TranZor Z was the Americanized version of the legendary Japanese series Mazinger Z, created by Go Nagai. This was the first giant robot TV cartoon- the one that started the entire giant/transforming robot toy craze. The toy manufactures then fed the anime craze by sponsoring dozens of animated series from Mazinger Z in 1972 through the end of the '70s. Mazinger Z was so popular in Japan that it lasted for 92 episodes, from December 1972 to September 1974, and was immediately followed by two sequels, Great Mazinger (56 episodes, 1974-'75) and UFO Robo Grandizer (74 episodes, 1975-'77). All featured Go Nagai's trademark of extremely weird (even perverted when he could get away with it) villain's, who delighted in sadistically slaughtering as many innocent bystanders as possible. Not surprisingly, the American version left out Aphrodite A's battle cry of "Fire breast missiles!" (There is even a rumored unsold TV pilot of Nagai's Testicle Boy, who washes away monsters by super-urinating on them.) Dr. Demon was an amazingly Moses-like evil sorcerer who told anyone who would listen that he planned to rule the world. For this purpose, Demon fortified himself with the "Fork of Fury," a magic staff, and the Doom machines- evil giant robots. He also had at his disposal the submarine fortress Barracuda (which sucked battleships into a vortex) and the Air Fortress (which used a deadly cloud to destroy aircraft). Evidently this fiend could be stopped only by kindly Dr. Wells, an American scientist who'd found a way to harness volcano energy. Wells was also the inventor of Alloy Z, an impenetrable metal. But Dr. Demon's minions eventually burned down Wells' lab, destroying most of his equipment. Found dying in his cellar by nephews Tommy (handsome hero) and Toad (tousle-haired kid), Wells revealed his creation of the volcano powered Alloy Z-crafted giant "super robot" TranZor Z. Though mortally wounded, Wells delivered a spirited five-minute expository speech. TranZor Z, he explained, had detachable rocket fists, a boomerang breast plate, atomic hurricane breath which disintegrated the enemy, a flying scrambler which attached wings to the robot, and laser rays emanating from its finger tips and eyes. Wells stubbornly managed to stave off death until he'd had a chance to utter the obligatory "If this should ever fall in the wrong hands...." The right hands, it turned out, belonged to Tommy, who became the flying TranZor Z's pilot. The remainder of TranZor Z was Tommy vs. Dr. Demon. On TransZor Z's side were female robot (with breasts!) Aphrodite A, operated by Tommy's girl friend Jessica; and Mobilbot, a hot rod operated by funny tough-guy Bobo. The humans were capable of being injured or kidnapped, and their hardware was prone to damage and breakdown, but TranZor Z himself was so invulnerable that he became a dullard very early on. The plotlines were unsettling combinations of starkly realistic action with downright silliness. Campy, ripe acting and character design were juxtaposed with grisly scenes of wholesale slaughter of innocent bystanders. But if one could manage to sidestep its splotchy production values and confusing point of view, TranZor Z could by a lot of fun, especially if one concentrated on the villainy. For example, Dr. Demon didn't waste time exercising the typical cartoon villain prerogative of speaking in double meanings or euphemisms: "Destroy every city in America!" he'd command with admirable directness. TranZor Z's best moments were such oddball vignettes as having one of Demon's henchmen being haunted by the "ghosts" of all the Doom Machines destroyed by TranZor Z. And although conceived in comic-opera terms, Demon's lieutenants were fascinating. Dr. DeCapito was a Nazi type who screamed all his lines and whose monocled, goateed head was disembodied, floating independently as DeCapito skulked about. Unique in the annals of Japanese cartoons released to mainstream American television was Demons other assistant: Devilene the "She-Man." Not only was Devilene half man and half woman- divided down the middle, carnival style- but "with the worst elements of both!," or so the narrator told us. (Does this mean that Devilene left the toilet seat up and stockings hanging on the shower curtains?) The character spoke in two voices and was addressed by his/her hopelessly confused flunkeys as "Sir Ma'am." (Even the transvestite nightclub singer in Robotech wasn't this kinky.)