Satoshi Kon Passes Away

Well, this sucks. I've never been too crazy about writing obituaries, like many "journalists" so morbidly enjoy doing with every single chance they get. But... yeah, this sucks: Satoshi Kon passed away yesterday, August 24, due to pancreatic cancer, at the age of 46. You may have known him for his distinctive anime films; you may have simply enjoyed those movies without ever knowing who directed them; hell, you may not even have enjoyed them at all. But his huge contribution to the anime scene is undeniable. And for that, this really sucks.


R.I.P. Satoshi Kon, 1963-2010
It's probably not my place to say any more than that, so I'll just add the messages issued today by his wife, Kyouko Kon, and the anime studio Madhouse (via ANN).

"Satoshi Kon passed away due to pancreatic cancer on August 24 at 6:20 a.m. He was 46.

His funeral service will be held for family members only.

We are respectfully and deeply grateful for your kindness during his lifetime.

Kon'stone
Representative Director Kyōko Kon"

And the one from Madhouse...

"Satoshi Kon, the director of numerous works at MADHOUSE including Paprika, Paranoia Agent, Tokyo Godfathers, and Millennium Actress, passed away due to pancreatic cancer early in the morning of Tuesday, August 24. He was 46.

With regards to funeral services, a private service will be held for family members only.

We are respectfully and deeply grateful for your kindness during his lifetime.

MADHOUSE"

We'll have to wait and see what becomes of his final directorial project, the anime film Yume Miru Kikai, on which he was working with Madhouse for a 2010 release.

Update: A final message from Satoshi Kon, titled "Farewell", was just posted on his behalf, on his website (currently under heavy traffic and mostly unreachable). A Google Translate version is available via ANN's backup.

Update #2: An even better translation of Satoshi Kon's lengthy farewell message was posted by the ANN forum user maaya.

Update #3: The Yume Miru Kikai (The Dream Machine) project seems to have survived, and the anime film should be released posthumously some time in 2011.

P.S. Satoshi-kun, if it's not too much to ask, could you please tell Ai Enma that I said "hi"?