Satoshi Kon (Paprika and Millenium Actress) has died at the age of 47

[MeoTwister5]

I'm already worried about the future of Yume Miru Kirai, if it ever gets finished at all. Madhouse owes him to at least not fuck it up if they try to finish it.

[WanderingKnight]

Don't even know if I want to see it if it ever gets finished.

[SaintessHeart]

No one lives forever. The great pass on to leave legacies for the future generations to continue.

Apparently not this time though. The great anime directors are mostly gone without clear successors, and studios are now concentrated on profit motive.

Hopefully there is someone who will follow in his footsteps. RIP to the director of Millennium Actress.

[Hippo]

Originally Posted by Last Sinner

Very easily. Directors and animators generaly get paid a pittance of the profits. It's the subsiduary owners of the studios that get the majority of the profits from sales. Sad fact is even if you were working in low-level retail in the West, you'd probably earn more than most directors, according to various articles in recent times, including a couple from ANN. Cowboy Bebop/Samurai Champloo director Shinichiro Watanabe has also said previously that he lives pretty tight and that the industry is a hard way to make a living.

And remember - Kon was a guy who valued quality. He didn't try to tailor his stuff to be a guaranteed financial success. He wanted to make masterpieces with things he believed in/was passionate about. Which is rare. He deserved a lot better than financial hardship and an early death. If only this were to trigger improved working conditions for those within the industry. But I doubt it.

I'm aware that animators get paid very little but I am really saddened to hear that the directors/ writers are also treated unfairly. I hope that any financial troubles he had did not cause him to be unable to get treatment that could have saved his life (I have no idea how the health system works in Japan).

[MeoTwister5]

I had a link somewhere where it was stated that he died of of a pancreatic carcinoma.

It doesn't surprise me that he was still looking fine a few months ago. The reason pancreatic cancers have barely at most a 10% 5-year survival rate (one of the lowest for any cancer) is because the tumor is very silent in it's development and can be very fast at that. By the time the cancer becomes clinically detectable the tumor would have spread beyond the pancreas and metastasized everywhere in the abdomen, lungs, etc. Majority of the time once the cancer is diagnosed it's already too late.

Edit:

Here it is:

The anime studio MADHOUSE notified ANN that Kyōko Kon, the widow of director Satoshi Kon, wrote a message about his passing on his official website on Wednesday:


Satoshi Kon passed away due to pancreatic cancer on August 24 at 6:20 a.m. He was 46.

His funeral service will be held for family members
only.

We are respectfully and deeply grateful for your kindness during his lifetime.

Kon'stone
Representative Director Kyōko Kon



Update: MADHOUSE also wrote about Satoshi Kon's passing on Wednesday:


Satoshi Kon, the director of numerous works at MADHOUSE including Paprika, Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, and Millennium Actress, passed away due to pancreatic cancer early in the morning of Tuesday, August 24. He was 46.

With regards to funeral services, a private service will be held for family members only.

We are respectfully and deeply grateful for your kindness during his lifetime.

MADHOUSE



Update 2: 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



Thank you to toru, Dan42, and mt-i for the news tips.

For what it's worth, he still thought about the people who were eagerly awaiting the release of his next (and now last) film, so much so that he brought it up in his last meeting with MADHOUSE that he was worried about how it will end without him. Maruyama promised not to let him down.

At least, to some extent, we can expect the same quality from the film that we have come to expect from his previous works, even if he's no longer around to see it through. It would seem that MADHOUSE assured him that much.

At this point whoever becomes part of the production crew or whatever else happens with the film's production is purely academic for me: I'm going to watch it no matter what happens.

I was supposed to be studying but I started crying like a little girl after I read his last wishes for his fans, his family and his final film. I want to believe that it's in good hands.

Edit 2 - I found a translated section of his will and testament floating around, but out of respect I'll not link or post it here just yet, to let things move over and sink in for a while.

[Haak]

Wow, it's so sad to hear this. I can say I'm a fan but i did like both Paprika and Millenium Actress.

Are pancreatic cancers painful?

[MeoTwister5]

Originally Posted by Haak

Wow, it's so sad to hear this. I can say I'm a fan but i did like both Paprika and Millenium Actress.

Are pancreatic cancers painful?

It only starts getting really painful when you're "nearing the end". The pain can get relentless especially if the entirety of your pancreas is pretty much a tumor already and when the nerves have been invaded. The pain from aggressively relentless cancers are those that aren't relieved even when you're so maxed out on morphine that your completely sedated yet in pain.

