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This is a page about the characters appearing in Great Mazinger. Just as a warning, this page probably contains spoilers.


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The Fortress of Science

    Tetsuya Tsurugi 

Tetsuya Tsurugi

Voice Actors: Keiichi Noda (Great Mazinger), Hiroshi Yanaka (Mazinkaiser), Kenyuu Horiuchi, Toshihiko Seki (Infinity, Japanese), Dan Green (Infinity, English), Arturo Mercado Jr. (Latin American Spanish, Infinity and Mazinkaiser'')

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tsurugi-Tetsuya_5113.jpg
Tetsuya during Great Mazinger
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tetsuya_infinity.png
Tetsuya during Infinity

Tetsuya: "All battles I have fought so far… I have fought them to prove the world that I exist!"

Tetsuya was an orphan kid who was raised by Kenzo Kabuto to pilot the Humongous Mecha he was developing and repel the Mykene invasion Kenzo and his father -Dr. Kabuto, creator of Mazinger Z- were frightened of.

Not unlike a certain redhead created twenty-one years later, Tetsuya seemed proud —and irritatingly so — on the surface, but deep down he was insecure and frightened of being alone. He had been a lonely kid until Kenzo took him in. He felt Professor Kabuto had given him a home and someone whom to call "father," and he would do anything for him. Thus, if his adoptive father asked him to pilot a war machine to fight and crush an ancient Empire of giant beings, then, by God, he would do so!

He completely devoted his life to pilot Great Mazinger and take down the Mykene Empire. He trained and honed his skills because he wanted to make his father proud, and he always refused quitting or fleeing because in his mind it would mean letting his father down. However, his interpersonal skills were severely limited and not only could he be pretty rude at times, but he was for a long time oblivious to his partner's obvious advances.

When Kouji Kabuto returned, Tetsuya got afraid and jealous, fearing everyone — including Kenzo — would forget about him, and he would lose his father and the only thing that gave meaning to his existence: piloting Great Mazinger. So he got aggressive, hostile and confrontational, and even refused helping Kouji when he needed him.

He rued doing so. His jealousy and envy cost him dearly, and he vowed to himself he would never let them overwhelm him again.

Although similar to Kouji in some aspects –- such as being a Hotblooded Idiot Hero — he was also pretty different. Where Kouji was carefree and enthusiastic, Tetsuya was serious, focused, gloomy and cranky. He was completely focused on his duty whereas Kouji had a life outside of piloting Mazinger Z. Maybe due to him being older, Tetsuya was slightly more mature than his predecessor. He did not find mocking his friends’ misfortunes funny, and he did not actively try to piss Jun off. However, unlike Kouji, he didn’t outgrow his competitiveness.

Tropes:

