Of course, this is not meant to denounce Nolan’s work in any way, but to simply state the simple- that this “anime film” can be similarly artful to their traditionally accepted Look no further than its release date- having been released 4 years earlier than Inception in 2006, it can be said that Inception gains a lot of its inspirations and ideas from Paprika, and not the other way round. That’s right, this is an anime film.īut not just any anime film- Satoshi Kon’s Paprika has constantly been cited as a masterpiece in its own right. To be more precise, through the animation of such pictures. Instead of the realistic, 3D, cliched mannerisms we saw with Inception, this film chooses to express its message through pictures. The most startling difference between this film and Inception is likely its medium, or the media through which it is expressed. For this article addresses another film- one all too similar to what was mentioned, but different all the same. Whether or not you’ve seen that, though, is irrelevant to this article.

And, to top it all off, he faces an adversary in the specter of his late wife in his memories. He is convinced by Saito to target Robert Fischer, an industrial opponent of the former. Dominic Cobb, the protagonist of the film, uses experimental technology to infiltrate the minds of his targets.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, dreams, spinning tops, rotating corridors, the like. Sound familiar to you? Well, yes, this does sound an awful lot like Inception, the brainchild of Christopher Nolan that made waves in the cinema community, and is widely considered one of the best films of the past decade. After a hair-raising epic, the protagonist gets their happy ending all is well. Not the target they were ordered to deal with, but their own suppressed desires, in the form of a person from their past that they cannot let go of. The story progresses, with more and more buildup (with the aid of an artful soundtrack, if I may add), which climaxes in the main protagonist coming face to face with their worst nemesis. They receive orders from some higher-up, mandating them to complete a mission by altering the subconscious of their target and manipulating them to suit their needs. The movie starts out with our daring protagonist in possession of a piece of technology that allows them to enter anyone’s subconscious. Satoshi Kon's Paprika is another legendary anime film that puts the effects of dreams, aspirations, and repressed desires on the human psyche in a new light.

Paprika anime soundtrack