Nagahama, Tadao

Tadao Nagahama (長浜 忠夫 Nagahama Tadao) (September 26, 1932 – November 4, 1980) was a director of both puppet shows and animation. He is best known as the director of Sunrise and Toei Company's Robot Romance Trilogy, which added human drama to the Super Robot Genre. Nagahama also directed several hit anime series that are still well known among Japanese viewers. Moreover, he produced hits with works of all genres, including sports, comedies, shōnen, shōjo, and Super Robots. He has been referred to as "the Emperor" in imitation of film director Akira Kurosawa. He and his wife contracted hepatitis while traveling overseas. Although his wife survived, he died from the disease at the age of 48.