Considering how this show’s coming so soon after GATCHAMAN CROWDS, I
have to think that companies like Toei and Tatsunoko have rather… amused
attitudes about revamping their old franchises. You can just picture the
creative executives in the board room, shrugging after they hear the pitch for
this show - - “Well, we haven’t done that before.”
There may be ways to update MAZINGER Z which run further afield than
ROBOT GIRLS Z, but my mind can’t stretch that far, at the moment. This honestly
felt like watching the geekier girls in stage troupe getting wide creative license
for Showboat this semester. And, boy, you better believe they used that
opportunity to pay tribute to their favorite obscure Japanese super robot
cartoon from the 70’s.
Even though the scope sounds larger on paper, this all still felt very... stagey. There the quick costume changes, the histrionic mugging, and, most of all, the
way Dr. Hell looked like a big prop cooked up by the crew backstage. Some
revamps don’t seem too different from fan fiction, when you break ‘em down. This
absolutely felt like a modest, unauthorized stage tribute only meant to play to
a small black box theater audience.
Is that an obtuse angle through which to comment upon this? Well, when
you do weird things like labelling your first episode as “Episode #1-3” without
any discernible act breaks, then ‘obfuscating’ is already the operative word.
At the least, it’s amusing to have watched this alongside SAMURAI
FLAMENCO, because they’re both goofing on sentai villains’ absurd way of producing
villains on an assembly line. Obviously, the intent
of that satire is totally different. I don't expect ROBOT GIRLS Z to ever get that philosophical in its observations.
Watch, “Episode #1-3" and decide for yourself, then read my write-up on this season's other hot topic shows -- WITCH CRAFT WORKS & RECENTLY, MY SISTER IS UNUSUAL & WIZARD BARRISTERS
About the Author
 | Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk |
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