Koji Kabuto (Manga)

''This page describes the Koji Kabuto seen in the original manga. For other versions of the character, see: Koji Kabuto (Disambiguation).''

Koji Kabuto (兜 甲児 Kabuto Kōji) is the main protagonist of the original Mazinger Z manga and the pilot of the titular mecha. He has a slightly different story and behavior than his anime and later counterparts.

Background
Koji and his younger brother Shiro were raised by their grandfather, Dr. Juzo Kabuto after an accident claimed the lives of their parents. However, as their grandfather became very busy with his work (including a secret project) Koji took the "mother hen" role, cooking meals and cleaning their home. Due to his grandfather's wealth, Koji was always given the latest motorcycle models.

Appearance
Koji Kabuto features his trademark black hair combed back and sideburns that face forward. When wearing his pilot suit, he wears a dark red top and bottom with yellow elbow length gloves, his abdomen clothing is red and wears a helmet partly modeled after the Photon Lab with a clear visor.

Personality
Koji is a hotblooded young man with a usually positive attitude. While not as overconfident or arrogant as his counterpart in the anime, Koji is still confident in his abilities and the Mazinger Z believing no one can defeat him and is willing to accept any challenge whether from Boss or Dr. Hell's lieutenants.

Family
Koji was close with his grandfather, keeping the Mazinger Z as a memento. Koji always took care of his brother Shiro even after their grandfather died, doing anything to help him, especially since Shiro was the only family Koji had left.

Sayaka Yumi
Koji first met Sayaka when the Mazinger went out of control. While off to a rocky start they became friends as time moved on. Koji started to develop a crush on Sayaka over the series and was angry whenever she was harmed. When Sayaka was kidnapped by Baron Ashura, Koji surrendered for her safety. He also has some perverse thoughts of Sayaka such as when he was a little glad he saw her stripped down to her underwear by Count Brocken's killer androids and took a bit of delight when he heard that Venus A was modeled after Sayaka.

Boss
Koji usually sees Boss as just some joker but is willing to work with him when circumstances allow it. While Koji does not see it, Boss considers himself Koji's rival for Sayaka's attention.

Piloting
Since before piloting Mazinger, Koji had always drove motorcycles with great skill, which was later revealed to better prepare him to pilot the giant robot. After just a short time Koji managed to control the Mazinger Z and defeat two Mechanical Beasts with ease. His skills with the Hover Pilder alone are great enough to skillfully avoid obstacles and pull of manuevers at just the right timing.

Fighting Skills
Koji uses an unorthodox fighting style that hits the weak spots of an opponents body. This combined with his pilot suit make him a powerful opponent. At times, he uses a Photon Gun to deal with opponents quickly.

Pilot Suit
Koji's pilot suit is composed of Super Alloy Z, which protects him from most physical traumas. The only thing that penetrated the suit was the metal hair of the Gamia Q. It comes with a holster that holds the aforementioned Photon Gun that can destroy targets with ease.

Cooking
The manga demonstrated Koji's cooking ability. Since his grandfather had usually been too busy to prepare meals for him and Shiro, Koji often made meals for his family. Not only do Koji's meals taste good, he is also able to make specialized dishes based on the Mazinger's attacks such as a dissolving dish based on the Rust Hurricane.

Mazinger's Activation
Koji had made breakfast for his family before going off to school while giving a friend a ride on his motorcycle. Suddenly an earthquake occured, and Koji went to check on his grandfather. He found a hole in his front yard and later his grandfather under rubble. Koji helped him out before Juzo told him about his secret project, Mazinger Z and said it would give Koji the power of a god or a devil before dying. Koji mourns his grandfather before docking in the Hover Pilder and attaching to the Mazinger. However, due to his unfamiliarity with the controls, the robot went on a rampage, destroying parts of Tokyo with even the military and Sayaka piloting the Aphrodite A proving to be useless. Getting things under control with help from Sayaka, he confronts the Mechanical Beasts attacking the Photon Power Laboratory and easily defeats them. With his old home destroyed, Koji and Shiro move to a new house and transfer schools.

Ashura Corps.
After they settle in, Koji is attacked by an Iron Mask who came to capture him under orders from Baron Ashura. Even as he manages to fight and disarm the assailant, Koji sees the soldier's probed brain. The Iron Masks taunts Koji that he couldn't kill him as Iron Masks are still human. But Shiro manages to snap his brother out of it and Koji stabs the soldier. Unfortunately, more Iron Masks appear but were shot down by Inspector Ankokuji who was hiding to help the Kabuto brothers.

As a conjoined Mechanical Beast came towards their house, Koji made a break for the Hover Pilder while avoiding the monster's firepower. He manages to make it to the Photon Lab and link up with Mazinger Z. The Mazinger overpowers Dogla S1 and Magla F2 after they separated. But they separated again and knocked Koji unconscious after dropping from a high enough height. As Magla tried to pull the Pilder off, Aphrodite came to help by fighting Dogla. Koji regains conscious and smashes the Magla's head and body before using the lance to penetrate Magla and destroy it. Koji thanks Sayaka for her help.

