Authorship in Music and Sound Design / 1: Isao Takahata and His Music Direction

This chapter looks at the music and sound design in the tv animation series and film animations directed by the late Isao Takahata. Even though he was not trained in music, Takahata wielded control over the music and sound design of his works as a director. Additionally, Takahata was in charge of the music for a few films by Hayao Miyazaki either as a producer or as a music director. The chapter thus sheds light on the process through which this influential director shaped the music and sound design of his works in varying degrees of collaboration with the composers and other members of the staff. The chapter also examines how Takahata used music and sound design to articulate some of the major recurring themes that bind his diverse body of work including childhood, adolescence, memory, and nostalgia.