Mazinger
Mazinger is a long-running series of manga and anime featuring giant robots or mecha created by Go Nagai in 1972. It introduced the concept of mecha as robots which are ridden by humans and controlled like vehicles to Japanese science fiction ; it would thereby be a primary source of inspiration for the Super Robot sub-genre, particularly throughout the 1970s.
Image:Mazinger-main.png|right|thumb
Series
The series in order:| Mazinger Z | The first Mazinger, the story revolves around the antagonism between Kouji Kabuto piloting his robot Mazinger Z and Dr. Hell using Mechanical Beasts. Mazinger has two manga, one by Go Nagai himself, and the other by his assistant, Gosaku Ota both with different stories and direction. In 1993, a side-scrolling action video game titled Mazinger Z was released in Japan by Bandai for the Super Famicom gaming console. In 1994, Banpresto released a vertical shoot 'em up coin-op game titled Mazinger Z, which included Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, and Grendizer, as playable super robot characters. |
| Great Mazinger | Directly following the plot of the previous series, Great Mazinger was a more powerful version of its predecessor. Tetsuya Tsurugi pilots the robot against the Mikene Empire and the Warrior Beasts, ruled by the Emperor of Darkness and led by the Great General of Darkness and the Seven Generals of Mikene. Like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger also has a compiled manga done by Gosaku Ota. |
| Grendizer | While not created on Earth, Grendizer is considered to be part of the Mazinger canon mostly due to the fact of Kouji Kabuto co-starring in the show. Within the story, Grendizer was created by scientists of Planet Fleed. After the Vegan Empire invasion of the planet, they stole Grendizer from it, only to be stolen back by the Prince of Planet Fleed, who piloted it under the guise of the masked warrior Duke Fleed. Like Mazinger Z & Great Mazinger, Grendizer also has a compiled manga done by Gosaku Ota. |
| God Mazinger | An anime, manga and novel series, loosely based on the Mazinger Z concept. Actually not a mecha but a stone giant. The series is considered as part of the Mazinger saga, if only for the name of the title and that of his creator. |
| Mazinger U.S.A. Version | A comic book specifically designed for the United States market. It has an original storyline not related to the other Mazinger series. In this story, this robot is only one of several combat armors that battle in an apocalyptic world and has a completely different arsenal than the other Mazingers. Its design is the most likely the inspiration for the design of Mazinkaiser. It regularly gets confused with the Mazinger of MazinSaga. |
| MazinSaga | A manga that mixes the Mazinger Z story with several elements from other series written and drawn in a style more similar to Devilman than to Mazinger. The Mazinger of this manga is a normal-size armor, Mazinger Z, the armor of God. It can grow larger if needed. A video game based on this manga was released for the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive gaming console, titled MazinSaga for the NTSC version, and MazinWars for the PAL version. |
| Z Mazinger | Another alternative storyline in manga format, mixing Greek mythology with classic Mazinger characters, where "Z" makes reference to the Greek king of the Gods, Zeus. |
| Mazinkaiser | An OVA series featuring one of the most powerful Mazinger; within the Nagai universe it is in line with mecha heavyweights like Grendizer and Shin Getter Robo. Piloted by Koji Kabuto, it faces the classic Mechanical Beasts created by Dr. Hell and afterwards the Warrior Beasts from the Mikene Empire. |
| Panda-Z | Short TV anime parodying Mazinger Z. |
| Mazinger Angels | An original manga featuring the female characters and mechas from Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Grendizer as well as several references to other Nagai's series. It follows a similar premise to Charlie's Angels. |
| Mazinger Angels Z | Sequel of Mazinger Angels, it introduces Kikunosuke, from The Abashiri Family, as the pilot of the original design for Mazinger Z, called here Iron Z. |
| Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact! | An anime retelling of the original series, Shin Mazinger features characters and events from other Mazinger-related works, as well as other Go Nagai works, such as Mao Dante and Violence Jack, getting involved in the battle between Koji Kabuto and Dr. Hell. It also has a manga done by the Akumetsu duo. The story involves several alternate universes of Mazinger Z with a human version of Minerva X serving as a main character. |
