Satoshi Kon, director of the acclaimed anime films Paprika, Tokyo Godfathers, Millennium Actress and Perfect Blue, has died. Kon died on the morning of August 24 from pancreatic cancer and was 46.

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Kon was a writer and director revered both within and outside of the anime fandom for creating beautiful pieces of animation that were as suspenseful as they were emotionally moving. Tokyo Godfathers was well-regarded for its exploration of homelessness. Paprika was a stunning adaptation of a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui dealing with therapists who enter people’s dreams (it’s a good companion piece for the current movie Inception). IMDB lists a fifth feature film, The Dreaming Machine, as in “pre-production.”

Kon had only four completed films and one television series, Paranoia Agent, amongst his directing credits (he had several more credits as a writer and animator), but each work was inventive and visually compelling. With his death, the film and television world has lost a true visionary.

Liz Ohanesian @LA Weekly Blog