Over three decades ago, Japanese television viewers were introduced to the fictional Japanese manga hero Kouji Kabuto from the animation TV series Mazinger Z in 1973. Today, many people who have become acquainted with Japanese pop culture have come to know and love the image of Mazinger Z, the eternal image of Japan’s ever growing mecha-genre. Now, you can easily find model kits and figures of this world famous robot online and in many Japanese specialty stores. Most hobby stores that cater to garage kits often have one or two Mazinger Z merchandise on hand.
For those not familiar with the series, this is a work of the famous Go Nagai which inspired many other titles of the robot genre. Many would even go as far as to say that Mazinger Z was the series that started and set the standards for all super robot anime. From the weekly enemy monster, to shouting out attack moves and even the sideburns; yes, the iconic super robot pilot with sideburns, Mazinger Z started it all. Some American anime fans may remember this mechanical hero as Tranzor Z.
The series was so successful that it spawned two sequels, Great Mazinger and Grendaizer. All three titles formed a single continuity though most popular depictions often stick with Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger. The popularity of these characters and anime series spawned a series of toylines popular with toy collectors. We will further discuss these toys, models, and action figures within this blog.
If you were watching cartoons during the 1980’s in the United States, you may remember Mazinger Z as Tranzor Z. This alternate version was actually an English dubbed, American adaption of the original 1972 Japanese anime. Aside from the obvious changes in language and character names, fans will easily notice that this US version censored many scenes of violence that were present in the Japanese version, causing changes in the storylines. Some of the Japanese episodes were even dropped from being adapted to the American version. As a result, Tranzor Z only had 65 episodes redubbed and adapted from the original 92 episodes of Mazinger Z.
Even though the show broadcasted during the conservative decade of the Eighties, the show’s producers managed to get some things past American television censors such as the shemale (literally half man and half woman) villain named “Devilene” and breast missile firing female robot Aphrodite A (originally Aphrodia in Mazinger Z) . In the USA, the show enjoyed a short lived success in 1984 and 1985 until it was cancelled. The reason for the cancellation is not clear but some parents were offended by the violence exposed to children on television. Tranzor Z appeared briefly in reruns during the late ’80s and early ’90s before disappearing completely from American airwaves.
Although Tranzor Z has not been picked up for syndication on American television today, you can now purchase the DVD box sex of these Tranzor Z episodes dubbed in English and watch the animated series at home on your TV set.
Many original Mazinger toys and action figures hold very static poses with the robots simply standing up. However, Bandai’s newer robot models allow owners to display the robots in more dynamic poses creating an even greater visual impact. The occasional need of balance support from the base is still needed specially for poses that require the mech to be standing on only one foot. Arguably, the most dynamic poseable figures of Mazinger comes from the Revoltech series. Released by the famous Kaiyodo Toys, the Revoltech series features iconic mechs from various series, and it is expected that a form of Mazinger will be released in this line. What is unique about the revoltech line is its unique joint system, known as the revolver joint (hence the name). Revoltech figures are known for their high articulation and dynamic poses. Released as “016”, the Revoltech Mazinkaiser is fully posable with replaceable hands, detachable wings and its trademark sword. The figure can hold all of its main attack poses and is perfect for any Mazinger collection.
Indeed, no mecha figure collection is complete without Mazinger Z. Just as the gun-pla series cannot be without a Gundam figure, Mazinger is the quintessential super robot icon. There is no greater joy a fan may than being able to mount the Hover Plider next to Mazinger Z… short of shooting spring loaded rocket punches across the living room.
