Line #72 Manga/ShinMazingerZero


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5	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shinmazinger1.png]]
6	[[caption-width-right:350: A God that saves the world... Or a Devil that will destroy it?]]
7
8	->''Rage. Pain. Sorrow. Every emotion. Everything coming together. Flowing to the same place... To the Demon God of Demise. Inside every wish becoming zero. At my wit's end, I can just watch.''
9
10	''Shin Mazinger Zero'' (真マジンガーZERO) is a manga written by Yoshiaki Tabata and illustrated by Yuuki Yugo (the team behind ''[[Manga/WolfGuyWolfenCrest Wolf Guy]]'' and ''Manga/{{Akumetsu}}''), part of the ''Anime/MazingerZ'' SuperRobot CashCowFranchise. It debuted in 2009 at nearly the same time as the anime ''[[Anime/ShinMazinger Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-Hen]]''. Despite the similar titles, they are unrelated re-imaginings of the original 1972 ''Anime/MazingerZ'' manga/anime by Creator/GoNagai.
11
12	Kouji Kabuto is an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent. He has a beautiful girlfriend, he rides a bike, he has a certain {{delinquent\|s}} air, and the only unusual thing about him is his father and grandfather are world-renowned scientists. However, one day he starts having horrible nightmares that feel scarily real -- nightmares where the world has been burnt to ashes by a [[HumongousMecha huge, robotic, god-like devil]] named Mazinger Z, and a pretty but not-quite-human-looking lady offers him the chance to save the world... and then she kills him.
13
14	After one of these nightmares, he and his girlfriend Sayaka are summoned to Sayaka's father's workplace, the Photon Power Laboratory, to assist with an emergency. In short order, Kouji loses his father, his girlfriend, his grandfather and an arm, and his body gets absorbed by the mechanical devil he saw in his dreams. As he crosses the DespairEventHorizon with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop, a group of unknown [[{{Robeast}} giant mechanical monsters]] attack. Filled with berserker rage, his sanity slipping, Kouji goes to fight them... Ultimately, his nightmare comes true -- he defeats the monsters, but the world is destroyed, and his body is almost completely consumed by Mazinger Z. Then the same not-quite-human lady appears to him, tells him to save the world, and kills him. [[GroundhogDayLoop Wait, again?!]]
15
16	Kouji wakes up and to his surprise he is whole and healthy, piloting Mazinger Z in the middle of a battle -- and Sayaka is alive and in her own robot. Later, a new transfer student joins his class, and Kouji feels like he's seen her before...
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18	It ended in 2012 after ten volumes, and is continued in ''Shin Mazinger Zero vs Great General of Darkness'' (''Shin Mazinger ZERO vs Ankoku Daishogun''), introducing characters and concepts from ''Anime/GreatMazinger''.
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20	Mazinger Zero appears in ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV'' and ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsX'', the former of which is implied to take place after the ending of ''Shin Mazinger Zero vs Great General of Darkness''.
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22	----
23	!! This manga provides examples of:
24	* ActionPrologue: The first chapter appears to be this, then the story resets again after the fourth chapter. The main story starts with chapter five.
25	* AdaptationalCurves: Dr. Hell is depicted with an incredibly muscular body visible underneath his jumpsuit.
26	* AfterTheEnd: The manga ''starts'' this way.
27	* ApocalypseHow: DYNAMIC FIRE!
28	* ArcWords: Remember when Kabuto's gramps says that Mazinger Z has the power to become a demon and destroy the world? [[SchmuckBait Let's see what happens when that comes true]].
29	* AscendedExtra: Minerva X appeared in only one episode of the anime, here she's a major character.
30	* AttackItsWeakPoint: There are only two ways to kill a Warrior Beast, destroy its organic head(s) or vaporize its entire body. Otherwise, their HealingFactor would just repair the damage done to them in seconds.
31	* BackFromTheDead: [[spoiler: Kouji himself after being impaled by Dr. Hell, as a full body cyborg.]]
32	* BadFuture: Minerva X sends Kouji back in time to stop one from happening. Again and again.
33	* BerserkButton:
34	** Hurting or trying to hurt Sayaka in front of Kouji is not the last thing you want to do. It is the last thing you ''will ever'' do.
35	** Dr. Hell does not take it kindly when his underlings make him look ridiculous, either.
