Satoshi Kon

Satoshi Kon
Born (1963-10-12)October 12, 1963
Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Died August 24, 2010(2010-08-24) (aged 46)
Tokyo, Japan[1]
Cause of death Pancreatic cancer
Other names Yoshihiro Wanibuchi
Alma mater Musashino Art University
Occupation Animator, film director, screenwriter, manga artist
Years active 1984–2010
Spouse(s) Kyoko Kon (?–2010; his death)[2]
Website konstone.s-kon.net

Satoshi Kon (今 敏 Kon Satoshi, October 12, 1963 – August 24, 2010[3]) was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaidō and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA).[4] He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art University. He is sometimes credited as "Yoshihiro Wanibuchi" (鰐淵良宏 Wanibuchi Yoshihiro) in the credits of Paranoia Agent. He was the younger brother of guitarist and studio musician Tsuyoshi Kon.

Biography

Early life

Satoshi Kon was born on October 12, 1963.[5] Due to his father's job transfer, Kon's education from the fourth elementary grade up to the second middle school grade was based in Sapporo. Kon was a classmate and close friend of manga artist Seihō Takizawa. While attending Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School, Kon aspired to become an animator.[6] His favorite works were Space Battleship Yamato (1974), Heidi, Girl of the Alps (1974), Future Boy Conan (1978) and Mobile Suit Gundam (1979),[7] as well as Katsuhiro Otomo's Domu: A Child's Dream.[8] Yasutaka Tsutsui served as an influence on Kon's drawings. Kon graduated from the Graphic Design course of the Musashino Art University in 1982.[6] During that time, Kon viewed numerous foreign films and enthusiastically read Yasutaka Tsutsui's books.[8][9]

Early career

While in college, Kon made his debut as a manga artist with the short manga Toriko (1984) and earned a runner-up spot in the 10th Annual Tetsuya Chiba Awards held by Young Magazine (Kodansha).[6][10][11] Afterward, he found work as Katsuhiro Otomo's assistant.[11][12] After graduating from college in 1987,[6] Kon authored the one-volume manga Kaikisen (1990) and wrote the script for Katsuhiro Otomo's live-action film World Apartment Horror.[11] In 1991, Kon worked as an animator and layout artist for the animated film Roujin Z.[6][11] Kon worked as a supervisor for Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor 2: The Movie along with other animated films.[6] He then worked on the manga Seraphim: 266,613,336 Wings with Oshii, it was published in 1994 in Animage.[13]:17 In 1995, Kon served as the scriptwriter, layout artist and art director of the short film Magnetic Rose, the first of three short films in Katsuhiro Otomo's omnibus Memories.[6][11] Kon's work afterward would be distinguished by the recurring theme of the blending of fantasy and reality.[14]

Directing

In 1993, Kon scripted and co-produced the fifth episode of the original video animation JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.[8] In 1997, Kon began work on his directorial debut Perfect Blue (based on Yoshikazu Takeuchi's novel of the same name).[15] A suspense story centered on a pop idol, it was the first film by Kon to be produced by Madhouse.[5] Kon was initially unsatisfied with the original screenplay written by the author and requested to make changes to it.[16][17] Aside from maintaining three elements of the novel ("idol", "horror" and "stalker"), Kon was allowed to make any changes he desired.[16] The screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai,[8] who worked in the idea of a blurred border between the real world and imagination.[16]

Following Perfect Blue, Kon considered adapting the Yasutaka Tsutsui novel Paprika (1993) into his next film. However, these plans were stalled when the distribution company for Perfect Blue (Rex Entertainment) went bankrupt.[18] Coincidentally, Kon's next work would also feature the theme of the blending of imagination and reality.[16] In 2002, Kon's second film (Millennium Actress) was released to the public. The film centers on a retired actress who mysteriously withdraws from the public eye at the peak of her career. Having the same estimated budget as Perfect Blue (approximately 120,000,000 yen),[9] Millennium Actress garnered higher critical and financial success than its predecessor and earned numerous awards. The screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai,[16] who utilized a seamless connection between illusion and reality to create a "Trompe-l'œil kind of film".[19] Millennium Actress was the first Satoshi Kon film to feature Susumu Hirasawa, of whom Kon was a long-time fan, as composer.[20]

