- For other pages, see God Mazinger (Disambiguation).
The God Mazinger prior to any present day developments is a name used to describe an idea of an upgraded Mazinger Z. Originally beginning as an early concept on what became the Great Mazinger, the name has been used throughout productions as a placeholder before any other title becomes set in stone.
Pre-Great Mazinger Sequel Project[]
Great Mazinger in its "God Mazinger" phase
An early concept version of Great Mazinger was first to have the name God Mazinger (after a rejected concept of it being "Big Mazinger Z"), and featured a drastically different color scheme. Unlike the normal black, white, red, and dark blue color scheme this model bore a mostly red body, yellow accessories, white body sections, light blue horns, a black pelvis area, light green eyes, and dark green wings.
In the pitch itself, drafted in the spring of 1973, a five-member team called the Scramble Knights would be the protagonists to fight against the Mycenae Empire. The Scramble Knights would consist of Tatsuya Shinryu (who would be developed into Tetsuya Tsurugi), Jun Hono, Satoru Yagi, Goro Kaido, and Goemon Kosuge (a re-use of Goemon Abashiri). The other three members would assist Tatsuya and Jun in piloting special air and land mecha planes, but this setting was among the first elements to be discarded for a sequel as it was decided it would be too similar to that of the Getter Robo project.
As the project evolved and was being finalized, the title was changed to Great Mazinger in February 1974 due to the usage of "GOD" for the enemy organization of the then-running Kamen Rider X.
Post-Great Mazinger Sequel Project[]
The original God Mazinger design.
Prior to Grendizer, there were plans for a Great Mazinger sequel where the characters continued the fight with all of the remnants of the Mycenae Empire with the Great Mazinger being destroyed, Tetsuya Tsurugi being paralyzed, and Jun Hono dying. It also featured a new Mazinger robot dubbed God Mazinger, which would have been made by a new type of Super Alloy Z known as Super Alloy God Z made from the Japanium being irradiated by anti-proton energy during the purification process, creating a much stronger metal. The Photon Power would be replaced by anti-proton energy. The origins of the Mycenae Empire would also be revealed as their scientists and generals being descendants of aliens. The Mycenae would also have another replacement for the Great General position known as Albatros.
Unfortunately, the design for the God Mazinger proved to be a failure and the project was aborted due to various circumstances with Toei, and Grendizer (originally pitched under the title of Gattaiger) would become an "act 3" by way of Koji being added to the project.
Third Attempt as a Theatrical Film[]
God Mazinger's second design.
There was another attempt made for the God Mazinger title in 1979 for proposal to air in 1981, this time as an animated "space opera" movie that featured the mecha combining with an aircraft, taking notable inspiration from Grendizer along with Gattaiger. The plot of the movie would be set in the future, and would not feature any other previously established Mazinger supporting characters, but that aside, little else has been described about it beyond its synopsis.
Go Nagai and Dynamic Pro were responsible for the initial character and mechanical design drafts, while Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno were in charge of the finalized character designs.
The story begins in the super future, when Joe Staboy, the son of the admiral of the space colony "Neo Frontier" near Pluto, rescues Floria, the princess of Styros . Floria possesses the super energy substance ``Dreamoon Stone'', and the robot demon king Galladeen is aiming for it.
The planet Styros was destroyed by Galladeen's army. At Floria's request, Staboy heads to Earth together, but his father Ernest is killed by Galladeen's pursuers. The current Earth is in ruins, but it is said that there exists a mighty legendary demon that defeats evil.
Staboy and Floria escape from Galladeen's clutches with Earth's arms dealer Gark on their side. Eventually, in a legendary place on Earth, he meets an old scientist... Dr. Kabuto. The Dreamoon Stone is the activation key of the demon god and its energy source. And that demon is the giant robot "God Mazinger" that Dr. Kabuto was protecting .
However, Floria was captured by Galladeen's soldiers. Will God Mazinger be revived? And will Staboy be able to defeat Galladeen?
Legacy[]
With all three of these attempts failing, the title and robot of God Mazinger was eventually used for a series unrelated to its predecessors with a different cast of characters and plot. The use of a superior successor to both Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger was used eventually for the Mazinkaiser robots. Other times, the name God Mazinger would appear again for an upgraded Mazinger Z unrelated to Kaiser.