Red Baron 1973

I got this DVD set as soon as it was released in April of 2008.  I did watch the entire series, though spread over a month or so.  I really enjoyed the show, even if it was very similar to Mazinga Z.  However, I don't think I have watched it since then.  The streaming revolution and the 2008 recession happened all at the same time.  Still, I was happy to get this set, since it was nearly unknown show and now it was available with English subtitles.  This was a pipe dream even five years before.

Grendizer Opening

                   

Great Mazinga thoughts

 

I am about 40 episodes into this series- it's got 56 episodes, plus a few movies.  I've had the set for a while, but haven't watched it much until recently.  It has really grown on me, though it is not quite as good as Mazinger Z.  Part of that is because it is not as fresh and new, whereas we have now seen this sort of show.  Also, Great Mazinga is really, and I mean really overpowered.  I get that he needs to have terrible enemies, but Dr. Kabuto keeps giving Great more powers.  Even at the start of the series.

Devilman (1973)

 

Yet another spoiler for a future issue of Xenorama- an issue featuring some of the creations of Go Nagai.  I have enjoyed all of the cartoons he has created, though some more than others.  Devilman was one I always wanted to see when I was growing up, though it might have been a bit too intense for me back then. When I finally got the Hong Kong set I did enjoy it a lot.  And this was with the rather unusual subtitles it had.  They were kind of in English.  But the picture look great and the sound was good, so I was happy.  I had seen some of the newer Devilman adaptions, and they were bloody and gross, so I don't remember much about them.

Mazinga Z

 

    Who knew there would be so many classic Japanese cartoons available on home video, either DVD or Blu Ray now?  I had those Hong Kong DVD sets of both Mazinga Z and Devilman with their wonderfully off English subtitles.  Now they are both available, along with several other shows.  It's just amazing.  I've got the entire run of Gatchaman shows to get through now, and several other sets that I haven't opened yet.

Pacific Rim Uprising (2018)

This was a pleasant surprise.  I quite enjoyed the movie.

Great Mazinger Opening

The opening theme songs to several Super Robot series are just astounding. Great Mazinga has one of them. I think I may like it more than Mazinga Z's theme, in fact. I love most everything about Great Mazinga, and think the design is actually better than Z's as well. I do think Z is the better series, mostly due to the cast and Koji Kabuto himself.

Mazinga Z in English (part one)

It is titled Mazinger Z in the cartoon. That's just a hard habit for me to break, since I first saw it as Mazinga and that's what I've always written. This is from the original English dub. Apparently there were 27 episodes dubbed into English back in the day. I've got a compilation movie of the first four episodes. The dubbing isn't bad, but it's not great. Too bad Titra didn't get to do it.

Shogun Warriors Godzilla Toy Commercial

in honor of the US release of "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" here is the solo Shogun Warrior commercial. there's one where he stars with Gaiking and Great Mazinga, but this was separate from that commercial. I think I saw both of them, and they were quite cool.

Great Mazinga Shogun Warrior

it's a great cartoon and a great toy. I wanted to see the Mazinga series SO bad when this came out. there were a few articles here and there about it, and it sounded amazing. I didn't know at the time that Great Mazinga was the sequel to Mazinga Z. this Japanese ad would have made me drool as a kid!

Mazinga Z opening

this is such a great song to such a great series.

subtitled superhero shows

remember back when we all used to think about seeing subtitled Japanese superhero shows?  when it started happening it was usually the current Kamen Rider, Super Sentai or Ultra show.  now, though, there's a ton of older stuff finally getting it's due.

I mean, look over there- subtitled Kamen Rider.  no V3, or Hibiki after the title.  just the original Rider in all his glory.  that is also one daunting task, since it's a long series.

so I thought I'd be friendly and post some of these places that are doing such good work for the rest of us.

• Hikari Senshi- Ultraman Gaia, Zubat and Gogo V
• KITsubs- Kamen Rider, Skyrider
• Order of Zeronos- Kamen Rider X, Gokaiger
• Hi No Tori- Kamen Rider Amazon, Keiji K, Ultra Seven, Demon Hunter Mitsurgi, more
• Grown Ups In Spandex- Gokaiger, more
• Deserves Subs- Mazinga Z

there are probably more I've missed.  it's almost too much now to watch 'em all!

trailers of Mazinga?

well, sort of!  here's the Hallowe'en trailer of the day:

this is the Spanish trailer, which is slightly shorter than the German trailer for Roboter Der Sterne.

obviously, this isn't Mazinga Z, but rather a Taiwanese version of Super Robot Mach Baron (1974). one can tell it's not just four or five episodes cobbled together from the original series, because none of the original actors are in it.  the Taiwanese had done this before, with Kamen Rider.  apparently the international title is The Iron Man.

apparently Mazinga Z was more popular than Mach Baron in other countries.  I can understand that. both series do have similar themes and ideas.

what it DOES lack is the awesome opening song of Mach Baron. try it, you'll love it!

DASH! DASH!

it's a great time to be a fan of Japanese cartoons.  they show up everywhere, and finally some fans are delving back into the older stuff, such as Great Mazinga (グレートマジンガー),!  (please don't bother me with the "-er" or "-a" nonsense.)

Pilder on!

one of the best super robot series ever, Mazinga Z.  I know, the "official" title is Mazinger Z, but since I first saw the Shogun Warrior toy- well, Great Mazinga- spelled that way, that's just how it's gonna be for me.  the show ran for 92 episodes, which is a pretty good run for a Japanese series, cartoon or not!