Akio Sugino

Started his career as contributor in "gekiga" (adult cartoon) magazines as "Kage" and "Machi" in 1961. He also met cartoonist Moribi Murano, who in 1964 recommended him to Osamu Tezuka, also cartoonist and president of Mushi Production Animation Company. So Sugino began to work in Mushi as animator and later met acclaimed director Osamu Dezaki. In 1970 Sugino was promoted to director of animation (jointly with Shingo Araki and Akihiro Kanayama) and character designer of the TV Series "Joe of Tomorrow". This was the first official collaboration between Dezaki as director, and Sugino. This relation was followed by many masterpieces of animation during more than 30 years. When Mushi went bankrupt in 1972, the couple began to work as an independent unit within Tokyo Movie Animation Company. Sugino participated in the foundation of the Madhouse Animation Company in 1972. After a couple of short films, he debuted in film direction of animation with the big screen version of "Aim for the Ace!" (1979), directed by Dezaki. The legend has only begun...