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What is the meaning of the title of Perfect Blue?

Most of Satoshi Kon's (Director) work has a deeper meaning behind them, so I was wondering if there is a meaning behind the name.

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    Could you perharps elaborate a bit on why you think there is a meaning behind the title? – Dimitri mx Feb 19 '19 at 12:01
  • Might be relevant: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17vs3a/why_is_this_film_called_perfect_blue_i_pieced/ – W. Are Feb 19 '19 at 13:08

3 Answers3

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As for the movie, there is no meaning.

Most of answers given on various forums (i.e. reddit, MAL) are only speculative and theories at best. From an interview with Kon Satoshi himself:

Andrew Osmond: What is the significance of the title Perfect Blue?

Satoshi Kon: That’s a frequently asked question and, at the same time, one I find very difficult to answer. To be honest, I used it because it was the title of the original novel [Perfect Blue: Total Pervert by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, published in 1991]. I presume the words had some significance, but as I changed the story and probably the subject as well, I guess the meaning was lost. I can only guess because I didn’t read the novel. I simply read through the rough plot, which was described as “close to the original story” in the project plan delivered to me. We discussed changing the title, but I like it, it sounds significant and mysterious.

It would appear then the meaning was lost to the source material. Seeing that the original is in Japanese book and my Japanese lacking, I will leave it for someone else well versed in Comp. Lit. to interpret the title as used in the book.

Dimitri mx
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nabulator
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IIRC Blue is a colour associated with happiness in Japan, in the same way that White is associated with evil.

So the films name could be taken to mean perfect happiness. Isn't the protagonists final line "A perfect blue day." or some such?

GotTheJob
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According to another website, blue is a color which represents purity and cleanliness in traditional Japanese culture, largely because of the vast stretches of blue water that surrounds the Japanese islands. As such, blue also represents calmness and stability. Additionally, blue is considered a feminine color, and so, in combination with the association with purity and cleanliness, blue is often the color young women wear to show their purity. As a traditional Japanese color, shades of blue are used on kimonos to represent the seasons and fashion expressions.

RandyG22152
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