Go Nagai is so influential in Japanese comics and animation, that it is actually nearly impossible to choose a comic, animated movie or show that isn't influenced by his work in some way.
He introduced sex into comics, created the first human piloted giant robot, and created the first combining robot. Along with his longtime assistant and collaborator, he also helped create the first "TEAM" combining robot.
His work is teeming with ultra violence and deep commentary on religion, war and morality.
He has often straddled the line between good taste and juvenile crudeness.
In effect, he has made some of the most wildly entertaining comics ever published.
And yet, not one of his works is published in english. This makes it extremely difficult for most people outside of Japan to became acquainted with his body of work.
Here is a listing of some of his better known titles...as well as a few more obscure favorites of mine. I hope you enjoy and somehow try to find copies of these books to read them. I have included links to fan translations and such. I always endorse that you try to buy the originals and support the artist...
HARENCHI GAKUEN-Shameless School
Harenchi Gakuen was one of the manga serialized in the very first issue of Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump. The series was the first big success for Go Nagai. It is also considered as the first modern erotic manga, sometimes considered the first Hentai manga, though Nagai never used explicit sexual situations in the original run of the manga.
Harenchi Gakuen started with the idea of making a manga around a school. Nagai liked the word "Harenchi" (scandal), used commonly to advertise adult movies. For him, scandal and school were like oil and water, and he thought that mixing them would be funny. That's how the name Harenchi Gakuen came to be. [4] At first, Nagai didn't have an idea of what stories to develop, but his assistant at the time was boasting about how he had peeped on the girls during their physical examinations from a hole in the roof of his school. That gave him the idea of what would be the stories. [4]Originally, open erotic references didn't appear in Harenchi Gakuen. The first physical examination scenes only showed from the shoulders up. But the many girls that appeared and their images became popular. The editor asked Nagai to go further, which Nagai was eager to do. [4]
The inspiration for Harenchi Gakuen came from the West. Nagai liked foreign movies, and used to read Playboymagazine. For the depiction of breasts, he took particular inspiration from the Venus de Milo. [4] According to Nagai, what he in fact drew was not about eroticism per se, but about Japan's culture of shame. He wanted embarrassment to be the eroticism of the stories.
ABASHIRI IKKA- Abashiri Family
The series deals with the adventures of the Abashiri family, a clan of criminals who are feared by the police and other criminals alike, as they are a destructive force to be reckoned with. Although they are virtually unstoppable, they do not have great desires and many of their plans are normally minor and sometimes get undone by their own foolishness. That is unless they are attacked, at which point they will retaliate with full force, normally with deadly consequences for their enemies.
As the series progress the tone of the series becomes less crime-focused and becomes more a gag comedy with strong touches of eroticism. The series was originally conceived by Nagai as a form of protest and parody of the controversy that arose with Harenchi Gakuen. While having a grim tone at the beginning, the series lightens up as it progresses, although the graphic violence remains through most of it but becoming less
frequent.
The series remained popular in its original run until Nagai decided to drop it along with other series that he was doing at the time in order to concentrate on the Devilman manga.
DEMON LORD DANTE & DEVILMAN
Devilman originally started as an anime adaptation of the concept of Nagai's previous manga series, Demon Lord Dante. A 39 episode anime series was developed by Toei in 1972 and Nagai began Devilman as a manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine, barely a month before the anime series started. The series has since spawned numerous OVAs, manga, novels, and films. It is one of Go Nagai's most popular and famous creations.
Along with the television series, Devilman was also produced as a serialized manga with over 53 issues in Shōnen Magazine beginning in 1972.[2] Go Nagai designed the manga to be more horror-like and mature than the anime version, making it similar in tone to Demon Lord Dante. It was later reprinted in a five-volume series, and has enjoyed over a dozen reprints in five different languages. The manga's occult horror elements, extreme violence, and complex apocalyptic story made it an instant hit.
In an essay written three decades after the debut of the original manga and TV series, Nagai commented that he designed Devilman as an anti-war work. According to Nagai, the fusion of humans and demons is an analogy for thedraft, and Miki's gruesome death parallels the death of peace. "There is no justice in war, any war," wrote Nagai, "nor is there any justification for human beings killing one another. Devilman carries a message of warning, as we step toward a bright future."
