The booklet continues with a diagram that shows the relationships between the characters in a way that, with just a glance, we can figure out which are the main groups and the character affiliations. Then, we have a full color presentation of the main characters in different situations and attires. A short explanatory text accompanies all these images.
Once the characters have been introduced, it is time for the robots to get into the spotlight, with special attention on the mechanical beasts, whose images are showed with accompanying rough drawings from the 70s by Nagai and Ishikawa.
Lastly, there’s the locations (the coastal town of Atami, Bardos Island, etc.) and sites (the Photonic Energy Research Institute, etc.) that appear in the series.
The booklet closes with an interview with the voice actors for Kôji Kabuto, Sayaka Yumi and Jûzo Kabuto and technical credits for the 9 episodes included in this first box.
Moving onto the technicalities:
Each Blu-ray (there’s 3) includes 3 episodes. From the main menu we can access the “regular” version (the longer one) or the on TV version (the one broadcasted on TV, edited and shorter) of each one of the episodes. When the last of the episodes of the third Blu-ray finishes, we can access to several Shin Mazinger related merchandising ads (Chôgokin, music, etc.). These ads were the ones used on TV, but this time they are presented in HD.
Image quality is really good (1080p) with vibrant colors and blacks showing no compression at all. The sound, in Linear PCM Stereo, is delightful and very clear.
Remember also that with this first Blu-ray box you’ll find a coupon. This coupon can be exchanged for a 25 cm. Zeus figure, exclusive to this edition, although you’ll have to add an extra 1500 ¥ (for shipping, I guess). This promotion is only available in Japan, and there’s no shipping overseas, since this edition is exclusive to Japan. (Special thanks go to Kozue Nakano on this matter)
In conclusion, this is a pretty nice edition, although it misses some more extras, since the inclusion, as nice as it is, of the on TV version of the episodes adds nothing to the package as they are nothing more than shorter and edited versions, specially if you consider the price of the box (18900¥), which is going to make having the whole series, divided in 3 boxes, a 625 $ affair.
In any case, the quality of the source material is without question and I strongly recommend this edition to all the fans of the series.
With a certain delay, I'll introduce you today the first volume of the new series Blu-ray. The volume is presented in a sober but elegant box, showing an image of Mazinger on the front and one of Koji on the back, both of them over a scarlet background. What you see on the lower part of the box is the obi, usually attached to Japanese editions, that gives us information on the contents of the product. The box is about the same width of a DVD but a little bit lower (like the individual boxes for Blu-ray) and contains the three discs with the same slevees that will be featured on the DVD edition. It also contains a 32-page booklet, a coupon to gain points at EMOTION FAMILY CLUB (we can later exchange them for other Blu-ray or DVD) and another coupon that we will use to get our hands on the desired Zeus figure, a limited gift with the first edition of this Blu-ray.
If you fully open the full-colored booklet, the cover and backcover show an image of Mazinger's face as you can see in the picture below.
Once inside the booklet, the first two pages show us an interesting comparision between images from the original manga and from the new TV series.
The similitudes are certainly striking, and these homages are without doubt a gift to the older fans, since they hadn't been forced into the series.
In the next entry I will show you more about the booklet and other aspects of this edition.
Still waiting for more specific news on the continuation or not of Shin Mazinger (the web page that I mentioned last week contained only a survey which I guess will serve as a test on people's interest). To make the wait more bearable, I'll start posting today about some of the shopping that I did while in Japan so you can see some curious items or at least, see them in more detail.I'm going to start with a little book that I mentioned briefly on June 21's post, which dealt with Shin Mazinger ZERO's manga and the magazine where it is being published.
As I already told you, the magazine was accompanied on issue number 8 (on sale in June) by a special booklet with illustrations by the 3 most famous illustrators of the super-robot. It is actually a 130-page book reprinting 3 old stories from the Mazinger saga, each one of them illustrated by Go Nagai, the late Ken Ishikawa and Gosaku Ota respectively.
