Satoshi Kon dead

[Skykid]

Died of pancreatic cancer aged 46.

Fuck, I'm really upset about this one.

Kon was actually one of the only remaining Anime directors I really liked, he rarely put a foot wrong with his work (although he didn't produce a great amount.)

RIP man, Tokyo Godfathers was masterful.

[Jon]

I just finished up watching Paranoia Agent myself. Perfect Blue was pretty cool too.

R.I.P.

[StoofooEsq]

Very sad news. I loved Paranoia Agent when it aired in the US on Adult Swim. Years after, I got to watch Perfect Blue and Paprika when they aired separately on Encore channels, and both were great films. Paprika, in particular, was awesome.

I'll need to re-watch those three sometime soon, and finally get to watch the Satoshi Kon works I haven't seen yet.

[Skykid]

Very sad news. I loved Paranoia Agent when it aired in the US on Adult Swim. Years after, I got to watch Perfect Blue and Paprika when they aired separately on Encore channels, and both were great films. Paprika, in particular, was awesome.

I'll need to re-watch those three sometime soon, and finally get to watch the Satoshi Kon works I haven't seen yet.

You're in for a treat with Tokyo Godfathers - I'd say that was his best, despite being his least abstract work (which seemed to be a Satoshi Kon theme.)

Paranoia Agent was a fantastic series too.

The only one of his works I haven't seen is Millennium Actress, and I hear it's outstanding.

[E. Randy Dupre]

It is. It's my favourite of his works - it shows even more imagination than Paprika and it has far more humanity about it. It's also one of the richest films I've ever seen in thematic terms, being a single story that manages to be (fictional) biography, cultural history and film history, all in one. The final scene is the most perfect film moment ever.

I only read about his death a few hours ago and the timing was weird - I'd been thinking about Kon and his movies just minutes earlier, having talked about films with a colleague and decided that she'd probably love Millennium Actress.

I've said this elsewhere and it's funny, reading through the obituaries and comments on his passing, how many people have said something similar, but there's a huge tragedy here outside of the main and obvious loss of a life, and that's that he would only have got even more astonishing as a film-maker as he grew in experience, as increased exposure provided him with greater resources with which to realise his vision. There's an endless reel of potentially astonishing movies that'll now never be made.

I think the quote here sums it up pretty well:

At 47, Miyazaki hadn't finished Totoro,
Tezuka hadn't created Black Jack,
Kurosawa hadn't made Yojimbo...

[ratlhead]

He was one of most talented anime directors ever. Tokyo Godfathers was a masterpiece. RIP, he'll be missed...

[drauch]

Oh damn, I loved his work...Only 46, geeze... RIP.

[ryu]

http://www.makikoitoh.com/journal/satos ... last-words

[Obiwanshinobi]

Verily the internet has it all... I saw even people saying they liked Paranoia Agent there. Do you like Stephen King too, internet people?
Paranoia Agent's opening by that dude of Berserk fame is cool and that's about it. Proves that they have Amigas out there in Japan. The show itself was a pile of diluted nothing if you ask me. I suppose he had another feature film in mind, but someone told him to make 13 episodes of it.

[E. Randy Dupre]

The show itself was a pile of diluted nothing if you ask me.

I don't think anybody did.

[Specineff]

Any show that features a spoof of Snoopy/Hello Kitty that can give you nightmares is nothing short of noteworthy.

[Skykid]

http://www.makikoitoh.com/journal/satos ... last-words

Very interesting and very sad, thanks for sharing the link.

Verily the internet has it all... I saw even people saying they liked Paranoia Agent there. Do you like Stephen King too, internet people?

Verily you're graced with the worst sense of taste the internet has ever seen.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Any show that features a spoof of Snoopy/Hello Kitty that can give you nightmares is nothing short of noteworthy.

Noteworthy perhaps, but not worth enduring to the end (which I did). You don't often see this many redundant episodes with this level of production values (Oh! Edo Rocket comes to mind, but that one at least had some essence to it). Very different shows, certainly, but both would be of about just right length if you erased 13 episodes from each.

Verily you're graced with the worst sense of taste the internet has ever seen.

Forsooth, I have enjoyed anime even more disgusting than Paranoia Agent (Innocent Venus, Red Garden... heck, I even think Texhnolyze is half decent), some of them stuffed even deeper up there if that's even possible, but Paranoia Agent wasn't even guilty pleasure in my case. Then again, internet has it all...

[Skykid]

Then again, internet has it all...

That part I agree with. But if you re-read your post, the word 'even' in "I saw even people saying they liked Paranoia Agent there," sounds like you're writing the guy off entirely.

Satoshi Kon was always a little aloof with the weirder stuff he did. As much of a visual treat Paprika was - like a feature length hallucinogen - I concede it wasn't the most sparklingly entertaining sci-fi because it needed a touch more emphasis on stringing the plot together. Paranoia Agent had something in common with this, but was much more robust on the story aspect. It was a superbly warped and incredibly intriguing series, and not something I can imagine is worthy of turning your nose up at.

Anyway, RIP to the guy. He was one of the last few Anime directors with unique and genuine talent. Who's left now? Oshii, Miyazaki... Otomo?

[xris]

Sad to hear about this. He was a producer that was willing to do the types of stories that appealed to him, not what was popular. Paranioa Agent was cool to me. I couls never really get into Perfect Blue. I've had a copy of Paprika that I have yet to watch, I tend to try to have some good stuff on hand that i haven't seen for a rainy day. Looks like it's about time to watch it. Respect.

[chempop]

Oh man, I'm really sad to hear this news. I bought Paprika at the beginning of the summer - easily one of my faves, Paranoia Agent I seen maybe 5 times from when it came out on dvd. His shows are so unique and creative, what an inspiration to the scene. He'll always be remembered...

[Obiwanshinobi]

He was one of the last few Anime directors with unique and genuine talent. Who's left now? Oshii, Miyazaki... Otomo?

Oshii? Can't disrespect a director with two Yattaman episodes in his filmography, but then again, was The Sky Crawlers really great? Although I don't think he can be blamed for Production I.G not outputting stuff of Fuujin Monogatari quality anymore.
Miyazaki? I like quite a few films he worked on, but none of those signed by him as a director tops Doubutsu Takarajima in my book.
Otomo? Someone who personally WORKED on the Akira animations (the most expensive shit animated in Japan at the time) and failed to realise how FUCKING AWFUL they are isn't quite up there as an anime director. Also, the script of Akira kinda showed why cramming 6 volumes into two hours isn't a terribly great idea. Nice promotional poster, though, and pretty awesome music.
Come to think of it, I'm glad that grand auteur bwana director cult of personality never really took root in anime. Sure, people keep banging on about Miyazaki, but they seem to be mostly people who don't know many other anime directors' names. The guy I respect most for the consistency of his ouptut would be Yoshiaki Kawajiri. I liked everything by him I saw rather a lot. He has what it takes to make a decent feature film, doesn't fuck about and - just like me - never seems to have more money at disposal than he knows what to do with.