He is best known for his acclaimed anime films Perfect Blue (1997), Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), and Paprika (2006), and the TV series Paranoia Agent (2004).
[7][8] After graduating from college in 1987,[5] Kon authored the single-volume manga Kaikisen (1990) and wrote the script for Otomo's live-action film World Apartment Horror.
[5][7] He began working around 1992 as a scriptwriter, layout artist and background designer for Magnetic Rose (directed by Koji Morimoto), one of three short films in Katsuhiro Otomo's omnibus Memories (released in 1995).
[4][13][10][14] A suspense story centered on a pop idol, Kon was initially unsatisfied with the first script based on the original and requested to make changes to it.
[15][16] With the permission of the original author, Yoshikazu Takeuchi, Kon was allowed to make any changes he wanted, except for keeping the three elements of the novel ("idol," "horror" and "stalker").
Having the same estimated budget as Perfect Blue (approximately 120 million yen),[18] Millennium Actress garnered higher critical and financial success than its predecessor and earned numerous awards.
The screenplay was written by Sadayuki Murai,[15] who utilized a seamless connection between illusion and reality to create a "Trompe-l'œil kind of film".
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 million yen),[18] and centered on the themes of homelessness and abandonment, with a comedic touch worked in.
[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.
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.
At Otakon 2012, Madhouse founder Masao Maruyama, who was involved in all of Kon's films from Perfect Blue to Paprika and was also his friend and collaborator, stated: "Unfortunately, we still don't have enough money.
"[32][33][34][35] In July 2015, Maruyama reported that Dreaming Machine remains in production but they are looking for a director to match Kon's abilities and similar vision.
[36] In August 2016, Mappa Producer Masao Maruyama said in an interview: "For 4~5 years, I kept searching for a suitable director to complete Kon's work.
"[45] 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.
[45] 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.
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.
[13][16] Kon's idea of fractal control of film comes from Susumu Hirasawa, who has applied fractal-generating programs to music production.
[49] Kon says that he is influenced by everything he has been exposed to in his life, including writing, painting, music, film, manga, anime, television and theater.
[47] He has learned a lot from Osamu Tezuka and Katsuhiro Otomo in manga, Hayao Miyazaki in animation, Akira Kurosawa and many other great Japanese and international directors in film.
[47] He was familiarized with Tezuka's manga and animation works such as Astro Boy, The Jungle Emperor and Princess Knight in his childhood.
[4][10][12][62] When he was in college, it was not one film that influenced him the most, but the entire body of work of Terry Gilliam, including Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989).
[61] As for novels, the works of Ryotaro Shiba, the Japanese historical novelist, had a great impact on Kon in terms of his own relationship with Japan.
[65] Kon's influence on foreign filmmakers was more pronounced than in Japan, with directors such as Darren Aronofsky and Guillermo del Toro expressing their support.
[69] His 2010 film Black Swan was also pointed out by several critics for its similarity to Perfect Blue, but Aronofsky denied any direct influence.