Line #53 Anime/MazinkaiserSKL


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mazinkaiser_skl01_7876.jpg]]
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3	''Mazinkaiser SKL'' is a 3-episode OVA series based on Creator/GoNagai's ''Anime/MazingerZ'' mythos, released over a period between January 28th and March 25th of 2011. It's directed by Jun Kawagoe, director of ''[[Manga/GetterRobo New Getter Robo]]'' and ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsOriginalGeneration - The Animation (OVA)''.
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5	There were no winners in the war between Dr. Hell and the Photon Power Institute. In the aftermath, technologies from both sides were scavenged, and since spread all over the world. When criminals and terrorists arise in robots and Mechanical Monsters, they are put down by Skull Force -- a special team of Super Robot pilots. Among them are Ken "Amon-6" Kaido and Ryo "Lucifer-4" Magami, pilots of the Mazinkaiser SKL.
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7	Kikajiima Islad has become surrounded by a [[ArtificialGravity Gravity Curtain]] as three armies, led by [[EvilOverlord Garan]], [[AxCrazy Kiba]] and [[OnlySaneWoman Aira]], [[MeleeATrois fight to seize control over it]]. When the WSO finds out that in next sixty-six hours the Gravity Curtain is going to overload and [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt blow up the entire planet]], they send the Skull Force to capture the three devices maintaining it, each being used by the armies to build their robot forces.
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9	But Kaido and Magami are quickly swept up in the war, and seem to be more interested in the slaughter than actually fixing the problem.
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11	[[NovelizationFirst A novelization of it has been already released]], along with a Manga adaptation.
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13	Despite the name, it is ''not'' a sequel to ''Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}'', the earlier OVA series also based on ''Mazinger Z''.
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15	----
16	!!Tropes:
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18	* ActorAllusion: May be accidental, but this is not the first time Creator/SatoshiHino [[VideoGame/CrossEdge voiced a character]] who knows GunKata.
19	** In the English dub, it's not the [[Manga/{{Bleach}} first time]] that [[spoiler:Galen's leader was a kick-ass fighter.]]
20	* AllThereInTheScript: Despite the title, the main mecha of this series is never referred to, in universe, as Mazinkaiser SKL or even Mazinkaiser. It is only called "Kaiser" by the characters.
21	** Slightly averted via a line towards the end of series where Tsubasa Yuki's monologue refers to it as "Kaiser the devil", or "Mazin Kaiser" in Japanese.
22	* AmazonBrigade: The pilots of Hachiryokaku's [[FemBot Psycho Gears]] are all attractive young women. This can be a problem around Kiba's forces.
23	* AttemptedRape: Kiba's liutenant tries this to Misty... [[RefugeInAudacity By blasting an opening into her cockpit and jumping from his own mecha in the plain heat of the battle]]. He ends up [[GiantFootOfStomping stomped under SKL's foot]] after this stunt.
24	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Despite ''exploding'' in the first episode, Kiba comes back to battle SKL again.]]
25	* BadassBoast: Ah yup.
26	--> [[BlasphemousBoast If God gets in our way, he'll get cut down! If the Devil does the same, then he'll be shot!]] We fight because we want to! We crush because we want to! The words "just cause" mean nothing to us!
27	--> There's no point in waiting for us in Hell... We ARE Hell!
28	* BerserkButton: Ryo ''really'' doesn't like the concept of fate. Galan telling him "Your fate is sealed" in Episode 2 enrages him so much that he insists upon fighting Galan despite earlier mocking Ken for indulging in a one-on-one swordfight.
29	* {{BFS}}: SKL's Sword, ''Ganzantou'', which is even bigger and more fearsome looking than Mazinkaiser's ''Kaiser Blade''. Its hilt can also extend to become a massive polearm-like weapon).
30	* BladeEnthusiast: Ken Kaido, who favors all sort of blades, including SKL's CoolSword.
31	* BloodKnight: Ken and Ryo both claim to be men who don't feel alive without battle, even stating that [[BadassBoast gods shall be cut and devils shot because they are in their way.]] This is a recurring theme in Mazinger-related boasts (Mazinger Z could make its user a god or a devil, Mazinkaiser could ''kill'' gods and devils).
32	* TheCameo: Characters from ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' and ''Anime/MazingerZ'' appear in brief snippets in Episode 3: Akira and Miki (from Devilman) are both in a restaurant together, Lori (from Mazinger Z) is the reporter, and the general who refuses to give Yuuki information on [[spoiler:Iron Kaiser]] looks like an older version of Boss (from Mazinger Z).
