Matt Schley
August 23, 2020 
Ten years ago, on August 24, 2010, anime director Satoshi Kon died from pancreatic cancer at the age of 46.
In his short life, Kon became one of the most celebrated auteurs in anime history. He directed the films Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika, as well as the television series Paranoia Agent.
Aside from his work as a director, Kon was also known as a manga artist, animator and screenwriter who worked alongside other legends like Katsuhiro Otomo, Mamoru Oshii and Koji Morimoto.
Kon was known for probing a consistent set of themes throughout his work, including the hazy border between dreams and reality, the power of cinema, and characters at the outskirts of society.
At the time of his death, he was at work on another film about the power of dreams called Dreaming Machine. That film remains incomplete as of this writing.
Earlier this year, Kon was awarded a posthumous Winsor McCay Award, “one of the highest honors given to an individual in the animation industry in recognition for career contributions to the art of animation,” from the Annie Awards.
Today fans in Japan and around the world paid tribute to Kon with tweets, blog posts and other remembrances.
While we continue to mourn the loss of one of anime’s greatest voices, we remain thankful for the riches he left us.
