--- product_id: 2391420 title: "Paprika" price: "$65.88" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.ec/products/2391420-paprika store_origin: EC region: Ecuador --- # Paprika **Price:** $65.88 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Paprika - **How much does it cost?** $65.88 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ec](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/2391420-paprika) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description After a revolutionary machine is stolen, a fearless detective and brilliant therapist join forces to recover the device before it falls into the hands of a ?dream terrorist? in this gripping anime thriller from acclaimed director Satoshi Kon. Review: One of the best mind trips ever made. 98% - I first saw Paprika last summer when a good friend of mine strongly recommended the works of Satoshi Kon to me and after gazing at the anime titles he made, Paprika grabbed my eyes the quickest given its trippy imagery and description, so I bought it on desertcart and am extremely glad to have seen it because it's one of the most enriching and creative titles I've ever seen in the medium. STORY In the near future, a huge advance in psychotherapy is created in the form of a device called the DC Mini, which is capable of recording people's dreams. However, the DC Mini is stolen and Dr. Chiba's science team and detective Konakawa join forces to get it back before it falls into the wrong hands. In their pursuit, follows one of the craziest mind trips ever put on celluloid. CHARACTERS What's a movie without good characters? Thankfully, Satoshi Kon kept this in mind and fleshed out very believable and interesting characters when creating this animated feast for the eyes and brain. What I also like is that while there's protagonists and antagonists in Paprika, they don't really fit any stereotypes and aren't one-sided morally speaking. Atsuko Chiba (At-Chan, as Kosaku Tokita calls her) has the alter ego in the form of a red-headed and energetic lady named Paprika but unlike most alter egos, Paprika exists entirely in the dream universe. Chiba tends to be serious and butts heads with Tokita. Detective Konakawa is one of the most interesting to me since he has repressed terrors and lives them out through dreams that play out like movies. Tokita is a more unique case since he's a kid trapped in a genius adult's body and given that personality, he acts just like that since all he cares about doing is "doing what he wants" instead of doing what he HAS to do. Even the more minor characters are better than mere plot devices because just like the leads, they feel very believable. PLOTTING AND APPEARANCE Normally in my reviews, I separate the plotting and appearance, but in Paprika's case, I have to combine the two since they're dependent of each other and would be awkward reviewing the two individually. This is where most of the fun in Paprika lies in. Kon, being the excellent storyteller that he is, perfectly meshes the dream world with reality and unlike Christopher Nolan's vision of the dream world for Inception, Kon takes full advantage of the opportunities he has and creates a dream world where anything, and I mean ANYTHING, can happen (visually and plot-wise). The plotting is brilliant as to where it's complex but not overly so, in the sense that the plotting isn't a gimmicky puzzle movie where it's a convoluted mess that you're trying to put together (though it's best to pay attention), but rather blending both fantasy and reality within a character's dilemma and ultimately fits what they're going through as a consequence of the DC Mini's severe abuse. An example of this is when Konakawa is pursuing one of the main antagonists, he gets caught in his recurring nightmare and acts out according to the nightmare, and the consequences from his actions affect the antagonists in the real world. There's so much more to this, but I think you get the picture (and that I don't want to spoil the whole movie). Then there's the appearance of the movie. This is integral to the film since it's the imagery that breathes so much life into the dreamworld in Paprika. Kon took full advantage of this opportunity in the visual department and made a dreamworld like no other. In this dreamworld, toys, household appliances, and other devices coming to life and say complete gibberish. There's a scene where Paprika jumps into Dr. Shima's dream, she sinks into Shima's body and causes him to inflate like a giant balloon and explodes, causing him to wake up. When people dive into peoples' dreams, they can take the form of any object they merge with. The best example of this would be with Paprika since she takes a myriad of forms ranging from fairies to griffins in the film. Things get really interesting towards the end when reality and the dreamworld merge since you see businessmen gleefully jumping off a building in formation and Tokita running around as a toy robot firing missiles at a giant Japanese porcelain doll and rambling about fat content in coconut milk. In my first viewing of Paprika, I