In 2003, Kon's third work (Tokyo Godfathers) was announced. The film centers on a trio of homeless persons in Tokyo who discover a baby on Christmas Eve and set out to search for her parents. Tokyo Godfathers cost more to make than Kon's previous two films (with a budget of approximately 300,000,000 yen),[9] and centered on the themes of homelessness and abandonment, with a comedic touch worked in.[11][16] The screenplay was written by Keiko Nobumoto.[21]

In 2004, Kon released the 13-episode television series Paranoia Agent, in which Kon revisits the theme of the blending of imagination and reality, as well as working in additional social themes.[22] The series was created from an abundance of unused ideas for stories and arrangements that Kon felt were good but did not fit into any of his projects.[23]

In 2006, Paprika was announced, after having been planned out and materializing for several years. The story centers on a new form of psychotherapy that utilizes dream analysis to treat mental patients. The film was highly successful and earned a number of film awards. Kon summed up the film with "Kihonteki na story igai wa subete kaeta" (基本的なストーリー以外は全て変えた)[24]—roughly, "Everything but the fundamental story was changed." Much like Kon's previous works, the film focuses on the synergy of dreams and reality.[9]

After Paprika, Kon teamed up with Mamoru Oshii and Makoto Shinkai to create the 2007 NHK television production Ani*Kuri15, for which Kon created the short Ohayō.[25] That same year, Kon helped establish and served as a member of the Japan Animation Creators Association (JAniCA).[26]

Health deterioration and death

Following Ohayō, Kon began work on his next film, Dreaming Machine. In May 2010, Kon was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Given half a year to live, Kon chose to spend the remainder of his life in his home. Shortly before his death Kon composed a final message, which was uploaded to his blog by his family upon his death. As Kon explained in the message, he chose not to make news of his rapidly advancing illness public, in part out of embarrassment at how drastically emaciated and ravaged his body had become. The result was that the announcement of his death was met with widespread shock and surprise, particularly given that Kon had shown no signs of illness at relatively recent public events, as the cancer progressed to a terminal state in a matter of months after being diagnosed.[27] Kon died on August 24, 2010 at the age of 46.[28][29] After his death, Kon was mentioned among the Fond Farewells in TIME's people of the year 2010. Darren Aronofsky wrote a eulogy to him, which was printed in Satoshi Kon's Animation Works (今敏アニメ全仕事), a Japanese retrospective book of his animation career.[30][31]

As of 2013, the completion of Dreaming Machine remains uncertain due to funding difficulties, with only 600 of the 1500 shots being animated. At Otakon 2012, Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama stated: "Unfortunately, we still don't have enough money. My personal goal is to get it within five years after his passing. I'm still working hard towards that goal."[32] In July 2015, Madhouse reported that Dreaming Machine remains in production but they are looking for a director to match Kon's abilities and similar vision.

Themes

When asked about his interest in female characters, Kon stated that female characters were easier to write because he is not able to know the character in the same way as a male character, and "can project my obsession onto the characters and expand the aspects I want to describe."[33] With a frame of reference up to Tokyo Godfathers, Susan J. Napier notes that while the theme of performance is the one obvious commonality in his works, she finds that the concept of the male gaze is the more important topic for discussion. Napier shows the evolution of Kon's use of the gaze from its restrictive and negative aspects in Magnetic Rose and Perfect Blue, to a collaborative gaze in Millennium Actress before arriving at a new type of gaze in Tokyo Godfathers which revels in uncertainty and illusion.[33]

