Paprika opened in New York City May 25th, and is scheduled to open in Los Angeles on June 1st. I have seen it twice, once at the New York Film Festival last fall and once in Queens on May 17th at a pre-screening sponsored by the ever-mysterious Sloan Foundation. Those in-the-know across the country have seen Paprika in a series of preview screenings as the film toured the country, hitting the usual route of arthouse theaters and college campuses, generating blog buzz and press like a katamari ball.

As a responsible anime fan, you should already know about Paprika. In fact, as person calling yourself a fan, you should be familiar with all of Kon’s works. Your standard anime fan at a convention should be able to rattle off Satoshi Kon’s films in order of their personal favorites. Here’s my list:

ERIN’S SATOSHI KON FAVORITES

1. Paprika (2006)
2. Paranoia Agent (2004, TV Series)
3. “Magnetic Rose” (1996, short film from Memories)
4. Millennium Actress (2001)
5. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
6. Perfect Blue (1997)

I encourage readers to leave their list of Satoshi Kon favorites in the comments!

A lot of people will take contention to my high placement of Millennium Actress, but I really liked the film. The scene that took place in the wake of the U.S. air raid brings tears to my eyes in every time I see it. I liked the soundtrack enough that I tracked it down and bought it.

Perfect Blue has a really uncomfortable attempted-rape scene, so I’ve only seen it once. In the pre-2002 days of anime fandom, people would recommend Perfect Blue as an example of “good anime,” failing to mention that it is a very mature psychological thriller. It was an unsettling surprise to watch Perfect Blue uninformed. I can’t imagine watching it more than once.

Memories is good enough to own and “Magnetic Rose” is the strongest of the three short films on the DVD. Tokyo Godfathers is Kon’s most light-hearted work, with a PG-13 rating. I thought Tokyo Godfathers might be good film to watch with my parents around Christmas (it’s Christmas in the movie), but it didn’t hold their attention.

Paranoia Agent aired on Cartoon Network as part of their Adult Swim block. It’s one of my favorite anime series of all time, on a level of quality similar to Ghost in the Shell; Stand Alone Complex. Paranoia Agent is only 13 episodes. I bought a Maromi plushie. The only excuse for not watching Paranoia Agent is one’s age, in which case you should buy it anyway and watch it when you turn 18.

Paprika is similar to Paranoia Agent, but it is a more light-hearted and shorter. Paprika has the well-handled transitions of Millennium Actress, the suspense of Perfect Blue, and the humor of Tokyo Godfathers, all rolled into one solid film. Paprika’s character designs are typical of Kon’s work, and many of his other films get a visual nod.

Paprika takes place in the near future, where dream research scientist have recently developed a device called the DC Mini, which allows psychologist to record the dreams of their patients. Just before the device is made public, the prototype unit is stolen. The scientists on the development team must recover the device before it is used for ill intent.

Protagonist Atsuko Chiba is a stern and straight-laced psychologist by day, but by night she dives into patients’ dreams using the DC Mini as her alter-ego, a red-headed, free-spirited action hero named Paprika. One of Chiba’s patients is Detective Konakawa, who helps investigate the case of the stolen DC Mini. Konakawa is having stress dreams about his unsolved homicide case.

The film opens on one of Konakawa’s dreams, then transitions quickly as his dream changes settings from a circus to a Tarzan movie to a suspense film on a train. Paprila hurdles forwards through a world of dreams and reality, the subconscious, and even a strange internet site, moving smoothly from one setting to the next in unmistakable Kon-like-transitions.

Fans of Genshiken and Akiba-kei will appreciate Tokita Kosaku, one of the scientist characters and the inventor of the DC Mini. Tokita is a severely obese otaku, who, despite being a genius, has the mind of a child. Tokita’s obesity is handled with gentle humor, and for an otaku he is a sympathetic character. Tokita’s assistant, and fellow otaku Himuro is a suspect in the theft. Himuro is obsessed with dolls, and a search of his apartment early in the film reveals a room filled with otaku artifacts.

Although Paprika starts off as a suspense movie and a psychological thriller with sci-fi elements, it is filled with humor and a nostalgic love of cinema. In one scene, Konakawa is dressed as Satoshi Kon himself, and gives a visual example of the “180 degree rule”.

At the center of the film is a bustling parade, filled with dolls, frogs, walking refrigerators, living pay phones, and Buddhist and Christian iconography, all dancing and moving in a cacophonous and superbly-animated march between dreams. The parade is filled with the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life, true to real-life dreams. Kon has mentioned in interviews that the parade is symbolically related to the Shintoist belief in animism—that everything has a spirit including objects like toasters and vending machines.

The only similar scenario I have read in comics is the Sandman book The Doll’s House:

“Rose Walker is a vortex.”

Here is the official Paprika site and trailer. As a responsible anime fan, you need to see this movie.