The story by master Nagai belongs to the Mazinkaiser series and itwas already published in a single manga volume dedicated to this robot. In Ishikawa's one, we have the first appeareance of the mechanical monster GARADABURA MK01 and the brain-like warrior organism EBA (which appeared in Shin Mazinger as KEDORA). Finally, Ota illustrates the origin of Dr. Hell in a classicstory which was published for the first time in 1974 and that can be found in the mangavolumes dedicated to what was known as the TV series adaptation, written by Nagai himself but drawn by the skilled Gosaku Ota.
This is a special volume that does not offer new material, but because of its condition as a special gift, could end up being a pretty sought-after item.
(The images show the cover and backcover of the book)
Hello again everybody. I would like to apologize first to those who follow the blog on a regular basis for not updating it during this last month. These past few weeks coincided with my busiest work period of the year first and my holidays later. Fortunately, I spent my vacations in Japan for 15 days where I was able to buy some stuff related to the series (Blu-ray, books...) that I will try to show you on next entries. A little bit of pacience, please.
A lot of you will probably now that today is last-episode-day for the new Mazinger series. For six months we enjoyed this new version to the fullest, but unfortunately the end is near. Or not. The official blog posted that today at 00.00 AM (it will already be Sunday, in fact) we'll have some more information about what is going to happen next year.
Those of you who can not wait to know what's going to happen from now on, click on hereat 00.00 (Japan local time, check your time zone differences) and then on the red underlined word in the fourth line from the bottom. Let's cross our fingers!
Bandai, through its Bandai Fashion Net website, is selling three different models of t-shirts with Shin Mazinger-related motifs. Far from the flashy colors that most of us would associate with the series. Bandai opted for sober designs, putting the main design in the back in some cases.
The t-shirts are on sale for 2940 yen and they come in different sizes.
If you are into rainbow colors, you would probably prefer any of the two models of caps offered by the same company, this time at a 3150 price.
Years and years ago, Go Nagai, who was at the time dedicating himself completely to Devilman, was coming home from his studio and got himself caught in a traffic jam. At that moment he thought, "If my car had legs, I could avoid the others easily and get home pretty soon." From that idea came the early designs for what was to become Mazinger Z, but on those first designs, the name of the robot was Energer Z and even if its looks were quite similar, there still were some differences (as you can see on the first image) from what ended up being the final design. The most important one was the pilot -at the time called Susumu Kaze- who docked into Mazinger without a pilder. He did it using his own motorbike, running up a ramp located on the back of the robot. In the end, the ramp disappeared, the pilot name changed to Koji Kabuto and the motorbike gave way to the now famous pilder. Even so, the basic design for Energer Z was used on Sayaka's second robot, Diana A, obviously with a more feminine look.
Energer Z itself was never used in any of the Mazinger series ever shown on the small screen...until some weeks ago.
In Shin Mazinger, Energer Z is the prototype of Mazinger created by Kenzo Kabuto (Koji's father) and piloted by Tetsuya Tsurugi (Great Mazinger's pilot in the old series). Both of them seem to have died in an incident at Bardos island in the past, but Energer Z appears in the present piloted by Kenzo himself and fights Mazinger, matching his power level.It seems that all the Z robots can achieve their maximum power level (although it would seem, by also putting themselves in danger) by means of the Koshiryoku Meltdown (Nuclear melting of the Photonic Energy?) as the color of their bodies changes to metallic scarlet.
It is this last Energer Z model that will go on sale as part of Bandai's collection Soul of Chogokin, in this case the GX-47. The official blog uploaded some pictures.
The advertising machinery is working non-stop. The producers of series, understanding that they will get better profits from the sale of DVD and Blu-ray and its related products than from the broadcasting of the series on TV, have decided to advertise Shin Mazinger in the most used mean of transportation in Tokyo, the subway. To do it, a fantastic giant-sized poster (812 x 415") would be seen between August 21 and September 3 (of 2009, for those of you who read this in the future) at the main stations of the Ginza, Hanzamon, Yurakucho and Marunouchi lines amongst others, according to Shin Mazinger's official blog.
Where will those posters go after September 3? Let's hope we get lucky!
