animator at the studio Toei Douga, and was subsequently involved in many early classics of
Japanese animation. From the beginning, he commanded attention with his incredible ability
to draw, and the seemingly-endless stream of movie ideas he proposed. In 1971, he moved
to A Pro with Isao Takahata, then to Nippon Animation in 1973, where he was heavily
involved in the World Masterpiece Theater TV animation series for the next five years. In
1978, he directed his first TV series, Conan, The Boy in Future, then moved to Tokyo Movie
Shinsha in 1979 to direct his first movie, the classic Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. In
1984, he released Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind, based on the manga (comic) of the same
title he had started two years before. The success of the film led to the establishment of a
new animation studio, Studio Ghibli, at which Miyazaki has since directed, written, and
produced many other films with Takahata. All of these films enjoyed critical and box office
successes. In particular, Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke received the Japan Academy Award
for Best Film and was the highest-grossing (about US$150 million) domestic film in Japan's
history until it was taken over by another Miyazaki work, Spirited Away. In addition to
animation, Miyazaki also draws manga. His major work was the Nausicaä manga, an epic
tale he worked on intermittently from 1982 to 1994 while he was busy making animated
films. Another manga, Hikoutei Jidai, was later evolved into his 1992 film Porco Rosso.
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