Satoshi Kon (1963-2010)

[jpanimation]

Satoshi Kon passed away in Tokyo on Tuesday. He was 46–and in the middle of directing a new film, The Dream Machine. Kon was one of a handful of internationally respected directors of anime films. He started his career as a manga artist and editor for Young Magazine, and then became art designer and key animator on Katsuhiro Otomo and Hiroyuki Kitakubo’s Roujin Z (1991). He then wrote the “Magnetic Rose” sequence in the animated anthology film, Memories (1995). Kon made his directorial debut with Perfect Blue in 1998, followed by Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Paprika (2006). His 2004 TV series Paranoia Agent played in the US on Adult Swim. All of his works as a director have been made by Studio Madhouse, where he was a staff director along with Rintaro and Yoshiaki Kawajiri.
- Cartoon Brew

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I just can't believe it. He was only 46 and if I expected any Japanese feature animation director to kick the bucket, it would've been Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata (hopefully they won't for a long time). I'm really interested in learning the cause of death. Anyways, I didn't really like this guy's movies as much as other people seem to but he was incredibly talented and was using the medium to it's fullest extent. This is truly a shame.

R.I.P.

[Super Aurora]

Yeah what a shame. He was an amazing director for anime movies. Though it's not surprising he pass away since he did smoke a lot.

[pap64]

I just watched a video about the news and I am shocked. He was a great director. Not all of his movies were perfect, but all pushed the art of storytelling and animation. Through his movies he told the world that anime was more than just girls with big eyes and robots and that animation didn't have to be exclusively for children.

While I found the love story in Millennium Actress to be weird I love how it was told and structured. Paprika was stunning. It actually left me feeling weird after I watched it, and yet it was amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if Inception was indeed inspired by it.

RIP Satoshi Kon.

[Avaitor]

It's so shocking. The man had such a future ahead of him, but out of nowhere he dies. He was a good director, and I can say this even after only seeing Tokyo Godfathers.

May he rest in peace.

[Coolmanio]

After I saw this, I watched Perfect Blue, and I gotta admit, the movie was great. I will have to see the others, but i am sure they are the same.

Such great talent, its a shame he died so young.

Cancer is....ugh....

[yamiiguy]

That made me well up a little

[jpanimation]

That made me well up a little

Yeah, me too, and it really makes you think about life. Pancreatic Cancer, the same thing that killed Patrick Swayze earlier, is one of the most deadly cancers out there (I knew it couldn't have been lung cancer from smoking). It's scary to think of all the diseases that can rob you of life so quickly and at an early age. You have to live every day like it's you last and then you won't have regrets.

Now to see what they do with the movie he was working on.

[Super Aurora]

ah so it wasn't lung cancer. my bad.

[littlefuzzy]

Heavy smoking is a risk factor (one of many) for pancreatic cancer... Note, I'm NOT trying to say "He brought it on himself by smoking so much, filthy habit!"

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That letter he wrote really got to me, it's kind of like my mom wrote it (without being male, Japanese, an animation creator, dying before her parents and so on, of course.)