Devilman is about a teenager named Akira Fudo. At first, Akira is very shy, modest and gentle, trying to avoid conflict. When his parents are lost on a business trip in the Arctic, Akira goes to stay with his childhood friend Miki Makimura and her family (mother, father, and bratty kid brother Tare). Both soon form a close relationship. Miki, a tough, smart, self-sufficient girl, loves Akira but wishes that he would stand up for himself when he gets pushed around, and is frustrated by his lack of backbone. She often has to defend herself from bullies even when Akira is with her. In the first OVA, she saves Akira from a gang of bullies who are threatening him.
One day, Akira's best friend, Ryo Asuka, asks a favor and completely changes Akira's life. Ryo's father had discovered the existence of demons when he found a mask during an excavation of the ruins of an ancient Mayantemple. This mask turns out to be a fossilized demon skull, which shows whomever wore it what the world was like when demons ruled over it. Ryo shows Akira this and informs him about the demons' revival. Akira then sees Ryo's plan: "To fight a demon, one must become a demon."
Demons have the ability to possess and control humans. However, Ryo believes that people like Akira may be able to harness a demon's powers when possessed, due to the fact that Akira has a pure heart. Ryo takes his friend to anightclub and picks a fight to draw demonic attention to the club. Demons possess the clubbers and threaten Ryo and Akira, until a demon known as Amon the Lord of War, also called the Beast of Hell and one of the strongest demons, attempts to possess Akira. However, Akira manages to gain the upper hand of the possession process with Amon and transforms into Devilman. Devilman contains the strength and power of the demon Amon, as well as the heart and soul of Akira, giving Akira complete control.
After he becomes Devilman, Akira is no longer timid and shy. He becomes very aggressive and no longer lets anyone push him around. This change pleases Miki, although she is unaware of Akira's newfound powers.
Throughout the series, Devilman has many battles with the demon hordes. He encounters many foes such as Sirène the demon bird, the water demon Geruma, and a large turtle-like demon called Jinmen.
In the manga, the story ends with Ryo revealing Akira to be Devilman via a TV broadcast, yet the Makimuras still accept Akira as their friend. Akira then confronts Ryo and discovers that his friend Ryo is really Satan in a dormant state. Satan reveals to Akira that he convinced Akira to become Devilman in order to survive in the world he was planning to create. After Miki and her whole family are brutally slain by a paranoid human horde (in a particularly famous scene, Akira retrieves Miki's dismembered body from her burned house and later is seen holding her head in his arms), Akira states that he has no one left to protect, thus has no reason to exist except to have his final fight with Satan. Satan reveals that he has fallen in love with Akira and is a hermaphrodite. The final battle between Devilman and Satan and his armies ensues. The Earth is completely destroyed during this war. At the war's end, Satan reveals to Akira the truth behind their reason for defying God: even though God unintentionally created demons, he wished to destroy them. Satan was appalled at this, believing that even though demons were a violent, bloodthirsty race, they still had a right to live. They joined the demons, then convinced them to enter a state of hibernation in the ice, in order to save strength for the final battle with God. Upon awakening, Satan discovered the beautiful planet they fought for have been ruined by the human race. Enraged at the damage this new race had done, Satan led the demons in a war to exterminate humanity. While they explain this to Akira, Satan realized that in the end, they were no better than God, and begs Akira to forgive them as he dies.
The 1972 anime TV series has no such apocalyptic conclusion and the ending is happier for Akira and Miki than in the manga. Devilman's identity as a real demon is exposed to Miki in the final episode, but she accepts that she is in love with Devilman, even if he is not human.
Read the manga:
Watch the opening title seq for the original TV show here:
MAZINGER Z
Mazinger Z helped to create the 1970s boom in mecha anime.[8] The series is noteworthy for introducing many of the accepted stock features of super robot anime genres: the first occurrence of mecha robots being piloted by a user from within a cockpit, the mechanical marvel that is the world's only hope, forgotten civilizations, power-hungry mad scientists, incompetent henchmen, lovable supporting characters (usually younger siblings, love interests, or friends of the hero), the scientist father or grandfather who loses his life heroically, and strangely clothed, eccentric or physically deformed villains (the intersex Baron Ashura as one example).
