Going to throw the left field of my wishlist out there:
-Yasuomi Umetsu: animator and director that has done major work in character design for works including Kokkoku: Moment by Moment; Casshan: Robot Hunter, Lily C.A.T., and Megazone 23 Part II.
-Toshio Maeda: prolific manga writer and casually cited creator of the modern "tentacles" trope.
-Satoshi Urushihara: artist. In addition to his own stuff he has worked in animation on a wide range of titles including Akira. He also has a rare story of being senior staff on a number of U.S. market shows including Jem, G.I. Joe, and Tr