Mazinkaiser vs Gunbuster (Dynamic Productions vs Studio Gainax)

“Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power” ~ Lao Tzu

(NOTE: This blog will contain SPOILERS for Mazinkaiser, Mazinkaiser vs Great General of Darkness, Gunbuster, and Diebuster)

Mazinkaiser, Dynamic Production’s Ultimate Demon God

Gunbuster, Studio Gainax’s Mecha that Aimed for the Top

Giant robots. Everyone likes them, and they’ve been an immortal part of anime ever since the 70s. From fighting against monsters once a week, to experiencing the utter horrors of war, to becoming the largest thing in existence just to pierce the heavens, they have went places. And these two are part of mecha legacies that are unlike anything else, and the time’s come to have them fight, and see who’ll be the one who makes it through the Gate of Hell and Aim for the Top!

Media Used

Mazinkaiser

  • Mazinkaiser (OVA)
  • Mazinkaiser vs Great General of Darkness
  • Mazinkaiser (Naoto Tsushima)

Gunbuster

  • Aim for the Top! Gunbuster (OVA)
  • Aim for the Top! Gunbuster Science Lessons
  • Gunbuster: Project Sizzler

Mech Backgrounds

Mazinkaiser

 Fun fact: This bad boy’s eligible for Smash. Thanks Super Robot Wars.

In the fight against Dr. Hell, there was nogreater threat to his plans of world domination than Mazinger Z, the Fortress of Steel defending Japan. However, in a battle between Koji and his allies against Dr. Hell’s Kikaiju, Mazinger Z was defeated and the Jet Plieder was thrown to an unknown location… which turned out to be a secret laboratory belonging to Koji’s late grandfather (and creator of Mazinger Z) Juzo Kabuto, where a hologram revealed to Koji the existence of Mazinkaiser, his true ultimate creation. After saving the Photon Power Lab from Baron Ashura’s modified Mazinger Z, Mazinkaiser would then replace Mazinger Z as the guardian against Dr. Hell’s forces.

Gunbuster

There couldn’t be no Evangelion and Gurren Lagann without this fine lady.

When the Earth was under threat of the cosmic threat known as the Space Monsters, humanity was in a losing battle at first. Though things changed when they created the ultimate weapon against the Space Monsters, Gunbuster. Equipped with state of the art weapons, Gunbuster would prove itself to be humanity’s final hope against extinction, singlehandedly destroying the Space Monsters… Though the final stand against the Space Monsters would prove to be its end, as activating the black hole bomb damaged it to the point where it was only really a torso.

Pilot Backgrounds

Koji Kabuto

"Baron Asura, I'm ready whenever you're ready... and you, Dr. Hell! I, no, Mazinkaiser will take up your challenge anytime!"

Anyone who knows of the story of Mazinger Z should know how things started out with Koji. Grandfather got murdered by Dr. Hell, he started piloting his Grandfather’s (apparent) final creation Mazinger Z, alongside the Photon Power Laboratories to defend the world from Dr. Hell’s forces. At some point, however, he met Tetsuya and the Great Mazinger much sooner than he did in the Toei anime and they would become brothers-in-arms against Dr. Hell. Then on one fateful battle, Mazinger Z was defeated, and Koji was thrown to unknown parts…

There he found (or rather the Jet Plieder activated auto-pilot and took him to) a lab that belonged to his late grandfather, where a hologram of the latter revealed to him the existence of Mazinkaiser, which he then used to effortlessly take out Mazinger Z after it had a makeover to mark it now being controlled by Dr. Hell. Now taking to the fight in the all-powerful successor to Mazinger Z, nothing would stop Koji in the battle against the forces of Bardos Island, be it a trio of assassin robots, a plot to destroy the team from the inside, and even their beach episode being interupted, there was no way Koji was gonna fall in the fight. Even when Dr. Hell’s final plan was unleashed to cook Mazinkaiser in Lava was in full force, Koji was able to get through that and take down his strongest Kikaiju, and defeat the Mad Doctor once and for all.