36	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Minerva X. Despite (or maybe ''[[MindScrew because]]'') she was created by humans, several of her personality traits - mainly her conception of what love is - are completely bizarre. Because she was created to be Mazinger's partner in battle, [[CargoShip she is in love with Mazinger]] in spite of knowing it is a machine and that it is not sentient. She also treats the pilot of a HumongousMecha like if it was another part of the mecha (presumably, the brain). Thus, she teases Sayaka because she saw Aphrodite (Sayaka's FemBot) fighting alongside Mazinger and got jealous, got... [[TheImmodestOrgasm all bothered]] when she was inside Mazinger's cockpit, and she told her she loved Kouji... but she loved Kouji piloting the Hover Pilder even more, and above all she loved Kouji on the Pilder piloting Mazinger. Usually Kouji and Sayaka only shake their heads and accept her as she is.
37	** Minerva's love makes some sense when you remember that she's [[spoiler: the reincarnation of the same Minerva from the anime that fell in love with that continuity's Mazinger]]. Of course she would love Kouji especially when he pilots Mazinger because [[spoiler: she's in love with it]] and without its pilot, Mazinger is practically lifeless.
38	* BodyHorror: Activation of the [[spoiler: the Mazin Powers]] do this to Koji. They generate chakras in his body, which gradually assimilate him into Mazinger Z itself. If the process finishes, Mazinger Z will transform into an uncontrollable monster and destroy the world. In order to stop that from happening, Koji simply ''tears them out of his body with his bare hands''.
39	** As if that's not horrifying enough, by the time of the sixth chakra, it was no longer just a glowing orb, but a FaceHugger-esque monster bug.
40	* BreatherEpisode: After two ''very'' {{grimdark}} timelines the chapters of the main timeline are lighter and comedic. [[CerebusRollercoaster Until things get dark again!]]
41	* BrokenBird: Minerva X. She's gone through thousands of cycles of time, witnessing the events where Mazinger becomes a demon in all of them, what can you expect?
42	* CallBack: Tons of the flashbacks, which are important to the plot.
43	* ClingyJealousGirl: Sayaka. Even more than in the original series. Get her jealous and angry enough, and she is able to tear three Mechanical Beasts apart. At once.
44	* CombatTentacles: Professor Juuzo Kabuto in the first arc/second timeline.
45	** The anti-personnel Mechanical Beast, Mario N7.
46	* CompositeCharacter: Mazinger ZERO's design is a combination of the classic Mazinger Z with the Fewture Mazinger model.
47	* ContinuityCameo: Oh dear. If you take a shot for every Go Nagai character cameo in this series, you'll die of alcohol poisoning in no time. And that's not even counting the Go Nagai characters that actually play a role in the story!
48	* ContinuityNod: Characters from other incarnations of the Mazinger series: the [[Anime/MazingerZ original series]], Anime/ShinMazinger, and Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}}, all appear in Koji's flashbacks.
49	* CrapsaccharineWorld: The 2799th cycle seemed perfect in every way. Juuzo Kabuto was a nice grandpa instead of a monstrous mad scientist, all of Kouji's friends are alive and well, Mazinger Z is a beloved hero, and life in Atami is peaceful and idealistic. Then the events that led to this point are [[WhamEpisode revealed]] in an in-universe documentary: [[spoiler: Dr. Hell's army took control of the unmanned weapons and nuclear missiles of the entire world using Bardos Wands, turning their own weapons against them. None of the world's nations were able to stop them, and every world leader who surrendered were simply rounded up and slaughtered like animals (though it later turned out what happened to them was [[ReforgedIntoAMinion much worse than death]]). '''Five billion people''' died within ten days, and much of the planet was reduced to radioactive wastelands. The only thing that kept Atami peaceful and idealistic was the [[DomedHometown photonic energy barrier]] projected from the Photonic Lab, protecting the surrounding 200km radius from Dr. Hell's forces. The area under the barrier was literally the ''only'' pristine land left, and almost the entire Mazinger Army (including Kouji himself) sacrificed their lives just to buy enough time for the barrier to activate.]]
50	* DarkerAndEdgier: Might or might not be for every other Mazinger continuity. And HOW!
51	* {{Deconstruction}}: Of the whole concept of the SuperRobotGenre: A HumongousMecha more powerful than anything else in the world. [[GoneHorriblyWrong What happens when that power goes out of control]]?
52	** Many tropes from the original Mazinger Z are also deconstructed, such as the reason why Dr. Hell seems to target Japan exclusively, the reason he only sends two or three Mechanical Beasts at a time, and why he only sends them [[MonsterOfTheWeek on a weekly basis]].
53	* DespairEventHorizon: Kouji Kabuto in the first two timelines [[spoiler: shown.]]
