マジンガーＺ / Mazinger Z

I am your father!

Hello fellow connoisseurs! No! I wasn't dead! (at least not yet) I was just too busy working from home 24/5. Now that I've adjusted to working through my computer from Monday to Friday, I feel healthy enough as to deliver a brand new post about another awesome Animé that everyone should watch based on its historical value alone.

Enter Mazinger Z, the archetype of giant robots Animé!

Background.

マジンガーZ, AKA Mazinger Z, (known briefly as Tranzor Z in the United States) is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on Fuji TV from December 1972 to September 1974. A second manga series was released alongside the TV show, this one drawn by Gosaku Ota, which started and ended almost at the same time as the TV show. Mazinger Z has spawned several sequels and spinoff series, among them being Great Mazinger, UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinkaiser. Mazinger Z: Infinity, a theatrical film sequel, taking place 10 years after the original series, was animated by Toei Animation and released in theaters on January 13, 2018.

Synopsis.

The villainous Dr. Hell has amassed an army of mechanical beasts in his secret hideaway, the island of Bardos located in the Aegean Sea. He is capable of controlling mechanized beasts with his cane, and instructs them to unleash devastating attacks. However, Dr. Hell doesn't do all the dirty work by himself; he has his loyal henchman Baron Ashura to carry out his devilish plans.

There are also those that will see to it that evil does not prevail. Kouji Kabuto is the young and feisty teenager with a score to settle: his goal is avenging the murder of his grandfather by Dr. Hell. And he might just be able to pull it off, as he is the pilot of Mazinger Z, a mighty giant robot made out of an indestructible metal known as Super-Alloy Z.

Mazinger Z boasts several powerful special attacks. By channeling Photonic Energy through its eyes, and unleashing the Koushiryoku Beam, it can cause great destruction. But things get really cool when Mazinger Z launches its Rocket Punch attack. Dr. Hell and his minions might have just found their match!

The magnificent blu-ray box artwork.

How many characters can you spot?

Review.

It’s hard to think of a clearer Japanese contribution to animation and science fiction than the creation of the giant robot genre. For the millions of kids that grew up outside Japan in the 80s and 90s, and were lucky enough to witness some classic Animé on the tele,  big robot shows were an introduction to a whole new style of "cartoon". Although there were American cartoons featuring robots, the storytelling was nothing like what kids had seen before. Moreover, a lot of fans, experts and forums across the internet (they can't be wrong) agree the origin of the genre can be traced to a single comic — Go Nagai’s Mazinger Z. By the time the series debuted in 1972, readers had already been dazzled by incredible robots like the remote-controlled Tetsujin 28 (another true legend) and especially the sentient Astroboy (Tetsu-Wan Atom). But those robots’ strength was always just out of the reader’s grasp. Mazinger Z was the first series to put a kid protagonist inside the cockpit of a giant robot, and Toei’s 1973 animated series became a huge hit domestically, both in terms of ratings and in merchandising revenue. Such hit would later come to Europe, South and North America.

But what made it so interesting? what makes it relevant today? The 48 year old series followed the adventures of Kouji Kabuto, the hot-headed, motorcycle-riding 16 year-old and pilot of the series’ namesake super robot. Mazinger Z is forged out of Super Alloy Z (whose critical component, Japanium, can only be found at the base of Mt. Fuji) by Kouji’s grandfather, Juuzou. The story more or less revolves around Kouji fighting off the evil Dr. Hell’s weekly mechanical beasts — ancient robot monsters from a pre-Grecian civilization. However, is not like the traditional "enemy of the week" type of show. Mazinger Z did have an ending and few surprises to keep viewers craving for more.

Blu ray matters.

A very young Go Nagai.