It's only five more days until Shin Mazinger's DVD and Blu-ray go on sale, and the merchandising machinery is now in full swing. The official site is being updated constantly with the advertisement of new products; be it figures, t-shirts or mangas and with the updating of the site contents (character profiles, episode guide, etc.). During the next few days I'll try to keep you up to date with all the new information through several entries in the blog dedicated to all those items. For now, and to celebrate the first DVD and Blu-ray of the series going on sale, the ORICON STYLE website is giving away (through a lottery) a copy of the commemorative promotional poster for the series signed by 4 members of SKE48, whose debut single is the new ending song 強き者よ (Tsuyokimonoyo) that substituted Natsuko Aso's one a few weeks ago.
This is the promotional single for the song, uploaded to Youtube by SuperAKB48withSKE48. If you like it, you can buy it on the links provided under the video.
It's Saturday again and while we wait for today's episode, let's take a peek inside the Blu-ray box containing the 3 discs with the first 9 episodes of Shin Mazinger. Thanks to the official blog, we can see that each one of the 3 discs will have its own sleeve, which I think is going to be the same as the DVD version and that are going to be designed by Shinji Takeuchi(竹内進二), series director and designer for the exterior artwork of the Blu-ray box, and Hideyuki Motohashi (本橋 秀之), who works as an animator for mechas and who is rumored to have had a big part in the new opening scene unveiled last week. On the back of the box there's going to be an illustration with Koji Kabuto wearing a flashy yellow shirt. Moreover, we can see on the picture a first image of what promises to be a meaty 32-page booklet of which they promise to give us more information soon. It's only 24 more days until it goes on sale!
Even though both of them have previous entries on this blog, I have taken advantage of this fact to present you these recordings with a little bit more detail. As you can see on the pictures accompanying this text, the cover sleeves for the discs are rather sober, especially in the case of the original soundtrack that tries to mimic those of the ETERNAL EDITION discs, published in 2002 by Columbia Music Entertainment, containing the original soundtrack for the old MAZINGER Z series. The sober design is only broken by the giant obi for the ULTIMATE LAZY single showing the now classic image for the new series. But what these discs lack in presentation they supply in content, because I'm of the opinion that the music is high quality. The single contains just four songs -two of them are instrumental versions of the songs- , but 感じてKnight (Kanjite Knight) is a clear triumph (for an opening song for an anime robot series, that is) and the ballad Unforgettable Days is not without its charm. Things get better when we talk about the first volume of the original soundtrack. Even if the packaging can be improved quite a lot, Akira Miyagawa's compositions are, in my opinion, a nice and most adequate homage to the music for the old series. Avoiding references to western movies, so obvious in Michiaki Watanabe's score, Miyagawa captures the soul of the series with epic melodies (clearly reminiscent of the excellent music for MAZINKAISER) and brings back the spirit of the 70s with his more uplifting and rhythmic melodies. In the first group, there are pieces like 敵軍信仰！(Tekigun shinkô) and his sister Dr.ヘル (Dr.Hell), 立ち上がれ、怒りとともに (Tachiagare, ikaritotomoni!!) and, especially, the powerful 迎撃戦線 (Geigekisensen) that accompanies scenes like the one with Ashura or Garada beating Mazinger. With a happier and vital tone, the 70s block includes songs like 兜甲児は止まらない!! (Kabuto Kôji ha tomaranai!!) and its instrumental version, that accompany Koji's take-off with the pilder; 暗黒寺 (Ankokuji), the funny detective's theme -with some cool winds and disco guitars- and the upbeat 出撃!パイルダー!! (Shûgeki! Pairudâ!!) amongst others. There are other songs that stand out, like the waltzes that make reference to the Central European roots of characters like Count Brocken or Heinrich Stroheim or the mystery-laden atmosphere evoked by the Japanese inspired tunes of 錦織つばさ (Nishikiori Tsubasa). This is definitely a most recommended record for those who are enjoying the series and also for those who like original soundtracks in general.
