This is a page about the characters appearing in Mazinger Z. Just as a warning, this page probably contains spoilers.
Tropes for their Shin Mazinger incarnations can be found here.
The Photon Lab Institute
Kouji Kabuto
Voiced by: Hiroya Ishimaru (Japan), Showtaro Morikubo (Infinity, Japanese), Wayne Grayson (Infinity, English), Julia Gallego (Spain), Jesús Barrero and Juan Alfonso Carralero (Latin America/TV series original dub), Pascual Meza (Latin America/Remasterized version and Infinity), Robert Newell (Mazinkaiser, English)
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 fulfill 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 hotheaded 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 considered one of the stalwarts of the Japanese-exclusive strategy games Super Robot Wars and appears in nearly every incarnation note .
- 10-Minute Retirement: Started -and ended- in episode 7. He quit cause a fight with Sayaka, but he decided to return when he found out the angry mobs were being manipulated by Ashura, a Beast -Ozones B3- was rampaging through the city, and Sayaka was fighting it.
- Accidental Pervert: In the Mazinger vs Great General of Darkness movie, Kouji went in the bathroom right when Sayaka was taking a shower. After getting a slap he apologized and swore it was an accident (although he was half-smirking as he told so).
- Ace Pilot: He grew into the role. In many SRW incarnations, he's considered one of the team's veteran aces.
- Alliterative Name: Koji Kabuto.
- Archnemesis Dad: In some alternate universes, Kouji has to fight his father or his grandfather, who have gone completely nuts.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: He falls into this sometimes, when he is facing a Mechanical Beast several times stronger than Mazinger and still he refuses retiring or playing defensive. However, he still is able to think strategically, come up with plans quickly, and every so often you can talk him into leaving the battlefield, so he is not the biggest offender in the series (that one would be Tetsuya).
- Badass and Child Duo: His little brother usually hangs around him. Needless to say, threaten Shiro and the pain you will feel will depend on whether Kouji is or is not riding his Humongous Mecha in the time.
- Badass Biker: At the start of the series, Koji's only special skill was motorcycle driving.
- Battle Couple: The male half, with Sayaka as the female.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: After hearing reports about ufo sightings, he wishes making the First Contact with the aliens in UFO Robo Grendizer. Needless to say, It went very poorly.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Sayaka in Mazinger Z and Maria in UFO Robo Grendizer.
- Big Eater: Kouji is occasionally shown to be one. Hell, in the Mazinkaizer movie, he eats about ten times as much as the rest of the table combined (yes, those dishes are all his
◊) before insisting that he's still hungry. - Big "NO!": Kouji screams one when his grandfather dies.
- Brainwashed and Crazy:
- By the Vegans in the UFO Robo Grendizer Go Nagai manga, the UFO Robot Grendizer tai Great Mazinger movie.
- And by Viscount Pygman in the Mazinger series.
- Butt-Monkey: He suffered of this in Grendizer quite often.
- Calling Your Attacks In Gratuitous English: Koji's most famous trait (and indeed, his legacy) is his habit of yelling out weapon names before using them. His most famous battle cries, "Rocket Punch!" (that sent one or both of Mazinger's forearms flying at a foe), "Breast Fire!" (which activated the red heat sinks on Mazinger's chest, melting most enemies to slag) and "Majin Go!" are well-known in Japan, even by people who have never watched Mazinger before. This has since become the trademark of Super Robot pilots everywhere.
- The only ones that averted this were the Photon Beam, spoken in Japanese as "Koushiryoku Beam", Great Wheel Rocket Punch (Daisharin Rocket Punch), and the Freeze Ray (Reitou Beam).
- Chaste Hero: He was not so bad in the original manga, but in the anime series, he doesn't get when a woman is interested in him, especially if that woman is Sayaka (or Maria from 'UFO Robo Grendizer''). If they tried to flirt, often he replied by teasing them. Given that the two of them were hot-tempered Tsunderes, you can tell how well it ended for him.
- Chef of Iron: In original Manga. He is shown on screen to be the one that cooks for his household breakfast. It is also implied that his cooking is pretty good no matter how ridiculous it is (his croquette is huge (Sayaka said it's a Mazinger class croquette referring to its size) and can shoot Rust Tornado (Unleash wind when cut) and Rocket Punch (launch a part of it when its cut, directly to Shiro's mouth), and of course he kicks ass in battle.
- Combat Pragmatist: Like you wouldn't believe. In his first appearance, in which he just received Mazinger, his fight is filled by abusing the fact that Mazinger really IS invincible (at least for that point). During his second appearance, he is not above tricking his opponent to think that he gives up the fight only to kick ass. And he does this several time during the course of the series.
- Combination Attack: Double Burning Fire, Triple Mazinger Blade and Final Dynamic Special
- Clothes Make the Legend: Kouji Kabuto has always worn the same pilot outfit since the 70's: a red skintight bodysuit, striped yellow boots and armguards, and a white helmet with two protuding spikes pointing backwards. It's such a unique of a design and Kouji's worn it for so long it's become unmistakable.
- Cruel to Be Kind: Sometimes he was intentionally harsh in order to help someone out.
- Delinquents: Skipped school and used rough language.
- Demoted to Extra: In Mazinger he was The Hero. In Great Mazinger he was The Lancer for a short while. In UFO Robo Grendizer he was the sidekick before becoming The Lancer again.
- Determinator: He possesses a strong will, never backing down from a challenge even when the Mazinger is badly beaten and can no longer fight.
- Determined Defeatist: He kept fighting even when he thought -or knew- that he couldn't win. He fought Jinray S1 despite of having almost no chances to defeat a flying, ultra-fast Robeast that used hit-and-run tactics. And he deployed Mazinger-Z to fight a squad of Mykene War Beasts even knowing that he'd not win that battle.
- Distaff Counterpart: In the Mazinger Angels Z manga (a sequel to Mazinger Angels, a Charlie's Angels parody starring the female main characters of the Mazinger trilogy, with countless ShoutOuts to other Go Nagai works), Kouji's role was given to Kikunosuke Abashiri, a character of Abashiri Ikka, an early manga from Go Nagai.
- Drives Like Crazy: Kouji is a not a bad driver. Oh, no. The problem is that when he drives he is the only person on the road who's safe. He is a Badass Biker, believes traffic regulations are mere suggestions, limit speed is a myth and bikes were made to pull crazy stunts with them.
- Dub Name Change:
- In Tranzor Z, Koji was named Tommy Davis, which was somewhat confusing as he was unrelated to the counterparts of Sayaka Yumi and her father, whose last names were also Davis. He was voiced by Gregg Berger in the dub.
- When UFO Robo Grendizer was shown in the United States as part of Force Five, Koji's name was Lance Hyatt.
- Italian translators never identified Kabuto as the same character in Grendizer and in the Mazinger series. In the Italian version of Grendizer (broadcast for first in Italy), Koji was called Alcor; in Mazinger Z, Ryo Kabuto; in Great Mazinger, Koji Kabuto. As a result, many in Italy thought that the heroes of Japanese cartoons all looked alike. In the Italian version of Mazinkaiser, he was called Koji Kabuto again.
- The same confusion took place in France: he was called Alcor in the French version of Grendizer (from which the Italian one was taken), and Koji in the French version of Mazinger Z (which was broadcast much later in France).
- The same kind of confusion took place in Arabic speaking nations: While he was still called Koji in the Arabic version of Grendizer, he was called Maher in the Arabic version of Mazinger Z that was translated after Grendizer's success in the Middle East.
- And in Spain he was called Carlos Caribe in the Grendizer dub, despite of he was not renamed in the Mazinger Z dub.
- Genius Ditz: Unlike many similar hot-heads, Koji is actually exceptionally bright when he allows himself to think things through. This is demonstrated both in the Mazinger Z series, when at least twice he had to completely disable mechanical beasts with hostages inside (one of them being Sayaka's disabled cousin, Yuri); and in the Grendizer series, where he builds his flying saucer all by himself and later develops the Cyclone Beam. He is also an excellent shot (demonstrated in the Mazinkaiser VS Ankoku Dai Shogun movie when he shoots Archduke Gorgon in both his tiger head and human head with one shot).
- It should be noted, that Koji is sent to America in Great Mazinger to study, so he can become a scientist since Kenzo, Koji's father mentions that he has the scientist blood of Kabuto inside him. So, it's pretty much hereditary.
- Get a Hold of Yourself, Woman!: To Sayaka during her Heroic BSoD in episode 7. It only worked in getting her more upset and more furious.
- Ham-to-Ham Combat: In the Dynamic Heroes e-manga, Kouji fought the Great Marshall of Hell while riding Mazinger. It is noteworthy as it was, maybe, the first time in the history of the franchise Kouji and Dr. Hell faced each other as both were riding giant robots. Too bad it was a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- Heartbroken Badass: Kouji was completely heartbroken and devastated when he saw Sayaka getting murdered in an Alternate Universe.
- The Hero: He's the pilot of the titular Mazinger.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In CB Chara Go Nagai World, Koji blowing up the Mazinger
- Highschool Sweethearts: With Sayaka in the original manga and most of continuities.
- Hot-Blooded: Poster boy for this.
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: Their sideburns are unmistakable.
- Idiot Hero: One of the older examples. Excellent pilot, marvelous sniper, big ass Determinator, pretty good with motorcycles — but his little brother, his girlfriend and his Gonk rival keep correcting and bitchslapping him (verbally and literally) for his lack of tact, sexism and big mouth. Nevertheless, Kouji, unlike many similar hot-heads, may be exceptionally bright if he allows himself think things through. He is more of a Genius Ditz.
- Indy Ploy: He is able to think strategically and plotting strategies beforehand. However, given his rash, hotheaded nature, he is VERY prone to impulsively rush/leap/dive headfirst into a dangerous situation and figuring out along the way how he will walk out of it alive. These two pages of the "Mazinger Z: Relic of Terror" one-shot are a godd example:Kouji: There's no choice but for me to go and take it back!Sayaka: But you don't even know what the enemy is...!Kouji: I'll find out along the way!
- Interspecies Romance: With Maria (that is an alien princess) with Grendizer.
- A case can be made— after a very bizarre fashion— for one with Minerva X, who was effectively a female incarnation of Mazinger Z itself, and apparently had all of its powers.. The kicker being that Minerva was sentient, if utterly silent. It's hard to tell if Minerva's affection was for Kouji, Mazinger, both, or if she simply saw Kouji as part of Mazinger. Kouji did seem to have some kind of genuine interest in Minerva, to the point of putting a "bouquet" in her helmet. So in this case it was romance between a human and a giant female designed robot, effectively.
- It Runs in the Family: Despite the fact that he is kind of an Idiot Hero at time he is as much as a genius as his father and grandfather. He is also as bad as his father when it comes to Parental Abandonment. At least in Great Mazinger.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Beneath this hot-blooded exterior, there is a compassionate side on Koji that he usually only shows to his loved ones.
- Kid Hero: He's a sixteen-year-old hero who has survived three wars.
- Kid Hero All Grown-Up: Kouji is sixteen at the beginning of the story. When he comes back to fight the Mykene army, he's eighteen. When he allies himself with Duke Fleed to fight the Vegans, he's nineteen. Finally, he's 28 during the events of Infinity.
- The Lancer: To Daisuke/Duke Fleed in Grendizer.
- Large Ham
- Leeroy Jenkins: He is a mild case of this. On one hand, he never listens when someone tells him "Don't go", he is impulsive and hard-headed, falls into utterly DUMB, anybody-could-have-seen-it traps because he is too hasty and eager (a fact Kouji himself lampshades), and he is a Determinator has troubles to understand when quitting to fight. On the other hand, he IS capable of listen and follow instructions and plans, he is a Genius Ditz is good devising strategies on the fly, he is capable of deceiving the enemy and he understands sometimes is necessary and even good being stealth (although he is not very good at it, but at least he makes the attempt) or making a tactical retreat. And he is capable of acknowledging his mistakes (once he was forced to retreat. He was angry, but after The Professor Yumi explained the situation to him, he admitted he was wrong and apologized). In a nutshell, he shows some traits of the trope, but he has not let they get him killed.
- Love Triangle: Type 3 with Sayaka and Maria, with Kouji being the Chaste Hero in the middle.
- Manly Tears: He has three VERY memorable tears moments. One is in the beginning, when his grandfather dies in his arms. The other two are in the Mazinkaiser vs. the General of Darkness, with Dr. Morimori's Heroic Sacrifice, and when he finally defeats ALL the Mikene Empire and tearfully screams "My dead friends... I AVENGED YOU ALL!"
- Meaningful Name: Kabuto means "Helmet", and Kouji pilots his machine by attaching the Jet Pilder to its head.
- Also, the word "Mazinger" is formed by kanji mean "god", "devil" and "pilot", meaning Mazinger may be a god saves the world or a devil destroys it depending on its pilot.
- Men Use Violence, Women Use Communication: He is more than willing use violence to solve a conflict, whereas Sayaka is the opposite (he tried to change tactic once, and the Vegans shot him down).
- Missing Mom: Tsubasa Nishikori. In episode 90, Dr. Hell fabricated a cyborg looked exactly like her and sent it to the Institute in order to wreak havoc while he made preparations for the final battle. Naturally, that stratagem caused much grief, especially to Shiro.
- New Transfer Student: He transferred to Sayaka's high school after his first battle in order to live closer to the Institute.
- No Indoor Voice: Indoor Voice? What is that "Indoor Voice" stuff you speak of?
- Oblivious to Love: In a way Sayaka finds very infuriating.
- Official Couple: With Sayaka. Although, depending on the continuity, they are this or Implied Love Interest.
- Ordinary High-School Student: Koji was a mostly average high-schooler until Dr. Hell murdered his grandfather.
- Promotion to Parent: After their parents and grandfather's deaths, Kouji became his little brother Shiro's de facto guardian.