33	* CapedMecha: It doesn't seem to be part of its standard equipment, but on some scenes SKL appears wearing a ragged dust-cloak, in the style of [[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Sandrock Kai]] or [[Manga/GetterRobo Black Getter]].
34	** Given the way the primary mooks from the first episode behave, this is more likely a ShoutOut to ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''.
35	* CanonImmigrant: Aira originally appeared in ''Manga/GodMazinger'' and ''Manga/{{Violence Jack}}''.
36	** Himiko was also originally from ''Manga/{{Violence Jack}}'', and was originally just named Slum Queen.
37	* CatchPhrase: "We are...HELL!"[[note]]''Ore-tachi wa...Jigoku da!''[[/note]]. See also BadassBoast.
38	* CloningBlues: [[spoiler:Strongly implied for Ryo, given what little we see of his past in this brief series. His JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind, as well as a sequence in the opening, shows him surrounded by identical copies, and he says he fights to prove his own existence. The Manga's final arc features another surviving clone as an antagonist]].
39	* CoolHorse: [[spoiler: In the ending of the final OVA, Mazinkaiser [[DualWielding dual wields]] a spear and its signature {{BFS}} ''while riding on a mecha horse that transforms from a mecha motorcycle'']]. [[spoiler: And the horse has skeletal bat wings to boot]]
40	* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: The people from the Hachiryokaku faction seem to be modeled after this trope; including the pilots of the Psycho Gears, that fight while clad in togas and jewelry.
41	* CurbStompBattle: Mazinkaiser SKL [[spoiler:gets to be ''on the receiving end'' of one against Galen in episode 2.]]
42	* DarkerAndEdgier: Not just in tone, but the entire world seems to be one set after the Photon Power Institute and Dr. Hell battled to mutual destruction, only to have their technologies be scavenged and proliferate into the hands of governments and terrorists. What ensued was most certainly ''not'' Hilarity.
43	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Kiba is defeated in the first episode the story focuses on Garan as the main villain [[spoiler: until he is killed at the end of episode 3 and Kiba comes back as the main villain.]]
44	* EnergyWeapon: The Psycho Gears favored type of weapons, which include {{Laser Blade}}s and {{Ray Gun}}s
45	* TheEngineer: Tsubasa Yuki, a female pilot working alongside the SKL duo.
46	* EvilKnockoff: [[spoiler:Although named otherwise, the Iron Kaiser is actually like this towards Grendizer! It even has its own version of the Double Harken!]] The SKL itself certainly looks like one compared to the original Mazinkaiser.
47	* EyeScream: Near the end of the CurbStompBattle above, [[spoiler:Mazinkaiser evades a spear meant for the cockpit, sending it into its right eye instead.]]
48	* FreezeFrameBonus: Wingle's computer screens display relevant text from Wikipedia when Yuuki goes looking for information ([[spoiler:showing text from the "Robot" article when she tries to identify Iron Kaiser, and from "Gravity" when the Gravity Prison starts going haywire]]).
49	* TheGunslinger: Ryo Magami. He seems to be a Type C according to the related tropes...
50	** DualWielding (SKL's ''Breast Triggers'' are specifically designed to it)
51	** EnergyWeapon: Pulse Burst Mode, seen only in the last episode.
52	** GunFu (With lots of acrobatics and close distance action)
53	** GunKata (With a direct nod to the TropeNamer, nonetheless!)
54	** PistolWhipping (Though, it's more like Pistol Slashing, as SKL's guns have blades attached to them)
55	** UnorthodoxReload (By slamming his guns into a pair of "discarded" magazines)
56	* GunsAkimbo: One of the pilots, who specializes in GunKata, can pull this off with SKL's ranged mode, turning the unit's chestplate into two pistols. Which he uses to tear up the battlefield.
57	* {{Gynoid}} The Wingle & the Hachiryokaku/Aira Army mooks.
58	* HeroicRematch: One done in record time after Galan curbstomps SKL during their first fight.
59	* InMediasRes: The anime takes place during and between volumes two and three of the manga.
60	* KatanasAreJustBetter: Ken prefers to slash his enemies with his katana.
61	* MookHorrorShow: Skl does so in a very visceral fashion.
62	* MythologyGag: There's a fair share to previous ''Anime/MazingerZ'' incarnations and to other Creator/GoNagai works...
63	** Aria is based on the manga version of the eponymous character from ''Anime/GodMazinger''.