Though, the peace gained from Dr. Hell’s defeat didn’t last, however, as after a while since that last battle, a new threat emerged. The Mycenae forces descended onto the Earth, easily taking down members of a peacekeeping force that had mechs derived from Mazinger Z. Koji and Sayaka were on the other side of the planet at the time of the invasion, and had to rush all the way back to Japan in order to get back to Mazinkaiser. Through the destruction and tragedy that came into their way, they were able to reunite with their remaining allies and Koji got into Mazinkaiser, easily defeating the Mycenae forces and their leader, the Great General of Darkness. With that, the allies that were slain by there forces were avenged, and the Earth would know peace once more, and hopefully it would last this time around.

(well, until the Vegan Forces pop up, but that’s Grendizer’s problem.)

Noriko Takaya

“Don’t think the combined Gunbuster is just some ordinary machine! It has Coach’s… It has Coach’s… It has Coach’s heart beating with it!”

Noriko always admired her father, a captain of a spaceship, and wished to become a pilot in space just like him. One thing that motivates her was to see if her father really was alive. Going to a school to train those who pilot giant robots to defend the earth from the Space Monsters threatening the Earth, Noriko would find herself as one of the two students selected to go up in the stars. Mainly thanks to the school’s new coach, Koichiro Ohta, who saw the makings of a great pilot in her… despite being not that good at piloting a robot at first. She was then taken under special training by Ohta to make her more capable of piloting a robot, and she alongside the other student, Kazumi Amano, would then join the rest of the pilots in space.

Going into space, Noriko and Kazumi would find a bunch of allies in the fight against the Space Monsters, from Russian pilot Jung, to a male pilot by the name of Smith that Noriko would fall in love with… though that ended in tradegy. Through their adventures in the cosmos Noriko would learn about what truly happened to her father (he actually is dead.), and would grapple with the fact that, to quote Regular Show, “Time speeds up in space, bro”, everyone she knew on Earth would grow older than she would be for what seemed to just be days for her. Eventually she would take the incomplete Gunbuster and take down a Space Monster Flagship, marking her as the main pilot of Gunbuster. She later returned to Earth as Gunbuster was completed, and she and Kazumi would then go on a mission to take out the Space Monters at their core, using the Exelion as a bomb to take them out. During that mission, she would have to get Kazumi out of the funk she was in, and the two then proceeded to have one epic fight against the Space Monsters to ensure their mission was a success. And after completing the mission, they returned to the Earth to meet with Ohta one more time.

That was the last time Noriko and Kazumi would pilot together for a while, as Kazumi would stay behind with Ohta in his final moments as Noriko would remain fighting in space. While only a few months had passed for Noriko, 15 years have passed on Earth. Thanks to Gunbuster, the plans to evacuate humanity from Earth was scrapped and now a new plan was in place to stop the Space Monsters once and for all. Going to the miniaturized Jupiter, Noriko and Kazumi would sacrifice their lives in order to activate the black hole bomb within and end the threat once and for all. And for the two who sacrificed everything… they returned, and while 12,000 years have passed while they were gone and all of their friends were dead, humanity never forgot the final promise Noriko was given: Being welcomed back to the Earth for everything she’s done.

(A certain someone probably would’ve been thrilled to see her...)

Kazumi Amano

“All we do now is survive at any cost.”

Noriko’s schoolmate, school idol, teammate in space, and primary co-pilot of Gunbuster, all in that order pretty much. While she had some doubts with Noriko being chosen as one of the two reps of Japan in space, they pretty much went away when Noriko proved her guts to the whole school. She also harbored a love for Ohta, which was something compounded when it was revealed that he had Space Radiation Sickness (or in other words, Space Cancer). After the epic fight scene in episode 5, she stayed with Ohta in his final years as his wife (...yeah there’s an age gap) and would return as Gunbuster’s co-pilot in its final mission.

