Line #143 Literature/Paprika


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10	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/paprika.jpg]]
11	[[caption-width-right:350: Any questions?]]
12
13	->''"No more anger, our world is happy and mundane!"''
14
15	''Paprika'' started out as a book written by Yasutaka Tsutsui, its chapters serialized between 1991 and 1993. It was later adapted into a 2006 {{anime}} film by Creator/SatoshiKon, director of ''Anime/PerfectBlue'', ''Anime/TokyoGodfathers'', ''Anime/MillenniumActress'', and ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent''. [[AdaptationDisplacement This article mainly covers the latter.]]
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17	TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture, scientists have created a device called the "DC" that allows people to go into other people's dreams and record them. One of these people is the titular Paprika, a colorful and perky young dream therapist. She's the dream avatar of Dr. Atsuko Chiba (voiced by Creator/MegumiHayashibara), one of the scientists involved in the creation of the DC. Things start to go wrong when prototypes of the DC-Mini, a portable version of the DC machine, go missing; the prototypes are missing a vital piece of programming which, basically, protects DC-Mini users' minds from being hacked.
18
19	Things get even ''more'' dangerous when it's discovered that the thieves are using the megalomaniacal dream of an insane person as a WeaponOfMassDestruction. People who used the DC machines frequently in the past, such as Chiba, are at risk for being "infected" by the mad dream, and it's up to Chiba/Paprika, the DC's naive yet brilliant creator Kosaku Tokita (Creator/ToruFuruya), and stressed-out detective Toshimi Konakawa (Creator/AkioOtsuka) to save the day before reality gets invaded by the unstable DreamLand. The result is a beautiful, intelligent and often quite light-hearted film (though there are some heavy adult themes as well), with a very, ''very'' high JustForFun/HolyShitQuotient.
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21	The film also stars Katsunosuke Hori as Torataro Shima, Toru Emori as Seijiro Inui, Creator/KoichiYamadera as Morio Osanai and Creator/HideyukiTanaka as Guy.
22	----
23	!!This film contains examples of:
24	* AdaptationalSexuality: The relationship between [[spoiler:the Chairman and Osanai]] has erotic vibes in the politically incorrect novel version, where it was played in a DepravedHomosexual way. Kon, being a touch more liberal-minded, tried to emphasize the unhealthy nature of the characters' obsessional relationships while making the orientation incidental, making it look more like a slave/master bond.
25	* AdaptationalUgliness: Tokita, whom the novel describes as fat, but not morbidly obese as the film portrays him.
26	* AmusementParkOfDoom: Where the first dream takes place. Tokita recognizes it as an amusement park he and Himuro used to visit which has since been abandoned, [[spoiler:and it's where they find Himuro.]]
27	* AppliedPhlebotinum: The DC machines enable people to enter each other's dreams, but go rapidly out of control.
28	%% * ArcWords: "But what about the rest of it?!"
29	* AttemptedRape: Or actual rape, depending on your definition. In either interpretation, Chiba's body and mind both get violated. The scene is also a ShoutOut to a very similar scene from ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion End of Evangelion]]''.
30	* AuthorAvatar: Some have interpreted Konakawa, an original character created for the film, as an avatar of Satoshi Kon himself and his interests and doubts as a filmmaker. The character's own name (''Kon''akawa) even suggests it.
31	* AuthorTract: Subtly. Watch carefully during the parade when [[spoiler:it merges with reality]]. Businessmen laughing as they jump off buildings? People transforming into religious symbols? Men with mobile phones for heads taking pictures up the skirts of a group of girls with phones for heads? (That last one in particular, seeing as Kon [[Anime/ParanoiaAgent had previously criticized pedophilia.]])
32	* BadBoss: The Chairman has absolutely no care for those in his employ and will abuse them whenever he deems fit. Even if it's his right-hand hand man Osanai.
33	%%* BaldOfEvil: [[spoiler:The Chairman]].
34	* BarbieDollAnatomy: The main female lead has nipples but is drawn without genitalia or pubic hair. The villain is seen in a giant naked form, but he also lacks genitalia.
35	* BarefootLoon: Downplayed, but still present in Dr. Shima, who wears sandals at work instead of proper dress shoes in order to show his unorthodox views.
36	* BeautyEqualsGoodness:
37	** Subverted by Tokita. Possibly the nicest person in the movie, who is also very overweight. Despite his morbid obesity, however, Tokita's appearance has baby-like innocence to it.
38	** Also subverted by [[spoiler:Osanai, though in reverse]].
39	* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: Shima mentions Paprika once liberated him from a depression, and it's implied this was when he started working with her.
40	* BigDamnHeroes: During the climax, [[spoiler: the bartenders leap down with a banner in order to save Paprika and Shima from a rampaging robot-Tokita]].
41	%%* BigEater: Dr. Tokita.
42	* BigShutUp: Osanai does four big shut ups to Paprika when the latter accuses him of being "the Chairman's pet dog" and of once being "Himuro's idol".