  • 10-Minute Retirement: He did this during the Grand Finale, of all times, when Tetsuya had grown so jealous of Kouji that he refused to sortie. Needless to say, it was a mistake.
  • The Ace: He was trained in martial arts since he was a little kid and is a great pilot. Ironically, he's the only one who has trouble believing it (See Broken Ace).
  • Ace Pilot: His piloting skills are on par with Koji, using Great Mazinger to its utmost potential (in his first appearance he seemed being leagues ahead him). He made Ankoku Daishogun admit to be inferior to him and seek to have a duel with him just to prove that he is better than Tetsuya.
    • To prove a point, in Super Robot Wars Alpha Gaiden, he was the only one Sänger Zonvolt was remotely afraid of.
  • Achilles in His Tent: He was so jealous of Kouji he refused to sortie in Great Mazinger to help him when he was in danger. He regretted it bitterly.
  • Alliterative Name: Tetsuya Tsurugi.
  • Aloof Big Brother: Acts like one to Koji, Jun and Shiro, at times. He's a bit softer to Jun though, since she is also his Love Interest and the one he lives with for the longest time.
  • Always Someone Better: Even after Koji's return, he still outdoes Koji on many occasions because he is just THAT good. This eventually become a huge part of his character, because he views everyone else, especially Koji, in this position instead of himself.
  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He is a great pilot and good martial artist and he will gladly inform anybody of it. He is also a Deconstruction of the trope; his Jerkass behavior hides his HUGE Inferiority Superiority Complex and an utter lack of self esteem, which ends up causing problems later on.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: The worst offender in the whole trilogy. He is a hard-headed Blood Knight who never, ever, quits. He has been known to try headbutting a monster after all his weapons failed and his arms were ripped off (in the Great Mazinger vs Getter Robo feature).
  • Badass Boast: “Ghosts of the Mykene…! You do not belong on the surface! Return the world of darkness below the Earth!”
  • Badass in Distress: Sometimes needs to be rescued by the others.
  • Bash Brothers: When Kouji and Tetsuya were not trying to out-stubborn each other, they were a power to be reckoned with.
  • Battle Couple: With Jun.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Again, with Jun. Unlike Kouji, he did not actively try pissing off his Tsundere war comrade (usually) but he managed, nonetheless. Jun was more patient than Sayaka, but her tolerance for bullshit was just so low.
  • Berserk Button: Don't you dare question his skills and his Ace Pilot status unless you want to make him mad. Don't try to show him up unless you want make him MAD.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Tetsuya’s specialty. Usually his first appearance at anything is a Big Damn Heroes moment, often started off with a Thunder Break.
    • He's also occasionally saved by one, sometimes by Kouji. One of them was performed in the last episode by his father.
  • Big "NO!": He shouted one in the last episode.
  • Big Ol' Eyebrows: They are so thick they seem like caterpillars.
  • Break the Haughty: He was a proud, arrogant Ace Pilot that fully trusted his skills and got mad when someone challenged them. All of that arrogance caused plenty of trouble throughout the entire series. When Kouji returned, he got a HUGE jealousy fit, and he claimed he did not need help and refused to work with and fight alongside Kouji. Because of it, he almost got killed in one battle shortly after, and his adoptive father sacrificed himself to save him. Tetsuya fell apart because of this, as earning his father's love was the whole reason he became a pilot in the first place.
  • Broken Ace: Ten years of training that made him into a combat pro that is respected by everyone, including the Mykene, doesn't cure his lack of self worth, his Inferiority Superiority Complex, and his fear of being left alone.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Continuing the legacy of Kouji, Tetsuya loudly names all his attacks before they were performed by his machine.
  • Character Death: He later appears in Violence Jack, where he is killed in a car crash caused by a psychopathic biker gang known as Hell's Wind.
  • Chaste Hero: He was so obsessively focused on fulfilling his mission (due to his belief that piloting Great Mazinger was all he had) that he was Oblivious to Love, and if Jun tried to seduce him he didn't get it or taunted her or both (and since she had no patience for stupidity, they ended up fighting). It didn't exactly help that Jun is, well, his adoptive sister.
  • Combat Pragmatist: He can and will fight dirty if he needs, and he is not above using cheap tricks to reach victory.
  • Combination Attack: His specialties include Double Burning Fire with Kouji, and Final Dynamic Special with Kouji, Duke and Ryouma.
  • Contrasting Sequel Main Character: In spite of everything that happened to him, Kouji was mostly good-natured, carefree and enthusiastic and let nothing get him down for long. In a way, Tetsuya was more mature, but was also gloomier and grimmer, and prone to fits of jealousy and envy.
  • Conveniently an Orphan: He lost his parents and he was adopted by Prof. Kabuto.
  • Cool Bike: And he knows how to ride it.
  • Cool Helmet: Quite a bit more impressive than Koji's.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: The anime adaptation of Violence Jack makes his death 10 times worse... where he is hacked to death with a chainsaw by one of the members of Hell's Wind. It doesn't help that they force Jun to watch.....
  • Demoted to Extra: In Mazinkaiser, he get an injury and Put on a Bus.
  • Determinator: Not matter what, he never gives up.
    • In the Great Mazinger tai Getter fight, the monster Gilgilgan ate Great Mazinger's left fist, shrugged a Breast Burn attack off, reflected a Thunder Break, blew up Great Mazinger's right fist, endured a Navel Missile and melted Great Mazinger's right leg. Tetsuya's response? He tried to headbutt it.
  • Dual Wielding: Each shin of Great Mazinger houses one double-edged long broadsword. Often Tetsuya wielded both blades at once.
  • Dub Name Change: In the Latin dub he was named “Tatsu.”
  • Eyepatch of Power: Sometimes he fought with his face half-bandaged, and the bandages covered one of his eyes.
  • Falling into the Cockpit: Averted. Tetsuya was trained to pilot Great Mazinger since he was a kid, long before the enemy attacked for first time.
  • Fatal Flaw: Pride. He is arrogant and prideful, and it causes lots of problems, to himself as well, as his pride masks a total lack of self-respect.
  • Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: This is Great’s trademark pose when using Thunder Break... and when Tetsuya feels like doing it. Apparently, coming across like rude to his enemies is something he is not concerned about.
  • Gratuitous English: "Thunder Break! Drill Pressure Punch! Navel Missile!"
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: During his duel against Great General of Darkness. It was as much a "let's see who out-ham who" contest as it was a swordfight to the death.
  • Hates Being Alone: Although his pride won't let him admit it.
  • The Hero: Just as flawed as Kouji, but in a different fashion.
  • Heroes Prefer Swords: Great Mazinger was the first Super Robot that used swords. Tetsuya uses them routinely to slice Mykene Robeasts.
  • Heroic BSoD: Because he refused to work alongside his stepbrother Kouji, the enemy almost killed him and then Professor Kabuto forfeited his life to save his. He was emotionally wrecked after this, and in at least one continuity, he and essentially committed suicide to atone.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: In the OVA episodes. See Taking You with Me below.
  • Hidden Depths: He can come across like an arrogant, jealous jerk to other people. But throughout the series you learn he is still an insecure, lonely orphan kid with SERIOUS self-esteem issues who is deadly scared of being alone again.
  • Honor Before Reason: He prefers dying in battle to fleeing to fight another day.
  • Hot-Blooded: Just like Koji before him, although he's a little more mature about it.
  • Hot-Blooded Sideburns: He's a character created by the former Trope Namer. Duh.
  • Idiot Hero: Some of the stunts he pulled out due to his hard-headedness or pride are mind-boggling.
  • Inferiority Superiority Complex: At first sight he seems obnoxiously boastful and arrogant, but that is only a mask to hide his complete lack of self-esteem. He was frightened that his adoptive father would forget about him and his adoptive sister would dump him for someone she barely knew.
  • Irony: The guy who makes everyone feel inferior around him would be the one who has the biggest inferiority problem.
  • It's All My Fault: He blames himself for the death of Professor Kabuto. He is right.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's rash, prideful and has a tendency to lash out when he is upset. Despite all that, he is deep down a good person and a hero who tries to protect humankind and is willing to sacrifice himself for the human race.
  • Killed Off for Real: In Gosaku Ota's manga. And in Violence Jack.
  • Large Ham: At his worst day he was way hammier than Kouji.
  • Made of Iron: Tetsuya withstood incredible punishment throughout the series, being wounded and harmed constantly, and still pushing himself beyond his limits and forcing himself to battle even if the pain was tearing him apart. Several times his adoptive father had to command him to go back to the Home Base. In the first episode one of the Bridge Bunnies marvel at his physical endurance, and Kenzo states it is his strong and sturdy body what lets him pilot Great Mazinger.
  • Meaningful Rename: His name in the Latin dub, “Tatsu,” is Japanese for "dragon." It's highly likely this trope was accidental, since it is doubtful that the translation and dubbing teams intended to give him a meaningful name that the target audiences would not understand anyway.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: When he realized his fear of Kouji taking his father away from him had gotten his father killed.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: See earlier entries about his father.
  • No Indoor Voice: He's hotblooded and prideful, and he'll let you know it.
  • Not Blood Siblings: With Jun. They are adoptive siblings but since they are not blood related, nobody seems to care about their Belligerent Sexual Tension (or perhaps they think Tetsuya is too oblivious to notice Jun’s advances).
  • Official Couple: With Jun.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In the Mazinkaiser OVA after he returns with "Shin" Great Mazinger he defeats a high amount of Robeasts alone. In the movie's intro, he is surrounded by massive amount of Robeasts and mentioned how his machine is "inferior." The next time he appears on screen, he is struggling against TWO Robeasts. And wins. And he piloted the weaker Great Mazinger instead of the "Shin" Great Mazinger. That says something.
  • Overshadowed by Awesome: Subverted. In the re-imaginings and the remakes, Koji will steal the spotlight from him, and he is always gimped in the mecha department. However, it is because he gives this to Koji so much that the only explainable reason for his lack of presence in nearly every other adaptation is because he is so awesome that it's hard to fit him in without severely downgrading him. This is most notable in Mazinkaiser and Shin Mazinger.
  • Parental Abandonment: His birth parents abandoned him. This left a big impression.
  • Redemption Equals Death: It happens in the Gosaku Ota episodes. To redeem himself for being indirectly guilty of his father's death he sacrificed himself.
  • Red Is Heroic: He wears a red Latex Space Suit.
  • Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Delivered to the Mykene army after his father’s death. It was so overwhelmingly brutal the Emperor did not dare to restart his offensive against the surface.
  • Scarf of Asskicking: He wears one constantly.
  • '70s Hair: Well, it was the '70s.
  • Shonen Hair: Naturally.
  • Slasher Smile: Tetsuya usually wore a grim, angry or bitter expression. But when he grinned in battle... it was deeply disturbing.
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad : Again in Alpha Gaiden.
  • Story-Breaker Power: Mazinkaiser Tetsuya is a variation. Tetsuya is such a good pilot that he is gimped with an outdated mech until near the end of the story, and he still manages to be as dangerous as Koji in Mazinkaiser. As a result, he is given an injury and Put on a Bus until the climax, where he is given what is basically his personal Mazinkaiser, during which he is basically unbeatable.
  • Taking You with Me: In the Ota episodes, after Dr. Kabuto sacrifices himself, and Tetsuya's ensuing Heroic BSoD, he crashed Great Mazinger in the enemy airship, self-destructing it to wipe the entire Mykene high command out.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: After the return of Kouji, his jealousy made him lash out against everybody. He argued with Kouji about anything and everything, accused Jun of wanting to replace him with Kouji (in spite of the fact that she had always been devoted to him and had spent the whole series trying to get him to pay attention to her!), ranted that he was sick of Kouji ordering him around and refused to go help Kouji when was in danger. The last instance bit him HARD.
  • Unbuilt Trope: Set the template for Hot-Blooded Ace Pilot, and many tropes common in Super Robot shows, and Deconstructed almost every one of them.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: He is afraid of birds, stemming from a past where he shared his pet hawk with his childhood friend Saburo, who had a canary. His hawk ended up attacking Saburo and hospitalized him. Since he couldn't control his hawk, the event became traumatic to Tetsuya that he blocked the event from his mind, but he gained a subconscious fear of birds, in particular hawks and canaries. Just in time when Shiro and Haruna had a pet canary and there's a bird-like Battle Beast with hawk legs... Thankfully, Tetsuya managed to overcome his trauma.
  • The Worf Effect: Not so much in Great Mazinger. But in re-imaginings, the OVA, and the movie, he's constantly injured or incapacitated to sell just how strong the new enemy is.
  • Worthy Opponent: The Great General of Darkness considered him his nemesis, and demanded a final sword duel with him.
  • Would Hit a Girl: Oh, yes, he would. Even if that girl is the other half of his Battle Couple, his Love Interest and adoptive sister. However, that girl is an martial artist and a Tsundere who does not take crap, so she hits back.

    Jun Hono 

Jun Hono

Voice Actors: Yumi Nakatani (Great Mazinger), Run Sasaki (Violence Jack: Hell's Wind), Mitsuki Saiga (Mazinkaiser), Ami Koshimizu (Infinity, Japanese), Kymberly Tuttle (Infinity, English), Diana Galvan Santos (Latin American Spanish, Infinity)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Honou-Jun_6166.jpg
Jun during Great Mazinger
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jun_infinity.png
Jun during Infinity

Jun: "If you think wish upon a star would help, think again. Even when you wish, some wishes just won't come true. Shiro, it's no good if you don't stay determined and independent, you know. You won't become a strong person if you keep relying on us."

Jun was a half Japanese, half black (her father was a black man) orphan girl. Due to her mixed race she suffered discrimination since she was a little kid. Kenzo Kabuto took her in and trained her alongside Tetsuya to fight the Mykene army, teaching her to pilot Venus A.

Through the years she fell in love with Tetsuya and tried to get him paying attention to her, but he remained too focused on his mission to notice. However she remained devoted to him… nonetheless, she never hesitated on speaking her mind or telling him she thought he was wrong… or dumb.

During the war against the Mykene she bonded with Shiro Kabuto and met Boss, who was chasing after her in spite of she never shared her feelings. When Sayaka returned to Japan, they fought together sometimes, becoming friends quickly.

