Biography

Masami Hata (波多 正美, November 5, 1942) is a Japanese anime director and animator born in Taipei, Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era, and raised in Toyama prefecture. He is a veteran director who has been active since the dawn of Japanese TV anime. After joining Mushi Production, he participated in Tezuka's works such as Goku no Daibouken and later worked on Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son-Gokū (The Tezuka Osamu Story: I Am Son Gokuu, co-directed by Rintaro) at Madhouse. A veteran director known for directing many of Sanrio's feature films such as Shiriusu no Densetsu (The Sea Prince and the Fire Child) and Chirin no Suzu (Ringing Bell). Other masterpieces include the US-Japan collaboration fantasy giant Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (also known as Little Nemo).