- Mazinkaizer SKL
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Mazinkaizer SKL 
DVD cover of the first volume of Mazinkaizer SKLマジンカイザーSKL
(Majinkaizā SKL)Genre Mecha Original video animation Directed by Jun Kawagoe Written by Tadashi Hayakawa Studio Actas Licensed by 
Media BlastersReleased January 28, 2011[n 1] – March 25, 2011[n 1] Episodes 3[n 2] Manga Mazinkaizer SKL Versus Written by Go Nagai (original work)
Kazumi HoshiPublished by Emotion Demographic Shōnen Magazine Shu 2 Comic Gekkin Original run April 23, 2010 – ongoing Volumes 1 Manga notes The magazine where the series is published is a mobile phone publication.
Mazinkaizer SKL[n 3] (マジンカイザーSKL Majinkaizā SKL), also called Mazinkaizer Skull and Mazinkaiser SKL, is a Japanese OVA series which is itself a spinoff of Go Nagai's Mazinkaiser which was itself a spinoff of Mazinger. The first episode was released on January 28, 2011 and was first screened on November 27, 2010. It also has a novel adaptation serialized in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Hobby Magazine and a manga adaptation published in the mobile phone magazine Shu 2 Comic Gekkin.[1] Like Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen, characters and references to other works of Go Nagai appear in this series.
Contents
Story
Prior to the events of the anime, the three factions - the Garan Army, the Kiba Army, and the Hachiryokaku (Aira Army), battle for total dominance of Machine Island, which they occupy. The island is basically a prison, isolated from the rest of the world. To assure total quarantine, a "Gravity Curtain" was formed within the island. Only machines created by the worldwide government WSO are capable of entry to the island. The island also contains vast amount of resources, allowing the three factions to create a near-limitless supply of giant robots for their respective armies.
The WSO has learned that the Gravity Curtain has reached an unstable status and will explode within 66 hours, destroying all of Earth and human life itself. Each of the three factions controls a part of the mechanism responsible for the Gravity Curtain's operation. Knowing the danger of disabling the Gravity Curtain and combating the various factions, the WSO decides to send the Skull Force. The Skull Force is divided into two squadrons - one of which is the 2 member-only Death Caprice Squad, composed of Ken Kaido and Ryo Magami, pilots of the Mazinger called Mazinkaizer SKL.....
Characters
- Ken Kaido (海動剣 Kaidō Ken)
- Voiced by: Shintaro Asanuma (Japanese), Ethan Murray (English)
- One of the two main pilots of Mazinkaizer SKL and one-half of the Death Caprice Squad. Adept at fighting with a sword and knives, Ken takes control of SKL whenever it uses the Ganzantou. He has a hot-blooded, rude, and vulgar personality. His code name is "Amon 6" (アモン6).
- Ryo Magami (真上遼 Magami Ryō)
- Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese), Doug Erholtz (English)
- One of the two main pilots of Mazinkaizer SKL and the other half of the Death Caprice Squad. A man with a mysterious past, he is very skilled with handguns and takes control of SKL in order to use its Breast Triggers in battle. He has a calm, Nihilistic persona but fierce looking when angered. Ryo's codename is "Lucifer 4" (シファー4 Rushifā 4).
- Tsubasa Yuki (由木翼 Yūki Tsubasa)
- Voiced by: Saori Hayami (Japanese), Erin Fitzgerald (English)
- An ally of Ken and Ryo who serves as an engineering officer. She is a member of the Gren Falcon Squad (グレンファルコン隊 Guren Farukon Tai), a division of the Skull Force. Although appearing timid and innocent-looking, she is very strict and diligent when performing missions.
- Kojindani (荒神谷 Kōjindani)
- Voiced by: Katsumi Chou (Japanese), Bob Buchholz (English)
- A member of the WSO and overall commander of the Skull Force.
- Scarlet Hibiki (スカーレット・ヒビキ Sukāretto Hibiki)
- Voiced by: Masumi Asano
- Leader of the Gren Falcon Squad, a division of the Skull Force. In the manga version, she serves as the superior officer to Ken and Ryo.