Jun was brave and mature but conflicted due to the racist treatment she put up with routinely, her longing for her deceased parents (she still keeps one picture of them) and her conflicting emotions towards Tetsuya (who she loved but pissed her off). Thus she was sweet and kind but she had quite a temper when angry.

Unlike Sayaka, Jun was specifically trained in combat in and out of her Humongous Mecha, and was a pretty good martial artist could defend herself. She could fight back a squad of Mykene soldiers, and even though her robot usually ended up trashed after fights she got some victories on her label, and she even killed one Mykene General in one single shot.

Tropes:

  • Action Girl: She switched between this and Faux Action Girl like Sayaka. She is able to hold herself in a fight all by herself, though sometimes she does need assistance (usually from Boss or Tetsuya).
  • Babies Ever After: By the time of Mazinger Z: Infinity, she and Tetsuya are Happily Married and Jun is heavily pregnant with their first child whom she gives birth to during the climactic final battle between Kouji and Dr. Hell.
  • Battle Couple: With Tetsuya.
  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Again, with Tetsuya. Tetsuya was tactless, wilful and hot-headed, and Jun, who already was stressed due to her personal troubles, did not appreciate when he was being careless or behaving like a blithering idiot. Tetsuya being so obsessed with training and fighting he ignored his advances worsened her temper.
  • Brainwashed and Crazy: For Marquiss Yanus in the Nagai Heroes e-manga.
  • Broken Bird: She lost both of her parents when she was still a little girl. She was adopted together with Tetsuya by Professor Kabuto because he needed training two kids to become Humongous Mecha pilots and fight in a war, and she was trained in mecha and physical combat. As she grew up and even now she is an adult she has constantly put up with insults and contempt for being female, half-foreign and half-black. Her adoptive father tends to treat her like a commander rather a father, and she is in love with her loud-mouthed, arrogant, jealous, tactless, oblivious, annoying adoptive brother who is an Idiot Hero and a Jerk with a Heart of Gold with an Inferiority Superiority Complex. Thus, she is a Tsundere suffers of mood changes due to many tensions she endures daily and has developed a very nonsensical attitude. At the same time she is patient and understanding with someone else's flaws but she has little tolerance for bullshit. She also acts like a Cool Big Sis to Shiro -ironically proper- and she encourages him to grow up and become a strong boy does not depend on someone else.
  • But Not Too Foreign: In the anime, Jun is the daughter of a Japanese mother and an African-American father.
  • Buxom Beauty Standard: She is stacked. In the Mazinger Angels manga (a Charlie's Angels parody), there is one scene where Jun, Sayaka and Hikaru are showering, and Sayaka and Hikaru are envious of her build.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Oppai Missiles!
  • Conveniently an Orphan: her parents died and she was raised by Kenzo Kabuto alongside Tetsuya. She still kept one picture of them, though.
  • Cool Big Sis: She acted like a sort of older sister to Shiro. In fact she showed caring about Shiro more than his older brothers. Given who was her surrogate father, that is quite logical.
  • Cool Helmet: With a built in cowboy hat of all things!
  • Falling into the Cockpit: Averted. Jun was trained to pilot Venus A since she was a kid, long before her first battle.
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: She tried that sometimes when Tetsuya was being unreasonable. Regretfully, it did not always work.
  • Humongous Mecha: She was the pilot of Venus A.
  • I Know Karate: She was a well-trained martial artist.
  • The Lancer: To Tetsuya (not that he liked to admit he needed one).
  • Lovely Angels: With Sayaka after her return. It must be noted they worked together more seamlessly from start, unlike than Kouji and Tetsuya.
  • Maligned Mixed Marriage: She is the child of a Japanese mother and an African-American father. And she got bullied for it.
  • Ms. Fanservice: Jun is an attractive woman, she has a thin built complexion, she has the average height and weight as a young woman her age. In Mazinger Angels she is the main provider of fanservice in the first part, as the enemies had a tendency to shred her clothes.
  • Not Blood Siblings: With Tetsuya.
  • Official Couple: With Tetsuya. By the time of Infinity, they're married with a child on the way.
  • One of the Boys
  • Parental Abandonment: In both the manga and anime, Jun was ostracized for being biracial and was left in an orphanage.
  • Revenge: She later appears in Violence Jack, where after Tetsuya is brutally killed by Hell's Wind, she seeks revenge on them for it.
  • The Reliable One: QUITE more reliable than Tetsuya.
  • Tomboy with a Girly Streak: She likes wearing girly clothes and make up and lip stick despite her boyish personality.
  • Took a Level in Badass: In spite of her female robot was constantly trashed she won some fights. During the final battle she obliterated Hardias with one single eye beam, and in the Nagai Heroes e-manga she beat the crap out of Great Mazinger.
  • Tsundere: She controlled better her temper than Sayaka but she was still a bona fide Tsundere. Her mood shifts were due to tensions not entirely related to her partner, nonetheless.
  • Twofer Token Minority: She is a half-black, half-foreign female.
  • The Unfavorite: Out of all Kenzo's children Tetsuya was clearly his favorite, whereas Jun stood at the opposite end. He completely neglected her, treated her like a soldier, cared nothing about her troubles, and he seldom showed he cared for her. It went so far that, before dying after his Heroic Sacrifice he pleaded when Kouji to treat Tetsuya like his brother and take care of Shiro... but he did not mention Jun at all. Nonetheless, his attitude drove Jun to think she could not be dependent on someone else and to develop a very strong-willed and self-reliant personality.

    Kenzo Kabuto 

Kenzo Kabuto

Voice Actor: Hidekatsu Shibata

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kenzo_338.jpg

Kenzo: "He’s crying. My son is… My son…! Kouji Kabuto…!"
Kenzo: "Tetsuya Tsurugi, your time is come! Annihilate Ankoku Daishogun army with Great Mazinger!"

Kenzo was the son of Juzo Kabuto –the creator of Mazinger Z- and father of Kouji and Shiro. After a laboratory experiment gone horribly wrong, he and his wife were thought dead. However, his father turned him into a cyborg in order to keep him alive.

After his transformation, Dr. Kabuto talked to him about the Dr. Hell and his misgivings about the Mykene civilization remaining alive and preparing to overtake the world. Both of them agreed while Juzo built Mazinger Z, Kenzo would work secretly upon his father’s original designs, improving them to create an even more powerful robot. Meanwhile, Juzo would raise Kouji and Shiro. Neither of them told them Kenzo was alive to shield them from the danger and psychological shock.

Besides building Great Mazinger –and another female robot, Venus A- Kenzo took two orphan kids in -Tetsuya and Jun- and raised them, training them in piloting robots and hand-to-hand combat. He considered Tetsuya another of his sons, loving him dearly, but he did not doubt on punishing him when he thought Tetsuya deserved it.

Later Kenzo revealed the truth to Shiro and Kouji. Shiro struggled to come to terms with the idea for a long time, but Kouji was willing forgiving and forgetting, and renewing his relationship with his father. This relationship caused conflicts with Tetsuya, who was frightened of Kenzo would forget about Jun and him now his real sons were back. However Kenzo never stopped caring for them, giving his life to save his adoptive son’s, even if his parental skills left much to be desired, and he asked Kouji treated him like his brother as he was dying.

Kenzo was the head of the Fortress of Science, a building specifically built with military ends –unlike the Photon Energy Lab, which was a civilian-use building-, and he led the operations against the Mykene. Like a mentor, he was harsher and less patient than Professor Yumi and when his pilots were acting against orders, and he did not doubt on disciplining them when he thought they had crossed one line.

