Review of Paprika

“This is your brain on anime.” The cover art for Satoshi Kon’s “Paprika” reads. That’s all you need to know going into this movie to appreciate it as much as I did, and even though its story isn’t groundbreaking and can feel confusing at times, it introduces interesting concepts that even influenced Christopher Nolan’s Hollywood hit “Inception”. After a mesmerizing opening scene the film has us follow scientist Dr. Atsuko Chiba in a world where a device known as the DC Mini is used by “dream detectives” such as herself to tap into psychiatric patient’s dreamscapes to find the route of their problems, giving thegreat production team a wide open plain to let their imaginations run wild, resulting in colorful and surreal set pieces backed by another beautiful score from the great Susumu Hirasawa. Kon continues to find new ways to blur the lines between fantasy and reality as he always does in his work and this is yet another display of his unique editing style. From the music and visuals to the cool ideas and themes presented, “Paprika” truly is your brain on anime. Pure eye candy.