Satoshi Kon, director of Tokyo Godfathers, Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent, Millenium Actress and Paprika has died due to pancreatic cancer at the age of 46. The world of animation, and film in general, lost an amazing artist yesterday.
This is really depressing news. I don’t know what to say other than he was a true visionary, a filmmaker whose love for film could be felt in every frame, as Mora alluded to not too long ago in his Inception review. Kon’s characters, though animated, always felt real. His scripts always intelligent. His images, indelible. The icepick from his debut movie Perfect Blue. The pop idol dancing in the hand. The dreamlike skipping among the neon city, later repeated in Paprika, the culmination of his tragically short oeuvre.
I loved that movie.
We do have another one to look forward to. It’s being completed by his peers according to a post on his site relayed by Anime News Network:
Later, he remembered meeting with Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama about the final anime film he was directing:
When I conveyed my concerns for Yume-Miru Kikai to Mr. Maruyama, he said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry, we’ll do whatever it takes.”
I cried.
I cried aloud.
He concluded his message with the following:
With feelings of gratitude for all that is good in this world, I put down my pen.
Well, I’ll be leaving now.
Satoshi Kon
Thanks and goodbye, Mr. Kon. You will be missed.
Grump Factory 