In memory of Isao Takahata
Note: This was originally posted in Twitlonger in April 6th 2018. I'm reposting this as a commemoration of the anniversary of Isao Takahata's departure. When I was a child, probably around four-years old, there was a TV show that most children of my generation used to watch, which was called "Marco - From the Apennines to the Andes" . It was the story of a little poor boy who travelled across the ocean to find his sick mother. I didn't know why at the time, but there was something very unusual about this series compared to other children shows I used to watch. Maybe because it was the very first Japanese animation I had seen, with the roughness that comes with it in comparison to children's entertainment in the West but even with more series under my belt, I realized that I was watching something more akin to real life, to more normal sentiments like loving your family, and wanting to do everything for them, regardless of your age. This was my first