This has been in my top films since I first watched it when I was 13 (arguably a few years below the 18 rating...) and I've been having the itch to rewatch it for a while. I did rewatch it not that long after my first watch, but all that being so many years ago, I had to see it with fresh eyes. The medium suits the film so so well, a lot of the dream like effects come from the fact that it is a 90s animated film. There is so much nostalgia baked into the haze of it all. Also a lot of the gore is in some ways detached. Yes it's gruesome, but it's able to push a lot of the unsettling scenes thanks to the unrealness of it. I watched it subbed (of course) but would like to watch the dub, I wonder if that will make it feel more "real" for me.

It's biggest strength for me now (apart from the style) is the entertainment theme and setting. It being contemporary highlights the massive change that having the internet can, did, and will make to those who have very public jobs like Mima as an idol, actress, model, and for people now in industies such as content creation. The website of Mima's Room that is supposedly Mima recounting her day is a scary mirror to vlogging and the unreality of supposedly "real" content. Thankfully it seems the entertainment industry has come father than the horrid lack of autonomy Mima has, but still those in the public eye struggle to have boundries with their fans and agencies. The mental health decline she experiences is not new to those in such jobs. In a lot of ways it's astonishing that this is a 90s film.

Now, the gore and mental health / horror that is Rumi and Me-Mania is less interesting to me. As a 13yr old it was edgy and I like the fact that a mental illness I thought I knew something about was being... "reprentated". I think there are some flaws with that side of things, mostly the ending tbh. But it doesn't detract from the story you get to watch. Now on to Paprika!