43	* BodyHorror: What [[spoiler:Osanai]] does to [[spoiler:Paprika]]. [[spoiler:He sticks his hand under her skin at her crotch, then pulls up her body to peel the skin off and reveal a naked Dr. Chiba.]]
44	* BondOneLiner: Konakawa [[spoiler:after shooting Osanai]] in the English dub, which makes the parody of cliched movie endings even more hilariously biting. "Lights out," indeed.
45	* CanonForeigner: Konakawa is an original character of the film.
46	* CasualHighDrop: Paprika is the alternate identity of psychologist Chiba Atsuko, who is seen entering a patient's world by falling from the sky from about a mile up. Being a ManicPixieDreamGirl and existing only in someone's mind means Paprika can drop from such a height and come to ground with no more drama than stepping off a curb. It is nonetheless an impressive entrance.
47	* ChubbyChaser: [[spoiler:Chiba. This is particularly evident when it's revealed that the early scene of her being stuck in an elevator with Tokita was another fantasy.]]
48	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}:
49	** Torataro Shima is very cheerful and bubbly.
50	** Tokita is a very mild example of this trope, bordering on a deconstruction of both how beneficial and harmful it can be when a scientist has this mindset.
51	** Himuro, only because [[spoiler:we only see him ''after'' he's been consumed by the mad dream]].
52	** Heck, anyone who has been consumed by the dream for that matter.
53	* CombatTentacles: The bad guy has an affinity for trees and uses tentacular tree roots to attack Paprika more than once.
54	* CoolOldGuy: Shima is charming, kind, and helps Chiba when no one else can.
55	* CreatorCameo: Creator/SatoshiKon and Yasutaka Tsutsui, the movie director and author of the original ''Paprika'' novel, respectively, play the part of the bartenders in Paprika's bar. Even the other voice actors of the movie didn't know this until the premiere when they saw their names in the program.
56	* CreepyCircusMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiU2mZYunV0 "Shizuku Ippai no Kioku"]] from the soundtrack.
57	* CreepyDoll: If you thought large objects attacking buildings were not scary these days, you obviously haven't seen this film yet. [[spoiler:[[NightmareFuel/{{Paprika}} That laughing...]]]]
58	* DeathbringerTheAdorable: A cartoon frog rolls down stairs, then begins drumming the second his feet hit the floor. It sounds funny, but in context, it's a G-rated terror.
59	* DefrostingIceQueen: Dr. Chiba, in spades.
60	* DepravedBisexual: [[spoiler:Osanai. He's obsessed with Chiba and shares a bed with the Chairman; there's also an off-hand mention that he "sold his body" to Himuro in order to gain access to the DC Minis]].
61	* DepravedHomosexual:
62	** Possibly [[spoiler:the Chairman, though his attachment to Osanai seems more a master/slave thing (puppeteering his body) than a sexual or romantic relationship, unlike the novel]].
63	** Also possibly [[spoiler:Himuro, who seems to have fetishized Osanai -- we briefly see dirty magazines in his apartment with Osanai look-alikes on the cover, and his dreamscape features a towering statue of Osanai as a Greek god]].
64	* DerangedAnimation: Particularly those scenes where everything... for lack of a better word, '''melts.''' Justified in that a lot of the movie takes place in dreams.
65	* DidNotGetTheGirl: While Konokawa and the audience may initially think [[spoiler:he has a chance at romance with Paprika, she is basically working as his psychiatrist. Despite Paprika's fun-loving side, her true self Chiba would never breach her professional ethics that way. She also already has feelings for someone else, her coworker Tokita]].
66	* DiligentHeroSlothfulVillain: From the anime adapaptation:
67	** Dr Atsuko Chiba is a devoted scientist with seemingly no time for herself or her emotions, to the point that she can only express her true exuberance and compassion as [[SuperpoweredAlterEgo Paprika]], a renegade psychiatrist who risks all manner of unknown dangers in her journeys [[DreamWalker into the minds of her patients]]. Meanwhile, the BigBad [[spoiler:Chairman Seijirou Inui]] remains hidden away in his mansion, allowing the minions he's bribed or duped to act in his stead while he gleefully exploits the power of the stolen [[AppliedPhlebotinum DC Mini]]. For good measure, his DreamWeaver technique is the epitome of UnskilledButStrong.
68	** Dr Kousaku Tokito is a brilliant scientist responsible for inventing the DC Mini, and though he's undoubtedly an AbsentMindedProfessor, he's always ready to work hard to help others -- from tinkering in his lab to helping Atsuko pick the lock on Himuro's door. By contrast, [[spoiler:Dr Morio Osanai]] TheDragon is a scummy careerist who's trying to claw his way to a promotion through toadying and corporate sabotage rather than hard work, to the point that Paprika intuits that he slept with Himuro in order to get his hands on the DC Mini.
69	* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler:Himuro is initially assumed to be the mastermind and nearly gets Chiba, but once he's found and the DC machines removed, the dreams keep happening.]]
