Mazinger Z (1972): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1972, Mazinger Z is an action & adventure, animation and sci-fi & fantasy series.

What it’s about. Mazinger Z, known briefly as Tranzor Z in the United States, is a Japanese super robot manga series written and illustrated by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. It was adapted into an anime television series which aired on Fuji TV from December 1972 to September 1974. A second manga series was released alongside the TV show, this one drawn by Gosaku Ota, which started and ended almost at the same time of the TV show. Mazinger Z has spawned several sequels and spinoff series, among them UFO Robot Grendizer and Mazinkaiser. It was a very popular cartoon in Mexico during the 1980s, where it was dubbed into Spanish directly from the Japanese version, keeping the Japanese character names and broadcasting all 92 episodes, unlike the version aired in the U.S.

Who’s in it. Mazinger Z stars Joji Yanami as Professor Gennosuke Yumi, Minori Matsushima as Sayaka Yumi, Hiroya Ishimaru as Kouji Kabuto and Haruko Kitahama as Baron Ashura, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 8.0/10, Mazinger Z sits among the best-reviewed titles in the catalogue.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Mazinger Z page.

If you liked it. Fans of Mazinger Z tend to enjoy Rick and Morty, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: No Regrets.