Dean DeBlois said, "Satoshi Kon used the hand-drawn medium to explore social stigmas and the human psyche, casting a light on our complexities in ways that might have failed in live action. Much of it was gritty, intense, and at times, even nightmarish. Kon didn't shy away from mature subject matter or live-action sensibilities in his work, and his films will always occupy a fascinating middle ground between 'cartoons' and the world as we know it."[34]

Influences

Satoshi Kon's most prominent influences were the works of Philip K. Dick and Yasutaka Tsutsui.[9][15] Kon viewed various manga and anime up until high school.[8] He was particularly fond of Space Battleship Yamato, Future Boy Conan, Galaxy Express 999 (1978), Mobile Suit Gundam and Domu: A Child's Dream.[7][35] Western films also served as an influence, most notably George Roy Hill's Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), The City of Lost Children (1995) and the works of Terry Gilliam (particularly Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989)).[5][8][15] In addition to Gilliam, he also blogged about watching Monty Python.[36] He was fond of the works of Akira Kurosawa, and worked in a reference to him in Paprika.[18] However he claimed to be largely unfamiliar with Japanese film in general.[19][37]

Filmography

Year Title Director Writer Animator Notes
1991 World Apartment Horror Yes Feature film. Based on Kon's own manga of the same name.[38]
1991 Roujin Z Yes Feature film. Background animator.[13]:16
1992 Hashire Melos! Yes Feature film. Layout animator.[38]
1993 Patlabor 2 Yes Feature film. Layout animator.[38]
1994 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Yes Yes OVA. Animator on episode 2. Director on episode 5.[38]
1995 Memories Yes Yes Anthology film. Writer, background designer, and layout animator of Magnetic Rose.[38]
1997 Perfect Blue Yes Yes Feature film. Director, script adapter.[13]:122
1998 Detatoko Princess Yes OVA.
2001 Millennium Actress Yes Yes Feature film. Director, original story writer, and character designer.[13]:122
2003 Tokyo Godfathers Yes Yes Feature film. Director and original story writer.[13]:123
2004 Paranoia Agent Yes Yes TV series. Director, writer, and storyboards for the opening and episodes 1, 9 and 13.[13]:123
2006 Paprika Yes Yes Feature film. Director and screenwriter.[13]:124
2008 Good Morning Yes Yes Short film. Part of Ani*Kuri15[38]
TBA Dreaming Machine Yes Yes Feature film. Director and writer, production stopped after Kon's passing.

Bibliography

Manga

Year Title Notes
1984 Toriko (虜) Manga debut and a doujinshi work. It won the 2nd place Tetsuya Chiba Award for "Superior Newcomer".[13]:14 Published in English in the collection Dream Fossil. It is not related to the Mitsutoshi Shimabukuro manga Toriko.[39]
1990 Tropic of the Sea (海帰線) Published in Young Magazine by Kodansha.[13]:15 Published in English in 2013 by Vertical Comics.
1990 Akira Uncredited assistant artist.[13]:15
1991 World Apartment Horror (ワールド・アパートメントホラー) Adapted from the film of the same name directed by Katsuhiro Otomo from a Keiko Nobumoto screenplay. After the main feature the volume collects three much shorter manga original to Kon: Visitors, Waira and Joyful Bell, which last prefigures Tokyo Godfathers.
1994 Seraphim: 266613336 Wings (セラフィム 2億6661万3336の翼) An unfinished collaboration with Mamoru Oshii that first ran in the May 1994 issue to the November 1995 issue of Animage.[13]:17[40] Partially reprinted posthumously in a memorial supplement of Monthly Comic Ryū in 2010 and published in comic book form by Tokuma Shoten in December that same year. Published in English in 2015 by Dark Horse Comics.[41][42][43]
1995–1996 Opus An incomplete manga that was released bi-monthly in Comic Guys from 1995-1996.[44] It was collected and re-released in December 2010.[45] Published in English in 2014 by Dark Horse Comics.[46]

