During the 80s and 90s, he worked closely with director Hayao Miyazaki on several movies from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to Princess Mononoke. He was also known for breaking down the directorial system in animation, allowing individual key animators to exert their own style into a particular work. He died at the age of 57 of a heart attack on July 21, 2009.[1] His works inspired the art and works of legendary animators such as Hiroyuki Imaishi and Pendleton Ward.