Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis Audiobook Review (Spoiler‑Free)

If you’re reading this review, then there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve either watched Satoshi Kon’s iconic 1997 film Perfect Blue, or you’ve at least heard its praises sung at some point in time. And speaking honestly, there’s a reason it’s among the most celebrated anime films out there—several reasons, in fact. Personally, it’s my favorite anime film of all time. But as much as I love Perfect Blue, this isn’t a review of it as fans may know it, but rather, a review of the 1991 novel that inspired it: Yoshikazu Takeuchi’s Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis. More specifically, this is a review of the audiobook version of it by Seven Seas Siren, read by Brittany Pressley (the voice of Flora in season 8 of Winx Club).

First, a Brief Plot Synopsis

Kirigoe Mima is a popular Japanese idol, but she’s getting older and wants to branch out into other projects and mediums. In the name of launching a rebrand, she models for a sexy photo book. Outraged and feeling as though it ruins Mima’s “purity,” a particular fan of hers finds that he just won’t stand for it. So he tries to take matters into his own hands—no matter what ends he has to go to to “save” her.

So, How is the Book Itself?

It’s easy to see how Kon was able to find inspiration in this unique novel. There’s a pervasive feeling of dread throughout the text that’s hard to shake. By the time the story reaches its climax, the panic that’s been slowly but steadily building the entire time feels palpable, making this novel hard to put down. This is to say nothing of its premise, which was remarkably ahead of its time. In fact, I’d argue that reading it in 2024—fresh off the heels of widespread discourse over Chappell Roan’s opinions on fame and fan interactions, no less—it feels extraordinarily current despite being more than thirty years old.

I’m sure plenty of you are probably wondering how much it differs from Kon’s movie, and the answer is quite a bit. Kon’s movie is only loosely based on this novel—their stories share a lot of the same broad strokes, but especially in the details they end up diverging pretty substantially. If I’m being honest, this is one of the rare cases where I think that the movie ended up a better version of this story than the book.

But that’s not because the book is weak as source material—in fact, if I haven’t already made it clear, I’ll state it plainly: I think the novel is great. But the key difference between the two versions of the story is that Kon brought a lot of psychological elements to it that largely aren’t present in the novel—elements that fit the story like a glove, and helped Kon to produce a more terrifying story that’s told more dramatically. All the same, I think fans of Kon and/or the movie would still get a lot out of reading/listening to this book—to say nothing of how they’d probably have a fun time doing so as well.

But How is it As An Audiobook?

I didn’t even know that Winx Club was still going in 2019—let alone seen any episodes of it that came out within the past fifteen years. Far from being a Winx Club aficionado, I remember watching at least a few episodes of it in the early/mid-2000s, but that’s where my familiarity with the franchise begins and ends. Narrator Brittany Pressley has had a few other roles in other projects, but as of the time of writing this, her brief stint in Winx Club as Flora in 2019 is by far the most notable thing she’s done.

This is a long-winded way of saying that while diehard Winx Club fans might recognize Pressley’s voice in this audiobook, it’s hard for me to gauge on a personal level. All the same, I can still say that she’s a great narrator and clearly realizes that she’s reading a horror novel. Pressley brings just the right amount of energy into her performance as the novel’s characters to bring out the tension that underscores this novel. The only thing I think I’d take points off for is that almost all of the book’s male character voices sound identical: well, really, all of them but Mima’s obsessive fan, but to be fair, if only one male character was going to sound distinct, this is the correct choice. But other than that, she does a good job overall.

Verdict:

If you like audiobooks and the Halloween season has put you in the mood for a good spine-tingling read, this is certainly a good choice. Matching this chilling novel is Pressley’s performance, which lets this narrative shine in all its creepy glory. The only people I wouldn’t readily recommend this to are people who aren’t particular fans of horror or people who don’t want to interact with content that contains a great deal of stalking, and graphic depictions of gore and violence.

If you liked Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis, you might also enjoy:

• Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue (1997)
• Oshi no Ko
• Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress

Credits:

Written by: Yoshikazu Takeuchi
Translated by: Nathan A. Collins
Cover Art by: Arvin Albo
Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
Published by: Seven Seas Entertainment (Siren Imprint)

A special thank you to Seven Seas Entertainment for allowing us the opportunity to review this title. Receiving a review copy has in no way altered the opinions expressed in this article.