Art, Animation, and Why Satoshi Kon is My Favorite Director

[@frewtlewps1152]

The most impressive thing about Satoshi Kon to me was that he was always willing to try something new. Some of the most appreciated visionaries in story telling mediums such as Alfred Hitchcock, Naoki Urasawa, Stephen King and many more stayed within their comfort zone. Satoshi Kon wanted to try everything and succeeded every time. Rest in peace Satoshi Kon, and thank you for sharing your incredible artistic vision to the world.

[@jayaprakash387]

Those who dont read much of Stephen king books think that he only does horror, he actually has books in various genres that's not even remotely scary.

[@jayaprakash387]

The only one you are right about is naoki uraswa.

[@GoodguylikesStephenKing]

Stephen king does not just write horror. He tackled various genres like science fiction such as Firestarter, historical fiction such as 11.22.63, crime novels such as Bill Hodges trilogy, Holly, The outsider. He have done fantasy novels such as Eyes of the dragon and his iconic Dark tower series. He wrote non fiction, although not a lot, are On writing and Danse Macabre. Stephen king is always known as a horror writer but those who have read or have researched about the guy knows that he have tackled many genres.

[@UseTheLess00]

Strangely enough, I only got to know about Satoshi's passing after early this year, after watching every movie he was involved in. After reading his farewell letter I remember feeling a strange feeling of emptiness... Loved the video

[@RandalltheVandal]

His farewell letter is so tragic. When I re-read it for this video, I cried. There was so much despair, regret, and longing in that letter that it's hard to even think about without it completely ruining your mood. Anyway, thank you.

[@UseTheLess00]

@@RandalltheVandal He was a Japanese man through and through: dedicated to his craft in an almost obsessive way. It's truly a shame he passed away with so much "unfinished business". :/

[@Piar0]

Thank you for putting words on what I always felt with more "technical" or "artistic" movies. Satoshi Kon is the only director that allowed me to realize what I really loved in cinema. Your video was great and made me very emotional. Even though I discovered his work late after his death, I feel like there's always be a missing gap in my heart and that I'll always be waiting for more of his work. Thank you for your tribute.

[@MrBlaskat]

Oh my.. That made me really emotional

[@RandalltheVandal]

Making this was very emotional, so you're welcome.

[@justanoldsnufkin9747]

Same 💓

[@grayson9151]

Nice video man. Perfect Blue is my favorite movie as well. I first watched it on KZbin with subtitles so bad that the story was almost incomprehensible, but the incredible imagery and editing was so special that it became my favorite movie instantly. I eventually watched a version with better subtitles and when I could actually understand the plot as well as the imagery I fell in love with it all over again. A few days ago I looked up his movies again hoping to find a movie that I hadn’t seen and was disappointed that I’ll never be able to see another one of his movies for the first time ever again. My first few viewings of Perfect Blue were my favorite interactions with film in my life so far. As I rewatch Perfect Blue and understand more and more what it’s trying to say and the story becomes more clear and I remember where things are going instead of being lost in the hurricane of Perfect Blue’s editing I’m sad that I’ll never be on the edge of my seat trying to make sense of it all while Kon repeatedly confused me with his navigation of the plot and immaculate editing. I can’t watch it again like I did those first few times but I still love it so much. Anyways thanks for the video again I’ve never heard anybody else say that Perfect Blue is their favorite movie so I wanted to share my love for it as well. Good luck on KZbin that was a great video.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks, man

[@tonymarshall3978]

There was a tribute to Satoshi Kon on youtube many years ago set to the "1000 miles song". I cried so hard because I honestly miss him so much. He was great and the fact we don't have another 10 films or projects from him depresses me greatly because it feels like their just is a space that cannot be filled

[@jamesroulstonmooney759]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5qVmpqdmbRsbtE found it

[@termsofuniverse7251]

Oh man, I need to watch more Satoshi Kon's work. I loved Paranoia Agent.

[@RandalltheVandal]

re-watched Paranoia Agent earlier this month. A really incredible experience that's arguably his best work.