The International Tokyo Toy Show opened its doors today and as I previously commented, Shin Mazinger has a strong presence with the presentation of several new products related to the series. Amongst them is what could be the definitive image for the Zeus figure to be offered with the coupon that comes with the Blu-ray edition, to be released on August 25. As you can see, they decided to go with a bronze statue-like look for it that is doubtlessly more elegant than the colored version of the character shown in the series. Maybe this picture will make those who are hesitant to buy the not-so-cheap Blu-ray edition change their minds. You guys like it?
Starting next Saturday the 18th, the opening for Shin Mazinger will change, and with it, the song that accompanies it. With the closure of the Donau robot story, a story that appeared in a similar way on the original manga, last Saturday saw the wrapping of the first segment of the series. It seems that the second half will be even more spectacular and will introduce characters and mechanical beasts sure to bring good memories to all of us. It will also introduce new characters, of course. The new episodes will also see the official introduction of the God Scrander, the new Mazinger wings, which we have already seen in some production photos of the new Soul of Chogokin, to be released in September. The new song, under the title 守護神-The guardian (The Guardian God - The guardian) and said to reflect the new tone for the series, will be performed once again by JAM PROJECT and will be introduced this weekend at the International Tokyo Toy Show 2009 where the new Soul of Chogokin GX-49, Shin Mazinger with God Scrander, will be on display.
UPDATE: Youtube user OsakaGX2 has a channel dedicated to JAM PROJECT where he uploaded the TV size version of the song.
It took a little while longer but the cover for the Blu-ray edition of Shin Mazinger has finally been unveiled. The publisher has settled for a more sober and generic sleeve than the one featured on the DVD. That is probably because the Blu-ray contains 9 episodes against the 2 included on the DVD, making it more difficult to focus on just one of the many developments that took part on this first stretch of the series. The DVD cover shows elements corresponding to the development of the show until that point -episodes 1 and 2- **SPOILER AHEAD* (Juzo Kabuto is on it and Koji is not wearing his combat suit, for example) *END OF SPOILER* where the Blu-ray shows an iconic image of the upper part of Mazinger's body against a scarlet background in a simple but elegant way. What do you think about it?
It's about time to talk about the numerous figures related to Shin Mazinger that are being published. Up until now I had only commented on the release of a Zeus figure accompanying the Blu Ray edition of the series. Well, the magazine フィギュア王(Figure Oh) -for figure collectors- has shown us a first image of this product.
The Zeus figure will be made of vinyl and will be almost 10" tall. It seems that in order to get it, you'll have to exchange the coupon that comes with the first volume of the Shin Mazinger Blu-ray and not the 3 coupons corresponding to the 3 volumes as I had commented. This could mean, if the price of the 2 remaining volumes is maintained, that other figures -or similar promotions- will appear with the forthcoming editions, alleviating somehow the considerable expense (each of the 3 volumes of the Blu-ray will be sold at 18900 yen).
In a previous entry I told you about the street date (August 25) for the first volumes of Shin Mazinger's DVD and Blu-ray. I also told you that the covers would be designed by Shinji Takeuchi(竹内進二), character designer for the series, but that they hadn't been revealed yet. Well, the wait is over, as BANDAI (TV series publisher) revealed the cover -the one you can see above these lines- for the DVD edition on its official site. It seems that Takeuchi has been joined by Hideyuki Motohashi(本橋 秀之), an anime veteran that debuted as an animator in Ufo Robo Grendizer.
If you are interested in buying the Blu-ray or DVD, follow the links:
Tomorrow, the original soundtrack for 真マジンガー衝撃！Ｚ編(True Mazinger Impact! Z chapter) will finally go on sale.There are two CD singles on sale already, one for the opening and another one for the ending of which you can find information on their previous entries.
Akira Miyagawa(宮川彬良), the soundtrack composer had a difficult task before him, as the soundtrack for the old Mazinger Z series, composed by master Michiaki Watanabe (渡辺宙明) and inspired by western movies, was one of its most loved elements.
Miyagawa lived up to the challenge as his compositions for the new series are excellent and perfectly match the theme and the tone of the images they accompany, be it in the 70s style rhythms that play when Koji flies his pilder or in the epic melodies that punctuate Mazinger's fights against the mechanical monsters.
