Great Mazinger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Great Mazinger | |
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| Genre | Mecha |
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| Studio | Toei Animation |
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| Original run | – |
| No. of episodes | 56 |
| Movie: UFO Robot Grendizer vs. Great Mazinger | |
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| Movie: Great Mazinger, Grendizer, Getter Robo G: Decisive Showdown! Great Sea Beast | |
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Great Mazinger(グレートマジンガー) is the name of a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series. It was aired on Japan in 1974, immediately following the end of the first Mazinger series. It lasted for 56 episodes.
The story centers on Tetsuya Tsurugi, an orphan raised by none other than Kenzo Kabuto, the once thought dead father of Mazinger Z pilot Kouji Kabuto. Kenzo Kabuto is the creator of the new, improved version of Mazinger, made by refining his father's Chogokin Z (Super Alloy Z) into a new, stronger form, designed to fight against humanity's new enemy, the Mikenese Empire, led by the Great General of Darkness and his army of Warrior Beasts. Kenzo gives the Great Mazinger to Tetsuya to pilot, who is accompanied by a new token girl, Jun Hono (an orphaned half Japanese, half black girl), in her female robot Venus A. With the original Mazinger destroyed, Kouji went to America to study space travel and left Japan's defense in the hands of Tetsuya and the Fortress of Science. Both Great Mazinger's and Tetsuya's training are completed just in time to come to Kouji's aid as the Mycene Battle Beasts overwhelm Mazinger Z. Tetsuya battles the Mycene Battle Beasts and even their mighty generals, cumulating in a bitter final battle with the Mycene's military leader, Ankoku Daishogun (Great General of Darkness). After the Great General of Darkness' defeat, the Mycene forces are led by Dr. Hell, the villain from Mazinger Z, back under the guise of the Great Marshall of Hell.
The series also includes some cast members the original Mazinger Z show, like Shiro Kabuto (Koji's little brother), and comic-relief robot Boss Borot. The series was not as successful in Japan as the original, and it was never shown in the States (however, it was shown unedited and in its entirety, like Mazinger Z, in Mexico and some other Latin American countries with great success, and occasionally footage from Great Mazinger would be shown in Tranzor Z). Actually, the Great Mazinger became famous in the U.S. when it was the first of the late '70s line of Mattel's Shogun Warriors toy series.
Great Mazinger was also the star of the short theatrical "team-up movies" features released in Japan like Great Mazinger vs Grendizer, Great Mazinger vs Getter Robo G, etc., based on anime crossovers of the manga creations of Go Nagai.
Tetsuya and the Great Mazinger are featured, along with Jun in the new Mazinkaiser OVA and movie Mazinkaiser: Deathmatch! Ankoku Daishogun. The characters have been also a mainstay in Banpresto's Super Robot Wars, a popular battle-simulation/RPG series of video games based on many anime mecha shows, including the original Mazinger Z and many others like Getter Robo, the Gundam series, and Neon Genesis Evangelion among others.
Contents |
[edit] Statistics
- Power Source: Photonic Energy
- Armor Materials: Chogokin New Z (New Super-Alloy Z)
- Dimensions
- Height: 25 meters
- Weight: 32 tons
- Neck Circumference: 6.2 meters
- Chest Circumference: 18.5 meters
- Arm Circumference: 6.5 meters
- Leg Circumference: 7 meters
- Arm Length: 9.8 meters
- Leg Length: 13 meters
- Foot Length: 4 meters (approximate)
- Performance
- Walking Speed: 70 km/h
- Running Speed: 450 km/h
- Swimming Speed: 25 knots
- Flight Speed: Mach 4
- Flight Speed (docked with Great Booster): Mach 5
- Ceiling: 50 km
- Maximum Jump Height: 30 meters
- Maximum Dive Depth: 8 km
- Output: 90,000 horsepower
[edit] Weapons and Attacks
- Navel Missile: Just like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger mounts a missile launcher in its stomach.
- Atomic Punch: Great Mazinger also possesses a Rocket Punch-like attack, though its fists spin while in flight, giving them extra force.
- Drill Pressure Punch: It is like the Atomic Punch, except that the forearms sprout drill-like blades that add to the damage as well as the speed of rotation.
- Great Boomerang: Great Mazinger can take the heat sink fin off of its chest and throw it as a giant boomerang.
- Great Typhoon: Just like Mazinger Z, Great uses turbines to generate powerful wind attacks. However, Great Mzainger's attack is simply a wind-based attack, lacking the corrosive properties of Mazinger's attack.
- Knee Impulse Kick: Great Mazinger can sprout a spike from its knee, making its kick attacks more lethal.
- Backspin Kick: Great Mazinger can also sprout a curved blade on the front of its leg for stronger kicks.
- Mazinger Blade: The flanged compartments on Great Mazinger's legs hold a pair of swords. Tetsuya typically uses the Blades for melee combat, but on several occasions he threw them at the enemy.
