I started on Paprika with a lot of expectations, since many people had commented on how "deep" and "philosophical" the story is...but frankly, I was quite disappointed. The plot was not interesting -- I knew who the villain was the moment I first saw her/him (indicating the gender would spoil, I suppose), and the way s/he was eventually captured was far from interesting. Not to mention how nonsensical his/her motivations were.

The number of character focused on were too limited, which resulted in a lack of depth to the story. Though the typical, done-to-death theme of "love conquers all" was played in a rather unique manner, it was still a very disappointing shortcut to take in paving the way for the eventual conclusion.

The only really good thing about this movie is the art and animation -- it was beautifully done and breathed life to the surreal quality of the story extremely well.

I feel that Paprika would have done better as a 13-episode anime series; but as an OVA, it's hardly worth the 90 minutes spent watching it. (show less)