The animation world has lost a prodigious talent with the death of Makiko Futaki, a longtime Studio Ghibli animator who passed away on May 13 after an unspecified illness. Futaki collaborated on every one of Hayao Miyazaki's films, several of which are regarded as high-water marks of the entire genre: "My Neighbor Totoro," "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away" and many others.