Legendary Japanese director and Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata dies

Isao Takahata, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of 'Grave Of The Fireflies', has died at age 82. Photo: Filepic

Legendary Japanese director Isao Takahata, who co-founded Studio Ghibli with Hayao Miyazaki, has died. He was 82.

According to a report by Yahoo! Japan, the director had been in ill health since last summer due to a heart condition. He passed away at a Tokyo hospital on Thursday (April 5).

Takahata began his career in film and TV back in the 1960s, He made his directorial debut with 1968 animated feature The Great Adventure Of Horus, Prince Of The Sun. Although it was a commercial failure, the film was the first time Takahata and Miyazaki worked together, and the pair would then go on to create Studio Ghibli in 1985.

Isao Takahata (right) with the other 'elders' of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki (left) and Toshio Suzuki. Photo: Filepic

Takahata's best known film is 1988 animated feature Grave Of The Fireflies, about two siblings and their struggle to survive in tail-end of WWII. The film was praised by the late film critic Roger Ebert as one of the best war films ever made.

Takahata's final film was The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya in 2013, which was nominated for a Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards in 2015.

Isao Takahata's best known film is 1988's 'Grave Of The Fireflies'. Photo: Studio Ghibli

'The Tale Of The Princess Kaguya' gained Isao Takahata a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 87th Academy Awards. Photo: Stufio Ghibli

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