Mahiro Maeda is one of the preeminent Japanese anime creators working today, having worked as director, character designer, and animator for many of Japan's top series. He has been one of the top contributors at GONZO Digimation for many years, having directed Blue Submarine No. 6, Final Fantasy: Unlimited and Gankutsuou.

His design work ranges from the "Angels" in Neon Genesis Evangelion to production and mechanical design for such series as Last Exile and The Vision of Escaflowne.

His earlier years were spent mostly at the famed Gainax animation studio, where he helped animate classics such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso.

Maeda is one of the few Japanese directors to actively collaborate with non-Japanese on various projects. He provided key animation for the animation sequence in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. He was also one of the few selected to direct a portion of The Animatrix - The Second Renaissance Parts I and II, respectively. He has also visited the American Anime Expo convention in 2000 and 2003.