This blog runs on the PS2’s EmotionEngine. Boggy is somewhere on the spectrum between Mitsuri’s boob window and Greg’s tea kettle.
Media Noms: Week 19 2026
May 4th - May 10th 2026
Movie Review: Tokyo Godfathers
So this is what happens when a woman is allowed in the writers room for a Satoshi Kon-directed film.
I am so happy that I watched Tokyo Godfathers last. Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue, and Paprika share so many qualities that there is an undeniable fun that comes from watching them back-to-back as you begin to see the similarities across the films. Yet, they are distinct enough in themes, animation, and time period that they are standalone worth watching. Tokyo Godfathers doesn’t rely on the many shared themes of Satoshi Kon’s other works, this film is linear, paced slowly so that you can feel the world, it’s human, and in many ways simple in that our lives are common, yet often spectacular. Based on how poorly women are written and represented in his other films, I was particularly on guard with a drag queen/transsexual character, but I think they pulled it off. The scenes of the drag club and Hana’s interactions with her drag mother were very resonant and felt authentic. The way they acknowledge the terror in Chiyoko’s story, but also have an easy understanding that these are real things that happen more often than anyone would like to admit. The dynamic between the three main characters is excellent. Each character has excellent motivations and core flaws that play out in believable and meaningful ways, of note is when Gin meets his daughter and Hana tells him off, only to speak movingly about love to Miyuki. Humanity, and love, is messy. It’s a pendulum that’s constantly swinging as we rise above ourselves, only to cast ourselves back into our depths once more. It’s about transgression and redemption. Each character has these moments, yet I never hated or praised any of the characters.
…Movie Review: Paprika
I’ve finally watched the most famous Satoshi Kon film, at least in my sphere. I had never heard of Millennium Actress or Perfect Blue, but Paprika and Tokyo Godfathers are on every must-watch anime movie list.
What this film cemented for me is that in the Satoshi Kon universe, the most powerful creatures are girls who can skip around the world. Paprika is visually striking in a way that sets it apart from Millennium Actress - beautiful, but unexpectedly so - and Perfect Blue, the most standard animation of the films so far. I am noticing a few trends at this point. First, Kon’s use of the grotesque. Whether it’s the stalker in Perfect Blue or the officers/villains in Millennium Actress, it is perhaps more pronounced in Paprika with the surreal dolls and how much attention is placed on Tokita, the obese inventor of the DC mini. Second, there is always some weird fucking shit with women which hasn’t aged well at all. It seems contrived and dull, and more importantly takes away from the big messages that his films are trying to convey about the nature of reality, lived experience, and perception. I don’t need a great film like Paprika to end with some bullshit about the hot, up-tight girl falling for the nerd who is unwilling to change in any way. I don’t need to belabor the point of what type of dynamic that reinforces. Third, endings that are pretty objectively poor. Millennium Actress is by far the word offender, but Paprika’s is still quite poor. In all three films I have seen thus far, I can unequivocally say that in each case the last few lines of dialogue being cut would substantially improve the overall feeling of these films. Lastly, I think that Kon’s films have left an indelible mark because of how capacious they are as sources of interpretation. In each of the films, the nature of reality is the central focus. In Paprika, it’s your dreams. In Millennium Actress, it’s your memories. And, in Perfect Blue, it’s perception - your self perception and how it can be manipulated by other’s view of you. This is why I make the point about the endings. What I appreciate about each of these films is that you can walk away with vastly different feelings and understandings of what the point of the film is, but by trying to answer anything in the final moments spoils that moment.
…Boggy Recommends: Slay the Princess
Release Year: 2023
Play Year: SP2026
Developer/Publisher: Black Tabby Games/Serenity Forge
Time to Beat: 1 Hours
Thoughts: Okay, you should just buy it and play it. You should be exposed to as little of this game as possible if you have any shot of every playing it. I will give my one-line sales pitch if you need it, but recommend not. This is if the Monty Python writers made the Stanley Parable, and if that doesn’t sell you that GTFO.
…Movie Review: Millennium Actress
Perfect Blue was my first Satoshi Kon movie. I saw it in theatres and it shook me, having gone in blind. I had no idea what to expect from Millennium Actress, but assumed it would be along the lines of psychological and/or thriller. I was so happy to be wrong. What I am noticing is that a staple of Kon so far is some level of blurring the lines between memory, perception, and reality. That is very present in Millennium Actress, even if it isn’t to instill fear and paranoia. Millennium Actress more than anything is beautiful. Not in its aesthetics or subject matter, though the animation is exactly as good as you would imagine, but instead through life. The interweaving of the mundane and movie spectacle, all wrapped in these reality blurring throughlines instills a deep sense of appreciation for life’s moments and a life well lived. A life with purpose and a life with regret, but ultimately a life of your own. With your own drives, fears, and loves. Ultimately, Millennium Actress centers the life of Chiyoko, who rose to stardom which only served as a means for her to find her love. All the while we witness this story through the eyes of a man who has fostered a deep, profound love for Chiyoko. The out-of-reach, the chasing, and the rejection - all pieces that comprise the totality of love, split apart in a story locked in the verb of love.
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