Mazinkaiser SKL is a 3-episode OVA series based on Go Nagai's Mazinger Z mythos, released over a period between January 28th and March 25th of 2011. It's directed by Jun Kawagoe, director of New Getter Robo and Super Robot Wars: Original Generation - The Animation (OVA).
There were no winners in the war between Dr. Hell and the Photon Power Institute. In the aftermath, technologies from both sides were scavenged, and since spread all over the world. When criminals and terrorists arise in robots and Mechanical Monsters, they are put down by Skull Force — a special team of Super Robot pilots. Among them are Ken "Amon-6" Kaido and Ryo "Lucifer-4" Magami, pilots of the Mazinkaiser SKL.
Kikajiima Islad has become surrounded by a Gravity Curtain as three armies, led by Garan, Kiba and Aira, fight to seize control over it. When the WSO finds out that in next sixty-six hours the Gravity Curtain is going to overload and blow up the entire planet, they send the Skull Force to capture the three devices maintaining it, each being used by the armies to build their robot forces.
But Kaido and Magami are quickly swept up in the war, and seem to be more interested in the slaughter than actually fixing the problem.
A novelization of it has been already released, along with a Manga adaptation.
Despite the name, it is not a sequel to Mazinkaiser, the earlier OVA series also based on Mazinger Z.
Tropes:
- Actor Allusion: May be accidental, but this is not the first time Satoshi Hino voiced a character who knows Gun Kata.
- In the English dub, it's not the first time that Galen's leader was a kick-ass fighter.
- All There in the Script: Despite the title, the main mecha of this series is never referred to, in universe, as Mazinkaiser SKL or even Mazinkaiser. It is only called "Kaiser" by the characters.
- Slightly averted via a line towards the end of series where Tsubasa Yuki's monologue refers to it as "Kaiser the devil", or "Mazin Kaiser" in Japanese.
- Amazon Brigade: The pilots of Hachiryokaku's Psycho Gears are all attractive young women. This can be a problem around Kiba's forces.
- Attempted Rape: Kiba's liutenant tries this to Misty... By blasting an opening into her cockpit and jumping from his own mecha in the plain heat of the battle. He ends up stomped under SKL's foot after this stunt.
- Back from the Dead: Despite exploding in the first episode, Kiba comes back to battle SKL again.
- Badass Boast: Ah yup.If God gets in our way, he'll get cut down! If the Devil does the same, then he'll be shot! We fight because we want to! We crush because we want to! The words "just cause" mean nothing to us!There's no point in waiting for us in Hell... We ARE Hell!
- Berserk Button: Ryo really doesn't like the concept of fate. Galan telling him "Your fate is sealed" in Episode 2 enrages him so much that he insists upon fighting Galan despite earlier mocking Ken for indulging in a one-on-one swordfight.
- BFS: SKL's Sword, Ganzantou, which is even bigger and more fearsome looking than Mazinkaiser's Kaiser Blade. Its hilt can also extend to become a massive polearm-like weapon).
- Blade Enthusiast: Ken Kaido, who favors all sort of blades, including SKL's Cool Sword.
- Blood Knight: Ken and Ryo both claim to be men who don't feel alive without battle, even stating that gods shall be cut and devils shot because they are in their way. This is a recurring theme in Mazinger-related boasts (Mazinger Z could make its user a god or a devil, Mazinkaiser could kill gods and devils).
- The Cameo: Characters from Devilman and Mazinger Z appear in brief snippets in Episode 3: Akira and Miki (from Devilman) are both in a restaurant together, Lori (from Mazinger Z) is the reporter, and the general who refuses to give Yuuki information on Iron Kaiser looks like an older version of Boss (from Mazinger Z).
- Caped Mecha: It doesn't seem to be part of its standard equipment, but on some scenes SKL appears wearing a ragged dust-cloak, in the style of Sandrock Kai or Black Getter.
- Given the way the primary mooks from the first episode behave, this is more likely a Shout-Out to Fist of the North Star.
- Canon Immigrant: Aira originally appeared in God Mazinger and Violence Jack.
- Himiko was also originally from Violence Jack, and was originally just named Slum Queen.
- Catchphrase: "We are...HELL!"note . See also Badass Boast.
- Cloning Blues: Strongly implied for Ryo, given what little we see of his past in this brief series. His Journey to the Center of the Mind, as well as a sequence in the opening, shows him surrounded by identical copies, and he says he fights to prove his own existence. The Manga's final arc features another surviving clone as an antagonist.
- Cool Horse: In the ending of the final OVA, Mazinkaiser dual wields a spear and its signature BFS while riding on a mecha horse that transforms from a mecha motorcycle. And the horse has skeletal bat wings to boot
- Crystal Spires and Togas: The people from the Hachiryokaku faction seem to be modeled after this trope; including the pilots of the Psycho Gears, that fight while clad in togas and jewelry.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Mazinkaiser SKL gets to be on the receiving end of one against Galen in episode 2.
- Darker and Edgier: Not just in tone, but the entire world seems to be one set after the Photon Power Institute and Dr. Hell battled to mutual destruction, only to have their technologies be scavenged and proliferate into the hands of governments and terrorists. What ensued was most certainly not Hilarity.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Kiba is defeated in the first episode the story focuses on Garan as the main villain until he is killed at the end of episode 3 and Kiba comes back as the main villain.
