I figure that Paprika is a part of Chiba's personality that she keeps hidden/repressed since she's suppose to be a doctor. Professional. Most likely told to not act like that from people around her, like parents. I suspect she found that it was either easier to explore dreams with that alter-ego of hers or people find it more comforting to have that side of her in their dreams, which is why she shows up as Paprika in dreams. You never see Chiba as herself real life self in anyone else's dreams. You only see her irl self in dreams when they're affecting reality. In my opinion, this movie isn't just about dreams escaping into reality, but also a story about Chiba finally accepting this part of her that she only lets out in dreams. When you see Paprika irl, I feel those are times when Chiba is letting that alter-ego slip out, which is why Konakawa sees her as Paprika. It could also be residual from using the DC Mini. When you see Chiba and Paprika together in the real world is only when dreams are leaking into reality. I feel like when that happens, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's allowed to be both Dr. Chiba and Paprika.
I’m so happy you’re covering all the great Satoshi Kon movies! These movies are pillars in anime history in my opinion. With the Silent Hill 2 OST in the background….. couldn’t be a better TH-camr for me to watch. Just perfection.
Maybe its bc I watched it for the first time when I was like 7yrs old but my understanding is Paprika is an interdimentional being connected to the whimsical and childlike parts of Shiba since she is so serious all of the time. I think Paprika is her own entity split apart from Shiba but who is also able to experience whatever Shiba is doing at any given moment. Like an everything everywhere all at once kind of deal
Another interesting parallel between Paprika and Inception is the idea that dreams are like movies. Inception has all the characters representing a production crew (director, producer, screenwriter, actor, executive, sfx, etc) and staging an elaborate show to communicate an idea-and Paprika makes the same metaphor. Even stops the story to talk about filmmaking
The movie implies that Dr. Chiba has overcome an unamed psychological disorder that informs her practice. I think Paprika is the resulting jettisoned personality. I think even though Chiba was "cured" by separating herself, she has to reassimilate with Paprika to become whole again throughout the film. Also I go hard for Tokida.
I think it's about psychological integration: Chiba acknowledges that she loves Tokita, and reconciles her conscious self (hard-ass, straight-laced) with her unconscious self (Paprika); also, her realisation means male and female are integrated, which makes her/them more powerful than the chairman's male-only nightmare-god, so she out-gods him - Chiba/Paprika/Tokita integrated, are able to absorb and settle the cosmic nightmare. Konakawa also integrates his past with his present, which I think is why his last line (at the cinema kiosk, in the Japanese-language, English subtltled version) goes "one adult, please." It's a brilliant, brilliant line. He's an integrated adult now, so it's OK for him to watch the movie about Dreaming Kids now (Konakawa and the Other Guy were themselves dreaming kids, dreaming about making movies)... suggested by Paprika who... represents the subconscious?
I definitely saw this movie at way too young of an age since it was the time of adults thinking, "it's a cartoon, so it's for kids" And although it seemed chaotic even then, I remember loving it! Even as I knew nothing
I've watched this movie before, and I think a lot of people don't realize how absolutely disturbing and eerie the scenes that have the parade in them are. All of the "people" in the parade all make noise, but there's some sort of music playing, so the sound the parade makes as it's on screen is terrifying, along with the visuals. These parts of the movie (the parts where they're showing the parade and all of the things in it) genuinely made me disturbed. The movie itself is amazing, though I personally like Perfect Blue more.
Your videos explain such deep complex feelings in such an engaging and applicable way. Thank you! I clicked on this particular video because I sometimes have the experience of "sharing" dreams with people, and it's cool as in, there's a deep sense of connection, but also frightening. I'm not sure what the psychological/biological/whatever mechanisms behind it are, but movies like these at least provide me a sense of comfort that I'm not the only one this weird stuff happens to, or at least that someone else has thought about it.
AAAAHHH I'M SO GLAD!!! THANK YOOUU!!! I was seriously hoping you'd cover Paprika, I literally cannot get enough of it 😭 Everything from the colours, the SOUNDTRACK, it's addicting. My favourite scene has to be when you first see all the dreams collide and Konakawa is just stood there with this mannequin with that dumb face 🧡
I'VE COME WITH ANSWERS FOR EVERYTHING. Paprika (like every Satoshi Kon THING) is one of my favorite things in life, and after investigating and watching it like a gillion times I've got answers BUT BEFORE YOU KEEP READING: Paprika and it's joys comes from theorizing andcoming up with your theories so even if there is like a "true version", dosen't make the fun of theories and talking about it less relevant. Besides this can ruin twist for some people so PLZ PLZ WATCH PAPRIKA, GO, IS AMAZING, GO! (also my first language is Spanish, so, sorry for the mistakes I will make) So, if you guys want some answers (and spoilers), let me explain a lil bit! Paprika is based on a book written by Yasataka Tsutsui and Kon has always been a fan of the novel (so if you can, check that, super sureal and based in psychoanalysis!) Paprika is the discussion of subconcious, concious and how both influence each other, like if you go to sleep while watching a movie your dreams can be influenced by the images you saw, the sounds, even the sents. So for the movie's purposes Paprika is a mix (salt and peper comment, remember?) of the concious and the subconcious, she is not a pure dream persona because she holds the memories and logic of the conscious otherwise she could not therapy others, but it still reflects the desires, inner insecurities and represion that Dr. Chiba has about herself. Parpika is a manic pixie dream girl that fills the need of a guide that you can trust and not jsut a clinical view of a doctor. Chiba is a very serious and work-focused person who barely smiles and always present herself in a cold and elegant way, Paprika being playful, free, very casual, adventurous, caring and eager for new things, with a strong youth energy that can appoach others easily, a thing Chiba really wants, because that carefree and chill attitude, where even your job is a game, is exactly the thing that attracts her to Tokito, and that's why over the whole movie you see her trying to get closer, but instead of giving in with the game and the chill vibes, she does what Dr. Chiba does best and presents herself in a caring but cold way, always asking him to do this or that, that sounds like a nagging but comes from a deep longing and desire to see the other person happy. This vision is why Paprika is such an effective "tool" at first, but why it alos takes "a mind of it's own" since even Chiba cannot accept that Paprika is just an extension of herself, very Jeckyll and Hyde where both sides are jsut the same person, but they are unable to reconcilie that concept. At the end, with the detective, we see the pivotal moment of "separation" form Chiba and Parpika, as they lay down in a hotel room and using even sexual appeal to guide a trouble mind to a proper place,a fter all, there is a reason why "attractiveness" is such an important thing, we tend to give in to attractive or beautiful people and tend to repell the people we consider unappealing (which also tells you that Chiba, despite being a beautiful woman, feels unattractive, because she cannot attract the attention of the genius that she fancies deep down). So, to not make an essay about this (and leave some room to connect dots) let me go for the questions in this video: The detective's trauma comes from several places (very Another Brick in the Wall) but all connects in his anxiety, which also has a meta context if you know about Satoshi Kon's life, but that would be for you to investigate, is heartbreaking but fascinating. So, the main traumas for the detective are: Leaving his dream of becoming a movie director with his best friend who used to make movies with him when they were young AND killing a young thug (17 floor?