Movie Frame Of Mind: Perfect Blue

Content warning: Discussion of the rape scene, as well as stalking and major spoilers for Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue film.

Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop-idol group called "CHAM!", decides to quit singing to pursue a career as an actress. Some of her fans are displeased with this decision though, particularly a stalker named Me-Mania. As Mima progresses into her new career, those close to her are violently murdered one by one, and Mima begins to lose the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. (Source: MAL) 

Somehow, I have until this month avoided watching Satoshi Kon's possible magnus opus, Perfect Blue (and I only say 'possible' because the ultimate judgment on his legacy is still up in the air as more of his works are released postmortem, even if they're all manga titles). That has been a really dumb decision on my part, since Paprika is one of my favorite anime and one of my favorite films, ever, and Paranoia Agent has been one of my top Adult Swim hits since it started. Not to mention Millennium Actress and Tokyo Godfather, both terrific titles!

Five Anime For Your Post-Black Friday Blues

This one's for the American otaku out there. Sorry, international readers, but last weekend was kind of a big deal in the U.S. of A. We spent Thursday eating and drinking until our pants popped opened collectively while watching football and various parades (and for some of us, kicked off a once-in-a-lifetime holiday known as Thanksgivukkah), then woke up in the wee hours of Friday to tackle Black Friday, whether in person at the malls or online while stalking Amazon's hourly specials. Saturday was spent either in a holiday-induced food coma or braving the stores yet again for amazing deals thanks to Small Business Saturday (anyone else get a cute free tote bag?) across the country.

We have all (over)eaten our share of food, endured more contact with extended family than we'd ever care to voluntarily admit to, and a good portion of us can now claim to have witnessed the first musical Lady Gaga x Muppets meet-up in pop culture history (not counting the Kermit dress, natch). If ever there was a time for otaku to unwind and relax with anime, this is definitely it. I've got five titles that will wash away all your post-Thanksgiving/shopping blues.