54	** Minerva X came close to crossing this before she met another Koji that can control Mazinger Z without being consumed after 2,799 cycles. [[spoiler: Then she finally crossed it when Mazinger ZERO awakened anyway, even after they defeated the strongest incarnation of Dr. Hell in all of the timelines, rendering everything they accomplished together moot.]]
55	* DramaPreservingHandicap: After his victory over Gordon Hell, [[spoiler: Koji's cyborg body broke down from the stress and he had to go back to being flesh and blood, meaning he can't use the Mazin Powers against the Mycenae Empire anymore.]]
56	* DyingDeclarationOfLove: In the first arc Sayaka tells Kouji she loves him as she dies [[spoiler:gruesomely]]. It was especially heartbreaking because in that timeline they had managed to go past [[WillTheyOrWontThey the typical]] [[CantSpitItOut status quo]] [[UnresolvedSexualTension in their]] [[BelligerentSexualTension relationship]], as usually depicted.
57	* EarlyBirdCameo: Gordon Hell, the final boss of ''Shin Mazinger ZERO'', first appears in Chapter 4.
58	* EldritchAbomination: Apparently, Mazinger Z itself has potential to become one.
59	* EmpathicWeapon: Near the end of ''Shin Mazinger Zero'', Mazinger Z is revealed to have a personality of its own, something not even Minerva X has seen before in her countless timeloops. This personality has a strong sense of justice, and refers to Koji as his friend.
60	** Unfortunately, [[spoiler: that personality is overwhelmed by [[EldritchAbomination ZERO's]] when it awakens in ''vs Great General of Darkness''.]]
61	* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Great Mazinkaiser and Ankoku Daishogun briefly team up to take on ZERO in chapter 15 of ''Shin Mazinger Zero vs. Ankoku Daishogun.'']]
62	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: As it turns out, Dr. Hell actually does care about Baron Ashura and Count Brocken. Before beginning his final assault he holds a [[DueToTheDead short funeral]] for them, even crying and remarking that their loyalty put his mind at ease. [[spoiler: Of course, Brocken's head survived his body's kamikaze attack, but Hell doesn't know that.]]
63	** Ultimately subverted though, [[spoiler: as when Kouji tries to use Brocken's head as a bargaining chip, Hell stops attacking Mazinger Z at first, but then realizes that he can simply create [[ReplacementGoldfish even more bizarre minions]] (such as [[MythologyGag anime!Viscount Pygman and anime!Archduke Gorgon]]), and resumes his attack]].
64	* FanService: It's based on stuff by Creator/GoNagai, what can you expect? Especially (and constantly) true with Minerva X.
65	* FanDisservice: Sayaka's death in the second timeline: [[spoiler:she's stripped, tentacle-raped and impaled.]]
66	* FauxAffablyEvil: The Warrior Beasts, who would slaughter millions without a care, yet still have the audacity to call Mazinger Z a "weapon of mass destruction" and a threat to their "fragile, organic bodies", even though their HealingFactor makes them nearly impossible to kill.
67	* FlatWhat: Kouji explains that Minerva X is not human but is actually a Super Robot created by Juuzo Kabuto to be Mazinger Z's partner. Sayaka has this reaction... also because Kouji and Minerva X are in Mazinger's cockpit [[NotWhatItLooksLike with their faces in each other's crotches.]]
68	* {{Foreshadowing}}: When Minerva-X sees Kouji fighting the Gamia sisters, she's amazed, since a human being shouldn't be capable of moving so fast or hitting so hard. Later on, she discovers that [[spoiler:Kouji had become a cyborg in that timeline.]]
69	* FreakinessShame: After Kouji finishes utterly ''trashing'' a ten-foot robot with his bare hands in front of his girlfriend Sayaka, he freaks out and asks her [[IAmAMonster if she was as terrified of that sudden show of inhuman ability as he was]]. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Shin_Mazinger_Zero_C01_34img.jpg Sayaka's response]] can be summed up as, "Hell no! That was both completely awesome ''and'' hot."
70	* FromBadToWorse: At one point, Kouji dashhes headfirst into the DespairEventHorizon after [[spoiler:his father has been murdered,]] [[spoiler:his girlfriend has been tentacle-raped and murdered]], and [[spoiler:he has been forced to kill his MadScientist of a grandfather, losing an arm in the process]]. It gets worse? Oh, yeah. Straightaway, an EldritchAbomination dwelling in the body of a HumongousMecha will possess his body and will use him to fight an army of {{Robeast}}s. During three months he will relentlessly fight Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beast army, gradually losing his sanity as the whole world falls into ruins. Finally his mind will snap, and the EldritchAbomination - fueled by his negative emotions of rage, despair, madness, grief and pain - will go berserk [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt and burn the world to ashes]]. The funny part? That is the ''first'' story arc.