~). "Abandoning and betraying" his friend connected with a violent act over a youngster that was in that same age "full of dreams" even if he was a dangerous criminal makes him queston three things: If he really left his best fream dream "to die" (or if he killed "the dream" by becoming a detective even when his friend died), if he could have saved more lives (th thug's) if he became a director, and if he has the right to keep going after "killing" his best friend in the form of unfinished movies, and killing a, welp, a kid in a way. In a way he became a detective to keep playing "movies" but reality always hits. Detective did recive a card from Dr. Chiba but not asPaprika, is implied she gave it before and Paprika was used as a "reminder" in case he needed it, the whole scene in the cafe is both a movie reference (specially with the barman and waiter) and a metaphorical encounter in a chatroom that was crafted to mingle with the wants, needs and desires of the detective so he could open up. Himuro, the "creepy doll" assistant, had this to do: He actually was gay and obsessed with beauty, he wanted to be beautiful, like a doll, and couldn't deal with both things and his infatuation with Osanai (the creep). The chairman convinced him to experiment with the limits of the dream machine by using Osanai as a token of exchange to experment with his mind until Himuro became the "source of madness". Osanai was a creep and a bootlicker, the chairman offered up money and power and Chiba in a way and he was willing to do ANYTHING to get this things. And the chairman started with a simple wish, be released of a dying body that couldn't even walk anymore, envying and desiring the young and attractive body that Osanai had as he could do "amazing things" if only he was younger again. The amalgamation of greed, power and need morphed into a monster where Himuro was used and dried up, while the chairman started wanting to "transfer" his mind to Osanai (thats why they end up mixing up when Osanai is trying to abuse Paprika- no, Chiba (thats why she "opens Paprika up", to reveal the true persona hiding in her, Chiba) and why the "madness" sweep around them all twisting their dreams, fucking up their minds and making the "I will consume all" black monster thingie. Finally, the little girl that becomes Chiba after she (Paprika) was tackled to oblivion by Tokito, is like the birth of a new dream, a dream that comes from a deep love for herself and others, the acceptance of her being and how she presents in the concious and unconcious, absorbing this "nonsensical greed" to recreate the dream worl as it should be, a place where even nightmares have a place but, at the end of the day, a place to "be" in the most abstract way possible (this is a little fucked up, even after all the investigation I'm still a bit iffy about this, but hey, I wont fight the author and director lol). So she becomes the "beacon" of dreams in a way, the one who rectify them by leaving them in dreamland and recovering the barrier between the inner desires (as dark as they can be) and the concious self. Hope this helped, this is a LOT of text but maybe it cleared up a few thinngs, and thanks for reading if you reached so far!
I grew up watching Tokyo Godfathers. That movie holds a special place in my heart and I rewatch it every Christmas. Weirdly, I didn't watch Paprika until recently. And I didn't realize it was made from the same studio that made Tokyo Godfathers. I recognized the style of animation and character designs immediately. It was an incredible experience, and rest in peace Kon sensei. We will never forget you.
I ADORE Satoshi Kon's work, he is an absolute genius. I also really enjoy that he very often used an artist named Susumu Hirasawa in his work. The dreamlike sound of Susumu's music worked so brilliantly with Satoshi's style and themes he liked to use. On another note, I'm not sure if you've ever heard about this, but there's a very weird horror/scifi anime called Alien 9 that is very underrated in my opinion, and I think you might find it interesting!
Susumu Hirasawa is one of the best songwriters ever (in my opinion). Even if his songs are unconventional and weird at times, he's experimenting and creating new sounds that no one has heard before.
Dr. Chiba has confidence issues and trouble expressing her feelings fully. People with that issue tend to make a 'character' of confidence. It's not a split personality, but rather a 'roll' one can put on to help them feel more confident. Paprika is that for Dr. Chiba.
It's always kinda funny to watch shit like this as someone who's mentally ill because it makes total sense to me but I can't explain it in a normal, "sane" way. I gotta actually watch this movie for real now. This kinda stuff makes me really introspective because that "dream meets reality" thing is just my everyday life, and even the part where my reflection of myself tries to help me or I try to help them is something that's happened quite a lot. I kinda see it like the side of her that wants to help people recognizes she needed help too and tried to get her to see that, almost like a dream version of the voice of reason. This is good stuff, thanks for showing it to us Bionic!
The thing with Satoshi Kon’s films is you can’t take everything you see literally, even with his more tame features like millennium princess or Tokyo Godfathers. Like Paranoia Agent, Paprika is filled with visual metaphors and I think just things the filmmakers just thought looked cool haha
What timing, I was just thinking about this movie for the first time in years! I watched it and loved it when it came out and listened to the soundtrack on repeat for a while there. It's such an underrated masterpiece.
ANOTHER BANGER!! Loved this movie, watched it a couple days after Perfect Blue fucked my brain up for life. RIP Satoshi Kon. So important and always will be remembered fondly.
15:00 Incorrect. It was still in a dream, but it was Chiba's/Paprika's. She can not only view other's dreams, but pull them into her own. She uses the DC Mini to perform therapy on people by acting as a "host", her dream space being much like a therapist's office. Every time you see the card, it's in a dream. No matter how realistic the world seems, he's dreaming when he looks at it. That's why he goes into the computer, it's all a dream. In other words: 18:4518:55 Yes, and yes.
I think the scene where Paprika gives him the card is a dream; she probably just left one with him in reality too. I wonder how their therapy sessions start though? Perhaps Konakawa has to already be wearing the DC mini and asleep surely? I imagine she can have a certain influence in the dream setting - she wants him to believe he is awake in his hotel room as they analyse the results. The analysis and what they’re watching is likely real as that’s the whole point of the session, so it makes sense theyd both want that part to be as realistic as possible but my guess is the detective may be in a sort of sleepwalking state during this time? Or more likely we’re not supposed to take it literally. After all, Paprika immediately goes off into her fantastical intro montage. She is an idealised version of Chiba - she’s confident, charismatic and unashamed of her sexuality. She is Chiba’s dream version of herself, even though she’s not necessarily what Chiba actually wants to be. She uses Paprika to connect with her patients in a way that just wouldn’t work with the stoic Dr Chiba. Paprika has all her therapist knowledge but also the whimsy and go with the flow attitude necessary for helping a patient process their dreams. When the dream world and reality blurs, Paprika has taken on a life of her own just like all the other dreams. Ok I’m done sorry 👉👈
My theory is that Shiba is a therapist, but since she does therapy by going into her clients dreams; that's a deeply intimate vulnerable place, so she uses the paprika persona to distance herself from her patience and maintain a professional relationship where there is separation. Especially because she has to participate in the dream which can go anywhere, it's very important to keep a clear boundary and in this case using an altar ego makes perfect sense to do that.