70	* DoubleAgent: [[spoiler:Osanai, who turns out to be the Chairman's lackey]].
71	* DreamTropes
72	** AllJustADream: Doesn't make it any less real to the characters, though.
73	** AnxietyDreams: Konakawa starts having them because of the stress of the ongoing homicide case he is on.
74	** DreamStealer: [[spoiler:This is the way Paprika puts an end to the out-of-control dreamworld. (This might be a reference to the mythological [[{{Youkai}} baku]].)]]
75	** DreamWalker: What the DC allows its users to become.
76	** DreamWeaver: What the DC allows its users to do.
77	** YourMindMakesItReal:
78	*** There are two: Konakawa AnxietyDreams and Himuro [[spoiler:and Everyone's collective]] dream.
79	*** This is also one of the proposed uses for the DC -- to cure diseases by manipulating the subconscious.
80	* DyingToWakeUp: Played with; after Dr Shima is infected by the BigBad's parade dream, [[DreamWeaver Paprika]] is able to rescue him by melting into his body and making him inflate to the point that he explodes, causing Shima to instantly awaken from his coma. However, it's heavily implied from Paprika's rather suggestive dialog and [[TransformationExhilaration Shima's blissed-out reaction]] that what woke the doctor up wasn't merely a death, but a... [[NocturnalEmission little death]].
81	* DysfunctionJunction: Done very well. The characters may act like normal people, but if you think about it, they've all had problems, ranging from prior depression to split personalities to completely delusional.
82	* EarWorm: Some have noted that Susumu Hirasawa's "Parade" theme, which serves as the leitmotif of the eponymous phenomenon in the movie, is very appropriately designed to stick in your mind and never, ever leave it. In the context of the story, the Parade is a sort of [[spoiler: memetic virus that infects anyone who thinks about it too much, or even dreams about it, growing to fill more and more of their subconscious until their entire personality is subsumed into the mad procession and they appear, from an awake perspective, to go suicidally insane.]]
83	* EmotionlessGirl: Chiba, at times. Paprika actually calls her out on it later in the film.
84	* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Seijiro Inui, Chairman of the Institute of Psychiatric Research. He's not really called just "The Chairman".
85	* EvilCripple: [[spoiler:The Chairman, who wants to use the dream technology to create a world where he can transcend every boundary. Starting with his inability to walk, and ending with becoming God and controlling everyone]].
86	* EvilLuddite: You'd think the Chairman for a company that creates AppliedPhlebotinum would be a little more, you know, ''enthusiastic'' about technology. It's implied later on that the sole reason he supported it was [[spoiler:to be able to walk again by placing his consciousness into a younger host body, such as Osanai's]].
87	* FallingIntoThePlot: Researchers develop the DC Mini, a device that allows psychologists to perceive the subconscious mind of mental patients. When Doctor Chiba uses this device to probe a patient's mind, she becomes the ManicPixieDreamGirl called Paprika. She begins by falling from the sky, only to come to ground oh-so-gently on a Tokyo street where a parade of lunacy is underway.
88	* FalseCameraEffects: The movie could be done in live-action; Detective Konakawa explains camera angles to Paprika.
89	** Also a brief and justifiable example of WriterOnBoard to [[ShownTheirWork show his work]].
90	* [[FirstGirlWins First Guy Wins]]: [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] -- [[spoiler:Konakawa is the first male that Paprika, Chiba's avatar, is seen interacting with, but it's ''Tokita'' who we first see her interact with as her real self. That's probably pretty meaningful]].
91	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Loaded with it.
92	** Especially crucial in [[spoiler:making the revelation of Chiba's love for Tokita not seem out of the blue. She never goes through the typical tropes that would indicate she liked him that are common in anime, such as the LuminescentBlush or HeIsNotMyBoyfriend, but there are several important hints that lead up to it:]]
93	*** [[spoiler:Chiba seem a wee bit obsessed with him at times and gets annoyed when Konakawa pays more attention to her than to Tokita when he's enthusiastically talking about how he invented the DC Mini.]]
94	*** [[spoiler:She instantly dismisses Osanai's suspicions of him despite how a scenario where Tokita went full MadScientist would explain everything going on.]]
95	*** [[spoiler:Chiba has a very tight control of herself at all times yet [[{{Tsundere}} she's prone to get cross with Tokita]], and even snaps to give him a ReasonYouSuckSpeech that is more about him remaining a ManChild rather than of any help to solve the problems at hand (and even makes things worse) that can come across as [[ObliviousToLove frustration]] in second viewings.]]
96	*** [[spoiler:Her dream avatar provides several hints too. Paprika suspiciously looks like how a child of her and Tokita would look, her personality takes more after his than Chiba's own, and she drops everything she's doing in Konakawa's dream when he realizes Tokita entered the dream world. Also, why would a no-nonsense psychologist like her name her avatar after ''food''?]]
