by Toussaint Egan

On August 20, anime director Tatsuya Nagamine passed away following a year-long battle with an undisclosed illness. The news was first announced via his personal X/Twitter account on behalf of Nagamine's own family. He was 53 years old.

Throughout the past decade, Nagamine had made a name for himself as one most prolific directors employed by Toei Animation, due all but entirely to his impressive work on two of the studio's most iconic franchises: One Piece and Dragon Ball Super. More specifically, Nagamine was renowned for his work as the director of the "Wano" arc of the One Piece anime (197 episodes), 24 episodes of the anime's currently airing "Egghead" arc, as well as the 2018 feature film Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

I will not pretend to have watched the Wano arc of One Piece. To do so would be gravely disrespectful, not only to the memory of Nagamine's life but of his life's work. This year, I've witnessed the loss of several artists whose work moved me throughout my lifetime. David Lynch; Drew Struzan; Tatsuya Nakadai, to name only a few. I've also witnessed the passing of artists I did not have the privilege of knowing in life, but who I sincerely wish I had.

I've purchased and listened to all three of D'Angelo's studio albums in the wake of his passing (on my birthday, no less), and it's a wonder to me how I went through my whole life up until this point without having known the pleasure of his smoky elocution and soulful music. All of this is to say, I sincerely grieve the loss of Nagamine by those who knew and loved him in life, and I will pay mind to finally sit down and commit the time to fully embrace and appreciate his magnum opus.

While I did not know his work on One Piece, I did have the pleasure of watching Dragon Ball Super: Broly back in 2018. By that time, I was already a lapsed Dragon Ball fan, having immersed myself in other stories by other animators and artists whose work better spoke to my palette. There is, however, still a part of me that will always love Dragon Ball; that kid who got up every day and scanned the public access Spanish-language channel if only for a glimpse of Goku and his compatriots facing off against the villainous Frieza on the Planet Namek.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly reignited my love for the series and reminded me of its merits, reintroducing a fan-favorite character from the non-canonical 1993 movie Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan and integrating their story into Dragon Ball proper. It was electrifying; it was immense. It was Dragon Ball at its very best. Nagamine gave his audiences that. I will forever be thankful to him and his fellow artists and animators for giving me that experience.

/out of frame

🕵🏾‍♂️ Toussaint: I've really been enjoying the WIP clips animator Cornelius Dämmrich has shared lately of his work on the reveal trailer for Zero Parades: For Dead Spies. I can't speak for how or whether the game itself will live up to the expectations set by its striking visuals and evocative mood, but the trailer itself is unambiguously gorgeous.

🥚 Rollin: I'm all set to see the new 4K restoration of Angel's Egg later this week, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect. Everyone I speak with says it's popularly considered impenetrable, but we'll see about that, won't we?