--- name: "Satoshi Kon" canonical: "https://film.one/person/satoshi-kon" fi1m_id: "satoshi-kon" imdb_id: "nm0464804" tmdb_id: 40333 wikidata_id: "Q333643" roles: ["Director","Writer"] born: "12 October 1963" died: "24 August 2010" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 82 average_as: "director" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-17T14:51:19.941605+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Satoshi Kon ## Identity Satoshi Kon - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/satoshi-kon - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** satoshi-kon - **IMDb ID:** nm0464804 - **TMDB ID:** 40333 - **Wikidata ID:** Q333643 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Kon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333643, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464804/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40333 Director and writer. Born 12 October 1963 in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. Died 24 August 2010. ## Details - **Work:** Director, Writer - **Born:** 12 October 1963, Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan - **Died:** 24 August 2010 - **Active:** 1998–2006 - **Also known as:** 今 敏, こん さとし, 鰐淵 良宏, 곤 사토시, 사토시 곤, 사토시 콘, Wanibuchi Yoshihiro - **Frequently works with:** [Masao Takiyama](https://film.one/person/masao-takiyama.md), [Sadayuki Murai](https://film.one/person/sadayuki-murai.md), [Taro Maki](https://film.one/person/taro-maki.md), [Tohru Emori](https://film.one/person/tohru-emori.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 82, as director, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 83 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 79 across 4 titles - **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 1 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Animation 4, Drama 2, Thriller 2, Comedy 1, Romance 1, Science Fiction 1 - **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $4m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satoshi_Kon, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q333643, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464804/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40333 ## Streaming the US now - **HBO Max:** [*Millennium Actress*](https://film.one/film/millennium-actress.md) (86), [*Perfect Blue*](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue.md) (82) - **Tubi:** [*Tokyo Godfathers*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers.md) (82) - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Paprika*](https://film.one/film/paprika.md) (80) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Satoshi Kon > Satoshi Kon makes familiar surroundings unreliable and the people inside them worth worrying about. We recommend his animation for that human attention, even when *Perfect Blue* tries to explain more than it needs to. In *Perfect Blue* (1998), Mima Kirigoe leaves a pop group for acting, and other people behave as though the decision belongs to them. Satoshi Kon makes their attention feel invasive before we can be sure which images to trust. It is a tightly controlled thriller about the entitlement behind admiration, with a person whose working life still matters at its centre. Mima’s wish to find different work gives us something clear to hold on to. Hisao Shirai’s cinematography in *Perfect Blue* uses reflections, tilted views and faces held uncomfortably close. We felt cornered. Those close-ups make it hard to escape the scrutiny Mima is enduring, even as we add to it by watching her. Junko Iwao’s vulnerable vocal performance keeps her distress painful when the images become difficult to follow. Kon gives us someone to worry about before he asks us to doubt what we see. Sadayuki Murai’s screenplay makes Mima’s change of career the reason for that scrutiny: her audience thinks her image belongs to them. The internet offers another route into her life, giving the threat a specific means of reaching her. Our reservation is the final explanation, which tries to make the uncertainty tidier than it needs to be. The pressure on Mima has already made sense without every image being accounted for. His directing began with *Perfect Blue* at Madhouse, and the later films found other uses for unreliable perceptions. *Millennium Actress* (2001) mixes an actress’s memories with Japanese film history. *Tokyo Godfathers* (2003) changes the emphasis, bringing social realism and improbable coincidence into a Christmas story set in Tokyo. Across his work, match cuts and rapid intercutting let one place or moment give way to another without the reassurance of a clean break. *Paranoia Agent* (2004) takes fear and blurred perceptions into an anthology series, while *Paprika* (2006), his final feature, explores the boundary between dreams and waking life. His interest in what people believe they have seen persists across these different stories. We value the inventiveness most when it makes someone’s predicament harder to bear, as it does in *Perfect Blue*. Start there, provided a thriller about being watched sounds bearable for an evening. ## Biography Satoshi Kon (今敏) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, animator and manga artist. He graduated from the graphic design department of Musashino Art University and began his career in manga before moving into animation. He is sometimes credited under the name Yoshihiro Wanibuchi. Kon is best known for directing the feature films *Perfect Blue* (1998), *Millennium Actress* (2002), *Tokyo Godfathers* (2003) and *Paprika* (2006), as well as the television series *Paranoia Agent* (2004). He also contributed to *Memories* (1995) and earlier works including *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* (1993). He died of pancreatic cancer on 24 August 2010. He was the younger brother of guitarist Tsuyoshi Kon. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, bfi.org.uk.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Paprika* (2006), Fi1m 80, as Jinnai (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/paprika.md) - *Tokyo Godfathers* (2003), Fi1m 82, Director, Screenplay, Original Story, Character Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers.md) - *Millennium Actress* (2002), Fi1m 86, Original Story, Director, Character Designer, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/millennium-actress.md) - *Perfect Blue* (1998), Fi1m 82, Director, Character Designer — [page](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue.md) ## Complete filmography (23) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Black Lake* (2020), Thanks - *Noah* (2014), Thanks — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/noah.md) - *La luna* (2012), Thanks - *Ani*Kuri15* (2008), Director, Writer - *Ani*Kuri15* (2007), series, Director - *Paprika* (2006), as Jinnai (voice) · Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/paprika.md) - *Paranoia Agent* (2004), series, Series Director, Storyboard Artist, Original Concept, Original Story, Original Series Creator, Director, Creator - *Paranoia Agent: Part 1* (2004), Director - *Tokyo Godfathers* (2003), Screenplay, Director, Character Designer, Original Story — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-godfathers.md) - *Millennium Actress* (2002), Director, Character Designer, Screenplay, Original Story — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/millennium-actress.md) - *Millennium Actress: Tracks* (2001), Actor - *Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade* (1999), Writers' Assistant - *Master Keaton* (1998), series, Key Animation - *Perfect Blue* (1998), Director, Character Designer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/perfect-blue.md) - *Detatoko Princess* (1997), series, Key Animation, Art Designer - *Detatoko Princess* (1997), Art Designer - *Memories* (1995), as Layout · Screenplay - *JoJo's Bizarre Adventure* (1993), series, Writer, Storyboard Artist, Key Animation, Director - *Patlabor 2: The Movie* (1993), as Decorator - *Run, Melos!* (1992), Art Designer - *Roujin Z* (1991), Key Animation, Art Designer - *World Apartment Horror* (1991), Story - *The Dream Machine*, Director, Screenplay ## Awards ### Other awards — 3 won - Winsor McCay Award 2019: Winsor McCay Award (won) - Tokyo Anime Award Best Director 2004: Tokyo Anime Award Best Director (won), for *Tokyo Godfathers* - Best Animated Feature Film 2003 2003: Best Animated Feature Film 2003 (won), for *Tokyo Godfathers* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/satoshi-kon