Akihiko Iguchi

Akihiko Iguchi Born June 29, 1943 Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan Occupation Artist, production designer First work Mighty Jack (TV 1968) Notable work Return of Ultraman (TV 1971-1972)

Akihiko Iguchi (井口 昭彦,   Iguchi Akihiko), born Akihiko Takahashi (高橋 昭彦,   Takahashi Akihiko) and also known by the mononymous signature Akihiko (亜㐂比古 (あきひこ)), is a Japanese artist and production designer. Getting his start as an art director for Tsuburaya Productions' Mighty Jack, he would go on to design numerous vehicles and kaiju for various works, including Toho's Mechagodzilla and Titanosaurus.

Selected filmography

Special effects art director

• Mighty Jack (TV 1968) [unknown number of episodes]
• Fight! Mighty Jack (TV 1968) [episodes 2-3, 7-8, 11-13, 16-18, 21-22, 25-26]
• Return of Ultraman (TV 1971-1972) [episodes 13-14, 20-21, 24-25, 28-51; as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Ultraman Ace (TV 1972-1973) [episodes 5-22, 25-52; as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Ultra Seven 99 (1999)

Art director

• Megaloman (TV 1979) [as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Cyber Cop (TV 1988-1989)
• Ultra Seven: Operation Solar Energy (1994)
• Ultra Seven: Planet of the Earthlings (1994)
• Ultra Seven 99 (1999) [with Jin Watanabe]
• Booska! Booska!! (TV 1999-2000)
• Ultra Seven Evolution (2002)
• Otasuke Girl (TV 2003)
• Metal Kaiser (TV 2007)

Miscellaneous

• Ultraman (TV 1966-1967) - Assistant special effects art director [uncredited]
• Ultraman Taro (TV 1973-1974) - Title artist [as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Submersion of Japan (1973) - Assistant special effects art director [uncredited]
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974) - Assistant special effects art director [uncredited]
• Space Wolf (TV 1978) - Art designer [episodes 3-12; with Osamu Yamaguchi, Shinichi Kamisawa, Sumio Takimoto]
• Ultra Seven (1998) - Designer [episodes 1-3]
• Ultraman Neos (TV 2000-2001) - Art designer
• AKARI (2022) - Character designer (Pythagodon)

Actor

• Booska! Booska!! (TV 1999-2000) as mayor of Dream Town [episodes 11, 28, 34]

Designed monsters

• Spyler (Zone Fighter)
• Wargilgar (Zone Fighter)
• Mechagodzilla (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)
• King Caesar (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)
• Giant slugs (Prophecies of Nostradamus)
• Soft-bodied humans (Prophecies of Nostradamus)
• Titanosaurus (Terror of Mechagodzilla)
• Various (Megaloman)
• Pythagodon (AKARI)

Trivia

• Akihiko Iguchi was long rumored to have designed Gigan, Megalon, and Jet Jaguar, but has openly denied having any involvement with Godzilla vs. Gigan or Godzilla vs. Megalon. In actuality, Iguchi's first work for the Godzilla series came in 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla as the designer of Mechagodzilla and King Caesar. While the artist(s) responsible for Megalon and Jet Jaguar remain unknown, Gigan's designer was later discovered to be Shōnen Magazine illustrator, Takayoshi Mizuki.

References

This is a list of references for Akihiko Iguchi. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

Bibliography

• Nakamura, Satoshi; Shiraishi, Masahiko; Aita, Tetsuo; Tomoi, Taketo; Shimazaki, Jun; Maruyama, Takeshi; Shimizu, Toshifumi; Hayakawa, Masaru (29 November 2014). Godzilla Toho Champion Festival Perfection. ASCII MEDIA WORKS. ISBN 978-4-04-866999-3.
• Murase, Keizo (24 September 2015). Monster Maker: Keizo Murase - Treasured KAIJU Photobook. Yosensha. ISBN 978-4-8003-0756-9.

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