I don’t know how many of you will care about this bit of news, but it involves one of my favorite manga artists, Hitoshi Ariga, and I’d like to try and share some of my joy with all of you.
Ariga has served as a graphic designer for various videogames in addition to his work as a mangaka — his output includes a Star Wars one-shot and the manga adaptation of The Big-O. However, he’s most well known for his contributions to Mega Man, in particular the Megamix and Gigamix mini-series. If you are a fan of the Blue Bomber and have not heard of much less read any of these fantastic comics, you need to move your little mouse pointer to those Amazon links above and purchase all six volumes right away.
In the West, the only way to get your Mega Man fix outside of the games was through Captain N (Green Smurf Mega Man) or the Ruby-Spears cartoon (Teenage Roided Mega Man). The less said about the former, the better, though the latter was decent if a tad on the silly side. Still, every hot-blooded fan in the 90s wished for a darker, more action-oriented adaptation that took the series to untold heights. Those wishes come true in Megamix and Gigamix, which take an adrenaline-pumping spin on the mythos and keep raising the stakes. Ariga’s character redesigns are fresh yet familiar, and while the villainous Robot Masters are more threatening than ever, each retains a healthy dose of levity for balance.
I could go into greater detail, but I need to reel it all in and address the reason for this post. Ariga has recently opened up a deviantART account in order to gain wider exposure in English-speaking territories. So far, his posts have ranged from monster designs he provided for a children’s book to Terra from Teen Titans. On the Mega Man front, he’s posted a little Roll number as well as a portrait of the bosses from Mega Man Zero 3, the Eight Gentle Judges. I can’t wait to see what he uploads next, and hope you all will follow the man and start supporting his work.
HitoshiAriga [deviantART]
