The late Satoshi Kon was amongst the most prominent Japanese animators, with his works transcending the world of anime and manga, thus creating a modern division of the genre, which chiefly addressed a more mature audience. However, he did not accomplish that via sex and violence, but through the profundity of his themes and a complex style of presentation. The former becomes evident in his nightmarish worlds of terror that are based on concepts like fixation, publicity and the perspective of reality and personal identity, while the latter is clear through the mixture of fantasy and reality in the surrealistic environments of his movies. Additionally, he was equally elaborative as a designer and animator; hence, his works amount to masterpieces, both visually and in content.
Satoshi Kon was born on October 12, 1963 in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Early on, he became a fan of anime and manga, chiefly “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “Space Battleship Yamato...
Satoshi Kon was born on October 12, 1963 in Kushiro, Hokkaido. Early on, he became a fan of anime and manga, chiefly “Mobile Suit Gundam” and “Space Battleship Yamato...
- 1/30/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The influence of “The Simpsons” on adult animation is undeniable in terms of tone, format, and look. Today, shows like “Family Guy,” “Rick and Morty,” “BoJack Horseman,” and more carry on the traditions of Matt Groening’s magnum opus, pushing the medium of animation forward while looking back at what came before. In recent years, anime too has planted a foot in the Western animation industry, influencing a bigger focus on serialized storytelling, fluid action, and a cinematic approach to visuals. But when it comes to Max’s new animated series “Fired on Mars,” its influences harken back to a different time, when Mike Judge was making cartoons and grounded realism was key.
“Fired on Mars” is based on a 2016 short of the same name about Jeff Cooper, a graphic designer working for a brazen start-up situated on Mars. Things get complicated when he is unceremoniously fired after relocating to the Red Planet.
“Fired on Mars” is based on a 2016 short of the same name about Jeff Cooper, a graphic designer working for a brazen start-up situated on Mars. Things get complicated when he is unceremoniously fired after relocating to the Red Planet.
- 5/31/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Indiewire
What if there was a device that allowed the user to enter other people's dreams? What if one of the devices was stolen by someone who could implant ideas in people's minds to control them? What kind of story could come out of this concept?
If your first thought is Christopher Nolan's "Inception," then congratulations, you played yourself. That film became the rare example of a movie that becomes a shorthand term for its premise — entering people's dreams. Still, it pales in comparison to the film it so blatantly rips off, Satoshi Kon's "Paprika," an anime movie adapted from Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1993 novel of the same name.
That novel was almost adapted to live-action over a decade ago by the late, great Wolfgang Petersen, but now Deadline reports that Tsutsui's "Paprika" is getting a second chance at becoming a live-action project, on the small screen. Cathy Yan has...
If your first thought is Christopher Nolan's "Inception," then congratulations, you played yourself. That film became the rare example of a movie that becomes a shorthand term for its premise — entering people's dreams. Still, it pales in comparison to the film it so blatantly rips off, Satoshi Kon's "Paprika," an anime movie adapted from Yasutaka Tsutsui's 1993 novel of the same name.
That novel was almost adapted to live-action over a decade ago by the late, great Wolfgang Petersen, but now Deadline reports that Tsutsui's "Paprika" is getting a second chance at becoming a live-action project, on the small screen. Cathy Yan has...
- 8/22/2022
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Satoshi Kon's Tokyo Godfathers (2003) is showing December 18, 2017 - January 17, 2018 and Paprika (2006) from December 19 - January 18, 2018 on Mubi in the United Kingdom in the retrospective Satoshi Kon, Anime Maestro. Tokyo GodfathersIt could be said that consistency and eclecticism make up two sides of the auteurist coin, in which the artist's voice can be seen and felt across a body of work that is either noticeably focused in subject matter, thematic concerns, or stylistic approaches (Alfred Hitchcock, François Truffaut, Wes Anderson) or wildly varied in any or all of those areas (Louis Malle, Steven Soderbergh). In that respect, Satoshi Kon got to have it both ways with the final two completed animated features in his oeuvre, the satisfyingly odd parting pairing of Tokyo Godfathers (2003) and Paprika (2006). Sorely missed these past seven years since his premature death from pancreatic cancer on...
- 12/20/2017
- MUBI
With a financial backing from Studio Ghibli’s Toshio Suzuki, the sequel to the “Ghost in the Shell” movie had a production budget of $20 million, most of which were allocated towards the visuals. The film went on winning a number of awards, and was the first Japanese animated feature film to be nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Festival de Cannes.
This time is set in 2032, three years after the events of the original, and revolves mainly around Batou. The line between humans and machines has been blurred even more, and is now almost beyond distinction. Humans have forgotten that they are human, and the few who still own an organic body coexist with cyborgs (human spirits inhabiting entirely mechanized bodies) and dolls (robots with no human elements at all).
Batou is partnered with Togusa, one of the few individuals without a cybernetic body, who even has a regular family.
This time is set in 2032, three years after the events of the original, and revolves mainly around Batou. The line between humans and machines has been blurred even more, and is now almost beyond distinction. Humans have forgotten that they are human, and the few who still own an organic body coexist with cyborgs (human spirits inhabiting entirely mechanized bodies) and dolls (robots with no human elements at all).
Batou is partnered with Togusa, one of the few individuals without a cybernetic body, who even has a regular family.
- 5/29/2017
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Japanese animation has been pushing the boundaries of the field for decades, and Hollywood is only now catching up to the trends that anime films have already set.