- Put on a Bus: He and Sayaka went to America after the end of the series, and they were not seen again until the end of Great Mazinger.
- Real Men Cook: Seeing Chef of Iron example above.
- Red Is Heroic: His iconic Latex Space Suit is red.
- The Rival: With Boss usually – and Tetsuya in Great Mazinger.
- Samurai: Called one by Dr. Hell in episode 26 due to his tenacity, courage and battle prowess.
- Scarf of Asskicking: Kouji was going to wear a scarf at the beginning, but Go Nagai removed it when Kamen Rider premiered because he did not want people thinking that he was ripping it off.
- Shipper on Deck: Kouji shipped his little brother with Lorelei... until things go From Bad to Worse.
- Shonen Hair: His hair is spiky, combed backwards, and his sideburns are pointy and bent onward.
- Sidekick: To Duke Fleed/Daisuke Umon in Grendizer. Later graduated to The Lancer.
- Stock Shōnen Hero: He can be considered the Trope Maker, as he predates many of the more famous examples by at least a decade (Son Goku from Dragon Ball, which began as a manga in 1984, is the Trope Codifier). He's the spiky-headed, Hot-Blooded pilot of the titular Mazinger Z and has many Idiot Hero tendencies, showcased with his Tsundere girlfriend Sayaka Yumi. Nevertheless, he's also very big on The Power of Friendship, befriending one of his school bullies Boss, and will fight to hell and back if it's about helping his friends. Said passion and determination ends up being the bedrock of a crossover series that very much runs with this and always featured him 99% of the time.
- Troubled, but Cute
- Unbroken Vigil: To Shiro in Mazinger-Z versus Great General of Darkness when his little brother fell into a coma.
- Unusual Eyebrows: Of the Fiery type.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: While Koji mainly sees Boss and his gang as a nuisance, they become good friends as the series moves on.
- Worthy Opponent:
- Both Dr. Hell and Baron Ashura regarded him as a strong, clever, resourceful, tenacious enemy.
- Likewise Kouji respected Ashura's cunning and resolution. He also also respected some Mechanical Beasts who proved to be a real challenge. When gladiator Robeast Spartan K5 got blown up, Kouji told that Spartan was a true warrior.
- You Killed My Father: Straight after his grandfather's death, Kouji swore that he'd find his murderers and avenge his grandfather.
Mazinger Z
The titular mecha of the series.
Mazinger Z was created by Dr. Junzo Kabuto by reverse engineering the technology of an ancient civilization with highly advanced robotic technology; galvanizing the armor plating with Japanium to create Super Alloy Z and powering the machine with Photonic Energy. The end result was a piloted robot more powerful than the combined military might of the developed world a robot that will grant its pilot the power to become a god who can save the world or a devil who would destroy it.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the manga, Mazingers forearms were black, they were colored a navy blue in the anime.
- Breath Weapon: The Rust Hurricane, which blows a cocktail of acids and rusting agents, turning enemy robots into dust instantly.
- Chest Blaster: Its signature attack, the Breast Fire; the red chest plates contain two heat sinks that can fire a beam of 30,000°C (54,032°F).
- Dark Is Not Evil: The "Mazin" portion of its name is pronounced identically to the word "Majin" in Japanese, an Ankokuji compares its face to an evil spirit, and it doesn't help that the first few chapters show just how menacing and frightening a gigantic robot going on a rampage can be, but it eventually winds up becoming a symbol of hope and safety as well as a guardian of peace.
- Expy: Less obvious than Devilman, but Mazinger Z is also modeled after Demon Lord Dante; the Pilder even resembles the Combat Plane Dante first used to fight God.
- Eye Beams: The Koushiryoku Beam/Photonic Power Beam which is fired from Mazingers eyes.
- Humongous Mecha: And the first one to be piloted at that.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: It gets equipped with it's iconic Jet Scrander, and, later on, has the Pilder replaced with an improvised version called the Jet Pilder that has superior maneuverability as well as machine-guns and a laser beam alongside the missiles that the original Pilder had. Later on, it winds up getting retrofitted with Super Alloy New Z to bring it up to Great Mazinger's level.
- Primary-Color Champion: It has blue forearms and boots, as well as a blue face, with yellow eyes and spikes, as well as a red chestplate, and the Pilder itself also has a red color scheme.
- Rocket Punch: The Trope Namer. Interestingly Trope Maker is actually Giant Robo which featured a evil counterpart to the titular robot which included these as its primary weapon.
- Trope Codifier: Every Humongous Mecha that is piloted from the inside borrows from Mazinger Z in some capacity.
- Walking Armory: Literally every part of the robot is weaponized.
Sayaka Yumi
Voiced by: Tomoko Matsushima, Minori Matsushima, Kotoe Taichi, Ai Uchikawa (Mazinkaiser), Ai Kayano (Infinity, Japanese), Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (Infinity, English), Gloria Gonzalez (Latin America), Shaneye Ferrell (Mazinkaiser, English)
Sayaka Yumi (Yumi Sayaka) is the main heroine of Go Nagai's manga and anime Mazinger Z.
The daughter of Professor Yumi, director of the Photon Lab, she piloted Aphrodite A, a test prototype giant robot Yumi built. Her mother is deceased and she has a cousin (Yuri). Her father was not exactly 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 (city in the original manga), taught him 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!).
- Action Girl: She was one of the first female characters in the genre to regularly take an active role in battles and conflicts, rather than be relegated to the sidelines once fighting began or offering non-combat support.
- Ace Pilot: She manages to achieve five confirmed kills along the 92 episodes of the original series. Not the norm for Go Nagai sidekicks.
- Attention Whore: Sayaka constantly demanded to be the center of attention. Justified because her father was Married to the Job so she tried to show him that she was capable of helping him, and no one valued her unless she proved her worth.
- Babies Ever After: At the end of Infinity, Saya and Kouji are married and the two eventually have a daughter.
- Badass Biker: Like Koji, Sayaka is an excellent motorcyclist often riding with him whenever danger is not present. Her skills were so great that used a new pilder called the Scarlet Mobile to pilot Diana A.
- Battle Couple: With Kouji.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: She was a bit hot-tempered and tomboyish, and had a habit of clashing with Koji even though she had a romantic interest in him.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She also jealous of other girls that give Koji attention and annoyed when Koji expresses interest.
- Cooldown Hug: Sayaka delivers these to Kouji in Mazin Kaiser and Shin Mazinger.
- Distress Ball: Poor kid took these more than a couple times in the original series, generally tied up. Also in Mazinkaiser.
- Dub Name Change: Jessica Davis in Tranzor Z.
- Dude, He's Like, in a Coma!: She kissed Kouji once when he was knocked out.
- Expy: In later installments, Sayaka's design resembles Honey Kisaragi.
- First Girl Wins: She was the first girl introduced in the manga. In the anime she was the second female character introduced, though, but she was the first girl introduced that was a potential couple for Kouji (unlike Rumi who was an adult woman and was, well, dead).
- Heroic BSoD: In the anime she has at least two:
- In one of the ealier episodes Ashura manipulated the public to blame the people of the Institute for what Dr. Hell did. Kouji and Sayaka began to be harassed and insulted wherever they go, and Sayaka's father got hurt and put in a hospital bed when a mob threw stones at him. Sayaka was so shaken that she seriously considered not fighting anymore.
- Later she has another when her Humongous Mecha, Aphrodite A, is destroyed. It's so bad that she almost kills herself by drowning, as she believes that Aphrodite is calling her from a nearby lake.
- Highschool Sweethearts: With Kouji in the original manga and most of continuities.
- Hime Cut: Even bangs, sidelocks and long length; all three checked and her dad is the director of the Photon Lab so the status part is there, but it also sets a contrast with her tomboyish personality.
- Joshikousei:
- She wore her high school sailor suit in the Go Nagai manga (in the anime she did not wear school uniform). However her skirt's length is pretty modest.
- In Shin Mazinger Zero she wore her sailor fuku constantly since her first appearance.
- Men Use Violence, Women Use Communication: She is more liable than Kouji to try to communicate with someone.
- Ms. Fanservice: Even more so in Mazinkaiser, where episode 4 hung lampshades all over it.
- Nice Girl: More so in the manga.
- Official Couple: With Kouji. Although, depending on the continuity, they are this or Implied Love Interest.
- One of the Boys: Most of the times, she hung out with boys. And she shared their liking for bike riding.
- Pink Means Feminine: After episode 40, Sayaka's pilot suit changed to a pink and white colored blazer with a skirt.
- The Reliable One: She was hot-headed, but honestly, all could depend on her to have the work done.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Started -and ended- in episode 7. She quit because her father had been hurt by a mob of people -that they were trying to protect!-. However, her father encouraged her to keep fighting and not give up.
- Tsundere: Her Type varies: she's a Type A in the anime, but a Type B in the manga and in Mazinkaiser. She's also the very first Tsundere in anime.
- Unbroken Vigil: To Kouji in episode 52, when he was lying unconscious in a hospital bed after a fight against a Kikaijuu.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Really it is not a good idea to hurt Kouji in front of her. She has TONS of righteous wrath to back her.
- Secondary character Saijyo found out about it the hard way in episode 26. Shortly after beating up Kouji he found himself in the grip of a Humongous Mecha while Sayaka gave him a furious "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
- In Shin Mazinger Zero Sayaka tears apart three Mechanical Beasts that were threatening Kouji in a matter of seconds, roaring the whole time. Even Kouji was frightened.
Shiro Kabuto
Voiced by: Kazuko Sawada, Natsuki Hanae (Infinity, Japan), Eddy Lee (Infinity, English), Mona Marshall (English)
Shiro is Kouji's younger brother (Though in Z Mazinger, he's Sayaka's younger brother). He is a hardheaded, hot-tempered, enthusiastic and nosy ten years old kid. 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.
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.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Though he does have good points from time to time, and sometimes is more mature than Kouji himself.
- Badass Adorable: He could make some impressive feats when he wanted or needed. In episode 9 the Professors Morimori, Sewashi and Nossori had been brainwashed by Baron Ashura in helping him. Shiro beat the crap out of them. Agreed, they were brainwashed and they were older men; still, it was one single child against three adult men.
- Batter Up!: His mecha, Robot Junior, wields a giant baseball bat.
- Bully Hunter: Shiro Kabuto does not tolerate bullies. In episode 20 he caught several classmates bullying a newcomer, shy kid and Shiro wiped the ground with them in spite of they were bigger and outnumbered him. However he also exhorts the victims to learn to defend themselves.
- Convenient Coma: In Mazinger-Z versus Great General of Darkness, Shiro got badly injured and fell into a coma when the ceiling of the room he was in collapsed.
- Dub Name Change: Toad in Tranzor Z.
- I Know Madden Kombat: He winds up getting a baseball-themed mecha called Robot Junior.
- I Miss Mom: Shiro lost his parents when he was barely a baby. He misses them -and his older brother Kouji in Great Mazinger-, but he mainly and badly misses his mother. How badly? The title of an episode is "Shiro misses his mother" (at least in the Latin dubbing).
- Mouthy Kid
- Plucky Comic Relief
- Shipper on Deck: Shiro ships his brother Kouji and Sayaka.
- Smarter Than You Look: During his first few appearances, his acts make him look like Too Dumb to Live (for starters, while Koji is horrified by the Iron Mask, especially after killing it, all he says is that Koji is so cool for killing the Iron Mask). Later on in the series, he learned to pilot the Pilder in relatively short time (bonus points since unlike Koji, he has practically zero experience in piloting the Pilder, while Koji mentions that the control is similar to his motorbike) and pulls a Big Damn Heroes several times. That really says something. (
Of course, he IS a member of Kabuto family) - Why Don't You Marry It?: Kouji Kabuto has this thrown at him by his little brother after spending just a little too much time gushing over a new support unit for the Mazinger. Kouji's reply is along the lines of a not entirely sarcastic "maybe I will," much to the annoyance of Sayaka.
- Wise Beyond His Years: He seems pretty mature for his age. Then again, maybe it is due to the fact that he constantly hangs around his brother, who is somewhat immature for his age.
- More because he is forced to live on his own without a parent's care. Juzo is implied to spent most of his time to build Mazinger Z, and Koji is handling the household jobs, and going to school, thus leaving him alone.
- And let's not forget his supposedly dead father was too busy building Great Mazinger to take care of them AND tell them that he was alive.
- More because he is forced to live on his own without a parent's care. Juzo is implied to spent most of his time to build Mazinger Z, and Koji is handling the household jobs, and going to school, thus leaving him alone.
Boss, Nuke, and Mucha
Boss voiced by: Hiroshi Ohtake, Fumihiko Tachiki (Mazinkaiser), Wataru Takagi (Infinity, Japanese), David Brimmer [Credited as Michael Alston Baley] (Infinity, English), Carlos Segundo (Latin America), Mark Laskowski (Mazinkaiser, English)
Nuke voiced by: Isamu Tanonaka (Mazinger Z), Osamu Kato (Great Mazinger), Hideyuki Umezu (Mazinkaiser), Masami Kikuchi (Infinity, Japanese), Billy Bob Thompson (Infinity, English)
Mucha voiced by: Kosei Tomita (Mazinger Z), Kenichi Ogata (Great Mazinger), Koichi Nagano (Mazinkaiser), Kappei Yamaguchi (Infinity, Japanese), Jason Griffith (Infinity, English)
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 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.
He and his gang (Nuke and Mucha) were 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.
- Acrofatic: Boss was pretty fat, but he could be fast when he wanted. Combine that with him being strong and sturdy, and he could deliver a good beating when he needed to on anyone (except Kouji, much to his chagrin and disgust).
- Adaptational Badass: He was the Butt-Monkey and Plucky Comic Relief character in the original manga and anime series. In the Super Robot Wars games he and his Boss Borot slowly got upgraded. They were Joke Character tier in the early games, but by the Alpha series had upgraded to low-medium usefulness, and by the J/W/K/L handheld era he got very good if not outstanding.
