Takahata Isao is a famous Japanese film director, producer and scriptwriter for many popular animes. His work is distinguished by unusual drawing and his own unique style: a combination of subtle humor and everyday life, behind which there is a deep subtext. In the world of this director, you will not find superheroes or action-packed action. However, all the cartoons he created are not one-day ones. Those who want something deeper and more ambiguous should like them.
At first glance, Isao Takahat’s filmography is not as great as that of other directors or screenwriters. Maybe because he was not an ordinary puncher chasing fame, but a real creator.
Isao Takahata. Cartoon list
One of the very first creations of the master is the anime “Prince of the North”.
On a deserted seashore, a boy named Hols lives with his father. He has only one friend - a little bear cub. Once a boy accidentally awakens a stone giant and pulls a splinter from his shoulder, which turned out to be an old sword. According to legend, one who can do this will become the Prince of the North and the winner of the evil sorcerer Grunwald. Hols does not believe the giant’s words, but his father tells him that they fled from their native village after the sorcerer attacked her. Dying, father Holls asks his son to restore justice. This begins the dangerous adventures of the boy.
"Grave of fireflies"
This is one of the most famous anime of Takahata Isao, and it is rightfully included in the list of the best films about the war.
Japan of the end of World War II. Fear, hunger, devastation ... 14-year-old Seita and his younger sister Setsuko are forced to go to her aunt after the death of her mother. They hope at least to find a shelter there and live a semblance of a peaceful life, waiting for news from their father, who serves in the Navy. But the aunt who sheltered them is not at all happy with two extra mouths and constantly hints about this to the teenager. As a result, Saita takes her sister and leaves her house. Children take refuge in an abandoned dugout on the river bank, where at night there are many fireflies. To feed, Saita looted, but the food he got was still not enough. Soon his sister is starving. Nothing is heard from his father, and the boy decides that he is dead. One month after Setzuko’s death, Seta also dies of exhaustion.
"Another day"
Another philosophical anime from Isao Takahata.
Sometimes, in order to understand what you want in the present, you need to return to the past. That is what Taeko understood when she came on vacation from the bustling Tokyo to the wilderness. Helping her sister on the farm, the girl now and then returns to the memories of her school years and understands what really matters to her in life.
"Bully Tie"
Isao Takahata's filmography is very multifaceted. Along with frankly gloomy stories, there are very funny sketches. True, it is rather more like a laugh through tears.
The life of the fifth grader Tia can hardly be called cloudless: the mother left, unable to bear the joint life with her idler husband. And if dad used to sit on his wife’s neck, until now his daughter is quite happy with him. So the girl just has no time to study. If you spend time studying, then who will take care of the family restaurant and serve the visitors? Father? Oh, do not tell! He is better off getting into another brawl with the local Yakuza. And yes, Tie will resolve the situation. And where to go, dad, after all, she alone
"Pompoko: Tanuki War in the Heisei Period"
This anime is a beautiful tale from Takahat Isao with a life story and great musical accompaniment.
On the outskirts of modern Tokyo, magical creatures live - tanuki raccoon dogs. They are harmless and sweet, stay away from people and do not interfere in their affairs. But with the start of development in remote areas, the tanuki forest was threatened. And the animals decided to recall the ancient art of reincarnation and start a war against the invaders. To do this, they sent reincarnated agents for sabotage to people and even intimidated with ghosts. But new builders always came to replace the builders who were terrified in horror. Will the tanuki be able to save their forest or at least find a compromise?
"The Tale of Princess Kaguya"
One of the last works of Takahata Isao, which saw the light in 2013. This is a fairy tale without a happy end, a sad and wise story about choosing your own path in life.
A bamboo collector finds a tiny creature in the stem that looks like a miniature princess. After he brought it into the house, it turns into a real girl. Miyatsuko and his wife adopt her, and normal family life begins. But everything changes after the father of the family finds expensive outfits and jewelry worthy of royal blood in bamboo. He decides that his baby must certainly become a princess, and wants to send her to the capital. There, the girl is very popular, the emperor himself draws attention to her. But Kague does not need it at all. She wants to go back to the village, to the boy she likes. The situation turns out so that the girl has to ask the moon for protection. And she gets it, but the price is too high: it turns out that Kaguya is a real moon princess, and now she will have to return and forget the Earth forever.