71	* FunWithAcronyms: '''M'''ultidimensional '''A'''utomaton '''Z'''illion '''I'''nfinity '''N'''eural '''G'''enerative '''E'''xterminate '''R'''everter.
72	* GrievousHarmWithABody: In the first story arc Kouji has his arm ripped off. He picks it up and uses it like a RocketPunch. (After all, he's the TropeNamer!)
73	* GroinAttack: Dr. Hell walks into the White House and takes the President of the United States hostage by squeezing his balls. And lifts him above his head!
74	* GroundhogPeggySue: The premise: GroundhogDayLoop + PeggySue story, to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. Except it has gone wrong again and again.
75	* GutPunch: The ''first'' arc alone has multiple.
76	* HeartbrokenBadass: Kouji was completely heartbroken and devastated when he saw Sayaka getting murdered in a Time Loop.
77	* HopeIsScary: Minerva X has failed 2,798 times in averting the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. She does as much as stating all of those times she hoped, and her hope was in vain. However, in the current timeline she is stuck in, she is seeing signs that maybe things will finally be different this time around. So she feels a glimmer of hope... and she is afraid of being hopeful only for getting disappointed and heart-broken again.
78	* HopeSpot: An especially cruel one. [[GroundhogPeggySue After failing nearly three thousand times]], the heroes manage to save their timeline. The epilogue show them living peaceful, happy lives... but then [[spoiler:Prof. Morimori makes a terrifying discovery before being murdered by Archduke Gorgon,]] and the last page advertises the sequel: ''Shin Mazinger Zero vs Ankoku Daishogun''. Any remotely familiar with the Mazinger mythos knows the Earth is going to be a CrapsackWorld very, ''very'' quickly, and Mazinger Z is [[spoiler:going to be destroyed,]] making Kouji's triumph over Dr. Hell useless and meaningless.
79	** But then, enter Tetsuya and Great Mazinger! [[spoiler:...Then it gets Double Subverted when their presence cause the awakening of Mazinger ZERO, sealing the fate of Earth and forcing Minerva X to reset the timeline. Oops.]]
80	** A DoubleSubversion happens earlier in the story, in the first timeline where Kouji becomes Mazinger Z's pilot. Throughout many battles between Mazinger Z and Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts, Juzo actually began to develop genuine love for his grandson, abandoned his ambitions of world domination, and decided to put an end to Dr. Hell for good... Then Dr. Hell sent two of his strongest Mechanical Beasts, which killed Sayaka, forced Mazinger Z to self-destruct, and survived the resulting explosion completely unscathed. Fortunately, Kouji survived thanks to the Pilder ejecting, and was taken away by his NotQuiteDead father Kenzo, as well as [[Anime/GreatMazinger Tetsuya and Jun]], to a secret location. Kenzo explained that he's been secretly building [[EarlyBirdCameo a Mazinger that surpasses Z]], and Kouji was about to board it and destroy Dr. Hell once and for all... [[ShaggyDogStory Then the timeline was reset by]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Minerva X]].
81	* HotBlooded: maybe even more than the original! In Chapter 6 & 7, Sayaka of all people becomes this after hearing some sexual innuendo.
82	* HotBloodedSideburns: Kouji's ones are even larger than his original incarnation's sideburns. It fits because he is even ''more'' hot-blooded.
83	* HumanPincushion: In chapter two [[spoiler:Sayaka]] died when [[spoiler:her]] body was impaled by several dozens of iron rods.
84	* HumongousMecha: Take a guess.
85	* ImAHumanitarian: The Great General of Darkness enjoys eating humans, not because he needs to, but because consuming other life reminds him of the time before he turned into a cyborg. The narration notes that this is probably the closest thing to a culture that the Mycenae Empire still has left.
86	** Made even more horrifying by the fact that, the Great General, being a cyborg, has ''rotating razor blades'' in his mouth.
87	* TheImmodestOrgasm: Minerva X's reaction while the Pilder docked with Mazinger Z. While she was straddling Kouji, which was awkward for him.
88	** Sayaka, and by proxy Artemis A get one due to the... intimate, placement of a couple of the cables that make it a MotionCaptureMecha.
89	* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice:
90	** In one of the first chapters [[spoiler:Sayaka was impaled by several huge, metallic rods.]]
91	** Later, Toros D7 tries to impale Mazinger and Aphrodite.