97	** The large statue making Osanai look like a Greek god in the merged dream. At first it makes you think the portly Tokita is secretly jealous of his good looks, but it turns out [[spoiler:to be a manifestation of Himuro's attraction to him and the Chairman's obsession with abandoning his crippled body and {{Body Surf}}ing into Osanai's.]]
98	** A picture of Tokita's face being pasted onto a toy robot with the words "Help me!" beside it is shown in Himuro's apartment.
99	* ForScience: Tokita's reason for creating a technology for sharing dreams essentially boils down to [[RuleOfCool "Hey, wouldn't it be awesome?"]]
100	* FriendOnTheForce: Shima acts as this to Paprika, using his connections as chief of staff in the company to help her with her dream-vigilante ways.
101	* GeniusDitz: Tokita, much to Chiba's annoyance, is childish, overeats, and too impulsive for his own good, but who is nonetheless a genius who invented the [=DC=] mini.
102	* GentleGiant: Tokita might be obese and the biggest character in the film (outside of the dream), but he's also deeply kind and wants to use his DC machines for helping people.
103	* GenreDeconstruction: A heartwarming one: Paprika helps Konokawa reach the epiphany that [[spoiler:his life wasn't a waste because he chose to become a police officer and not a filmmaker, and that he didn't abandon his childhood dream and friend. Instead he's living in the fantasy that he and his friend created, being the hero they imagined. That's how life goes sometimes, we aren't going to achieve our childhood dreams, and our ambitions change with time]].
104	* GirlyRun: Paprika. She's even the page image!
105	* AGlitchInTheMatrix: The Chairman walks?
106	* AGodAmI: [[spoiler:The Chairman wants to use the DC machines to break into reality and mold it to his liking, and nearly succeeds]].
107	* {{Gonk}}: Subverted with Tokita, who has a sympathetic face despite being morbidly obese and unusually cartoonish in character design, but played more straight with Himuro, whose own round face looks a bit more ''off''.
108	* GoodShapeshiftingEvilShapeshifting: In dreams, many characters have the ability to shapeshift in some way. Paprika often transforms into cartoon mascots, toys, fairies, sphinxes, mermaids, and other fantastical things, reflecting her heroism and whimsy; Tokita takes the form of a toy robot, befitting his [[{{Manchild}} innocence]]; Dr Shima, as the friendly MissionControl, becomes faces in the clouds or talking billboards. However, the villain of the story [[spoiler: Chairman Inui]] chooses to manifest himself as [[WhenTreesAttack animated trees]], [[MonsterWhale undersea leviathans]], even a shadowy giant - all reflections of his god complex.
109	* GratuitousEnglish:
110	** "It's the greatest showtime!"
111	** "Parade" has a good deal of English.
112	--->''Kore ga'' liberty\
113	Utopia ''no'' parody
114	* GreenThumb: The Chairman. In his dream world, he takes on the attribute of a tree of spreading roots to fit his distaste of technology and obsession with controlling reality.
115	* HellIsThatNoise: The doll's laughter. [[spoiler:Which becomes a thousand times worse when the doll grows to gigantic size.]]
116	* HeroicResolve: Chiba will not let ''anything'' stop her from finding the culprit, [[spoiler:and uses this to power through the Chairman's control of the dream.]]
117	* HollywoodOld: Shima mentions he and Konakawa attended college together, which is surprising considering they appear to be vastly different ages. As no dates are mentioned, we don't know if Shima is YoungerThanTheyLook, if Konawa is OlderThanTheyLook, or if Shima was an older college student and it was more of an IntergenerationalFriendship.
118	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: The portly large Tokita and slender Dr. Chiba.
119	* HumongousMecha: Tokita's dream avatar is a giant toy robot.
120	* ICouldaBeenAContender: It's revealed that Konakawa originally [[spoiler:wanted to be a movie director when he was younger]], but got cold feet. He does his best not to even think about this trope, but it's expressed nonverbally for much of the film because [[spoiler:the childhood dream he gave up on]] is the root of his anxiety.
121	* IronicEcho: When discussing reentering Himuro's dream to get answers regarding who's behind the dream attacks, Chiba says, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." In the third act, when dreams merge with reality, Paprika is able to exist in the real world. When Chiba asks what Paprika is doing in the real world, she simply answers, "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
122	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Chiba, to a degree.
123	* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: A key part of the premise.
124	* TheLabRat(s): Unfortunately for them, they get dispatched early on.
125	* {{Leitmotif}}: "Baikai", which first plays during the opening credits, acts as Paprika's theme and [[ThemeMusicPowerUp signals her appearance]].
126	* LighterAndSofter: Compared to Creator/SatoshiKon's other psychological works. It's not all sunshine and rainbows, but it still managed to be quite bright and colorful, and the main protagonist is much less damaged than either [[Anime/PerfectBlue Mima]] or [[Anime/ParanoiaAgent Tsukiko]]. Also, while elements of [[FanDisservice disturbing sexuality]] ''are'' present, they are far less prevalent (especially compared to ''Anime/PerfectBlue'')
127	* LoggingOntoTheFourthWall: [=radioclub.jp=] really existed around 2006 and served as (among other things) a promotional site for the film. It deliberately had a "Cannot find server" error page saying "DC mini error" at the bottom.
