Mazinkaiser SKL

Mazinkaiser SKL was a 3-episode OVA series based on the 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).

Three Armies, led by Garan, Kiba and Aira, occupy an island hidden under a Gravity Curtain and fight to seize control over it. When the world government of 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 - a special team of Super Robot pilots - to destroy three devices mantaining it. Among them are Ken "Amon-6" Kaido and Ryo "Lucifer-4" Magami, pilots of Mazinkaiser SKL.

A novelization of it has been already released, along with a Manga adaptation.

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This OVA has examples:

• 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.
• Amazon Brigade: The pilots of the Psycho Gears, semi-mass produced machines that fight alongside SKL.
• Attempted Rape: A Mook does this upon one of the Psycho Gear's pilots... 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.
• 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 on a Stick: Ryo can combine the Breast Triggers into a long-handled poleaxe.
• 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 resembling Mazinger Z's mains appear in brief snippets in Episode 3: Kouji and Sayaka lookalikes are in a restaurant, Lori is the reporter, and the general who refuses to give Yuuki information on Iron Kaiser looks like an older Boss.
• 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 the Crossbone Gundams.
  • Given the way the primary mooks from the first episode behave, this is more likely a Shout-Out to Fist of the North Star.
• Catch Phrase: "We are...HELL!". 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.
• 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.
• Disposable Pilot: Captain Scarlet pilots the SKL's supporting unit, Wingle, but also pilots the plane transporting her crew behind Gravity Wall. The plane crashes, she dies and her role as Wingle pilot is taken by Yuki Tsubasa.
• 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!.
• 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 or "discarded" magazines)
• Gynoid The Wingle & the Hachiryokaku/Aira Army mooks.
• Hate Dumb / Ruined FOREVER: The announcement of this OVA has triggered a lot of flack from the fans of Shin Mazinger, who see it as an irrefutable proof that there won't be a sequel to it.
  • Of course, this may be completely undeserved hatred, given the rumours that SKL IS the sequel to Shin...
• Heroic Sociopath: And how!
• Hey, It's That Voice!
  • Nobuyuki Hiyama: (Aka. Guy Shishioh... Though, most Westerners remember him as Viral) voices Kiba, one of the series' antagonists.
  • Satoshi Hino voices Ryo Magami which is a Playing Against Type. Oh, and to people who have played Cross Edge, they may get reminded of Yuuto/York.
  • Since when did Junpei become so Hot-Blooded?
• Katanas Are Just Better: Ken prefers to slash his enemies with his katana.
• Knife Nut: Ken Kaido, who favors all sort of blades, including SKL's Cool Sword.
• Mythology Gag: There's a fair share to previous Mazinger Z incarnations and to other Go Nagai works...
  • Two mass-produced mechas among the bad guy'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.
  • The Psycho Gear's pilots are named after Cutey Honey transformations.
  • The appearance of Tsubasa Yuki's mecha, Wingle, bears an uncanny resemblance to the eponymous character from Devilman Lady. It also the successor of the female-shaped robots from other Mazinger series, like Aphrodite A, Venus A and 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 Ro Beasts from the original Mazinger Z.
  • Ken, after waking up Ryo from his unconsciousness says "If we died this easily, Great King Emna would be pissed!"
• No Export for You: Averted as Media Blasters has, as of 10/2011, released the OVAs on DVD and is planning to release a Blu-ray of the OVAs in 12/2011.
• 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 (meele and range, respectively) are diametrically opposite.
• Redshirt Army: The Psycho Gears appear to fulfill this role.
• She Fu: You might not want to underestimate The Chick Tsubasa Yuki.
  • Nor the Octagon warriors! for once in Mazinger, Fem Bots are shown to be useful!
• Shout-Out
  • SKL is seen striking a pose directly from Equilibrium before starting to kick ass, Gun Kata style!
  • Ken and Ryo's codenames, Amon and Lucifer, are obviously shout-outs to the protagonist and antagonist, respectively, of Go nagai's other big work, Devilman.
• 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: Breast Inferno.
  • Rocket Punch: Tornado Crusher/Crasher. Although Ken starts complaining about how long it takes the hands to actually come back, despite its coolness.
  • Shock and Awe: Thor's Hammer Breaker.
• X Meets Y: Mazinger Z meets Heavy Metal.