Tropes:

  • Alliterative Name: Kenzo Kabuto.
  • Badass Boast: “Great Mazinger, send the Great General of Darkness and his seven armies to the abyss!”
  • Big Damn Heroes: He got several moments along the series. His two most famous –for different reasons- happened in the last episode of Mazinger Z and the last episode of Great Mazinger.
  • Cyborg: Turned into one for his father to save his life.
  • Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Sort of. He was trying saving the humankind. And he knew his own father was looking after his sons. However it is arguable he needed to leave his sons alone for achieving it.
  • Disappeared Dad: Dr. Kenzou was absent from the lives of Kouji and Shiro (raised by Dr. Juuzou), and that comes to bite everybody in the ass later: it took him quite a bit to regain Shirou's affections, and later Kouji and Tetsuya would clash majorly.
  • Doing In the Wizard: In the Mazinger vs Great General of Darkness feature, he disguised himself and pretended being a prophet to warn Kouji and his friends about the imminent Mykene invasion.
  • The Engineer: He built Great Mazinger, Venus A and Junior (Shiro’s Comi Relief Humongous Mecha).
  • Generation Xerox: Right like his father he is a scientific genius and a robot builder. And he also considered fit Great Mazinger was assisted by a female partner (although Venus A was piloted, unlike Minerva X).
  • Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Several times when Tetsuya seemed more concerned about showing off than about the mission, Kenzo gave him a Bright Slap and reminded him what they were fighting for saving lives, not for his glory. Usually Tetsuya listened and nodded.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: He has a scar runs along of the left side of his head, stopping right above his eyebrow. It is not elegant or unnoticeable in spite of he is one of the good guys. In fact, it is somewhat ugly.
  • Heroic BSoD: In the Gosaku Ota manga. Great Marshall of Hell obliterated one whole city and threatened with doing the same thing to Tokyo unless Great Mazinger and the Fortress of Science were destroyed. Kenzo expected people sided with them, but when the Japanese Government turned on them and struck the Fortress, he lost it. He wanted giving up right there and then, but Professor Yumi's arrival and lecture reignited his faith and desire of keeping the fight.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He sacrificed himself for his adoptive son and pupil in the last episode of the series.
  • Married to the Job: He was even worse than his father or Yumi in that regard.
  • The Mentor: He is somewhat cold and harsh, though.
  • Not Quite Dead: Everybody thought he was dead for years. They were wrong.
  • Oh, Crap!: His expression when he saw the new commander of the Mykene army was Dr. Hell
  • Papa Wolf: Alright. He left his sons believing he was dead, leaving the task of raising them on his father’s hands. He treated Tetsuya like a stern commander and instructor rather the warm father the boy needed, taking care of his training but not of his psychological issues. He neglected Jun. NONETHELESS, threatening one of his children is not the last thing you want to do. It is the last thing you WILL do.
  • Parental Abandonment: He was missing from the lives from Kouji and Shiro for years, and it bit everybody in the rear.
  • Parents as People: He is not a bad person… but he was more worried with being a mentor –of the harsh kind- and saving the humanity than being a father. He did nothing about Tetsuya’s self-esteem issues and lacking of self-worth until it was too late, and he neglected Jun completely.
    • Not to mention he let Kouji and Shiro think for years he was dead, he had no qualms about slapping Tetsuya when he thought the boy was crossing the line (albeit to be fair, Tetsuya DID cross the line plenty times, and Kenzo restrained himself most of them).
  • The Professor
  • Taking You with Me: That is how he saved Tetsuya’s life
  • You Killed My Father: When he ascertained Great Marshall of Hell’s true identity, his reaction was… not a happy one.
    Kenzo: Dr. Hell…! Vile, petty… And always very astute!

    Kouji Kabuto 

Kouji Kabuto

Voice Actors: Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroya Ishimaru

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kabuto-Kouji_9721.jpg

Kouji: I have always thought people doesn't think with their head. They think with their heart. (Shin Mazinger Zero manga)
Kouji: Grandpa's murder... All the people who have been hurt... Japan's peace trampled... All because of Dr. Hell... This time, for sure... This time, I'll destroy Dr. Hell for good! (Go Nagai Great Mazinger manga)

Kouji was a Ordinary High-School Student who lived with his little brother Shiro and his grandfather Juzo after their parents’ death. All of it changed when he was sixteen and his grandfather was murdered by Dr. Hell. Dr. Kabuto revealed Mazinger Z to him and requested him to save the world from Dr. Hell. Kouji vowed he would avenge his grandfather’s death and fulfil his last wish.

Kouji was an atypical main character back then: although he was a mostly good person, he might be rude, insensitive and even somewhat of a jerkass when he was angry, sexist and the poster boy for Idiot Hero given his tendencies to be loudmouthed, talking without thinking, acting BEFORE and INSTEAD of thinking and being very hot-headed and stubborn. However he was also compassionate, caring, friendly, self-sacrificing, cared greatly for his friends and fought for them –even though he constantly teased Sayaka and Boss- and he was utterly hot-blooded.

His character evolved and developed somewhat along the series. His blatant sexism and his impulsive tendencies mellowed down a bit (it is telltale in Great Mazinger he was the one recommended using planning and strategy for fighting the Mykene when Tetsuya wanted nothing else than blowing them up to pieces). He also grew up and matured, and his main motivation to fight Dr. Hell became protecting people instead of petty revenge. Although he refused giving up, he was more willing to follow orders and retreat to reevaluate the situation and fight back than his successor, Tetsuya.

He is voiced by veteran seiyuu Hiroya Ishimaru and has appeared in many other series. He is considered one of the stalwarts of the Japanese-exclusive strategy games the Super Robot Wars and appears in nearly every incarnation. In Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen, his voice is played by Kenji Akabane.

See Mazinger Z characters page.

    Sayaka Yumi 

Sayaka Yumi

Voice Actors: Minori Matsushima, Saiko Egawa, Ai Uchikawa, Youko Honda, Ikue Otani

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Yumi-Sayaka_7588.jpg

Sayaka: What are you saying, Papa? Are you saying we should let it run wild even more? I can't do that! Even if Aphrodite gets destroyed...! I will fight...! I´ll take down that demon that's destroyed our town!!

Sayaka Yumi (Yumi Sayaka) is the main heroine of Mazinger Z.

She was daughter of Professor Yumi, director of the Photon Lab Institute, and she piloted Aphrodite A, a test prototype giant robot Yumi built. Her mother was deceased and she has a cousin –named Yuri-. Her father was not cold and uncaring, but Sayaka realized that his first priority was his work, and sometimes she felt somewhat alone and craving for proving herself to him.

She first met Kouji when he was rampaging through the valley –or city the original manga-. She was the first person taught who Kouji how to handle Mazinger Z (even though she was more than willing to hit him back after his robot accidentally kicked hers), and always fought alongside him.

She was a bit hot-tempered and tomboyish, and had a habit of clashing with Kouji even though she had a romantic interest in him. She was usually tender and nice, but she was also somewhat prideful and just as hotheaded and hotblooded as Kouji, so his sexist, non-thoughtful, loudmouthed ways always managed to set her off. She was also quite jealous and she did not appreciate it when some beautiful woman –like Hitomi, Misato or Erika- was very familiar with Kouji –especially if Kouji looked like was enjoying the attention-. Still they were very close even if they were bickering and fighting constantly.

See Mazinger Z characters page.

    Shiro Kabuto 

Shiro Kabuto

Voice Actor: Kazuko Sawada

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Kabuto_Shiro_9865.jpg

Shiro is Kouji's younger brother. He is hard-headed, hot-tempered, enthusiastic and nosy. Most of the time, Shiro's role is to add some comic relief to the plot, being the voice of reason when Kouji is doing something dumb or dangerous, and often getting in trouble himself. He remains in Japan when Kouji departs at the beginning of ‘’Great Mazinger’’, and even he gets given his own Humongous Mecha, Junior.

His character acquires a bit more depth in Great Mazinger, as he becomes acquainted with his father Kenzo, who was previously thought to be dead. Toward the end of the series, Shiro finally bonds with Kenzo, who died shortly thereafter.

See Mazinger Z characters page.

    Boss 

Boss

Voice Actor: Hiroshi Ohtake, Fumihiko Tachiki (in Mazinkaiser)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MazingerZ_Boss_173.jpg

Boss: "I’m Kabuto’s best friend. Name’s Boss. Even the author doesn't know my real name!"

Boss was a high school student attending Sayaka’s old school. He first appeared as a bully with a huge crush on Sayaka and as Kabuto Kouji’s rival at school. When Kouji –someone who Sayaka practically gushed over and also loved bikes- moved to his school, he perceived him as a menace and challenged him. However, after their first fights, he quickly became a friend and ally, often scouting for Mazinger Z on his motorcycle, or getting into some sort of slapstick mischief. He was hot-tempered and hasty, but he also was a loyal friend (and his crush on Sayaka sometimes became cute).

Later he built his own Humongous Mecha, Boss Borot, a quite strong but utterly useless robot made with garbage that provided many funny moments.

He and his gang-Nuke and Mucha- were the Tag-Along Brigade and Plucky Comic Relief characters in both Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger, and he showed up in two episodes of UFO Robo Grendizer. His cousin Misato was also a supporting character in Mazinger Z.