128	* LowerHalfReveal: [[spoiler: Dr Chiba discovers that Chairman Inui is behind the Parade Dream infesting the dreamworld, so once she's awake again, she goes to confront him at his greenhouse in the real world. Halfway through the conversation, he inexplicably gets out of his wheelchair and appears to glide across the floor, legs hidden by dense ferns. It's not until he moves out into the open that it's discovered that his lower half has been replaced by a huge mass of roots and creepers - revealing that Chiba is still dreaming and Inui is hacking the DC Mini to prevent her from waking up.]]
129	* MadArtist: Osanai. He's shown to possess an insane interest in beauty and a disgust for whatever he deems ugly and a fascination for the aesthetics of butterflies which he chooses to manifest in the dream world. He even restrains Paprika to a table in a manner reminiscent to a butterfly.
130	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Paprika, in a more literal sense than most.
131	* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Done exceptionally well in a later scene, serving as a sign that everything isn't over yet. [[spoiler:Shima successfully wakes up Chiba, and it seems that they finally made it to the real world. While they're talking on the floor, however, a bloody hand slides across the glass in the background. It takes a few more moments before Osanai rounds the corner.]]
132	* MeaningfulName: Paprika to [[spoiler:Robo-Tokita]]. She's there to spice up your life!
133	* MediumAwareness: Detective Konakawa is a film buff, and in his dreams he's aware of the 180-degree rule and panfocus.
134	* MemeticMutation: The parade dream is an in-universe example of a meme getting literally out of control.
135	* MindRape: Paprika gets pinned to a table like a butterfly and then [[spoiler:painfully has her skin removed, revealing a naked Dr. Chiba. Made creepier by Osanai's dialogue]]. shudder
136	* MindScrew: For both the people in the movie ''and'' the audience:
137	** [[spoiler:Specifically when Paprika finds out that the Chairman is the real culprit behind everything going on. She yells to be woken up and returns to reality as Chiba. Chiba then goes to confront the Chairman. But during the conversation, she realizes that she is still in the dream and has fallen right into the Chairman's trap]].
138	** At one point, Paprika is in trouble, and sees herself from five minutes earlier in the dream and yells to her own past self to run away. It's not time travel, just dream logic. Time is not linear in dreams!
139	** [[spoiler: YourMindMakesItReal is in full effect when the dream infects Japan's collective unconscious. The hole and damage created by the Chairman's dream form remains a crater after everyone comes to their senses.]]
140	* MiniatureSeniorCitizens: Dr. Torataro Shima is noticeably shorter than most of the other characters.
141	* MissionControl: Shima tends to play this role to Paprika.
142	* MyCard: Used to start the opening credits; ends up being a plot point later on.
143	* NaughtyByNight: Straight-laced Chiba becomes a lot more flirty and extroverted when she turns into Paprika.
144	* NerdGlasses: Shima, although it's probably more due to his age than any time spent at a computer.
145	* NiceGuy: Aside from Nice Girl Paprika, who is Chiba's alter ego, Tokita is the nicest character in the movie.
146	* NightParadeOfOneHundredDemons: The Parade is a dream that induces madness in whoever gets it inspired by the ''Hyakki Yagyo'', right down to invading the real world.
147	* NoOntologicalInertia: Averted. [[spoiler:After the dream ends, there's still a smoldering crater in the middle of Tokyo. While everyone was caught in the dream, ''something'' big blew up.]]
148	* NonSequiturEnvironment: The film features a great deal of this, befitting [[RealDreamsAreWeirder the illogical nature of the dreamworld]]. One notable instance occurs when Dr Chiba is exploring Himuro's apartment in the real world, only to wander down the wrong corridor and unexpectedly find herself in a deserted amusement park. Upon seeing the CreepyDoll that Himuro uses as his avatar in the dreamworld, Chiba attempts to climb over a railing to get to it - only to find herself back in the real world and about to climb over a balcony railing to her death. Once she's been rescued, it's realized that people who've used the [[AppliedPhlebotinum DC Mini]] long enough can be hacked by the BigBad ''[[OhCrap even while they're still awake]].''
149	* {{Obake}}: The mad dream parade is a reference to the Japanese "Demon Parade".
150	* ObviouslyEvil: [[spoiler:The Chairman looks like someone who is up to no good.]]
151	* OlderSidekick: Dr. Shima to Paprika.
152	* OutOfCharacterAlert: Subverted. It takes some time to Chiba and company to realize Shima is being controlled by a dream, as he is so eccentric in his daylife that his maddened rants are somewhat in-character for him.
153	* PartlyCloudyWithAChanceOfDeath: The last battle.
154	* PassThePopcorn: At one point, Paprika is watching Detective Konakawa's dreams on a movie theater screen, while munching on popcorn. [[spoiler: This ties in with Konakawa's short-lived efforts to make a movie before he became a detective.]]
