King Kon

Having already seen Paprika a while ago, and finally getting out of my lockdown film-watching funk, I started working my way through the rest of Satoshi Kon’s filmography. A day taken off from work and I was able to get a good chunk of his work consumed. There is a wonderful undercurrent of weird and fantastical about his work, even if it is seemingly based in the everyday, and I think it is this which really resonates with me: the escapism or the hope that there is something more to the life we live. Needless to say Satoshi Kon was something special and it is a crying shame that he was taken before he got to do more. Who knows what else he would have come up with had he been able to carry on.

Perfect Blue

Apparently Letterbox says I’ve already seen this but after watching it, I’m not so sure. Unless this film got to me more than I realise and I’m living some parallel life on the other side of the mirror!
Satoshi Kon is a master storyteller, there’s no doubt about that. Here, he takes on the mystery/thriller genre and twists and turns your expectations and thoughts as you try to figure out what’s going on. There aren’t many who can make a film as well paced and complete as this is. The slow start just plays wonderfully into the hectic madness that is to come as it reaches its conclusion.

I’m genuinely blown away that you can make a film like this, let alone with animation.

Superb premise, superbly told with perfect animation and style.

Millenium Actress

Bringing together a documentary style with fantasy nostalgic moments, Millennium Actress catalogs the career and life of actress Chiyoko, inter-spliced with her pursuit of a mystery man who holds her heart.
I must admit that I struggled a bit with this one, through no fault of its own, more that it wasn’t my kind of film. Even saying that though it is really well done, especially transitioning between the documentary and fantasy/memory sequences.

Tokyo Godfathers

Again Satoshi Kon shows his range and capability as this is yet another film that manages to be totally different from the others that I’ve seen so far. Bringing a much lighter and less fantastical tone to the fore, Tokyo Godfathers is more of a caper than a drama but even so, it still manages to pull on the emotional strings.

Kon’s ability to showcase unique characters and blend them perfectly into the storyline is a wonderful talent and it is no different here. Delightful and surprisingly deep at times, the three characters of Hana, Gin and Miyuki are so different yet in Kon’s hands they work so well together.

Paranoia Agent

In taking his familiar style and work and extending it over 10 episodes, this should be Kon’s Magnum Opus and it so nearly manages to be.

A perfectly normal crime investigation evolves (devolves?) into something more akin to fantasy and the surreal than the path it starts out on. That’s not to say that it isn’t extremely well done, as it is, but there are some mediocre episodes that feel slightly out of place, however the majority are superb if at the time you’re watching you don’t quite realise it yet.

Never one to glorify the violence but also keen to use it if the story needs it, Paranoia Agent doesn’t pull any punches or shy away from hard topics. The animation and the style used here are totally on point and Satoshi Kon’s ability to mix things up as we go through the story really does pay off.

The longer format works well in this instance and the storytelling is magnificent but it maybe just lacks the punch and impetus of something like Perfect Blue as it all wraps up.