Mazinger Z was also the first show to feature a female robot (Aphrodite A, piloted by female lead Sayaka Yumi), and a comic-relief robot made of spare parts and garbage named Boss Borot (which ended up suffering severe damage in nearly all of his appearances), after its pilot, brash yet simpleminded gang leader, Boss.
In his Manga Works series, Go Nagai reveals that he had always loved Tetsuwan Atom and Tetsujin-28 as a child, and wanted to make his own robot anime. However, for the longest time he was unable to produce a concept that he felt did not borrow too heavily from those two shows. One day, Nagai observed a traffic jam and mused to himself that the drivers in back would surely love a way to bypass the ones in front. From that thought came his ultimate inspiration: a giant robot that could be controlled from the inside, like a car. In his original concepts, the titular robot was Energer Z, which was controlled by a motorcycle that was driven up its back and into its head (an idea which was recycled for the Diana A robot). However, with the sudden popularity of Kamen Rider, Nagai replaced the motorcycle with a hovercraft. He later redesigned Energer Z, renaming it Mazinger Z to evoke the image of a demon god (Ma, 魔, meaning demon and Jin, 神, meaning god). The motif of the Hover Pilder docking itself into Mazinger's head also borrows from Nagai's 1971 manga Demon Lord Dante (the prototype for his more popular Devilman), in which the titular giant demon has a human head (of Ryo Utsugi, the young man who merged with him) in his forehead. Interestingly, Koji Kabuto takes his surname (the Japanese word for a helmet) from the fact that he controls Mazinger Z from its head.
Read the manga here:
Watch the original show's opening titles with awesome title song:
Watch the amazing updated OVA MAZINKAISER (sorry, it seems to be squeezed, but it IS subbed):
GREAT MAZINGER
The story centers on Tetsuya Tsurugi (剣 鉄也 Tsurugi Tetsuya), an orphan raised by none other than Kenzo Kabuto (兜 剣造 Kabuto Kenzō), the once thought dead father of Mazinger Z pilot Kouji Kabuto. Kenzo Kabuto is the creator of the new, improved version of Mazinger, made by refining his father's Chogokin Z (Super Alloy Z) into a new, stronger form, designed to fight against humanity's new enemy, the Mycenae Empire, led by the Great General of Darkness and his army of Warrior Beasts. Kenzo gives the Great Mazinger to Tetsuya to pilot, who is accompanied by a new token female companion, Jun Hono (an orphaned half Japanese, half African-American girl), in her feminine robot, Venus A (Venus Ace).
Both Great Mazinger's and Tetsuya's training are completed just in time to come to Kouji's aid as the Mycenae Battle Beasts overwhelm Mazinger Z. With the original Mazinger destroyed, Kouji went to America to study space travel and left Japan's defense in the hands of Tetsuya and the Fortress of Science. Tetsuya battles the Mycenae Battle Beasts and even their mighty generals, cumulating in a bitter final battle with the Mycenae's military leader, Ankoku Daishogun (Great General of Darkness). After the Great General of Darkness' defeat, the Mycenae forces are led by Doctor Hell, the villain from Mazinger Z, back under the guise of the Great Marshall of Hell.
Produced as a direct sequel to Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger also includes some cast members the original series, including Shiro Kabuto (Kouji's little brother), and comic-relief robot Boss Borot. Great Mazinger did not achieve the same astronomical ratings as Mazinger Z, but was still highly popular to run a very successful 56 weeks, and spawned a line of best-selling toys and merchandize as did its predecessor, as well as several spin-off theatrical featurettes, and allowed for the creation of UFO Robo Grendizer.
Read the manga here:
Watch the awesome titles from the original TV show ( including one of my favorite theme songs ever!!)