Arsenal & Abilities

Mazinkaiser

Kaiser Plieder

Juzo never really did think to give Mazinkaiser backwards compatability.

The craft that Koji uses to control Mazinkaiser with, which like how Mazinkaiser replaces Mazinger Z, it replaces the Jet Plieder that Koji uses.

Kaiser Scrandler

Mazinkaiser’s counterpart to the Jet Scrandler, which gives Mazinkaiser the ability to fly. Obtained when the Photon Power Lab crew sent the Scrandler from the jab where Mazinkaiser was created to help him escape a volcano.

Photon Power

The main energy source of Mazinkaiser, alongside every other mecha in Mazinger Z

Mazin Power

An ability universal to Mazins, where Mazinkaiser’s limiters are turned off to provide it with a power boost. It's said that with Mazin Power, Mazinkaiser has no limits.

Dynamite Tackle

An dash attack that has Koji use energy directed to Mazinkaiser’s arm to tackle his foes. A SRW-Exclusive attack.

Turbo Smasher Punch

Extra Effectiveness against Stepbrothers

Mazinkaiser’s counterpart to Mazinger Z’s Rocket Punch, where it can fire off one of its arms to punch its foes at a distance, these punches also emitting a cyclone as a trail.

Rust Tornado

Mazinkaiser’s counterpart to Mazinger Z’s Rust Hurricane, where Mazinkaiser fires off three cyclones from its mouth that can instantly corrode any foe that comes into contact with all three of them.

Giganto Missle

Mazinkaiser’s counterpart to the Navel Missile, where it fires off a missile from its navel.

Photon Power Beam

“To show you the power of Mazinkaiser, I BEAMED THIS KIKAIJU IN HALF!”

An eye beam attack that it shares with Mazinger Z which can cut through foes.

Glacial Beam

A beam fired from Mazinkaiser’s horns that can instantly freeze an opponent, with enough force being capable of shattering them entirely

Shoulder Slicers/Kaiser Blades

Swords that Mazinkaiser calls from its shoulders, hence one of the names it is given.

Kaiser Knuckles

A punching attack Koji preforms with Mazinkaiser, spinning the knuckles as if he’s about to use Turbo Smasher Punch but not firing them

Fire Blaster

Mazinkaiser’s counterpart to Mazinger Z’s Breast Fire, where Koji charges up photon energy into the chest-wing things of Mazinkaiser then uses it to fire off a powerful blast of fire at his foes, being capable of melting them down. It should also be noted that this is the first attack that Mazinkaiser uses in the OVA.

Scrander Boomerang

An attack that uses the Kaiser Scrandler, where Koji detaches the wing set from Mazinkaiser to throw it at the enemy, with it returning after the attack is finished

Kaiser Nova

One of Mazinkaiser’s ultimate attacks, where Koji charges up Mazinkaiser with all of its Photon Energy to ignite it, striking at the opponent to launch it into the sky, then firing off a beam of Photon Energy at his target.

Final Kaiser Blade

Can’t be a giant robot with a sword if you can’t pose like Exkaiser after all.

A Third Sword that Mazinkaiser has, and one of its ultimate weapons. Unlike the Shoulder Slicers, this is a singular blade, albeit one that is much larger, and called from its chest.

Gunbuster

Buster Machines 1 & 2

The two core components of Gunbuster, spacecrafts piloted by Noriko and Kazumi respectively that can combine into the eponymous mech.

Degeneracy Generator

It doesn’t refer to that Degeneracy I swear

The main power source of Gunbuster, an engine that is said to have a “near-limitless” power source. Unlike it’s mass-produced successors the Sizzler series, it has two Degeneracy Generators, as a result of it being a combination of two Buster Machines.