The CD will be published by LANTIS at a 3000 yen price.
On June the 6th, in a week full of news at the official Shin Mazinger's site, an almost hidden note appeared with information of a new update related to our favorite robot. In this case, about a new page dedicated to Kuroganeya, the Japanese-style hotel (ryokan) that appears in the series and where its workers lead a double life protecting (at least until now) the lives of the Kabuto family from Dr.Hell's attacks.
With mistress Nishikiori Tsubasa leading them, the Kuroganeya's personnel dedicate their lifes to save the world, but also to regent a peaceful ryokan with incredible views of the Atami bay. From now on, you all can visit their web page, which is no different from any other ryokan and will offer you all kinds of services, although as of now, the big majority of their links are still under construction.
For those of you who have trouble with Japanese, this is the option menu on the main page. ご案内 (information)、女将からのご挨拶 (mistress' greetings)、お食事 (food)、館内の風景 (interior's view)、従業員の紹介 (meet the workers)、ご予約 (reservations)、交通機関 (access). Also, at the foot of the page, we'll find three big banners that -in order from top down- will deal with staying and recreation, the mineral Japanium (from which the Super Z alloy is made) and a visit to the Photonic Energy Research Institute (where it seems you'll get to greet Aphrodai) respectively.
The manga series 真マジンガーZERO(Shin Mazingâ ZERO) began its run on issue 7 of the monthly magazine 月刊チャンピオンRED (Monthly CHAMPION RED). Yoshiaki Tabata(田畑由秋) will be in charge of the script while Yuki Yogo(余湖裕輝) will be the artist. Even if the authors will base their plot on the original story by master Nagai, Shin Mazinger ZERO won't follow any of the manga or television stories published until now, and instead will offer a new version of the robot saga (however, it will stay close to the classic model designs). The official site provides us with a little synopsis of the first chapter: "Koji had a nightmare, but remembers nothing when waking up. He is requested to go with Sayaka to the Photonic Energy Research Institute immediately. It seems there has been an incident. What have they seen upon arrival?" CHAMPION RED goes on sale each month on the 19th.
Oh, and it seems that with issue 8, on sale June 19, a special supplement will be given including illustrations by the three most popular Mazinger artists: Go Nagai, Ken Ishikawa and Gosaku Ota. Don't miss it!
The second single for the Shin Mazinger series went on sale on May 27. This is the song that, week after week and in a very different style from that of the opening theme, brings closure to the show while the credits roll.The title of the song is Brand New World (originally in English) and is performed by Natsuko Aso (麻生夏子). As I said, the style of the song is way different from the one in 感じてナイト(Kanjite Knight) and at first, it was kind of shocking to listen to this type of music associated with an epic robot series like the new Mazinger one. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the song is catchy and is starting to get into some people's subconscience.
Shin Mazinger's official site has announced the release date for the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the latest series dedicated to the robot. This double edition will be available starting August 25. The DVD edition will be available in 9 volumes containing 3 episodes each at 3990 yens, although the first DVD will only contain episodes 1 and 2 at a cost of 2100 yens. On the Blu-ray side, there will be 3 volumes containing 3 discs with 9 episodes each, for the hefty price of 18900 yens. Both editions will be presented in 16:9 screen ratio and stereo sound (Dolby Digital on the DVD and Linear PCM on the Blu-ray). The Blu-ray will be 1080p, with the exception of some 1080i tracks (the extras?). Blu-ray editions will come with a coupon. Upon collecting all 3 of them, we can exchange them for a Zeus vinyl figure. This promotion will last until 6 months later after the last volume is published.
The covers for both editions will be designed by Shinji Takeuchi(竹内進二), who is in charge of the excellent character design for the series. Remember, you have a date on August 25, 2009. Save your money, the clock is ticking.
