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Mazinger is a media franchise and one of the pioneers of the mecha genre. Several series have sprung up from the original TV show and manga from 1972. However, not all of them are aimed at the general public. This guide is for parents who want to watch what content some of the series are showing.

General Information
Primary Titles: Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, Grendizer

Original Publishers: Fuji TV (Anime), Kodansha (Manga)

Original Run: 1972-1977

Length: 23 minutes (Anime), Varying pages (Manga)

Description: Mazinger is among the most notable mecha franchises in Japan having begun the Super Robot part of the mecha genre and the concept to pilot giant robots from within the machine. Created by Go Nagai in 1972 as part of a seemingly small project with Toei Animation providing the ground for the animated series, a manga was released before the TV series but was cut short so that the creator could focus on other projects including the ending of his Devilman manga. A separate manga that follows a formula more similar to the TV series was released in a different magazine. The TV show had a total of 92 episodes and four short films, and along with the manga became a pop culture sensation in Japan influencing later series and starting a boom of Super Robot programs and the trend to collect models of the robots from the show.

The general formula of the franchise involves a young man who pilots a giant robot composed of a nearly indestructible metal against an empire that seeks world domination through an army of giant robots of their own. A notable visual cue from the franchise is the pilot and robot mimicking each others movements and calling out attacks previously only seen in a few select tokusatsu programs such as Kamen Rider.

While the original series was mainly aimed at audiences in late elementary school and middle school, subsequent series showed a shift towards more mature audiences.

Notable Characters (and Mecha): Koji Kabuto (Mazinger Z), Sayaka Yumi (Aphrodite A), Boss (Boss Borot), Dr. Hell, Baron Ashura, Tetsuya Tsurugi (Great Mazinger), Jun Hono (Venus A), Great General of Darkness, Duke Fleed (Grendizer)

Similar Series: Getter Robo, Steel Jeeg, Gaiking, Jushin Liger, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Demonbane (the latter two especially line up with later series)

Availability: The original TV series with English subtitles has been released by Discotek on Blu-ray, OVAs including Mazinkaiser and Mazinkaizer SKL have been released on DVD in Japanese and English among other languages. The animated short series, Robot Girls Z is available on Crunchyroll. The manga series are otherwise unavailable in the US.

Content Information
Older Aimed Titles: Gosaku Ōta manga, God Mazinger (Manga Version), Episode 4 of Mazinkaiser, Z Mazinger, Mazinger Angels, Mazinger Otome, Mazinkaizer SKL

Mature Titles: MazinSaga, Shin Mazinger ZERO

Content Labels: Sci-Fi, Mecha, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment (Occasionally Horror)

Violence: Usually mild and involves giant robots, martial arts violence, use of weapons, death scenes; more mature series feature blood loss, dismemberment, decapitation, and impalation

Language: Occasional swearing

Sexual Themes and Nudity: Mild sexual themes and nudity in the earlier series, more mature themes present frontal nudity and MazinSaga shows a sex scene

Drugs and Alcohol: Minor and very scarce

Crude Humor and Comic Mischief: Occasional