Anime Legend Satoshi Kon's Finest Work Will Stream for Free Soon

For two weeks between March 26 and April 10, four of Kon's most acclaimed films will be free to watch online. The National Museum of Asian Art, the Embassy of Japan, and the Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC) are presenting a retrospective event in honor of the influential director/animator. The Illusionist will be a documentary by the French director.

Even if you don't know who Kon is, you have probably seen a film based on his work. Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and Paprika were all written and directed by the late animation writer/director. Paprika was cited as an inspiration for Christopher Nolan's Inception and an homage to Kon in Requiem for a Dream. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is one of the films that have been described as inspired by Kon.

Kon's work deals with the way that extreme situations blur the lines between reality and fantasy. He uses science fiction tropes in ways that are mind-bending and beautifully expressed through his animation.

Kon's work is intended for adult audiences and he tried to push animtion to deal with adult situations in his films. In the movie, Perfect Blue, a former idol is transitioning to acting and becomes psychologically tortured by a murderer who stalks her. Millennium Actress explores the life of an actress through the lens of the two different documentary filmmakers, who try to sort out what is real and what is not, as well as providing a sweeping homage to Japanese film as a whole. In Paprika, a detective is tasked with finding the man who stole a device that allows him to enter shared dreams and turn them into nightmares. The exception to his usual psychological explorations within fantasy is Tokyo Godfathers, which is about three homeless people who find a baby and try to get it back from its mother.

All Kon's films were drawn and voiced by stars in the world of animation in the mid 2000s. Kon died in his forties after a battle with cancer. This retrospective is a great chance for fans of the game to see a legend at his peak and for friends to watch a master at work.