Today I want to introduce you to the first in a series of entries in what is going to become the Mazinger Library and I'm going to do it with a book that should be on everybody's shelves. I'm talking about マジンガーZ大全集 (The complete works of Mazinger Z). This fabulous book was published for the first and only time (it is never been reprinted since) on January 15, 1988 by 講談社 (Kôdansha) in the テレビマガジン特別編集 (Terebi Magazine's special edition) collection. The book is a true 240 page gem (144 of them in full color), containing all kinds of information and details about the three series that formed the Mazinger "classic trilogy" (Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer).
The information is pretty thorough. You will find dissections (frame by frame) on the diverse openings and endings of every series, an analysis on the many weapons of the three main robots, a encyclopedia on the mechanical beasts (機械獣), the combat beasts (戦闘獣) and the flying beasts (円盤獣) and literally thousands of other pictures. In the Mazinger Art Exhibition section, you'll find some never before seen illustrations (like the one that accompanies this text by Yoshiyuki Hane(羽根章悦)) by the authors and/or animators that worked on the various manga or TV series.
The black and white part of the book begins with the story about the development of the series from its conception, showing the first designs for エネルガーZ (Energer Z) where Koji's bike becomes the cockpit itself.It is followed by reports on toys, old books, preliminary designs and finally, a chapter guide for all three series.Needless to say, the book is written completely in Japanese, but it's worth the "admission price" if only for the graphic material alone.Nowadays the book is pretty expensive and difficult to find, but every once in a while a decently priced copy pops up at online stores like Mandarake.
The staff working on the new series are resolved to honor the title of the show by making us feel the impact from the very beginning, as they've decided to resuscitate and adapt to the series theme an old hit song, 感じてナイト (Kanjite Night), from LAZY, a popular band in Japan during the 70s. The song is now titled 感じてKnight(Kanjite Knight) and is performed by a band made of musicians from the aforementioned LAZY and by people from JAM PROJECT (specialized in covers of anime robot series). Leading them is the one and only Hironobu Kageyama (影山 ヒロノブ), the old front man for LAZY, famous amongst the anime crowd for his vocals on such series as Dragon Ball and Saint Seya, amongst others. 感じてKnight (Kanjite Knight) largely differs in style from the old opening for Mazinger Z, but it boasts a powerful magnetism and it's on its way to become a big success in Japan. You can listen to the song in the embedded video (uploaded by freesouldash on Youtube) and if you like it, you can buy it following the links I provide you under the video.
-スタッフ(Staff) Information on those who make your weekly enjoyment of the series possible. The man in the picture is none other that Go Nagai (永井 豪), the father of Mazinger.
-音楽(Music)This section will be updated as the CD's containing the music for the series are released.
Obviously, all the information you'll find on the page is written in Japanese, so I'll try, little by little, to summarize everything that appears there for you (as long as my Japanese language capabilities allow me so).
Just right above the aforementioned menu, you'll see a little blue window with スペシャル動画(special movie) written on it. This is actually the two short trailers for the series (a 15 second version and a 30 second one), but there's no point in trying to watch it unless you have a Japanese IP.
Under the Japanese title 真マジンガー 衝撃！Ｚ編 (Shin Majingaa Shôgeki! Z Hen) - True Mazinger, Impact! Z chapter -, the new series about the famous robot was first broadcasted on April 4 on Japanese TV (TV Tokyo and associated channels). The series is being broadcasted on the late night time slot, from 11.20pm to 11.50pm.
Those of you who remember the original 1972 Japanese series would probably think, upon seeing the image above this text, that the character design is quite different from the one you probably have on your mind. Actually, the new design for the series resembles the one on the original manga by master Go Nagai(永井 豪), also introduced in 1972. That's because it is not director Yasuhiro Imagawa 's (今川 泰宏) intention to make a continuation of the well-known seventies series, but to combine all the versions of the character as well as the mythology that's been created around him for the past 30 years. If I am to judge by what's been seen until now, Imagawa's version is on its way to become memorable.
My intention with this blog is for every visitor to enjoy this and all the versions of the character with all kinds of information that I will try to update as often as possible.
Lastly, I invite you all to leave your commentaries and by doing so making this blog one of the most dynamic and referential on the web.
(Continues from previous post)