- Adaptational Villainy: He's surprisingly nastier in Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: According to Mazinger Z anime, the Boss Borot has an open-air cockpit.
- This actually has a Justification: any mecha (not just Borot) that isn't airtight simply has the pilot wear a spacesuit.
- Big Damn Heroes : Surprisingly, he does. It is Played for Laughs most of the time, but there's just too many situations that if he had not helped Koji, he would be done for.
- Maybe the best example of it was the Mazinger vs Great General of Darkness movie: he blew Dante up, a monster that had seemed untouchable until that moment, and distraced the Mykene Robeasts for several seconds. It does not sound like much, but it does when you realize those extra seconds saved Kouji's life.
- The Bully: Initially Boss started out as a bully at high school and would occasionally tease or humiliate whoever came his way. Koji however, was an exception as the only one Boss couldn't beat.
- Butt-Monkey: Often he was the target of many jokes and laughs.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Boss is the Butt-Monkey, Hopeless Suitor and Plucky Comic Relief Gonk character. He is mocked and ridiculized by his friends and belittled by the villains, and he gets beaten easily in each battle. Still, when he is angry he can get scarily competent and even badass. He is Acrofatic and perfectly capable of holding his own on a fistfight, and although his Humongous Mecha is a pile of scrap that gets destroyed in every fight, he has blown up some dangerous Robeasts and pulled off several awesome Big Damn Heroes moments. Also, threatening his friend Kouji or Sayaka (his crush) is a bad idea.
- Cute Machines: Boss Borot, thanks to it's goofy appearance and silly facial expressions.
- Deconstructive Parody: Boss Borot is this towards the Glass Cannon archetype, as it has formidable super strength even for a giant robot, but falls apart very easily, usually as a result of it being just too fragile to handle the stress of whatever movements its making, rendering completely useless in battle...until it isn't...
- Defeat Means Friendship: At the beginning he was always picking fights with Kouji or challenging him to bike-riding duels. Kouji won every time. Boss was, understandably, unhappy, but thanks to those fights and rivalry they became friends -even though he was a tad vitriollic half the time-. Actually, in one of their first arguments, in spite of Boss' anger, Kouji himself laughed it off and told him he was sure that they would become good friends.
- Dub Name Change: To Bobo in Tranzor Z.
- His Boss Borot, by the way, became the "Bobobot".
- Dude, She's Like in a Coma: He kissed Sayaka once in Gosaku Ota's manga when she was sleeping.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Treated as a joke, by almost everyone. Even Ashura underestimated him, so much that at one moment, he/she says that he is not a problem, at all. It should be noted that were talking about someone whose Big Damn Heroes moment is second only to Tetsuya. He saves Koji's life so many time during the series, and he is ridiculously helpful during Koji's fight against the mechabeast. Naturally, Koji is the only person that treated him the way he should be.
- And in the Great Mazinger tai Getter Robo movie, after destroying the monstrous Gilgilgan, Tetsuya and the Getter team shook their robots hands, congratulating themselves for their victory [1]... and then Boss Borot's head— the only part left of it!— stumbled between them and reminded them angrily that he also took part in the battle. Tetsuya and the Getter team laughed, and the former admitted their plan had worked thanks to him. Boss smiled, stating it was about time someone acknowledged his talent.
- And in the Great Mazinger tai Getter Robo movie, after destroying the monstrous Gilgilgan, Tetsuya and the Getter team shook their robots hands, congratulating themselves for their victory [1]
- Dumbass Has a Point: More frequently than you'd expect. I.e., when Kouji refuses to help Sayaka after they have a fight and she takes off in Mazinger Z, Boss, Mucha and Nuke are the ones who urge him to stop whining and go for her.
- Fan Disservice: That crotch shot of Boss in an undersized speedo. So... much... hair....
- Glass Cannon: Boss Borot is this. It's strong enough to simultaneously drag both Mazinger Z and Diana A out of a pothole, and has genuinely impressive strength for a robot, leading to it doing a surprising amount of damage when it actually lands hits on it's enemy. Too bad it falls apart real easy and is rendered nearly useless because of this.
- Giant Scrap Robot: Boss Borot is possibly the earliest example of this trope.
- Gonk: Downplayed. He isn't truly offensive to the eyes, but he is very goofy-looking, as he has an exaggerated Lantern Jaw of Justice that doesn't match up with the rest of his face, as well as being visibly overweight.
- Hopeless Suitor: Boss has a painfully obvious crush on Sayaka. Of course, given that she's The Hero's Tsundere girlfriend and he's the Gonkish comic relief, he doesn't stand a chance. Even when given an opportunity to advance on her while Kouji is under a breakdown in Episode 7, he refuses to capitalize on her vulnerability and insists on playing fair.
- By the end of the original Manga, he actualy does have a chance, judging from how Sayaka acts in front of him however by this time, either he realized he has no chance (at first) or he already become such a good friend with Koji, that he doesn't care about it anymore.
- And in Great Mazinger, to Jun. This time, on the other hand, is played painfully straight.
- Iron Butt Monkey: He had to be to endure the punishment he did and come out of alive.
- Irony: His most prominent feature is his Lantern Jaw of Justice, but his mech itself has no chin or neck whatsoever.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's egocentrical, rude, a bully, and tends to get angry at, and bicker with his friends, but he's also surprisingly reliable and hard-working, and always selflessly puts himself on the line, and is always willing to go into battle in spite of how crummy Boss Borot is, on top of always being there to save the day in the end.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: He has a very prominent chin as you can see in his portrait, and he's a good guy, albeit not a very effective one thanks to his lack of brains and Boss Borot itself being a very crummy giant robot.
- Mauve ShirtBoss: We're here to get blown up but somehow never die!
- Only Known By His Nickname: Lampshaded in Shin Mazinger:Boss: I am the man they call Boss! Not even the author knows my real name!
- That scene actually debuted in the original Manga, only shorter.
Boss: Kabuto's close friend Boss. Even the author doesn't know my real name.- Inverted in Mazinsaga, where his real name is revealed to be Bose Benson.
- Meaningful Name: He's called "Bobo" in the Tranzor Z dub, which is actually a word in Spanish and Portuguese that can mean silly or stupid, fitting his role as the comic relief of the protagonists.
- Only Sane Man: In episode 7, Sayaka is losing her will to fight and Kouji is playing Achilles in His Tent. Meanwhile Boss is trying to remind them over and again there IS one Mechanical Beast coming, and all of them will die if they don't fight back! Later Kouji and Sayaka are apologizing at each other and Shiro notes that Boss was the only one who was right in that situation.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Apparently Baron Ashura's mooks can't tell the difference between Boss in a helmet and one of their co-workers. The mooks that were assigned to guard him and Kouji specifically, no less.
- Boss was wearing a helmet, a speedo and nothing else. The Guards Must Be Crazy indeed!
- Plucky Comic Relief: He even lampshades it in a Great Mazinger episode, whining about why he has to be the comedian.
- The Rival: To Kouji Kabuto.
- Small Name, Big Ego: He thinks he is the smartest and biggest badass ever, the best biker around and a real ladies man, and people would pay for the chance to attend his birthday party (not a joke. In episode 20 He tried to have his classmates paying for tickets. And he was shocked when all girls ran away from him screaming). Everyone else knows he is the Butt-Monkey. Hence, when Kouji showed up, showing he was a real badass, and a better biker and getting all girls -especially Sayaka- crazy over him right away, Boss understandably was not happy, and he constantly tried to showing Kouji up with very little success. He went so far to build his own -goofy-looking- Humongous Mecha using metal scraps and junk from a rubbish dump, and claimed it would replace Mazinger-Z itself. Tip: It did not.
- Spanner in the Works : The different Mazinger sagas would be so much more different had Boss not interfered with the baddies plans. To clarify:
- In Mazinger Z, thanks to Brocken Ball, Koji is able to rescue the kidnapped civilians. Not to mention the fact that in the same series, he saved Koji's life several times, gaining Koji's respect in the process. And in the Mazinger-Z versus Great General of Darkness, as a squad of Mykene Warrior Monsters are trashing Mazinger-Z he suddenly interfered. He only deterred them for several seconds, but those seconds were all that Tetsuya needed to intervene with Great Mazinger and save Kouji's life. And because Kouji did not die, he could help to save the world in Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer.
- In Great Mazinger, if he would have not flirted with Jun and followed her when she was buying clothes, the good guys would be dead by the THIRD chapter.
- In the Mazinkaiser movie, he pretty much saved the world (which at that point is a Crapsack World). The Mycene's plan to send one of their generals to attack Koji while he is out of Mazinkaiser is completely foiled because Boss attacked the general with Boss Borot.
- Stay in the Kitchen: In Venus A first battle he got in the way of Jun several times. In one of them he stated "Girls must not fight". The ironic— and frustrating— part is he intervened right when Jun was gaining the upper hand, and because him, she could was unable to defeat the Warrior Beast.
- Teacher/Student Romance: In a manga storyline he was infatuated with his teacher. However his crush was unrequited and it went nowhere.
- Took a Level in Badass: While most of the time in Shin Mazinger they're there for the audience to have a laugh, he and his two lackeys, Mucha and Nuke (who are revealed to know martial arts), rescue Kouji from Baron Ashura's clutches. In the final battle they help out in their mecha, Boss Borot, by catching a freaking ICBM, stopping Baron Ashura him/herself from flattening the heroes, and pulling Mazinger out of the rubble of the city, enabling Kouji to fight. Boss also becomes savvy by the end: "Don't worry about us, we're the comic-relief characters who get blown up but still live!"
- Too Dumb to Live: Sometimes he showed this trait. To be fair, so did Kouji.
- Verbal Tic: Boss often ends his words with "Da wa sa". He discards it in the Mazinkaiser OVA, da wa sa.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Koji, they often bicker with each other, but they do get along rather well.
- Unluckily Lucky: By all counts. Boss should've died the very first time that Boss Borot was deployed, as it is an incredibly ineffective piece of junk that falls apart easily, yet due to Rule of Funny, he miraculously manages to survive as if God Himself favored him and wanted him to live no matter what.
Dr. Gennosuke Yumi
Voiced by: Joji Yanami, Junpei Morita (Infinity, Japanese), H.D. Quinn (Infinity, English), Ken Webster (Mazinkaiser, English)
Professor Yumi is Sayaka's father as well as the director of the Phtoatomic 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.
By the time of Infinity, he's made his way into the world of politics, with Sayaka taking over as director of the Institute.
- Married to the Job: He spends most part of the time working in the Photonic Energy Research Laboratory or traveling to meet with other scientists. He is a widower, and his daughter Sayaka practically has to twist his arm to force him to go home and have supper. Although she never called him out on it, many times she felt neglected and she regretted not only she was motherless but her father was too busy to be there for her when she needed him. However it may be sort of justified since her Prof. Yumi was trying to save the world.
- Mission Control
- Mr. Exposition: He is both The Professor and The Mentor, so he frequently explains to the characters -and the audience- plot points. He was the one guessed first what was Mazinger-Z and who had created it. He explained how Dr. Kabuto had discovered Photon Atomic power and Alloy-Z and built Mazinger-Z with them. He narrated how Dr. Kabuto met Dr. Hell and what happened in Bardos Island. He recognized Minerva-X and explained what she was and how she worked. He explained what were the Mykene and where they came from... And often during the series he explained what strategy the enemy or Kouji was using, how worked the Mechanical Beasts' weapons... or simply what kind of training Kouji was undergoing. In Mazinkaiser he retained that role (he recognized Mazinkaiser as soon as he saw it, he explained how they had modified to Mazinkaiser in the movie...)
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Completely averted. Yumi did not dominate all fields of science, and often he needed the advice or the assistance of other scientists. He and his team could not create amazing breakthroughs out of the air either, needing much testing.
- Parental Substitute: To Kouji and Shiro
- Parents as People: He does love Sayaka, but he's too Married to the Job to take care of her as he should.
- The Professor
- Team Dad
- Workaholic: He is completely devoted to his work in the Institute. Often Sayaka has to force him to come back home to have lunch and get a rest.
Professors Morimori, Sewashi and Nossori
Voiced by: Kouji Yada (Morimori), Hiroshi Ohtake (Sewashi), Yonehiko Kitagawa (Nossori)
Mazinkaiser dub: Ed Neal (Morimori), Bill Pfuderer Jr. (Sewashi), D.J. Spankus (Nossori)
Mazinger Z Infinity dub: Henry Carr (Sewashi), Bill Timoney [credited as Billy Regan] (Nossori)
They were three scientists who worked in the Photon Institute under the direct orders of Professor Yumi, replacing him as in charge when he was away. Throughout the whole series, they designed most of the weapons and upgrades of Mazinger Z (they shared chores, but Sewashi was the specialist in designing power engines, whereas Morimori was an expert in weapons such like the Iron Cutter).
The three of them were good-natured and patient (especially when they were dealing with teenagers) and even somewhat goofy, but they were quite rigorous and serious when they were working, being capable of improvising and working under extreme pressure, and being extremely patient when dealing with teenagers. They were good friends, constantly hanging together.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In an early episode by Baron Ashura.
- Died in Your Arms Tonight: Well, afternoon, but this happens to Professor Morimori in Episode 79 by an Iron Cross landmine.
- Nice Guy: The three of them!
Dr. Juzo Kabuto
Voiced by: Ushio Shima
Juzo Kabuto is Kouji and Shiro's grandfather and the builder of Mazinger Z.
Juzo met Hell for first time when he and his fiancée Yumiko Shiozai were exchange students in a German college. Back then he thought Hell was a tad eccentric but not a bad person and even debated with him about his theories on Photon energy.
Years later, he and Hell both took part in an archaeological expedition to a Greek island named Bardos... which ended when Hell stumbled upon an army of giant robots in the depths of the island and nearly got him killed again.
