SATOSHI KON
(director)

Born on October 12, 1963 in Hokkaido, Satoshi Kon went to Musashino Art University and studied Visual Communication Design. While at the University, he made his debut as a comic artist at Young Magazine (published by Kodansha, Japan). His detailed illustration and composition became highly regarded, and he went on to work on Kaikisen (Regression Line) and World Apartment Horror. His work includes: Rojin Z, as a background artist; Run, Meros as a layout artist; Patlabor 2 as a background and layout artist, and Memories as a background and layout artist and screenwriter. His unique composition where everything within the frame is clearly defined and cleverly laid out attracted the industry’s attention. In 1998, he made his directorial debut with Perfect Blue which gained him international attention. 2002 saw the release of his second film Millennium Actress and in 2003, Tokyo Godfathers debuted. All of his feature films have been screened at the top international film festivals around the world. In 2004, he directed his first television series, Paranoia Agent. Paprika is his latest anime feature.

Filmography
Paprika (2006) Director / Screenplay

Mousou Dairinin (Paranoia Agent) TV Series (2004)
Director / Story / Storyboard Artist

Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Director / Screenplay / Story / Character Design

Sennen Joyu (Millennium Actress) (2001)
Director / Screenplay / Character Design

Perfect Blue (1998)
Director / Character Design

Memories (1995)
Screenplay (segment)/background & layout artist

Patlabor 2 (1993)
Background & layout artist

Run, Meros (1992)
Layout artist

Rojin Z (1991) Background artist


World Apartment Horror (1991)
Story


MADHOUSE
(Animation Studio)

With a reputation for producing high quality work, Madhouse has produced all three of Satoshi Kon’s films. Madhouse is known as one of the best production groups in the Japanese animation industry. In the past they have worked with the animation director Rintaro on such films as Harmagedon: Genma taisen, X, and METROPOLIS, and with director Yoshiaki Kawajiri on his films including: Supernatural Beast City, Jukei Ninpocho: The Ninja Scroll, and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. They also worked on Kitaro Kosaka’s Nasu - The Summer of Andalucia, which screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in Director’s Fortnight. Recent Madhouse projects include: Tokyo Godfathers, Paranoia Agent, Paradise Kiss and Time Travel Girl. With their stylish direction and rich visual images, Madhouse is highly respected both in Japan and internationally.



Cast

Atsuko Chiba — Megumi Hayashibara
Seijiro Inui — Toru Emori
Torataro Shima — Katsunosuke Hori
Kosaku Tokita — Toru Furuya
Toshimi Konakawa — Akio Ohtsuka
Morio Osanai — Kouichi Yamadera
HIM — Hideyuki Tanaka
Japanese Doll — Satomi Kohrogi
Hajime Himuro — Daisuke Sakaguchi
Yasushi Tsumura — Mitsuo Iwata
Nobue Kakimoto — Rikako Aikawa
Reporter — Shinichiro Ohta
Magician — Shinya Fukumatsu
Waitress — Akiko Kawase
Announcer — Kumiko Izumi
Researcher — Anri Katsu
Institute Member — Eiji Miyashita
Pierrot — Kouzo Mito


Special Appearance

Mr. Kuga — Yasutaka Tsutsui
Mr. Jinnai — Satoshi Kon


Filmmakers

Produced by “Paprika” Film Partners
MADHOUSE/Sony Pictures Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

Developed by
Masao Maruyama

Original Story written by
Yasutaka Tsutsui

Screenplay by
Seishi Minakami/Satoshi Kon

Character Design/Animation Director
Masashi Ando

Art Director
Nobutaka Ike

Color Design
Satoshi Hashimoto

Director of photography
Michiya Kato　

Music by
Susumu Hirasawa

Sound Director
Masafumi Mima

Editing
Takeshi Seyama

Co-Producer
Satoki Toyota

Executive Producer
Jungo Maruta/Masao Takiyama

Animation by
MADHOUSE, Inc.

Director
Satoshi Kon