92	** Still later, [[spoiler:Kouji is impaled with the Bardos Wand by Dr. Hell.]]
93	* InformedAbility: After Gordon Hell was blasted into space, Dr. Hell boasts that it was built for galactic conquest in the first place, and fights even better in space than it does on Earth. We never did get to see if that's true, however, as Mazinger Z immediately vaporized it with Dynamic Fire Nova.
94	* IronButtMonkey: In ''vs. Great General of Darkness'', Boss plans to launch a desperate attack on a Mycenae Warrior Beast in the Boss Borot. Nuke and Mucha are worried that they won't make it, but Boss reassures them that [[GenreSavvy characters like them don't die, no matter how many times the Boss Borot gets blown up.]] [[spoiler: This is then [[WrongGenreSavvy subverted]]: the attack kills Nuke and Mucha and mortally wounds Boss, who realizes to his horror that if even ''they'' are dying, [[DespairEventHorizon then the world really is coming to an end.]]]]
95	* InnocentInnuendo: Minerva X boards the Hover Pilder and sits on Kouji's lap facing him, much to his embarrassment and Sayaka's chagrin.
96	* InsertSong: The first theme song of the ''Anime/ShinMazinger'' anime, ''Kanjite Knight'', "plays" during the first time the timeline resets.
97	** The second theme song ''The Guardian'' "plays" during the first fight between Mazinger Z and Dr. Hell's army in the "Mazin War" documentary.
98	** Lyrics from other Music/JAMProject songs, such as ''Skill'' and ''Crest of Z's'', also appear in the story.
99	* ItsAllAboutMe: [[spoiler: In the end of the manga, this is what Zero's ideal reality basically amounts to: a universe where Mazinger Z is an immensely popular media icon, and the ONLY mecha series in existence, with a 40 year old anime series that's almost ''2500 episodes long!'' When Zero says he wants to be the only robot in existence, he really friggin' means it...]]
100	* LaughingMad: [[spoiler:again, the 2798th cycle version of Kouji Kabuto.]]
101	** Both Juzo and Dr. Hell are found of this as well.
102	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: The first cycle where Dr. Hell successfully creates Mechanical Beasts is ''full of these''. Since Dr. Hell does not want to conquer the world without defeating Mazinger Z first and promises to leave the rest of the world alone if he's allowed to fight Mazinger Z, the United Nations, powerless to stop Hell, drafted a law that limits the area of combat to the outskirts of Mount Fuji. Under this law, Mazinger Z and Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts fight every Sunday at 7pm, which is broadcast live across the globe. Because of this, Mazinger Z surged in popularity, leading to the creation of toys, mangas, and other merchandise featuring Mazinger Z and even the Mechanical Beasts... That's right, '''[[RecursiveCanon the Mazinger Z franchise exists in-universe]]'''!
103	** This is also the first cycle where Kouji becomes the pilot of Mazinger Z, referencing how Mazinger Z was the first human-piloted HumongousMecha in anime history.
104	* MechanicalAbomination: [[spoiler: Mazinger Zero itself. At first, it's assumed to be a raging beast with no instinct other than destruction of all that oppose it, destroying and remaking the world as it goes forward, but after enough cycles, it gains sentience and starts specifically engineering its own activation across cycles.]]
105	* MilitariesAreUseless: In the very first timeline where Mazinger Z became active, it managed to overpower the combined military forces of the entire planet in [[LudicrousPrecision fourteen days, ten hours, and thirty-four minutes]]. Even Juzo himself was so underwhelmed by this that he simply asked Minerva X to reset the timeline in order to give himself a real challenge. They aren't anymore useful in the other timelines either, where they are easily destroyed by either the berserk Mazinger or Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts.
106	** In the 2799th cycle, they were [[spoiler: [[NiceJobBreakingItHero indirectly responsible for destroying much of the world]], since Dr. Hell easily took over all of their unmanned weapons and nuclear missiles]].
107	** After Dr. Hell's defeat, each major country built its own SuperRobot to replace its military forces, all of which were roughly on par with Artemis A in terms of power. [[spoiler: They were all destroyed by Warrior Beasts literally one page after they were introduced.]]
108	* TheMole:
109	** The Gamia Q sisters infiltrated into Kouji's school to murder him.
110	** Similar to the original series, Minerva X was designed as a partner for Mazinger Z by Juuzo Kabuto but the plans and materials were stolen by Dr. Hell. He built Minerva X believing she would work for him, but in reality she was always on the heroes' side and was only biding her time before defecting the first chance she got.
