Film Review || Paprika (2006) 'Japan'

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At its core, Paprika (2006) exemplifies the increasingly broad genre that is anime, a form of animation from Japanese origins, that focuses on core themes of dreams, reality and the spaces inbetween. A young adult named Paprika goes on a mission to save a world in danger of disappearing into the dream realm. Along the way, many things will be revealed to the viewer as they partake in a manic world like no other.

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On the surface it could be rather easily perceived as an anime art style without any personal touch, but on closer examination there are some things that should be mentioned. First of all, the film is not afraid to make radical decisions on the grounds of looking like a cartoon, which the broader audience in the west seem to perceive as a style just for kids. Furthermore, to separate it from other similar content such as The End of Evangelion (1997), Akira (1988), or even some Studio Ghibli creations, the method of storytelling is more straightforward, and doesn't require much interpretation, as the plot is clearly explained throughout and is contained within the film. It is also important to mention that this film was created from a 1993 novel of the same name written by Yasutaka Tsutsui.

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Conforming to industry standards, the film excels in its own way in order to give itself a unique identity among a sea of production of anime films aimed at a core demographic of Japan, known as otaku subculture, loosely translated as geek or nerd. In order to do this it has included characters that appeal to the group, like the fat programmer, Kosaku Tokita while also striving to focus the most on the female lead of Paprika, so much so that her name and face are on the cover of the DVD.

Figures
fig 1. Kon, S. (2006) Paprika. [film still] [25/01/18]
fig 2. Kon, S. (2006) Paprika. [film still] [25/01/18]
fig 3. Kon, S. (2006) Paprika. [film still] [25/01/18]