64	** Ken and Ryo's codenames, Amon and Lucifer, are obviously shout-outs to the protagonist and antagonist, respectively, of ''Manga/{{Devilman}}''.
65	** Two [[CannonFodder mass-produced mechas]] among Kiba's army, GRK-7 and DBM-2, are based on Garada K7 and Doublas M2, the first [[{{Robeast}} Mechanical Beasts]] that Mazinger Z ever faced, and two [[MascotMook recurring adversaries]] that have shown up in almost every adaptation of its mythos.
66	** By the same token, the X-Battlers in Garan's Army are based off Kingdan X10
67	** The Psycho Gears seem based on Aphrodite A and Venus A, though without their [[TorpedoTits signature armaments]].
68	** In the manga, several worker robots at a power plant are mass-produced Boss Borots.
69	** Another Mechanical monster in the comic is based on the ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'' demon Jinmen.
70	** The appearance of Tsubasa Yuki's mecha, [[FemBot Wingle]], bears an uncanny resemblance to the eponymous character from ''Manga/DevilmanLady'' and the ''Manga/MazingerAngels'' and ''Shin Mazinger ZERO'' versions of Minerva X.
71	** The crest that becomes SKL's Breast Triggers is shaped like Devilman's head.
72	** When Yuuki tries to identify the mystery mecha ([[spoiler:Iron Kaiser]]) in the final episode, Wingle's computer compares its silhouette to the mecha from this show and several {{RoBeast}}s from the original ''Anime/MazingerZ''.
73	** Ken, after [[spoiler: waking up Ryo from his unconsciousness]] says "If we died this easily, [[Manga/DororonEnmaKun Great King Enma]] would be pissed!"
74	** Kiba is based on Zuba, a character who appeared in ''Zuba-Ban'' and ''Manga/{{Violence Jack}}'', two other works from Go Nagai.
75	** Hurricane, Fancy, Flash and Misty are all based on and named after disguises of ''Manga/CuteyHoney''.
76	** Scarlet Hibiki resembles [[Manga/DevilmanLady Lan Asuka]], but with scarlet coloured hair instead of blonde.
77	** Iron Kaiser, the robot Kiba pilots in episode 3, is named after and based on the cyborg character, Iron Kaiser, who appeared in ''Manga/{{Shutendoji}}'' and ''Manga/{{Violence Jack}}''.
78	* NearVictoryFanfare: Legend Of Kaiser [[spoiler: begins playing when Kaiser combines with the wing unit from Wingle, unlocking all of its [[SpecialAttack Super Robot Grade weapons]] and turning the tide in its fight with Iron Kaiser.]]
79	* NotSoStoic: [[spoiler: Magami loses it when Galen finds his BerserkButton, resulting in Mazinkaiser being on the receiving end of a CurbStompBattle.]]
80	* RedOniBlueOni: [[HotBlooded Ken Kaido]] and [[TheStoic Ryo Magami]], the SKL pilots, are built around this dynamic. Even their signature fighting styles (melee and range, respectively) are diametrically opposite.
81	* RedshirtArmy: The Psycho Gears appear to fulfill this role, though they fare much better than Mazinger {{FemBot}}s usually do and [[WorfHadTheFlu were not prepared for a second attack by Kiba, let alone Galan attacking on the heels of that.]]
82	%%* SheFu: You might not want to underestimate Tsubasa Yuki. '''(Needs more context)'''
83	* ShoutOut
84	** SKL is seen [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gunkata-SKL_4240.jpg striking a pose directly]] from ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'' before starting to kick ass, [[LampshadeHanging Gun Kata style!]]
85	* SkullForAHead: ...Or Skull For A Pilder, on this case.
86	* SpecialAttack: Let's just consolidate Kaiser's attacks under this sub-header for convenience.
87	** BreathWeapon: Rust Stream.
88	** ChestBlaster: Inferno Blaster.
89	** RocketPunch: Tornado Crusher[=/=][[SpellMyNameWithAnS Crasher]]. Although Ken starts complaining about [[LampshadeHanging how long it takes the hands to actually come back]], despite its coolness. At one point, he uses it to fire his sword through several enemies.
90	** ShockAndAwe: Thor's Hammer Breaker.
91	* SuperRobot: Obviously, being of the same mythos as the [[TropeCodifier Trope]] [[Anime/MazingerZ Codifier]].
92	* Tsundere: It's obvious that Kaidou liked, or at least respected, Scarlet more than he was willing to admit.

Context Anime / MazinkaiserSKL