Edit - I just saw the report and he had bone metastasis. Christ almighty.

I've seen a patient with this. It's horrifying. I'm going to be directly responsible for some cases like this next year. I don't think I'm ready, hell even the oldest oncologists here say that no doctor will ever be ready no matter how many cases they've seen. It's that bad.

[Haak]

Oh God geez, that's awful... >__<

R.I.P Satoshi Kon.

[frustra]

R.I.P Satoshi Kon. Today is a sad day.

[Yuutsu]

Satoshi Kon's last message hit me like a sack-of-bricks. Whereas he had to deal with the knowledge that he had less than half-a-year to live, I've been fooling around with my life since May. Only now do I realize my lethargic lifestyle is nothing short of insulting to Kon and other people in his predicament.

[Jazzrat]

RIP Satoshi Kon, I ll always remember your animated films for it's uniqueness and originality.

[Highman]

Originally Posted by Yuutsu

Satoshi Kon's last message hit me like a sack-of-bricks. Whereas he had to deal with the knowledge that he had less than half-a-year to live, I've been fooling around with my life since May. Only now do I realize my lethargic lifestyle is nothing short of insulting to Kon and other people in his predicament.

When I read that message, my heart sink in and just wanted to cry so bad because what he has done for the anime industry man. I guess my heart is crying out to him. I just wish he do so much more and focus on his health. Now for us anime fans, we may have to learn about how life is precious because you never know where it will lead but I haven't lived my life fully yet. But I can learn and we all can.


I watched Mr. Kon's movies last night between Tokyo Godfathers and Perfect Blue. Still going to watch Paprika and Millenium Actress this weekend If I can. But I'm going to reminscient on how animation was better to him and what he astound people with. Maybe anime is not dying overall, but I just think we just go thorough hard times and then we can look ahead to get better sooner. But back to Mr. Kon, he's bring alot positives and greatness to everyone. We will celebrate his works for years to come. I really know one thing that anime will make a positive outlook and be variable for greater generations.

[Innotech]

RIP Satoshi Kon. You were my favorite anime director.
May your work forever remain in our hearts and minds and hopefully your amazing vision and style will inspire others to follow in your footsteps. thats all we can hope for now.

[Kanon]

Oh god, his final message is so

They better not screw Yume-Miru Kikai up.

[Marisa Kirisame]

Wow.........It's really hard to accept it but it seems to be the truth. Mr. Satoshi Kon, you may have passed on but you and your legacy will be remembered around the world.

[kujoe]

Holy shit.

Satoshi Kon occupied a special place in my love for anime. While on one side there's Miyazaki; on the other, there is Satoshi Kon. I expected that he and Hosoda would one day rise up in prominence as Miyazaki once did.

To read this headline in one of my feeds after getting up, is quite the shock. For one thing, this is my first time to hear of his condition, and once again I'm reminded of the frailty of life, and how it can easily end when we least expect it. Satoshi Kon was only 46 years old...

I realize that the industry has lost an imaginative force, a creative giant, in his passing. Rest in peace, Mr. Satoshi Kon. Your works will always be remembered.

[MadPanda]

Sad news, indeed. And so young, too. It's just not right.

We were mentioning in another thread about how most people don't know the animators or directors. Here I've seen Perfect Blue, Paprika, Millennium Actress, and the Paranoia Agent series...and had no clue they were done by the same person. All are great, mind-bending works.

It's always a sad day when anyone dies--it's more so when someone of such talent dies with so much more to give. He will be missed.

===
MadPanda...(. . .)...

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by WanderingKnight

Don't even know if I want to see it if it ever gets finished.

C'mon now, it's Satoshi Kon's last touch on the anime world, it'll be hard seeing it knowing that he will never again grace it, but as his fan I think it would be hard to not see it as well.

[Iron Maw]

Just read about this few minutes ago... apart of my childhood just died today....

[Reckoner]

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

Can someone's last message be any more brave, poetic, touching, and inspirational?

Man, it really tears me up.

EDIT: And about the latest film he was working, here's a post from ANN.

If he was watching rushes a few days ago, that means they're about at the 85-90% mark I'd say. "Rushes" are finished shots before editing (which, in animation, is just assembly and tweaking), so that means animation is nearing completion and they're probably scheduling audio work right about now.