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 a production designer 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 assistant

Note: All work under this heading was uncredited.

• Ultraman (TV 1966-1967)
• Zone Fighter (TV 1973) [episode 4]
• Submersion of Japan (1973)
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
• Prophecies of Nostradamus (1974)
• Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

Special effects production designer

• Mighty Jack (TV 1968) [episodes 3, 6, 8, 11, 13]
• 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]
• Monkey (TV 1978-1980) [all 52 episodes; as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Ultra Seven 99 (1999)

Production designer

• Space Wolf (TV 1978) [episodes 3-13; with Osamu Yamaguchi, Shinichi Kamisawa, Sumio Takimoto]
• Megaloman (TV 1979) [all 31 episodes; as Akihiko Takahashi]
• Cyber Cop (TV 1988-1989) [all 36 episodes]
• Ultra Seven: Operation Solar Energy (1994)
• Ultra Seven: Planet of the Earthlings (1994)
• Ultra Seven (1998) [all 3 episodes]
• Ultra Seven 99 (1999) [with Jin Watanabe]
• Booska! Booska!! (TV 1999-2000) [all 38 episodes]
• Ultraman Neos (TV 2000-2001) [all 12 episodes]
• Ultra Seven Evolution (2002) [all 5 episodes]
• Otasuke Girl (video 2003) [all 6 episodes]
• Metal Kaiser (TV 2007) [unknown number of episodes]

Actor

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

Miscellaneous

• Ultraman Taro (TV 1973-1974) - Title artist [all 53 episodes; as Akihiko Takahashi]
• AKARI (2022) - Character designer (Pythagodon)

Designed monsters

• Spyler, Wargilgar (Zone Fighter)
• Mechagodzilla, King Caesar (Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla)
• Giant slugs, soft-bodied humans (Prophecies of Nostradamus)
• Titanosaurus (Terror of Mechagodzilla)
• 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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