CUTIE HONEY
Cutie Honey first appears on volume 41 of the 1973 edition of Shōnen Champion. According to Nagai, she is the first female to be the protagonist of a shōnen manga series.[1][2]
The franchise spans many works, including numerous manga series, two animated TV series, two OVA series, two drama CDs, and two live action adaptations. The first anime, aired in 1973, is considered a magical girl series in retrospect. The animated and live-action versions share a common theme song, which has been covered many times by different performers. While Honey's exact appearance differs among the various versions, they all portray her as an outwardly ordinary girl named Honey Kisaragi, who can transform into the busty, red or pink-haired heroine Cutie Honey and other specialized forms to fight against assorted villains who threaten her or her world. One of the trademarks of the character is that all of these transformations involve the temporary loss of all her clothing in the brief interim from changing from one form to the other.
Nagai's inspiration for the character of Honey comes from classic shows that featured protagonists who took seven different forms, including the Bannai Tarao mysteries[1][3] and Rainbowman (1972).[4][5]Honey is notable for being mischievous for a Japanese female hero, often teasing her male friends and mocking her enemies in combat. When transforming into Cutie Honey in the anime, she gives a brief rundown of the forms she has previously taken in that particular episode, and then declares, "But my true identity is ..." before yelling "Honey Flash!" and transforming.
Honey Kisaragi is a regular Catholic schoolgirl, until the day her father is murdered by the "Panther Claw" organization. After his death, she learns she is actually an android created by him and within her is a device that can "create matter from the air"[4] (空中元素固定装置[9] kūchū genso kotei sōchi[10], variously translated as "[atmospheric] element condenser mechanism",[11] "Fixed System of Air Elements",[12] "Airborne Element Solidifier", etc.[4]). With her cry of "Honey Flash!" she can use the device to transform into the sword-wielding red-haired superhero, Cutie Honey.[4] This device, or similar devices, have been used to explain her powers in all later Honey versions.
While attending the Saint Chapel School for Girls, Honey seeks revenge against the Panther Claw, which is ruled by an ancient primordial evil known as Panther Zora and her younger sibling Sister Jill. Zora wants "the rarest items in the world" and seeks Honey's device, while Jill, leader of the group's division in Japan, "only wants the finest riches" and has a crush on Honey.[13] Honey's best friend at school is the cute, freckle-faced Aki "Nat-chan" Natsuko. In the manga, Nat-chan, as well as the other students, had a crush on Honey; this crush was downplayed in the TV series.
Honey is aided in her quest by Danbei Hayami and his two sons, journalist Seiji and young Junpei.[13] Danbei is based on the character Daemon from Go Nagai's prior work Abashiri Family.[14] Nagai's manga also borrows the character Naojiro from that series (in a female form named Sukeban Naoko);[13] the anime borrows the Paradise School, along with the characters Naojiro and Goeman (a teacher at the school) from the series.
UFO ROBOT GRENDIZER
The Vega homeworld has become unstable due to the exploiting of Vegatron, a powerful radioactive ore. Seeking to expand his militaristic empire and find a substitute planet to settle upon, the ruthlessKing Vega unleashes his armies — composed of flying saucers and giant robotic monsters — and turns first against neighbors such as Fleed, a highly advanced but peaceful world. In a tragically ironic twist, the invaders' blitzkrieg turns against them: the once verdant, idyllic Fleed is turned into a radioactive wasteland. Too late, the only known survivor of the royal family, Prince Duke Fleed, manages to steal the Grendizer, the robotic embodiment of the Fleedian God of War, from the Vegan invaders who plan to use it to spearhead their invasion fleet. Grendizer is a giant robot that interfaces withSpacer (Spaizer), a flying saucer that enables the robot to fly.
Fleeing Vegan space by flying at faster than light speed, Duke enters our solar system and switches course to Earth, making a rough landing in Japan, on the slopes of Mount Fuji. He is befriended by Doctor Umon, a noted scientist who oversees a research laboratory called the Space Science Lab near a small ranch. The kindly Umon takes in the young humanoid alien as his son, under the assumed name of Daisuke, and assists him in hiding Grendizer. Taking the name Daisuke Umon, Duke Fleed works at the ranch run by Danbei Makiba (based on Abashiri Daemon of Go Nagai's manga Abashiri Ikka).