- Kiba (キバ)
- Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama (Japanese), Grant George, Michael Sorich (English)
- Leader of the Kiba Army. He is very violent and cruel to his enemies to achieve anything that he can destroy or subjugate. Since he has been in a position of rivalry with "Garan" the general of other factions. He wants to show that Garan is not superior than him. However, his plans were interfered by Ryo and Ken. Meanwhile when he tries to attack Hachiryoyaku in short time but his plans were impedimented by Mazinkaiser and lost all his army in single sweep, enraged, he dashed toward to Mazinkaiser for a victory for his own himself. But ultimately subjugated by Skull and being burnt alive, as his machine has been explored. However, he was alive at 3rd part as he has been in a condition of "two face" like Harvey Dent from Batman series. He attacks Himiko and used his final animosity toward to Mazinkaiser Skull and it was named "Iron Kaiser" after it was buried from gravity curtain that he used for destroying the Island of Hachiryoyaku. At the pierce fighting for Iron and Skull, it was dominant at first knockout but subsequently overwhelmed by skull again, and being dragged down to the magma which has erupted by gravity curtain and being pierced by Skull's sword severed and he calls them as a "moron" and he was perished by Skull's Inferno Blaster and dies in the flaming hell.
- Gouda (グーダ)
- Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Dan Woren (English)
- One of Kiba's henchmen.
- Garan (ガラン)
- Voiced by: Banjo Ginga (Japanese), David Lodge (English)
- Leader of the Garan Army. He was being a leader of Garan Kingdom and he was overwhelming the kaiser at first.
But he was distracted by Kiba who was killing her in his hall and he was being pressed to death in the his own machine by an attack from Mazinkaiser's tornado blast punch.
- Himiko (ヒミコ)
- Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (Japanese), Jessica Gee (English)
- Loyal assistant of Garan. Her character design is based on the Slum Queen, a character from Violence Jack.
- Aira (アイラ)
- Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Jessica Straus (English)
- Leader of the Aira Army, also known as the "Hachiryokaku" (八稜郭 hachiryōkaku, loosely translated as the "Octagon").
- Hurricane (ハリケーン harikēn) Voiced by: Ryoko Shiraishi (Japanese), Bonie Cahoon (English),
- Fancy (ファンシー fanshī) Voiced by: Mikako Takahashi (Japanese), Elvia Gaitan (English),
- Flash (フラッシュ furasshu) Voiced by: Eri Kitamura,
- Misty (ミスティ misuti) Voiced by: Ai Shimizu
- Sworn sisters of the Hachiryokaku and pilots of the Psycho Gear units. They are named after various forms of Cutey Honey.
Mechas
- Mazinkaizer SKL
The titular mecha of the series. Unlike the Mazinkaiser featured in the first OAV series, manga, and in video games, this version of Mazinkaiser has a completely different design, sporting a more demonic look and an origin surrounded in mystery. One of the biggest changes is the Kaiser Pilder, the aircraft used to dock onto the crown of Mazinkaiser to control it. It has been renamed as the "Skull Pilder" and redesigned to resemble more of a human skull hence its name. The Skull Pilder also requires two pilots to control it, unlike the Kaiser Pilder where it is controlled by a single pilot. Another notable change is the eyelids having a blue color as opposed to yellow from past Mazingers. A skull in the center of Mazinkaizer SKL's chest is used in place of the "Z" symbol from the original Mazinkaiser.
The weapons for Mazinkaizer SKL are also different from that of the original Mazinkaiser. This incarnation of Mazinkaizer is equipped with a weapon known as the "Ganzantou", a gigantic sword attached to its back. The sword's handle can be extended so it can be used as a pole weapon. The spikes extending at the other side of the Ganzatou's blade is designed to tear apart the innards of its target, as seen in the promotional images.
Another weapon unique to Mazinkaizer SKL are the "Breast Triggers". Attached to Mazinkaizer SKL's chest area, they are a pair of handguns SKL can use to shoot its enemies from mid-range. Blades are also attached to the nozzle and beneath the handle of each handgun, allowing the Mazinkaizer SKL to slash at enemies up close. They can also be merged into a battle axe type weapon akin to the Getter Tomahawk and used as a melee weapon. When the Breast Triggers are not in use, they are holstered to the chest, where their red parts form the shape of Devilman's face. The Tornado Crusher (SKL's equivalent to the Turbo Smasher Punch ((named in Episode 3) and Rust Stream (Rust Hurricane)are the only attacks Mazinkaizer SKL retains from the original Mazinkaiser. Despite its heavily armored design, it is extremely agile in combat. As of Episode 3, it is revealed that equipping Wingle's wings unlocks Kaiser's more traditional weapons, also changing the color of its eye (the other gouged out in episode two) to the traditional yellow. SKL's attacks are similar to the previous Mazingers', though with different names. These include Rust Stream (SKL's Rust Tornado), Thor Hammer Breaker (SKL's Thunder Break which is channeled through Ganzantou), and Inferno Blaster (SKL's version of Fire Blaster).