Boss filled that same role in ‘’Great Mazinger’’, antagonizing Tetsuya at the first –an attitude mellowed down later, but they never became so friends like Kouji and Boss were-, chasing after Jun –who ignored his advances-, being the Plucky Comic Relief character, and helping the other heroes however he could.

In episode 69, a crow named Bakarasu (its name being a blend of the Japanese words “Baka”, meaning “Dumb” and “Karasu”, meaning “Crow”) showed up, becoming soon a recurring character. Throughout Great Mazinger Boss used it like a lookout or like a messenger.

See Mazinger Z characters page.

    Dr. Gennosuke Yumi 

Dr. Gennosuke Yumi

Voice Actor: Joji Yanami

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Yumi_Gennosuke_2902.jpg

Professor Yumi is Sayaka's father as well as the director of the Photoatomic Institute and Dr. Kabuto's pupil. Dr. Kabuto passed onto him his knowledge of Photon energy and Alloy Z, and Yumi later used that knowledge to build Aphrodite A, a prototype robot created to test the possibilities of both. Aphrodite never was created as a war mecha because Yumi was a pacifist who intended to use Photon enery and Japanium for peaceful goals.

And then he found out that the Photon Institute was the target of villains who intended to use that technology to conquer the world. And his master had built the most powerful robot ever made to protect the place.

Once Dr. Kabuto died, he took the Kabuto siblings in and led the good guys. Although he was a kind person, he mainly was aloof, serene and calculating, traits he needed to be a good scientist and leader. He was highly intelligent and capable of keeping calm during crisis, was willing to hear good advice and could come up with plans quickly. Nobody questioned his leadership –although Kouji undermined him constantly-, and everybody accepted his authority.

Unfortunately he was not a very good father. His work in the Institute and the protection of the world were most important to him that anything, including family. Thus, he neglected Sayaka many times and he was missing when she needed him (the scene in the last episodes of Great Mazinger where he blatantly states he does not want her to sortie in Diana-A because he does not want her to get killed).

Right like most of the Mazinger Z cast, he did not return until the end of Great Mazinger, where he tried giving council and advice and help. After Prof. Kabuto’s sudden death during the final battle he quickly took command in a chaotic and rapidly-degenerating situation, helping the heroes to regroup and strike back.

See Mazinger Z characters page.


The Mykene Empire

    Emperor of Darkness 

Emperor of Darkness

Voice Actor: Hidekatsu Shibata

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Emperor_of_Darkness_979.jpg

The Emperor of Darkness was the supreme ruler and warlord of the Mykene. Its main goal was leading the Mykene back to the surface. However, he left the war planning and development of operations to its commanders, limiting itself to replace them when they failed too much or died. He never left his throne and never travelled to the surface.

Tropes:

  • Energy Beings: It seems a gigantic, skeletal head and torso made of –or wrapped in- bright-orange or bluish flame.
  • Enemy Mine: Subverted. In one of the UFO Robo Grendizer manga versions, he offered Kouji Kabuto an alliance to fight the Vegans together. It was subverted because Kouji refused the offer and Big Bad King Vega killed the Emperor to impede that alliance and get rid of a possible enemy and competitor.
  • Everybody Hates Hades: Later versions identified it as the Greek God of the Underworld.
  • Evil Is Burning Hot: Look at him!
  • Expy: of God.
  • God-Emperor: He was emperor of all Mykene and in later retellings it was stated he was Hades, Greek God of Underworld. Given that the Mykene were an ancient Greek civilization lived underground, it fit.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: He played this role in Mazinger Z.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the UFO Robo Grendizer manga, after remaining The Unfought in both the anime and manga of Great Mazinger. He turns out to be a bunch of living organs in a jar, which Kouji accidentally drops and breaks.
  • Non-Action Big Bad: Despite of being a very powerful threat, he never fought the heroes directly.
  • Orcus on His Throne: He NEVER did ANYTHING throughout the series. He just sat on his throne as his lackeys planned the war. The only proactive action he did was reviving Dr. Hell, and that did not work as well when you think about it. The Grendizer manga reveals that the reason he never leaves his underwater city is that he can't - he's an immobile Brain in a Jar whose only real asset is telepathy. The giant fiery face he usually appears as is a hologram.
  • Playing with Fire: While he was never seen in battle, the Super Robot Wars games display the ability to release a stream of fire at opponents and send fireballs en masse at a wide area.
  • The Man Behind the Curtain: Only in the Grendizer manga do we learn his true nature - he's a bunch of pickled organs in a vat, still alive but utterly helpless, who disguises himself with a hologram.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Bizarrely, while Tetsuya, Jun, Kouji and Sayaka obliterated his army, they never found his subterranean empire’s capital, nor attacked him. He remained in the underground, and we never saw what happened to him after that point in the anime. You had to read the UFO Robo Grendizer Ota’s manga to find out what was his fate.

    Great General of Darkness 

Great General of Darkness

Voice Actor: Kosei Tomita (Mazinger Z), Kenichi Ogata (Great Mazinger), Shōzō Iizuka (Mazinkaiser)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AnkokuDaishogun_896.jpg
Great General of Darkness: "Your end has come! I have already failed too many times with you! For your blame, the Emperor of Darkness has got a fit of rage! Now I am through playing with you! The strength of the General of Darkness, commander of seven armies of Mykene… Now it shall descend upon you!" (Gosaku Ota manga)

The Great General of Darkness (Ankoku Daishogun) was the supreme commander of the Mykene Empire, and led the seven armies in their mission of conquest of the surface world. He was a gigantic warrior clad in an armour vaguely resembling that of a Roman soldier, a helmet fitted with three horns, a long red-and-indigo cape and a sword. In all of his incarnations he is a very powerful warrior.

When Dr. Hell seized a bunch of ancient and outdated Warrior Monsters in Bardos, Daishogun was the one who dispatched Gorgon to the surface world to coerce Hell in returning them. Later Daishogun allowed Gorgon to give Dr. Hell newer and more powerful Robeasts (even though they were not proper Warrior Monsters) to use against Mazinger Z. Their plan was making one of their enemies defeat the other, and then destroying the weakened victor.

When Mazinger-Z finally vanquished Dr. Hell, Gorgon attacked immediately. Mazinger-Z was destroyed, but Kouji was saved by the sudden appearance of Great Mazinger. Since that moment, Daishogun focused his efforts in destroying Tetsuya Tsurugi and his allies. However, Great Mazinger slew his Warrior Monsters again and again. Finally Daishogun ran out of patience and challenged Great Mazinger to a duel.

Tropes:

