The works of Shatoshi Kon only came to my attention, through the influence of a good friend, just before he passed away. Though I have been a fan of one of his movies, Perfect Blue, for years.
His other film (and TV) credits include Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, Millennium Actress and Paranoia Agent. Before he worked in Anime though, he made his mark in Manga.
That is what I want to briefly discuss here.
Opus and Seraphim Wings are two collections of his works released in the US by Dark Horse Comics/Books over the last few months. He wrote and drew Opus, and served as the artist on Seraphim Wings.
What an artist he was.
What he was not was a typical Manga artist with all the familiar trappings. Oh, he could draw the style more known to many fans, the wacked out hair, the slim, school girl like females with Betty Boop eyes, but surpassed that style.
His art was more realistic then typical Manga, automatically making it differently. It appeared to be American influenced, with perhaps European and French tastes.
Because of this his style lack the goofiness of many Manga. His characters were ground in realism and looked human, instead of out of this world. This gave his art more emotional depth, and made the characters more relatable.
He told fantastical stories with a decidedly non-fantastical art style. When reading a Satoshi Kon Magna, his style immerses you into the title, making one forget they are reading a comic, and adds to the suspension of disbelief.
Whereas typical Manga art never allows one to forget what they are reading.
Calling Satoshi Kon a Manga Artist, would be like calling Alex Raymond just a cartoonist, or Frazetta just a painter. It doesn’t do justice.
Kon wasn’t just a Manga artist. He just helped elevate Manga to an art form.
Ace Masters
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