Friend and colleague of Hayao Miyazaki will break your heart with his works.
In 1985, Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki and other partners. This man is a true legend of Japanese animation.
Takahata acted as producer for many of Miyazaki's anime and created unique animations himself.
1. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, 2013
This movie was the last work of the master. The plot is based on an old Japanese folk tale. An old bamboo gatherer finds a little girl in the forest and decides to raise her as his daughter.
The girl grows up quickly and her father decides to take her to the capital. The aristocrats, struck by her beauty, begin to fight for her heart. After some time, news of her reaches the emperor himself.
2. My Neighbors the Yamadas, 1999
The anime follows the life of an ordinary Japanese family, the Yamadas. It consists of an office worker, Takashi, a housewife, Matsuko, her grumpy mother, Shige, two children and a silent witness of everyday life, the dog Pochi. The story consists of various everyday sketches in which Takahata sees a kind of charm.
After the release of Toy Story in the 90s, computer graphics entered the world of animation. My Neighbors the Yamadas is a real slap in the face of digitization from a Japanese master. Takahata used the technology to bring the animation style as close as possible not to a realistic image, but to a watercolor painting.
3. Horus: Prince of the Sun, 1968
This is the first full-length anime that Takahata was able to work on as a director. It is about a small warrior, Hols, who fights against the forces of darkness.
The sorcerer Grunwald tries to subjugate the northern land with the help of magic. He sends packs of ghost wolves, ice mammoths, and werewolves to the villages. And Hols, nicknamed Prince of the Sun, braves the challenges and hopes to defend his homeland.
This movie became the most expensive anime at the time of its release, but failed at the box office. In his work, Takahata touched on topics that were not close to children's audiences: the fight against oppression, the state of the environment, and the healing power of work.
Takahata's first movie at Studio Ghibli. The action takes place in 1945 when bombers are shelling Kobe. The house of fourteen-year-old Seita and five-year-old Setsuko burns down with their mother.
Their father is serving in the Japanese Navy and has not been heard from for a long time. The children move in with their aunt, but soon run away to the streets because of her constant reproaches. Now Seita is forced to find food for his sister on his own.
5. Only Yesterday, 1991
27-year-old Taeko Okajima travels to her relatives' village to help them harvest saffron. The long journey and the rural landscape bring back memories of her childhood. She hopes the trip will help her understand herself and find her place in life.
After Grave of the Fireflies, Takahata took on a story with the opposite tone – touching and melodramatic. In Only Yesterday, Takahata showed himself to be a virtuoso of everyday life, paying special attention to the details of the characters' daily lives and landscapes.
Friend and colleague of Hayao Miyazaki will break your heart with his works.
In 1985, Isao Takahata founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki and other partners. This man is a true legend of Japanese animation.
Takahata acted as producer for many of Miyazaki's anime and created unique animations himself.
1. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, 2013
This movie was the last work of the master. The plot is based on an old Japanese folk tale. An old bamboo gatherer finds a little girl in the forest and decides to raise her as his daughter.
The girl grows up quickly and her father decides to take her to the capital. The aristocrats, struck by her beauty, begin to fight for her heart. After some time, news of her reaches the emperor himself.
2. My Neighbors the Yamadas, 1999
The anime follows the life of an ordinary Japanese family, the Yamadas. It consists of an office worker, Takashi, a housewife, Matsuko, her grumpy mother, Shige, two children and a silent witness of everyday life, the dog Pochi. The story consists of various everyday sketches in which Takahata sees a kind of charm.
After the release of Toy Story in the 90s, computer graphics entered the world of animation. My Neighbors the Yamadas is a real slap in the face of digitization from a Japanese master. Takahata used the technology to bring the animation style as close as possible not to a realistic image, but to a watercolor painting.
3. Horus: Prince of the Sun, 1968
This is the first full-length anime that Takahata was able to work on as a director. It is about a small warrior, Hols, who fights against the forces of darkness.
The sorcerer Grunwald tries to subjugate the northern land with the help of magic. He sends packs of ghost wolves, ice mammoths, and werewolves to the villages. And Hols, nicknamed Prince of the Sun, braves the challenges and hopes to defend his homeland.
This movie became the most expensive anime at the time of its release, but failed at the box office. In his work, Takahata touched on topics that were not close to children's audiences: the fight against oppression, the state of the environment, and the healing power of work.
Takahata's first movie at Studio Ghibli. The action takes place in 1945 when bombers are shelling Kobe. The house of fourteen-year-old Seita and five-year-old Setsuko burns down with their mother.
Their father is serving in the Japanese Navy and has not been heard from for a long time. The children move in with their aunt, but soon run away to the streets because of her constant reproaches. Now Seita is forced to find food for his sister on his own.
5. Only Yesterday, 1991
27-year-old Taeko Okajima travels to her relatives' village to help them harvest saffron. The long journey and the rural landscape bring back memories of her childhood. She hopes the trip will help her understand herself and find her place in life.
After Grave of the Fireflies, Takahata took on a story with the opposite tone – touching and melodramatic. In Only Yesterday, Takahata showed himself to be a virtuoso of everyday life, paying special attention to the details of the characters' daily lives and landscapes.
