Mazinger Z is an enormous super robot, constructed with a fictional metal called Super-Alloy Z (超合金Z, Chōgokin Zetto), which is forged from a new element (Japanium) mined from a reservoir found only in the sediment of Mt.

Professor Juzo Kabuto built the mecha as a secret weapon against the forces of evil, represented in the series by the Mechanical Beasts of Dr. Hell.

The latter was the German member of a Japanese archeological team that discovered ruins of a lost pre-Grecian civilization on an island named Bardos, the Mycéne Empire.

Finding prototypes of those titans underground that could be remote-controlled and realizing their immense power on the battlefield, Dr. Hell goes insane and kills all the other scientists on his research team except for Professor Kabuto, who manages to escape.

Meanwhile, Dr. Hell establishes his headquarters on a mobile island, forms the new Underground Empire, and plans to use the Mechanical Monsters to become the new ruler of the world.

To counter this, Kabuto constructs Mazinger Z and manages to finish it just before being killed by a bomb planted by Hell's right-hand person, Baron Ashura, a half-man, half-woman.

[6] Nagai later redesigned Energer Z, renaming it Mazinger Z as a play on the Japanese words ma (魔, demon) and jin (神, god).

The OVA (Original Video Animation) would have been called Dai-Mazinger (or Daimajinga, 大魔神我) and would have presented the same characters known to the general public, starting with the main protagonist Koji.

[citation needed] This wasn't helped by the fact that Nagai was in the middle of a court battle with Toei, suing them for not properly crediting him and not paying him royalties over the creation of Gaiking in 1976.

[citation needed] In 1976, Honolulu-based entertainment concern, Consolidated Amusement Co., licensed the first 52 episodes of the series from Toei, as reported by the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and commissioned M&M Communications, a local sound studio, to produce an English language dub.

[citation needed] Consolidated, which ran four of the biggest theater chains in Hawaii, packaged the episodes of Mazinger Z for weekend kiddie matinee screenings in their venues, starting with a big promotional push over Thanksgiving weekend (November 27 & 28) that same year with a "personal appearance" (a 10' electronic model) at the Pearlridge Shopping Center, as promoted in the Honolulu Advertiser.

[citation needed] Unlike other English adaptations of various anime series at the time, Mazinger Z was left with its plot and character names unaltered.

Rumors emerged that the series was pulled from broadcast because it reportedly induced violence to an underage viewer, but according to Claudio Biern Boyd in a 2021 interview, nothing happened at all.

[25] Many of the Japanese names used in Mazinger Z were changed for its adaptation into Tranzor Z; for example, Koji Kabuto became Tommy Davis, Sayaka Yumi became Jessica Wells, Shiro became Toad, Professor Yumi became Dr. Wells, Dr. Hell became Dr. Demon, Baron Ashura became Devleen, Count Brocken became Count DeCapito, and Archduke Gorgon became Genghis the Ghastly.

[citation needed] On the franchise's 45th anniversary, a sequel film titled Mazinger Z: Infinity was announced, taking place ten years after the events of the original series.

[27] Mazinger remains one of Go Nagai's most enduring success stories, spawning many products in the realm of merchandising, model kits, plastic and die-cast metal toys (the now famous Soul of Chogokin line), action figures and other collectibles.

[29] Its period of greatest popularity lasted from roughly October 1973 to March 1974, during which time it regularly scored audience ratings in the high twenties.