Roughly two years later, Koji Kabuto returns to Japan after studying abroad in a flying saucer he personally designed and built, called the TFO. He heads to the Space Science Lab after hearing of multiple sightings of "flying saucers". He plans to contact the aliens if possible and make peace with them. Daisuke, however, scoffs at the notion and fears that these aliens, the Vegans, led by generals Blaki and Gandal, are preparing to attack Earth. Koji ignores his warnings and flies out to meet the incoming saucers, only to discover the horrible truth. In order to save Koji and protect his adoptive homeworld from destruction, Daisuke is forced to return to his true identity as Duke Fleed. He unearths Grendizer from its hiding place under the lab and sets off to fight his enemies.
The Vegans establish a base on the far side of the Moon and start to attack Earth from there. Koji discovers Duke Fleed's true identity and their bitter rivalry soon turns to friendship. The daughter of Danbei Makiba, Hikaru, also discovers Daisuke's secret and becomes a pilot in order to assist him despite his objections. Later on, it is revealed that there were two more survivors from planet Fleed: Duke's younger sister Maria Grace Fleed and a man who had rescued her and fled to Earth, raising her under the guise of her grandfather. Caught in a crossfire between Grendizer and a Vegan beast, he reveals to Maria that she is the last survivor of the royal family of Fleed (under the belief that Duke was killed) before dying from his wounds. Maria swears revenge on Grendizer and its pilot. She tries to ambush Duke, Koji and Hikaru at the Space Science Lab, but the fight is short lived. Maria's attacks bring Duke's necklace (which is the same as the one she wore) into view and the truth is revealed. The lost siblings are reunited at last and Maria becomes the last addition to the team.
As the conflict nears its end, it is shown that Duke Fleed was engaged to King Vega's daughter, Princess Rubina, prior to the attack on Fleed. When Rubina discovers that planet Fleed is no longer polluted with Vegatron radiation and that her fiancé is alive and well, she rushes to Earth to bring him the good news. Unfortunately, one of King Vega's generals uses this opportunity to ambush Duke Fleed, and Rubina is killed when she takes a shot aimed at Duke. This makes Duke even more determined to wipe out the Vegan menace once and for all.
King Vega decides to gather his remaining forces and make an all-out attack on Earth, destroying the Moon Base to coax his troops into fighting to the end and finally succeed in invading Earth and taking it as their new home planet. Duke and company go out to intercept them in Grendizer and the newly-designed space combat Spazers. After a fierce battle, they finally manage to destroy the Vegan mother ship along with King Vega himself. Soon afterwards, Duke and Maria bid a tearful farewell to Earth and their friends and return to help reconstruct planet Fleed.
Read the manga :
Watch the opening titles to the original TV series:
DORORON ENMAKUN
Read the manga here:
The main titles to the kiddified TV show.
GETTER ROBO / GETTER ROBO G
Getter Robo is a Super Robot manga series created by Go Nagai & Ken Ishikawa, as well as an anime series produced byToei Animation. The series was broadcast on Fuji TV from April 4, 1974 to May 8, 1975, with a total of 51 episodes. Getter Robo is commonly mistaken for a Go Nagai only work. Go Nagai's involvement in the series was minimal, as the entirety of the original manga and subsequent manga sequels were both drawn and written by Ken Ishikawa.
The plot involves three strong-willed teenagers: martial artist Ryoma Nagare, homicidal psychopath Hayato Jin and fat Judoka Musashi Tomoe, who pilot three specially designed combat jets (Eagle, Jaguar, and Bear) which can be combined together into three different giant robots, Getter-1 (balanced and for flight combat), Getter-2 (fast and for ground combat), and Getter-3 (strong and for marine combat). They were assembled by Prof. Saotome, who conceived the Getter Robo project as a means of deep-space exploration. The Getter machine is powered by an energy source known as Getter Rays, which are the invisible manifestation of the pilot's willpower. it became instead Earth's first line of defense against the Dinosaur Empire, a civilization of reptile-like humanoids who evolved from the now-extinct dinosaurs that roamed the earth millions of years ago. They have lived many years underground after being forced to do so by getter ray radiation from space that did not affect the apes who evolved into humans; they now want to reclaim the Earth as theirs and destroy humanity.