- Wingle (ウイングル uinguru)
The female support robot for Mazinkaizer SKL. The Wingle's design incorporates the female mechas used in the Mazinger franchise (Aphrodite A, Venus A & Minerva X) as well as elements of Devil Lady. It is given a Black and light Purple colors with some gold trimmings. The bat-like wings attached to the rear of the Wingle's head act as a Scrander part for SKL, allowing the latter flight capabilities. Like SKL, the Wingle also has a detachable cockpit on its head called the "Lady Falcon", which is piloted by Tsubasa in the anime, and Scarlet in the manga. Its weapons include a pair of detachable blades that can be mounted on the arms or the legs and used as boomerang-type projectiles, as well as a flail stored in the left breast.
- Bakuryuki
Kiba's personal mecha. It is a green colored unit with horns shaped like a Crescent Moon on its head and shoulders, almost resembling a samurai warrior. Like Mazinkaizer SKL, it is a very agile unit despite its heavily armored appearance. It rides a vehicle made of Caterpillar Tracks for faster transport and is equipped with two large cannons on the front, although they were never used in the anime.
- Iron Kaiser
Another Kaiser modeled after Mazinkaiser SKL and piloted by Kiba in Episode 3. It is red and dark grey colored and has almost the same set of attacks as Mazinkaiser. It wields a dual pointed spear as opposed to Skl's Ganzantou. It has two gattling guns in its arms (parallels to SKL's Breast Triggers), seems to be heavily armored, and is very agile. Unlike Mazinkaiser, it has a Gravitional Reactor power source, granting it control of gravity. Iron Kaiser's attacks include the Iron Tornado (Iron's Rust Tornado), Smasher Punch (Iron's Turbo Smasher Punch) and, by using the Gravitional Reactor, it can generate Gravitional beams akin to Great Mazinger's Thunder Break.
- Geistteles
The personal mecha of Garan. It is a large robot with the color schemes of white, gold, and gray. Three horns are attached to its head, with spikes on the shoulder and knee caps and claws for the feet.
- Psycho Gear
A mass-produced female combat mecha of the Hachiryokaku. It is equipped with Beam Weapons for combat, as well as produce a barrier needed to protect the Hachiryokaku's home base from enemy attacks. The Psycho Gears piloted by the Hurricane, Fancy, Misty, and Flash are unique in which they are in different design stylings.
- GRK-7
Mass-produced units of Kiba's army. The unit is based on Garada K7, one of the enemy units of Mazinger Z, and carries its signature giant sickles attached to its head. A mono-eyed mechanized head is used in place of a Skull from the original Garada K7 and is given color schemes of purple and light green.
- DBM-2
Also a Mass-Produced unit of Kiba's army. This unit is based on the enemy mecha Doublas M2, also from Mazinger Z. It retains the dual head design and spikes on the legs. Changes made were to the lizard-like heads being more mechanic, sporting three sets of scopes and a mounting weapon at its mouth. It is given a more desert-style color scheme and a large Gattling Gun is attached to the right hand.
- X Battler
Garan's personal robot army. This unit is based on KingDan X10, also from Mazinger Z. They are muscular robots with bull-like horns attached to its head. They have various color schemes and also possess a variety of combat weapons, such as lances, glaives, flails, and archery-type weapons.
- Mazin Brothers
Appearing only in the novel version, the Mazin Brothers are mass-produced versions of Mazinger Z. While it shares the same appearance as the original, it does not possess the same set of weapons. Instead, the Mazin Brother is either equipped with a set of Missile Launchers, or a large Rust Hurricane Backpack as weapons.
- Mazinger Z
Appearing only in the novel version. This Mazinger Z appears severely damaged as it leads an army of mass-produced versions of itself called the Mazin Brothers in a losing battle against an enemy army. Despite its condition and the grim situation, Mazinger Z continues to battle until the arrival of Mazinkaizer SKL who provides the much needed reinforcement. The pilot of Mazinger Z is not named.
