Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Captain_Albania
I watched Paprika with a group of friends, which honestly shaped my experience a lot. One of them really liked it and kept saying we just “didn’t get it,” and while I get that reactions to this movie vary, that only added to how frustrating the watch felt for me. Instead of feeling intrigued or challenged, I mostly felt lost.
The movie can't pick a lane. It was moving nonstop stop and it left me no time to understand and get grounded. By the end, it felt like watching a season finale without having seen the earlier episodes
I can admit that Paprika is creative and ambitious, but that doesn't make it good. The lack of narrative clarity made it hard to appreciate it. Instead of symbolism, feeling rewarding, it felt overwhelming and confusing.
The casual setting probably didn’t help either…
Read at the sourceLuxuriousHeart
This is the same person who directed Perfect Blue. Let that sink in. This film does have some brilliance. There's a story about a guy constantly chasing something in his dreams. That was a nice sequence with a plot twist. Unfortunately, it's not really connected to the overall plot, so meh. And before anyone says that I'm not intelligent enough to understand the plot, this plot isn't really hard to understand. It isn't like Utena where you have to watch multiple times and really think, in order to get it. Each rewatch, you catch something new and thinking of theories is always fun. That's why the fanbase is still thriving and theory crafting, decades later.
With Paprika, it just wasn't good. The characters were hit miss, with most of the cast being a miss. Paprika and Konakawa are interes…
Read at the sourceFondly_Acerbic
I normally wouldn’t write anything so negative about any anime because there is so much hard work that goes into it, but I picked Paprika to watch with my girlfriend (who is already lukewarm towards anime) in an attempt to show her a more mature side to the medium. I was expecting something Bladerunner-esque, and while what we got was quite unique, large portions of Paprika were kind of like watching Looney Tunes if it didn’t have any comedy.
The script content, and dreamworld happenings quickly became so nonsensical that I was embarrassed to show it to her, she fell asleep about halfway through, and I only actually watched 2/3 of it before stopping.
I can see how this movie could be an absolutely wild ride for a certain audience, but my last straw was a point in which Paprika saw a man wi…
Read at the sourceKynarr
Appalling. This was the first word I thought of while watching Paprika. It's a good thing there is a rating made specifically for this word.
Is there a line to be drawn where an artistic work simply should not exist? If anything comes close to crossing that line, it might just be Paprika.
Though it's made by a great studio, with good animation and flamboyant drawings, sitting through over an hour of some of the most grotesque works ever produced is at best painful.
I've taken a hard look at the reviews. The critical few maintain that the story is meaningless, that the characters are worthless, but that this is sort of redeemed thanks to the production quality and refreshing bizarrerie.
Those giving Paprika a high rating often agree they barely enjoy the movie, but feel it *deserves* a…
Read at the sourcesimplereviewer
Script - A group of sherlockian scientists are searching for a stolen macguffin technopiece that allows them to enter in patients' dreams. There's also a traumatized detective whose purpose besides participating in the artistic opening is to save the protagonist afterwards and have his struggle solved in a simplistic way because the movie was almost at the end. The antagonist is a one-dimensional anti-science old man who doesn't waste any opportunity of exposing his ideology and that also wants to merge reality with dreams because he's crazy. The heroes investigate until getting to the conclusion that was obvious to us from the start of the show, and after facing some real weird quasi-apocalyptical shit the protagonist defeats the villain, and they lived happily ever after. It's quite surp…
Read at the sourceAnimeindian
We all are blessed with power of imagination, we all crave something unique, something powerful, we all crave of what cannot be achieved, we all want to touch what cannot be touch, we want to build something that has never been built, we all want to become immortal through our work, because that is who we are that is what makes us human. Imagination is a powerful tool that can change the world, bend reality, it can make us look really stupid or smart beyond imagination. Imagination is, however, a double-edged sword, It can be both bad or good, it can be organized or disorganized, it can win hearts for good of the world or for devastation, Imagination also has the power of illusion and trickery.
You want me to summarize paprika in one or two sentences? Take your dog, get some colors and a…
Read at the sourceue6o7
Paprika, the last film of the late Satoshi Kon, is in a league of its own when compared to his other works—a league that is far, far below the rest. Satoshi Kon is, of course, a very talented director, and in that regard he still delivers for this film. The visuals are every bit as detailed as expected from him and his team, and the sheer amount of technical skill on display here is mind-blowing at times. Unfortunately, that's about where my praise for it ends.
