Studio OX

Founded byAtsuhiko Sugitain 1985,Studio OX(スタジオ OX) was originally a freelance art studio that produced more "anime styled"Transformersart forTV MagazineandComic BomBomthroughout the early years ofGeneration 1in Japan. In 1991 they became a company, providing production and conceptual artwork for various anime, primarily for reboots of older franchises, such asCyborg 009: The Cyborg Soldier,Tekkaman Blade,andGetter Robo: Armageddon.They also created some short OVA series likeIdol ProjectandWild Cardz.Sugita left the studio in 2000, which was defunct in 2003.

TheirTransformerscharacter designs are notable for being far more detailed thanFloro Dery's models, as well as borrowing visual elements from Japanese mecha designs. Being an actualstudiocomposed of numerous artists (most of whom went without individual credits, until the artwork was reprinted), the art direction of Studio OX'sTransformerswork was quite loose. Artists utilized their own unique styles, resulting in some pieces being very mechanically accurate, while others were more overtly stylized, in a manner popular for many mecha anime in the mid to late 80s.

Studio OX's participation in theTransformersfranchise was gradually phased out as the popularity of the series died down. By the time ofZone,nearly allstory pagesand magazine artwork was provided byBan Magamiwith additional pieces of box artwork fromHidetsugu Yoshiokato round out the decreased page space.

Artists

Although not all members of Studio OX were properly credited when their work originally appeared in magazines or reprints, most if not all did receive individual credits for the later art collections. Known contributors on the studio'sTransformerswork include: