Isao Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, dies at 82

Isao Takahata, the Japanese animation director who co-founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki, died in Tokyo at age 82. He directed classics such as Grave of the Fireflies (1988) and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013), the latter earning an Oscar nomination. Before Ghibli, he and Miyazaki created beloved TV series including Heidi (1974), Future Boy Conan (1978), Anne of Green Gables (1979), and Lupin III. Born in 1935 in Ise, Mie Prefecture, Takahata studied French literature and art history at the University of Tokyo. He began his career at Toei Doga (later Toei Animation), directing his first feature The Great Adventure of the Prince Valiant in 1968, which began his partnership with Miyazaki. Together they moved to A Production, producing globally known TV series. In 1985, they founded Studio Ghibli. After the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986), Takahata released Grave of the Fireflies in 1988 to critical acclaim. He later directed Only Yesterday (1991), Pom Poko (1994, awarded at the Annecy Festival), My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999), and his final masterpiece The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013).