Satoshi Kon films typically take you on a psychological ride that explores its characters' inner thoughts in visually inventive ways. You might think that Paprika does this as well, as it would seem so at first, but the experience ends up feeling very flat by the end in spite of the film's wacky and colorful premise. The elaborate…
Read at the sourcePerAxelH
Paprika, the definition of drugs!
I haven't seen such a wonderful, hyped, fast-paced, well written movie since the anime movie "Redline".
I'm in eternal awe for you Satoshi Kon!
Paprika is everything except bad.
In a future soon to come, a revolutionary product for psychotherapy treatment called PT has been invented by a Fatso called Tokita.
Tokita made a device called the "DC Mini", through it you can enter into people's dreams and explore their deepest thoughts.
Before they can authorize the DC Mini, one of their prototypes is stolen, making the research team and the entire facility go bananas.
In the wrong hands, the misuse of this device could be devastating, allowing the user to completely destroy another persons (Dreamer) personality while they are in sleep.
Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a retur…
Read at the sourceliteraturenerd
Overview:
Paprika was the final movie released by the great Satoshi Kon. This is a movie that everyone should see at least once, but not everyone will necessarily enjoy it. Paprika is a VERY surrealist movie that combines elements of science fiction with art-house cinema. Although Christopher Nolan admitted to lifting plot elements from Paprika to create Inception, Paprika is less like Inception and far more like Kubrick's 2001 or Tarkovsky's science fiction films Stalker and Solaris. I say Paprika is much more like the latter 3 films because the focus is NOT on action and being an enjoyable "popcorn movie". The emphasis is on otherworldly visuals, human psychology, and using surrealism as a vehicle to ask rather profound philosophical questions. Paprika is a very cerebral movie and to fu…
Read at the sourcemyronator
Paprika, Satoshi Kon's last film as a director, is commonly referred to as "Inception before Inception was made". With this kind of reputation, especially with the Kon name behind it, the expectations are going to be high when watching this movie. There is no doubt the technical aspects of this film will fulfill these expectations, however the story itself falls short.
Paprika is surreal. From the opening credits, the film makes it clear that reality will be bent and twisted. This is where Satoshi Kon excels. Through the use of amazing scene transitions, the storytelling in Paprika keeps you guessing. These techniques work well in the film since Paprika is about the meshing of dreams and reality. This is the best part of the film and it deserves to be praised.
When it comes to the story…
Read at the sourceNeverKnowsBest26
Satoshi Kon was among the best directors in the medium of anime until his unfortunate and untimely death in 2010. His blending of realistic character designs and settings with Lynchian surrealism created visual experiences unlike anything anime had produced before. Beautiful and haunting dreamscapes that unraveled the human psyche both literally and figuratively. A great example is his last work; the strange, dense, and insanely inventive Paprika.
Adapted from a novel of the same name by science fiction author Yautaka Tsutsiu, Paprika takes Kon's mind-bending style and applies it quite literally to the plot. The story takes place in the near future, where a remarkable device called the "DC Mini" has been invented, which allows people to enter other peoples' dreams and access their unconsc…
Read at the sourceHokutoKnight
I wanted to love Paprika. Right from its opening scene, I was so enamored with its creative premise, and so taken with its jaw dropping animation, that I was certain that I’d be giving it a 9 or a 10. However, as the film went on, more and more flaws began to surface and in the end, beautiful as this film could be, no amount of bizarre imagery could truly obscure all the narrative problems that this film contained.
Animation: 10 Sound: 9
The first point I have to make is that in terms of its sound and visuals, this film is a stunner. The main story line focuses on the use of a ‘DC mini’, a device that allows a person to enter the dreams of another. Paprika exploits its ‘dreamworld’ premise to the max in order to create some of the most eye popping, surreal and unique spectacles ever to g…
Read at the sourcePirateKingz
Understanding is overrated. Incomprehensibility is the new clarity, and contradictions are the new consistency. Confused? Good, so am I.
Some stories can only be enjoyed through understanding, while others must be enjoyed through experiencing. Paprika, for one, firmly falls in the second category. Comprehending Paprika on an intellectual level is comparable to nailing Jell-O to a wall: the harder a person tries, the more hopelessly confused he’ll become.
Those familiar with Satoshi Kon’s other works (particularly Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress) should already be well acquainted with this visceral style of storytelling. Put simply, Kon’s trademark style has always been to set up his film with an interesting, easily understandable premise. From there, however, his films transcend into…
Read at the sourcethotian
This movie dazzles with high-quality graphics: great animation and charadesign. The main theme of dreaming is perfectly highlighted thanks to a rich color palette and a musical environment which perfectly fit.