Other literary works

Year Title Publisher ISBN Notes
2002 Kon's Tone: The Road to "Millennium Actress" (コンズ・トーン: 「千年女優」への道) Shobunsha Publications 978-4794965462 Biography-type work documenting his journey to his second film.[47] Reissued in 2013.
2002 Chiyoko: Millennial Actress (千年女優画報―『千年女優』ビジュアルブック) Kawade Shobo Shinsha 978-4309905112 Artbook containing interviews with the cast and director as well as character design art by Madhouse animation.[48]
2003 Tokyo Godfathers: Angel Book (東京ゴッドファーザーズ・エンジェルブック) Takarajimasha 978-4796636803 Artbook containing interviews with the cast and director as well as character and background art.[49]
2011 The Anime Works of Satoshi Kon (今 敏アニメ全仕事) G.B. Co. Ltd. 978-4901841948 Retrospective book containing interviews, character design sheets, and more.[50]
2012 Kon's Tone II Sold exclusively through Kon's Tone online store. Collection of essays and sketches including his farewell message.[51][52]
2015 Perfect Blue Storyboard Collection (今敏 絵コンテ集 PERFECT BLUE) Fukkan 978-4835451411 Complete storyboards for Perfect Blue, smaller print originally bundled with Limited Edition of the 2008 release of Perfect Blue on home video.[53]
2015 Dream Fossil: The Complete Stories of Satoshi Kon Vertical Comics 978-1941220245 Originally published in Japan in 2011. A collection of his short manga stories published between 1984 and 1989. Includes Toriko, Waira, and Joyful Bell.
2015 The Art of Satoshi Kon Dark Horse Comics 978-1616557416 Released in Japan as Kon's Work 1982-2010 in 2014. Artbook spanning entire career, contains character design for unreleased film Dreaming Machine .[54]

