Mar 8, 2023
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Grendizer (Infinitism)
Unlike Mazinger, which I have at least cursory experience with through specials, movies, and SRW, I don’t know anything about Grendizer. I know it’s considered the successor series to Great Mazinger, and it’s related enough to get a release in the style of the Mazinger Infinity line of HG model kits, but not much else. I only picked it up because it was in the aforementioned model kit line, which is something I keep telling myself not to do, but do on reflex.
The Good: Very large, solid posability, decent accessories. It’s very similar to both the Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger releases. In terms of what it does uniquely, the Double Spazer is pretty neat, with a separate, longer nose cone for when you display it by itself. The most interesting thing it does is probably its elbows, though. They top-most spike can detach and swivel so you can fully bend the elbows.
It also comes with the same black based, clear display stand the others do.
The Bad: It is too similar to the Mazingers, to the point that its upper arms, thighs, waist, and several other pieces are reused from them. The only interesting thing it does are its elbows, and I don’t feel like that’s enough to validate the purchase alone.
The Details: Did some black and white panel lining, with white being used on the black and navy components, though somewhat slapdash looking on the legs. I replaced all the stickers with paint, as usual, with the most troubling area being the Double Spazer, as it had three much larger stickers on its back fin. The last thing I worked on were the Screw Crusher Punch accessories. While the normal cuffs are layers of silver, red, and white plastic, the Screw Crusher Punch is just red and grey. I painted the faux hinges as well as the outer layer white to more align them with the way the cuffs usually look.
Overall, it’s just as solid a release as the other HG Mazingers, but because it’s just so similar I can’t recommend it if you already own either of the other kits in this line. This is a line of “pick your favorite,” and then you stop. I think Grendizer might be the best of that line, but if we’re going by popularity it will probably and sadly sell less than the others.
Mazin GO! Rocket PUNCH!
Great Mazinger
Even more Mazinger! And again, we have an instance where the Bandai logo changed from red to blue between releases. Not that anyone cares, I just think it’s neat.
The Good: This is a very similar release to the Mazinger Z as it shares a lot of the same joint parts (the neck, ab crunch, shoulders, elbows, waist, knees, and ankles) as well as using the same hands. Rather than coming with a bunch of effect parts, like Z did, it comes with a pair of swords and hands to use them, and not much else. But since the two of them are so alike, you can swap parts between them, so Z can wield blades and Great can Rocket Punch things:
And like Z, Great also comes with a clear display stand.
The Bad: But with those similarities come a lot of the same issues. The chest plate makes it hard to do certain poses (and raise his arms up for a flight pose), and there’s also the returning issue of plastic finishes. Oh, and I feel like his hidden elbows don’t have as much give and you have to detach the Brain Condor’s nose cone in order to Fire On.
The Details are basically the same: silver on navy, white on black, and black panel lining everywhere else.
Overall, I recommend it...exactly the same amount as I did the Mazinger Z. You don’t need both, but there’s no harm in having both either. Get whichever one or however many you want.
Mazinger Z
Nobody asked for it, but we’ve got more Mazinger model kits! This time we have one of the two Bandai High Grade kits made to coincide with the fairly recent Mazinger Infinity movie, which I saw and was just ok.
The Good: Being made by Bandai, this is basically a Gunpla. It’s got very solid fit and finish. Despite how it might look, it has a lot of posability, having a drop hinge on the hips to give them tons of range, a hidden double joint in the elbows, a Build Burning wrist hinge, and extending shoulder hinges to cope with the large chest plate. It also has several effect parts to allow for some of Mazinger Z’s more iconic moves, save for the Breast Fire.
It also comes with a clear stand.
On the topic of scale, despite being a HG release, Mazinger Z...Well, let me put it another way. The RX-78-2 is canonically 18m tall. Mazinger Z is canonically 18m tall. Does it look like that?
It’s closer to your typical 1/100 scale figure in size if not larger, and the only other figure I have in that scale is my Omegamon. MazinKaiser is also closer to 1/144 scale, so Bandai and Good Smile’s Mazinger-related releases don’t match each other.
The Bad: Scale is a Bad for me, but probably not for you which I why it’s not in here this time. Despite some of the positives I gave it in posability, the chest plate still gets in the way, and I’m worried I’m going to chip it eventually. Also, since this kit was made by the guys known for making Gunpla, I find the Moderoid MazinKaiser a little better for someone who’s a casual fan of Mazinger rather than someone who is into both Gunpla and Mazinger.
It also has a similar issue to the MazinKaiser where most of the plastics have a metallic sheen to them, meaning filing them down tarnishes it. Since the Moderoid is designed to cut cleanly it isn’t as big an issue for it, but since a Gunpla typically requires filing, sanding, etc. it means this kit won’t stand up as well under a magnifying glass. Also, even though I compare it to a Gunpla, there are no polycaps in this kit, so there’s basically no compatibility if you want to use it in a custom.
The Details: I actually went back and started painting the kit silver half-way through. I did white detailing on all the black parts, silver on all the navy, and black panel lining everywhere else. This kit has very few stickers, only a few small black stripes on the Jet Scrambler, so that was essentially a non-issue.
Overall, this is a better and more solid kit than the Moderoid one, but I can only say that as someone who builds Gunpla. As a casual fan on Mazinger, I could see this one being a lot more intimidating to put together. If you think you can handle it, by all means it’s a great piece. If you’re even a casual Super Robot fan like me, I’d say try picking either this or the upcoming Great Mazinger up. You won’t be disappointed.
I’m still mad I missed Mazinger Infinity when it was in theaters. Here’s hoping Netflix or Crunchyroll will pick it up so I can watch it.
Metal Build Mazinger Infinity Spotted
Here’s a quick look at the upcoming Metal Build Mazinger Infinity which will make its grand appearance in next year’s Mazinger Infinity movie which will be screened in Japan. The really shocking twist here based on the reports shared online about Metal Build Mazinger Infinity is the fact that it starts out as Dr. Hell’s mech. No release date or additional information has been shared about the new…
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