111	* MonsterOfTheWeek: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]. When Minerva X was worried that Mechanical Beasts might attack, Boss flat out said that they only attack on Mondays. Turns out, the reason is that [[spoiler:it takes a week to tear a hole in the photonic energy barrier large enough for Mechanical Beasts to fit through.]]
112	* MoodWhiplash: Perhaps one of the greatest cases on record during [[spoiler: Kouji's revival. After using his [[Anime/{{CuteyHoney}} Airborne Element Fixing Device]] to restore his body over his Cyborg Endoskeleton, Sayaka rushes to hug him. However...]]
113	--> '''Kouji''': Wagh! S-Sayaka! I'm glad you're so overjoyed at the [[spoiler: revival]] of the great Kouji... But [[NakedPeopleAreFunny my dick's on full display right now and...!]]
114	* TheMultiverse: It's revealed that the different timelines and alternate universes are part of a multiverse that includes all Mazinger series -- and among others, the next universes: ''Anime/GreatMazinger'', ''Anime/UFORoboGrendizer'', ''Manga/GetterRobo'', ''Anime/KotetsuJeeg'', ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam UC Gundam]]'', ''Anime/{{Gunbuster}}'', ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', and even ''Film/PacificRim''.
115	* MyHeroZero: ''Awfully'' subverted. The titular Mazinger ZERO is an egotistical EldritchAbomination who refuses to accept [[ThereCanBeOnlyOne the existence of super robots other than itself]].
116	* MysticalWhiteHair: Minerva X.
117	* MythologyGag:
118	** The Gamia Q sisters end up just like the original manga. [[spoiler:one is killed by friendly fire, one is cut in half vertically and one is cut in half at the waist.]]
119	** At some point Sayaka switches to a ''[[{{Stripperific}} lewd]]'' bondage-themed pilot "suit" first seen in ''[=MazinSaga=]''.
120	** Kouji eventually [[spoiler:becomes a cyborg]] similar to the ''Mazinger Z'' manga by Gosaku Ota - [[spoiler:(using the same technology as [[Anime/CuteyHoney Cutey Honey's]])]].
121	** All of the weapons used by the Mazinger Z seen in the flashback scene are from the original [[Anime/MazingerZ Mazinger Z anime]], including Finger Missiles, Cryo Beam, EM Wave Attack, and Missile Punch (Kouji and pals even lampshade its [[HyperspaceArsenal ridiculously big ammo capacity]], as well as its NonindicativeName).
122	* NeverTrustATitle: ''Shin Mazinger Zero vs the Great General of Darkness'': After Mazinger Z turned into Mazinger ZERO, [[CurbStompBattle it took him about thirty seconds to beat the Great General of Darkness into a bloody pulp]]. He then [[BaitAndSwitchBoss became the primary antagonist for the rest of the series]].
123	** This may have been a reference to the similarly titled ''[[Anime/{{Mazinkaiser}} Mazinkaiser vs. The Great General of Darkness]]'', in which most of the drama stems from [[DramaPreservingHandicap Mazinkaiser not being available right away]]. After Koji got to it, he barely breaks a sweat defeating the Great General.
124	* NewTransferStudent: Dr. Hell sends Minerva X to Kouji's school so she can kill him. However, Baron Ashura sends Gamia Q on the same pretense, in order to please Dr. Hell after losing face.
125	* NotHyperbole: The ArcWords of Mazinger becoming either a God or a Devil depending on how you use it. Dr. Kabuto was definitely not joking, and in one timeline, [[EldritchAbomination he is definitely the latter]].
126	** The lyrics from [[Anime/ShinMazinger "Shugoshin ~ The Guardian"]]: "All life on this planet believe in your power" becomes literal during the final battle with Gordon Hell.
127	* NotWhatItLooksLike: Kouji and Minerva X are together inside Mazinger Z's cockpit during a battle. After Mazinger is knocked down, Minerva ends up upside down on Kouji with their faces in each other's crotches. Sayaka, who has just destroyed three Mechanical Beasts in a fit of jealous rage, sees them in the cockpit. They try to explain, but Sayaka tries to murder them anyway.
128	* OffingTheOffspring: [[spoiler: Juuzo does this to his son Kenzo. He then tries to do the same to his grandson, Kouji, and kills Sayaka just in case Kouji has impregnated her. He really wants the Kabuto line out of the way.]]
129	* OhCrap: Kouji and Minerva X find themselves in an awkward position in the Pilder and make tremendously alarmed faces when Sayaka sees them.
