Who else didn't get it the first time they saw it?

When I first saw this (in my teens), I wasn't in the right mood and got bored pretty fast. While I loved the animation, I couldn't get used to it being utilized for relatively mundane scenes to feel really comfortable with it. Blame it on being an impatient teen I guess. I've been a cyberpunk fan even then, and I knew Dick's work were mostly cyberpunk (I've read some, though I prefer William Gibson's Sprawl setting), so I probably expected robots or gunfights or something. When it didn't match my expectations, my brain shut down any attempt to appreciate it. I think I fast-forwarded through most of it, so understandably I didn't know what I just watched after it was all over. I thought it was simply about an undercover narc who became an addict. After that, I simply forgot it. I only retained vague picture-memories of the entire movie, but lost the coherence of it all.

Well, I got a copy today and watched it again... and man. I can't believed I missed more than I thought I did. Seeing this again with adult eyes on a less stressful night... only now do I truly appreciate the layers in the movie (though I now wish I read the book first, which won't be happening now).

First I was introduced a story that looked deceptively simple. The one that fit with my half-memories of the film - Bob was a narc who was slowly becoming more and more addicted to the drug he was supposed to be keeping off the streets. He ended up ironically spying on himself when he became a prime suspect due to his double identity. Then the sideplot with Barris came in, and I then began to wonder if any of the others might actually also be narcs. Halfway through the film I noticed Hank's height, and came to the conclusion that it was Donna. I was correct. So when the reveal came, I wasn't all that surprised. But I still felt empathic anger at how betrayed Bob must have felt. And I felt the conflicting emotions of Donna who had to dismiss him casually while she too must have felt like sh!t inside. Then after all that was done, I waited for what I thought was the dénouement after the plot's climax. That's when the last reveal came in. And it truly did take me by surprise. That the betrayal was deeper than even Bob thought. A betrayal that served a higher purpose, but at what price? It neatly tied up the more puzzling things earlier (like the doctors' suggestions of giving Donna a flower).

Anyway, I guess I'm just pleased at my own cleverness (hyuck) at finally "getting it". And I'm glad I watched it again.