RIP, Satoshi Kon
"With feelings of gratitude for all that is good in this world, I put down my pen."
These were among Satoshi Kon's last words, published on his blog in a farewell message after he passed away yesterday morning. He was 46 years old and died of pancreatic cancer that had just been diagnosed on May 18th.
3 months.
Now mind you, there were signs. There were aches and pains that he sadly misdiagnosed and treated as muscle issues. Had he taken a different route things may have ended up different, but not necessarily. My uncle died as a result of pancreatic cancer 6 years ago. He was in great shape, had regular physicals and even an annual full-body MRI to check for problems. But cancer in the pancreas can be very hard to identify and very easy to miss. By the time larger signs become evident the cancer has spread to other areas. He was told he'd have less than 6 months. It ended up being 7 weeks.
It's scary just how fragile a thing the human body is. How we're always one step away from being gone forever. In the end we're left only as memories and stories to the people we touched in our time on this Earth.
Satoshi Kon was an incredible director and brought brilliant art to the world. Though he's gone, his work and his memory will live on.