God Mazinger

Did You Know?

• The scheduled broadcast of August 19, 1984 was cut for the 1984 Summer Olympics; of the originally planned 24 episodes, one was not aired.
• The novelization was written by Yasutaka Nagai, Tatsuhiko Dan, and Hideki Sonoda, with illustrations by Go Nagai.
• The novelization was published by Kadokawa Shoten under the label Kadokawa Bunko.

Plot

Yamato Hino, a Japanese teen who loves sports, begins hearing strange calls from an indefinite dimension during an ordinary day. Frightened and confused, he thinks he is hallucinating, but a lightning bolt during a thunderstorm drags him into the parallel world of the ancient kingdom of Mu. King Muraji rules Mu and seeks to defend his capital from monsters commanded by the evil Dorado of the Empire of Dinosaurs. A legend in Mu tells of a titanic being that protects the population; the king wants to awaken the giant statue of the god Mazinger, which requires a brave boy named Yamato. The king's and princess's prayers are answered when Yamato arrives, and the statue comes alive, absorbing the boy into its body. Yamato joins the court of newly crowned Queen Aira Mu as the kingdom's champion, ready to repel Dorado's attacks.

Manga

The manga shares the same premise as the anime but has a more mature tone and a different conclusion. It was originally published in tankōbon format by Shogakukan in 1984, and later reprinted by Kadokawa Shoten in 1986, Chuokoron-sha in 1995, and Daitosha in 1998. Shogakukan and Kadokawa Shoten released it under the title Mazin Legend, while Chuokoron-sha and Daitosha used the title God Mazinger. An ebook edition has been published by ebookjapan.

Media

In Japan, the anime was released on home video in the 1980s by VAP and on VHS by Maxam in 2000. Two DVD releases exist: a box set by Pioneer LDC and another by Columbia Music Entertainment. US publisher Discotek Media will release the series with English subtitles on SD Blu-ray. The series is also available on several video on demand services. Two vinyl records were released in Japan by VAP during the 1980s: a single containing the opening and ending themes, and an LP album with the full soundtrack. A compact cassette was released by VAP. Picture books for children were published in the 1980s by Hikari no Kuni, Shogakukan, and Asahi Sonorama. God Mazinger appears in the Dynamic Super Robots Taisen clips included at the end of the DVDs of Shin Getter Robot tai Neo Getter Robot, alongside Great Mazinger, Venus A, Getter Robot G, Kotetsu Jeeg, Govarian, and Groizer X. In the Mazinger Angels manga, a saga features Princess Aira controlling a female version of God Mazinger.

Relationship to the Mazinger series

The series is considered part of the Mazinger saga, and the 2002 Japanese book Mazinger Bible, released for the 30th anniversary of the first Mazinger series, includes God Mazinger alongside other Go Nagai works. The concept of God Mazinger was a candidate to be the sequel of the original Mazinger Z series, but the sequel chosen was Great Mazinger, followed later by UFO Robot Grendizer.