RIP Satoshi Kon, director of Paprika, Perfect Blue

Anime News Network reports Satoshi Kon, director of “Paprika” and “Perfect Blue” died Tuesday at age 46.

Kon made his directorial debut with “Perfect Blue” in 1997, and followed that with more well-regarded anime projects, including Millennium Actress (2001), Tokyo Godfathers (2003), Paranoia Agent (2004), and Paprika (2006).  UPDATE:  A beautiful letter from Kon, written when he knew he was near-death, has been translated into English by Makito Itoh.  I recommend all fans of his work go and give it a read.

Click past the cut for my 2007 review of “Paprika,” when the film played in Oklahoma City.  Given the popularity of “Inception” this year, those who are interested in the concept of parallel dream worlds would do well to check out “Paprika.”

- Matt Price

Dreams, reality mix in Japanese anime tale

In ” Paprika,” the line between dreams and reality is blurred in a surrealistic thriller from “Perfect Blue” director Satoshi Kon.

This Japanese anime takes place in a near-future world and is based on the science fiction novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui.