Figure Review: EX Gokin - Mazinger Z Repaint 1969 ver

Do you want to know the origin of Zero?

Mazinger Z has been a pivotal franchise in the history of mecha for 50 years, and the series has been evolving ever since. For older classic mecha, they usually receive a “modernization” to make them looks much sleeker and more mechanical in nature. And Mazinger is no exception. The Iron Castle finally got a version that lean towards the side of the Devil – instead of God and Hero. The Fewture’s EX Gokin Mazingre Z is a horrific reimagining that inspired the strongest Demon God ever – Mazinger Zero.

+ Design: As mentioned, this Mazinger is very much an “overhaul” towards the more sinister nature of the Mazin. Overall, the figure still keep the iconic color-scheme and proportion of the original – with blue and silver limbs and a metallic red chest. The two aspect that set this figure apart is the mechanical addition to the design as well as a completely new head sculpt. The bolts, panel lines and exposed frame of the figure gives the impression that this is a construct of metal by the hands of a madman. While the original Mazinger hide all of its interiors, this figure exposed certain parts of the robot to emphasize its mechanical nature.

The most iconic aspect is no doubt the head. It’s sinister and demonic. Imagine the original but it was corrupted and converted to be more “skull-like”. The eyes are no longer sharp but soft, but rather gleaming with intimidation. The mouth fins are now teeth that can open just like a skull. The Ex Gokin definitely put the Ma in the Mazin into full effect. And Go Nagai has drawn inspiration from this design to create the ultimate Demon God – Mazinger Zero.

+ Articulation: As much as this design looks totally badass, its articulation is absolutely terrible. The figure is definitely suited for a static standing pose rather than action pose. The range of movement are extremely limited. The only silver lining is that all the joints are ratchet so you don’t need to worry it will get loose and just crumble after a few years. The feet aren’t on ratchet but they only have side-to-side pivot so not much you can do there. Due to very limited shoulder and knee movement, it’s really hard for you to make dynamic poses like iron cutter, etc… but if you want to make some intimidating walking poses or some devilman-like poses, this figure should be able to pull it off just fine.

+ Gimmicks: Every Mazinger should come with at least the basic gimmick: Rocket Punch. And this figure sorta has it too. The forearm are attached to the elbow with a magnet, and you can easily detach it to simulate the rocket punch. You can also switch the normal forearm with the Iron Cutter ones, which looks very badass all things considered. The beast panel can also be detached just for the sake of it. But that will give you an idea on why this figure is called “Ex Gokin”. Those panels are extremely heavy and basically full die-cast!

Another unorthodox original gimmick are the knuckle dusters. That’s right! Mazinger has just gone full delinquent. The figure include spiked knuckle dusters that you can swap out on different hands, as if the Iron Cutter and Rocket Punch isn’t enough damage. In addition the pilders can be detached (of course).

Of course, the single most iconic gimmick is the mouth-open. But be careful when you flip out the jaw as that part is made with soft plastic and you can very easily dislocate his jaws or just break it entirely. It’s a very cool gimmick but the implementation isn’t the best.

+ Accessories: The figure came with some basic accessories (mostly hand parts):
– 1 x Jet Pilder
– 1 x Hover Pilder
– 3 x Pairs of hand
– 3 x Pairs of knuckles
– 2 x Iron Cutter forearms
– 1 x Base

+ Conclusion: This hefty beast is no doubt one of the most iconic looking toy of the Demon God. The mouth design has definitely become synonymous with the demonic side of Mazinger. This figure inspired the creation of Mazinger Zero – one of if not the strongest mecha of all time, which is both scary and awesome. So if you want to own a chonky and heavy Mazinger Z that contrast with its usual heroic form, this figure is the one to go for!

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