Ken Ishikawa (石川賢, Ishikawa Ken, June 28, 1948 – November 15, 2006) was a Japanese manga artist. He is renowned as the co-creator (with Go Nagai) of the Getter Robo anime series, as well as four of their subsequent manga continuations. According to Nagai, he considered Ishikawa his greatest friend and ally.
Death
Ishikawa collapsed at a dinner banquet after golfing; he was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.[1] The causes of death was acute heart failure.
Influences
Kazuki Nakashima, chief editor of the Getter Robo Saga compilation cited Ken Ishikawa as an influence when he worked on the series composition of the anime show, Gurren Lagann, and also gave a memorial address at his funeral. He also calls himself Ken Ishikawa's number one fan.
Ishikawa's early art is quite reminiscent of that of his mentor, Go Nagai.
An adaptation of Ishikawa's manga Gokudō Heiki was filmed as Yakuza Weapon in 2011. The film is dedicated to Ishikawa.[2][3]