Brief spotlight on Satoshi Kon

Undoubtedly one of the most highly acclaimed directors in the modern anime world, Satoshi Kon has become well known for his trademark psychological realism. Often, at its best, Kon’s anime can sometimes manage to install fear for fictional characters in the viewer, focusing on paranoia and mental disarray, while at other times the focus is less fearsomely frightening, telling the tale of lives, addled with Kon’s own sense of wit. Of all the famous anime directors, Kon’s work is some of the most accessible to anime fans and the mainstream alike, while retaining typical complexity and character. Finding a pejorative term to apply to any Kon-directed anime is hard.

Kon was born in 1963 on the cold, agricultural northern island of Hokkaido. His original goal in life was to become a painter, and he attended the Musashino College of the Arts to further this goal. Upon graduation, however, he became acquainted and friendly with the now legendary director and manga-ka, Katsuhiro Otomo, most well known as creator of the classic Arika. The two collaborated on manga for a short time, before Kon entered the anime industry as set designer for Roujin Z, a film exploring robots and the elderly, written, designed and created by Otomo. Other early projects saw a partnership develop between Kon and Ghost In The Shell creator Mamoru Oshii, collaborating in manga and working in anime as he had done with Otomo. Perhaps Kon’s first major breakthrough, however, was the film Memories’ Magnetic Rose segment (1996), widely regarded as the best part of the feature, where he proved an expert screenwriter. Satoshi Kon was carrying Otomo and Oshii’s influences while molding his own path.

Shortly after, Kon undertook his first directorial project. Perfect Blue (1997) is now regarded as a classic of anime horror, as the protagonist descends deeper into the madness and delusion. This was followed up in 2001 with Millennium Actress, another instantly acclaimed film, and again with Tokyo Godfathers (2003). Kon’s three films had all achieved immense critical success, and in 2004 he moved for the first time to television with the thirteen-episode anime series Paranoia Agent, which again fast became a favourite among anime fans and the mainstream press alike.

Kon is currently working on a new film to be released at an unspecified date; hopefully it will be a panacea for all who hunger for another intelligent, personality-based feature.

Spotlighted Works

Perfect Blue (1997) is the film that first saw Kon take the directorial helm, and is regarded by many as one of anime cinema’s greatest triumphs. It focuses on Mima Kirigoe, a member of a pop group, as she changes the course of her life and becomes an actor. Far from being a benign showbiz drama, the film sees Mima’s life plunge into disarray as a mixture of online diaries, murder and obsessed fans take their hold on her. A must-see.

Millennium Actress (2001) is an altogether different beast. The lead character this time is Chiyoko, a retired actress, who finds herself being filmed by director Tachibana for a documentary on her life story. The twist is, though, that along with real life memories, Chiyoko’s personal history is told through the films she starred in throughout her life. The effect is one of a tapestry, with a plethora of visual and narrative styles explored. A tale of resolve and hope.

Tokyo Godfathers (2003) is yet again of a completely different nature, a social commentary wrapped inside a Christmas tale. Three of the homeless – an older male with a patchy past, a transvestite and a younger girl – discover a baby girl under a pile of waste. Thus begins a journey through the city to take the girl home, as the past of the three protagonists is succinctly unwound. The film highlights Kon’s ability to create memorable and lovable characters, even inside a single eighty-minute film.

Paranoia Agent (2004) is Kon’s only stab at a television series so far, but the director’s vision is able to shine here just as well as on the big screen. As the title prefaces, the series is a study of human hysteria, built around a simple detective story (investigating a series of killings by a young boy with a golden baseball bat) that is masked by a powerful selection of characters and viewpoints. The series is pure Kon at his best – bold and subtle, simplistic and multi-weaved, crossing the boundaries of the normal and the abnormal to create a series that it is hard not to fall in love with.

Links

• KON’STONE (Satoshi Kon’s home page; Japanese)
• Geneon’s Official Paranoia Agent Site (Official US site for the series)
• Anime News Network Satoshi Kon (Lists Kon’s anime works and news items)
• Paul’s Review of Paranoia Agent Volume Two
• Paul’s Review of Paranoia Agent Volume One
• Ross Taylor’s Review of Tokyo Godfathers
• Martin’s Review of Millennium Actress
• Martin’s Review of Perfect Blue
• Paul’s Review of Memories including Magnetic Rose

Availability

All three of Kon’s films and Memories are available on both Region 1 and Region 2 United Kingdom. Paranoia Agent is fully available in the US and is currently being released in the UK by MVM; Volume 3 is scheduled for February 2006 due to delays.