The acclaimed director was 53 years old at the time of his death.
The anime community has suffered a massive loss as it was revealed by several social media tributes that the beloved director Tatsuya Nagamine has died.
According to a post by screenwriter Osamu Suzuki, Nagamine was only 53 years old when he passed away. The acclaimed director worked on several One Piece seasons, movies, Dragon Ball Super series, Digimon anime, and more. No news about the cause or exact date of death were revealed.
Tatsuya Nagamine’s death is an immense loss to the anime industry
Screenwriter Osamu Suzuki and composer Kōhei Tanaka both posted on their X (formerly Twitter) accounts about Nagamine’s passing. Suzuki’s longer post details how he couldn’t attend the memorial service due to scheduling issues, but heard from a friend that it went well. Then he details how he met Nagamine for the first time back in 2010 while working on One Piece Film Z and have been working together ever since.
Kōhei Tanaka attended the memorial service for Tatsuya Nagamine, which was held yesterday on 13 November at Toei Animation Studio, Osaka. He spoke about how Nagamine was a key contributor to the One Piece anime and how he longs to hear him talk passionately about their projects one more time. Screenwriter Hiroshi Yamaguchi and journalist Kaori Kabuta also posted about the director’s tragic passing on their social media.
Tatsuya Nagamine was known for his work on the One Piece anime. He directed episode 892 (the beginning of Wano Kuni arc) through episode 1122, which was the end of the first part of Egghead Island arc before the anime went on a hiatus in October 2024. He was also the director of One Piece Log: Fishman Island Saga, which aired during the anime’s hiatus from October 2024- March 2025. He directed One Piece Film Z, the One Piece: Heart of Gold special. He was also the assistant director for the One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventure in Alabasta, which came out in 2007.
Nagamine directed the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie, and directed the Dragon Ball Super anime from episode 77 to episode 131. He was the assistant director for Dragon Ball Movie 4: The Path to Power, an animator for Dragon Ball Z Kai, and an assistant animation director for Dragon Ball GT. He also directed the Digimon Savers the Movie - Ultimate Power! Burst Mode Invoke!! film and was assistant director for the Digimon Adventure 02: Hurricane Touchdown movie.
Nagamine is also known for the Precure anime series, as he directed the HappinessCharge PreCure! anime and the Heartcatch Precure! Series. He was an episode director for several other Precure anime series as well as directed two movies. He was also an episode director for Saint Seiya Omega. His death has caused irreparable loss to the anime industry, especially to the One Piece fans that have loved his work for so long.