I can never watch things like this bc I always end up zoning out and missing half of the clues and then I never know what’s going on, that’s why I love videos like this 🤯😊
I'm sitting here watching this on my little pop-out screen while playing Minecraft when your video had the eating sound NGL I was scared like "I didn't eat anything in the game! Can villagers eat!!!" So thanks for the mini mind F*ck! LOL!!!
Paprika is an amazing movie made by an even more amazing man. If you want a chance to see it on the big screen, look up Anime Expo cinema nights and see if there's a participating theater near you. I just went to the 25th anniversary showing of Perfect Blue (I even cosplayed Mima to it!), and they'll be doing showings of Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika too!!
I saw this as a teen in a movie theater! I remember freaking out bec there was a billboard of Paprika outside of the window outside the movie theater. We were on like the 4th floor, it was after we saw that movie and she looked massive. I had an “omg we’re in the dream” moment and nearly fainted 😂
This film looks so familiar to me. I started watching this because you popped up because your content is sort of like others I sub to. I now sub to you too. And I was like ooooooo something I've not seen and looks crazy. Now I'm questioning my own mind. Have I seen this and my brain was so confused it blocked it out and now it's only slightly coming back to me. It's so new yet crazy not new and familiar. Maybe I saw it in a dream. 😅
Satoshi Kon is one of the great ones, may he Rest in Peace. I still feel strange when I watch Paranoid Agent. Back in the day I never got to see Perfect Blue and Im kinda glad I got to see it as an adult cause I don't think as a teen I would've gotten it the same way. Ive never watched Paprika tho and I cant wait to watch it. Side old woman note: Man, Opera GX reminds me of the days when you could do that to Windows by downloading themes from specific animes and stuff, the same with Winamp (RIP), I had so many themes from Ruroni Kenshin for both Windos and Winamp lol I miss things being customizable, like Myspace and stuff. Damn, Im old
That part where you question reality hit as i was wondering what the hell you were saying then had a eureka moment as my wife walked in and basically caused an endless loop
i love Satoshi Kon's work (RIP❤️) and Paprika with all my heart!! ever since i watched the movie i've been obsessed with the song Parade that plays accompanying the parade nightmare/hallucination, it's so chaotic and beautiful at the same time! i love especially when it eases from the background (when Paprika and Detective Konakawa are in the movie theater) and is used more orchestrated in the final climatic scene in the movie! the artist (Susuma Hirasawa) behind the song is very talented and i've been enjoying his other works ever since
I feel this way very strongly about Charlie Kaufman’s films; they don’t usually make sense to me-especially since I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really understand abstract concepts in film without help-but they always hold my attention and make it hard to look away from the screen. Probably because they’re always so well-made
I stumbled into Paprika on Tubi and I was so happy when I did because I was like OMG THIS IS THAT ONE MINDFUCK MOVIE EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT ON TIKTOK FOR A WHILE and it was such a great movie. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did
To bionic before I star I have major depression and alot but I'm also spiritual I hope to make videos like you guys one day when I can be healthier. So for Paprika in this I see it as a real person spiritual who can also Astral project where you can control them and empathic feel others and are able to be in there's but inside and out. Noone think she exists but she does she's just there to help and I think it's a metaphor on the people that do see you but so inside we don't believe those people exist. Love to tall about this but all love and love you mate
15:00 i feel she had multiple personality disorder and the physical paprika is just the movies way of showing that. and also when they meet in the other scene if someone bubbly and cheery suddenly becomes serious and emotionless i would assume its her twin sister of she is in a bad mood or he already know she has the disorder so he dose not want to intervene too much. also i got shivers at the end when i first saw this movie and i got shiver at the end of this video aswell XD
Satoshi Kon's works play into the surreal mind bending genre that makes you question what is real and what is dream. You can see he experimented with this in his various manga (yes manga) primary in Opus. But sadly manga is limited in these sorts of mind bending escapes. But it did take off with the creation of Perfect Blue. And that blend of dream and reality carried on in his future movies. And Paprika is the ultimate perfection of that reality warping dream like genre. Just like the movie 💕
I commented this somewhere else but this is my interpretation - There's alot that is non-literal in this movie and based on Jungian psychology. There's a concept in Jungian psychology called "the Shadow-Self" that denotes that people tend to repress their undesirable personality aspects into the unconscious. By continuing to ignore these undesirable aspects of one's personality the shadow-self grows out of control and causes a plethora of neurosis. That's what alot of "the collective dream"/"parade" is - kind of like a collective societal version of "the shadow" - the parts of modern late-stage capitalist society that the general population ignores ("represses"). That's why in the parade - you see representations of Japan's societal evils (opening with salary men committing suicide, parents raising their children for money morphing into icons of wealth, business men who gave up on their dreams morphing into instruments that represent their musical desires, corrupt politicians fearmongering and clasping onto power, religious icons marching together talking about changing religions - representing Japan's cult problem and people using religion as an out, people trapped in their homes and computers depressed and nihilistic). This is all stuff that everyone has been collectively ignoring that has seeped into their dreams and finally, into the real world as a form of collective psychosis. The thing is, however, people repress things they see as undesirable - not things that are necessarily bad. Chiba is a very emotionally repressed person - quiet, judgemental and serious; yet Paprika is fun, playful and open-minded. Chiba has it in her head that these things are not desirable traits and thus pushes them into her dream form - Paprika, her shadow-self. One of the things she represses (as seen by her outburst at Tokita - when she's getting angry at him she's trying to reason with herself as to why she shouldn't like him even though she knows she does) is her love for Tokita - who is seen as a classically undesirable man and goes against her very socially concerned conscious mind. The way to deal with the "shadow-self" is through a process called "integration" where you become aware of your own shadow and the negative aspects of your personality, accept them instead of repressing them and try to manage it harmoniously. This is why Paprika and Chiba merged and became powerful. Unlike the chairman or the other occupants of the dream - Chiba accepts her love for Tokita and accepts Paprika - thereby integrating with her shadow and becoming "whole". Psychologically - she becomes the most functional and powerful person there and can deal with everyone else's repression. The other thing is - as Tokita rambles about - the DC mini is not inherently an "evil" technology. It is a breakthrough for modern psychiatry. Even without the parade and the DC mini - everything seen in the Parade is actually an issue, actually something that was repressed. That's what Chiba/Paprika fights against and prevents through her psychiatry. But the Director actually pushes escapism - something that facilitates repression. Telling people to, if anything, repress more into the dream - and that these psychiatric intrusions (which undo the damages of such escapism) are violations of the escapism freedoms dreams give you. Not surprising that it goes for this angle as the film also draws comparisons between movies and dreams - movies also being another form of escapism. I think there's two things being said in this movie - 1) that the uncontrolled (represented by the refrigerators and other technologies leading the "march" of the parade) march of progress of late-stage crony capitalism leads social repression, is what - 2) escapism in movies draws away from and excuses. "Movies should not just be about escapism - they should say something and further society." - mirrored by how Paprika uses the DC mini vs the Chairman (or even, arguably, Tokita), and how the cop (forgot his name) uses his dreams to learn about himself vs the chairman and his lackey using them to live out their repressed desires as "escapism". Sorry - I know it's a long read but I love how far this movie dives into psychology and sociology in a way that's not totally in your face. I prefer this to Inception because as movies about dreams go - you'd expect it to be more about subjectivity and psychology with crazy visuals and metaphors vs. sci-fi action with strict and direct rules (also it's not just because it's "limited to live-action" thats very ignorant given you have film-makers like lynch who can capture a similar feel. It's not the medium - you can make live action as stylized as you want like Scott Pilgrim. Filmmakers are the ones responsible for this and honestly Nolan is quite boring and rarely has anything to say). Not to say Inception isn't well made, of course. Also the "nonsense" the characters say actually resembles schizophrenic word salad. It seems nonsensical but if you focus and break it down most of the words are relational - the film hints at this by mirroring Tokita's real life speech to detective Konokawa about his own optimistic view on the dc mini with his first "dream" appearance as the robot when he bursts into the detective's dream. The crazy ramblings that Dr. Shima has at the beginning also has a deeper meaning. Edit: I also recommend watching an English lyric video for the song that plays during the Parade. It's literally just called "Parade" by Susumu Hirasawa and it uses metaphors (some more literal than others) to elaborate more on the themes.