Juzo managed to run away, but he was unable to warn the world of Hell's crazy plans. So he hired a maid to take care of his grandsons, revived his newly deceased son Kenzo as a cyborg and tasked him with the chore of getting ready to repel the Mykene invasion he feared would come and began building a Humongous Mecha capable of defeating Hell's robots, using his two breakthroughs: Photon energy and the Super Alloy Z, an alloy made with Japanium, a mineral he had discovered.
After fifteen years he had just ended construction on Mazinger Z when Hell sent Baron Ashura, his most loyal servant, to murder him.
- Actually a Doombot: Or in this case, a clone. It is revealed in the Mazinkaiser manga that the Juzo Kabuto who died after giving Koji Mazinger Z was actually a clone of the real Juzo Kabuto, also known as Dr. Heaven. Dr. Hell is also revealed to be a clone of Juzo, as mentioned below.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the original manga, Dr. Kabuto had a more gravely looking appearance and is missing an eye. In the anime, he has a more normal appearance and has both of his eyes intact.
- Ignored Expert: Subverted. He did not try to warn the world of what had happened in Bardos and what Hell was planning, opting for shutting himself away to build his super-weapon. Then again, he could have reasonably thought that nobody would believe his story. (Would you?)
- Large Ham: His original version, given to No Indoor Voice and grandiose gestures.
- Mad Scientist: His original version was frightfully akin to Dr. Hell.
- More than you think. In the original manga after showing Mazinger to Kouji he told him (after the "God or Devil" lecture) he would able to take over the world with it. It makes you wonder what he thought his grandson would do with it...
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: He dies in the first episode right after completing Mazinger Z.
- Posthumous Character: He got murdered in the first episode/chapter. Though he is ever-present. His actions not only affected the course of the whole series but also of the sequel Great Mazinger, and his name often comes up in conversations. His personality and background are developed through flashbacks and conversations from other characters, mainly his grandsons (Kouji and Shiro), his best disciple (The Professor Yumi) and even Big Bad Dr. Hell.
- The Professor
Misato
Voiced by: Nana Yamaguchi, Kana Ueda (Infinity) (Japanese), Leigh Craig (Infinity) (English)
Misato is a minor character who debuts in Episode 64, entering service as the laboratory's housekeeper and the Kabuto household before that. She's a distant cousin of Boss and is known for getting attention at her work places.
- Action Girl: Despite her role, she's done her fair share of action, such as fight off some Iron Masks who invaded the house and got Shiro to safety on a helicopter. She later uses the Institute's helicopter to lure away a trio of criminals, and then did some crazy maneuvers to knock them out (and they couldn't do anything about it lest they crash).
- In episode 81, she was able to rescue Kouji from Iron Cross goons and even use a machinegun effectively enough to take them out and also cut Kouji's bonds.
- In Episode 83, she runs over Viscount Pygman with her bike, and swiftly pulls herself onto a branch of the tree Kouji's Pilder was stuck in a single fluid move.
- Badass Biker: Not quite as such, but has learned from Kouji in one episode. In her next appearance on a bike, she's able to jump and run over a couple of Iron Cross goons.
- Feminine Women Can Cook: One of the things Kouji likes about her, to Sayaka's irritation, though she doesn't take it out on her.
- Parental Substitute: Serves as this for Shiro given his and Kouji's mother died in the first episode by Baron Ashura. In Eipsode 90, Shiro resented her for it because his current school assignment dredged up painful memories.
The Island of Bardos
Common Tropes:
- Backstory: One of the last chapters of the Gosaku Ota manga is the only version of the classic series provides a backstory for all of them.
- Obviously Evil: As if their sinister looking eyes weren't enough to tip you off that they aren't a bunch of friendly and harmless individuals, all of them are freakish in appearance such as Brocken, the literal, actual Nazi, still wearing the old uniform from WWII who goes around carrying his severed head under his arm which can also float around, but the worst example is Dr. Hell, who is inexplicably purple and has yellow sclerae, making him look like a demon or an evil spirit rather than a human being.
Dr. Hell
Voiced by: Kosei Tomita, Unshō Ishizuka (Infinity, Japanese), Atsuki Tani (Infinity, Super Robot Wars), Mike Pollock (Infinity, English), John Paul Shepard (Mazinkaiser dub)
A colleague of Dr. Kabuto who accompanied him on an archaeological expedition to the Greek island of Bardos, where ruins of the ancient Mykene Empire were found. There they discovered that the ancient Mykene civilization had the technology to build giant robotic warriors. Hell killed everyone in the expedition except Kabuto, stole the technology and used it to create an army of fighting machines with which he planned to Take Over the World.
However, Dr. Kabuto used his own 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.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: He looks like a distinguished and dignified older man in Violence Jack, even actually attractive if you like older men, contrasting with his appearance in the main series, where he looks like an evil spirit with his long, wild, hair, angry looking eyes, purle skin, and yellow sclerae.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the Mazinkaiser manga, it's revealed that Dr. Hell is actually a clone of Juzo Kabuto. This arguably makes his rivalry with Koji more personal.
- Adaptational Badass: He's portrayed as a master Karateka while retaining his status as a mastermind in Violence Jack. This doesn't save him from getting his heart ripped out by Kenzo Kabuto.
- Agony Beam: Dr. Hell uses a staff that shoots a blast of (usually) non-lethal electricity to punish Ashura when he/she/it screws up.
- Amazing Technicolor Population: He's purple. No indication why, since he's seemingly human.
- Ambiguously Human: He has purple skin, yellow sclerae, and pointy ears for starters, and he's apparently always looked like this, as he's shown with his iconic unusual skintone and sclerae color even in flashbacks.
- The fact that he's revealed to be a clone of Juzo Kabuto, at least in the Mazinkaiser manga might possibly have something to do with that.
- Averted in Mazin Saga, where he's stated to be half demon, therefore making his bizarre appearance actually make logical sense.
- Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: Prof. Kabuto was this to Dr. Hell. Hell had ALWAYS felt upstaged by Yuuzo Kabuto since they were in the same college and his rival was more popular, a bigger genius and was loved by the woman Hell was in love with. When Mazinger-Z destroyed his first Mechanical Beasts, Hell had a break-down because he knew Kabuto had managed to create a Humongous Mecha could beat anything he could build.
- Bad Boss: He is a curious example. On one side he felt that he was above of executing his subordinates. On the other side he was NOT above of punishing their failures with strikes, insults or torture. He used an Agony Beam with Baron Ashura several times, insulted him often, and an episode opened with Ashura getting flayed for their latest failures. In Mazinger-Z vs Devilman movie he slapped Ashura only because he was angry and Ashura was nearby. And yet, on the OTHER hand, he cared for his henchmen on his own way, turning Ashura down whenever HE asked for death penalty, constantly giving him second chances, forgiving failures when he knew that his Co-Dragons had tried their best, and mourning Ashura after his death and planning to avenge him.
- Beard of Evil: It is white, it is bristly, it is long and it is a macho beard.
- Beta Test Baddie: He has shades of this. Part of his animosity and resentment towards Dr. Kabuto comes from the fact he thinks Juzo surpassed him, rendered him obsolete and took all away him when they were younger. And in the third episode, after his first batch of Mechanical Beasts were crushed by Mazinger-Z, Hell got a Villainous BSoD due to seeing that after fifty years, Juzo Kabuto STILL could surpass easily whatever Hell did.
- Big Bad: The main villain in every version of Mazinger Z.
- Canon Discontinuity: According to Go Nagai, the series creator, Dr. Hell's backstory as an abused german boy isn't actually canon, and that it's only exclusive to Gosaku Ota's manga.
- Casting Gag: One of his english voice actors is best known for playing another mad scientist who wants to conquer the world with an army of robots .
- Demoted to Dragon: In Great Mazinger.
- Dub Name Change: In Tranzor Z, the American imported version, Dr. Hell was called Dr. Demon. In the Spanish dub in the Seventies he was called Doctor Infierno (literal translation), and his Great Mazinger Incarnation was called Mariscal Infierno (Marshal Hell).
- Eyepatch of Power: After being turned into the Great Marshall of Darkness.
- Evil Counterpart: To Juzo Kabuto. In the Mazinkaiser manga, Dr. Hell is revealed to actually be an evil clone of the real Juzo Kabuto, also known as Dr. Heaven.
- Evil Plan: Conquering the world in order to get revenge on everybody.
- Expy: Of Professor Gill, another bearded, cloaked Mad Scientist out to conquer the world.
- Faux Affably Evil: He always keeps an educated, polite behavior and mannerisms, even when he is going to dissect someone to turn him or her into his next enslaved Cyborg.
- From Nobody to Nightmare:
- In Ota's manga, Dr. Hell was born to a poor family, psychologically and physically abused by his mother, berated by his teachers and bullied by his classmates. Forty years later he was designing Doomsday Devices for Hitler and experimenting with human beings in Austchwitz. Thirty years later he was trying to Take Over the World and enslave humankind with an army of Humongous Mecha. And in Great Mazinger he was handed over the command of the entire army of Mykene Empire.
- In the Mazinkaiser manga, he is revealed to be a clone of Juzo Kabuto, who Juzo created to help him with his research, but eventually became power hungry and chose the way of evil. This also means that Dr. Hell was always evil from the start, thus omitting any redeeming or sympathetic qualities he had.
- Herr Doktor: Like stated above, he is a German scientist. From the completely mad variety.
- This is averted in the Mazinkaiser manga, where he is Japanese.
- Hook Hand: As the Great Marshall of Hell, his left hand is an oversized mix between a vice claw and hook.
- Horned Humanoid: He has one long pointy horn on his forehead in Mazin Saga.
- I Owe You My Life: In Great Mazinger he serves the Mykene Emperor because he saved his life –disregarding he got him killed indirectly-.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation
- It's All About Me: Because a lot of people hurt him emotionally and physically when he was a little boy and a young man, he wants to make all of humanity pay. The fact all of it happened several decades ago (he was seventy when the series began) does not deter him at the slightest. Oh, and he thought everybody was out to get him (long before it became a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy).
- Kick the Dog: More like grabbing the dog's tail and banging it repeatedly against a wall until the poor mutt was a bloody pulp. Yes, it really happened (in the Gosaku Ota's episodes).
- Disproportionate Retribution: And it happened because he did not like how the dog was looking to him.
- Kneel Before Zod: His main drive to take over the world is he wishes forcing the entire humankind to bowing down to him.
- Kubrick Stare: He displayed this expression quite requently, usually when he was mad or he had just thought of some devilish scheme. It was more disturbing in the second instance.
- Large Ham
- Love Dodecahedron: In CB Chara Go Nagai World with Akira, Miki, Siren, Kaim and Ryo
- Love Makes You Crazy: He was quite unstable and troubled before –seeing Kick the Dog example-, but arguably it was when he found out his love was unrequited he utterly snapped, and it led him to…
- Love Makes You Evil: Decide to Murder the Hypotenuse. People had shunned him out before, but from that day they started giving him a wide berth because he started seeming Obviously Evil (and downright creepy).
- Luminescent Blush: Seen here◊, when he was young. It is both, funny and creepy...
- Mad Scientist
- Milking the Giant Cow: Prone to this when monologuing, especially in the original manga and Mazinkaiser.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: He is an Obviously Evil Mad Scientist. To be fair, knowledge or science did not make him evil. In fact he devoted himself to learn Science because it helped him to keep himself sane. However, after his sanity finally slipped out due to too much abuse, he decided using his scientifical knwoledge to make everyone pay.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He's a certified genius... and a seventy-year-old man who isn't physically fit at all. He always sends his henchmen, minions and war machines off into battle because he can't fight his enemies face-to-face.
- Obviously Evil: Dr. Hell has pale purple skin, a long white Beard of Evil, and is given to Evil Laughter. Oh, and his name is Dr. Hell. The bizarre part is that his backstory involves betraying a group of companions in order to get some Phlebotinum, which means that someone, somewhere, was willing to trust him.
- Omnidisciplinary Scientist: He is a Mad Scientist wants taking over the world! It is practically a requirement!
- Only Known by Their Nickname: During the final arc of the original manga, Dr. Hell revealed that "Hell" was not his true name but a pseudonym... that he nicknamed himself with. Yes, he called himself "Hell".
- While his first name is never revealed, his surname is revealed to be Kabuto in the Mazinkaiser manga.
- Perpetual Frowner: He has mostly three default expressions: angry, worried and disappointed/frustrated. He seldom smiles (which is very fortunate, since when he actually does so, it is a very creepy Slasher Smile).
- Resentful Guardian: His mother hated him and regarded him as a burden and a nuisance, and she made her contempt very clear to everyone, including Hell.
- Revenge Before Reason: His motivation to Take Over the World is having revenge in everybody abused him or mocked him when he was young (or people he believes abused him and mocked him). Nevertheless, he was seventy-years old when the series begins, so everyone or most of them will be deceased. Yet will he let that insignificant detail stop him? Hell, no!
- Secondary Color Nemesis: He wears a light-green, tight outfit and a long violet cloak.
- Shirtless Scene: He pulls this at the end of the Mazinkaiser OVA for seemingly no reason, and despite being a very old man.
- He gets upgraded to a Walking Shirtless Scene in Shin Mazinger Zero, as well as inexplicably having a bodybuilder's physique.
- Stalker with a Crush: He bluntly told he followed Yumiko like if he was his shadow. It was downright creepy.
- Start of Darkness: When Dr. Hell found out the woman he loved Yumiko Shiozaki, Kouji's grandmother was in love with another man (Dr. Kabuto), he flipped out completely. It got worse from there.
- Stating the Simple Solution: In Super Robot Wars Z2: Saisei-Hen Scenario 47Dr. Hell: …You can come out now.
Gestalt: Your obsession with Photon Power is…amusing.
Dr. Hell: This King of Hell isn’t enough to fight the Ba’al with…only with Photon Power can we survive!
Sayuri: Do you think those three clowns will even succeed?