was left lying in a fetal position wondering what just happened mostly because of the dazzling imagery used to flesh out peoples' dreams. The animation and artwork is fantastic. The frame rate is rather smooth and the imagery is very colorful and detailed. Like Shigurui: Death Frenzy, Paprika is another anime that uses both 2D animation and 3D animation and much like said anime series, Paprika mixes the two in a very tasteful manner since the 3D imagery exists only to supplement the primary 2D animation instead of overpowering it. The characters have very distinctive looks and me being a male in his early 20's, especially enjoyed the way Dr. Chiba was drawn since she looks beautiful but at the same time, her looks actually match her personality since she looks mature (and acts as such). In the case of female characters, Kon has a very distinctive way of drawing them and I personally love how he draws them since they look like anime characters but don't really fit the cookie-cutter styles abused in the genre. Once again, Satoshi Kon and Madhouse Studio crank out a high-quality anime. THEMES To supplement the well-done characters, surreal imagery, creative story, and excellent plotting, Kon threw in some themes to make an already brilliant anime even better. While subtle, there's themes about the sacredness of one's dreams and the intrusion of technology in said area elaborated by the Chairman (the main antagonist). I felt this was pretty insightful since according to the Chairman, a person's dreams in the movie's current setting are all that's left that's "personal" to someone, and the DC Mini will violate that sense of uniqueness since it'll record the subconscious and have it shared with the whole world. There's also a theme of someone dealing with hard guilt since Konakawa has a film-like recurring nightmare because of personal losses he had in the past relating to film. These themes add more life to an already vibrant animated picture. FINAL WORD If you love anime that's intelligent, creative, has great characters, and chocked full of mind-blowing imagery, then Paprika needs to be in your collection RIGHT NOW if it's not. If you have the technology, I suggest you get the blu-ray version since the sharper picture and sound really enhances this great movie. RIP Satoshi Kon. Your body of animated work may be small, but it'll be remembered and lauded for eternity. Review: Bother weirder and better than I remembered! So good! - This movie... it is just so good! Better than I remembered! Especially for anyone who loves anime and is also a movie buff, it is such a treat! I have 1 warning (The Bad), 1 genuine complaint (the ugly), and then I'll gush a bit (the good!); The Bad: WARNING: Animation is a medium, not a genera. Just because a show is animated doesn't mean it is for kids. This covers some pretty heavy topics around psychosis, as well as portrays some pretty unnerving personal violence, and has a fair amount of nudity. It covers these topics respectfully, and covering the topics themselves is not bad... but it does disserve a trigger warning, because this movie would be bad for those who have issues with un-reality, and/or abuse. I am pretty liberal in media consumption for my kids, and even I am saying high school or older on this one. Partly because you just need a certain level of life experience and exposure to other media to really get what is going on... but mostly because you don't want to normalize these things to kids who don't know reality from fiction yet. The Ugly: The bluray really looks like a poorly up-scaled DVD. I think it was intentional, and was meant to give it more of a 'film' look... but it is just unfortunate. If you don't have it, then pick up the bluray for sure... but if you already have the DVD, don't expect much of an 'upgrade'. The good: Oh man... where even to begin?! The story is clearly in the wheelhouse of scifi, but it pulls from so many generas and references to other mediums that it is difficult to call it a 'scifi' anime. It seamlessly switches from thriller, to action, to psychological horror, to murder-mystery, to fantasy, and back to sci-fi again... but it does so very naturally, and kind of makes it its own thing. The plot (no spoilers) is about a team of scientists who create a device that lets people share dreams... but there are some unforeseen side-effects, and a few of the devices go missing, and a suspected terrorist is on the loose abusing what the technology is capable of. So this device, which is meant to heal mental illness, is instead infecting people with delusions, and the project team works with a cop to get to the bottom of the issue. What follows is a wild ride that can only be portrayed in animation, because it would just be too weird in any other medium. But, because it is animation, they have a lot of fun with it. On the story front they break the 3rd wall a lot (breaking from set to set), but not the 4th wall (addressing the viewer directly). But from a directorial and cinematography perspective (can it be considered cinematography if there is no literal camera