Go Nagai

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Go Nagai (永井豪 Nagai Gō, born September 6, 1945) is a Japanese mangaka and an important innovator of several genres within anime and manga.

When he was 20 he created Kuro No Shishi ("Black Lion"). In his series Harenchi Gakuen (ハレンチ学園, Shameless School, 1968–1972, Shonen Jump magazine) Nagai used eroticism and extreme, graphic violence in children's comics for the first time in Japan, thus breaking taboos and becoming quite controversial. His use of violence and gross humour was widely loathed in many corners of Japan's society and became a concern for many PTAs at the time. The series ended dramatically when all the characters died during a massacre. This type of content would be a trend in most of Nagai's later work.

In 1970, Go Nagai started a company, Dynamic Productions, to fund his manga and anime ventures. Dynamic Productions' first titles were Getter Robo and Abashiri Ikka (あばしり一家, Abashiri Family).

After Harenchi Gakuen Nagai created the Mazinger Z (マジンガーZ) series, later expanded into Great Mazinger, Grendizer, and - many years later - Mazinkaiser, where he developed the concept of giant mecha. Mazinger was the first manga where a giant robot was piloted by the hero, thus creating one of the biggest staples of the industry. Mazinger is considered the first successful "Super Robot" anime show, and has spanned numerous imitations.

Simultaneously to Mazinger, he created one of his most popular series, Debiruman (デビルマン, Devilman), about a demonic hero fighting against hordes of demons. Nagai also turned Devilman into a manga which was more violent and gritty compared to the original.. Years later Nagai revamped this popular series by introducing the main character as a female and altering the storyline. This series is called Devilman Lady (デビルマンレディー, Devil Lady in the U.S.). It was first released as a manga and then later as an anime just as Devilman. Go Nagai considers the Devilman series, as well as the Mazinger series, as being his life's work due to their massive popularity all over the world.

Another long-running series, Violence Jack (ヴァイオレンスジャック) spanned multiple volumes and dealt with a giant brute of a man fighting evil warlords in a post-apocalyptic setting where Japan has been devastated by a massive earthquake and isolated from the rest of the world.

One of Nagai's most popular works outside of his fanbase has been Cutey Honey, considered to be one of the first "magical girl" comics. He has a cameo in the 2004 live-action film version directed by Hideaki Anno (as the driver of a car Honey falls on while battling Panther Claw).

Nagai has worked with Shotaro Ishinomori and Ken Ishikawa. He is currently being more prolific in manga production than ever. Much of Nagai's work has been adapted into anime and tokusatsu.