Kit Review

Straight build

Size comparison with a cigarette pack

non scale Mazinkaiser - Given Mazinkaiser's character, you could definitely strike a more over-the-top pose, but f

Given Mazinkaiser's character, you could definitely strike a more over-the-top pose,
but for now I've set it up in a neutral stance to get a good look at the sculpt...^^;

non scale Mazinkaiser - Detail shots (1/4)

non scale Mazinkaiser - Detail shots (2/4)

Detail shots

Rear view with the Kaiser Scrander removed

You need to remove the waist cover before you can attach the Kaiser Scrander.

non scale Mazinkaiser - The massive Kaiser Scrander spans 40 cm wide. The sheer size is one thing, but those wing

The massive Kaiser Scrander spans 40 cm wide.
The sheer size is one thing, but those wing parts are seriously hefty.

Mazinkaiser body only

non scale Mazinkaiser - The Kaiser Pilder can be detached from the head, and two versions are included — a docked

The Kaiser Pilder can be detached from the head, and two versions are included — a docked form and a flight form.

The Kaiser Blade and six hands are included.

The limb articulation gives a decent roughly 90-degree bend range..

non scale Mazinkaiser - When posing, the joints at the elbows, knees, and ankles can be extended to widen the rang

When posing, the joints at the elbows, knees, and ankles can be extended to widen the range of motion.

non scale Mazinkaiser - The waist is incredibly flexible..!!! Probably the best I've ever seen on any plastic mode

The waist is incredibly flexible..!!!
Probably the best I've ever seen on any plastic model.

non scale Mazinkaiser - Thanks to the extended ankle joints, you can spread the legs out to this degree while stil

Thanks to the extended ankle joints, you can spread the legs out to this degree while still keeping both feet flat on the ground.

The shoulders also have a gimmick that lets them shift slightly forward.

The wing sections can also move a bit forward and backward.

non scale Mazinkaiser - Punching pose (1/3)

Punching pose

non scale Mazinkaiser - Side kick pose. I'm not sure about everything else, but this pose looks more natural and c

Side kick pose.
I'm not sure about everything else, but this pose looks more natural and cooler than any other kit I've seen.
On top of that, it's the kind of pose where you'd worry about the stance holding, but thanks to the solid joints you can lock it in cleanly and it stays put.

You can also recreate the scene where the Kaiser Blade emerges from the chest.

Mazinkaiser's distinctive sword-draw pose

non scale Mazinkaiser - Kaiser Blade two-handed grip pose (1/3)

Kaiser Blade two-handed grip pose

A long stand joint part is included so you can plug it into the Kaiser Scrander.

non scale Mazinkaiser - Aerial pose. The kit is so big and heavy that it feels a little precarious up on the stand

Aerial pose.
The kit is so big and heavy that it feels a little precarious up on the stand.

Together with the Shin Getter, which was released under a similar concept.

Following the Shin Getter released in 2015, Mazinkaiser came out in 2016 under a similar concept. It's the machine that appeared as the successor to Mazinger in the Super Robot Wars games, and its popularity there eventually led to an anime adaptation in 2001.

Like the Shin Getter, Mazinkaiser has a brawny, super robot-style look to it, and Kotobukiya has done a great job capturing that with excellent three-dimensional depth. The massive Kaiser Scrander — spanning a whopping 40 cm — gives the finished kit an incredible sense of presence and intimidation. It looks absolutely imposing, though it's honestly a bit of a challenge to display on a shelf as-is given the sheer size.

The standout feature of Mazinkaiser's joints is the extending mechanism. In their default position, the joints are almost completely hidden to keep the exterior looking clean. But when you bend them, the joints slide out internally to extend, giving you a solid near-90-degree range of motion — this is applied at the elbows, knees, and ankles. Structurally it's a clever solution that gets you both a clean look and decent articulation, but the downside is that the elbow and knee joints tend to pop out every time they extend, which gets annoying. The waist joint is also absurdly flexible — it's probably the most ridiculously wide range of motion I've ever seen on an assembled plastic model kit.

That said, the ankle joints and ground contact are surprisingly good, and the overall joint strength is on the stiff side, so for a Kotobukiya kit the pose stability is actually pretty commendable. It's also impressive that it stands up straight without any trouble even with the big, heavy Kaiser Scrander on its back, and no matter what pose you put it in, it holds better than you'd expect. The side kick pose in particular is personally my favorite of any kit — seeing it stand firmly on one leg supporting the whole body is genuinely impressive.

As for extra gimmicks, the Kaiser Pilder on the head comes in two versions — docked and flight form — and you can recreate the scene of the Kaiser Blade being drawn from the chest. The Kaiser Scrander can be attached and detached, and after removing it you can cover the hole in the waist with a cover part for a clean finish.

Personally, the biggest pain point with this kit is the assembly process. The pin connections are tight enough that snap-fit assembly without glue is possible in principle, but the problem is they're way too stiff, making it a real struggle to put together. The Shin Getter had a bit of this too, but Mazinkaiser is much worse — there were plenty of parts that just wouldn't seat fully, and I ended up using every bit of hand strength I had, and even resorted to using my teeth and jaw for the first time in a while just to get them in. And as you can probably tell from the review photos, there are a few spots where no matter how hard I pushed, the seam just wouldn't close flush, so I eventually gave up on those.

What makes it even harder is that so many of the parts are razor-sharp, which makes forcing them together that much more dangerous. In my case, I was pressing hard to seat a part and my hand slipped onto a sharp piece, drawing blood. T_T Bandai avoids sharp parts due to safety requirements for overseas sales, but Kotobukiya keeps them extremely sharp to preserve the sculpt detail, which leads to exactly this kind of problem. Anyway, just be warned — the assembly is stiff and genuinely rough going, so please be careful if you're planning to build this one.

So while it's a pretty grueling and exhausting kit to put together, once it's done the proportions and sheer presence make you think "yep, that's Kotobukiya!" It has a certain flair and swagger that you just don't get from Bandai kits, and it really feels like the definitive Mazinkaiser plastic model. The ¥7,800 price tag is a significant hurdle as expected from Kotobukiya, but if you're a Super Robot Wars Mazinkaiser fan, this is definitely a tempting item. :-)

non scale Mazinkaiser | 2016.7 | ¥7,800

AIThis page was translated by Claude Sonnet.