(長浜 忠夫)

Born: September 26, 1932

Died: November 4, 1980

Tadao Nagahama was a prolific director who worked across both puppet and animation, leaving a huge mark on 1970s anime. He's best remembered for the Robot Romance Trilogy—co-produced by Sunrise and Toei—which basically reinvented Super Robot anime by actually giving the characters emotional depth instead of just having them punch giant robots.

Beyond mecha, Nagahama proved he could handle anything: sports series, comedies, shōnen action, shōjo romance. A lot of his shows remain beloved in Japan decades later, which is rare enough to matter. His reputation was so solid that people started calling him "the Emperor"—a nod to the legendary filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.

Nagahama died young, at 48, from hepatitis that he contracted while traveling abroad with his wife. She recovered, but he didn't.