Legendary Japanese film director and Studio Ghibli legend Isao Takahata has died aged 82.

Born in 1935, he worked predominantly in animation movies and TV despite not being an animator himself. Early successes include Hols: Prince of the Sun and Panda! Go, Panda! as well as small screen series such as Heidi, Girl of the Alps and Future Boy Conan.

Takahata headed the anime studio with Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki when it founded in 1985 and they had worldwide success. Takahata’s first film as director for the company was Grave of the Fireflies and his final film was The Tale of Princess Kaguya, which gained an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film in 2015.

Everyone at STARBURST sends their thoughts to Isao’s family and friends.