Go Nagai

1945- . Born in Ishikawa Prefecture, Nagai became an assistant to the manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori after completing high school. He enjoyed early and controversial success as a manga artist, with titles such as Shameless School introducing nudity and crudity in abundance to young readers' great enjoyment and the eternal annoyance their parents. He subsequently copied the model of Osamu Tezuka's Mushi Production to set up his own company, Dynamic Planning, which has overseen Nagai's works in their anime forms, including Devilman, Cutey Honey, and the parody Kōhan Kawauchi`s Moonlight Mask (Gekko Kamen) Kekko Kamen. His greatest influence, however, has been in the world of giant robots, including such important works as Mazinger Z, which was the first manga to actually put a human inside a robot as opposed to being remote controlled (Tetsujin 28th) or sentient (Tetsuwan Atom). Although he does have an English-language following, his work is more known in Europe and the Arab world. He was also notably a designer on the puppet series X-Bomber (*DE, as Star Fleet), including the impressive combining robot Dai-X.