Tragic that master animator Satoshi Kon, director of Paranoia Agent, Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika has passed on. I could not find actual details on why he died so young, but I am sure these will be forthcoming as more information goes out across the internet (at the moment, it is reportedly pancreatic cancer according to Screen International) Either way, he was in the middle of his next film, The Dreaming Machine, which may or may not be anywhere near completion. A very sad day for those who cherished his work. Condolences go out to his family, friends, colleagues and fans, as his brand of intelligent and emotional animation, easily some of the mediums best from anywhere in the world, will be sorely missed.
It’s a sad, sad day.
That’s terrible. His work will always be much loved here.
A sad day for cinema. This man helped legitimize animation in this country (although we are still a long way off) as an art form.
If any one who is a fan of film has not seen Satoshi’s work, you owe it to yourself to take in his grandeur. He will be greatly missed as an artist, auteur and compelling story teller.
Sad day, indeed.
via anime news net and twitch, a message from Satoshi Kon:
A final message was posted to his website on his behalf on Wednesday, after his passing. His website is currently under heavy traffic load, but ANN archived a copy.
In the beginning of the message titled “Farewell,” Kon recalled:
May 18 of this year, an unforgettable day.
My wife and I received the following prognosis from a cardiologist at the Musashino Red Cross Hospital:
“The pancreatic cancer is terminal and has metastasized to the bone. You have at most a half year left.”
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