| Mazinger Otome | A manga where the characters are the classic super robots in the form of cute android girls. The Japanese title is a pun with the "Z" in Mazinger Z, using the kanji "乙" from the word "乙女". |
| Mazinkaizer SKL | An OVA, manga and novel series. |
| Mazinger Otome Taisen | Manga sequel to Mazinger Otome. |
| Shin Mazinger ZERO vs The Great General of Darkness | Manga sequel to the Shin Mazinger ZERO manga. |
| Mazinger ZIP | Short TV anime parody of Mazinger Z |
| Robot Girls Z | ONA series about Go Nagai's and Toei's robots turned into girls. Similar concept to Mazinger Otome. |
| Grendizer Giga | Manga re-imagining of Grendizer. |
| Robot Girls Z Plus | ONA sequel to Robot Girls Z. |
| Mazin Battle | Manga spin-off of Mazinger. |
| Mazinger Z Alter Ignition | Manga re-imagining of the original Mazinger Z. |
| Mazinger Z Interval Peace | Manga spin-off of the Mazinger Z movie. |
| Mazinger Z: Infinity | Anime movie sequel to the original Mazinger Z TV series. |
| Mazinger Z vs. Transformers | A cross-over manga between Mazinger Z and Transformers. |
God Mazinger is related by name only and Mazinkaiser is an OVA retelling of earlier Mazinger stories, based partly on designs created by Nagai for the Super Robot Wars series of video games and also on Nagai's original Mazinger manga stories.
Mazinger-Z also featured in a video game for the Genesis/Mega Drive. It went by several names like MazinWars and MazinSaga.
Anime series staff
- NOTE: Not including parodies and crossovers series/films.
Common elements
Body structure & colouring scheme
Except God Mazinger, the other mazingers share a very distinctive physiognomy, though the proportions and overall presence is modified in each one.Mazinger Z usually looks shorter and wider compared to Great Mazinger, who has a more slender physique. This is mainly due to the "helmets", which is how one can tell them apart. The helmet of Great Mazinger is pointed while the top of Mazinger Z's is "flat-topped". MazinKaiser looks more heavily built than either of them, and sports the typical over-detailed style of more modern mechas. MazinKaiser is also the bigger/taller of the three.
The main colours are always black, white , very dark blue or almost black, depending on the depiction and red. The head is usually steel/grey, with a cavity for the ship that controls the mecha.
This cavity becomes increasingly complex in each incarnation. Mazingers have characteristic horns at each side of the head where the ears would go on a human head, always coloured yellow, the eyes are yellow with the exception of Mazinkaiser SKL which has blue eyes. The face is completed with a mouthplate with several narrow apertures on it.
Even though Grendizer strays a bit from these guidelines, the resemblance to the other Mazingers is obvious.
Weaponry
Each Mazinger builds on the previous one by enhancing the power of an attack that already existed, plus adding some new ones. Weapons like Rust Hurricane, Rocket Punch, and Breast Fire are shared by Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and MazinKaiser; Mazinkaiser comprises the weapons of the two previous Mazingers and adds a factor of uncontrollable energy associated to them. All Mazingers, except God Mazinger, have "Rocket Punch" attacks, in which they launch their arms as projectiles, which return after being shot towards the enemy.Grendizer has few similar weapons, but it even expands its arsenal with several large ships that give him different capabilities, such as the Spaizer, Double Spaizer, Drill Spaizer, Marine Spaizer and other related machines.
Hover Pilder
Traditionally, Mazingers are controlled thanks to a flying vehicle that docks on the mecha's head and activates it.The first one, built for Mazinger Z, was the Hover Pilder, a small hovercraft, later replaced by the Jet Pilder. In Great Mazinger, this device takes the form of Brain Condor, and in Mazinkaiser it's called the Kaiser Pilder, which resembles Brain Condor more closely due to its sharp shape and the way it rests on Kaiser's head, leaving one of its fins standing vertically like the crest of a rooster.
These aircraft are always red, except in the Mazinkaiser OVA version of Mazinger Z, where the Hover Pilder is white. Grendizer doesn't have a small aircraft, instead the robot itself is fitted inside a larger ship called the spazer for aerial attacks and the robot can launch from it whenever there is a need for a ground battle. Some times Grendizer can stand on top of the spaizer and use it to fly so it can have more freedom in aerial battles.