  • A Father to His Men: While it is not often shown the Great General does indeed care about his underlings, wishing to avenge their deaths. In Mazinger vs Ankoku Daishogun:
    Ankoku Daishogun: "There is no forgiveness to those make a mistake and let four comrades perish!"
  • Amazing Technicolor Population: His true face -located on the chest- is blue. It may be justified, since he is not human.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Out of ALL villains in the WHOLE trilogy he is the most badass}- BY FAR!. During his duel with Great Mazinger, he beat the crap out of the giant robot, and in fact he believed he had killed Tetsuya, declaring his victory before dying.
  • Badass Cape: His classic version has a long red cape. In Mazinkaiser his cape is also colored black on the outside, while the inside is red.
  • Beard of Evil: His true face is located on his chest and is a bearded old man.
  • BFS: He carries a sword as big as him that he weilds with just one hand. It can cut and bash enemies effortlessly.
  • Breakout Villain: He only lasted roughly 3/4 through the whole show. However, he is popular enough that he got two movie adaptation that stars him as the main villain. There is a good chance that someone who never watched the original series did not know that he is actually not the Big Bad.
  • Colonel Badass: Commander Badass, in this case. He wields a BFS, sports a Badass Cape and a beard, and he can kick the butt of nearly any Humongous Mecha invented by Go Nagai. He led the army of Mykene Empire, personally or delegating on his generals, and he was A Father to His Men considered unforgivable default intelligence costed the lives of his troops. He fought Great Mazinger because he knew he could win, slicing it with his blade mercilessly as he laughed its attacks off. And he fought Mazinkaiser quite evenly.
  • The Dragon: To the Emperor of Darkness. The Great General has been the Emperor's right hand man since even before they established the present empire. The General's loyalty is second to none and never questions the emperor's choice or orders.
    • Dragon-in-Chief: Considering how strongly fans have embraced him for being such a bad ass he's pretty been accepted as the true Big Bad of Great Mazinger. Considering how much the Emperor just sits around this would be easy even if the Great General wasn't a total bad ass.
  • Dub Name Change: In some Spanish dubs he was renamed “Gran Señor” (Great Lord) or “General Negro” (General Black).
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: His duel against Great Mazinger and his death. After severely damaging Great Mazinger, he thought he had killed Tetsuya, and died after expressing he had no regrets.
  • Eye Beams: He can also shoot beams out of his eyes, as powerful as Mazinger Z’s.
  • Face Death with Dignity: Since he is killed after his duel with Tetsuya, he has no regrets. And then there's his death after his duel against Tetsuya in the future of Alpha Gaiden.
    Ankoku Daishogun: "All I need is a heroic song to let me endure the tortures of Hell!"
    • It was specially awesome in the anime version because he believed he had won.
  • Fantastic Racism: He does not particularly like human beings… although he is capable of showing respect to those prove themselves being worthy of it.
  • Hero Killer: In all his incarnations Daishogun has proved he can single-handily deliver a sound trashing not only to the heroes of the Mazinsaga, but also nearly any Humongous Mecha created by Go Nagai. In Great Mazinger, when he approached the Home Base to defy Tetsuya to a last man-to-man Sword Fight, all -Prof. Kabuto, Jun and the Bridge Bunnies- begged Tetsuya fleeing right away rather meeting his challenge. In a promotional video for the Mazinkaiser series he utterly destroyed Great Mazinger, Venus A, Getter Robo G, Kotetsu Jeeg and more giant robots simultaneously, without breaking a sweat or being hurt. In Mazinkaiser he went toe-to-toe with the titular Humongous Mecha, the strongest Mazinger ever built. In Shin Mazinger his first appearance gets him standing over a utterly trashed, defeated and downed Mazinger-Z, and in his last appearance he cut Mount Fuji in half. Daishogun is easily the most badass villain in the Mazinger universe.
  • Honor Before Reason: He put the chance to have honorable duel with Tetsuya above almost everything, including his life.
  • Large Ham: In all possible ways:
    Ankoku Daishogun: “Now it is my turn! This is the last chance to demonstrate my bravery! Open the hatch.”
  • Man Behind the Man: He was Gorgon’s true leader.
  • Pyrrhic Victory: In Mazinger vs Ankoku Daishogun, Gorgon reports Tokyo has been destroyed. Daishogun asks him how he can be so glad when four of his soldiers have been annihilated.
  • Undying Loyalty: Loyal to the Mycenae Empire, he will strike down any threat to it, whether it be the Mazinger robots or a rogue within the Empire's ranks.
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wanted to conquer the surface so the Mykene could see the sun again after several millennia.
  • Worthy Opponent: Ultimately he considered Tetsuya being his.

    Marquis Janus 

Marquis Janus

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Marquis_Janus_6811.jpg

Marquis Janus was a witch with purple, horn-shaped purple hair, clad in a red dress. Usually she carried a white wooden staff and was accompanied by a black cat. She has two faces: a beautiful and human-looking she uses to blend among humans and a wrinkled and demoniac one, usually hidden under her hair. When she wants showing her true face, her head turns 180 degrees around, and the hair covering it parts away.

She was Gorgon’s replacement after he was accidentally killed by Great Mazinger. She also was under the command of Great General of Darkness –and later Great Marshall of Hell-, and Minister Argos was her chief adviser.

Janus was scheming, conniving and very revengeful. Despite she wielded several powers –flight, teleportation, invisibility and mind-controlling- she avoided direct, physical fights. She preferred using trickery and cunning to achieve her goals, instead. She had her own Humongous Mecha, but unlike Daishogun, it was not very strong, and Great Mazinger could beat it without too much hassle.

Tropes:

  • Antagonist in Mourning: She competed with the Great General of Darkness. However she mourned him after his death.
  • Clarke's Third Law: Marquis Janus employs some sort of witchcraft in battle allowing her to fly, teleport, and turn invisible; though it seems more likely to be from the advanced technology of the Empire, shown when Janus uses electronic spikes to control people's minds.
  • Cleavage Window: In her human disguise, she a green dress with yellow bands and a diamond shape opening on the chest showing her cleavage.
  • Combat Pragmatist: Pfff. Why fighting your foes fairly when you can poison their food?
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: She cold-bloodily tore Misato in half with a swipe of one his sharp nails in the Gosaku Ota episodes. And she did it only to get back on Tetsuya.
  • Eye Beams: She –and her robot- can use them.
  • Face-Revealing Turn: It happens when she wants switching faces. IT is ‘’very’’ creepy.
  • Humongous Mecha: She had her own giant mecha, called Janus Koushaku that she controlled through a cockpit located in its left breast.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the final battle against the Great Mazinger and its allies, Janus entered the battle but was destroyed when she and her robot crashed to the computers and caused the Demonika to explode.
  • Lady of Black Magic: Subverted. She seems a sort of witch, but her powers derivated from advanced technology.
  • Meaningful Name: She has two faces right like Roman god Janus.
  • Sizeshifter: Her Humongous Mecha could change sizes, shrinking until it was human-size.
  • Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Her dual-faced character design, plus her status as one of the highest ranking officers in the antagonists army make her like a completely female version of Baron Ashura.
  • Two-Faced: Yanus had a human face she used to blend among humans, and her true, demonic-looking face was on the "back" of her head, covered with strands of hair.

    Great Marshall of Hell 

Great Marshall of Hell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Marshall1_7921.jpg
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Marshall2_1624.jpg

Dr. Hell: Damned imbeciles! You do not deserve being alive! One day I shall purge all of you off this world! And everybody shall kneel before me!
Dr. Hell: I shall crush Japan in merely ten days! And the world will witness the true power of Dr. Hell!

He was a colleague of Dr. Kabuto, a well-meaning scientist. He was born in Germany on 9-6-1902. He was an unwanted child, a fact his mother reminded him of constantly. Scorned and beaten by his parents, he found shelter in books, and became very smart… However it only served for him to be accused of cheating by his teachers, and to be beaten by his classmates.

In college he did not fare much better. People ignored him and he convinced himself that all of them envied him. Back then he met Juzo Kabuto –Kouji’s grandfather- and fell in love with a Japanese exchange student, Yumiko. He thought she returned his feelings, but when he found out that she and Juzo were a couple, Hell –who was already unstable and was convinced that everybody was envious of him or out to get him- flipped out completely, convinced himself they were pretending being his friends to hurt him and attempted to kill both of them. After that incident people began to stay away him, and he suffered more humiliations and beatings –even when he was trying being nice- and he vowed to himself that in the future he would make them pay.

During the rise of Hitler, he got seduced by the idea of taking over the world and forcing everybody to kneel before him. He secretly built several Doomsday devices for Hitler –but he kept most of his technologic breakthroughs for himself- and performed human experiments with Jews in Auswitchz. When Germany was defeated, he ran away and kept a low profile for a while.

Several years later he ran into Juzo Kabuto –now known as Dr. Kabuto- and accompanied him on an archaeological expedition to the Greek island of Bardos, where ruins of the ancient Mikenese Empire were found. There they discovered that the ancient Mikenese civilization had the technology to build giant robotic warriors. Hell killed all scientists in the expedition –save Dr. Kabuto-, stole that technology and used it to create an army of fighting machines with which he planned to conquer the world.

However, Dr. Kabuto used this technology coupled with a powerful alloy he'd created to build a robot, Mazinger Z, to halt Hell's plans for world conquest. Again and again Dr. Hell's robots were destroyed by Mazinger Z, sometimes due to the in-fighting between his lieutenants Baron Ashura and Count Brocken. After nearly all of his robots had been destroyed Mazinger Z and his allies traveled to Dr. Hell's island headquarters, and Hell and Count Brocken were apparently killed while attempting to flee in the Gool, their giant airship.

In some time, Emperor of Darkness retrieved Dr. Hell’s corpse and brought him back to life, placing him in the cockpit –located on the head- of a Humongous Mecha. So it was born Great Marshall of Hell. After Great General of Darkness’ death he arrived to the Mykene palace and was greeted by the Emperor like his army’s new supreme commander.

Under his new identity, Hell sought revenge against the new Mazinger. However he never was so physically imposing and powerful like his predecessor, and he preferred using strategy instead of strength to crush his enemies. After his death he was cleverer and more manipulative… and crueller, more merciless. In spite of he was now working for someone else he kept his old dreams of glory and domination.

See Mazinger Z characters page.