130	* ThePlotReaper: Despite the countless Go Nagai cameos in this story, the series with higher power levels, such as Manga/GetterRobo (at least not until the very end) and Manga/{{Devilman}}, are explicitly stated to be in-universe fictions, and even though Professor Shiba was mentioned, Anime/KotetsuJeeg himself was nowhere to be seen. This is obviously done to keep Mazinger Z the focus of the story and prevent Kouji from simply calling those guys for help.
131	* PosthumousCharacter: Juuzo Kabuto dies soon after he gives Mazinger Z to Kouji, and this is the case in the original series and the main timeline of the manga. In the first arc however, there are... complications.
132	* TheProfessor: Lots of them: Juuzo Kabuto, Kenzo Kabuto, Gennosuke Yumi (Sayaka's father), the Three Professors. Even Dr. Hell was one [[MadScientist before he turned evil.]]
133	* RageBreakingPoint: In the sequel, Minerva X goes absolutely apeshit after finding out [[spoiler: that Kouji seemingly not only forgot his promise in the prior timeline that he'd remember everything, but abandoned Mazinger Z to work at NASA on UFO research and married Mary instead of Sayaka.]] Amusingly, this is how the viewer learns that she possesses her own version of the classic RocketPunch.
134	* RecursiveCanon: Sayaka mentions that Creator/GoNagai's mangas are very popular, and one of the mangas she mentioned was Anime/CuteyHoney, the titular heroine of which not only appears in the story, but plays an important part in [[spoiler: Koji's resurrection and Gordon Hell's defeat.]]
135	* RefusalOfTheCall: Kouji JumpedAtTheCall in the original series. In the first timeline seen, he refused the call and we got to see the outcome. It was not pretty (unless your definition of pretty includes the planet scorched away and humanity wiped out [[spoiler:by Mazinger Z]]).
136	* {{Reincarnation}}: Everyone, but most notably Kouji, before the start of the manga. [[spoiler:Minerva X is shown to be one of her ''giant'' robot namesake from the original show.]]
137	* RidiculouslyHumanRobot [[RobotGirl Girls]]: Minerva X and the Gamia Qs. They look just like normal humans when posing as such.
138	** The Gamia sisters are clearly shown to be androids when they're cut up and destroyed, but they suffer ClothingDamage, showing they're anatomically complete, and they bleed like regular humans.
139	** Posing as an exchange student in Kouji and Sayaka's class, Minerva wears a school uniform over her usual robot look, and her odd pointy hairstyle (patterned after her classic giant self) is just dismissed as exotic. Her clothes disappear in a flash of light when she reveals her super robot nature. But later, she goes to the baths with Sayaka and her usual look itself is revealed to be her wearing a [[SensualSpandex skintight bodysuit]], and she's also anatomically complete without it.
140	* RippleEffectProofMemory: Both Kouji and Minerva have it. However Kouji's memory is faulty, and he only remembers what happened in former timelines through dreams and sudden flashbacks, and they are so vague and so random -and seldom he has them when he needs them- that they are all but useless. On the other hand, Minerva remembers with utter clarity how they failed thousands of times in averting the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, and how her beloved, her friends and the whole humanity died several thousands of times because she failed.
141	* {{Robeast}}: Dr. Hell's Mechanical Beasts and the Mycenae Warrior Beasts in the sequel.
142	* ScoobyStack: In one loop, Sayaka, Boss, and his goons form a stack behind the rooftop doorway to observe Kouji and the Gamia triplets. Downplayed once Minerva joins in and we see just how the stack works out: Boss is crouching while everyone else leans on top of him.
143	* SeekingUltimateStrength: [[spoiler: The titular mecha is eventually revealed to be a sentient MechanicalAbomination that desperately and violently seeks to be the strongest robot in the world by destroying anything that attempts to challenge or surpass it, be it good or evil. This inevitably results in Shin Mazinger Zero awakening and causing the end of the world, forcing Minerva X to reset the timeline to the moment that Mazinger Z would be activated for the first time. By the 2799th cycle, even when everything goes (relatively) right and Mazinger Z defeats Dr. Hell, the appearance of Anime/GreatMazinger causes the mech to throw a hissy fit at the very ''concept'' of a SuperiorSuccessor and once again destroy the universe. He eventually breaks out [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover to other franchises]] to become the sole Mecha ever.]]
144	[[/folder]]
145	* SenselessSacrifice: During the Warrior Beasts' attack on the Photonic Power Lab, Professor Yumi sacrifices himself to detonate a huge amount of explosives in an attempt to take out two Warrior Beasts. They regenerate from the damage in seconds.
146	* ShipperOnDeck: Minerva X ships Kouji/Sayaka in spite of being a ClingyJealousGirl.