Dr. Hell: They will live up to my expectations! I have high hopes for Baron Ashura.
Gestalt: And why the elaborate call for a showdown? If you wanted the Photon Power so badly, you could’ve taken the Photon Labs while ZEXIS were dealing with Insalaum!
Dr. Hell: You fools could never hope to understand my plans!
Sayuri: Perhaps. In any case good luck (not!) for the battle.
Gestalt: You might need it more than you think! Mwahaha! - Surrounded by Idiots: He has always felt like this. When he was young it was because he thought he was smarter than everybody, but now it is because his minions are, well, stupid. In one episode he invokes the trope almost word by word (and rightfully so). His Co-Dragons have been fighting for the whole episode, even when they were supposed to engage the enemy. At the beginning he had tried to stop them and force them to cooperate, but it did not work. So during their latest fight he is (unsuccesfully) trying to ignore them as he has dinner.Dr. Hell: Why, oh, why such a genius as myself is surrounded by idiots?
- Take Over the World
- They Called Me Mad!: Subverted. They did not call him mad. They called him dumb and useless. THAT is what set him off.
- Unwitting Pawn: He was Archduke Gorgon's unwitting pawn. Gorgon helped Hell to fight Kouji Kabuto and his allies because the constant conflict weakened and wore the heroes down, and as soon as Hell stopped being useful, he abandoned him and let him die (or killed him personally in some versions) while his War Beasts finished Mazinger off.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: ... And he wants to become this!
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Baron Ashura and Count Brocken hated each other. Dr. Hell thought it would be a good thing, since they would surely try to destroy Mazinger-Z harder to upstage each other. He also thought he and his troops were a Five-Man Band instead of a Five Bad Band.
- Yandere: The Gosaku Ota chapters make Dr. Hell one when he was young. During his college days he fell in love with a woman named Yumiko who would become The Hero Kouji's grandmother, and he showed all symptoms: he was psychologically unstable, he stalked her obsessively (in his own words, he became her shadow), he tried to seem nice and totally not a pervert, and when he found out that she was engaged with someone else, he flipped out completely and attempted to Murder the Hypotenuse in a very discreet way: storming in the campus with a rifle and yelling "DIE, Kabuto!".
Baron Ashura
Male half voiced by: Hidekatsu Shibata, Antonio Raxel (Latin American Spanish), Robert Kraft (Mazinkaiser, English), Hiroyuki Miyasaka (Infinity, Japanese and Super Robot Wars T), Ryota Takeuchi (Infinity, Super Robot Wars 30), Marc Thompson (Infinity, English)
Female half voiced by: Haruko Kitahama, Lainie Frasier (Mazinkaiser, English), Romi Park (Infinity, Japanese), Martha Harms (Infinity, English)
During Dr. Hell's explorations through the hidden depths of Bardos Island, he found the mummified remnants of one couple. However, one side of each mummy had been crushed by rubble. Using his knowledge, Dr. Hell sewed the non-crushed halves together and using cybernetic parts, revived the creature, naming it Baron Ashura (Ashura Danshaku).
Very soon Baron Ashura became the main henchman of Dr. Hell. Given his/her split nature, Ashura could be stupid, hasty, and careless... or scheming, manipulative, and devious. When he/she talked to Dr. Hell, his/her voice was female, submissive and soft-spoken... but when he/she addressed his/her troops, his/her voice was male, commanding, loud, stern and harsh.
The most of time Ashura is portrayed as absolutely loyal to Dr. Hell, but in some adaptations (such like Gosaku Ota's manga) he/she gets fed up with Dr. Hell's treatment and Count Brocken's mockery and rebels. He/she was not above committing ruthless, sadistic acts, but usually they were made with a purpose (avoiding Kick the Dog scenarios... most of the time). Although his/her sheer incompetence blew up several of Dr. Hell's operations, his schemes were the closest ones to succeed, razing many Japanese cities to ruins.
Leader of the Iron Masks and commander of Dr. Hell's submarine fortresses, he/she plagued the hero Kouji Kabuto for much of the series' run, until finally dying in one of the later episodes as attempting destroying his enemies. After his/her death, his/her memory was honored and respected by both enemies and allies. Mazinger's most persistent enemy, he/she made regular appearances in the Super Robot Wars series as Dr. Hell's loyal underling.
- Agony Beam: The villainous Baron Ashura often uses this, in the form of a staff that shoots a blast of (usually) non-lethal electricity. Dr. Hell also uses that staff ON Ashura when he is pissed enough.
- Ambiguous Gender/Ambiguous Gender Identity: He/She(They? And even then, should it be singular or plural, given that they seem to have two consciousnesses instead of one) are able to speak in a female voice as well as a male voice, as well as the fact that the dual-sided appearance isn't just for show, due to them literally being a construct made from the mummified remains of a man and a woman, and thus simultaneously being a man and a woman biologically, yet also using the masculine title of Baron, leaving the gender of Baron Ashura very confusing and bizarre in spite of their title exclusively for men, and it doesn't help that they're also able to shapeshift into being completely female as well as simultaneously speaking in their male and female voice makes it even harder to figure out what's up with them.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: He briefly grew into a giant in one episode, after exposure to a size-changing ray gun invented by Dr. Hell.
- Bumbling Henchman Duo: They're humorously portrayed as this in CB Chara Go Nagai World, due to being portrayed as the consciousnesses of a man and a woman inhabiting the same body, with all the issues that would cause realistically, such as both of them counting down to get the timing right for when they speak in unison. The male half even ends up arguing with the female half, who accuses him of being a coward when he tries to pin the blame on her when Ryo Asuka threatens them with his rifle, which devolves into them trying to beat each other up.
- Buried Alive: The two corpses Hell found had been buried alive.
- Character Tics: They will turn around so that their female and male sides are the only halves visible and speak in the respective voices for that side.
- Demoted to Extra: In Infinity, Ashura gets far less screen-time compared to their other appearances, appearing in only three scenes.
- Depending on the Artist: They tend to have subtle differences in appearance in each incarnation, with the exception of the versions of Baron Ashura that are deliberately different, like in Violence Jack, Mazin Saga, and Mazinger Angels (the last of which is where they're actually the two seperate people they're made out of!), as sometimes, the male half of Baron Ashura will have full lips to compliment the lipstick that the female half wears, and sometimes they'll have yellow sclerae and sometimes they wont, not to mention that how their halves match up changes, as sometimes both halves will have different head widths, making them look very creepy.
- Disguised in Drag: Done at least twice (in episodes 7 and 36). He/she disguised like a woman to manipulate a mob or frighten nosy people away one of his/her operations. Fortunately he/she was a shape-shifter, so it was not so hard looking like a woman how it would be to him/her (on the grounds of Ashura being half-male, half-female). Overlapped with Creepy Crossdresser.
- Do Not Adjust Your Set
- The Dragon: To Dr. Hell, until in episode 39 Hell introduced him to Count Brocken and announced that he was demoting him. Ashura was not happy about it.
- Co-Dragons: With Brocken since episode 39. He was not happy about it, either.
- Dragon-in-Chief: While Dr. Hell is the Big Bad overall, Ashura tends to get the most attention when carrying out Dr. Hell's schemes, to the point where Ashura is almost as much of a Big Bad as Dr. Hell.
- Driven to Suicide: Thrice. The two first attempts were averted by Dr. Hell, who was not a fan of the You Have Failed Me trope.
- The first happened in an early episode, when Ashura, disheartened after still another defeat, thought the only way to redeem himself/herself to Hell's eyes was by comitting suicide. Hell rebuked that was dumb, and the way to atone for his/her failures was going on fighting until destroying their enemy.
- The second time happened in episode 39, when he was so badly frightened on the possibility of Count Brocken replacing him that he staked his life on his next operation. When he failed, Brocken was all but ordering him killing himself, and he was about to do it when Hell stopped him, stating that even if he had failed in destroying Mazinger-Z, his war tactics had delivered a huge blow to Japan, and he forgave him.
- The third -and final- time happened in episode 78. Ashura was so sick of being defeated, mocked and scorned by enemies and allies alike he hijacked the flying fortress Ghoul to crash it against the Institute in a Taking You with Me tactic. He failed, but he died believing he had finally won.
- Dub Name Change: Baron Ashura was renamed Devleen in Tranzor Z, & Baron Ashler in the Spanish dubbing.
- Enemy Civil War: Between Baron Ashura and Count Brocken
- Evil Laughter: He used it more often than Dr. Hell.
- Faceship: He has piloted a Mechanical Beast modeled after himself given to him as a gift by Dr. Hell.
- Fan Disservice: Mazinkaiser. Naked Baron Ashura. AGGGGGHHHHHH. Baron Ashura is semi-artificial construct, with a man's body on his left side, and a woman's on her right. We repeat: AGGGGGHHHHHH!
- Lovingly recreated in episode 12 of Shin Mazinger.
- Both scenes were inspired by a similar scene shown in the original Go Nagai manga. In the manga however you get to see the full nakedness of Asura in all it's glory. Does anyone have some Brain Bleach handy?
- Lovingly recreated in episode 12 of Shin Mazinger.
- Half the Man He Used to Be: Appropriately enough, this is how Baron Ashura (as Hell King Gordon) is finished off in Mazin Kaiser.
- Ironic Birthday: In Mazinkaiser, Baron Ashura infiltrates the Photon Power Laboratory disguised as Professor Yumi, and walks in on Dr. Yumi's surprise birthday party. To make matters worse, all the presents remind him of Baron Ashura, including a Baron Ashura-themed dartboard. He/she dashes out, screaming that he/she is, in fact, Professor Yumi.
- I Owe You My Life: See Together in Death.
- Laughably Evil: He has a lot of humorous moments, especially in Mazinkaiser and Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!.
- Meaningful Name: In Hindu Mythology, Ashura were god/demon warrior creatures with dual natures.
- Mechanical Horse: He owned one (seen for first time in episode 17).
- Might Makes Right: His/her life philosophy. The strong defeats, dominates and exploits the weak. That is how the world has always, and will always, work, and that "good", "bad", "peace", "justice"... are meaningless, empty words human beings came up with because they are too cowardly to accept reality and too weak to protect themselves.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: He was mostly loyal to Dr. Hell. However, Hell felt that he was above of executing his subordinates but not of punishing their failures with strikes, insults or torture. Due to this, Baron Ashura sometimes got fed up with being mistreated and mocked, and he disobeyed orders or acted on his/her own (the final time was when he stole the fortress Ghoul to make a kamikaze attack on the Institute in order to show Dr. Hell and his enemies alike, who he was. In the Gosaku Ota alternate manga, he went a step beyond that and he decided to betray Dr. Hell and Take Over the World on his/her own because he was "sick of that crazy old man and that headless idiot (Count Brocken) always mocking him" and he intended to teach a lesson to everyone.
- Pale Females, Dark Males: An exceptionally unique example in that it's applied to one character - the female half of Baron Ashura's body has pale skin, while their male half has darker skin.
- Pronoun Trouble: A meta -and hilarious- example. Fans are divided about what pronoun to use to refer to him/her/them/it, which isn't helped by how use their title, "Baron" is a masculine one, as well as how they'll turn so that either their male or female half is the only half visible to the viewer to talk in that respective sides voice, yet everyone treats them as a singular entity, which makes their gender and gender identity even more confusing and contradictory.
- Psycho Supporter
- Secondary Color Nemesis: Ashura wears a violet-and-purple robe.
- Shapeshifter: Ashura could alter his/her appearance, although he only used that power sometimes. It may be notable noticing that he preferred female forms when changed.
- SizeShifter: Once -in episode 12, and not out of his own will.
- Smug Snake
- The Social Darwinist: He/she is a type four uses the "survival of the fitest" like an excuse/justification to make whatever he wants. Seeing Might Makes Right entry above.
- Taking You with Me: He died when he attempted to crash Guru (Brocken's flying fortress) into the Institute to kill all of his/her enemies.
- Talking to Themself (In CB Chara Go Nagai World, example of one scene)
- Together in Death: Hell found the bodies of a man and his lover who had been Buried Alive together for being caught trying to break their Star-Crossed Lovers destinies. One half of each body was destroyed, so he stitched them together to create Ashura.
- In Shin Mazinger, the two halves of Baron Ashura are actually Tristan and Isolde.
- Two Beings, One Body: Baron Ashura is sometimes depicted as having a seperate male and female consciousness co-existing with each other, due to them being constructed from the remains of a man and a woman. This has even been used for comedy from time to time, most notably in CB Chara Go Nagai World, where both halves count down before they speak in unison, and even argue with each other, such as the female half getting enraged when the male half tries to pin the blame on her, and immediately calls him out on his cowardice as he tries to try and defend himself, eventually causing both halves to begin beating each other up.
- Two-Faced: His left half is male, and her right half is female.
- Villainous Widow's Peak: Hard to see under the cowl, but it's there.
- Voice of the Legion: Baron Ashura could speak in a female voice when only his/her female half was visible, a male voice from the other side, and both at once when both sides of his/her face were visible.
- Worthy Opponent: Kouji and his friends remembered him like that. And at the end, he earned Gorgon's respect.
Count Brocken
Voiced by: Junpei Takiguchi (Japan), Keiji Fujiwara (Infinity, Japan), Bill Lobley (Infinity, English), Constantino Romero (Spain)
Count Brocken (Brocken Hakushaku. Sometimes spelled as Blocken) was a particularly bloodthirsty Nazi officer. In the last days of World War II, his head was hewn from his body during a car accident. Hell found his body and revived him as a cyborg. After that, Brocken carried his head around with him. He sometimes carried it under his arm, but it had the ability to float on its own.
Several years later, he met Hell again. His "savior" had already found Mykene's ancient robots and was planning on using them to Take Over the World. But he needed a lot of money to modify the ancient robots. Brocken vowed to help him in return for saving his life. He cold-bloodily murdered the leaders of several European mobs and took them over, using their money to fund Dr. Hell's schemes.