It's all about dreaming. The dreams are seen as an escape to the constraints of reality which reach their maximum in big cities like Tokyo for instance; gathering more and more people, and forgetting them sometimes (cf. Tokyo Godfather), with their dreams too. These forgotten dreams are represented in the movie by this psychedelic parade processing to who knows what destination.
Every character of the story are associated with particular constraints: having lost one's legs (the president of the research center), not moving easily because of one's overweight (the genius Tokita), not…
Read at the sourceLindle
Paprika is actually the only thing Satoshi Kon has directed that is adapted from another medium, but in true Kon fashion he makes it no less his then any of his works. The story, adapted from the novel of the same name, is essentially just a vehicle for a bizarre vision of Kon's, inspired by the music of Susumu Hirasawa (who, unsurprisingly, wrote the soundtrack for Paprika), to create a bizarre audiovisual experience akin to that of Yellow Submarine.
Of course, Paprika is far from a feature length music video, which is hardly surprising given its origins as a novel. The plot revolves around a device called the DC Mini, a device made by the eccentric, morbidly obese scientist Kosaku Tokita, that allows people to experience each other's dreams. However, the device is stolen, and starts bei…
Read at the sourceace52387
The general lack of cohesiveness in Paprika`s story is usually enough to ruin most movies; make them disaffecting. The premise alone, a scientific breakthrough that threatens humanity in a practical and spiritual way is kind of tired. Who hasn`t seen terminator or the matrix? The disappointingly nonsensical climax and the general lack of inspiration in the plot, evidenced by its contrived and predictable plot twist, doesn`t help its case.
Paprika makes a few social observations, but calling it insightful would be a bit of an exaggeration. There are a couple of nods to the ills of society, from shut ins to greedy politicians. There are a couple of one liners that hypothesize about the nature of dreams, all of which you can easily dismiss with a wiki search on the subject or a psych 101 boo…
Read at the sourceslpless
I'm a big fan of Satoshi Kon's work, so when I heard that Paprika was showing at the Chicago Film festival nearly 2 years ago I had to go no matter what. So there I was with a fever, headache, and doing my best to hold back my coughing. After watching, I kind of wished I had stayed in bed. Perhaps it was due my illness but after a re-watching it I still share the same sentiments I had nearly 2 years ago.
Those familiar with Satoshi Kon's work should know he likes to blend reality and illusion. Paprika was no exception, dealing with the dream world via DC mini, a device which can be used to enter someone's dreams. As expected the dream world Kon created was incredibly imaginative and surreal. Animation and art for this movie was easily the best of Kon's work as well as most anime. This mov…
Read at the sourcekiriska
While Paprika is very typical of Satoshi Kon's work and thus a tad predictable at times, it's still a fun, entertaining movie that does boast a few innovations.
STORY - The merging of reality and fantasy seems to be one of the most popular themes in anime, allowing it to span over many genres and to be addressed in many different ways. The theme seems to be especially favored by director Satoshi Kon though, and many of his past works reflect this seeming obsession, including Millennium Actress and Paranoia Agent. Rather than fantasy through movies or hallucinations though, Paprika grapples with the concept of dreams and how they might be utilized to better understand the human subconscious for psychological therapy. Still nothing particularly groundbreaking, and even without being familia…
Read at the sourceVenneh
Title: Paprika
Novel, Movie: Paprika is based off of the novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui, which was serialized in the Japanese women's magazine Marie Claire in 1993.
The movie itself came out in Japanese theatres in November of 2006, and was animated by Studio Madhouse (famous for Death Note and Paranoia Agent, another one of Satoshi Kon's works) and directed by Satoshi Kon (famous for Paranoia Agent and Tokyo Godfathers). It received a limited run in theatres Stateside in May of 2007 courtesy of Sony Pictures, and was released on DVD in November of 2007.
Story: The story revolves around a device called the DC Mini, which allows psychiatrists access into their patient's dreams, which gives them a glimpse into the patient's unconscious mind and helps treatment. One of these de…
Read at the sourceWashi
Paprika, Satoshi Kon’s (Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers) latest movie, is a whimsical and imaginative journey into the concept of dreaming. As with each of his productions, Paprika is a distinctly unique and fresh film, while also retaining tones of Satoshi Kon’s usual quirkiness and style. While this is a film that revolves around exploration into the farthest reaches of human subconscious, it has traded the introverted and claustrophobic psychological tension seen in Perfect Blue for a decidedly free and open approach to the human mind, fitting with the theme of the limitless expanse of dreaming. This gives it a more relaxed and fun feel, whilst also retaining its depth and profoundness. In quite the same way as Tokyo Godfathers was, paradoxically, a light-…
Read at the source