[@ramo1464]

This video was recommended to me recently. I feel what you are saying about him 100 percent. Loved your analysis on Satoshi Kon. Any time I watch his movies it always gets me emotional about his sudden departure. I really do believe he was one of the greatest film directors of all time. The world lost something special when Kon passed. Thanks for highlighting him.

[@MrsAnaTkebuchava]

i love his every work, man never missed, he’s storytelling and visuals give me chills everytime

[@pdnim123]

Watching your video and made me want to rewatch all of it again, excuse me while I go watch, laugh, mad, cry, 10 ways to go mental on his films. This was a lovely tribute to commemorate his 10th year death aniversary of the visionary Satoshi Kon. It has been a decade and yet all of his works are still timeless it was wonderful 10 years ago, it still is wonderful as of now. Great job boss, I can see you blowing up in the next few months with your wonderful essays

[@xTatlTaelx]

This video is a wonderful love letter to Satoshi Kon and his work. Also loved nine as a kid, sort of traumatizing to watch at that age though.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Not sure how old you were, but when it came out, I was already old enough where I was exploring the horror genre. So it didn't disturb me, I just thought it was really cool.

[@biswasbudhathoki8144]

Yeah it is. I had not watched that kind of animated movie, only the family friendly type. And yet it left a lasting impact.

[@deebsmigs]

You were a kid when ‘9’ came out?! Thanks for remind me that I’m old. 😂 I’m glad you discovered Satoshi Kon’s filmography.

[@JosephDutra]

RIP Satoshi Kon, truly one of the GOAT in animation!!

[@ksaraf23]

Coming here after seeing Millennium Actress. I’ve now seen all his feature length movies, and now I wanna see the rest of his stuff. I was trying to find a way to see the 2021 documentary that came out for him, and found your video instead! You basically summed him up much more nicely, and showed me why he was such an amazing director! You earned yourself a sub for sure with this top tier content, that’s for sure!

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks! I haven't seen the documentary either, but I want to!

[@fishcakepro]

Which one was your favorite?

[@ksaraf23]

@@fishcakepro paprika. It actually had the most satisfying ending of all of them

[@janevivian24]

Perfect blue is also my favorite movie lol

[@jayshulman1558]

At this time, within the academic world and the film industry, Kon has been recognised as one of the greatest artist of the 20th century. Doesn’t take a genius to arrive at their conclusion. How tragic we lost him so young, but how wonderful we had him while we did. Sadly, I only discovered him after his passing, but that’s okay. I found him in the end.

[@manganoid7426]

I watched Perfect Blue and was fascinated by the feel that it left afterwards (it wasn't the animation or the story but how it all was put together). Then i started searching for other Kon's works and i was surprised that Paranoia agent and Paprika were his works. Now here's the freaky part, i have watched both of these years ago and didn't think much of them but now i think it was because u was to young to comprehend them. So, i watched them again :D

[@AyimeAnime]

It's almost 12 years since he died. Satoshi Kon is still my one and only Favorite Director

[@Faick99999]

Why does this video only have 500 views at the moment I comment? A perfectly edited and scripted video, well done!

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks!

[@oa5779]

I first saw Perfect Blue randomly in 2002 and it blew my mind. I have only seen it once 20 years ago and it still left an impression. For film directors that marry artistic vision with entertainment very well, check out pretty much anything by Park Chan-wook, particularly Old Boy and the other films in his revenge trilogy.

[@EotuaDawnwalker]

Well now I need to watch one of his movies, or many of them! I've definitely heard of perfect blue, but not the others.

