****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Great Mazinger was the very first anime series that I ever saw while growing up in Japan. The 1970s and 1980s were the heyday of giant mecha anime, and Great Mazinger was one of the pioneers of the anime art form, and played a major role in shaping what anime has become. I hope to see more series from this era released in this format. There are 8 discs, with 7 episodes per disc. Disc 8 of this set has some toy commercials and an 8mm theatrical short. I noticed that there were some problems playing some episodes on a few of the discs on my stand-alone DVD player, but they played with no problems on my computer's DVD drive.Audio is Japanese only, with the option to enable or disable English subtitles for the episodes. I only used the subtitles for the extra features on disc 8, but the translation quality is very good.(My last paragraph has what some might consider to be a minor spoiler)In the episode dialogue, character names are given Japanese-style, with family name first, but I will write them American-style, with family name last.This series picks up virtually to the day after Mazinger Z ends. With Koji Kabuto and Sayaka Yumi studying in the United States, Tetsuya Tsurugi, Jun Honou, Professor Kabuto and their colleagues step forward to face the Mycenaean Empire and their plans to conquer the Earth. It is Great Mazinger, Venus A, and Boss Borot who stand as the first line of defense against the Mycenaean Empire and their army of Battle Beasts, who intend to conquer the Earth. This series can be watched as a stand-alone series, but it is best understood and enjoyed as the second part of the Mazinger saga. Old friends and old foes from Mazinger Z return to play their roles throughout the Great Mazinger series.Great Mazinger possesses twice the power of Mazinger Z, and has several improvements over Mazinger Z. Just like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger receives several weapons upgrades throughout the series to cope with the increasingly powerful Battle Beasts. Jun's robot, Venus A, was designed and built from the outset to serve as a partner for Great Mazinger. Boss Borot, from Mazinger Z, returns to join the fray as well.Whereas the Photon Energy Institute from Mazinger Z was a scientific facility whose staff became reluctant warriors, the Science Fortress Institute is exactly what its name says it is. It is armed and equipped to defend itself against attack, and its staff knows exactly why they are there. In several episodes, the Science Fortress Institute trades salvoes of weapons fire against attacking Mycenaean mobile fortresses, like two old sailing warships trading broadsides.Tetsuya Tsurugi is Great Mazinger's pilot. In many ways, he is an older version of Koji Kabuto, an orphan who was raised by Professor Kabuto as a surrogate son and trained from an early age to one day be humanity's champion against the coming darkness. His motorcycle is distinctive, to say the least, and motorcycles like this were a common feature of both Japanese anime and live-action series throughout the 1970s. His female partner, Jun Honou, is much the same. Tetsuya's backstory is not fully explored in this series, but Jun's is explained in somewhat more detail. She is usually calm and mature, but sometimes struggles with personal issues like everyone else. Tetsuya and Jun both have to wrestle with guilt and doubt, but they find the strength and grace within themselves to see it through.Professor Kenzo Kabuto, as his name implies, is indeed the father of Mazinger Z pilot Koji Kabuto and younger brother Shiro, a fact which he hid from his sons until later in the series. His body was all but destroyed in an explosion, but he was rebuilt as a cyborg. His cybernetic body makes him a formidable fighter in his own right, and he defeats at least one assassination attempt with his cyber-enhanced speed and shooting accuracy. Indeed, many of the Mycenaean attacks are planned for the express purpose of capturing or killing Professor Kabuto.Boss, Nukeh, and Mucha (from Mazinger Z) remain as supporting characters. They often are depicted as comedy relief, but they come to the aid of the Science Fortress Institute when it matters - motivated, in part, by Boss' attraction to Jun - and Boss Borot does destroy several Battle Beasts himself. Koji Kabuto's younger brother, Shiro, hangs around with Boss and his pals when he is not at the Science Fortress Laboratory. In Great Mazinger, we see Shiro beginning to take more of an active role, and he even has his own robot, Robot junior, whose baseball bat sometimes proves to be a surprisingly effective weapon when Great Mazinger's weapons prove ineffective.The Japanese names of some of the characters have specific meanings. In Japanese, "tsurugi" means "sword," "tetsuya" can be loosely translated as "made of iron," Jun Honou's last name "honou" means "flame," and Professor Kenzo Kabuto's first name is written with the Japanese kanji characters which mean "sword maker," perhaps a reference to his role in training Tetsuya to pilot Great Mazinger. His last name, Kabuto, refers to the helmet worn by a samurai.Boss' sidekicks, Nukeh and Mucha, also have names with specific meanings. "Nukeh" means "fool," and "mucha" means "crazy" or "silly." A sentient and sarcastic crow named Bakarasu (Japanese for "stupid crow") becomes part of Boss' crew, serving as lookout and messenger, and commenting on Boss' various misadventures. Despite their names, they also prove to be loyal friends to Tetsuya and company and face the Mycenaean onslaught with stubborn nobility.The Mycenaean Empire occupies a subterranean world from which they venture forth to conquer the Earth. Led by the Emperor of Darkness, seven generals who are sentient giant robots dispatch their Battle Beasts on missions of destruction. These generals and their field commanders often plot and scheme against each other, which works to the benefit of the Science Fortress Institute and the human race.FWIW, the series finale of Great Mazinger sets up the following series, UFO Robo Grandizer, which aired in the United States as one of the Force Five anime series. Koji Kabuto appears in Grandizer as a supporting character, but in the Force Five incarnation, his character was named Lance Hyatt.