In honor of Disney's American release of "The Secret World of Arrietty," which has already grossed $125 million outside the U.S., we're listing the most important masterpieces of the anime genre ... at least the ones that don't feature pervy monsters and Japanese schoolgirls.
'Akira' (1988)
It goes without saying that Katsuhiro Otomo's glimpse at the futuristic dystopia of Neo-Tokyo is a landmark of both animation and science fiction in general. Biker gang leader Kaneda is forced to do battle with lifelong best friend Tetsuo when the latter's latent psychic powers begin manifesting in horrifying ways. It's a subversive cyberpunk fable which functions as both cautionary tale of military run amok and full-throttle action movie. Though an Americanized live-action remake is in limbo, the...
In honor of Disney's American release of "The Secret World of Arrietty," which has already grossed $125 million outside the U.S., we're listing the most important masterpieces of the anime genre ... at least the ones that don't feature pervy monsters and Japanese schoolgirls.
'Akira' (1988)
It goes without saying that Katsuhiro Otomo's glimpse at the futuristic dystopia of Neo-Tokyo is a landmark of both animation and science fiction in general. Biker gang leader Kaneda is forced to do battle with lifelong best friend Tetsuo when the latter's latent psychic powers begin manifesting in horrifying ways. It's a subversive cyberpunk fable which functions as both cautionary tale of military run amok and full-throttle action movie. Though an Americanized live-action remake is in limbo, the...
- 2/16/2012
- by Max Evry
- NextMovie
Japanese director of playful animation combining realistic drama with fantasy
Satoshi Kon, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 46, was one of the boldest and most distinctive film-makers to specialise in animation. His main body of work – four completed feature films and an acclaimed television mini-series – was playful, sophisticated and adult. Tired of the cliches of mass-produced Japanese animation – "robots and beautiful little girls," as he once put it – Kon sought to make animation that used ambitious and often disorientating editing, intercutting and scene-shifting.
"In animation, only what is intended to be communicated is there," he once said. "If I had a chance to edit live-action, it would be too fast for audiences to follow." Kon made only sparing use of CGI in his mostly drawn films, relying on such superb animators as Shinji Otsuka and Toshiyuki Inoue.
Much of Kon's animation combines realistic drama (usually set in present-day Tokyo) with dreams and fantasy.
Satoshi Kon, who has died of pancreatic cancer aged 46, was one of the boldest and most distinctive film-makers to specialise in animation. His main body of work – four completed feature films and an acclaimed television mini-series – was playful, sophisticated and adult. Tired of the cliches of mass-produced Japanese animation – "robots and beautiful little girls," as he once put it – Kon sought to make animation that used ambitious and often disorientating editing, intercutting and scene-shifting.
"In animation, only what is intended to be communicated is there," he once said. "If I had a chance to edit live-action, it would be too fast for audiences to follow." Kon made only sparing use of CGI in his mostly drawn films, relying on such superb animators as Shinji Otsuka and Toshiyuki Inoue.
Much of Kon's animation combines realistic drama (usually set in present-day Tokyo) with dreams and fantasy.
- 8/26/2010
- by Andrew Osmond
- The Guardian - Film News
British site UK Anime Network is reporting that director Satoshi Kon passed away yesterday at age 47, apparently due to cancer. This marks the untimely death of the filmmaker second only to Hayao Miyazaki in making inroads for anime films both internationally and as weighty works of cinema worthy of serious critical consideration.
From the 1998 Hitchcockian tale of a menaced pop idol "Perfect Blue" to 2001's look into the life of a aging performer "Millennium Actress" to 2006's saga of shared dreams (out-"Inception"ing "Inception") "Paprika," Kon was fond of exploring and blurring the lines between reality, memory and dreams. These are themes animation is particularly suited to, and ones that can be seen early in his career, in the "Magnetic Rose" segment of omnibus film "Memories," for which he wrote the screenplay, and later in "Paranoia Agent," the series he created.
2003's "Tokyo Godfathers" was his lone linear narrative,...
From the 1998 Hitchcockian tale of a menaced pop idol "Perfect Blue" to 2001's look into the life of a aging performer "Millennium Actress" to 2006's saga of shared dreams (out-"Inception"ing "Inception") "Paprika," Kon was fond of exploring and blurring the lines between reality, memory and dreams. These are themes animation is particularly suited to, and ones that can be seen early in his career, in the "Magnetic Rose" segment of omnibus film "Memories," for which he wrote the screenplay, and later in "Paranoia Agent," the series he created.
2003's "Tokyo Godfathers" was his lone linear narrative,...
- 8/24/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
Satoshi Kon director of such Anime classics as Perfect Blue, Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent and Paprika has died at the age of 47.
Kon started his career as a manga artist and editor in Young Magazine, and then made his screenwriting debut with 'Magnetic Rose, a section of the anthology film Memories. Kon made his directorial debut film, Perfect Blue, in 1997, followed by Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and the television series Paranoia Agent. He had been at work on his fifth film, The Dream Machine since 2008.
Kon started his career as a manga artist and editor in Young Magazine, and then made his screenwriting debut with 'Magnetic Rose, a section of the anthology film Memories. Kon made his directorial debut film, Perfect Blue, in 1997, followed by Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika and the television series Paranoia Agent. He had been at work on his fifth film, The Dream Machine since 2008.
- 8/24/2010
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.