155	* PluckyGirl: Paprika, which makes sense because Chiba made her to be a near literal ManicPixieDreamGirl and is named after spice. Nothing keeps her down for long, and she even [[spoiler:makes her way to the real world when the dream gets out of control.]]
156	* PoliceAreUseless: Subverted. The police don't consider to ask how someone could have broken into a science facility and stolen an important device. [[spoiler:That's because the thief was someone in the company, who already would have had access to the security codes. Such a burglary could only have happened by someone who had access]].
157	* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:Himuro, sort of. He remains alive in a vegetative state, but even before the movie begins he'd already become an "empty shell" used by the Chairman as a puppet. Everything we know about who he was is revealed through Tokita and Chiba's dialog]].
158	* PrettyButterflies: A constant element of the parade. [[spoiler:They're really a manifestation of Osanai within the dream]].
159	* ProductionThrowback:
160	** Posters for ''Anime/PerfectBlue'', ''Anime/MillenniumActress'', and ''Anime/TokyoGodfathers'' are visible at a movie theater.
161	** Paprika skipping around during the opening is uncomfortably reminiscent of ''Perfect Blue''.
162	** The Bartenders' banner that is used to ensnare Tokita is also not unlike the banner in ''Tokyo Godfathers''.
163	** The robots of the theme park sign bear a great resemblance to the robots in Creator/SatoshiKon's film ''The Dream Machine''.
164	** The background music where Konakawa is running from Osanai is a remixed version of ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'''s opening theme.
165	* TheProfessor: Shima qualifies for most traits of the trope, but both Chiba and Tokita technically qualify as well.
166	* PsychoSupporter: [[spoiler:Not only two of Dr. Chiba's colleagues, but the Chairman of the company she works for as well]].
167	* ThePursuingNightmare: Atsuko/Paprika is eventually able to confront the BigBad responsible for stealing the DC Mini - namely [[spoiler: Chairman Inui]]... only to find too late that [[DreamWithinADream she's still dreaming]], and Paprika finds her DreamWeaver powers outmatched for the first time in the story - leaving her with no choice but to leg it. The whole thing quickly descends into a nightmare, with the thief's crawling vines chasing her through the corridors, the thief's accomplice following her into artworks to block her escape, and the thief himself countering her mermaid form by becoming a leviathan that swallows her whole and spits her into the Parade Dream.
168	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Overlapping with WhatTheHellHero and PoorCommunicationKills. Chiba gives a rather ''epic'' one to Tokita calling him out on his immaturity, recklessness, and only doing what he wants instead of what needs to be done. [[spoiler:This unfortunately leads Tokita to go into Himuro's dream to figure his motive for stealing the DC Mini. It doesn't go well]].
169	-->'''Chiba:''' You were so selfishly wrapped up in what you want to do that you ignore what needs to be done. You never coded the DC Mini. That was just irresponsible. It cost lives, don't you get it? Of course not. Not much gets through all that protective ''fat'', now does it? Here's what does: "What a scientist!" "He's so amazing!" It's like a really bad joke! What good is a scientist to mankind if he doesn't care about people, hmm? If you want to be the king of geeks with your bloated ego, then just keep on doing only what pleases you. Go ahead, indulge in your freakish masturbation, because that's what you're ''good'' at!
170	* RedOniBlueOni: Paprika and Dr. Chiba respectively.
171	* TheRenfield: [[spoiler:Osanai, who goes so far as to share a bed with and pimp himself out for the Chairman]].
172	* RescueRomance: Played straight at first when Paprika saves Konakawa during his repeating dream sequence. He starts to become attracted to her especially as she helps him work through his repressed regrets. [[spoiler:Then it's brutally parodied when he saves her from the Chairman and kisses her in their shared dream; her first instinct on waking up is smacking the nearest guy. Konokawa eventually accepts that Chiba loves someone else, though he's morose about it]].
173	* RocketRide: The opening credits.
174	* RoomFullOfCrazy: When investigating the apartment of Himuro, the suspected dream terrorist, they find it completely stuffed with robotic dolls. Tokita's photograph has the face cut out and pasted on a toy robot holding up a sign saying "Help Me!" Osanai passes by a shelf of magazines full of erotic male imagery that happen to resemble ''him''.
175	* RuleOfCool: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW0v-NuudQw title sequence]].
176	* SaveBothWorlds: RealLife and DreamLand.
177	* SceneryPorn: Probably the most gorgeously animated film directed by Satoshi Kon, and that is saying a lot.
178	* SchrodingersButterfly: The line between dream and reality is repeatedly blurred, and several fakeouts occur on both sides. [[spoiler:Paprika even quotes references the Butterfly dreaming quote when Chiba insists that Paprika has to obey because she's a part of her, and Paprika returns "Are you sure you aren't a part of me?"]]