    Minister Argos 

Minister Argos

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Argos_7957.jpg

Argos was an adviser for the commanders of the army and spies such like Gorgon or Janus. He rarely directly commanded Mykene Warrior Beasts. His chest housed a super computer he used to give advice to other Mykene. He considered the Warrior Beast Cleo as his daughter.

  • Badass Bookworm: Argos is able to hold his own in battle against the Great General and the Great Mazinger.
  • Evil Chancellor
  • Humongous Mecha
  • Improbable Weapon User: He can turn his beard into a sword.
  • Killed Off for Real: After losing his body, Janus carries his still-living head around in the final arc, and it blows up with her.
  • Losing Your Head: His true head is not grafted into his body but it is housed into the pommel of his cane. Later in the series his body is destroyed and he remained like a bodiless head until the last episode.
  • Non-Standard Character Design: He stands out among the other officers in the Mykene Empire because his head isn't grafted to his body, but rather connected to the pommel of the cane his cyborg body carries around.
  • The Strategist: While Argos rarely commands Warrior Beasts he uses his vast intelligence to offer strategic advice as well as information about enemies.

    Archduke Gorgon 

Archduke Gorgon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ArchdukeGorgon_2983.jpg

Archduke Gorgon (Gorgon Taikou) was a Mykene and a loyal servant of the Emperor of Darkness, ruler of all Mykene. He reported to the Great General of Darkness, even though he was under the command of Minister Argos, chief of Intelligence. He was a bizarre, cybernetic being. His upper half was a blue-skinned, muscled, bearded man wore armor resembled those worn by a Roman soldier, and his lower half was a huge, long-fanged tiger.

Shortly after Dr. Hell murdered his colleagues, Gorgon showed up before him, accusing him –and rightly so- of stealing Mykene’s technology and demanding that he forfeit the robots he had stolen. Hell was able to calm him down, striking a bargain with him: he would use Mykene’s technology to take over the world but if he had troubles, he would ask Gorgon for help.

In episode 57, Dr. Hell was on the verge of succeeding, but he was humiliatingly defeated. Humiliated and disheartened, he thought of giving up, but finally he chose swallowing his pride and asking Gorgon for help. Gorgon agreed in fact, he just pretended he did. In reality, he intended to watch Dr. Hell, weakening him as he pretended to be helping him, and finally destroying him and Mazinger-Z to allow the unopposed rise of the Mykene.

Gorgon was prideful, boasting and daring, and despite his supposed alliance with Dr. Hell, he constantly showed his scorn for Hell and often showed contempt towards his henchmen. Ashura and Brocken were terrified from him, and only Pygman talked back (However he showed respect towards Ashura after his/her death). His Robeast were more powerful than Hell’s ones and actually they succeeded where Hell’s monsters failed and their shapes and powers were inspired on creatures of Classic Mythology. He had no troubles showing his strength and power, but above all he was a deceitful schemer.

In Great Mazinger it was revealed he was under the orders of Great General of Darkness the whole time. He kept serving the Mykene Empire and causing troubles for Mazinger until he was accidentally killed by Great Mazinger and replaced.

Tropes:

  • Alas, Poor Villain: Because of the inner power struggles between the Great General of Darkness, Minister Argos and the seven generals, Gorgon was betrayed, and he died as he tried saving a Monster Warrior from Great Mazinger.
    • Not just that: he doesn't die immediately and, with almost all the tiger body destroyed, manages to swim to his base. There he's personally contacted by the Emperor, who promotes and honors him. Gorgon has never been happier... and dies literally a minute later.
  • Beard of Evil
  • Chekhov's Gunman: He initially appears to be just another officer for Dr. Hell, but then reveals himself as having never been loyal to Dr. Hell all along and instead being a high-ranking officer of the Mykene Empire's army.
  • Co-Dragons: With Ashura until his/her death, Brocken and Pygman in Mazinger Z. However he never treated them like equals.
  • Dragon with an Agenda: Dr. Hell made a deal with Gorgon to use the technology to conquer the world and if he needed help would go to Gorgon. Gorgon accepted the terms and appeared years later when Dr. Hell's enemy, Mazinger Z destroyed many Mechanical Beasts. Gorgon however, was only using Hell to make an attack for the Empire easier.
  • The Dreaded: In Mazinger Z. All heroes -and even his allies- are scared of him. He is strong, physically imposing, ruthless, and neither of them can beat him in a fight. The only character refused to shrink back from him was Pygman.
  • Dub Name Change: Called Genghis the Ghastly in Tranzor Z.
  • The Mole: He pretended to ally with Hell but he was an undercover agent for the Mykene.
  • Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: He is a muscled, armor-wearing, sword-wielding man whose lower half is a freaking, saber-toothed tiger. You tell me that it is not badass.
  • Spanner in the Works: His master plan almost fully succeeded, but he could not kill all of his enemies because he did not know about Kenzo Kabuto and Great Mazinger. That faulty intelligence brought about the downfall of the Mykene Empire.
  • Xanatos Gambit: His plan was pitting Mazinger Z against Dr. Hell, expecting they destroyed each other or the survivor was so weakened that it would be easy destroying him/her. He could not lose, not matter what happened, and he almost succeeded.

    General JuliCaesar 

General JuliCaesar

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/JuliCesar_8526.jpg

He was the commander of the Superhuman Battle Beasts, and he resembled a gigantic human warrior, geared with Roman-style armour. He is an honourable, proud warrior confronts his enemies head-on and dislikes fighting dirty. His army is the largest of the seven divisions of the Mykene army and he is considered Great General of Darkness’ right hand.

Tropes:

  • Co-Dragons: The first of the Mycenae Empire's seven generals, who all hold equal rank.
  • Combat Pragmatism: Defied. He hates unfair fights and likes to be honorable and clean in a battle.
  • Gladiator: He resembles a Roman soldier.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the manga he rides the final Battle Beast, Great Mammoth, into the final battle personally, and is destroyed when it is. In the anime he still sends out the Mammoth but remains aboard the Grand Marshal's flagship, presumably blowing up when it does.
  • Meaningful Name: His name is obviously based on the name of Julius Caesar.
  • Noble Demon: He might be an evil minon of the Great General of Darkness, but he hates fighting unfairly and would rather confront his enemies directly and honorably.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy
  • Undying Loyalty: JuliCaesar is one of the most loyal members of the Mycenae army, following the orders of the Great General of Darkness without question.

    General Hardias 

General Hardias

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Hadias_8737.jpg

He was the commander of the Evil Spirits army. Their main weapons were his psychic powers, fire-breathing -through from the head mounted on his hand-, psychological warfare… and fear. He enjoyed demoralizing and terrifying his victims before killing them.

  • Body Horror: Oh, my God, where to begin? He resembles a giant skeleton wearing a ragged robe wrapped around his body. His skull is upside down. His waist is another bigger inversed skull. And his true face is mounted on his left arm, replacing his hand. Oh, and it is wreathed in flames.
  • Breath Weapon: One of his powers.
  • Butt-Monkey: Despite his dreadful appearance, eerie powers and mastery about the sensation of fear, he was made a fool from himself many times.
  • Co-Dragons: Another of the seven generals.
  • Dem Bones: He resembles a gigantic skeleton.
  • Killed Off for Real: Cut in half by Great Mazinger in the manga and the original Mazinger in the anime.
  • Mummy: One of his subordinates, Mamirez.
  • Sinister Scythe: His weapon of choice.
  • Squishy Wizard: His soldiers all have unusual abilities, but all tend to go down very fast once said abilities are defeated.
  • The Grim Reaper: He is not one, but... He looks like a skeleton wearing tattered rags and a scythe. He certainly looks like one. And if you keep in mind in some versions his Emperor is Hades, King of the Underworld, definitely he fits the type.
  • The Undead: General Hardias himself evokes a Grim Reaper and the known members of his Evil Spirits army are a ghostly skeleton named Dante, andother skeleton named Zugar, a floating head named Psychoveia, and the mummy Mamirez. They use fear and bizarre psychic abilities to destroy their enemy inwardly and outwardly.
  • Youkai

    General Angoras 

General Angoras

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Angoras_576.jpg

He was the commander of the Aquatic Warrior Beasts. His speciality was ambushing and striking his victims from below. He was the most ruthless of all commanders. He was the commander of the naval forces of the Mykene Empire. When the Mykene Empire threw its first strike, his Warrior Monsters quickly dominated the seas.

