If you thought Harenchi Gakuen was crazy, Kekkou Kamen takes it to the next level to the point that you think Nagai-sensei was on some crazy kind of acid when he made this manga. If any school should be outlawed, it is the Sparta Academy where if any girl makes the slightest mistake, they would be sexually subjected to the perverted teaching staff and its crazy principal, the Toenail of Satan. Unable to tolerate the humiliation that the female students go through, an unknown hero dressed only in boots, gloves and a red mask comes to their rescue, and she is only known as Kekkou Kamen.

Kekkou Kamen is pretty much a what you see is what you get kind of series, and it’s also a series that you’re either going to love or hate. The title itself is really a parody of a series from Nagai-sensei’s youth, Gekko Kamen (Moonlight Mask), one of Japan’s first pulp heroes. Granted the synopsis may not be out of the norm by today’s quantity of whacked out titles, Kekkou Kamen for its time was further paving way for Nagai-sensei’s unorthodox eroticism mixed with action and comedy, and showing the blueprint to the hentai genre having its identity. The action is appropriately suggestive and crazy to fully exploit the character. If anything, the 70s was full of exploitation movies and this manga is one of the first to take advantage of that fad.

Though the anime version of Violence Jack has been met with controversy and is considered one of the worst animes ever, do not let that distinction discourage you from reading the manga. For starters, it is a true sequel to Devilman (which the anime avoids from telling audiences) and a prequel to Devilman Lady. Though Hokuto no Ken would popularize the post-apocalyptic setting in manga during the 80s, Violence Jack would be the first. The series itself takes place in Eastern Japan, and due to the events of Devilman with Devilman and Satan’s battle, the region is cut off from the rest of the country and has become lawless. The only one who has power is a demonic being known as the Slum King, who has taken Ryo Asuka, the Earth incarnation of Satan as his pet. And the only one capable of standing up to the brutal rule of the Slum King is a giant beast of a man named Jack and always has his trusty blade with him.

The anime is controversial for the right reasons and we’ll leave it at that. Jack in the manga goes through tremendous development throughout the series from apathetic to the damage he causes in his fights to being aware of his surroundings, especially for women and children. In addition, the series features characters that are homages to Nagai-sensei’s previous works such as Cutie Honey and Jim Mazinger. The ending to this manga makes the journey of reading it through (especially if you start from Devilman) come full circle. It is a sad shame that the anime really does nothing to live up to the fleshed out story the manga provides, and why it is distinguished on this list since it is probably the pinnacle of Nagai-sensei’s works throughout his prime. We are given a brutal series, but the setting it presents perfectly justifies why it is the way it is.

One day, an excavation team in Mount Fuji discovers a new alloy called Super-Alloy Z. Thanks to this special alloy, Professor Juzo Kabuto creates a giant robot called Mazinger Z to fight the evil Mechanical Beasts made by the diabolical Dr. Hell, who found an ancient Greek civilization that had the technology to make their own robot warriors. Shortly after completing the Mazinger Z robot, Prof. Kabuto is killed by Dr. Hell’s evil henchman, Baron Ashura, and it is up to Kabuto’s grandson, Kouji, to stop the Underground Empire once and for all.

Just like how older James Bond films will feel cheesy and out of touch, but with still a lot of charm to enjoy, Mazinger Z perfectly fits that bill. Shortly before the mech genre would be part of the military genre, mechs were more like superheroes. Mazinger Z had these features that made sense for its setting but were not realistic by today’s standards of the genre. It had rocket boosters on its feet, it could do rocket punches, and had missiles where they shouldn’t be technologically logical and so on.

What makes Mazinger Z is that it is probably the father of the modern day mech, with Tetsujin-28 (or Gigantor), which Nagai-sensei takes influences from, can be seen as the Grandfather of mecha. For Mazinger Z, it was the first mech to have a pilot inside the mech and have various weapons. Though it would later influence the mech of today, Guillermo Del Toro admitted to being a fan of the series as a child and would be one of his inspirations for Pacific Rim. Though its popularity wasn’t that big in the US, it was popular in Spain to the point that a statue was made there.

Akira Fudo is a weak and timid kid who is a target for bullies. Due to his parents being out of the country, he stays with the family of his childhood friend, Miki Makimura, who is more masculine than him. One day, Akira’s best friend, Ryo Asuka, takes him to his house and shows Akira a demon skull mask that his father discovered in a Mayan temple. When one puts on the mask, they can see that the world was once ruled by demons and they are coming back with a vengeance. Shortly after, they come back and Akira is about to be possessed by a demon named Amon, but Akira’s purity allows him to gain the power of Amon to become Devilman and fight the rest of the demons.

This series is probably one of Nagai-sensei’s most trippy mangas one could ever read. The various designs of the demons are very captivating and frightening. The action is very gruesome and violent and the ending does have a sensible realism that is consistent with its atmosphere. Years later, Nagai-sensei would share that the series was meant to show his feelings about World War II and Vietnam. He shares that demons possessing humans were meant to symbolize the draft, how the death of Miki’s parents as a result due to misleading propaganda, and its ending shows that nothing good can come out of a senseless conflict. When reading this series with these themes in mind, readers can understand how ugly war and humankind can be at its most evil of forms.

For our number one recommendation, we give Cutie Honey. The world is being threatened by a terrorist organization known as Panther Claw who conduct numerous unethical science experiments and commit numerous crimes. In order to combat this threat, a scientist named Kisaragi creates an android named Honey, whose base form is that of his dead teenage daughter. After her activation, she becomes the hero the world needs. By screaming Honey Flash with the help of her collar, she can assume any disguise she wishes. Along with her transforming abilities, she has great strength and combat skills.

Though the series is Sci-fi in nature, many credit Cutie Honey for paving way for the magical girl genre. In addition, she is considered the first heroine in Shonen publications. Like a good portion of Nagai-sensei’s hits, there will be plenty of fan service and is used with good timing for humor purposes. Throughout the years, the series has had numerous incarnations in other manga, anime and even live action! The character has established a very unique legacy on numerous fronts and her appeal is never ending which is why she is her series is our number one recommendation. No matter what version you get, it is very faithful to its foundation and still keeps some of its seventies qualities with the fashion and psychedelic colors.