Buster Beam

A giant laser that Noriko fires from Gunbuster’s forhead, possible thanks to its eye being a giant photon crystal

Buster Tomahawk

 

“Koji this is the second time you fought a combining mecha with an axe”

One of two weapons that Gunbuster has on hand that it never uses in the OVA, only appearing in Super Robot Wars, being a double headed Tomahawk that Noriko can split into two axes.

Homing Laser

Several lasers that Gunbuster fires from its hands to target multiple targets at once

Buster Missiles

A wide variety of missiles that Noriko can fire from Gunbuster’s hands, being enough to eliminate a giant space monster without much effort.

Buster Shield

A cape that Gunbuster can pull out to help defend it from incoming attacks

Buster Collider

 

PIKA… CHUUUUUU!!!!

Rods that are embedded into Gunbuster’s arms that allow it to hit its foes with an extremely high voltage, also having rods in its legs as well that lets it preform the attack Double Buster Collider.

Buster Rocket Anchor

Today in “yeah it’s been 20 years reveal it can do that”

Triangular projectiles that Gunbuster can fire from its waist

Buster Missile-mite

Look I already did Heavy TF2 jokes with Usageats I can’t do them twice in a row

A chaingun part of Gunbuster’s arms that can fire off missiles

Inertial Canceler

A feature in Gunbuster that has Gunbuster remove any inertia is has and renders it an immovable object, though it’s balanced out by being able to stop any physical attack in its tracks.

Buster Home Run

“Say goodbye to your kneecaps, Chucklehead!”

The other of two attacks that Gunbuster is capable of, yet is never shown doing this in the OVA itself, and used in Super Robot Wars. This attack involves Noriko bringing out a baseball bat around the size of Gunbuster itself, then proceeding to generate of sphere of energy that she hits with the bat to throw at the enemy.

Super Inazuma Kick

LOVE AND PEACE FINISH!

Gunbuster’s most powerful attack, where Noriko and Kazumi draw out all their power, flies up above the opponent, then does a diving kick at their foe.

Or in other words, it’s one hell of a Rider Kick.

Power & Durability

Mazinkaiser

Gunbuster

Speed

Mazinkaiser

Gunbuster

Weaknesses

Mazinkaiser

  • While it has been overcome, Koji would find Mazinkaiser would be pushed back by the sheer power of certain attacks
  • If both arms are used to fire Turbo Smasher Punches, then the rest of the body is vulnerable to attacks until the arms return
  • Since the Kaiser Plieder is needed for Mazinkaiser to function, if it's seperated from Mazinkaiser, or Koji is prevented from docking it into Mazinkaiser, Mazinkaiser cannot function 

Gunbuster

MFW hard work and guts don’t cut it

  • In comparison to its mass-produced successors the Sizzlers, Gunbuster is formed from the combination of Buster Machines 1 & 2, so if either one of them is taken out before Gunbuster is formed. Gunbuster is easily taken out of the equation.
  • It should be deemed non-functional if Noriko is forced to rip out one of Gunbuster’s Degeneracy Generators, though this is a last resort attack

Verdict

Stats

Going into this, I kinda thought that “yeah, Mazinkaiser could probably easily match up to Gunbuster” in a stat-like way… here’s the thing...

 

    

Hideaki Anno does the biggest featsmanning Gainax does before Gurren Lagann (1989)

Episode 5 has some very blatant featswomanning done by Noriko and Kazumi while they’re in Gunbuster, using the Exelion’s self-destruct as an example here. It should be noted that while Gunbuster wasn’t shown in the exact area of the explosion, judging by the radius of the blast, and assuming that planet is the same planet that Gunbuster fired a Buster Beam nearby in the fight scene earlier, then it means that Gunbuster SHOULD be in the general area of the explosion. And even if it wasn’t, it DID destroy a large Space Monster in seconds using only the Buster Missiles.