Tropes:

  • A Father to His Men: Subverted. He is the most ruthless of the Mycenae generals willing to sacrifice his own Warrior Beasts to destroy the Great Mazinger, but has no qualms about killing his own Warrior Beasts off if he thinks the situation warrants it.
  • Animal Mecha: He resembles an angler fish (much like the Chip Kamoy of the Gosaku Ota Mazinger Z manga).
  • Co-Dragons: Another of the seven generals.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the final battle in the anime, he and General Ligern face off against Mazinger Z but when trying to retreat he is shot by a Koshiryoku Beam and died from the blow. In the manga, he is blown up in Dr. Kabuto's kamikaze strike.

    General Ligern 

General Ligern

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Ligern_5823.jpg

He was the commander of the Mammalian Warrior Beasts. He was the vilest of the seven commanders and a glory hog was always trying to steal someone else’s thunder. His attempts for making himself looking good and his haste for attacking caused not only several defeats but also his comrades hated him. Great General of Darkness would have killed him personally if it was not for his skill for whipping his troops in berserker rages. Apparently it was the only thing he was good for.

Tropes:

  • Animal Mecha: He resembles a demon-looking centaur.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack!: His favourite and favoured battle tactic.
  • The Berserker: He goads his troops to act like unstoppable, furious, blood-thirsty, wild beasts.
  • Co-Dragons: Yet another of the seven generals.
  • Dirty Coward: In battle, Ligern employs shameless tactics to defeat enemies from sneak attacks to crowd battles.
  • General Ripper
  • Killed Off for Real: In the anime's final battle, he and Angoras face off against Mazinger Z but he is hit by Koshiryoku Beam through his chest causing him to die. He is also killed by Dr. Kabuto's bomb in the manga.
  • Shock and Awe: His fangs shot electro-magnetic discharges.

    General Scarabeth 

General Scarabeth

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Scarabeth_2471.jpg

He was the commander of the Insect Warrior Beasts. He was a remarkable tactician, capable to create brilliant strategies and complete impossible missions. However he was also the more battle-thirsty commander, and was prone to charge the enemy headfirst without waiting for his troops.

Tropes:

  • Animal Mecha: He resembled a gigantic rhinoceros beetle.
  • Big Creepy-Crawlies: His troops are robots shaped like giant insects, and they were Mykene Empire shock troops. They used his powerful insect-like shells to advance like tanks through the battlefield, crushing all their enemies.
  • Co-Dragons: Another of the seven generals.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the anime's final battle, Scarabeth stayed by Hell's side and is presumed dead when the Demonika was attacked and destroyed by the Mazingers and their female companions. He is also blown up by Kabuto's suicide attack in the manga.
  • Leeroy Jenkins: Partially. He tends to charge impulsively against the enemy, but he is also an excellent strategist.
  • Master of Threads: He also could produce strands of tough-as-steel silk wrapped and immobilized his adversary.

    General Draydou 

General Draydou

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Draydou_567.jpg

He was the commander of the Reptilian Warrior Beasts. He was the most cunning, most careful and smartest of the commanders, being perfectly willing to fight dirty and using trickery and deception. Still he was a powerful warrior.

Tropes:

  • Animal Mecha: He resembled a humanoid lizard or a bipedal Eastern dragon.
  • Breath Weapon: He could shoot a stream of fire from his mouth. In some versions it was radioactive fire.
  • Co-Dragons: Another of the seven generals.
  • Combat Pragmatist: He did not mind fighting dirty at the slightest.
  • Killed Off for Real: Cut in half by Mazinger's razor-sharp wings in the anime; blown up by Dr. Kabuto in the manga.
  • Lizard Folk: His troops. They were among the most vicious Warrior Monsters, since they wasted no time striking and counterattacking, and often their weapons burnt their enemies with acid or poisoned them.
  • Our Dragons Are Different: He resembled a biomechanical, humanoid eastern dragon.
  • Shout-Out: In some manga translations is told that he breaths radioactive fire. Maybe it is a shout-out to Godzilla?

    General Birdler 

General Birdler

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Birdler_9506.jpg

He was the commander of the Aerial Warrior Beasts. He was bullish, overconfident and impulsive. He was a skilled fighter, with lightning-fast speed and high manoeuvrability. Also, his wings can launch ultrasonic waves or shoot shockwaves and tornadoes.

Tropes:

  • Animal Mecha: He resembled a humanoid bird.
  • Co-Dragons: The last of the seven generals
  • Giant Flyer: His troops resembled giant birds, and they were the primary Air of the Mykene Army. Although many Monster Warriors from other divisions could fly, Birdler and his troops were the fastest and most manoeuvrable flying soldiers.
  • Killed Off for Real: In the anime he is the first of the seven generals to die, mortally wounded by Great Mazinger in episode 47. In the manga he is yet another victim of Dr. Kabuto's suicide attack.

    General Juuma 

General Juuma

He only showed up on the Mazinger Z vs Great General of Darkness movie. The Great General of Darkness tasked him with the initial invasion and the destruction of Mazinger Z and the Photon Lab Institute. He succeeded in both counts but he failed in killing Kouji Kabuto due to Tetsuya performing an impressive Big Damn Heroes. At the end his troops were annihilated by both Mazingers and he got killed by a broken Mazinger Z.

Tropes:

  • Beard of Evil
  • Breath Weapon: The head of the reptilian beast his torso is mounted on expels flames out.
  • Composite Character: He's an almost literal one for the seven generals, as his character design has traits that embody each and every one of them in some way, as if they all preformed a Fusion Dance with eachother, such as having a bug face on his abdomen, as well as a crocodilian like face on the front of his centaur-like lower half, which invoke Scarabeth and Draydou, for example.
  • The Dragon: To the Great General of Darkness.
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: He tried to burn both Mazinger with his Breath Weapon, but Tetsuya sent the tongues of flames back to him with a gust of Great Typhoon.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: By Mazinger Z with Great Mazinger’s blade.
  • Ironic Death: After standing by as his squad utterly trashed a helpless Mazinger Z, confining himself to utter insults and give the final blow, he got killed for the same robot he had mocked and nearly destroyed.
  • Killed Off for Real: He never showed up again after that movie.
  • Mix-and-Match Critter: The lower half is a four-legged beast with reptilian head and red bat wings. The upper half is a blue-skinned, bearded humanoid, behatted with a hat resembles a lion's head. And one of his arms is a metallic tentacle with a head attached at the tip. And one head of insect apparently sprouts from his abdomen.


Other Characters

    Bakarasu 

Bakarasu

Voice Actor:

First Appearance: Episode 69 (in Mazinger Z); episode 4 (in Great Mazinger)

Bakarasu was a male raven Boss and his gang met in episode 69 form Mazinger Z. Later he was a semi-recurrent secondary character for one third of Great Mazinger. He resembled a normal crow, but his beak was yellow and wide, and his eyes were surrounded by two distinctive yellow circles made it looked like if he wore glasses. He was clever enough to talk and repeat what someone else told. Unfortunately he was a trickster loved messing with humans -especially Boss-. Boss used him like a lookout to spy the enemy or a courier to carry messages around. However Bakarasu paid no allegiance to the group and apparently he only worked with them because he enjoyed making a fool of Boss. He could not be trusted with a message, either. He is basically a Plucky Comic Relief character.

Tropes:

  • Animal Stereotypes: He fit quite well with the traits of the heroic corvid: He was cunning, mischievous and trickster, and he enjoyed tweaking the messages he was supposed to deliver and getting Boss in trouble.
  • Dub Name Change: To Aesop in Tranzor Z.
  • Funny Animal
  • Idiot Crows: A lively example.
  • Instant Messenger Pigeon: Slightly subverted. Yes, he carried messages... but he lasted a short while, and he altered them.
  • Joke Character
  • Meaningful Name: Boss named him Bakarasu. In Japanese it would roughly mean "Dumb crow" (Baka=dumb; Karasu=Crow)
  • Speech-Impaired Animal
  • Talking Animal
  • The Trickster: He loved deceiving humans and enjoying the chaos he caused. You should not even trust him with your money lunch.
  • Unreliable Narrator: He loved twisting messages. In Great Mazinger episode 4:
    Boss: There's a certain Jun over there. Tell her this... A weird peanut-shaped object fell from the sky into the forest.
    Bakarasu: Boss has a message for you: Boss says that giant peanut in the forest is for you!
    • And later...
    Boss: Tell her, sorry for the delay, but just let it slide. Let's join forces and fight together.
    Bakarasu:Jun, Boss has a message: Boss is angry. Now you're rivals!


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