4:30 Did you know this technology finally exists? Its about 75% acurate currently and uses AI to print wheat ut dreaming on a scream in real time. Its wild
This is so weird. Lately, I've been reminiscing about old movies I saw a long time ago. I look on my fyp and bam, BionicPig uploads about that exact film. I'm scared.
The entire you get killed/hurt in the dream, you also get killed/hurt in real life reminds me of Death 13 from JJBA. What's more terrifying about that, though, is you have no way to defend yourself and if you do somehow survive, you won't remember what happened, so you have no chance to prepare
This movie sure was a TRIP! It’s a good anime movie. With beautiful animation and sequences. It’s irritating that everyone seems to love throwing sh*t on Inception because it has maybe a couple scenes that look similar. But I’m reality, Inception and Paprika are 2 completely different movies. It might have to do with dreams, but the plots are completely different. Inception: a man and his team go into a dream to implant an idea into their target Paprika: a woman and her dream version try finding a culprit who’s corrupting people’s dreams. So at the end of the day, 2 movies with different plots and are not the same as people will try to accuse because of a similar scene or 2. Props to both directors of their own movies, respectively. And RIP to Satoshi Kahn
Satoshi Kon was goated, the intro sequence to Paprika was amazing My take is that Paprika is just a different part of Shiba, when she is shown in the real world as Paprika, it's still Shiba but she views herself as Paprika so she gets dressed up as Paprika. In Paranoia agent Satoshi also made a similar character if you remember, Harumi, who has dissociative identity disorder, is a teacher engaged to her coworker and was meek and quiet but has a completely different personality named Maria who was basically her polar opposite. Her Maria personality would even put on a fake mole, dress in a completely different style, put on various wigs, and worked as a prostitute. Shiba/Paprika feel like a different version of Harumi/Maria in a sense, but with a less bittersweet ending. Also I always interpreted Shiba not having dreams as Paprika basically being "awake" in her dreams.
You should check out the Memories anime short film trilogy which Satoshi Kon also wrote for along with Katsuhiro Otomo. Very interesting films and great films.
Satoshi Kon was a genius and a lot of his works involve Jungian psychology! Understanding his pieces like Paprika, Perfect Blue, and Paranoia Agent may be benefited by learning about things like the anima and animus, the ego and shadow, and the collective unconscious. Hell, if you like anime and Jung, I really recommend Serial Experiments Lain! Very trippy, very Jungian, wildly liminal
One of my favorite movies from Satoshi Kon, though my #1 will always be Tokyo Godfathers, with #2 being the TV series, Paranoia Agent. His legacy will live on, but I surely miss what else he could have created if he was still alive today.
RIP Satoshi Kon, there will never be another like him.
F
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Gone way too soon.
@DontReadMyProfilePicture.57If you say so
Well, we have Junji Ito. He's close.
I figure that Paprika is a part of Chiba's personality that she keeps hidden/repressed since she's suppose to be a doctor. Professional. Most likely told to not act like that from people around her, like parents. I suspect she found that it was either easier to explore dreams with that alter-ego of hers or people find it more comforting to have that side of her in their dreams, which is why she shows up as Paprika in dreams. You never see Chiba as herself real life self in anyone else's dreams. You only see her irl self in dreams when they're affecting reality. In my opinion, this movie isn't just about dreams escaping into reality, but also a story about Chiba finally accepting this part of her that she only lets out in dreams. When you see Paprika irl, I feel those are times when Chiba is letting that alter-ego slip out, which is why Konakawa sees her as Paprika. It could also be residual from using the DC Mini. When you see Chiba and Paprika together in the real world is only when dreams are leaking into reality. I feel like when that happens, she's basically trying to convince herself that she's allowed to be both Dr. Chiba and Paprika.
I’m so happy you’re covering all the great Satoshi Kon movies! These movies are pillars in anime history in my opinion. With the Silent Hill 2 OST in the background….. couldn’t be a better TH-camr for me to watch. Just perfection.
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Maybe its bc I watched it for the first time when I was like 7yrs old but my understanding is Paprika is an interdimentional being connected to the whimsical and childlike parts of Shiba since she is so serious all of the time. I think Paprika is her own entity split apart from Shiba but who is also able to experience whatever Shiba is doing at any given moment. Like an everything everywhere all at once kind of deal
Nah, it's more like Paprika is Chiba's inner Vtuber persona that only manifests in dreams
@@ThaSandwitch Perfect Blue reference?
Another interesting parallel between Paprika and Inception is the idea that dreams are like movies. Inception has all the characters representing a production crew (director, producer, screenwriter, actor, executive, sfx, etc) and staging an elaborate show to communicate an idea-and Paprika makes the same metaphor. Even stops the story to talk about filmmaking
that's not a parallel, fyi. Inception is famously based on Paprika. one could say it's a very loose remake of Paprika
Pig might not be pregnant but he always delivers
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Gold. I’m giving you credit for this whenever I say it 🖤
Paprika and Akira are on the same level of “I don’t truly know what’s going on but I like it” and that’s all that matters to me
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The movie implies that Dr. Chiba has overcome an unamed psychological disorder that informs her practice. I think Paprika is the resulting jettisoned personality. I think even though Chiba was "cured" by separating herself, she has to reassimilate with Paprika to become whole again throughout the film.
Also I go hard for Tokida.
I think it's about psychological integration: Chiba acknowledges that she loves Tokita, and reconciles her conscious self (hard-ass, straight-laced) with her unconscious self (Paprika); also, her realisation means male and female are integrated, which makes her/them more powerful than the chairman's male-only nightmare-god, so she out-gods him - Chiba/Paprika/Tokita integrated, are able to absorb and settle the cosmic nightmare.