179	* ScienceIsBad: The Chairman keeps saying this again and again. It's far from the message of the film, though; without science, we wouldn't be able to appreciate all the awesome and strange things in the universe, would we? [[spoiler:Also, the Chairman is lying his ass off or at least being hypocritical, 'cause he just wants to hoard all the dream-power to himself]].
180	* SexierAlterEgo: Paprika to Dr. Chiba. There's a twist to it: Paprika isn't more voluptuous or showing more skin, unless you count the t-shirt she wears compared to Dr. Chiba's suit, but she ''acts'' much more flirtatious than Dr. Chiba does.
181	* ShoutOut:
182	** When Konakawa explains filmmaking techniques to Paprika, he's wearing Creator/AkiraKurosawa's trademark cap and sunglasses.
183	** There are a number of movie references in Konakawa's dream. The circus is a reference to ''The Greatest Show On Earth'' (probably; there's also a movie poster of the film visible in another sequence), while the scenes through which he runs afterward resemble ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}'', ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', and ''Film/RomanHoliday''.
184	** Paprika was dressed at one point as [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest the Monkey King]] is often depicted, complete with FlyingOnACloud.
185	** A creepy doll from ''Anime/{{Monster}}'' appears as part of the parade and talks a bit to Paprika; the same studio had done the manga's anime adaptation.
186	** Three ''[[Franchise/SuperSentai Sentai]]'' figures can been seen in Himuro's apartment for a split second.
187	** Paprika is swallowed by an evil whale, and pops out of its blowhole dressed as Pinocchio.
188	** The English dub's tagline is an obvious one for the ''This Is Your Brain on Drugs'' {{PSA}}s by the [[Advertising/PartnershipToEndAddiction Partnership for a Drug-Free America]].
189	* StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler:Dr. Osanai towards Chiba. He traps her in his dream room and pulls off her Paprika guise, trying to rape her.]]
190	* StealthPun: The CHAIR-man. Also, Paprika calling Osanai the Chairman's "Legman."
191	* StepfordSmiler: Both Osanai and Paprika again. Also, the businessmen when [[spoiler:the dream world and the real world merge]].
192	* StockFootage: Some sequences of the parade. It would be a surprise if it wasn't extremely expensive to animate.
193	* SugarAndIcePersonality: Chiba, again. Her emphasis on self-control and remaining stoic makes her cold and aloof to others but she still maintains a great deal of care for others when things become serious and has an inner passionate side.
194	* TakenFromADream:
195	** Early in the film, Paprika gives Detective Konakawa her business card, which he hangs onto in the real world... [[MindScrew even though Paprika is a persona of Atsuko Chiba that exists only in the dreamworld]].
196	** During the search of Himuro's apartment, Atsuko is somewhat alarmed to find herself encountering the CreepyDoll that Himuro uses as his avatar, seemingly just as animated as it is in the dreamworld. Curious, she follows it through the apartment... only to lurch back into the real world and very nearly fall to her death over the apartment balcony: the doll wasn't really there, and Atsuko was dreaming while wide awake. Worse still, it turns out that the hacker who stole the DC Mini [[OhCrap has the power alter his targets' perceptions of reality]]...
197	** In the finale, Atsuko and Dr Shina are walking away, convinced that they've achieved victory over the hacker and gotten back to the real world... only for a kaiju-sized version of Himuro's doll to suddenly loom into view behind them. [[spoiler: As it turns out, RealityIsOutToLunch and a whole host of figures from dreams are being brought into the real world, including the nightmare parade, the two bartenders from the dream lounge, and even Paprika herself - much to Atsuko's irritation.]]
198	* TalkativeLoon: Those infected by the parade dream start babbling incoherently. Of course, then you ''see'' it, and those ramblings are more-or-less accurate...
199	* TheTokyoFireball: Actually [[spoiler:Tokyo dream infestation and giant naked people]].
200	* TransformationDiscretionShot: Though many transformations occur in detailed sequences, just as many are obscured or occur only in cuts, befitting [[RealDreamsAreWeirder the weird and inconsistent atmosphere of a dream]]:
201	** When Himuro reveals himself as the apparent culprit behind the theft of the DC Mini, he does so by transforming the face of a CreepyDoll to match his own in a fully animated scene. Himuro continues to manifest himself as dolls in the dreamworld, but this time with no visible transformation: when Atsuko/Paprika confronts him, we see an ordinary doll turning to face her... and then a cut to Paprika's POV reveals that it's suddenly wearing Himuro's face. Paprika ends up literally tearing Himuro's head off in her attempts to capture him, only to find herself holding the head of an ordinary doll in another cut.
202	** In the same scene, while Atsuko/[[SuperpoweredAlterEgo Paprika]] is attempting to awaken Dr Shima from the Parade nightmare, she's initially dressed up in a shepherdess costume to match the dolls accompanying him on the float, but when Shima notices her, Paprika suddenly finds herself dressed in a more traditional Japanese costume to match his delusions. By contrast, the transformations that both [[GiantWoman Paprika]] and [[PopGoesTheHuman Shima]] undergo in the remainder of this scene are all shown in detail.