involved?), they run wild! As a former film student, it is so much fun to watch! From projecting the intro credits onto the scene as if it was 3D, to having characters enter a picture or poster, and shifting style and perspective (as well as rules of color and physics). It is like a crazy fever dream of mixed realities and mediums... which is kind of the whole point, and they do it so well! It is visual story-telling at its peak! And it is truly a shame that the director's life was cut so short and couldn't share more stories over time. In a lot of ways I feel like Mamaru and Hosada really picked up the torch that Satoshi left behind... but where their stories and animation are more focused on coming of age stories, Satoshi wasn't afraid to tell other stories that appeal to older and more mature audiences... and we are all kinda missing that in the anime genera these days, and could use more of it. Still, it is a great watch, and a glorious celebration of animation and story telling! Can't believe it is nearly 20 years old, but it still holds up, and even when you know what you are in for, it is still a wild ride! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | ASIN | B000VWYJ5Y | | Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | | Best Sellers Rank | #1,617 in Movies & TV ( See Top 100 in Movies & TV ) #1,000 in Blu-ray | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars (5,344) | | Director | Satoshi Kon | | Dubbed: | Cantonese, English, French, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai | | Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No | | Item model number | 43396208667 | | Language | German (Dolby Digital 5.1) | | MPAA rating | R (Restricted) | | Media Format | Blu-ray | | Number of discs | 1 | | Producers | Satoki Toyoda | | Product Dimensions | 6.75 x 5.25 x 0.5 inches; 0.01 ounces | | Release date | November 27, 2007 | | Run time | 1 hour and 31 minutes | | Studio | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | | Subtitles: | English, French, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai | ## Product Details - **Contributor:** Satoki Toyoda, Satoshi Kon - **Format:** Blu-ray - **Genre:** Anime - **Initial release date:** 2007-05-25 - **Language:** Japanese ## Images ![Paprika - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61XYdpWDaQL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the best mind trips ever made. 98% *by D***N on November 25, 2010* I first saw Paprika last summer when a good friend of mine strongly recommended the works of Satoshi Kon to me and after gazing at the anime titles he made, Paprika grabbed my eyes the quickest given its trippy imagery and description, so I bought it on Amazon and am extremely glad to have seen it because it's one of the most enriching and creative titles I've ever seen in the medium. STORY In the near future, a huge advance in psychotherapy is created in the form of a device called the DC Mini, which is capable of recording people's dreams. However, the DC Mini is stolen and Dr. Chiba's science team and detective Konakawa join forces to get it back before it falls into the wrong hands. In their pursuit, follows one of the craziest mind trips ever put on celluloid. CHARACTERS What's a movie without good characters? Thankfully, Satoshi Kon kept this in mind and fleshed out very believable and interesting characters when creating this animated feast for the eyes and brain. What I also like is that while there's protagonists and antagonists in Paprika, they don't really fit any stereotypes and aren't one-sided morally speaking. Atsuko Chiba (At-Chan, as Kosaku Tokita calls her) has the alter ego in the form of a red-headed and energetic lady named Paprika but unlike most alter egos, Paprika exists entirely in the dream universe. Chiba tends to be serious and butts heads with Tokita. Detective Konakawa is one of the most interesting to me since he has repressed terrors and lives them out through dreams that play out like movies. Tokita is a more unique case since he's a kid trapped in a genius adult's body and given that personality, he acts just like that since all he cares about doing is "doing what he wants" instead of doing what he HAS to do. Even the more minor characters are better than mere plot devices because just like the leads, they feel very believable. PLOTTING AND APPEARANCE Normally in my reviews, I separate the plotting and appearance, but in Paprika's case, I have to combine the two since they're dependent of each other and would be awkward reviewing the two individually. This is where most of the fun in Paprika lies in. Kon, being the excellent storyteller that he is, perfectly meshes the dream world with reality and unlike Christopher Nolan's vision of the dream world for Inception, Kon takes full advantage of the opportunities he has and creates a dream world where anything, and I mean ANYTHING, can happen (visually and plot-wise). The plotting is brilliant as to where it's complex but not overly so, in the sense that the plotting isn't a gimmicky puzzle movie where it's a convoluted mess that you're