A ’90s psychological thriller like Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue and a modern-day comedy like Spy x Family didn’t seem like they had much in common, until J-pop star LiSA connected the dots for us.
In a moment of serendipity, I wore a Perfect Blue T-shirt to my interview with J-pop rock icon LiSA, a powerhouse Japanese singer celebrated for her dynamic vocals and more than 30 anime opening/closing themes, including the global hit “Gurenge” from Demon Slayer. The shirt organically triggered a conversation about Satoshi Kon — Perfect Blue is one of her favorite movies. LiSA told me she finds Kon’s movies “cruel and dark,” but thinks he’s excellent at depicting “something you know [I have] deep inside.”
Satoshi Kon was a visionary Japanese director, screenwriter, and animator known for blending reality and illusion in psychologically complex narratives. His major works — Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika — each explore identity, memory, and perception through striking visual storytelling and layered characters. Kon frequently blurred the boundaries between dreams and reality, often critiquing media, fame, and the fragility of self. Though his career was cut short — he died in 2010 from pancreatic cancer, at age 46 — his influence on global cinema remains profound, with several scenes and themes from his movies recreated in Hollywood films by Darren Aronofsky and Christopher Nolan.
“[Kon’s films] resonate so much demon-like feelings, and also the struggle between, like, ‘I want to be human. You want to be good, but also I could be dark,’ LiSA said. “And that kind of struggle, it resonates with me so much.”
Perfect Blue is a psychological thriller following former girl-group pop idol Mima Kirigoe, who quits music to become an actress, but faces a terrifying identity crisis as she’s stalked by a fan and haunted by a version of her past self. As the line between her real life, her roles, and her online persona blurs, Mima begins to lose grip on who she truly is. The film explores how media, fame, and obsession distort perception — not just how others see us, but how we see ourselves.
LiSA admits that being a public figure plays a part in why she enjoys Perfect Blue. “It’s a story about how much she wants to be loved,” she explained. “Or how much she wants to be recognized. Those are true feelings inside that are actualized in the characters. And sometimes I feel I can identify myself in those characters.”
We also wound up chatting about what she’s currently watching on TV. Of course, a star who’s successfully crafted so many anime songs enjoys watching anime, but she says she typically reads manga more. When her favorite manga gets animated, though, she “pays respect to the animators who do an amazing job.” One of the shows she’s most blown away by is Spy x Family, especially because she adores Anya, a playfully mischievous 5-year-old telepath.
Photo: Esther Kim/Crunchyroll
And honestly, Anya is the heart of the show. Spy x Family follows a master spy named Twilight who must build a fake family to infiltrate an elite school. He adopts Anya without knowing she’s telepathic, and marries an assassin (Yor) without realizing she’s a contract killer. As the trio navigates their secret lives, they form a real bond, despite everything they’re hiding from each other.
A pop idol spiraling into an identity crisis and a spy faking her role in a perfect home seem like radically different stories, but both revolve around the universal truth that people long to be seen, accepted, and loved. For someone like LiSA, who lives between the spotlight and the self, the connection between Perfect Blue and Spy x Family is crystal clear.
