Shin Mazinger - Zeus figure

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).

Shin Mazinger - The first DVD's sleeve art

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:

Shin Mazinger Blu-ray at Amazon Japan
Shin Mazinger Blu-ray at CD Japan

Shin Mazinger DVD at Amazon Japan
Shin Mazinger DVD at CD JAPAN

Shin Mazinger - The original soundtrack CD

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.

真マジンガー衝撃！Ｚ編 CD at Amazon
真マジンガー衝撃！Ｚ編 CD at CD Japan

Shin Mazinger - Kuroganeya gets a new site.

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.

Web site for the Kuroganeya ryokan (くろがね屋)

Shin Mazinger - Shin Mazinger Zero, the manga

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!

Shin Mazinger - Brand New World, the second single

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.

The price of this new CD single is 1200 yens.

Brand New World at Amazon Japan
Brand New World at CD Japan

Shin Mazinger - DVD and Blu-ray announced in Japan

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.

Mazinger Library - Mazinger Z Daizenshuu

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.

Mazinger at MANDARAKE (in English)

Shin Mazinger - Kanjite Knight, the series opening

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.



感じてKnight at CDJAPAN
感じてKnight at AMAZON JAPAN

Shin Mazinger - The official website

The official website for the new Mazinger series started-off on March 23.

http://www.shin-mazinger.com

On the left part of the main image, you'll find a little menu with 4 options. From the top they are as follows:

-STORY Contains the main plot of the series and a little synopsis for all the chapters already broadcasted accompanied by a few images.

-登場人物&メカニック(Main characters and mechas) Divided in groups by affiliation, you'll find short pieces of information on the main characters and robots.

-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.

30 years later, new Mazinger anime series!

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.