Perfect Blue

Kon's work is incredibly abstract and open-ended. There's clear meanings and themes he conveys but he does so in such heavy, thought-provoking ways. Perfect Blue explores parasocial relationships and mental health quite in-depth which surprised me, considering Paprika felt so absurd and nonsensical. Perfect Blue feels much more like an exploration of the psyche while Paprika a delving of the imagination. Without going to spoilers, I suppose every troubled character here struggles with change. Something changes drastically in their life and that creates denial, fear or violence.  It's a great film. I don't think you should do what I did and expect Paprika's level of animation but it easily compensates for that with its story.