Gô Nagai

Being influenced by the works of manga (Japanese comic-book) pioneer Osamu Tezuka, Go Nagai aspired to be a manga artist himself. After graduating from high school, he became an assistant for manga writer/artist Shotaro Ishinomori, and then made his debut with the comic-book "Meakashi Pori Kichi" (published in the November 1967 issue of Bokura Magazine). His turning point came in 1968, with the controversial comic-book "Harenchi Gakuen" ("Shameless High School"), which not only became a huge success, but singlehandedly revolutionized the manga industry. The comic was also so controversial that the conservative Parent/Teacher Associations in Japan had publicly burned some copies! In 1969, Nagai began work on what would be his life's work; The year 1971 saw publication of his comic-book, "Devil King Dante," about a demon awakening in the present to destroy mankind, as it was influenced by an evil alien called "God" in prehistoric times. The following year saw what would be perhaps Nagai's best works, and since then, he had formed his own company Dynamic Productions. His "Dante" comic forshadowed its more popular incarnation, "Devil-Man," which soon had its own anime series in 1972. Then came his classic comic-book/anime series, "Mazinger Z," which started the "Super Robot" wave in Japan, and became influental to just about any giant robot you've ever seen, from Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) to Beast King GoLion (1981) (better known to US fans as Voltron)! His other giant robot works included "Getter Robo" in 1974 (the first heroic giant robot to combine from individual vehichles), and the "Mazinger Z" follow-ups "Great Mazinger" and "UFO Robo Grendizer." He is also best known for creating perverse, sex-oriented parodies, his most memorable being another 1972 vintage, "Cutey Honey," about an android girl named Honey Kisaragi, who fights monsters and demons, and also has the power to change into different clothes, most prominently from her blonde-haired Kisaragi persona to her red-haired, super-suited Cutey Honey persona! Nagai created a similar superheroine called "Kekkou Kamen," a spoof of Japan's pioneer TV superhero show, _"Gekkou kamen" (1958)_. Whereas Gekkou Kamen was a man wearing a white costume, cape, mask and turban, Kekkou Kamen was a girl who wore only a mask, an occasional cape, gloves, boots, thin scarf, and nothing else! Nagai's Dynamic Productions split from Toei Animation around 1981, so he was given more creative freedom, thus producing his own shows, such as a 2-part OVA (Original Video Animation - a term for anime made exclusively direct-to-video) remake of "Devilman" in 1987, and more recently, sequels to "Cutey Honey," "Getter Robo," and "Mazinger Z." His work, particularly "Devilman," is also appreciated by heavy metal rock bands!