Hitoshi Ariga

Hitoshi Ariga (有賀 ヒトシ) is a Japanese manga artist.

Rockman related

 * Rockman 4Koma Dai Koushin
 * Rockman Remix (1996 manga)
 * Rockman Megamix (manga originally released in 1997-1998)
 * Rockman &amp; Forte (Super Famicon box art and designer of Dynamo Man and Burner Man)
 * Rockman 10 Years History Book (1998 book)
 * ZX Tunes (2006 soundtrack, one of the illustrators)
 * R20 Rockman & Rockman X Official Complete Works (2008 book, one of the illustrators)
 * Rockman 9 Arrange Soundtrack (2008 soundtrack with a Rockman Megamix story in the booklet)
 * Chiptuned Rockman (2009 soundtrack)
 * Rockman Gigamix (2009-2010 manga)
 * Mega Man Tribute
 * Mega Man Mastermix

Others

 * Pokémon Trading Card Game (Artist)

Mangas

 * Aka-chan☆Baby Marine-chan (赤ちゃん☆ベイビーまりねちゃん)
 * The Big O (THE ビッグオー)
 * Iron Jokers (アイアンジョーカーズ)
 * Klonoa: Dream Traveller of Noctis Sol (artist)
 * Mimimi: The Tale of a Cat and a Robot
 * Star Wars Manga: Silver (writer of the story "Oh!! Jawajawa")
 * Teppan Girl Akane!! (鉄板少女アカネ!! Teppan Shōjo Akane!!)
 * TRIO de PINCH!! (トリオＤＥピンチ!!)

Books

 * Kyōryū Ōkoku D‐1 Meiro Book
 * Yōkai Tengoku Reikai Meiro Book
 * Monster Densetsu Meiro Book
 * Yōkai Torimonochō Sarawa reta nopperabō (Illustrations)

Games

 * ActRaiser 2 (Super Famicom/SNES, 1993) - Object designer.
 * Animetic Story Game 1: Cardcaptor Sakura (PlayStation)
 * Car Battler Joe (Gekitō! Car Battler Go!!, Game Boy Advance, 2001)
 * Dragon Egg! (PC Engine, 1991) - Opening graphics.
 * GötzenDiener (PC Engine, 1994)
 * Illusion of Gaia (Gaia Gensōki, Super Famicom/SNES, 1993) - Object designer.
 * Kaizō Chōjin Shubibinman 3: Ikai no Princess (PC Engine, 1992) - Graphics.
 * Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena (PSP, 2008)
 * Katekyō Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena 2 - Spirit Burst (PSP, 2009)
 * Metalgun Slinger (Game Boy Advance, 2002) - Character illustration.
 * Ranma ½: Chōnai Gekitōhen ("Ranma ½: Neighborhood Combat", americanized as "Street Combat" in USA, with major changes to the game. Super Famicon/SNES, 1992) - Graphic designer.
 * Ranma ½: Hard Battle (Ranma ½: Bakuretsu Rantōhen, Super Famicon/SNES, 1992) - Graphics.
 * The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light (Known in North America as Beyond Oasis. Sega Mega Drive, 1994) - Object art and illustration.
 * The Story of Thor 2 (Known in North America as The Legend of Oasis. Sega Saturn, 1996) - Illustrator, object designer.
 * Streets of Rage 2 (Bare Knuckle 2, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, 1992) - Object designer.
 * Vatlva (Sega Saturn, 1996)
 * Pokémon X and Pokémon Y (Nintendo 3DS, 2013) - Designer of Inkay, Malamar, Pangoro, Honedge, Doublade, Aegislash, Amaura, Aurorus, Tyrunt, and Tyrantrum.
 * Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield (Nintendo Switch, 2019) - Designer.

Trivia

 * Hitoshi Ariga participated in the Mega Man 8 boss character contest. His submissions were Army Man (アーミーマン, two headed robot), Black Man (ブラックマン, robot with sword) and Kraken Man (クラーケンマン, extendable arms). Although they were not chosen, Black Man is one of the designs in the ending credits.


 * Hitoshi Ariga based his pen name on Hitoshi Nakamura, the civilian identity of the character Bravoman.
 * Hitoshi Ariga's work often feature his own personal take on the established character designs of the Mega Man series, as opposed to using the existing design in his personal style. These redesigns range from minor modernizations (Mega Man, Cut Man, Flash Man, Ring Man) to very radical changes from the existing design (Guts Man, Air Man, Skull Man, Yamato Man). Robots created by Dr Wily typically feature a W-buckle, while robots created by Dr Light usually feature a R logo on their chests. Due to the complexity of Robot Masters featured in later games, Ariga's redesigns are minimized when applied to those featured in Mega Man 7, Mega Man 8 and Mega Man & Bass, with many only featuring an added W-Buckle.


 * Hitoshi Ariga's favorite Mega Man game is Mega Man 2, his least favorite game is Mega Man X5.


 * Hitoshi Ariga's favorite obscure Robot Master is Konro Man.


 * Hitoshi Ariga created a female Robot Master for Mega Man Megamix named Piano, who was intended to serve as a narrator and a teammate for Bass. However, the character was scrapped and never saw usage except in a bonus manga, as Hitoshi Ariga felt she drew too much attention away from the main story.