On Koji's first day of his new school he thinks about his grandfather and the reason why he always gave Koji motorcycles in order to pilot Mazinger. He encounters Boss and his gang as they try to rough him up. But Koji manages to out manuever them. Introducing himself to his class he sees Boss and Sayaka. When Mechanical Beasts attacked, Koji left to get Mazinger Z but noticed Baron Ashura piloting it. He gave chase but it turned out to be a trap with Iron Masks trying to kill him. Koji manages to outmanuever them and get into the Hover Pilder and dock onto the real Mazinger and fight the fake one. But the Mechanical Beasts Bazin B9 and Bamaras Y1 appear to fight Mazinger. Aprhodite tries to back Mazinger up but even with its new Oppai Missile System, it was defeated easily. Koji has a hard time fighting the Mechanical Beasts especially due to Bazin B9's ability to cancel gravity. Koji manages to turn the fight around by using its Rocket Punch to destroy its antenna and overpower both Mechanical Beasts.

Count Brocken Attacks
Koji goes on a mountain hike with Sayaka, Shiro, and Boss; while Boss and Shiro get ahead Koji and Sayaka converse a bit before they meet a man who among others saw ghosts after they committed suicide. Thinking they were just rumors or things people say to scare tourists, Koji goes forward. However, the group encounters the ghosts and other frieghts before running off. At their hotel's hot spring, Koji explains to Boss that although it looked like ghosts he was unconvinced and thought they were just machines. While Boss bailed, Koji decided to go out and see alone until Sayaka (who was hiding behind a statue) impulsively jumped out telling him it was too dangerous. Koji saw her naked and tried to cover his private area while Sayaka did the same and tried to avoid being seen until they bumped into each other.

Back at the sight, Koji and Sayaka investigate the area and find that the monsters were actually animatronics covered by the mist. They later see men driving mysterious equipment off. Koji wonders if Baron Ashura is behind this, but a the mastermind reveals himself, Count Brocken. As Koji and Sayaka know too much Brocken sends out Mario N7 to control the animatronics and attack the pair. While Koji manages to fight off some of the killer androids, Sayaka is captured. As Brocken taunts Koji, he has the androids tear her clothes off; while Koji was angry he kind of liked seeing Sayaka in her underwear. Then Shiro comes piloting the Hover Pilder before handing it to Koji to save Sayaka and destroy Mario N7. Count Brocken retreats swearing revenge.

Koji makes parfaits themed after attacks of the Mazinger Z for Sayaka and Shiro one day. Count Brocken appears and challenges him to a duel with a special Mechanical Beast. While Sayaka says it's a trap, Koji goes anyway. Count Brocken comes and reveals Crocodiver O1. As Mazinger grapples the Beast, it separates into its three components. But while Brocken manages to destroy a heat sink panel, Koji refuses to give in and uses the rocket punch to destroy two of the component pieces while the Mazinger tears the head in half. Brocken retreats again while Koji heads back to his house to finish his parfait.

While riding with Boss from school, they note how their music teacher Miss Tone-Deaf hasn't been around and go to check on her but notice that her home town is guarded by the Iron Crosses. They head back to the Photon Lab to get Mazinger but a Mechanical Beast Grogos G5 is on the road and the women from the village are held hostage on its body including Miss Tone-Deaf. Brocken taunts Koji to fight Grogos without damaging the hostages. Prof. Yumi advises Koji to use the Photon Beam to stun the Grogos, but when the act is done, one of the hostages is blown up. Brocken taunts Koji and orders him to surrender Mazinger Z. As Koji dismounts the Pilder, he shoots a missile at Brocken's hovercraft which causes Brocken to literally lose his head which is caught by Boss and thrown around by his gang. With Brocken distracted, Koji manages to rescue the hostages. Grogos then makes one final attempt to destroy the Mazinger by blowing itself up. While Koji manages to get away, the Mazinger is able to survive the explosion. After the battle, Boss and Koji go back to school the next day learning Miss Tone-Deaf had transfered. Boss decrees to win Sayaka's attention, Koji only remarks its back to square one.

Saluud Escape
At school, Mucha tells Koji that a few girls would like to see him. Boss follows him but the three girls attack Koji and reveal themselves as the Gamia Q. Baron Ashura speaks through them and taunts Koji that his Mechanical Beasts are rampaging through Japan. He/she also brings up that Aprhodite A was destroyed and his/her Iron Masks are searching for Sayaka. Koji is angered by this but is attacked by the Gamia again. After avoiding their sharp metal hair, Koji manages to throw one of the androids in the line of attack, cutting the Gamia to pieces. Shiro comes in piloting the Hover Pilder telling Koji to move and get to Mazinger, even managing to destroy a Gamia. Koji has his brother do the manuever again, but the Gamia avoids the craft and escapes. With the Gamia androids dealt with, Koji rushes to the Photon Lab only to learn that Mazinger Z was surrendered to Baron Ashura. Koji gave chase and managed to dock onto Mazinger and fight against the Mechanical Beast Belgas V5.

