荒木伸吾

Araki developed an interest for drawing at age five. He graduated in Aichi Prefecture. In 1955, at age eighteen, he debuted as a cartoonist in the "Machi" magazine. He then joined Mushi Production as animator in 1964 and later founded Studio Jaccard in 1966. In 1970, he debuted as animation director on Ashita no Joe, and later worked on the anime adaptations of several of Gou Nagai's manga, including Devilman, Cutie Honey, and UFO Robo Grendizer, serving as a character designer on the latter two. In 1971 he founded Studio Z together with his friends in the business. He frequently worked with animator Michi Himeno, who he met in 1973. Araki formed Araki Production in 1974 and Himeno was the first member of the studio. Araki was also an animator on several American productions which outsourced animation work to Japan, including Mighty Orbots (1984, key animation), The Adventures of the American Rabbit (1986) and G.I. Joe: The Movie (1987). He passed away due to heart failure on December 1, 2011.