Acclaimed anime director, Satoshi Kon, died of terminal pancreatic cancer on August 24, 2010 at the age of 46. I am indescribably sad at his death, since I think he was one of the most brilliant anime directors to come about in the last fifteen years. He was twisted, dark, and an ardent creator of science fiction and fantasy. His work often inhabited the twisted boundaries between reality and fantasy, embodying an incredibly accurate cinematic definition of slipstream.
The following trailers of his films are the best way I know of paying tribute to him and introducing others to his stunning work.
Perfect Blue was his first film. (Ignore the terrible English dubbing; the movie is available with proper subtitles—yes, I’m a subtitle-only fan.)
Millennium Actress is my personal favorite of all of his films.
Tokyo Godfathers was his only truly mainstream work.
Paranoia Agent was an all-too-brief series about the secret lives that are interrupted by a mysterious boy with a golden bat.
Paranoia Agent also has one of the all-time best opening songs ever.
Paprika plays on the boundary between dreams and reality, similarly to how it was done in this summer’s blockbuster, Inception.
At the time of his death, Satoshi Kon was working on a new movie, Yume-Miru Kikai. Madhouse Studios has reported that they will finish the movie.