The Belgas' limb liberation was a problem for the Mazinger, especially when the fight was taken underwater and the Mazinger was about to be crushed by the Saluud. But the Mazinger's strength was enough to lift and toss the submarine away. Koji then had the Mazinger use its Rust Hurricane to cause the sand to cover it and destroy the head. It then proceeded to destroy the body. Baron Ashura sent out Grossam X2 to fight the Mazinger but after a heat beam battle, the Mazinger dominates the battle again. Unfortunately when the Mazinger surface more Mechanical Beasts attacked. Koji used the chains of Ghostfire D9 to ensnare Toros D7, damage the former, and throw them into the distance as they explode. As the KingDan X10 comes in, Koji is prepared to fight until KingDan reveals Sayaka inside. Koji is forced to surrender Mazinger to avoid harm to Sayaka and is placed in a cell on the submarine fortress Saluud.

Koji is separated from Mazinger and locked in a cell. Fortunately, Boss managed to sneak in and disguise himself as an Iron Mask. He breaks Koji out and leads him to where Sayaka is being held at. Koji goes to wake her up, but she is naked under her sheets. While Boss complains, more Iron Masks show up and try to capture Koji but they are subdued. Koji gives Sayaka an Iron Mask uniform as the group goes to recover the Hover Pilder and Mazinger Z. While finding the Pilder it is guarded by Gamia Q3. As Koji prepares to shoot the killer android with his Photon Gun, the android reveals its nude body distracting him and knocking the weapon out of its hands. Boss and Sayaka help Koji get his weapon back before using it to split the android in half.

Koji has Boss and Sayaka get to the escape pods before the Saluud is destroyed by the bombers above. Koji breaks for the Hover Pilder and takes control of Mazinger. Using his mech, he rampages through the Saluud destroying the boarded Mechanical Beasts and Baron Ashura's command center. Before the Saluud explodes, Koji has the Mazinger exit, but the soft seafloor causes the robot to sink. Koji manages to use the jets on the Mazinger's feet to propel the mecha out of the water in time and reunite with the others.

Mazinger vs Danube
When Shiro comes home after visiting his new friend Lorelai Heinrich and meeting her father Schtroheim Heinrich, Koji explains that Dr. Heinrich had died and expressed that the only way to bring back someone from the dead was to make them into a cyborg and Dr. Hell was the only one capable of such a feat. Later when Baron Ashura attacks Tokyo with a couple of Mechanical Beasts, Koji and Mazinger are deployed to confront them. When one of the robot's Danube α1 had integrated with Lorelai, she destroyed the other Mechanical Beast and fought Mazinger Z. In spite of Shiro's pleas, both robots fough each other until the Mazinger destroyed the Danube.

Preparation for the Final Battle
At the Photon Lab, Koji shows Sayaka a new robot after Aphrodite was destroyed. The three scientists had made Venus A after they and Koji used a nude photo gallery of Sayaka. Sayaka was not happy about this and chased Koji around until another Mechanical Beast appeared. Koji battled Baron Ashura and his/her Mechanical Beast with Venus using its Photon Beam at a distance. Desperate for cover, Baron Ashura revealed that he/she was the one who killed Koji's grandfather on orders from Dr. Hell. Koji was enraged and had the Mazinger obliterate Ashura's Mechanical Beast.

With Dr. Hell relocating to a new base, Prof. Yumi is planning a final assault. To do this mass produced versions of the Mazinger are made to back up the Mazinger and Venus. He and the other scientists are also in the process of making the the Jet Scrander that will allow the Mazinger to fly. As production is underway, Koji meets the pilots of the robots while being a little startled by them until he calmed down.

The King of Hell
When Mechanical Beasts attack the Japanese Defence Force, Koji is forced to remain behind until the Jet Scrander is ready. He witnesses the abilities of the Mazinger Army until he moves out on Mazinger. Koji and Mazinger give the much needed fire power for the Venus A after the other robots were destroyed. With the new flight capabilities, Koji manages to blast the Gool out of the sky and make it collide with the Bood. Approaching Hell Castle, the two robots meet Dr. Hell's final Mechanical Beast, Hell King Gordon. Venus A is easily swat away and the Mazinger can barely make a dent.

Eventually Mazinger Z is knocked into the ocean. Koji is awoken by a thought of his grandfather and has the Mazinger dive into the eye of the Gordon's tornado. Koji aims at the main face of the Gordon and charges in a kamikaze fashion. While Koji is thought to be caught in the explosion, he and Mazinger survived but were trapped at the bottom of the ocean. Koji in his dying breath proudly said that his grandfather's Mazinger was truly invincible.

Etymology
Kabuto is Japanese for 'Helmet' which fits Koji's role as the Mazinger Z's pilot as he docks a vehicle on top of the mech's head.

Trivia

 * As stated in an interview with Go Nagai, Koji was originally a design for Yasohachi Yamagishi the male protagonist of Harenchi Gakuen one of Nagai's early works.
 * As revealed in Gekiman!, Koji in the early drafts of the development process of the series (Energer Z) was originally named Susumu Kaze and sported a scarf with his pilot suit. These were ultimately removed due to the name, scarf, and pilot suit's similarities to Kamen Rider.