He surfaced in episode 39, when Dr. Hell, fed up with Ashura's endless strings of failures, decided to demote him/her to Brocken's lieutenant. Brocken never missed a chance to mock and insult Ashura and his/her troops, but soon he proved just as incompetent. He commanded Hell's flying fortress and the Iron Cross troops.
He preferred directly striking the enemy with strength rather than resorting to underhanded strategies and schemes. He was also the longest-serving of Dr. Hell's henchmen, dying in the final battle.
- The Dragon: Since episode 39...
- Co-Dragons: ... together with Baron Ashura, much to his anger and resetnment.
- Dirty Coward : Compared to Ashura. But it proved useful sometimes.
- Dirty Old Man: If you attack Count Brocken with a woman in Super Robot Wars Z2: Saisei-Hen, he'll make a comment about opening their (the mecha's) cockpits to see the beauties inside, and suddenly, a lot of ZEXIS girls will start calling him names.Brocken: Geh-heh-heh, that one's piloted by a girl, huh?
Brocken: Punishing you is gonna be SO MUCH FUN. First I'll peel off the cockpit armor, and then...
Lunamaria: Enemy of womankind!
Marguerite: Lewd men such as you deserve little mercy!
Aoi: You're the one who's gonna be punished!
Sylvia: Prepare yourself, Count Pervert!
Kallen: I'm gonna play soccer with your head!
Sara: No, no, I'm going to turn it upside down and use it as a flowerpot!
Yoko: I could use it for target practice...
Noin: No, I'll feed it to my dog.
Sumeragi: I hereby authorize all of you to carry out those actions.
Brocken: Wha-WHAT?! I haven't even done anything yet! - Dub Name Change: Brocken was called (for obvious reasons) Count Decapito in Tranzor Z. In the Latin American version, he was named "El Conde Decapitado" (the Headless Count)
- Enemy Civil War: With Baron Ashura
- High-Class Glass
- Losing Your Head
- Psycho Supporter
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In the Gosaku Ota's manga he delivered a spectacular one to Dr. Hell, telling exactly what he thought of his master before leaving for fighting Mazinger-Z on foot and dying.
- Villain Decay : Would you believe that the victim of Brocken Ball is the same person who killed someone on-screen right on the same chapter ?
- Those Wacky Nazis: Count Brocken and his Mooks.
Archduke Gorgon
Voiced by: Osamu Kato
Archduke Gorgon (Gorgon Taikou) is a bizarre, cybernetic being, his upper half was a blue-skinned, muscled, bearded man in Romanesque armor and his lower half was a huge, long-fanged tiger.
In episode 57, Dr. Hell was on the verge of succeeding, but was humiliatingly defeated. He considered giving up but chose to swallow his pride and asking Gorgon for help. Gorgon agreed or 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 his henchmen. Ashura and Brocken were terrified of him, and only Pygman talked back (though Gorgon showed respect towards Ashura after his/her death). His Robeasts (more powerful than Hell's) they succeeded where Hell's monsters failed were inspired by creatures of Classic Mythology. While very strong and powerful, above all he was a deceitful schemer.
See Great Mazinger characters page for tropes related to him in that series.
- Beard of Evil: His goatee isn't as long as Dr. Hell's beard, but it's still very prominent.
- Co-Dragons: To Dr. Hell along with Ashura and Brocken seemingly.
- The Dreaded: Both Ashura and Brocken are wary of him.
- Evil Genius: Easily the most diabolical and manipulative of Hell's minions, especially considering [[spoiler:he's really using Dr. Hell to pave the way for the Mykene Empire's invasion.
- The Man in Front of the Man: Poses as a servant to Dr. Hell, but is really manipulating him on behalf of the Mykene Empire.
Viscount Pygman
Voiced by: Kouji Yada
Pygman (Pygman Shishaku) was arguably the most bizarre-– and most dangerous— of Dr. Hell's servants. He was a huge cyborg who looked like a huge tanned warrior, dressing ragged animal hides and brandishing one spear and one shield. However, he had two bodies: the upper half of the smallest body lacked legs and was attached to the neck of the largest body. He could use hypnosis, breath fire and often fought alongside the Kikaiju instead of remaining on the rear. His two bodies also could divide and fight separately, and he could levitate.
Dr. Hell built him to replace Ashura after his/her death. However he soon rebelled against Hell, and was the only one of Hell's lackeys who dared to call Gorgon out on his arrogance. He only showed up in five episodes, but he brainwashed several friends of Kouji, killed and hurt many guards and workmen working in the Institute, infiltrated the Institute several times and even took it over, and finally challenged Mazinger Z to a Duel to the Death where he perished.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: He managed overtaking the Institute once.
- Body Horror: Come on! He has another body instead of a head!
- Brainwashed and Crazy: His hypnosis got that effect on his victims.
- Gender Flip: He is female in Mazinsaga.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: A little too competent for Hell's liking.
- Super Power Lottery: Let's see: he was quite strong, he could belch fire, he could use hypnosis, float...
Iron Masks/Iron Cross
The Iron Masks and the Iron Cross are Dr. Hell's assault troops. Originally they were corpses Dr. Hell revived by transforming them into cyborgs. As he transformed them, Dr. Hell completely wiped out any shred of independent thought to ensure their utter loyalty. Unfortunately, it also meant their intelligence was considerably dwarfed.
The Iron Masks served Baron Ashura whereas the Iron Cross troops were under the command of Count Brocken. Maybe it is due to the different origins and background of their commanders that their appearance and weaponry was so different: the Iron Masks's costumes roughly resembled the armor of Greek soldiers, and even though they used guns and cars, they favored broad long swords and spears and often rode robotic horses; the Iron Cross on the other hand wore clearly militaristic costumes, and used guns.
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Justified. The Iron Masks' swords had a magnet embedded into the blade that produced high-frequency vibrations letting them easily cut rocks and metal.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Again, Justified. Given their origins, it is obvious Dr. Hell programmed them to serve him faithfully, erasing anything resembling independent thought.
- Body Horror: See the helmets they all wear? Underneath it, they are quite literally missing the upper half of their face, and have exposed brains with all sorts of cybernetic bits added to it contained inside of a glass dome, with their eyeballs completely exposed due to not even having eyelids.
- Came Back Wrong: Or Came Back Right, if you want plenty of tough, mindless Mooks.
- Conservation of Ninjutsu: Send one dozen of fully armed and geared against Kouji and he will wipe the floor with them.
- Averted in the original manga. Kouji got nearly murdered by three of them, and he needed help.
- Cyborg: All of them.
- Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: They are Cyborgs Dr. Hell created by grafting cybernetic implants in the brain of corpses (many of which he, his Co-Dragons or his Humongous Mecha had murdered). Not only they are not allowed rest in peace but they have been mindwiped and programmed to be mindless slaves. One of them even gloated to Kouji Kabuto he was glad of no longer being worried about pesky things such like thinking, hesitating, worrying or fearing death and he was a perfect soldier. Of course, Kouji was not impressed:Kouji: "You idiot, such a thing wouldn't even be human!"
- Empty Shell: Due to their origins they have no name, no identity, no personality (and they barely have half face left under their helmets) and no family. They don't feel hesitate or fear and they don't fear death. And they don't mind.
- Faceless Goons: All of them wore a helmet hid their faces minus their mouths and chins. Subverted into a nightmarish fashion when one of them got their helmet removed and he was missing his skull's upper half, removed by the Big Bad when the mook was Reforged into a Minion. The purpose of those helmets is not to protect their heads but to replacing their skulls and protecting their brains.
- Fate Worse than Death: Baron Ashura clearly stated that people he slew were turned into his/her soldiers. So basically they are corpses turned into slaves serving the same monster that murdered them.
- The Mole: Several of them infiltrated in the Institute and different research labs all over the world, disguised like ordinary people.
- Mooks
- Mook Chivalry: In the anime adaptation, the Iron Masks were pretty pathetic. They always attacked Kouji Kabuto -or his friends- in the same way- noisly charging from the front-, never tried to overwehlm him with sheer numbers and stood quiet when he was making a pretty obvious attack. They wore weapons -swords and rifles- and helmets and Kouji fighting bare-hand still kicked their butts. Subverted in the manga, though, since sometimes they could be competent. In one of the first chapters Kouji nearly got murdered by only three of them that sneaked into his home overnight (and while two of them engaged Kouji, the third remained hidden to launch a surprise attack when The Hero was distracted). Kouji actually got to be rescued by a secondary character that pulled a Big Damn Heroes moment.
- Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: They are essentially cyborg zombies. And the Iron Masks look like Ancient Greek soldiers.
- Reforged into a Minion: All of them.
- Those Wacky Nazis: The Iron Crosses' costumes resemble those worn by Nazi soldiers, which is understandable given that their commander was a Nazi officer.
Mechanical Monsters/Mechanical Beasts/Mecha Beasts/Kikaiju
They were the war mechas Dr. Hell built, modifying the Mykene robots he found in Bardos using modern science and his own knowledge. In the manga he used the Mykene Kikaiju he had found, but in the anime, though, he destroyed them in episode 3 during a Villainous BSoD, declaring they were useless against Mazinger-Z, and started to design and build his own Mechanical Beasts. Later showed up Archduke Gorgon's Youkikaijuu and in the last episode / Mazinger-Z vs Great General of Darkness feature showed up Mykene Empire's War Beasts (Sentoujuu).
Tropes:
- Action Bomb: Aeros B3 was designed to plunge into the Mount Fuji's crater and blow himself up in order to set off an eruption.
- Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Many of them could switch sizes (the first was Baikong 09), but the biggest (literally) example of this were Giant F3 and Titan G9, a pair of Mechanical Beasts who stood out even among their already gigantic bretheren by dwarfing them in comparison, making Mazinger Z, Aphrodite A, and Boss Borot look human-sized in comparison to them.
- Bad Santa: Satan Claus P10. It resembled an evil Santa riding a jet-propelled sleigh, using a whip that fired missiles.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Several Kikaiju resembled humongous humanoid insects or bugs like Wainder A3, Megaron P1, P2 and P3 or Zarigan G8 (that looked like a shrimp).
- Blood Knight: Some Beasts -like Spartan K-5, whose A. I. was patterned after gladiators and barbarian warriors- loved fighting with whoever was capable of challenging them.
- Blow You Away: Stronger T4 had a giant fan located in the chest that could blast hurricanes.
- Breakout Villain: Garada K7 and Doublas M2, due to being the first two Mechanical Beasts fought by Kouji and giving him a hell of a time due to his lack of experience. They appear in practically every version of Mazinger Z in one form or another, even being combined together as Garadoubla MK01.
- Combat Tentacles: Some monsters like Stronger T4.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Mazinger both delivered and was at the end of many of them.
- Elite Mooks: The Ghost Mechanical Beasts, which are much stronger than ordinary Mechanical Beasts, to the point where Mazinger Z has to be upgraded just to equal the playing field with them.
- Eye Beams: Gelbros-J3's pink head was equipped with heat optical beams.
- Flawed Prototype: To a degree, they can be considered this to the Warrior Beasts of the Mykene Empire, as (most of them) lack the complete sapience that the Warrior Beasts have stemming from the cybernetic nature that they have, resulting in the Mechanical Beasts having a slower reaction time, less intelligence on average, and an inability to improvise or be flexible in a fight. However, they also lack the weakspots that Warrior Beasts have in their exposed faces located on their body, and this doesn't prevent them from being any less dangerous than Warrior Beasts are, it's just that in comparison, most of them are a bunch of Dumb Muscles and Mighty Glaciers in terms of reflexes and flexibility.
- Flying Brick: Many flying Kikaiju such like Deviler X1, Jinray S1, Gelbros J5, Baras K9...
- Gentle Giant: Spartan K5. It's one of the few Kikaiju to be completely non-violent, as it only attacks in self-defense, and even then, it refuses to unleash finishing blows.
- Gladiator: Several of them. The most infamous –and strong- is Spartan K5.
- Irony: Jenova M9's gimmick is that its a sniper, quite possibly one of the most pragmatic fighting styles in the world, but it has a strong sense of honor and refuses to attack a fleeing opponent or anything it deems to be weaker than it, and in fact turns on Dr. Hell when it's pressured into doing so anyway. It even commits seppuku when it's about to be defeated so it can preserve it's sense of honor!
- It Can Think: Some of the Mechanical Beasts display signs of intelligence and even personality, such as Jenova M9, who has a sense of honor and fights strategically like a person would, as it uses it's rifle to snipe at enemies when at a distance and changes it's rifle into a pistol when in close combat, and Faizar V1, who shows the ability to care about things, as it temporarily drops everything in the middle of battle when its tiny duplicate is destroyed so that it can give it a proper burial before resuming combat, as well as Spartan K5, who has a non-violent personality and only attacks, in self-defense, and non-lethally at that.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Jenova M9.
- Lost Super Weapon: Double subversion. Yes, they were ancient weapons were more powerful than current conventional weapons. However, as much as the Mykene were concerned, they were outdated junk. And in the anime series Dr. Hell destroyed the Mykene robots he found originally because no one of them were powerful enough to defeat Mazinger-Z.
- Macross Missile Massacre: A favored tactic. Brighton-J2, Jinray-S1, Baras-K9... used it.
- Mascot Mook: Garada K7 and Doublas M2. They have the most appearances out of all the Mechanical Beasts, and are the de-facto representatives of all of them.
- Meaningful Name: Titan G9. Aside from it being one of the largest Mechanical Beasts in the series alongside it's companion Giant F3, the toga & laurel it wears invoke the Titans of Greek Myth.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Genocider F9, and for a good reason, as it is armed to the teeth with countless missile launchers all over it's body on top of being able to able to use itself as a flying battering ram with it's jets.
- Noble Demon: Jenova M9. It has a strong sense of pride and honor, as it won't attack retreating opponents or ones that it finds to be so weak that they won't stand a chance against it.