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ Scott, A. O. (August 26, 2010). "Satoshi Kon, Anime Filmmaker, Dies at 46". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  2. ↑ Osmond, Andrew (26 August 2010). "Satoshi Kon obituary". theguardian.com. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  3. ↑ 《今 敏 永眠のお知らせ》 (in Japanese). Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Japan's Animator Labor Group Legally Incorporates - Anime News Network". Anime News Network. 2008-06-06. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 マッドハウス・公式プロフィール (in Japanese). Madhouse. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Konstone 公式プロフィール" (in Japanese). Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  7. 1 2 Giron, Aimee (December 7, 2005). "HT Talks To . . . FilmMaker Satoshi Kon". Sound & Vision. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Interview with Satoshi Kon, Director of Perfect Blue". Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 "Interview de Satoshi Kon sur le site Catsuka" (in French). December 10, 2006. Archived from the original on 2011-10-18. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  10. ↑ ちばてつや公式サイト (in Japanese). Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sevakis, Justin (August 21, 2008). "Interview: Satoshi Kon". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2016-04-08. Retrieved 24 October 2008.
  12. ↑ フランスから「パーフェクトブルー」に関するインタビュー (in Japanese). March 1998. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Osmond, Andrew (2009). Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist. Stonebridge Press. ISBN 978-1933330747.
  14. ↑ DVD Memories Interview
  15. 1 2 3 Aguiar, Bill (April 25, 2007). "Interview with Satoshi Kon". Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mes, Tom (February 11, 2002). "INTERVIEW Satoshi Kon". Midnight Eye. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Interview 07 2004年6月 アメリカから、監督作品全般に関するインタビュー" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  18. 1 2 Gray, Jason (November 20, 2006). "INTERVIEW Satoshi Kon Part2". Midnight Eye. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  19. 1 2 "Director Satoshi Kon Interview DVJ2.0". Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Interview 23 2007年6月 アメリカから｢パプリカ｣について". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012.
  21. ↑ "東京ゴッドファーザーズ：オフィシャルサイト". Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  22. ↑ "Interview with Satoshi Kon". Gamestar. Archived from the original on August 13, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  23. ↑ "妄想の産物 妄想の二｢総監督の謎｣". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  24. ↑ "Satoshi Kon-ITW-Interview". Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  25. ↑ "NHK Launches Ani-Kuri 15". Anime News Network. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "Japan's Animator Labor Group Legally Incorporates". Anime News Network. 6 June 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  27. ↑ "Anime News Network". Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  28. ↑ "公式ブログ｢KON'S TONE｣". Retrieved August 25, 2010.
  29. ↑ Itoh, Makiko (2010-08-26). "Satoshi Kon's last words". Makiko Itoh: Not a Nameless Cat. Retrieved 2010-11-11. As far as I know there's no translation of the whole document into English out there, so here it is.
  30. ↑ Corliss, Richard (December 15, 2010). "Person Of The Year 2010". Time (published September 13, 2010).
  31. ↑ "Satoshi Kon Book Adds Message by Black Swan's Aronofsky (Updated)". Anime News Network.
  32. ↑ Sevakis, Justin (2012-07-28). "Masao Maruyama/MAPPA Q&A". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2013-01-29.
  33. 1 2 Brown, Steven (September 2008). Cinema Anime - "Excuse Me, Who Are You?": Performance, the Gaze, and the Female in the Works of Kon Satoshi by Susan Napier. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 23–43. ISBN 978-0-230-60621-0.
  34. ↑ Solomon, Charles (August 26, 2010). "Satoshi Kon dies at 46; Japanese anime director". Los Angeles Times.
  35. ↑ "Interview 05 1998年2月 アメリカから｢パーフェクトブルー｣に関するインタビュー". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  36. ↑ "NOTEBOOK »NOTEBOOK» ブログアーカイブ » 先月の傾向 - KON'S TONE". Konstone.s-kon.net. Retrieved 2013-05-25.
  37. ↑ "Interview 03 2002年12月 カナダから、主に｢千年女優｣に関するインタビュー". Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "A Tribute to Satoshi Kon". Catsuka. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  39. ↑ "Satoshi Kon's Short Manga Stories to be Published (Updated)". Anime News Network. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
  40. ↑ "Kon's Tone Unreleased Comic" (in Japanese). Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Kon's Tone 月刊COMICリュウ　12月号" [Kon's Tone December issue Monthly Comic Ryū] (in Japanese). October 19, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Satoshi Kon's Seraphim, Opus Manga Reprinted". Anime News Network. December 8, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  43. ↑ Oshii, Mamoru; Kon, Satoshi (December 4, 2014). セラフィム 2億6661万3336の翼 [Seraphim: 266,613,336 Wings] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Tokuma Shoten. pp. 6, 231. ISBN 978-4-19-950220-0. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  44. ↑ "Opus – Satoshi Kon Manga Book Review". Halcyon Realms. Retrieved December 6, 2013.
  45. ↑ "【コミック】OPUS(オーパス) (上) (Opus)". Anime Onlineshop. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  46. ↑ "Satoshi Kon's OPUS TPB :: Profile". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  47. ↑ "In remembrance of Satoshi Kon". 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  48. ↑ "The Art of Satoshi Kon's Millennium Actress". Halcyon Realms. 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  49. ↑ "The Art of Tokyo Godfathers - Satoshi Kon". Halcyon Realms. 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  50. ↑ "The Anime Works of Satoshi Kon Book Review". Halcyon Realms. 2012-01-09. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  51. ↑ "CATSUKA - KON'S TONE II Satoshi Kon notebook. Collection of...". Tumblr. 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  52. ↑ "'Kon's Tone II', segundo volumen de materiales de Satoshi Kon". Crunchyroll (in Spanish). 2012-08-17. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  53. ↑ "Perfect Blue Storyboard Collection Art Book Review". Halcyon Realms. 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
  54. ↑ "Kon's Work 1982-2010 - Kon Satoshi Art Book Review". Halcyon Realms. 2014-01-07. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
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