Psychedelic ecstasy!

WATCH THE TRAILER FIRST, THEN READ!

Yesterday (actually 2 days ago, since it's past midnight) me and the boys went out to see a movie! Within TIFF (Transylvanian International Film Festival) there is always one anime screening. Last year, it was Howl's Moving Castle (which I sadly couldn't attend, since I was still in Oradea back then), this year, it was Paprika. This is the movie we went to see.

As Serban observed, this was the first anime he'd seen in a cinema in Romania. It was the same for me, though the first anime I'd seen in a cinema was in Hungary, at Szarvas, when I went to see Spirited Away. I had expected to see very few people in the room, yet it was full, to my utmost surprise and joy.

Anyway, onto the anime! I'm not sure I can describe it in any one word. I would like to search www.dictionary.com for synonyms of the word GREAT and put them in a list here... Come to think of it, I'll do that:

The anime Paprika was able, absolute, aces, adept, admirable, adroit, bad, best, brutal, cold, complete, consummate, crack, downright, dynamite, exceptional, expert, fab, fantastic, fine, first-rate, good, heavy, hellacious, marvelous, masterly, mostest, number one, out-and-out, perfect, positive, proficient, skilled, skillful, super dupe, surpassing, terrific, total, tough, transcendent, tremendous, unmitigated, unqualified, utter, wonderful, zero cool!

Having said that, lets get into details. The anime is the well-known style of Satoshi Kon. As I saw Paprika prancing around during the opening credits, it kind of reminds me of the 'evil' Mima from Perfect Blue. The camera movement and impact of the two movies are so much alike. Paprika, however is less scary and more confusing. It's not because of the plot though, I believe he could have easily made it scarier had he wanted to. Dreams can be really scary (just listen to Iron Maiden's Dream of Mirrors and you'll understand what I mean.), but I think he wanted something different. The metaplot, I believe, resembles Serial Experiments Lain the most. In what way? Well, go watch them both and you'll understand. :P

As for the technical aspects, well, what can I say? Animation and production were done by Madhouse Studios. Do a search on that at Anime News Network and you'll soon find some attractive titles and understand what this means. The visuals are just stunning. The carnival scenes are most impressive. It kind of grabs you and folds around you, really taking you into the action. The audio is likewise amazing. The theme song is just wonderful (I got hooked on it from the very beginning). Also, as a personal delight, the main character is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara. I think it is a most befitting role for both her Lina Inverse and Rei Ayanami attitudes.

Say hello to Paprika and Dr. Atsuko Chiba!

This anime is a must-see! Don't expect something light though. It is a typical Satoshi Kon movie, in which you don't know where reality ends and dreams begin.