The series was groundbreaking in the anime mecha genre: for the very first time, it introduced the concept of separate machines combining to form a Super Robot. Using three jets, Getter Robo could combine in three different ways to create three different versions of Getter Robo for different conditions and situations. This idea was originally discussed during the creation process for Mazinger Z (the first Super Robot to be piloted internally), but was dropped and then developed for Getter Robo. This idea of combination and transformation proved to be a very powerful concept that has been used in the super robot genre ever since. Also, by adding three pilots to the robot was able to add an element of teen drama, probably influenced by the already popular anime sci-fi team show Gatchaman (better known in the U.S. as Battle of the Planets, G-Force: Guardians of Space or Eagle Riders).
The last episode of the Getter Robo series showed the defeat of the Dinosaur Empire, but with a high price: the death of one of the Getter Robo pilots, Musashi Tomoe. It also introduced a new enemy, the Clan of the 100 Devils, who at that very moment were preparing an invasion of Earth from space. This would be the basis of a sequel with a new, improved version of the original robot, piloted by Ryoma, Hayato, and newcomer pilot Benkei Kuruma. The series, called Getter Robo G, would not be as long and successful as the first one, lasting 39 episodes. The new robot and its pilots were also featured in the Go Nagai short features Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo G and Grendizer, Getter Robo G, Great Mazinger: Decisive Showdown! Great Sea Beast, despite the fact Getter Robo was conceived as existing in a different universe from the Mazinger/Grendizer continuity. Note: the Getter Robo manga features both the stories of Getter and Getter G.
G also became famous in the U.S. as it was included in edited form as part of the Force Five robot series produced for the American market, where its name was changed to Starvengers. Additionally, toys based on the Getter Robo mecha were licensed by the U.S. toy company Mattel and sold under the company's Shogun Warriors toy line.
Read Getter Robo Manga:
Getter Robo G:
Watch the original titles for the TV show:
VIOLENCE JACK
The series takes place in a world destroyed by a devastating earthquake in which the remnants of humanity are divided between the strong and the weak. Violence Jack is uncovered amongst the rubble and demolished granite by the inhabitants of this city, asking him to help the weak people and helping them destroy what, in most cases, are the strong groups commanded by killers and rapists (this is the story line of Violence Jack: Evil Town). In the three OVAs, Jack is requested to help different groups, such as the Zone A, (later he ends up helping Zone C women) or a small town, as shown in "Hell's Wind". As for the manga, the stories change drastically, being the first story the help of Violence Jack to a group of female models in a tropical forest in Kanto. Even though Jack contains the figure of a ruthless, evil character, he always helps the weak section of people, in trade for nothing.
[edit]Relationship to Devilman
When it was originally published there were several hints that pointed out the relationship between Devilman and Violence Jack. The most important being the physical appearance of Slum King's human pets: Ryo Asuka and Miki Makimura. However, how they came to be like that was unknown, specially since Miki was already dead by the end of Devilman. At the end of the Weekly Manga Gorakuserialization, after Slum King was beheaded, he mysteriously re-appears, just as Ryo does (both he and Miki were previously killed by Slum King), this time speaking and recovering his lost limbs. The final chapter reveals that the apocalyptic world in Violence Jack is in a world re-created by God. Satan (Ryo Asuka) is punished by being constantly humiliated by Slum King (Zenon). Jack is actually Akira Fudo, and is one of three parts that form Devilman, the others being a child Jack and woman Jack, both of which were normally seen as birds around Jack from time to time. They merge in order to stop the recently awakened Satan. This time Devilman manages to stop Satan.
KOUTETSU JEEG
The story tells about Hiroshi Shiba, a car racer who is mortally wounded on a laboratory accident, but restored to life by his father, Professor Shiba, a talented scientist/archeologist, who is incidentally investigating the relics of the ancient Yamatai Kingdom. The professor discovers a tiny bronze bell with sorcerous powers, and shortly afterwards he is murdered by the henchmen of Queen Himika, the ruler of the Yamatai (sometimes translated as Jamatai) Kingdom, who wants to seize the ancient bell and its power.