In comparison, without going into what it exactly means to exceed god and defeat the devil (and not taking into account what the Seven Generals of Mycenae can DO outside of Mazinkaiser vs Great General of Darkness), the best Mazinkaiser has in comparison is… being able to defeat Dr. Hell in the Tsushima Manga with the Kaiser Nova, since he has a statement of being able to move the continents to recreate Pangea. If there IS anything that could save Mazinkaiser in this department, is if it’s comped with the Getter Rays-powered incarnation of it, but since this is focusing on the “Dr. Kabuto’s secret successor to Mazinger” incarnations of it (and the whole conundrum of what Shin Getter is the one in Mazinkaiser vs Shin Getter is the MOST comparable to), it can’t really be used in this.

Experience

The events of both Mazinkaiser and Gunbuster (the OVAs) mean that they have more experience piloting mechs beyond the title mechs, so it’s time to judge on how long both have been piloting them.

Starting off with Koji, the first episode it’s shown that he’s been fighting Dr. Hell for a while by the time the OVA series starts, and upgrades to Mazinkaiser in the first episode, using it for the rest of the series. It should be noted that there’s no exact timeframe for the time between OVAs, except for the first two episodes and episodes 6 to… the last one.

Noriko in comparison, was in giant robot school at the start of Gunbuster… and wasn’t really good at it, only proving her worth by a training montage near the end of the first episode. By the end of the series, she’s at least had a few months of experience piloting Gunbuster after piloting it for two battles in the latter half of the series, judging by how 15 years had passed on Earth during the time between Episodes 5 and 6 and all she has is longer hair there.

Arguably, with the lack of exact timeframes between most episodes of Mazinkaiser, and the lack of an exact timeframe between episodes 5 and 6 on Noriko’s side of things, Koji will get the experience category since Mazinkaiser had more screentime compared to Gunbuster (and an unknown amount of time piloting Mazinger Z)

Arsenals

And so we reach the final category, the Arsenals and which one is superior. Let’s go over them a bit.

Mazinkaiser, fitting as it’s a successor to Mazinger Z, features attacks such as firing off its hands with Turbo Smasher Punch, eroding metal with Rust Hurricane, and even the usage of swords with the Shoulder Slicers and the Final Kaiser Blade, not to mention freezing opponents in place with the Glacial Beam, melting them down with the Fire Blaster, and the sheer power of the Kaiser Nova to take them on.

Gunbuster, on the other hand… kinda feels a bit more underwhelming in comparison. The Buster Beam and the Homing Laser, while impressive, are mainly just giant lasers, and while the Buster Missiles are plentiful, with a target as small as Mazinkaiser, it’s honestly a bit hard to land a hit compared to that Space Monster. The Buster Colliders, while useful, do require Noriko can be up close to her opponent… which she can do, as the Inertial Canceller can stop Mazinkaiser in its tracks if it directly hits Gunbuster.

Arguably in a stats-and-size equalized situation, I believe that Mazinkaiser’s arsenal would prove itself superior in every way to Gunbuster’s arsenal, and even without that, Mazinkaiser’s Arsenal still is superior in that regard

Results

Advantages

Mazinkaiser

  • Arguably more experienced
  • More varied arsenal
  • COULD in theory take out Gunbuster before it forms...
  • Majin Kenzan

Gunbuster

  • Is so physically superior in every way it isn’t even funny
  • Much larger, but Noriko knows not to underestimate a small foe...
  • Inertial Canceller can potentially immobilize Mazinkaiser if it lands a physical hit
  • Degeneracy Generators
  • Gunbuster ~ FLY HIGH ~

Disadvantages

Mazinkaiser

  • Physically Inferior in every way
  • Much smaller… but when has Size ever stopped Mazinkaiser?
  • Can be immobilized by Inertial Canceller
  • Photon Power

Gunbuster

  • Arguably less experienced
  • Less varied Arsenal 
  • Could be taken out before it's formed 

 

“I don’t want Takimi to ever have to feel the way I did. I want to bring this to an end.”

The Winners are Noriko Takaya and Kazumi Amano.

 

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