147	* ShoutOut:
148	** Mazinger goes berserk, its mouthplate splits, the HumongousMecha roars and it chewes a Kikaijuu. Pretty blatant ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', would not you say?
149	** Kouji's school teacher in chapter 5 is a [[TheCameo character of]] ''Harenchi Gakuen'', another Creator/GoNagai series.
150	** In Chapter 6, Sayaka, after hearing the words "Gan gan gan gan" says that this is not ''Manga/GetterRobo''.
151	** In Chapter 9, they visit a hot spring. The men's side has a statue of Manga/{{Devilman}} (like the original manga), while the women's side has a statue of Satan.
152	** [[Anime/CuteyHoney Honey Kisaragi]] appears as an IdolSinger. And later she does transform into Anime/CuteyHoney to help the heroes.
153	** The President of the United States is [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama black]]... and has the design of Jim Mazinger from ''Manga/ViolenceJack'', where Go Nagai reimagined Mazinger Z as a blind black man.
154	** The royal family that got killed off by Dr. Hell includes Alphonne, Miharu Tsuneni, and a [[RaceLift Race Lifted]] version of Natsuko Aki named Summer. All of which are Cutey Honey characters.
155	* StarCrossedLovers: As said above, one of the triggers for Kouji's transformation in a nightmare-ish WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds is Sayaka's murder. So one of the Minerva-X's goals is to help them defy the trope.
156	* StealthSequel: At the beginning it seems an alternate universe or retelling of the original ''Anime/MazingerZ''... and then it is revealed that it is a sequel to the original series, in which the characters are locked in a perpetual time loop.
157	* StevenUlyssesPerhero: As a transfer student, Minerva X assumes the name "Minerva Ecks".
158	* SequelHook: At first [[spoiler: it seems that the good guys have won and that mazinger avoid its fate of becoming evil a time skip at the end however hints that things are about to get worse leading to the sequel]]
159	* TakeOverTheWorld: Deconstructed. Dr. Hell wants to take over the world, but he has no interest in ''ruling'' the world. [[spoiler: Therefore, he simply [[OmnicidalManiac slaughters everyone]], and turns [[KickTheDog everyone who surrendered or were captured]] into [[NightOfTheLivingMooks mindless cyborg soldiers]]. The result is just as horrific as it sounds: '''five billion dead in ten days'''.]]
160	** According to Ashura, when Dr. Hell said "world", he didn't mean Earth, he meant ''the entire universe''.
161	* TechnoBabble: ''Mazinger'' is an acronym for Multidimensional Automaton Zillion Infinity Neural Generative Exterminate Reverter.
162	* UndefeatableLittleVillage: Atami, [[spoiler: the LastBastion of humanity against Dr. Hell's army]].
163	** [[spoiler: It later turned out that it's not the only one of its kind. There are other survivors, scattered across the world, who survived the nuclear onslaught by hiding inside nuclear bunkers.]]
164	* VictoryIsBoring: In the first cycle where Mazinger Z was completed, Juuzo easily crushed the combined military forces of the entire world. However, he found the lack of challenge to be boring, and asked Minerva X to reset the timeline and give him a handicap by sending his research across the world. This allowed Dr. Hell to resurrect the Mechanical Beasts, finally giving Juuzo the challenge he wanted.
165	* WeCanRebuildHim: [[spoiler: Kouji actually died a year ago in battle against Dr. Hell and was rebuilt as a full-body cyborg (designed by [[Anime/KotetsuJeeg Machine Father]]). The Kouji Minerva meets maintains his appearance using an Atmosphere Element Fixation Device like Anime/CuteyHoney.]]
166	* WhamLine: After Koji's will was completely swallowed up by ZERO, it "speaks" with photonic energy for the first time:
167	-->'''Tetsuya:''' Koji... Mazinger Z... No... At this point, you are neither, aren't you? Just what the hell ''are you''?!
168	-->'''Mazinger ZERO:''' '''WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM?'''
169	----
170	->''This is the memory of meeting Sayaka again after ten years... Remembering... Throbbing in my heart until then... Pounding... I thought at the time... People don't think with their head, they think with their heart... Everything wasn't inside of this meeting... But. That... Disappearing... everything... everything... Disappear... ing... What is it in there? My body? Then the me that's seeing... is who? [[spoiler:Mazinger]]... My rage. Sorrow. Pain. Every emotion, being swallowed by Z into one... No, becoming ZERO. Disappearing. Completely vanishing...''
171

Context Manga / ShinMazingerZero