Hiroshi learns about his father's death, and his legacy: after the accident, Hiroshi was turned by his father into a cyborg, the bronze bell hidden in his own chest, able to transform into the head of a giant robot, the Steel Jeeg, created by Prof. Shiba with the purpose of stopping the Yamatai invasion of modern Japan. Jeeg is also assisted by a robot horse known as Panzeroid. The minions of Queen Himika have huge haniwa phantoms buried thousands of years under Japan's soil, and only Jeeg can destroy them and save the world. Therefore, Hiroshi must roughly try to live his double life as his career as a racer who takes care of his mother and sister and a hero who fight to save the world.
Takara made Jeeg and Panzeroid toys as part of their Magnemo line, making use of a system of magnetic sockets and steel ball joints for unprecedented articulation and interchangeability.
In the United States, the Jeeg and Panzeroid toys were remolded in different colors and new heads were sculpted for Mego's Micronauts "Magno" figures; Baron Karza and Force Commander.
Watch the opening titles (with another awesome theme song):
Gaiking was notable for being one of the few super robot series to take place in real places outside of Japan, and for being the first Super Robot series to have a mobile carrier for the chief robots. In the USA, Gaiking was part of Mattel's popular Shogun Warriors import toy line of the late 1970s and Jim Terry's Force Five anthology
DAIKU MARYU GAIKING
series.
Toei Animation credited the show as being based on an original idea by Akio Sugino. However, in reality the original idea was of Go Nagai.[1] Toei deliberately took Nagai out of the credits in order to avoid the payment of royalties.[2][3] Because of that, Nagai sued Toei and stopped further collaborations with Toei for a long time.[4][5] The legal battle lasted more than 10 years.[3] Nagai himself confirmed that he was the creator of Gaiking in the Comicon 2007 in Naples, Italy.
The story chronicled the battle between the crew of the semi-transformable carrier Daikū Maryū (also called the Kargosaur in the US version, and also known as The Great Space Dragon) and the Super Robot Gaiking invented by Dr. Daimonji(Prof. Hightech in the English language version of the show) against an invading race of aliens called the Dark Horror Army from the planet Zela whose home planet is facing destruction by a black hole as their population starts to mutate (the fact that their bearded ruler now wears his face on upside-down is considered only a minor mutation). Notable aspects of the series include the dinosaur-based designs of the Daikū Maryū and its support machines and the use of part of the carrier to form the main robot. The robot Gaiking was piloted by former baseball star named Sanshiro Tsuwabuki (Sanshiro's name was changed to Aries Astronopolis for the English version with the carrier being called the "Great Space Dragon", a literal translation of "Daikū Maryū". Likewise, for the Latin America version the main character was called Brando Drummond and the carrier "Gran Dragon del Espacio") who was drafted for the job because his latent psychic powers made him the only one capable of doing so, all other similarly empowered candidates having been assassinated by alien agents with he himself having been injured in an attack that ended his sports career. Gaiking is most easily distinguished from othermecha by its skull-shaped golden torso formed from the head of the Daikū Maryū and its golden horns.
Gaiking
A mysterious mecha with a Daikū Maryū's head on its chest. The unit was piloted by a baseball star named Sanshiro Tsuwabuki, known as Aries Astronopolous in the English version, and as Brando Drumont in Latin America. It is launched when the Head of Daikū Maryū while Daikū Maryū launches Parts 1 (Arms and Chest) and 2 (Torso, Legs and Feet), combining it to form the mecha. The unit has a powerful feature called "Face Open", which utilizes Gaiking's hidden weapons. However, this machine's origin and why it is made remains a mystery.
[edit]Daikū Maryū
A gigantic Dragon-shaped robot (known as The Great Space Dragon or Kargosaur in the English version) that protects the earth from the invaders from Planet Zala. It houses a lot of weapons and the needed Weapon Parts for Gaiking.
[edit]Nesser
A miniature robot located inside the Daikū Maryū that looks like a Plesiosaur (called Dynatar in the English version). It is used for aquatic reconnaissance missions. It could fire lasers or fire from its eyes.