[@falteredstar]

Your channel is a gemstone. I just stumbled across this one day, saved it on my playlist, and came back again. Now I’m here. I’m a new subscriber! It was really interesting to hear your journey onto discovering Satoshi Kon’s works, and I’m looking forward to what other videos you’ll make! This video essay (and a few others) really made me want to watch the rest of Satoshi Kon’s movies and his works. Sadly, I only knew him at 2018, where I watched Paprika and liked it on a surface level before I found my love for filmmaking, writing and animation as a whole. I only rediscovered him this year. His death genuinely makes me sad, especially his deathletter. Thinking of a possibility of him being alive now just crushes me. He was someone who was very unique in his filmmaking, but it was sad to see him go away so soon with the the little he has made. As someone who really wants to make animated films and works of my own, I don’t really think I’m up to par with any of them, or would even come close. But I genuinely want to make the same outputs and works with the same amount of passion and only to make art itself, because I want to share the stories that I have been fumbling and writing for years on end, but Satoshi Kon helped me realized the things I wanted to make, and really made me want to improve my visual flair, storyboards and writing. I don’t exactly know if my works could even reach the same quality as the people I really aspire to be, but I hope that when the time comes, it’ll come out the best that I could. I just wish that Satoshi Kon himself can hear that he has inspired not only me, but a lot of other people with simply the existence of his works.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Glad you enjoyed my video and that it was able to mean that much to you. Considering your aspirations to work in animation, if you want some similar recommendations, I'd also check out Japanese anime directors like Mamoru Oshii (a good friend and collaborator of Kon), Isao Takahata, Mamoru Hosoda, and Hiryoki Imaishi. If you want a great piece of artsy adult animation from the US, I'd highly recommend Peter Chung's animated series Aeon Flux, which I also have a video on. I wish you the best of luck on pursing your goals as an animator.

[@cjwang1121]

You can also watch Magnetic Rose in Otomo’s movie “Memories” It’s screenwriting by Kon and was really good

[@yvngarmz5984]

RIP legend. Truly one of the cinema greats

[@deltacotpiggy]

I'm an artist....I know that I can't be like my favorite artist/animators/storytellers.... I wanna make great stories with animation. I wanna be like him...so badly. He didn't care about awards, he just wanted to make art. I wish I could met him....I want to. This video made me smile and cry.

[@RandalltheVandal]

I'm glad my video was able to connect with you so strongly. If I could offer any advice, even as someone who's never seriously drawn or animated in his life, I'd say don't set out to imitate other people, even if it's someone as great as Kon. Strive to come into your own style and find your own voice. I guarantee anything you could make to imitate someone else's style would pale in comparison to what you could make in your own style. I hope you find your style one day, and I wish you luck in pursuing your passion.

[@deltacotpiggy]

@@RandalltheVandal Thank you so much for your time ✨ I'm now your new subscriber ✨✌️ I'll do my best with my stories and hopefully people can love my work of art!

[@Winterhe4rt]

Everytime I see a Kon video essay I just start crying. It genuinely makes me so sad he had gone that early.

[@victorg.2816]

You should see Magentic Rose, it is a short film written by Kon, and it has all of his trademarks. Magnetic Rose is 3 part animated film called "Memories" GREAT VIDEO MY FRIEND :)

[@RandalltheVandal]

It's on my watchlist

[@DublinSeafoodInc]

Paranoia Agent isn't talked about enough

[@RandalltheVandal]

agreed

[@GoldenShrike]

Paranoia agent was one of my firsts!! It was so amazing. I watched it a long time ago so i want to rewatch it and have a kon marathon

[@terriermonisgod]

this made me tear up

[@shreerangwankhade3659]

This man is underrated 😭🔥🔥

[@zoe3881]

I love your channel. Your taste is exceptionally good! Thank you for making me relate to your taste so much and getting to know similar masterpieces

[@RandalltheVandal]

I'm glad my stuff connects with you so much. Thank you for watching.

[@nopenope8369]

Nothing makes me happier than finding a good youtube channel. A truly hidden gem (not for too long, I hope)

[@EyebrowCinema]

Cool video, Randall. I've thus far only seen Perfect Blue and Paprika, but loved both. Especially Blue. Everything you say about it here is spot on.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks, Daniel! I admire your stuff, so it means a lot.

