Via ANN: anime director Kon Satoshi has passed away due to cancer. He was aged 47. Hints of his unexpected demise were floating all over social networking site Twitter earlier today, starting with Madhouse founder Maruyama Masao saying that a famous anime director had passed away (but did not give names), followed by Gainax employee Takeda Yasuhiro who actually mentioned Kon’s name in another Tweet (according to Japanator).
Kon Satoshi was the renowned director of modern classics in Japanese animation such as Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika. At the time of his passing, Kon was working with Madhouse on a new full-length feature entitled Yume-Miru Kikai.
Kon Satoshi wrote the screenplay for the short film “Magnetic Rose”, after which this blog was named. It was part of an anthology called “Memories” by renowned anime auteur Otomo Katsuhiro. “Magnetic Rose” was written by Otomo and directed by Morimoto Kōji.
RIP, Kon-sensei.
Update 26 August 2010
Kon Satoshi’s Final Words, translated into English by Itoh Makiko of Just Hungry and Just Bento.
JPOP Manila 
I cried so much when I learned about it early this morning. I was surprised with my own reaction actually. Maybe it’s because Tokyo Godfathers made a lasting impression on me. Plus Paprika could beat the shit out of Inception anytime. So sad. To me, he’s all set to follow the footsteps of the great triumvirate of Otomo, Oshii and Miyazaki.
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he was working on a brand new project too 😦 i wonder if madhouse will keep working on it with a new director…
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Why is it I only know about great anime directors when they’re already dead? T__T
Wish I could watch his movies. And condolences for his family, friends, and the anime industry.
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yes, sensei will be sorely missed 😦
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