Watched Perfect Blue recently, bit rough due to its content but good.
Looking for some Hexbear approved suggestions of similar anime.
higurashi isn’t really this in the anime, but it’s still got some good paranoia going on
the vn has some incredible psychological horror, despite its reputation
Mononoke (not princess Mononoke) is paranormal horror but it’s still partially psychological because of that. The art is fantastic and adds to the overall atmosphere and sense of paranoia and claustrophobia, it’s one of my favorite shows.
I loved what I saw of Mononoke, but I really wish they’d put out a version without the paper filter over everything. For some reason it really bothers me whenever I try to watch it. It’s probably just me, though.
Serial Experiments Lain isn’t obscure by any means, but it has earned its status in the canon. It’s esoteric, it’s paranoid, it has confrontations with mirror selves and a complete breakdown of consensus reality.
In addition to the other Satoshi Kon stuff mentioned (Paprika, Paranoia Agent, etc.), I’d also recommend Angel’s Egg. It’s quite a bit more abstract/symbolic, but it’s a beautiful film imo. The art style was done by Yoshitaka Amano, who’s famous for his amazing Final Fantasy concept art, and the music (by Yoshihiro Kanno) is quite good too. It’s not very long either, but it really left an impression on me.
EDIT: Oh I almost forgot, but the first episode of Oshi No Ko is basically a whole movie and shares a lot of similar themes to Perfect Blue, but with a bit more humor. The story starts out a little weird, but stick with it. It gets better and better. Also don’t look up anything on this before you watch it. It’s best to go in completely blind.
Everything by Satoshi Kon. Millennium actress, paprika. Might not fit the exact genre but you’ll prob like them
