Atsuko Chiba

Paprika (Japanese: パプリカ, Hepburn: Papurika) is a 2006 Japanese adult animated surrealistic science fantasy psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon, who co-wrote the screenplay with Seishi Minakami. It is based on the 1993 novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui. The Japanese voice cast stars Megumi Hayashibara, Tōru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tōru Furuya, Akio Ōtsuka, Kōichi Yamadera, and Hideyuki Tanaka. The film follows a battle between a "dream terrorist" who causes nightmares by stealing a device that allows others to share their dreams, and a research psychologist who enters the dream world and changes into a dream detective named Paprika to investigate the cases. Paprika was Kon's fourth and final feature film before his death in 2010. His co-writer Seishi Minakami had previously written for Kon's TV series Paranoia Agent (2004), while the film's character design and animation director was Masashi Ando, and the music was composed by Kon's frequent collaborator Susumu Hirasawa. The art director was Nobutaka Ike, who worked on all of Kon's projects. Japanese animation studio Madhouse animated and produced the film. The film had its worldwide premiere at the 63rd Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Lion. It was released in Japan on November 25, 2006, and received critical acclaim.