Isao Takahata

Isao Takahata (高畑 勲 Takahata Isao, October 29, 1935 – April 5, 2018), along with Studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki, is regarded as one of the greatest anime directors of all time.

Whereas Miyazaki is known for epic and imaginative sprawling fantasy adventures, Takahata is known for his quiet slice of life films. Takahata tends to focus on human emotions, unlike Miyazaki, who tends to focus on the adventure. Because of this, Takahata's works can be perceived to be much slower paced than his more famous counterpart. The focus is usually on the expression of concepts encountered in every day life, using the abstractions provided by the medium of animation to demonstrate these concepts in a way live action cannot. A person losing control and running away turns the animation into rough, sketchy outlines. A couple running away starts flying through the sky. The ups and downs of life are portrayed like a boat rocking up and down on a wave.

Sadly, he died in 2018 from lung cancer, at age 82.


 * Hols: Prince of the Sun, also released as Little Norse Prince Valient (1968)
 * Panda! Go Panda! (1972)
 * Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
 * Only Yesterday (1991)
 * Pom Poko (1994)
 * My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
 * The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)