[edit]Skylar
A miniature robot located inside Daikū Maryū, which resembles a Pterodactyl. This is used as an aerial scout, and is armed with missiles. In the English version, its name remains the same.
[edit]Bazolar
A miniature scout robot located inside Daikū Maryū, which resembles a Triceratops. (Called Rhinatar in the English version) It was used for scout missions on land. Very fast on land, it used lasers for attack.
Watch the opening titles for the TV show:
PRO-WRES NO HOSHI AZTEKAISER
Japanese pro-wrestling-themed tokusatsu/anime superhero television series produced by Tsuburaya Productions, and created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa. Nagai and Ishikawa created three manga series, simply named Aztecaser (アステカイザー asutekaizā), published in different magazines by Shogakukan.[1] None of them are related between them or the TV show. They were compiled in a single tankōbon in 1978 (Futabasha), 1986 (Asahi Sonorama) and 2001 (Futabasha).[1][2]
This primarily live-action series is unique, in that, during each climactic battle with the weekly demonic menace, the titular wrestling superhero is able to transform his entire live-action surroundings into anime footage, enabling him to perform superhuman wrestling techniques that are otherwise impossible to perform in live-action.
Watch the opening titles:
BATTLE HAWK
Battle Hawk (バトルホーク batoru ho^ku) is a Japanese tokusatsu television series created by Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa in 1976. It was originally aired on Mondays, from 19:30 to 20:00 in Tokyo Channel 12 between October 1976 to March 1977. A manga series was also created, featuring a different story and serialized in the magazine Boken Oh (Akita Shoten).
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Watch the opening titles:
X BOMBER
X Bomber (Ｘボンバー Ekkusu Bonbā) is a marionette tokusatsu TV series. It was created by manga master Go Nagai, and produced by Cosmo Productions and Jin Productions. The show aired on Fuji TV from October 4, 1980 to March 28, 1981, with a total of 26 episodes (including the pre-series pilot episode),[1][2][3] and was billed in Japan as being filmed in "Sūpāmariorama" (スーパーマリオラマ), a puppeteering process similar to Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation works.
This show can be considered somewhat of a cross between Nagai's Getter Robo and Star Wars. As in Getter Robo, the show's protagonists ride three vehicles that combine into a giant robot. Big Dai X, the robot in X-Bomber, is more similar to the kind seen in the popular Super Sentai series than a regular Nagai robot.
The show's opening and ending theme songs ("Soldier in the Space" and "The Drifting Galaxy", respectively) were performed by the Japanese hard rock group Bow Wow, while Kazutaka Tazaki (of Baja Revolution) and Nakayuki Sakuraba (of Adbaloon) provided additional music for the show.
The puppets of X-Bomber were controlled from below the set using rods, and as a consequence were generally seen only from the waist up. Whereas Gerry Anderson's series were episodic in nature, X-Bomber had an overall story arc, with sub-plots and new characters being introduced as the series progressed, leading to a definite end. Similarly, rod puppets were used in Gerry Anderson's 1967 series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons canned as "under-control" puppets due to their inability to walk-whereas everywhere else they were marionettes. Anderson would later use Rod puppets in Terrahawks.
Watch a clip of the show here:
His work was published in English. He just didn't like the results, and allegedly "boycotted" us until he gets over it.
ReplyDeleteI think "is published" means current or present tense. If you're referring to a tiny story in Epic magazine..or the incomplete Mazinger volume in the eighties....or Venger Robot (actually drawn by Ken Ishikawa)....all of those works are long gone...and never amounted to any kind of complete or quality representation of his work. Also, never heard of him "boycotting" the US...please state your source for this.
ReplyDeleteVertical, Inc. He allegedly hated the prior "translations" of his manga, so he doesn't wanna release any more here. Well, unless anyone wants to bet on a U.S. English edition of Dante first.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess I can't blame him for hating those weak versions released before. It would be great if Vertical or D&Q put out his work...Digital manga seems to be releasing a lot of old Tezuka works recently....not sure how their translations are...any release would be welcome!!.
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