- Breast Burn: Like Mazinger Z, the fin on Great Mazinger's chest doubles as a heat sink and a weapon, unleashing incredible thermal energy.
- Thunder Break: Great Mazinger can release energy into the atmosphere, stimulating the process that creates natural lightning. Great Mazinger then calls the lightning down onto the antennae on its head and redirects the energy towards an enemy.
- Shattering Thunder: A one-time attack where Tetsuya channeled the lightning from the Thunder Break through one of his Mazinger Blades.
[edit] Related Machines
[edit] Brain Condor
Great Mazinger, just like Mazinger Z, is operated by a separate vehicle that docks with the Mazinger's head. It emerges from an underwater launch bay connected to the Fortress of Science and docks with Great, which rises from a whirlpool in the nearby waters.
- Length: 5 meters
- Maximum Speed: Mach 1
- Maximum Dive Depth: 8 km
- Power Source: Photonic Energy
- Armor Materials: Chogokin New Z (New Super-Alloy Z)
- Weapons: Lasers
[edit] Great Booster
A supplimental craft, the Great Booster functions much as the Jet Scrander did for Mazinger Z (Great already had some flight capability "out of the box", thanks to its collapsable Scramble Dash). Though rarely used, the Great Booster was incredibly powerful and was instrumental in Tetsuya's defeat of the Mycene.
- Wingspan: 28 meters
- Weight: 1.8 tons
- Maximum Speed: Mach 4
- Ceiling: 50 km
- Weapons: Lasers, Bladed Wings
[edit] Alternate Versions
-In the 2002 OVA Mazinkaiser, Tetsuya fights alongside Kouji against Doctor Hell's forces in an alternate version of the original Mazinger Z series. The OVA version of Great Mazinger is physically identical to the original, but its power is lowered for dramatic purposes. When Mazinger Z was captured, re-modified and piloted by Baron Ashura, it attacked the Photon Light Labs and Tetsuya does his best to restrain the rampaging monster, leaving him badly injured and Great Mazinger in a complete wreck. Near the end of the OVA, Tetsuya returns with a new, much more powerful Great; this is said to be the real Great Mazinger, while the original was an inferior copy (the "true" Great's color scheme for the forearms and legs were blue, which was the original 70's version, while what he used from episodes 1 and 2 were black). In the OVA, the Great Booster is a large flying wing, more than big enough for Great Mazinger to ride upon. You will notice in the OVA, both Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger features were redesigned.
Great also returns in the 2003 movie Mazinkaiser: Deathmatch! Ankoku Daishogun, where Tetsuya once more fought the Mikene Empire. However, Great was defeated much more easily, though Tetsuya managed to slay the Mikene generals Angoras and Scarabeth, thanks to a ruse, more than to power (he uses the boomerang effect to take them by surprise with the Great Boomerang). It should be noted that the Great Tetsuya was piloting was apparently the inferior copy as its forearms and legs were black. However, the battle did display Tetsuya's skill, as he was the only member of the Mazinger Army (made up of Great, Venus A and two mass-produced and significantly weaker versions of Mazinger Z) to defeat his attackers. The others were defeated and, except for Venus A's pilot Jun, killed. It was Mazinkaiser who did most of the job of defeating the Mikene invaders. It is very likely that had Tetsuya been piloting the true Great Mazinger from the previous OVA, he would've been able to defeat the Mikene Generals much more easily.
[edit] External links
| Mazinger by Go Nagai |
|---|
| Mechas: |
| Mazingers: Mazinger Z | Great Mazinger | Mazinkaiser | Grendizer |
| Mazinger Ladies: Aphrodite A | Diana A | Venus A | Minerva X |
| Other Robots: Boss Borot | Junior Robot | Million Alpha, Vayon Beta, Dyon Gamma |
| Evil Mecha: Mechanical Beasts | Warrior Beasts |
| Characters: |
| From Mazinger |
| Mecha Pilots: Kouji | Sayaka | Boss |
| Evil Forces: Dr. Hell | Baron Ashura | Count Blocken | Viscount Pigman |
| From Great Mazinger |
| Mecha Pilots: Tetsuya | Jun |
| Evil Forces: Great General of Darkness | Great Marshall of Hell | Minister Argos | Archduke Gorgon | Marquis Yanus |
| General Julius Caesar | General Birdler | General Scarabeth | General Angoras | General Rigarn | General Ardias | General Draydou |
| OVAs: |
| Mazinger Vs. Devilman | Mazinger Vs. The Great General of Darkness | Mazinkaiser |
| Misc.: |
| God Mazinger | Mazinger Angels | Fortresses Salude, Bood, Gool, Navalon, Mikeros, Demonika |
| Photonic Research Institute | Fortress of Science | Mazinger Toy Lines | Super Robot Wars |