Design wise,  the art style is cartoonish by today's Anime standards. If you compare it to other classic shows from around the same time like Mobile Suit Gundam (Gundam 0079 for the uninitiated) or later entries like Super Dimension Fortress Macross or Armored Trooper V.O.T.O.M.S. you'll see the animation style moved on to a more industrially detailed mechanical design which still remains as the standard for Mecha/Robot animation. However, this is by no means a critique stating Mr. Go Nagai's designs were lacking. As a matter of fact, this particular "cartoonish" style was very prominent during the 70's, and you can see it in most of the other Giant Robot shows made in the same decade, and speaking of unique, Mazinger  Z featured two female robots, whose main weapon was missiles coming out of their breast, AKA the "boob missiles". An insult by today's politically correct standards, or an oddity from another time. Moreover, the show had a particular set of characteristics never seen before by an audience outside Japan: In the first episode, Kouji’s mother and grandfather are both killed in front of the viewer at the hand of Baron Ashura, a half-man half-woman character never seen before by the western crybabies. But, wait! there's more death! Dr. Hell burns to a crisp the rest of  Kouji's father research team alive in full detail. This idea of showing real death in kids’ cartoons may be old news today, but in the 70's (and 80's outside Japan) it was a groundbreaking concept. Have you ever heard someone call Animé "Dark & Gritty" or "Not kids stuff"? Well, there you have it! The concept of death & graphic violence in Japanese animation has been around for longer than you think. Despite this, Nagai’s creations became a hit in Europe and South America, because kids from all over the world wanted to see graphic violence, death and weaponized breasts!

The good guys.

The bad guys.

Nagai reportedly got his idea for piloting a robot from watching frustrated drivers in a traffic jam, imagining a car that could sprout arms and legs and walk over the other vehicles. “What I had in common with the children that were seeing robots was that I wanted to have this incredible power,” he told Web R25 in 2009. “I didn’t equate giant robots with weapons, I wanted to give a teenaged character a suit of armor that would turn him into a hero,” he added.

After the massive success Mazinger Z had (and still has) in Japan Go Nagai would continue to provide the world with more original stories. Although he did make more Giant Robot Manga (Getter Robo, Steel Jeeg, Grandizer, and a lot more) He didn't shy away from exploring other genres. As a matter of fact, Devilman, Devilman Lady, Violence Jack & Cutie Honey, some of his most popular creations, are not part of the robot genre he helped create. In addition, he even made one of the earliest Ecchi mangas! Harenchi Gakuen (Shameless School) in 1968. This dirty manga would later be adapted into Animé, live action film (4) & a television drama. This man has pretty much done everything there is to be done in the industry!

The action figure!

The statue!

By the way, did you know that Go Nagai is nothing but a pen name? The actual name behind this wonderful universe is Kiyoshi Nagai. If Osamu Tezuka is the father of manga, Go Nagai  is the cool uncle who lets the kids sneak sips of his beer and always tells the funniest dirty stories. The Roger Corman of manga and anime active since 1967, he has had a great influence on the world of Manga and Anime, as he effectively pioneered many of their most representative genres.

Nagai began his career after he fell sick in college and believed he had colon cancer, as he wished to leave something to be remembered for. By the time he found out he did not have cancer, he was set on his career. Ironically his first efforts at getting published were sabotaged by his own mother! Fortunately, he caught the attention of Shotaro Ishinomori, (creator of Cyborg 009) who helped him get started. Nagai eventually funded his own company called Dynamic Productions.

Nagai is known for intentionally breaking taboos. Even his milder material has a humorously deranged quality to it. His early works got him in trouble with the PTA, and even today some of them can contain controversial material. Nevertheless, most of his TV work is technically safe in the interest of placating censors even in Latin America and Europe (though not the US).

Vintage poster. Awesome!

Girl power.

Over the past 40 years, the author’s works have grown and multiplied. Mazinger Z was the jumping-off point for a raft of related material, including Great Mazinger, Z Mazinger, UFO Robo Grendizer, Getter Robo, Psycho Armor Govarian, and God Mazinger. Later, other series like Mobile Suit Gundam and Neon Genesis Evangelion were able to refine the giant robot formula by making their robots more realistic; having a limited supply of ammunition, and needing onscreen repairs after tough battles. In contrast, realism was never high on Nagai’s list of priorities. He tried to make his characters as outlandish as possible, and shunned writing long story arcs in advance, preferring to make things up as he went along. “Nowadays, the trend is for the characters to have complex personal relationships, but I think things should feel straighter. That’s why my robots are more fun than what they have now,” said Nagai in an interview with the Sankei Shinbun. It was never Nagai’s intention to teach the youth, just to give them the feeling of being big and powerful. “Kids want to turn into adults fast,” said Nagai. “I just wanted to take that feeling and turn it into a human riding inside a robot.”

Here's the Japanese opening:

Here's the Japanese ending:

Here's the Latin American opening:

Here's the Latin American ending:

Mazinger's Z theme live!