Go Nagai is the original bad boy of manga. His series "Shameless School" ("Harenchi Gakuen") cemented his status as the inventor of the hentai (erotic) genre. "Shameless School" debuted in the very first issue of Shueisha Inc.'s Weekly Shonen Jump, Japan's best-selling manga magazine, in August 1968. The adult shenanigans and sexualized students Nagai depicted rendered him the target of national media, Parent Teacher Associations and women's groups — and an infamous artistic pioneer.
Over the past year, both Nagai and Shonen Jump have been celebrated for their 50th anniversary milestones. But one of Nagai's later achievements has gained immediate relevance. The animated adaptation of his 1972 "Devilman" series, "Devilman Crybaby," directed by Masaaki Yuasa and released on Netflix back in January, has become one of 2018's most talked-about anime and biggest international hits, despite its source being 46 years old.
Now 73, Nagai looks like a professor, which, in fact, he is, albeit one with a flair for smart jackets. In 2005, he started teaching character design at the Osaka University of Arts. The soft-spoken former troublemaker admits that he may have been ahead of his time, and is quick to cite Netflix as the reason his work is today being embraced globally.