After almost a year of declining health, Isao Takahata, animation legend and Studio Ghibli co-founder, succumbed to a heart condition in a hospital in Tokyo, reports Yahoo! Japan. The sad news was also confirmed by Studio Ghibli. Takahata was 82.
Takahata established Studio Ghibli alongside Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki, and made internationally-acclaimed films. He is the legendary director behind Ghibli’s poignant classics like the heart-wrenching Grave of the Fireflies and Only Yesterday. His last film The Tale of the Princess Kaguya earned him an Academy Award nomination in 2014 for best animated feature.
He’s also known for animated series Heidi, Girl on the Alps and Lupin, The Third.
A director, producer, and writer for Ghibli, Takahata is indeed an indispensable figure at the Japanese animation studio.
Watch the trailer for some of his films here:
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2014)
Only Yesterday (1991)
Pom Poko (1994)
The Valley of the Wind (1984)
Featured image courtesy of Shizuo Kambayashi for Associated Press
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