Konakawa also integrates his past with his present, which I think is why his last line (at the cinema kiosk, in the Japanese-language, English subtltled version) goes "one adult, please." It's a brilliant, brilliant line. He's an integrated adult now, so it's OK for him to watch the movie about Dreaming Kids now (Konakawa and the Other Guy were themselves dreaming kids, dreaming about making movies)... suggested by Paprika who... represents the subconscious?
I definitely saw this movie at way too young of an age since it was the time of adults thinking, "it's a cartoon, so it's for kids" And although it seemed chaotic even then, I remember loving it! Even as I knew nothing
I've watched this movie before, and I think a lot of people don't realize how absolutely disturbing and eerie the scenes that have the parade in them are. All of the "people" in the parade all make noise, but there's some sort of music playing, so the sound the parade makes as it's on screen is terrifying, along with the visuals. These parts of the movie (the parts where they're showing the parade and all of the things in it) genuinely made me disturbed. The movie itself is amazing, though I personally like Perfect Blue more.
I always found the parade music catchy
Your videos explain such deep complex feelings in such an engaging and applicable way. Thank you! I clicked on this particular video because I sometimes have the experience of "sharing" dreams with people, and it's cool as in, there's a deep sense of connection, but also frightening. I'm not sure what the psychological/biological/whatever mechanisms behind it are, but movies like these at least provide me a sense of comfort that I'm not the only one this weird stuff happens to, or at least that someone else has thought about it.
AAAAHHH I'M SO GLAD!!! THANK YOOUU!!! I was seriously hoping you'd cover Paprika, I literally cannot get enough of it 😭 Everything from the colours, the SOUNDTRACK, it's addicting. My favourite scene has to be when you first see all the dreams collide and Konakawa is just stood there with this mannequin with that dumb face 🧡
I'VE COME WITH ANSWERS FOR EVERYTHING.
Paprika (like every Satoshi Kon THING) is one of my favorite things in life, and after investigating and watching it like a gillion times I've got answers BUT BEFORE YOU KEEP READING:
Paprika and it's joys comes from theorizing andcoming up with your theories so even if there is like a "true version", dosen't make the fun of theories and talking about it less relevant. Besides this can ruin twist for some people so PLZ PLZ WATCH PAPRIKA, GO, IS AMAZING, GO!
(also my first language is Spanish, so, sorry for the mistakes I will make)
So, if you guys want some answers (and spoilers), let me explain a lil bit!
Paprika is based on a book written by Yasataka Tsutsui and Kon has always been a fan of the novel (so if you can, check that, super sureal and based in psychoanalysis!)
Paprika is the discussion of subconcious, concious and how both influence each other, like if you go to sleep while watching a movie your dreams can be influenced by the images you saw, the sounds, even the sents. So for the movie's purposes Paprika is a mix (salt and peper comment, remember?) of the concious and the subconcious, she is not a pure dream persona because she holds the memories and logic of the conscious otherwise she could not therapy others, but it still reflects the desires, inner insecurities and represion that Dr. Chiba has about herself. Parpika is a manic pixie dream girl that fills the need of a guide that you can trust and not jsut a clinical view of a doctor.
Chiba is a very serious and work-focused person who barely smiles and always present herself in a cold and elegant way, Paprika being playful, free, very casual, adventurous, caring and eager for new things, with a strong youth energy that can appoach others easily, a thing Chiba really wants, because that carefree and chill attitude, where even your job is a game, is exactly the thing that attracts her to Tokito, and that's why over the whole movie you see her trying to get closer, but instead of giving in with the game and the chill vibes, she does what Dr. Chiba does best and presents herself in a caring but cold way, always asking him to do this or that, that sounds like a nagging but comes from a deep longing and desire to see the other person happy.
This vision is why Paprika is such an effective "tool" at first, but why it alos takes "a mind of it's own" since even Chiba cannot accept that Paprika is just an extension of herself, very Jeckyll and Hyde where both sides are jsut the same person, but they are unable to reconcilie that concept.
At the end, with the detective, we see the pivotal moment of "separation" form Chiba and Parpika, as they lay down in a hotel room and using even sexual appeal to guide a trouble mind to a proper place,a fter all, there is a reason why "attractiveness" is such an important thing, we tend to give in to attractive or beautiful people and tend to repell the people we consider unappealing (which also tells you that Chiba, despite being a beautiful woman, feels unattractive, because she cannot attract the attention of the genius that she fancies deep down).
So, to not make an essay about this (and leave some room to connect dots) let me go for the questions in this video:
The detective's trauma comes from several places (very Another Brick in the Wall) but all connects in his anxiety, which also has a meta context if you know about Satoshi Kon's life, but that would be for you to investigate, is heartbreaking but fascinating. So, the main traumas for the detective are: Leaving his dream of becoming a movie director with his best friend who used to make movies with him when they were young AND killing a young thug (17 floor?~). "Abandoning and betraying" his friend connected with a violent act over a youngster that was in that same age "full of dreams" even if he was a dangerous criminal makes him queston three things: If he really left his best fream dream "to die" (or if he killed "the dream" by becoming a detective even when his friend died), if he could have saved more lives (th thug's) if he became a director, and if he has the right to keep going after "killing" his best friend in the form of unfinished movies, and killing a, welp, a kid in a way. In a way he became a detective to keep playing "movies" but reality always hits.
Detective did recive a card from Dr. Chiba but not asPaprika, is implied she gave it before and Paprika was used as a "reminder" in case he needed it, the whole scene in the cafe is both a movie reference (specially with the barman and waiter) and a metaphorical encounter in a chatroom that was crafted to mingle with the wants, needs and desires of the detective so he could open up.
Himuro, the "creepy doll" assistant, had this to do: He actually was gay and obsessed with beauty, he wanted to be beautiful, like a doll, and couldn't deal with both things and his infatuation with Osanai (the creep). The chairman convinced him to experiment with the limits of the dream machine by using Osanai as a token of exchange to experment with his mind until Himuro became the "source of madness".
Osanai was a creep and a bootlicker, the chairman offered up money and power and Chiba in a way and he was willing to do ANYTHING to get this things.
And the chairman started with a simple wish, be released of a dying body that couldn't even walk anymore, envying and desiring the young and attractive body that Osanai had as he could do "amazing things" if only he was younger again. The amalgamation of greed, power and need morphed into a monster where Himuro was used and dried up, while the chairman started wanting to "transfer" his mind to Osanai (thats why they end up mixing up when Osanai is trying to abuse Paprika- no, Chiba (thats why she "opens Paprika up", to reveal the true persona hiding in her, Chiba) and why the "madness" sweep around them all twisting their dreams, fucking up their minds and making the "I will consume all" black monster thingie.
