds the distinction of having created the first ever OVA, Dallos (1983). As a writer, Oshii has worked as a screenwriter, and occasionally as a manga writer and novelist. His most notable works as a writer include the manga Kerberos Panzer Cop (1988–2000) and its feature film adaptation Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999).
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, known in Japan as just Innocence, is a 2004 Japanese animated cyberpunk film written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. The film serves as a standalone sequel to Oshii's 1995 film Ghost in the Shell and is loosely based on the manga by Masamune Shirow.
Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido, and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art University. He is best known for his acclaimed anime films Perfect Blue (1997), Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), and Paprika (2006), and the TV series Paranoia Agent (2004). He died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 46 on August 24, 2010.
Millennium Actress is a 2001 Japanese animated drama film co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse. Loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine, it tells the story of two documentary filmmakers investigating the life of a retired acting legend. As she tells them the story of her life, the borderline between cinema and reality gradually becomes blurred.
Tokyo Godfathers is a 2003 Japanese adult anime Christmas tragicomedy adventure film written and directed by Satoshi Kon. The film stars live-action actors such as Toru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, and Aya Okamoto as the lead voice actors.
Angel's Egg is a Japanese art film original video animation (OVA) written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. Released by Tokuma Shoten on 15 December 1985, the film was a collaboration between artist Yoshitaka Amano and Oshii. It features very little spoken dialogue and a story that is strongly allegorical which has led to many viewers confused by the film's supposed meaning.
Jin-Roh, also known as Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade in its American release, is a 1999 Japanese action political thriller anime film directed by Hiroyuki Okiura and written by Mamoru Oshii. Based on the first chapter of volume 1 of Oshii's manga Kerberos Panzer Cop, it is the third film in the Kerberos Saga after 1987's The Red Spectacles and 1991's StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops, and is the only fully-animated film in the saga.
Roujin Z is a 1991 Japanese animated science fiction action thriller film directed by Hiroyuki Kitakubo and written by Katsuhiro Otomo. The animation for Roujin Z was produced by A.P.P.P. in association with other companies including Movic, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Aniplex and TV Asahi.
Paranoia Agent is a Japanese anime television series created by director Satoshi Kon and produced by Madhouse about a social phenomenon in Musashino, Tokyo caused by a juvenile serial assailant named Lil' Slugger. The plot relays between a large cast of people affected in some way by the phenomenon; usually Lil' Slugger's victims or the detectives assigned to apprehend him. As each character becomes the focus of the story, details are revealed about their secret lives and the truth about Lil' Slugger.
Ghost in the Shell is a 1995 adult animated neo-noir cyberpunk thriller film directed by Mamoru Oshii and adapted by frequent Oshii collaborator Kazunori Itō. The film is based on the manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow. It stars the voices of Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ōtsuka, and Iemasa Kayumi. It is a Japanese-British international co-production, executive produced by Kodansha, Bandai Visual and Manga Entertainment, with animation provided by Production I.G, with the screenplay by Kazunori Itō.
Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer is a 1984 Japanese anime fantasy comedy film written and directed by Mamoru Oshii. It is the second film in the Urusei Yatsura film series based on the manga of the same name by Rumiko Takahashi. Its predecessor, Only You, was also directed by Oshii. It was released in Japan on February 11, 1984 during the second season of the series.
Masao Maruyama is a Japanese anime producer and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Madhouse, as well as the founder of MAPPA and Studio M2 animation studios. He is the current Chairman of MAPPA and President of Studio M2 and Board member of N LITE Japan.
Dreaming Machine is a cancelled Japanese anime fantasy-adventure film directed by Satoshi Kon. It would have been the director's fifth feature film. After Kon's death on August 24, 2010, production continued at Madhouse, where the team used Satoshi Kon's directorial tapes and notes to guide them to completing the film, though the main work such as storyboards and script was already complete. In August 2011, Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama revealed that production of the film had been cancelled due to lack of finances. Only 600 of 1,500 shots have been animated. Originally, Maruyama said there was intent to finish the film, despite the lack of finances. In August 2018, Maruyama revealed that the movie will not be completed or released in the foreseeable future, as there were no Japanese animation directors that could match Kon's level of ability, though he did not rule out the possibility of the project being revived in the future under a talented foreign director.
Human Lost is a 2019 Japanese 3D animated science fiction film based on Osamu Dazai's 1948 novel No Longer Human and it is the first ever Polygon Pictures production not to be streamed on Netflix.
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko is a 2021 Japanese anime film based on the novel of the same name by Kanako Nishi. It was produced by Studio 4°C and directed by Ayumu Watanabe. It was originally released in Japan in June 2021.
Seraphim 266613336Wings is an unfinished Japanese manga series by Mamoru Oshii and Satoshi Kon. The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world bent by a disease called "angel disease" that is decimating the population, and centers on the journey of two men and a dog, called "Magi", and a girl they escort, Sera, sent by the World Health Organization (WHO) to an area of Central Asia where the outbreak is believed to be located. Enemies and conspiracies await them along the way.
Toshiyuki Inoue is a Japanese animator and character designer. He was the representative director of Japanese Animation Creators Association from 2014 to 2016. He is known as the "Perfect Animator", a title given to him by Mamoru Oshii. He is known for influencing the 'realist' style of animation in the 1980s and 1990s, along with animators like Hiroyuki Okiura, Shinji Hashimoto and Mitsuo Iso.
