A filmmaker who relishes the opportunity to pull the rug out from under audiences and give them what they least expect, Satoshi Kon has stood as a skilled, highly original, and talented figure in a world overpopulated by giant mecha and menacing tentacled beasties. Kon’s films are alternately haunting, thought-provoking, and oddly endearing, and are a must-see for anyone who has simply dismissed animation as child’s play or fan-boy fodder.