Shin Mazinger Shōgeki! Z-Hen
If there is one anime I want to be released on blu-ray that won’t be in the UK or US for a long time if ever, it is 2008′s Macross Frontier, my next choice would be the 2009 remake of Mazinger Z.
Mazinger Z is the original, big giant robot piloted by a human. A world without Mazinger Z is unimaginable. And now, the king of big giant robots is back in this hi-def re-telling and it is seriously awesome. From the adrenalin pumping intro you know you are in for a treat and it does not disappoint in the action stakes.
Most Insane Begining Ever!
The first episode blew me away, it dumps you straight in the middle of the fight to end all fights. I have to admit, I haven’t seen all of the original Mazinger Z and while I marked out like mad as everyone I recognized appeared in the first episode, I still didn’t know everyone and was left thinking there is no way anyone could just pick this up. Then the episode ended, without finishing the epic battle and without telling us how we got to this point. I was hooked, I wanted more, much more.
Thankfully there is more, it’s listed as a 26 episode series and from episode 2 onwards tells you how they got to the fight in the first episode. Essentially the first episode is just a way to say, there is more awesome coming than you can imagine, now wait and find out how we got there. Characters are introduced properly for new viewers and every episode we are treated to multiple bouts of often simple but glorious robot carnage while finding out the history of the characters.
The Plot
Dr Hell, a madman craving world domination, along with his subordinates Baron Ashura (a half-man, half-woman combination) and Count Brocken (a head that controls a headless body) and the relatively more normal Viscount Pygman, commands the Machine Beasts excavated from Bardos Island to attack the Photon Power Lab and take the Photonic Energy which is developed from Japanium Ore.
Standing in his way is the hot-blooded teenager Kouji Kabuto who pilots the super robot Mazinger Z, constructed by his grandfather Juzo and made from the strongest metal Chogokin Z. Kouji has help/hinderance from the rest of the Kabuto family and the Kurogane 5 (who are almost as odd as Dr Hell’s minions, a collection of humans with modified bodies and/or advanced weaponry) .
The whole show is heavily influenced by Greek mythology, Bardos Island is believed to be Rhodes, the Mycenaean Civilization looks very stereotypical for a Roman construct and it uses the Gods Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Here it goes a little mental though. Zeus is revealed to be a commanding officer of an extraterrestrial army using the Earth as a strategic point in battle against an unknown enemy! Mazinger Z’s name is an alternate name given to Zeus when in his combat armour and the super robots appearance is based upon this. As the series progresses, you see much more of the history of the Mycenaean Civilization and even some crazy time travel.
Rocket Punnnnnnnch
Shin Mazinger does everything a good super robot show should do and then some. Watch it by any means necessary and when it is available, buy it. I know given the chance I will. Some shows I watch and know that I’ll never watch again, others, well I know I can’t wait to watch Shin Mazinger again. In fact, I may just have to check out the rest of the old series and the movies I haven’t seen.