[@CourtneyCoulson]

As a teenager I would force myself to watch and read the classics, I'm glad I did, I got a lot out of it, but it could also be boring, more like a chore. As I get older I realise that stories must always be entertaining, if I'm not enjoying it, it's not worth my time. You're right, there can be a balance between substance and entertainment.

[@kei8838]

As this Japanese happens to understand some English, your video just made a new fan of Satoshi Kon here. 日本人だけどパプリカだけ軽く見たことあるくらいだったので、是非他の作品も見てみようと思います。 (Even though I’m Japanese, I’ve only briefly watched Paprika. Will definitely watch other works of his.)

[@RandalltheVandal]

Awesome! Thank you for watching. Glad I was able to get you interested in Satoshi Kon.

[@rittakratz2929]

Ending with this song just made me instant cry >.

[@XzavierYT]

A couple of things, 1. You should go watch BREADSWORD’s videos on Satoshi Kon’s work. They’re really good. 2. Really, REALLY GOOD VIDEO. Like god damn. 3. Perfect Blue’s ending is just 👌👌👌👌👌🙏🙏

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks. I think I've seen one of Breadsword's videos on Kon.

[@anneominous7172]

The numbers on this channel don't reflect how good your content is. The moment the KZbin algorithm notices you, you're going to explode. Currently making my way through your uploads now - on my tv; I logged in on my phone specifically to leave this comment because decent stuff like this that doesn't pander to the most brain dead common denominator on KZbin is so well hidden beneath all of the bullshit I feel like I've just fallen face first into a pile of quality cocaine and felt the need to plead for it to continue. Cream rises to the top, mate. Keep up the good work. Found your channel whilst looking for videos on Aeon Flux, by the way - the decent one, not the live action abomination. You're right, it really isn't discussed enough.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks, man. I'm glad you enjoy my stuff.

[@saint18ruben]

Satoshi Kon, one of the best

[@tuanhiepmai1609]

Omg i love the style of his film so much :((

[@ulvich]

Stanley Kubrick = Satoshi Kon

[@lenny_boxx4206]

What u said in the intro is the same way I feel about movies rn

[@RandalltheVandal]

Despite how I framed it there are plenty of movies and directors that balance art and entertainment brilliantly, but I downplayed those examples in the video because they were missing that X factor that made Satoshi Kon my favorite. So I definitely recommend exploring. Watch old movies (pre-70s), watch movies from other countries, and most importantly, watch stuff you're interested in.

[@Flufferz626]

People discount animation so much but using this media helped him convey his stories narratively and visually. And inspired a lot of live action directors.

[@3oxisprimus848]

Thank you for this

[@RandalltheVandal]

You're welcome

[@tornikegavasheli8732]

I love his oeuvre, especially Millenium Actress. It really smote me.

[@UrbanTheMyth]

Hey, great video man. I'd advise you look into "Magnetic Rose" and his manga "Opus" as well.

[@RandalltheVandal]

Thanks, Urban. Both of those have been on my to-do list for a long time.

[@8bit_paul]

nice stuff R.

[@RandalltheVandal]

thanks, 8

[@LynconMoreira]

he also participated in the script of a short film (magnetic rose) in a compilation called "Memories"

[@RandalltheVandal]

I've seen it. It's incredible.

[@chaeyoungvideos5742]

Great video!

[@virtualphoenix01]

super eye patch wolf introduced me to sotoshi through paranoia agent and i don’t regret it

[@squarz]

Oh no. I loved every one of his movies too much. I didn't know he was dead. I thought he was going under the radar like watanabe. I have to rewatch soon

[@EDP2000]

Perfect Blue is one of my favorite animated movies, second only to Akira.

[@cometreviews]

Did... did you just make me realise who was my fav director!?!? and then you say the man already died. Aw, man. What a loss.

[@TheWorstCritic]

Fine I’ll watch Perfect Blue

[@RandalltheVandal]

YYYAAAAAAAAAYYY!!! 🥰

[@antonhallergren588]

Satoshi Kon is on the level of master directors like Stanley Kubrick, Hitchcock and Tarkovsky. Yes he really is that good.