- Energy Weapon: The Psycho Gears favored type of weapons, which include Laser Blades and Ray Guns
- The Engineer: Tsubasa Yuki, a female pilot working alongside the SKL duo.
- Evil Knockoff: Although named otherwise, the Iron Kaiser is actually like this towards Grendizer! It even has its own version of the Double Harken! The SKL itself certainly looks like one compared to the original Mazinkaiser.
- Eye Scream: Near the end of the Curb-Stomp Battle above, Mazinkaiser evades a spear meant for the cockpit, sending it into its right eye instead.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Wingle's computer screens display relevant text from Wikipedia when Yuuki goes looking for information (showing text from the "Robot" article when she tries to identify Iron Kaiser, and from "Gravity" when the Gravity Prison starts going haywire).
- The Gunslinger: Ryo Magami. He seems to be a Type C according to the related tropes...
- Dual Wielding (SKL's Breast Triggers are specifically designed to it)
- Energy Weapon: Pulse Burst Mode, seen only in the last episode.
- Gun Fu (With lots of acrobatics and close distance action)
- Gun Kata (With a direct nod to the Trope Namer, nonetheless!)
- Pistol-Whipping (Though, it's more like Pistol Slashing, as SKL's guns have blades attached to them)
- Unorthodox Reload (By slamming his guns into a pair of "discarded" magazines)
- Guns Akimbo: One of the pilots, who specializes in Gun Kata, can pull this off with SKL's ranged mode, turning the unit's chestplate into two pistols. Which he uses to tear up the battlefield.
- Gynoid The Wingle & the Hachiryokaku/Aira Army mooks.
- Heroic Rematch: One done in record time after Galan curbstomps SKL during their first fight.
- In Medias Res: The anime takes place during and between volumes two and three of the manga.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Ken prefers to slash his enemies with his katana.
- Mook Horror Show: Skl does so in a very visceral fashion.
- Mythology Gag: There's a fair share to previous Mazinger Z incarnations and to other Go Nagai works...
- Aria is based on the manga version of the eponymous character from God Mazinger.
- Ken and Ryo's codenames, Amon and Lucifer, are obviously shout-outs to the protagonist and antagonist, respectively, of Devilman.
- Two mass-produced mechas among Kiba's army, GRK-7 and DBM-2, are based on Garada K7 and Doublas M2, the first Mechanical Beasts that Mazinger Z ever faced, and two recurring adversaries that have shown up in almost every adaptation of its mythos.
- By the same token, the X-Battlers in Garan's Army are based off Kingdan X10
- The Psycho Gears seem based on Aphrodite A and Venus A, though without their signature armaments.
- In the manga, several worker robots at a power plant are mass-produced Boss Borots.
- Another Mechanical monster in the comic is based on the Devilman demon Jinmen.
- The appearance of Tsubasa Yuki's mecha, Wingle, bears an uncanny resemblance to the eponymous character from Devilman Lady and the Mazinger Angels and Shin Mazinger ZERO versions of Minerva X.
- The crest that becomes SKL's Breast Triggers is shaped like Devilman's head.
- When Yuuki tries to identify the mystery mecha (Iron Kaiser) in the final episode, Wingle's computer compares its silhouette to the mecha from this show and several RoBeasts from the original Mazinger Z.
- Ken, after waking up Ryo from his unconsciousness says "If we died this easily, Great King Enma would be pissed!"
- Kiba is based on Zuba, a character who appeared in Zuba-Ban and Violence Jack, two other works from Go Nagai.
- Hurricane, Fancy, Flash and Misty are all based on and named after disguises of Cutey Honey.
- Scarlet Hibiki resembles Lan Asuka, but with scarlet coloured hair instead of blonde.
- Iron Kaiser, the robot Kiba pilots in episode 3, is named after and based on the cyborg character, Iron Kaiser, who appeared in Shutendoji and Violence Jack.
- Near Victory Fanfare: Legend Of Kaiser begins playing when Kaiser combines with the wing unit from Wingle, unlocking all of its Super Robot Grade weapons and turning the tide in its fight with Iron Kaiser.
- Not So Stoic: Magami loses it when Galen finds his Berserk Button, resulting in Mazinkaiser being on the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ken Kaido and Ryo Magami, the SKL pilots, are built around this dynamic. Even their signature fighting styles (melee and range, respectively) are diametrically opposite.
- Redshirt Army: The Psycho Gears appear to fulfill this role, though they fare much better than Mazinger FemBots usually do and were not prepared for a second attack by Kiba, let alone Galan attacking on the heels of that.
- Shout-Out
- SKL is seen striking a pose directly
◊ from Equilibrium before starting to kick ass, Gun Kata style!
- SKL is seen striking a pose directly
- Skull for a Head: ...Or Skull For A Pilder, on this case.
- Special Attack: Let's just consolidate Kaiser's attacks under this sub-header for convenience.
- Breath Weapon: Rust Stream.
- Chest Blaster: Inferno Blaster.
- Rocket Punch: Tornado Crusher/Crasher. Although Ken starts complaining about how long it takes the hands to actually come back, despite its coolness. At one point, he uses it to fire his sword through several enemies.
- Shock and Awe: Thor's Hammer Breaker.
- Super Robot: Obviously, being of the same mythos as the Trope Codifier.
- Tsundere: It's obvious that Kaidou liked, or at least respected, Scarlet more than he was willing to admit.
