Learn How Satoshi Kon Edited Space and Time

In his four features and one TV series, the late anime director Satoshi Kon (Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika) developed a unique style of cutting and editing, says Tony Zhou in a new video essay. According to Zhou, Kon’s approach to editing not only blurred reality and fantasy, but advanced the themes of his films, which often explored the inherent dualism of modern life.

The essay, which draws on the Kon-related writings of British film critic Andrew Osmond, particularly explores Kon’s use of match cuts, which Zhou says “aren’t uncommon, but they’re definitely not something most filmmakers build a style out of”: