Isao Takahata October 29 1935 April 5 2018 cofounder of Studio Ghibli was one of the most famous directors of Japanese animated films Unlike most anime directors he did not draw and never worked as an animator before becoming a director For the first two decades of his career from the 1960s to the 1980s Takahata worked primarily as director for anime television In 1985 he and his longtime collaborative partner Hayao Miyazaki formed Studio Ghibli with Toshio Suzuki and Yasuyoshi Tokuma From that point his career transitioned into producing directing and writing films for Studio Ghibli He is known for his five feature length anime films released under Ghibli Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Only Yesterday 1991 Pom Poko 1994 My Neighbors the Yamadas 1999 and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya 2013