R.I.P. Satoshi Kon
So sad. His work is so appealing, certainly an overall better quality than western animation stuff.I really hope this to come out soon: http://yume-robo.com/
I hope he lived long enough to see his next project through. I’m really going to miss him.
This is so shocking and sad, just like what coheed has said, i truly respect him as a director, RIP Satoshi Kon…
One of the best directors ever. A tragic loss
One of the best directors ever. A tragic loss
I wont belive it until I get a better source. I really hope this isn’t true.
This completely ruined my day. I was a huge fan of his feature films, and Paranoia Agent is one of the best television shows of all time. I always looked forward to what he was going to do next. A huge loss for anime and cinema as a whole.
RIP
How sad that is. Such great talent; he’ll be sadly missed.
Rest in Peace.
Paprika, Paranoia Agent, and Perfect Blue showed a man who knew what he was doing and precisely how to do it, and I have to honestly admit that I was holding Satoshi Kon as one of those “dependable directors” that I could always wait for the new release for. Goes to show how much real life goes as planned. I am surprised how upset I am about this, I really wanted to continue seeing him create. Now I can only watch those of his I have not seen yet, and rewatch. Sigh
—PolarisDiB
This has got to be one of the worst news I have ever heard. That he died before he turned 50 makes it even worse. All his work are extraordinary and they had a psychological dimension in them that set it apart from other Japanese cartoons. Paranoia Agent was the first anime I watched by Kon and it made me want to know about this director and his work. Paprika, Millennium Actress, Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers are such beautiful movies and you could tell that he directed it. He was a true auteur and he will surely be missed. R.I.P. Satoshi Kon.
-Joe L.
I just posted an article about Satoshi Kon’s passing. The link is at the bottom here:
http://www.examiner.com/film-reviews-in-new-york/satoshi-kon-giant-of-japanese-animation-dies-at-47
He will be missed. His work as a writer/director/animator was exceptional. That reminds me I’ve got to watch Memories.
His proclivity for gratuitous, graphic rape scenes was distasteful.
A.O Scott has confirmed it.
R.I.P. Mr Kon
Not sure what the deal with your denial is, but it was confirmed very quickly by sources closer to Kon than A.O. Scott.
I was trly shocked when I saw the news about his death. He still had so much to give. He was one of the truly great directors working today, not just an anime director. “Perfect Blue” is one of the best psychological thrillers ever made and his “Paprika” is a true wonder of aesthetic creation. Satoshi Kon will be missed…
RIP 今 敏!!!
I’m not a huge animation fan, but I will say that he was one glaring exception for me. He had a great sense of story.
Does anybody know if he “finished” his last film? Or how far along he got.
Damn it I will mis this guy.
I heard down the grapevine that Yume-Robo will in fact be completed, after a short break. Hopefully this is not just wishful rumor.
—PolarisDiB
Well, from Kon’s final letter it sounded like Murayama assurred him they’d “figure something out” and get it finished. We can only hope that Kon left them with enough to go by and that they’ll succeed in completing more or less what he had envisioned…
It’s worth noting, though, that even if they aren’t able to make it a 100% “Satoshi Kon” work without his direction, I don’t think it will be hurt too much as a work worth seeing. Madhouse are one of the most consistently good animation studios out there, and as much as I love Kon’s films, in my opinion none of them have been perfect, anyway. For example, Perfect Blue feels special as a Japanese pop idol twist on Psycho, Basic Instinct, Body Double, Opera, etc. but in essence I feel it’s marred by the easy psycho-thriller reveal ending. Paprika was much closer to representing Kon’s vision undiluted, I think, even if some of it repeats themes that are common in superflat works while making it an easier pill to swallow…
All that said, I’ve looked forward to each of his releases since Perfect Blue. I hope to see this last one.
I just read Satoshi Kon’s final statement, a beautiful expression of his love of life and of movies.
I discovered his movies this month, watching Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress a few weeks before his death.
His passing is a great loss for movie lovers, and of course even more so for his wife, family and friends.
From Dave Kehr’s website, a still from Kon’s unfinished The Dream Machine:
Coheed 2.5
I have just heard about this ten minutes or so ago, and I feel extremely sad. I will have to get to Paranoia Agent now out of my respect for him as a film director.