Finally, the little girl that becomes Chiba after she (Paprika) was tackled to oblivion by Tokito, is like the birth of a new dream, a dream that comes from a deep love for herself and others, the acceptance of her being and how she presents in the concious and unconcious, absorbing this "nonsensical greed" to recreate the dream worl as it should be, a place where even nightmares have a place but, at the end of the day, a place to "be" in the most abstract way possible (this is a little fucked up, even after all the investigation I'm still a bit iffy about this, but hey, I wont fight the author and director lol). So she becomes the "beacon" of dreams in a way, the one who rectify them by leaving them in dreamland and recovering the barrier between the inner desires (as dark as they can be) and the concious self.
Hope this helped, this is a LOT of text but maybe it cleared up a few thinngs, and thanks for reading if you reached so far!
Really good comment! Gracias 👍
Really great comment! This clears up a lot of things and is super interesting!!
@@jessiewuzhere123 No hay de que! Glad I could help even a little!
@@RoachKw33n Thank you kindly! It is fascinating to me as everything Satoshi Kon touched, I'm happy I could help!
que quieres decir "ovie reference"? What is ovie?
I grew up watching Tokyo Godfathers. That movie holds a special place in my heart and I rewatch it every Christmas. Weirdly, I didn't watch Paprika until recently. And I didn't realize it was made from the same studio that made Tokyo Godfathers. I recognized the style of animation and character designs immediately. It was an incredible experience, and rest in peace Kon sensei. We will never forget you.
I ADORE Satoshi Kon's work, he is an absolute genius. I also really enjoy that he very often used an artist named Susumu Hirasawa in his work. The dreamlike sound of Susumu's music worked so brilliantly with Satoshi's style and themes he liked to use.
On another note, I'm not sure if you've ever heard about this, but there's a very weird horror/scifi anime called Alien 9 that is very underrated in my opinion, and I think you might find it interesting!
Susumu also did the soundtrack for the 90's Berserk series
Alien 9 is one of my favorite anime! It's so underrated
Susumu Hirasawa is one of the best songwriters ever (in my opinion). Even if his songs are unconventional and weird at times, he's experimenting and creating new sounds that no one has heard before.
@@PeacockandPuppets Ah yes I remember that! I love the original Berserk anime
@@kiraseymour8307 Yesss it's one of my favorites too! It's so oddly wacky in a way I haven't been able to find in anything else
Dr. Chiba has confidence issues and trouble expressing her feelings fully. People with that issue tend to make a 'character' of confidence. It's not a split personality, but rather a 'roll' one can put on to help them feel more confident. Paprika is that for Dr. Chiba.
It's always kinda funny to watch shit like this as someone who's mentally ill because it makes total sense to me but I can't explain it in a normal, "sane" way. I gotta actually watch this movie for real now. This kinda stuff makes me really introspective because that "dream meets reality" thing is just my everyday life, and even the part where my reflection of myself tries to help me or I try to help them is something that's happened quite a lot. I kinda see it like the side of her that wants to help people recognizes she needed help too and tried to get her to see that, almost like a dream version of the voice of reason. This is good stuff, thanks for showing it to us Bionic!
The thing with Satoshi Kon’s films is you can’t take everything you see literally, even with his more tame features like millennium princess or Tokyo Godfathers. Like Paranoia Agent, Paprika is filled with visual metaphors and I think just things the filmmakers just thought looked cool haha
What timing, I was just thinking about this movie for the first time in years! I watched it and loved it when it came out and listened to the soundtrack on repeat for a while there. It's such an underrated masterpiece.
This movie is one of the greatest animated films I've ever seen.
I rented it from a library and never found it again.
ANOTHER BANGER!! Loved this movie, watched it a couple days after Perfect Blue fucked my brain up for life. RIP Satoshi Kon. So important and always will be remembered fondly.
15:00 Incorrect. It was still in a dream, but it was Chiba's/Paprika's. She can not only view other's dreams, but pull them into her own. She uses the DC Mini to perform therapy on people by acting as a "host", her dream space being much like a therapist's office.
Every time you see the card, it's in a dream. No matter how realistic the world seems, he's dreaming when he looks at it. That's why he goes into the computer, it's all a dream.
In other words: 18:45 18:55 Yes, and yes.
I LITERALLY WAS WATCHING PAPRIKA ON A PLANE AND COULDN’T WAIT TO SEE ANALYSIS VIDEOS AND THERE YOU ARE
Yes! I was hoping you would cover this one! Thanks pig!
I think the scene where Paprika gives him the card is a dream; she probably just left one with him in reality too.
I wonder how their therapy sessions start though? Perhaps Konakawa has to already be wearing the DC mini and asleep surely? I imagine she can have a certain influence in the dream setting - she wants him to believe he is awake in his hotel room as they analyse the results. The analysis and what they’re watching is likely real as that’s the whole point of the session, so it makes sense theyd both want that part to be as realistic as possible but my guess is the detective may be in a sort of sleepwalking state during this time? Or more likely we’re not supposed to take it literally. After all, Paprika immediately goes off into her fantastical intro montage.
She is an idealised version of Chiba - she’s confident, charismatic and unashamed of her sexuality. She is Chiba’s dream version of herself, even though she’s not necessarily what Chiba actually wants to be. She uses Paprika to connect with her patients in a way that just wouldn’t work with the stoic Dr Chiba. Paprika has all her therapist knowledge but also the whimsy and go with the flow attitude necessary for helping a patient process their dreams. When the dream world and reality blurs, Paprika has taken on a life of her own just like all the other dreams.
Ok I’m done sorry 👉👈
Exactly
Favorite Satoshi Kon movie I watched, R.I.P the legend who made this underrated gem that I enjoy a lot in my college years
I watched his blue perfect video last night, it makes some so happy to immediately get another video like it
W on pig for giving us a timer for how long the ad was. Man deserves more praise than he already gets.
I saw this movie years ago and I still think it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to an acid trip
Paprika has been one of my favorite movies for years and it's so awesome to see you covering it
My theory is that Shiba is a therapist, but since she does therapy by going into her clients dreams; that's a deeply intimate vulnerable place, so she uses the paprika persona to distance herself from her patience and maintain a professional relationship where there is separation. Especially because she has to participate in the dream which can go anywhere, it's very important to keep a clear boundary and in this case using an altar ego makes perfect sense to do that.
I can never watch things like this bc I always end up zoning out and missing half of the clues and then I never know what’s going on, that’s why I love videos like this 🤯😊
I'm sitting here watching this on my little pop-out screen while playing Minecraft when your video had the eating sound NGL I was scared like "I didn't eat anything in the game! Can villagers eat!!!" So thanks for the mini mind F*ck! LOL!!!
I've been meaning to watch this for many many moons. Thanks for making this video, I'm going to watch it now. I'll be back to watch this after.
I have to say the editing in the video was top tier. Also I'm definitely going to watch this now.
the editing in this video is everything to me
Paprika is an amazing movie made by an even more amazing man. If you want a chance to see it on the big screen, look up Anime Expo cinema nights and see if there's a participating theater near you. I just went to the 25th anniversary showing of Perfect Blue (I even cosplayed Mima to it!), and they'll be doing showings of Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika too!!
