Satoshi Kon's: Opus

Kon was a brilliant artist and this book is the best testament to that fact.And he deserves a lot of credit for steering clear of the guns-and-bombs stereotype established by predecessors like Akira to create instead believable, likeable and sympathetic characters, including himself at the book's end.

Satoshi Kon still has yet to be ousted as my favorite anime filmmaker, though he passed away a few years ago. I usually don't preorder items on Amazon, but I didn't actually think this book would ever be published so took a chance. Most of Kon's work is difficult to find, but his vision is much more mature than what most people expect out of anime and manga.Opus is very similar to Kon's anime work that came out around the same time (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress; there's even a reference at one point in Opus to the author's work on Katsuhiro Otomo's Memories). The plot is full of portal-to-another-world metafiction and centered on its own sense of being self-referencing. You can at times feel that the protagonist is Kon himself, and though Opus is less preachy than Paranoia Agent, the story does reach the same level of intelligence. The message is clear, and at no point do you feel that you are reading an author's early work (in fact, this was Kon's last long manga). It's gripping, it's unusual in the way it tells its story, and because of the story, the art is required to be careful in its development (the world's perspective, the backgrounds, are deliberate, and need to be for the story to work).I'm glad someone took the time to reprint Kon's written work, and for those who like a tight, clear story instead of fifty volumes of manga, this is exactly what you should consider purchasing.

The manga itself is great. I was a huge fan of Paprika and Tokyo Godfathers. This did not disappoint. It has Kon's unique style and is incredibly visual. The characters jump off the page and are dynamic. It kind of reminds me of Bret Easton Ellis' Lunar Park. Both stories are very well told.Book itself was just a wee bit damaged when it arrived at my door, but nothing serious. Edges of the paperback were a bit mangled and there appeared to be an indentation from a pen on the cover when viewed from the side. If I were buying this book in stores, I probably would not have chosen this copy. However, you get what you get online!I especially love the last 2 chapters of this manga. They are unfinished and show what a work in progress manga is like. It's very special to get to see them.

Satoshi Kon really outdid himself with this one. If you don't own this masterpiece I highly recommend getting it

Satoshi Kon's OPUS is a meta-manga dealing with creators, their creations, and how they affect each other. Bespectacled manga creator Chikara Nagai is under a deadline to finish his graphic novel RESONANCE. Lin, the character he wants to kill off, objects. At the end of the penultimate chapter of "Resonance". Lin steps in to protect the lovely Satoko who is battling the evil Masque. Even Chikara's editor just wants a happy last chapter where Satoko defeats the Masque. Later, while working on the final pages, Chikara finds a panel that has depth and gets literally pulled into his own story. Satoko wonders whose pawn he is. Lin discovers his projected fate and moves to make sure it does not happen. Chikara returns to his real world and brings Satoko with him. From then on, Chikara's world of the page and Satoko's world on the page riffle together like a shuffled deck of cards entertainingly stretching the boundaries of everyone's reality. But author Kon's career began shifting from manga to anime before the tale was finished. After Kon's death, the rough pencils of the final chapter were found among his papers. That chapter from beyond the grave is included here to supply the proper [if not totally satisfying] meta-fiction closure. Recommended for fans of both manga and anime with character.

A beautiful masterpiece from THE Satoshi Kon, with an ending that is both satisfyingly perfect and incomplete at the same time. The never before seen epilogue that was included was just as wonderful, and the final page made me cry. A wonderful piece of work from an artist who left too soon.

Satoshi Kon will always be cemented as the master of anime. Any fan of his work will be absolutely enthralled with this book. A VERY Kon story, that always keeps you wanting to know what will happen next. The translation is excellent and my book arrived in perfect condition. The unfinished ending published in this version is also, in my opinion, the absolute perfect conclusion to the story. Recommend VERY highly.

A solid read with some mind bending illustration. I recommend this to anyone who has read or scene other of Kon's works.