Production
Staff
- Original work: Go Nagai, Dynamic Planning
- Director: Jun Kawagoe
- Series organization/script: Tadashi Hayakawa
- Mazinkaizer SKL/Wingle design: Tsuyoshi Nonaka (PLEX)
- Character design: Takeshi Ito
- Mecha design: Munetaka Abe, Toshiyuki Horii, Hiroshi Ogawa
- Music work: Lantis
- Sound director: Yoshikazu Iwanami
- Animation work: Actas
- Theme songs:
- Opening: "The Eternal Soldiers" (performed by Loudness, lyrics by Minoru Niihara, composition by Akira Takasaki, arrangement by Loudness)
- Ending: "Juggernaut" (performed by Sadie, lyrics by Mao, composition by Sadie, arrangement by Sadie)
- Insert (Ep.03): LEGEND of KAISER (performed by Rey)
Source(s)[2]
Media
Anime
The OVA was first screened at "Anime Fes. 'VS' presented by Bandai Visual".[3]
Episodes
# Title Original release date 1 "Death caprice"
"desu kapurīzu" (デス・カプリーズ)January 28, 2011 2 "Search-and-Kill"
"sāchi ando kiru" (サーチ・アンド・キル)February 25, 2011 3 "Final Count"
"fainaru kaunto" (ファイナル・カウント)April 7, 2011 These are announced dates and titles.[4]
Home video
The first OVA was released by Bandai Visual on January 28, 2011 in DVD (standard number BCBA-4002) and Blu-ray (standard number BCXA-0272).[4][5][6] On December 1, 2010, North American anime distributor Media Blasters announced on their Facebook page that they will release the series in May 2011 on DVD and possibly on Blu-ray.[7]
Manga
Along the OVA series, the manga titled Mazinkaizer SKL Versus (マジンカイザーSKLヴァーサス majinkaizā skl vāsasu), authored by Kazumi Hoshi, is published in the magazine for mobile phones Shu 2 Comic Gekkin by Emotion (Bandai), starting on April 23, 2010.[1][8]
The manga is published in printed format by the Kadokawa Group Publishing under the Emotion Comics brand.[9]
No. Release date ISBN 1 December 10, 2010 ISBN 978-4048992015 2 April 8, 2011 ISBN 978-4048992176 Novel
A novelization of the series is also released on Dengeki Hobby Magazine.
Notes
- ^ a b Announced release dates.
- ^ Announced episodes.
- ^ The official website url uses Mazinkaizer instead of the original Mazinkaiser and the Blu-ray cover of the first OVA shows the romanized title Mazinkaizer SKL.
References
- ^ a b "Mazinkaizer SKL Anime, Manga, Novel Revealed (Updated)". USA: Anime News Network. 2010-04-22. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-22/mazinkaizer-skl-original-video-animation-revealed. Retrieved 2010-06-26.
- ^ "Staff" (in Japanese). Mazinkaizer SKL official website. Japan. http://www.mazinkaizer-skl.com/staff.html. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
- ^ "Anime Fes. 'VS' presented by Bandai Visual" (in Japanese). Japan: Bandai Visual. http://animefes-vs.jp/. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ a b "Products" (in Japanese). Mazinkaizer SKL official website. Japan. http://www.mazinkaizer-skl.com/products.html. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ "マジンカイザーSKL 1 [Blu-ray [Mazinkaizer SKL 1 (Blu-ray)]"] (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.co.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00421B2CI. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ "マジンカイザーSKL 1 [DVD [Mazinkaizer SKL 1 (DVD)]"] (in Japanese). Japan: Amazon.co.jp. http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00421B2BE. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
- ^ "Media Blasters Adds Mazinkaiser SKL Super Robot Anime". Anime News Network. 2010-12-01. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-12-01/media-blasters-adds-mazinkaizer-skl-super-robot-anime. Retrieved 2010-12-27.
- ^ "Comic book Mazinkaizer SKL Versus serialization start - Manga: Kazumi Hoshi" (in Japanese). Japan: Emotion Ltd.. 2010-04-23. http://www.comic-gekkin.com/pc/information/2010/04/skl.html. Retrieved 2010-06-27.[dead link]
- ^ "マジンカイザーSKLヴァーサス(1)" (in Japanese). Japan: Kadokawa Group Publishing. 2010-04-23. http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/comic/bk_detail.php?pcd=201011000255. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
External links
- Mazinkaizer SKL official website (Japanese)
- Mazinkaizer SKL official manga website at Comic Gekkin (Japanese)
- Mazinkaizer SKL (OVA) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
Mazinger by Go Nagai TV/Manga/OAV series Mazinger Z (episodes) • Great Mazinger • Grendizer (characters) • God Mazinger • Mazinger U.S.A. Version • MazinSaga • Z Mazinger • Mazinkaiser • Mazinger Angels • Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z Hen • Mazinkaizer SKLMovies Mazinger Z Vs. Devilman • Mazinger Z Vs. The Great General of Darkness • Great Mazinger tai Getter Robot • Great Mazinger tai Getter Robot G: Kuchu Daigekitotsu • UFO Robot Grendizer tai Great Mazinger • Grendizer, Getter Robot G, Great Mazinger: Kessen! DaikaijuuMecha Mazinger Z Koji Kabuto • Sayaka Yumi • Boss • Dr. Hell • Baron Ashura • Count Brocken • Viscount Pygman • Archduke GorgonGreat Mazinger Jun Hono • Mikene Empire • Great General of Darkness • Minister Argos • General Julicaesar • General Scarabeth • General Angoras • General Ligern • General Hadias • General Draydou • General BirdlerOther Categories:- Anime OVAs
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