trying to put together (though it's best to pay attention), but rather blending both fantasy and reality within a character's dilemma and ultimately fits what they're going through as a consequence of the DC Mini's severe abuse. An example of this is when Konakawa is pursuing one of the main antagonists, he gets caught in his recurring nightmare and acts out according to the nightmare, and the consequences from his actions affect the antagonists in the real world. There's so much more to this, but I think you get the picture (and that I don't want to spoil the whole movie). Then there's the appearance of the movie. This is integral to the film since it's the imagery that breathes so much life into the dreamworld in Paprika. Kon took full advantage of this opportunity in the visual department and made a dreamworld like no other. In this dreamworld, toys, household appliances, and other devices coming to life and say complete gibberish. There's a scene where Paprika jumps into Dr. Shima's dream, she sinks into Shima's body and causes him to inflate like a giant balloon and explodes, causing him to wake up. When people dive into peoples' dreams, they can take the form of any object they merge with. The best example of this would be with Paprika since she takes a myriad of forms ranging from fairies to griffins in the film. Things get really interesting towards the end when reality and the dreamworld merge since you see businessmen gleefully jumping off a building in formation and Tokita running around as a toy robot firing missiles at a giant Japanese porcelain doll and rambling about fat content in coconut milk. In my first viewing of Paprika, I was left lying in a fetal position wondering what just happened mostly because of the dazzling imagery used to flesh out peoples' dreams. The animation and artwork is fantastic. The frame rate is rather smooth and the imagery is very colorful and detailed. Like Shigurui: Death Frenzy, Paprika is another anime that uses both 2D animation and 3D animation and much like said anime series, Paprika mixes the two in a very tasteful manner since the 3D imagery exists only to supplement the primary 2D animation instead of overpowering it. The characters have very distinctive looks and me being a male in his early 20's, especially enjoyed the way Dr. Chiba was drawn since she looks beautiful but at the same time, her looks actually match her personality since she looks mature (and acts as such). In the case of female characters, Kon has a very distinctive way of drawing them and I personally love how he draws them since they look like anime characters but don't really fit the cookie-cutter styles abused in the genre. Once again, Satoshi Kon and Madhouse Studio crank out a high-quality anime. THEMES To supplement the well-done characters, surreal imagery, creative story, and excellent plotting, Kon threw in some themes to make an already brilliant anime even better. While subtle, there's themes about the sacredness of one's dreams and the intrusion of technology in said area elaborated by the Chairman (the main antagonist). I felt this was pretty insightful since according to the Chairman, a person's dreams in the movie's current setting are all that's left that's "personal" to someone, and the DC Mini will violate that sense of uniqueness since it'll record the subconscious and have it shared with the whole world. There's also a theme of someone dealing with hard guilt since Konakawa has a film-like recurring nightmare because of personal losses he had in the past relating to film. These themes add more life to an already vibrant animated picture. FINAL WORD If you love anime that's intelligent, creative, has great characters, and chocked full of mind-blowing imagery, then Paprika needs to be in your collection RIGHT NOW if it's not. If you have the technology, I suggest you get the blu-ray version since the sharper picture and sound really enhances this great movie. RIP Satoshi Kon. Your body of animated work may be small, but it'll be remembered and lauded for eternity. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Bother weirder and better than I remembered! So good! *by C***V on October 5, 2025* This movie... it is just so good! Better than I remembered! Especially for anyone who loves anime and is also a movie buff, it is such a treat! I have 1 warning (The Bad), 1 genuine complaint (the ugly), and then I'll gush a bit (the good!); The Bad: WARNING: Animation is a medium, not a genera. Just because a show is animated doesn't mean it is for kids. This covers some pretty heavy topics around psychosis, as well as portrays some pretty unnerving personal violence, and has a fair amount of nudity. It covers these topics respectfully, and covering the topics themselves is not bad... but it does disserve a trigger warning, because this movie would be bad for those who have issues with un-reality, and/or abuse. I am pretty liberal in media consumption for my kids, and even I am saying high school or older on this one. Partly because you just need a certain level of life experience and exposure to