One Piece/Dragon Ball Super Director Tatsuya Nagamine Dies at 55

One Piece and Dragon Ball have become major anime franchises thanks to their riveting tales, their heart-pounding action sequences, and amazing character work across the board. The shonen series have been pushed forward thanks to their anime adaptations as well, with Toei Animation forging the stories of both the Z-Fighters and the Straw Hat Pirates. In bringing both these manga stories to life, it takes a village to animate the earth-shaking fights, with director Tatsuya Nagamine playing a major role in both franchises. It’s with heavy hearts that we report Nagamine has passed away at the age of fifty-five.

Anime composer Kohei Tanaka confirmed the passing of the legendary director Tatsuya Nagamine via social media, sharing the following message: “Today, I attended the memorial gathering for the late Director Nagamine held at Toei Animation Studio in Osaki. He is undoubtedly a key contributor to the anime One Piece. The achievements he accomplished in Ani-One were nothing short of extraordinary. I, too, fondly remember the many entertaining meetings I had with him. That machine-gun talk of his— I want to hear it just one more time!”

Anime screenwriter Osamu Suzuki also confirmed Nagamine’s passing in a lengthy message shared to social media, “I received the report that Tatsuya Nagamine, the director of the film *ONE PIECE FILM Z*, had passed away and journeyed to heaven at the end of summer. Today, there was a memorial gathering for Director Nagamine, but at the same time, I had an event appearance, so I couldn’t attend. I got the report from someone who did go. The first time I met Director Nagamine was in 2010. I was the one who ended up scripting *ONE PIECE FILM Z*, but the very first thing I proposed was quickly scrapped. The story was built based on what Nagamine-san suggested.”

“Director Nagamine took the idea of Mr. Z, the former Navy Admiral, and expanded it thoroughly to create the story outline. At first, he wouldn’t even show me a single smile. I thought, *He’s tough.* There were times when I felt like giving up… But when I finished writing the script and had a meeting with Director Nagamine. When he entered the conference room, bowed deeply to me, and said, “Thank you for your hard work,” I nearly burst into tears. I didn’t tell anyone, but… Anyway. He was all about the details. A person who poured his soul into his work. He was chipping away not just at his soul, but at his very life to create it. Working alongside Director Nagamine.”

“It was truly a blessing. Being alive isn’t a given. Even being able to type out these words like this isn’t a given. It really sinks in. In the film, he asked me to create a song that Z would hum softly, so I did. I was truly delighted that he liked the lyrics I wrote for it. It’s called “Kaido” (The Sea’s Guidance). Here are those lyrics. Kaido The sea is watching, the world’s beginning The sea knows, the world’s end So it beckons, toward the path we must take So it guides, to the rightful world It envelops pain, suffering vast and gentle, it envelops us The sea is watching, the world’s beginning The sea knows, the world’s end Even if I were to vanish The sea knows all, its guiding hand don’t be afraid, because you are there don’t cower, because your comrades await We must press on, to that blue beyond And so. Director Nagamine. Thank you for your hard work. Raise a glass with Mr. Z in heaven!”

Nagamine might be best known for working on One Piece and Dragon Ball Super: Broly, but these are far from the only anime properties he worked on during his anime career. Tatsuya also worked on the likes of Digimon, Saint Seiya, HeartCatch PreCure!, and Dr. Slump, to name a few. As you can see from his anime work, the director/animator will be greatly missed from the medium.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Tatsuya Nagamine during this difficult time.