- Odd Name Out: Hell King Gordon, Dr. Hell's signature Mechanical Beast that he personally pilots.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Drago Ω1 (it looked like a flying Eastern dragon), Gelbros J3 (it looked a three-headed, bipedal dragon)...
- Pulling Themselves Together: Several of them had this capacity (and Dr. Hell perfected the trick every time): Deimos F3 could reassemble itself every time that it was blown apart. Belgas V5 could disassemble and reassemble itself at will, and every body part was weaponized and could attack and fight separately. Briver A3 could reassemble itself every time that it was blown apart, every body part was weaponized, AND the head had greater attack capability that the rest and was better protected.
- Rhino Rampage: Toros D7 resembled a mix between rhino and bull: it was four-legged, its body was armor-plated, and above its head it had a huge horn. It attacked charging at its adversary and impaling it or goring it with its large horn.
- Robeast: The Trope Codifier.
- Selective Magnetism: Bazil F7 was armed with magnetically-charged armor plates that could be detached off its body and launched at its adversary (with the purpose of sticking to it and disrupting their mechanisms). However the magnets did not attract other objects when they were working, and they stuck to machines (Mazinger-Z and Aphrodite-A) that were not made of steel.
- That's No Moon: A variant with Hell King Gordon, which first appears to simply be part of Dr. Hell's base, Hell Castle, only for it to be revealed that the three heads are part of it.
- Theme Naming: Pretty much all of them have a letter from the roman alphabet or, in some cases, a greek letter, followed by a random single-digit number after their name, although there are some exceptions, such as Satan Claus P10, KingDan X10, as well as Groizer X10, X11, and X12, as well as the Ghost Mechanical Beasts, Gusios βIII, Greeks ΨII, Poses OII, Parlas ΔV, who all use Roman numerals instead.
- This Is a Drill: Holzon V3.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Hakenschmitt X9, which looked like a ghostly Nazi soldier.
- War Elephants: Elephant γ3 is a bipedal elephant with long, curvy tusks, Arm Cannons, and big ears that shot heat rays.
- What Measure Is a Mook?: Subverted. While a good majority of Mechanical Beasts are treated as mindless monsters hellbent on destroying anything at the behest of Dr. Hell and his cohorts, the ones that are capable of higher level thinking and possess personalities are all treated with varying degrees of sympathy, with the most notable one being Spartan K5, which is smart enough to have a personality, and is a Gentle Giant who usually only attacks in self-defense, and only with non-lethal force at that, leaving Kouji to let it literally just peacefully lie around due to it's harmless nature, and it going on a rampage due to being driven berserk by Dr. Hell and Baron Ashura is treated as a tragedy due to pretty much everybody acknowledging how benevolent it was. There's also Jenova M9, notable for it's sense of pride and honor, as well as having standards and lines that it won't cross, as it refuses to attack opponents that it thinks are weaker than it or ones that are retreating, ironically enough for a sniper, and when it realizes that it's been defeated by Koji, it chooses to commit seppuku so that it can die honorably on it's own terms rather than be killed by him. This leads to Koji to gently place it's rifle onto it's body out of respect and consideration for it's noble behavior.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Spartan K5. It's intelligent as a human is, as well as being a peaceful Gentle Giant that only attacks in self defense, and even then, it tries to avoid destroying its enemies, and it wound up being provoked into going into a rampage by Dr. Hell and Baron Ashura and had to be put down by Koji Kabuto, who actually sympathized with it because of it's human-level intelligence and otherwise gentle nature.
Secondary Anime Characters
Rumi
First Appearance: Episode 1
Rumi was a maid hired by Dr. Kabuto to take care of his grandsons while he was designing and building Mazinger-Z. She showed up in the first episode, and shortly after she was murdered by Baron Ashura after being interrogated about Dr. Kabuto's whereabouts.
Tropes:
- Cool Big Sis: Shiro called her "oneechan" in an endearing way.
- Disposable Woman: Murdered in the first episode and never mentioned again.
- Killed Off for Real
- Late-Arrival Spoiler: If you have heard of this character, you know that she dies during her first appearance.
Professor Gordon
First Appearance: Episode 18
Professor Gordon was an expert in robotics and personal friend of Juzo Kabuto.
In one episode, a submarine Mechanical Beast was sinking all ships sailed throughout the Pacific ocean. He traveled to the Photonic Institute to help them with his expertise, but as he traveled by plane, his wife Mary and his daughter Lisa traveled by ship. In hindsight it was not a good idea.
Glossam X2 cut in half the ship where they traveled. Lisa survived, but only because her mother sacrificed herself to save her.
Later in the Institute, Gordon and his daughter (who also was a scientist) helped upgrade and improve Mazinger-Z to turn it into a machine capable move underwater, swim and dive, hoping it helped Kouji to avenge Mary and prevent that kind of tragedy of happening again.
Tropes:
- Dumb Blonde: Averted with Lisa.
- Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Thankfully it was done without slapping. When Lisa woke up in an hospital and remembered what had happened, she started weeping. Her father encouraged her to stop crying and working alongside him to pay Dr. Hell back. After listening to his words, she calmed down.
- Happily Married: As far as we can tell, he was.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Subverted. He is, in fact, quite sane.
- Mama Bear: Mary was very protective of her daughter.
- Missing Mom: After the events of the episode, Lisa found herself in that situation.
- Oh, Crap!: Gordon's face when he realized his family was in danger.
- The Professor: Gordon
- Tempting Fate: You know a giant monster is sinking ships and yet you travel by sea?
Mitsuo and Onimaru
First Appearance: Episode 20
Mitsuo and Onimaru were two boys in Shiro's classroom. Onimaru was the biggest bully in the class, and Mitsuo was an unasuming, quiet, shy, fat, newcomer kid. Onimaru and his goons instantly filed him like "easy prey" and started to mock him and torment him. Shiro beat them once when they were bullying Mitsuo, but when he realized Mitsuo was too frightened to defend himself, he declared he could not be his friend if Mitsuo was not willing to fight back.
Accidentally Mitsuo ran into Stronger T4 -a Mechanical Beast- and he tried to warn his classmates he had seen a Mechanical Beast, but they did not believe him. They laughed at him and Onimaru beat him again. Then he was kidnapped and dragged to an Abandoned Warehouse were an unknown woman told him she knew all were mistreating him and he could borrow her giant robot to pay them back. That "woman" was Baron Ashura in disguise. His/her henchmen had warned him/her that kid had discovered his Mechanical Beast and they had been watching him. Then Ashura thought she could deceive him into being a hostage.
Tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Mitsuo was a good kid. However, everyone mocked him and even harassed him. Even Shiro would not give him a break so easily.
- An Aesop: Several of them: If you do not learn to stand up for yourself, everyone will abuse you; Abusing other people is wrong; Sometimes you can become friends with people previously harassed you; Being nice pays off; Do NOT trust unknown adults suddenly show up saying they want to give you a present...
- The Bully: Onimaru.
- Bully Hunter: Mitsuo decided he would show them what being picked on by somebody bigger than you feels like, when an unknown lady showed up all of sudden and offered him borrowing her Humongous Mecha to take revenge (and he agreed. Oh, my God) Of course, that went so well how you would expect.
- Character Development: Onimaru was a bully and a Jerkass. His attitude changed for better after Mitsuo and him were trapped inside Stronger T4's cockpit. He got his leg broken and he could not run away, but Mitsuo refused tried to escape without him in spite of all what he had done him. Later, when they were safe, he apologized with Mitsuo and apparently they became friends.
- Falling Intothe Cockpit: Subverted. Mitsuo only thought he was controlling the Humongous Mecha following the directions of the strange lady. In reality Baron Ashura was leading Stronger T4 the whole time.
- Ignored Expert: Kind of. Mitsuo was not an expert in Humongous Mecha... However he inhabits an universe where Humongous Mecha are real and ever-present, and Robeast raids are frequent. Still, people did not believe him when he told he had seen one.
- Jerkass: Onimaru.
- New Transfer Student: Mitsuo arrived at Shiro's school in his first appearance.
- Too Dumb to Live: A creepy, masked man kidnaps you and carries you to a warehouse where a stranger tells she wants giving you a Humongous Mecha out of nowhere, and you do not think that's highly suspicious? Your country is under constant attack of giant monsters and you do not believe a kid tells he has seen one?
Yuri
First Appearance: Episode 23
Yuri was Yumi's niece and Sayaka's cousin. She was a disabled kid whose parents were never home, and she was yearning for attention. This made her stubborn, bad-tempered, and demanding. And she had a crush on Kouji. Kouji remarked she was, indeed, Sayaka's cousin, much to the anger of his battle partner.
Tropes:
- Attention Whore: She was a cranky, loud, attention-seeking brat who wanted everyone to pay attention to her. It's justified, since her parents were always too busy to look after her.
- Bratty Half-Pint
- It's All My Fault: She thought this when Dam Dam L2 was running over Mazinger again and again. She was right. Because she refused to stayi in Kouji and Shiro's house where she was safe, Baron Ashura kidnapped her to blackmail Kouji into not fighting back.
- Parental Neglect: At least Prof. Yumi tried to take care of Sayaka, Yuri's mom and dad never were there for her.
Saijyo
First Appearance: Episode 26
Saijyo was a young, homeless boy who lived in Kouji's town. His only family was Norako, a stray female dog who was raising several puppies. Norako scavenged, hunted or stole whatever food she could find.
By chance she stole chickens several times from a chicken house Shiro had built in his and Kouji's garden. When she was caught, Shiro, his brother, Sayaka, Boss and his gang chased her until they ran into Saijyo. Saijyo defended his dog and refused to give the chicken back. He managed to get Boss infuriated -admittedly, hardly a difficult feat-, and when Boss, Nuke and Mucha attacked him, he defeated them easily. Grudgingly, Kouji decided it was not worth.
However he would get caught up in the battle between Kouji Kabuto and Dr. Hell. Norako accidentally died during a fight between Mazinger-Z and a Mechanical Beast, and he blamed Kouji. That scene was observed by an Iron Mask and reported to Baron Ashura. Ashura thought they could exploit that, and he/she ordered one of his Iron Masks killing one of the orphaned puppies and planting false evidence for blaming Kouji.
Saijyo fully -and gullibly- bought it, and he decided to confront Kouji and beat the crap out of him. Feeling guilty for the puppy's death, even though he had done nothing, Kouji did not fight back. Saijyo hurt him badly, and Ashura chose that moment to strike again.
Tropes:
- Badass Normal: As irritating as he was, he also seemed pretty tough. He could also claim to have beaten the main character, even if Kouji refused to defend himself.
- Canine Companion: Norako. As far as he was concerned, nobody messed with her.
- Conveniently an Orphan: He explicitly said...
- Parental Abandonment: he suffered this.
- Eyepatch of Power
- Hot-Blooded: Possibly deconstructed. If he had been capable of thinking calmly rather than overreacting and getting carried away, the troubles in that episode could have been averted.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He was arrogant, loud-mouthed and irritating, tended to leap conclusions, and belonged to the "hit first, ask questions later" school of thought. However he sincerely cared for his dog.
- Manly Tears: Shed when his dog died.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivered to him by Sayaka. Funny how it was as much easier getting him to listen when he was being gripped by Aphrodite A.
- Idiot Ball: He didn't even wonder why Kouji would want to murder a puppy? And why did Kouji think letting the boy give him a beating would solve things instead of rather trying to reason with him?
Drs. Kasuya, Kata and Yokoi
First Appearance: Episode 31
Three scientists who worked in the Photon Research Institute under the orders of Yumi, performing maintainance. All three of them were married and Kasuya had a son called Hiroshi.
They were kidnapped by a squad of Iron Masks and hypnotized to pilot the latest batch of Mechanical Beasts Dr. Hell had built. Part of Baron Ashura's plan consisted of informing Kasuya's son his father was alive and inside one of the Kikaiju, so Hiroshi would persuade Kouji not to fight.
Tropes:
- Disappeared Dad: Hiroshi never accepted his father was dead.
- Never Found the Body: That is the reason Prof. Yumi suspected they might be still alive.
- Off with His Head!: Kouji saved the three of them by blasting the head of the three Beasts off their bodies with missiles.
- Rule of Three: The three scientists and the three Kikaiju: Megaron P1, P2 and P3.
- Sacrificial Lambs: One of the Megaron weapons generated a heat blast capable of killing whoever was sitting in the cockpit. Hell and Ashura knew the three men would most likely die during the battle, but didn't care.
Dr. Smith
First Appearance: Episode 33
Dr. Smith was an American scientist and an expert in aeronautic engineering. When Prof. Yumi was designing the Jet Scrander, he traveled to New York to consult him. Smith was very kind and helpful. He advised Yumi, and helped to correct his plans, fixing mistakes and improve the design. He also stated he wished someone would bring Hell down.
In a later episode, Dr. Hell fabricated a robot resembled Smith and tasked him with infiltrating into the Institute and blowwing up the Jet Scrander.
Tropes:
Demon
First Appearance: Episode 28
Demon was Dr. Hell’s lab assistant. He helped Hell create an Iron Mask able to impersonate Professor Yumi.
Tropes:
- Amazing Technicolor Population: He’s grey-skinned.
- The Evil Genius: He is one of the lab assistants of Dr. Hell.
- The Igor: Toady, loyal and utterly unscrupulous.
- Names to Run Away From: Demon. Seriously.
- Obviously Evil: He is grey-skinned, hunched, hooked-nosed, pointy-eared... and his name is Demon.
Minerva-X
First Appearance: Episode 38
Minerva-X was a robot conceived by Dr. Kabuto while he was designing Mazinger-Z. Since Juzo was a staunch supporter of the Battle Couple trope, he thought Mazinger-Z had to be supported in battle for a female partner would fight by its side. Unlike Mazinger-Z, Minerva-X would be fully autonomous and capable to act, think and feel on her own. She was meant to coordinate with Mazinger-Z during a battle: her brain would receive the data Mazinger's main CPU would send and she would choose one strategy according that information. However he never got around to build her.