other media to really get what is going on... but mostly because you don't want to normalize these things to kids who don't know reality from fiction yet. The Ugly: The bluray really looks like a poorly up-scaled DVD. I think it was intentional, and was meant to give it more of a 'film' look... but it is just unfortunate. If you don't have it, then pick up the bluray for sure... but if you already have the DVD, don't expect much of an 'upgrade'. The good: Oh man... where even to begin?! The story is clearly in the wheelhouse of scifi, but it pulls from so many generas and references to other mediums that it is difficult to call it a 'scifi' anime. It seamlessly switches from thriller, to action, to psychological horror, to murder-mystery, to fantasy, and back to sci-fi again... but it does so very naturally, and kind of makes it its own thing. The plot (no spoilers) is about a team of scientists who create a device that lets people share dreams... but there are some unforeseen side-effects, and a few of the devices go missing, and a suspected terrorist is on the loose abusing what the technology is capable of. So this device, which is meant to heal mental illness, is instead infecting people with delusions, and the project team works with a cop to get to the bottom of the issue. What follows is a wild ride that can only be portrayed in animation, because it would just be too weird in any other medium. But, because it is animation, they have a lot of fun with it. On the story front they break the 3rd wall a lot (breaking from set to set), but not the 4th wall (addressing the viewer directly). But from a directorial and cinematography perspective (can it be considered cinematography if there is no literal camera involved?), they run wild! As a former film student, it is so much fun to watch! From projecting the intro credits onto the scene as if it was 3D, to having characters enter a picture or poster, and shifting style and perspective (as well as rules of color and physics). It is like a crazy fever dream of mixed realities and mediums... which is kind of the whole point, and they do it so well! It is visual story-telling at its peak! And it is truly a shame that the director's life was cut so short and couldn't share more stories over time. In a lot of ways I feel like Mamaru and Hosada really picked up the torch that Satoshi left behind... but where their stories and animation are more focused on coming of age stories, Satoshi wasn't afraid to tell other stories that appeal to older and more mature audiences... and we are all kinda missing that in the anime genera these days, and could use more of it. Still, it is a great watch, and a glorious celebration of animation and story telling! Can't believe it is nearly 20 years old, but it still holds up, and even when you know what you are in for, it is still a wild ride! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Absolute Masterpiece *by S***K on November 29, 2022* This review is extremely biased because I will forever be Satoshi Kon’s number one fangirl. Rest in peace, king. The late and great director, Satoshi Kon, made this absolute banger back in 2006 and of course the animation still holds up to this very day. This anime film does not appear dated in the slightest like most animation made during this time period, and dare I say it’s ahead of its time as well. You have not seen what can be done with animated transitions until you see this movie. It is littered with the most striking transitional scenes you will ever witness. I would actually consider this animation to be an exemplary case study on how to achieve the best transitional effects possible, live-action features included. Although the visuals itself could carry this film entirely, the plot does a fantastic job of capturing your attention and your imagination throughout the runtime. The story is something I have not seen done by anyone else and nothing else really comes close. I’ve heard others compare the storyline to the movie Inception, and while I don’t disagree that this live-action movie touches on similar concepts in regards to controlling dreamscapes, I find the two films handle this particular situation in a vastly different manner that leads to different thematic interpretations of each film. Inception seems more gloomy while Paprika seems like it is bursting at the seams with life in an array of color. Inception pales in comparison in every aspect in my opinion. I cannot stress this enough, but I highly recommend watching this absolute masterpiece if you like anime, any anime really. Oh, there is some warnings though: female nudity, smoking, drinking, slight body horror, depictions of suicide, and some suggestive content. ## Frequently Bought Together - Paprika [Blu-ray] - Perfect Blue- Limited Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray + DVD] - Akira 1989 4K & --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ec/products/2391420-paprika](https://www.desertcart.ec/products/2391420-paprika) --- *Product available on Desertcart Ecuador* *Store origin: EC* *Last updated: 2026-04-25*