Mazinger Z/Trivia


 * Banned in China:
 * Mazinger Z was aired in Philippines and right like many other mecha shows, it was ordered off the air by Ferdinand Marcos.
 * The series also started being broadcast in Spain in 1978, gaining instant and overwhelming success, but it was pulled off at January from 1979 due to complains regarding violence and other questionable content. Only thirty-three random episodes had been dubbed -- and one of them never was emitted -- and Spanish fans had to wait to 1993 to watch the series aired again.
 * Beam Me Up, Scotty: In the Spanish dub, Kouji's infamous Rocket Punch line was translated as "¡Puños Fuera|" ("Fists Out!") instead of "Puño Cohete", and Sayaka's Oppai Missile attack was translated like "¡Fuego de Pecho!" ("Breast Fire!"). However, a huge chuck of the Spanish-speaking fandom is downright convinced she told "¡Pechos Fuera!" ("Breasts Out!") despite of she never told that line.
 * Cross-Dressing Voices: In Spain, sixteen-years-old male teenager Kouji Kabuto was voiced by voice actress Julia Gallego.
 * Foreign Dubbing: The Mexican voice actor Jesús Barrero voiced Kouji Kabuto and is mainly known for voicing youths like Seiya, Yamcha (first voice), Impmon (and Beelzemon), and even Emperor Kuzco. Then he became the second voice of Peter Griffin. These days, he still voices immature characters.
 * Let's not forget him as Professor J and Dekim Barton from the Gundam Wing dub.
 * Marth Debuted in Smash Bros: Mazinger was beaten in export to France by UFO Robo Grendizer, and since Kouji appears in that show as well, when Mazinger came over it was seen as a cheap imitation. Grendizer also technically beat Mazinger to American shores but due to name changes and the like nobody really noticed until years later.
 * Missing Episode: In Spain thirty-two episodes from the first season were broadcast. The first season was fifty-seven-episodes long. They were aired out of order for no apparent reason, too.
 * Rerun: In Spain, it was broadcast for first in 1978. It was rerun for second time in 1994.
 * What Could Have Been:
 * Sayaka Yumi was one of the first Action Girl and Tsundere with a lead role in Anime, and she and Kouji did the Belligerent Sexual Tension bit before no one else. However, she was Put on a Bus at the end of the series. The Bus Came Back again at the end of Great Mazinger, but after the end of the series she was Put on a Bus again. She was to become the 4th spazer pilot in Anime/UFO Robot Grendizer, but character developer and co-plotter of the series, Shingo Araki, opposed Go Nagai and designed a new character that did not appear in the Grendizer manga: Maria Grace Fleed, younger sister to Grendizer main character Duke Fleed. Maria soon became a fan-favorite in the latter part of the series. It is... interesting speculating what might have happened if Sayaka and Maria showed up in the same series (both of them being hot-tempered, Hot-Blooded Tsunderes liked the same boy. And Sayaka was a Clingy Jealous Girl to boot).
 * Kouji Kabuto wore a Scarf of Asskicking and used a bike to dock on Mazinger-Z in the Go Nagai's early designs. However, Kamen Rider premiered before Mazinger Z, and Go Nagai removed and changed those elements because he did not want people thought he was ripping off another show.
 * Another Go Nagai series, God Mazinger, has nothing to do with the original series. However, it was meant to be the sequel from Mazinger Z. However the idea got rejected, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer were made instead of, and years later a God Mazinger anime was made, but removing any connection to the original series.