A while after the beginning of the series, Dr. Kabuto's lab was looted by Hell's servants, and they found Minerva-X's plans. Dr. Hell build her, replacing Alloy-Z with super-steel, putting a nuclear engine inside her instead of a Photon power engine, and adding the remote control device he used to command his Mechanical Beasts. However he could not ascertain what was the function of the hexagonal device embedded on the waist. He need to include it anyways because Minerva would not work without it.
That hexagonal device was the partner circuit that received Mazinger's signals. When Mazinger showed up, the device began working and she stopped fighting and started acting like its partner. Of course, when Dr. Hell realized she had allied with Mazinger, he decided she had to be destroyed quickly.
Minerva-X only showed up in that episode, but one of the Mazinger Z spin-offs expanded on her role and personality. In Shin Mazinger Zero, she appears like an humanoid-sized Robot Girl, and it is strongly implied she is the reincarnation of the original Minerva-X.
Tropes:
- And I Must Scream: In Shin Mazinger Zero Mazinger-Z became an Eldritch Abomination and caused The End of the World as We Know It. Minverva sent Kouji back in time to prevent both disasters from happening, generating so an alternate timeline. However, Kouji has failed every time so far, and she has gone through hundreds of different worlds, reincarnating over and again only to see Mazinger becoming a demon and the humanity being exterminated over and over and over and over and over again...
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Justified, since she is a robot.
- Battle Couple: She was supposed to be Mazinger-Z's battle partner.
- The Berserker: After a Mechanical Beast broke down her partner circuit, she lost control and went on a uncontrolled rampage.
- Breath Weapon: Rust Hurricane.
- Broken Bird: She has gone through at least 2798 lifetimes of despair witnessing the events where Mazinger become a demon in all of them, what can you expect?
- Calling Your Attacks: Only in Shin Mazinger Zero
- Clingy Jealous Girl: A mild case, but she taunted Sayaka, and later explicitly said she did because she had seen Aphrodite fighting alongside Mazinger and she got jealous. She seems to regard a Humongous Mecha and its pilot as two parts of the same being.
- Companion Cube: She talks to and about and treats Mazinger-Z like if he was a sentient being instead of an inanimate object. Nonetheless, given what was revealed in Shin Mazinger Zero, she has a point.
- Despair Event Horizon:Minerva: At my wits' end, I can only watch...
- The Determinator: She has failed on saving the world 2,798 times, and still she keeps trying.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Minerva X's reaction when the Pilder docked with Mazinger Z.
- Fem Bot
- Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: In Shin Mazinger Zero the size difference between her and Mazinger is... obvious.
- Humongous Mecha: In the original series.
- Just a Machine: Subverted. In the original series, Kouji and the rest treated her like a human being and they even buried her when she died. Dr. Hell regarded her like a machine would do his bidding or would be destroyed. This was reinforced in Shin Mazinger Zero: Hell believed he could control her using his control rod because she was Just a Machine, but in reality she was never under his control.
- Latex Space Suit: In Shin Mazinger Zero, though she does not need one.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Subverted. Sayaka was jealous, but she never thought of destroying her. However Minerva went berserk and would have blown up a nuclear plant in spite of Kouji and Sayaka's attempts to stop her and calm her down, so Sayaka had no choice but hit her with Aphrodite's Torpedo Tits.
- Power Crystal: Her partner circuit outwardly looked like a hexagonal, shining blue crystal.
- Reincarnation: In Shin Mazinger Zero. It suggests indeed she had a soul.
- Restraining Bolt: The partner circuit located on her midsection. Without it, she would be unable to tell friend from foe.
- Ridiculously Human Robot
- Robot Girl: In Shin Mazinger Zero where she appears like an humanoid-sized robot.
- Shipper on Deck: She ships Kouji/Sayaka in Shin Mazinger Zero.
- The Starscream: Subverted. Dr. Hell created her assuming he would be able to control her. He could not, and she defected as soon as possible.
- Stripperiffic: Her costume is... skimpy. Justified, perhaps, as she's a robot.
- Superpower Lottery: She is a Mazinger robot with all it implies:
- Blow You Away: "Rust Hurricane!"
- Chest Blaster: "Breast Fire!"
- Deflector Shield: "Photon Shield!"
- Eye Beams
- Flying Brick
- Made of Indestructium
- Phlebotinum Battery
- Razor Wings: "Photon Wings!"
- Rocket Punch
- Tender Tears: Minerva was capable of feelings. Her CPU strained due to contradictory orders (on one hand, her partner circuit told her that Humongous Mecha was Mazinger-Z, her partner; on the other hand, Hell's remote control ordered her destroying Mazinger). Since she was not built with Japanium as she was meant to, her body overheated, and a cooling fluid leaked around her eyes. Thus, when she was emotionally stressed, she "cried".
- You Shall Not Pass!: She did this in episode 6.
Shinichi and Risa
First Appearance: Episode 46
Risa was a widow mother. After her husband's death Risa worked hard for providing for their baby son Shinichi until she got sick. Thinking she'd be unable to raise Shinichi now, she left her baby in the Institute -believing it to be a safe place- and then attempted to kill herself.
Tropes:
- Conveniently an Orphan: Shinichi lost his father.
- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: Risa leaves her baby because she believes she is incapable of looking after him properly.
- Despair Event Horizon: Risa crosses it when she gets sick one year after losing her husband and cannot provide for their son anymore.
- Driven to Suicide: Risa decides to jump off a cliff after losing her husband and being unable to take care of her son.
- Parental Abandonment: Shinichi loses his father... and almost loses his mother, too.
- Spanner in the Works: Shinichi ruined Dr. Hell's Scheme-Of-The-Week. Hell’s minions planted two cobalt bombs on Mazinger-Z's pool in order to blow the giant robot up. During the launch sequence, Sayaka is in the Control Room holding Shinichi, and the baby suddenly hits a big red button and stops the launching.
Guido and Ayuko
First Appearance: Episode 51
Guido is the leader of The "Death's Skulls" gang. His sister Ayuko is ill and he needs money to pay for her surgery. So he tries to get money by any means, including robbing and blackmailing. He finds out that there's a bounty of a million dollars on Kouji Kabuto, and he decides to collect it.
Tropes:
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: The "Death's Skulls" are a group of thugs.
- Anti-Villain: Guido is a thug, but all he does is to help his sister.
- Big Brother Instinct: He's determined to help his little sister.
- Combat Pragmatist: He'll do anything to win.
- Delinquents: Guido leads a biker gang.
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: His sideburns are huge and spiky.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Guido is a jerk as well as a loving brother.
- Love Makes You Evil: He loves his sister so much he'll hurt and kill to protect her.
- Morality Pet: Guido's brotherly love is one of his few redeeming traits.
- Must Make Amends: Eventually he comes to regret his actions and wants to be punished by Kouji. He was even willing to get killed. However Kouji punches him, calls him an idiot and tells him to take care of his sister.
Erika
First Appearance: Episode 67
Erika is a beautiful, vulnerable, amnesiac young woman who befriends Kouji after being saved from two Iron Masks. Since she has lost her memories, Kouji takes her to the Institute. Eventually it's revealed that she is an android built by Dr. Hell to infiltrate the Institute and kill Kouji. She gets killed when she refuses to kill Kouji.
Tropes:
- Amnesiacs are Innocent: She loses her memories and doesn't remember she's supposed to kill Kouji Kabuto.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Her eyes are completely black. Subverted because she doesn't know about her true nature.
- Religious Robot: She always wears a cross and prays fervently.
- Robot Girl: She really looks like a real and beautiful woman.
Bakarasu
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 making it looklike he wore glasses. He was clever enough to talk and repeat what someone else told. Unfortunately he was a trickster who loved messing with humans (especially Boss). Boss used him as a lookout to spy on 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.
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.
- Clever Crows: He is The Trickster and enjoys making a fool of people.
- Dub Name Change: To Aesop in Tranzor Z.
- Funny Animal
- Idiot Crows: A lively example.
- Joke Character
- Meaningful Name: Boss named him Bakarasu. In Japanese it would roughly mean "Dumb crow" (Baka=dumb; Karasu=Crow)
- Plucky Comic Relief
- Speech-Impaired Animal
- Truth in Television: Although one might chalk Bakarasu's ability to speak and talk in human words to be Rule of Funny. Crows actually can replicate human speech, and are indeed very intelligent.
- 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!
Secondary Manga Characters
Inspector Yamitaro Ankokuji
First Appearance: Go Nagai manga, chapter 1
He was a police Inspector led one of the police units were deployed along to stop a giant robot was rampaging through the city -Mazinger-Z-. After meeting Professor Yumi he become a regular cast member for some few chapters, using his authority and cop role to help the heroes.
Although he is a cop he comes from a long line of yakuzas and other assorted thugs -a fact he does not seem greatly bothered about and does not mind telling to strangers-. He defines himself like a "a clumsy cop" and "a bit of a rascal".
Tropes:
- Badass Longcoat
- Big Damn Heroes: Saved Kouji's life in an early chapter when one of the Iron Masks had sneaked into his home was about to killing him.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: After Kouji was upset over killing several Iron Masks he reassured him he was not a murder, and like The Hero of a m anga, he can do no wrong.
- Friend on the Force
- The Gunslinger
- Guns Akimbo: At least once in an episode where he killed several Iron Masks attempted to murder Kouji
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: Even bigger than Kouji's.
- Obviously Evil: Subverted. He is one of the good guys but he looks like a thug. Sometimes he has to clarify he is a cop, not a mafia member, even though he looks like one.
- '70s Hair
- Slasher Smile
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After the early chapters, he only... vanished without a trace.
Gamia Q1, Q2 and Q3
Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki (in Mazinkaiser)
They were three identical, blonde cyborg girls Baron Ashura treated like his/her daughters.
They were tall, slender, and each wore twin ponytails reached the ground. Their hair was sharp and they flayed their ponytails like whips could slice and dice anything, including rocks, cars... or human flesh. Besides, they had more-than-human strength, speed and agility.
They showed up only in the Go Nagai manga, and their first animated appearance was in Mazinkaiser. Usually their role is assassinating Kouji Kabuto when he is out of Mazinger and –supposedly- defenseless.
Tropes:
- Cyborg
- Drop Dead Gorgeous: The Gamias are always killed in very violent ways that expose their breasts and panties.
- Emotionless Girl: Their expressions could be utterly aloof, unchanging and bereft of any emotion when they were chopping and dicing people. It was downright eerie.
- Girlish Pigtails: They are long enough to touch the ground, and each strand is lethal Razor Floss.
- Prehensile Hair
- Razor Floss: What their hair seems being made of. It can cut blocks of stone at lightning speed.
- Ridiculously Human Robot
- Robot Girl
- Running Gag: Every time they show up, one of them is always killed in the next fashion: someone –usually Kouji- shoots one bullet or laser beam through her head before slicing her in two symmetrical halves.
- Uncanny Valley Girl: In Shin Mazinger Zero they transferred to Kouji's high school to assassin him. Given that they were three friendly, gorgeous, tall, blonde triplet girls, even if they behaved in a strange fashion and looked a tad weird, all boys in class started to quickly slobber at them. Seemingly Kouji also bought their masquerade, but shortly after he suggested them dropping their act, revealing that he had suspected it all along.
Yumiko Shiozai
First Appearance: Gosaku Ota manga, "Fight, Dr. Hell"
Yumiko was a Japanese exchange student attended a German college together with her boyfriend, Juuzo Kabuto. In that time she met a student called Hell. Although most students shunned him on account of him being ugly, weird and creepy, she and her fiancee thought he was not a bad person, and they tried to be his friends. However they neglected to mention they were engaged.
Yumiko admired Hell and tried to be nice to him. Unbeknownst to her however, he was in love with her but he was too shy to confess. He got increasingly obsessed with her, and followed her everywhere as if he was her shadow. He even offered to review classes with her (Not really. He muttered he would love to "review her ", and when he realized he had said that out loud, he came up with review classes). She did not seem to notice that he was a Stalker with a Crush, but it is possible she did eventually notice. If she did though, she chose to not confront Hell about it.
One night she and Juzo were making out in the boarding house where she lived when Hell suddenly barged into the place. They explained they were engaged, but Hell said nothing. He just left.
The next time she saw him, Hell stormed into the campus with a handgun and attempted to murder her boyfriend.
Most likely that was the last time she saw him. Not much is known about her life after that incident. Obviously she and Juzo got married, she gave birth to Kenzo Kabuto, Kouji and Shiro's father and apparently she was already deceased when the series began.
Tropes:
- Backstory: The Gosaku Ota episodes is the only place where she shows up.
- Disposable Woman: Averted, surprisingly. She only shows up in a flashback and she is part of the reason a main character went evil, but she did not die.
- Horrible Judge of Character: She did not think there was something wrong with Hell. To be fair, he had not jumped off the slippery slope yet, but he was already very troubled, he WAS a creepy stalker and already was beginning to look Obviously Evil.
- Love Triangle: With Hell and Juzo.
- Luminescent Blush: Several times.
- Oblivious to Love: Arguably. She did not seem realizing Hell was infatuated wit her, but in some scene her expression suggested he was too close to her liking.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: She prefered Juzo Kabuto, who was too nice for his own good in the Gosaku Ota version.
- Stalker with a Crush: She had one: Dr. Hell. Disturbing and creepy? You can bet.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Juzo, Hell and herself.
Introduced in Infinity
Lisa
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka
A mysterious girl appearing out "Infinity," a giant Mazinger discovered 10 years after the defeat of the Mycene.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: Koji and Sayaka's daughter looks quite similar to her, but whether time travel, reincarnation, or something else is involved isn't stated.
- Genki Girl: She's incredibly energetic, frequently getting excited over experiencing new things.
