Isao Takahata death: Studio Ghibli co-founder dies aged 82

Legendary anime filmmaker Isao Takahata, 82, has died
EPA
Eleanor Rose6 April 2018

Japanese anime director Isao Takahata, co-founder of the famed Studio Ghibli, has died at the age of 82.

The award-winning animator, whose studio was behind iconic films Spirited Away and My Neighbour Totoro, passed away after a bout of ill-health, according to reports.

Mr Takahata was nominated for an Oscar in 2014 for The Tale of the Princess Kaguya but was best known for his film Grave of the Fireflies.

He founded Studio Ghibli with iconic director and long-term collaborator Hayao Miyazaki in 1985.

Grave of the Fireflies about wartime Japan was Mr Takahata's best-known work
Rex Features

The studio - one of the world’s most renowned - is famous for sticking to a hand-drawn “manga” look amid the rise of digital film-making.

Takahata was born in Ujiyamada (now Ise), Mie prefecture, in 1935 and his childhood was marred by war.

A still from Only Yesterday, a 1991 feature directed by Takahata
Rex Features

He survived a major US air raid on Okayama City aged just nine, and went on to attend the prestigious University of Tokyo, reading French literature.

He signed up to a job at Toei Animation, a studio that adapts Japanese comics and made a number of TV hits including Sailor Moon.

He later co-founded Studio Ghibli, producing around 20 films and earning him international critical acclaim.

The 1988 film Grave of the Fireflies was seen as an anti-war statement although Takahata resisted the interpretation
Rex Features

His masterpiece Grave of the Fireflies was described by film critic Roger Ebert as "one of the greatest war films ever made".

It tells the story of two siblings Seita and Setsuko as they struggle to survive in the final months of World War Two.

Takahata died of lung cancer at a Tokyo hospital, according to a studio statement on Friday.

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