[@paranoid1182]

This is director is daem GREATER!!!! 😮‍💨😌😏🤩🤩🤩

[@GoldenShrike]

I wish satoshi kon didnt leave us so early, i know he would have so many amazing works at this point. He doesn’t romanticise like miyazaki, it involves social commentary and psychological aspects all while having so much artistry involved. Ghibli is just nice to look at, the characters are almost all the same so it gets boring

[@NickStedmon]

You can't do that. You can't use the piano version of Chiyoko's theme when talking about Kon's death and expect me not to cry.

[@abhideshmukh2182]

The reason why u love satoshi kon is same reason why i love chris nolan 👍🏻

[@lewisfaraday469]

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕LOVE KON AND THIS CHANNEL💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞

[@exceedikuzo7247]

Ahhh.. millennium actress is still my favorite movie. Like ever. Maybe it’s because I prefer doomed romance more than any other type of romance movies.

[@RandalltheVandal]

That's a damn good favorite movie.

[@gabrielmendez5561]

Ahem ahem Christopher Nolan ahem ahem

[@DublinSeafoodInc]

Do you have any thoughts on Magnetic Rose?

[@RandalltheVandal]

nope. haven't seen it.

[@classeswithnajmahaque1103]

3:51 which movie is this? Name,please.

[@RandalltheVandal]

the time code you linked is right before a cut. So you're either talking about Tokyo Godfathers (the woman pointing the gun) or Paprika (The man at the movie theater).

[@debrachambers1304]

I find the use of Breathless when talking about artistic movies that aren't that entertaining strange. While I use entertaining to just mean that something holds my attention, I understand you probably mean something less broad. A lot of the movies on screen as examples aren't super fun or exciting or spectacle driven or genre driven. But Breathless feels like a fun, crime/romance movie, not anything that high minded. I just also happens to be executed with filmmaking that was innovative and unconventional.

[@RandalltheVandal]

I don't dislike Breathless, or most of the movies I showed during that section of the video, that's why they weren't named. I just needed clips of movies that would convey my meaning, and those fit the bill (though I do find much of the work of Burgman to be painfully dull and aside from Breathless, Woman is a Woman, and to a lesser extent, Contempt, I haven't really connected with Goddard either, so while the films I showed aren't necessarily ones I dislike, those directors are apt examples).

[@debrachambers1304]

@@RandalltheVandal I didn't think you disliked them, I just think that one is a weird choice to illustrate the point

[@RandalltheVandal]

@@debrachambers1304 That's fair.

[@8-bitnicolai5]

"Satoshi Kon's movies can be generally enjoyed by anyone." I get what you're trying to say, but.... no way. Satoshi Kon's movies and shows as a whole probably shouldn't be viewed by young children (except maaaaaybe Millenium Actress?). Perfect Blue is definitely not for anyone who doesn't enjoy scary, violent, or sexual content, especially if they may be triggered by themes of stalking and sexual assault. Paranoia Agent is a similar intensity to Perfect Blue, except swap sexual assault with suicide and a number of other disturbing things I'll leave to your imagination. Even Paprika will probably be a little too weird for some adults. Tokyo Godfathers has plenty of gun violence and features a man being beaten to near death. If you're an adult who's not easily fazed by disturbing content, than by all means, enjoy; his works are incredible. If you're an adult who doesn't like anything too intense, just stick to Tokyo Godfathers and Millenium Actress, they're both must-sees.

[@RandalltheVandal]

I like how you tried to disprove my point then prove my point anyway at the end by listing two of his movies that fit your very narrow criteria. Shut the fuck up.

[@BeshoyHolmes]

The brilliance of Satoshi comes from the realization when you've seen all of his film that he never did a perfect one

[@RandalltheVandal]

Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Paranoia Agent would beg to differ.

[@Faick99999]

@@RandalltheVandal I agree with that selection and statement