Satoshi Kon

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A Japanese manga artist and anime director.

Kon studied Graphic Design at Musashino Art University with the intention of becoming a painter. While still in college, he debuted as a mangaka with the short Toriko (1984), coming second in the 10th Annual Tetsuya Chiba Awards held by Young Magazine. After graduating, he created the manga Kaikisen (1990) and captured the attention of Katsuhiro Ootomo, who hired Kon to work on his World Apartment Horror manga.

He debuted in the anime industry with Roujin Z, a movie written by Ootomo who became a great influence on Kon's early career. In 1993, he worked with Mamoru Oshii on Patlabor 2 as a layout artist, and the two then collaborated on the Seraphim 266613336 Wings manga.

He debuted as an episode director and scriptwriter on the 5th episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure followed by the short Magnetic Rose, in Ootomo's anthology Memories. He made his directorial debut with Perfect Blue in 1997.

Kon's death by pancreatic cancer was reported on August 24, 2010, shortly before his 47th birthday. Before passing, he composed a final message that was posthumously uploaded to his blog by his family. His last film, The Dream Machine, remains incomplete.