★A commemorative MOOK honoring Isao Takahata, comprehensively reviewing his half-century creative career from Toei Animation to Studio Ghibli and analyzing his classic animated works.
★Explores Isao Takahata’s unique creative philosophy and humanistic animation aesthetics, revealing his profound and far-reaching influence on the global animation industry.
★Features exclusive testimonies from renowned international animators, presenting an in-depth insight into Takahata’s creative inspiration and working methods.

On 5 April 2018, director and producer Isao Takahata passed away. He was one of the cornerstones of Japanese‑and world‑animation.

Co‑founder of Studio Ghibli alongside Hayao Miyazaki, he shaped Japanese animation for over half a century. His body of work ranges from television series to feature‑length films, adapting European novels, Japanese folktales and popular manga. He drew on a wide variety of visual styles to enrich his narratives. Constantly reinventing himself and exploring unexpected paths, Isao Takahata always placed human beings, the little moments of everyday life and nature at the heart of his animated films, wrapping them in a touch of magic and surrealism. A storyteller first and foremost, he was a transmitter of values, a perfectionist and a humble craftsman.

Published one year after his death, this mook traces his career from Toei Animation to Studio Ghibli. All his major works are covered in detail, from his debut feature The Little Prince of the Sun, Horus to his final masterpiece The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. Readers will also discover his sources of inspiration, both at home and abroad, his working methods, his standing within the animation industry and his influence on twenty‑first‑century creators.

From Heidi to Ghibli, meet Takahata: the director, writer, producer, rebel… humanist. From Heidi to Ghibli, animation entered a new era of growth.

Includes testimonies from, among others, Michel Ocelot, Tomm Moore, Michaël Dudok de Wit and Mamoru Hosoda.

Stéphanie Chaptal
Journalist, translator, author… For over 20 years, Stéphanie Chaptal works with words in every form. Rather than inventing new worlds, she seeks the truth hidden behind them. She fell in love with science‑fiction and comics devouring *Dune* and early X‑Men comics, and never missing an episode of *Cobra* on television. Since childhood, she has been passionate about all forms of imagination, whether written, painted, drawn or filmed.

She has contributed to numerous IT‑press titles (01net, Micro Hebdo, Toms Hardware…), video‑game outlets (Eurogamer, Canard PC…) and geek‑culture publications (Ubergizmo, G360ks…). She also translates comics, science‑fiction novels, and synopses for feature films and short films.