Thanks for this info! I knew they were doing this for ghibli but I'd love to see paprika in the theater!
I saw this as a teen in a movie theater! I remember freaking out bec there was a billboard of Paprika outside of the window outside the movie theater. We were on like the 4th floor, it was after we saw that movie and she looked massive. I had an “omg we’re in the dream” moment and nearly fainted 😂
I’m so glad you covered this omg
You're one of my favorite TH-camrs! So exited for the song of the sea review!
7:12 Wait! I was trying to understand this! Then I realized what you were doing! Haha!
This film looks so familiar to me. I started watching this because you popped up because your content is sort of like others I sub to. I now sub to you too. And I was like ooooooo something I've not seen and looks crazy. Now I'm questioning my own mind. Have I seen this and my brain was so confused it blocked it out and now it's only slightly coming back to me. It's so new yet crazy not new and familiar. Maybe I saw it in a dream. 😅
Hey Pig!
2 movies you'll most definitely dig (you'll dig them so damn hard 😉):
'Mind Game' (2004)
'Aachi & Ssipak' (2006)
Satoshi Kon is one of the great ones, may he Rest in Peace. I still feel strange when I watch Paranoid Agent. Back in the day I never got to see Perfect Blue and Im kinda glad I got to see it as an adult cause I don't think as a teen I would've gotten it the same way. Ive never watched Paprika tho and I cant wait to watch it.
Side old woman note: Man, Opera GX reminds me of the days when you could do that to Windows by downloading themes from specific animes and stuff, the same with Winamp (RIP), I had so many themes from Ruroni Kenshin for both Windos and Winamp lol I miss things being customizable, like Myspace and stuff. Damn, Im old
Osanai became a gay prostitute just so he can SA some lady he works with? Did I hear that correctly???
Finally a movie I've already seen! I feel so informed.
That part where you question reality hit as i was wondering what the hell you were saying then had a eureka moment as my wife walked in and basically caused an endless loop
I never had a problem understanding Paprika, but Perfect Blue on the hand i had to watch a few times before everything clicked.
I can’t tell if he titled the video“This movie with melt your mind” on purpose or it’s a typo
Liking, commenting, and watching on low volume. I wanna watch the movie before I watch this for real, but I wanna give my support.
Ultimate mind duckery, I remember I had to watch Perfect Blue 3+ times to figure out what the heck was going on, and I loved every viewing.
I saw Tokyo godfathers just before Christmas a couple years ago and I fell in love with it. Yes I am mad they took it off Netflix
It's free on TH-cam!
I remember being 1 of 3 people in the theater opening day to watch this amazing movie
" it's the spice of life!!!"
I love Paprika. I've been meaning to rewatch it recently.
it's even better the second time
i love Satoshi Kon's work (RIP❤️) and Paprika with all my heart!! ever since i watched the movie i've been obsessed with the song Parade that plays accompanying the parade nightmare/hallucination, it's so chaotic and beautiful at the same time! i love especially when it eases from the background (when Paprika and Detective Konakawa are in the movie theater) and is used more orchestrated in the final climatic scene in the movie! the artist (Susuma Hirasawa) behind the song is very talented and i've been enjoying his other works ever since
I feel this way very strongly about Charlie Kaufman’s films; they don’t usually make sense to me-especially since I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really understand abstract concepts in film without help-but they always hold my attention and make it hard to look away from the screen. Probably because they’re always so well-made
This is cool and you're so good at explaining movies and shows
"You guys like drugs right?"
Me smoking a bowl while watching this video: uuuuuh maybe....
Paprika is a MASTERPIECE
I stumbled into Paprika on Tubi and I was so happy when I did because I was like OMG THIS IS THAT ONE MINDFUCK MOVIE EVERYBODY WAS TALKING ABOUT ON TIKTOK FOR A WHILE and it was such a great movie. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did
To bionic before I star I have major depression and alot but I'm also spiritual I hope to make videos like you guys one day when I can be healthier. So for Paprika in this I see it as a real person spiritual who can also Astral project where you can control them and empathic feel others and are able to be in there's but inside and out. Noone think she exists but she does she's just there to help and I think it's a metaphor on the people that do see you but so inside we don't believe those people exist. Love to tall about this but all love and love you mate
So glad you reviewed this one man
My favorite animated movie of all time. Fucking masterpiece.
It sounds like it's a classic inception "what you thought was reality was a dream all along".
this is 3000% more entertaining than listening to someone who actually knows what’s going on
15:00 i feel she had multiple personality disorder and the physical paprika is just the movies way of showing that. and also when they meet in the other scene if someone bubbly and cheery suddenly becomes serious and emotionless i would assume its her twin sister of she is in a bad mood or he already know she has the disorder so he dose not want to intervene too much. also i got shivers at the end when i first saw this movie and i got shiver at the end of this video aswell XD
I remember loving this movie but couldn’t explain why. It was just so good to have my brain melted and played with.
dance of the sugar plum fairy used to be my ringtone (it has not been for a while now) but whenever pig uses it i check my phone 😭😭 i pavloved myself
My favorite part of this video is as soon as he said everyone loves drugs I was in the middle of a leaf sesh
Satoshi Kon's works play into the surreal mind bending genre that makes you question what is real and what is dream.
You can see he experimented with this in his various manga (yes manga) primary in Opus. But sadly manga is limited in these sorts of mind bending escapes. But it did take off with the creation of Perfect Blue. And that blend of dream and reality carried on in his future movies. And Paprika is the ultimate perfection of that reality warping dream like genre.
Just like the movie 💕
15:50 So the more someone believes in their dream, the more powerful their dream is.
satoshi kon is one of the few directors i have loved from childhood to adulthood.
Yes i loved this it was great! fantastic job on the video
Watched this for the first time recently n it honestly reminded me more of MANIAC with Emma Stone & Jonah Hill. 🤔
I commented this somewhere else but this is my interpretation -
There's alot that is non-literal in this movie and based on Jungian psychology. There's a concept in Jungian psychology called "the Shadow-Self" that denotes that people tend to repress their undesirable personality aspects into the unconscious. By continuing to ignore these undesirable aspects of one's personality the shadow-self grows out of control and causes a plethora of neurosis. That's what alot of "the collective dream"/"parade" is - kind of like a collective societal version of "the shadow" - the parts of modern late-stage capitalist society that the general population ignores ("represses"). That's why in the parade - you see representations of Japan's societal evils (opening with salary men committing suicide, parents raising their children for money morphing into icons of wealth, business men who gave up on their dreams morphing into instruments that represent their musical desires, corrupt politicians fearmongering and clasping onto power, religious icons marching together talking about changing religions - representing Japan's cult problem and people using religion as an out, people trapped in their homes and computers depressed and nihilistic). This is all stuff that everyone has been collectively ignoring that has seeped into their dreams and finally, into the real world as a form of collective psychosis. The thing is, however, people repress things they see as undesirable - not things that are necessarily bad. Chiba is a very emotionally repressed person - quiet, judgemental and serious; yet Paprika is fun, playful and open-minded. Chiba has it in her head that these things are not desirable traits and thus pushes them into her dream form - Paprika, her shadow-self. One of the things she represses (as seen by her outburst at Tokita - when she's getting angry at him she's trying to reason with herself as to why she shouldn't like him even though she knows she does) is her love for Tokita - who is seen as a classically undesirable man and goes against her very socially concerned conscious mind. The way to deal with the "shadow-self" is through a process called "integration" where you become aware of your own shadow and the negative aspects of your personality, accept them instead of repressing them and try to manage it harmoniously. This is why Paprika and Chiba merged and became powerful. Unlike the chairman or the other occupants of the dream - Chiba accepts her love for Tokita and accepts Paprika - thereby integrating with her shadow and becoming "whole". Psychologically - she becomes the most functional and powerful person there and can deal with everyone else's repression.