203	** During Paprika's second therapy session with Detective Konakawa, the detective manifests himself in the iconic sunglasses and cap of Creator/AkiraKurosawa to reveal [[HiddenDepths his hidden love of filmmaking]]. However, when Paprika delves deeper into the reasons for his troubling dreams, Konakawa becomes uncomfortable and suddenly regresses to a much younger man in a cut. Then, when the Parade breaks into the movie theater, Konakawa is suddenly back to his middle-aged self in yet another cut.
204	** After discovering that [[spoiler: Chairman Inui]] is behind the Parade nightmare, Atsuko and Dr Shima attempt to confront him in the real world... only to suddenly realize that she never awoke from the dream where she discovered the truth. As a result, Atsuko ''immediately'' transforms into Paprika via a cut. [[spoiler: Worse still, the same cut reveals that Dr Shima is revealed to actually be a disguised Osanai, the Chairman's henchman.]]
205	** Shortly after this scene, Paprika is forced to flee from the BigBad and TheDragon as they unleash [[DreamWeaver their powers]] on the dreamworld, using [[DreamWalker her own abilities]] to escape into different dream environments, transforming along the way. Though her transformation into the sphinx in Gustave Moreau's ''Oedipus And The Sphinx'' is seen in full, the rest occur in cuts: when [[spoiler: Osanai]] takes the form of Oedipus and knocks Paprika into the ocean, her transformation into a mermaid isn't revealed until we cut to beneath the surface; then, when [[spoiler: the Chairman]] takes the form of a whale and eats her alive, he blasts her out through his blowhole - revealing that she has now become [[ToyTransmutation a clown doll]].
206	** In the climax, [[spoiler: Atsuko and Paprika finally [[SplitPersonalityMerge merge into one united personality]] in order to defeat the Chairman once and for all, [[SymbolicHeroRebirth transforming into a giant baby]] that matures as it feeds upon Inui's contagious nightmare until it's become an adult dream goddess. However, though the process of growing from infancy to adulthood is seen in full, the moment in which the two personalities merge and actually become the baby is obscured by the fact that it takes place inside the body of a HumongousMecha.]]
207	* TransformationSequence: A somewhat subtle one. As [[spoiler:Chiba]] sets out to deal with the dream incursion into the real world, she's seen through a series of windows. For the first few, she's seen running normally with her arms pumping, the next few show her running like Paprika does with her arms moving differently, and then you see Paprika running by.
208	* {{Tulpa}}: Paprika could be argued as one, especially after Chiba loses control over her, [[spoiler:and during the climax where she interacts with the real world as the dreams merge.]]
209	%%* TwitchyEye: Konakawa.
210	* UglyGuyHotWife: [[spoiler:Tokita and Chiba]].
211	* VoiceOfTheLegion: If you're thinking, "Why has 'so many people saying the same thing at once' never sounded so scary before?", that's because in ''Paprika'', they use the same pitch changes and speak at [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C724IVX3tEw EXACTLY the same time]], creating an effect that's pretty unnerving.
212	* WellIntentionedExtremist:
213	** [[spoiler:The Chairman, who believes that technology is violating the privacy of dreams. His response to this is a dream-based apocalypse]].
214	** Tokita is a mild, more benevolent example. He creates the DC Mini due to wanting to help people and due to the idea being inherently [[RuleOfCool interesting and cool]]. However, he doesn't really take the time to consider the potential abuse and harm that could come from the DC Mini.
215	* WhamShot: Overlapping with WhamLine; Chiba, Shima, and the Chairman are having a rather heated and serious discussion concerning the dream therapy machines having fallen into the wrong hands, the potential ramifications thereof, and in whom to assign blame. Shima's musings on the situation rapidly give way to [[TalkativeLoon incomprehensible gibberish]], shortly before he throws himself out a window, running full speed and [[LaughingMad screaming laughter all the way out]]. While he survives this, and recovers well enough to continue along in the story, this is how we learn that whomever has the DC Mini can use it not only to invade the dreams of anyone who's used a dream therapy machine, but can "infect" their dreams with nightmares of insanity, and the victim doesn't even have to be using a machine themselves at the time.
216	* WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou: [[spoiler:Osanai does this to Paprika, blaming her for his assault.]]
217	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: [[spoiler:The Chairman]].
218	* WorldGoneMad: After a while, Tokyo more or less becomes a warped dream reality, thankfully Paprika stops the whole disaster before it goes any further.
219	* TheWorldTree: Used as a dream metaphor for [[spoiler:the wheelchair-bound Chairman]].
220	* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler:Osanai. Dr. Chiba doesn't want to be with him? That's okay, he'll just trap her in a room where he has absolute control, pin her to a table like a butterfly, and tear her skin off]].
221	* YouthfulFreckles: Paprika has some freckles across her cheeks.
222
223	----
224	->[[TheStinger But what about the rest of it?]]

Context Literature / Paprika