Hayao MIYAZAKI
宮崎駿
Hayao Miyazaki, born in Tokyo in 1941, is known as Japan’s most famous and popular anime director. Starting in 1963, he worked for Toei Animation on series like HEIDI (1974). FUTURE BOY CONAN (1978 / NC ’23) was his anime series directorial debut, followed by his feature film debut THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO a year later. In 1985, he founded Studio Ghibli together with fellow director Isao TAKAHATA and created anime hits such as MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988 / NC ’22) and PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997). The latter was the most successful Japanese film of all time before being overtaken by SPIRITED AWAY (2001 / NC ’03), which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.