The other thing is - as Tokita rambles about - the DC mini is not inherently an "evil" technology. It is a breakthrough for modern psychiatry. Even without the parade and the DC mini - everything seen in the Parade is actually an issue, actually something that was repressed. That's what Chiba/Paprika fights against and prevents through her psychiatry. But the Director actually pushes escapism - something that facilitates repression. Telling people to, if anything, repress more into the dream - and that these psychiatric intrusions (which undo the damages of such escapism) are violations of the escapism freedoms dreams give you. Not surprising that it goes for this angle as the film also draws comparisons between movies and dreams - movies also being another form of escapism. I think there's two things being said in this movie - 1) that the uncontrolled (represented by the refrigerators and other technologies leading the "march" of the parade) march of progress of late-stage crony capitalism leads social repression, is what - 2) escapism in movies draws away from and excuses. "Movies should not just be about escapism - they should say something and further society." - mirrored by how Paprika uses the DC mini vs the Chairman (or even, arguably, Tokita), and how the cop (forgot his name) uses his dreams to learn about himself vs the chairman and his lackey using them to live out their repressed desires as "escapism".
Sorry - I know it's a long read but I love how far this movie dives into psychology and sociology in a way that's not totally in your face.
I prefer this to Inception because as movies about dreams go - you'd expect it to be more about subjectivity and psychology with crazy visuals and metaphors vs. sci-fi action with strict and direct rules (also it's not just because it's "limited to live-action" thats very ignorant given you have film-makers like lynch who can capture a similar feel. It's not the medium - you can make live action as stylized as you want like Scott Pilgrim. Filmmakers are the ones responsible for this and honestly Nolan is quite boring and rarely has anything to say). Not to say Inception isn't well made, of course.
Also the "nonsense" the characters say actually resembles schizophrenic word salad. It seems nonsensical but if you focus and break it down most of the words are relational - the film hints at this by mirroring Tokita's real life speech to detective Konokawa about his own optimistic view on the dc mini with his first "dream" appearance as the robot when he bursts into the detective's dream. The crazy ramblings that Dr. Shima has at the beginning also has a deeper meaning.
Edit: I also recommend watching an English lyric video for the song that plays during the Parade. It's literally just called "Parade" by Susumu Hirasawa and it uses metaphors (some more literal than others) to elaborate more on the themes.
Fly buzzes passed Pig’s face @ 5:52
I hate how few views he gets on amazing videos
Cause when I see him posting I immediately get excited
4:30
Did you know this technology finally exists? Its about 75% acurate currently and uses AI to print wheat ut dreaming on a scream in real time. Its wild
in 13:48 when he realises what that blow up reference is about is classic. smh 😆
13:00 exposed to what in the past??
Paranoia Agent is also one of my favorite things that Satoshi Kon worked on. It's a miniseries but...but... Just watch it, you won't regret.
This is so weird. Lately, I've been reminiscing about old movies I saw a long time ago. I look on my fyp and bam, BionicPig uploads about that exact film. I'm scared.
The entire you get killed/hurt in the dream, you also get killed/hurt in real life reminds me of Death 13 from JJBA. What's more terrifying about that, though, is you have no way to defend yourself and if you do somehow survive, you won't remember what happened, so you have no chance to prepare
This movie sure was a TRIP! It’s a good anime movie. With beautiful animation and sequences.
It’s irritating that everyone seems to love throwing sh*t on Inception because it has maybe a couple scenes that look similar. But I’m reality, Inception and Paprika are 2 completely different movies. It might have to do with dreams, but the plots are completely different.
Inception: a man and his team go into a dream to implant an idea into their target
Paprika: a woman and her dream version try finding a culprit who’s corrupting people’s dreams.
So at the end of the day, 2 movies with different plots and are not the same as people will try to accuse because of a similar scene or 2. Props to both directors of their own movies, respectively. And RIP to Satoshi Kahn
FINALLY!!! THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES
Satoshi Kon was goated, the intro sequence to Paprika was amazing
My take is that Paprika is just a different part of Shiba, when she is shown in the real world as Paprika, it's still Shiba but she views herself as Paprika so she gets dressed up as Paprika. In Paranoia agent Satoshi also made a similar character if you remember, Harumi, who has dissociative identity disorder, is a teacher engaged to her coworker and was meek and quiet but has a completely different personality named Maria who was basically her polar opposite. Her Maria personality would even put on a fake mole, dress in a completely different style, put on various wigs, and worked as a prostitute. Shiba/Paprika feel like a different version of Harumi/Maria in a sense, but with a less bittersweet ending.
Also I always interpreted Shiba not having dreams as Paprika basically being "awake" in her dreams.
Finally you got to Paprika!
I saw the thumbnail before I read the title and said "That art looks like a Satoshi Kon". Then I saw it was Paprika. Man had a style.
You should check out the Memories anime short film trilogy which Satoshi Kon also wrote for along with Katsuhiro Otomo. Very interesting films and great films.
Saw this at a friend's house. Trippy as hell
I had a few dreams with Bionic in them, I think this video was I in a dream because this video feels familiar. It might be a re upload vid
Satoshi Kon was a genius and a lot of his works involve Jungian psychology! Understanding his pieces like Paprika, Perfect Blue, and Paranoia Agent may be benefited by learning about things like the anima and animus, the ego and shadow, and the collective unconscious. Hell, if you like anime and Jung, I really recommend Serial Experiments Lain! Very trippy, very Jungian, wildly liminal
This is why Krueger and the Nightmare on Elm Street series is my favourite horror. Dream killers
I love this movie and the soundtrack slaps
I LOVE THIS MOVIE- i never clicked on a video so fast!!!😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️
It was a manifestation of his subconscious helping him solve the case
One of my favorite movies from Satoshi Kon, though my #1 will always be Tokyo Godfathers, with #2 being the TV series, Paranoia Agent. His legacy will live on, but I surely miss what else he could have created if he was still alive today.