Blitzway / 5Pro: Mazinger Z - Boss Borot ( Carbotix Series )

[Hobbyist]

I believe this is more for the local Japanese market.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

I believe this is more for the local Japanese market.

Quoting myself from a thread you already know:

Originally Posted by Shoo

Definitely in the US, but not the West in general - Mazinger was big in countries like Spain, Italy and most of Latin America in the late seventies and early eighties.

Here in Catalonia they even built a taller than 33 feet statue of him in 1979 on a campsite which can still be visited today . : )

Spoiler

Again, just because an IP is little known in the US, doesn't mean it can't be big anywhere else. Dragonball was a phenomenon around here literally a whole decade before it exploded across the pond.


By the way, I just noticed K.A. Kim art directed this.

DESCRIPTION

Blitzway development team has prepared a gift that will surprise you, in honor of Mazinger Z, the originator of modern robot cartoons. We recall the humorous BOSS BOROT from the animated series Mazinger Z, whose subject matter was always heavy and serious, would always make us laugh.

To recreate BOSS BOROT, from his numerous witty mannerisms to his erratic behavior, required considerable thought on the part of the creators of Blitzway. In addition, we did not forget to increase the play value by lavishly utilizing various materials, which are Blitzway's strengths, and by strategically placing surprising gimmicks in the right places.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the premiere of Mazinger Z. It is a more significant project for Blitzway as its completion coincides with the 50th anniversary of the first airing of the animation.

Product Specifications

・LED function in the Cockpit and chest part
・Designed joints for posing various movements of original animation
・Four(4) Swappable face parts
・Six(6) Swappable hand parts
・One(1) Snorkeling equipment
・One(1) Mazinger costume set
・Four(4) Various BOSS BOROT weapons
・One(1) Basket
・One(1) HACHIMAKI(Japanese headband)
・Three(3) Acrylic mini figures

?　Producer: Sungwoong Bae, HyuckChul Kwon
?　Planner: Won Choi
?　Executive Director: HyuckChul Kwon
?　Marketer: Won Choi
?　Art Director: K. A. Kim
?　Art Supervisor: Rainman
?　Product Designer: Konkuk Kim, Kyungwook Kim
?　Painter: Kwangse Oh
?　Assistant Painter: Hansol Yu
?　Accessories: Sanghyuk Yoon, Ara Kim
?　Assistant Artists: GS Kim, Ilhwan Choi
?　Casting: BLITZWAY Casting Team
?　Concept Design: BLITZWAY Design Team
?　Photo: Refe Yoon
?　Editor of Photography: Zhou Hai, Sunghyun Kim
?　Package Design: Zhou Hai, Sunghyun Kim

[Hobbyist]

I know the original MZ was/is big in Spain and other parts of the world. How can I forget that awesome gigantic statue of MZ?

When I say "it is more for the local Japanese market" I mean this particular contemporary interpretation of the character, much like the new gen Utraman or Masked Riders, is pretty much catered for the Japanese market and relatively obscure outside Japan, unlike the original one.

K.A. Kim is as charming as she is talented. She is fantastic.

Did you notice there wasn't a single Japanese artist involved in the whole project? The whole team consists of Chinese and Korean artists. Interesting.

I wonder if anyone from the MZ side in Japan has reviewed and approved the design. They must have, I suppose.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

When I say "it is more for the local Japanese market" I mean this particular contemporary interpretation of the character, much like the new gen Utraman or Masked Riders, is pretty much catered for the Japanese market and relatively obscure outside Japan, unlike the original one.

What do you mean "this particular contemporary interpretation"? It looks essentially as it did in the 70's, except for the necessary adjustments to give it full articulation, of course.

Heck, even the accessories are taken straight out of episodes from the classic show.

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

K.A. Kim is as charming as she is talented. She is fantastic.

Did you notice there wasn't a single Japanese artist involved in the whole project? The whole team consists of Chinese and Korean artists. Interesting.

Going by those names, they all sound Korean to me, except for Zhou Hai, perhaps, who did photography and packaging duties.

It's only natural, though. They are, after all, a Korean company. They didn't have any US members doing Elvis or Audrey Hepburn, either. : )

But I did find it interesting to see K.A. Kim art directing something which seems so far removed from her usual area of expertise. She's very talented indeed.

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

I wonder if anyone from the MZ side in Japan has reviewed and approved the design. They must have, I suppose.

Absolutely.

[Hobbyist]

By "Contemporary interpretation", I mean the reinventing of old characters to suit the taste of the current generation for the sake of keeping the franchise alive and selling licensed products.

The original cartoon character from the 70s surely lacks the shinny robotic details and realistic look and feel to it displayed on the Blitzway's model. This enhanced version of Borot has received a similar treatment like that on the MZ itself by Josh Nizzi for P1 albeit much less dramatic and crazy.

If a faithful copy of the original Borot from the 70s is what you want to see, then you must check out the one below from Future Quest or some vintage Japanese toys. They are much closer to how you remember it.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

By "Contemporary interpretation", I mean the reinventing of old characters to suit the taste of the current generation for the sake of keeping the franchise alive and selling licensed products.

The original cartoon character from the 70s surely lacks the shinny robotic details and realistic look and feel to it displayed on the Blitzway's model. This enhanced version of Borot has received a similar treatment like that on the MZ itself by Josh Nizzi for P1 albeit much less dramatic and crazy.

If a faithful copy of the original Borot from the 70s is what you want to see, then you must check out the one below from Future Quest or some vintage Japanese toys. They are much closer to how you remember it.

I disagree.

Nizzi's Mazinger is indeed a reinterpretation, and like I said on that thread, it's not "my" Mazinger.

This is not such a thing - this is classic Boss Borot, albeit, again, with the necessary adjustments to give it articulation -which is something the simplistic plastic toys you are showing clearly lack-, as well as barely an embellishment and a certain shininess because of its die cast parts which doesn't bother me at all. It is a robot, after all.

[Hobbyist]

Ah Shoo, perhaps you're not aware of the diecast Boss Borot from the Soul of Chogokin series of Bandai. It came out in 2002. It also has articulated arms and legs etc but it is much closer to the original cartoon character in design and colour scheme.

While this figure from Blizway isn't a complete reinterpretation like the MZ by Josh Nizzi for P1, it has certainly received some changes, updates and enhancements that are not based on the original.

Having said that, I think the new modified look of Boss Borot by Blizway still works fine. It has a more hi-tech robo look to it IMO.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

Ah Shoo, perhaps you're not aware of the diecast Boss Borot from the Soul of Chogokin series of Bandai.

I am. I mean, I knew it exists and a friend of mine has a a Mazinger from that line, but I haven't really followed it and their Boss Borot wasn't on my mind.*

The articulation on its arms is more limited than the one on Blitzway's, and they (BW) also seem to have delivered a better solution for the rings in the arms, but yes, that is undeniably more faithful the original cartoon.

Still, it's true that I still see the... spirit of the Boss Borot from the show in BW's figure. I showed it to my brother a few days ago and he never mentioned it didn't look like the robot we knew, he just found it really cool. : )

I mean, that's still Boss Borot there. I honestly don't think those changes would deter anyone from purchasing one if they like the character, either in Japan or abroad. It's a far, far cry from Prime 1's move regarding their Mazinger, yeah.




* I was perfectly happy with my cheap 15" plastic Mazinger, which I received as a gift about 15 years ago.

Spoiler

But then, with all this talk about Soul of Chogokin I've just learned they recently released a 50th anniversary version whose portrait I like better than previous releases.

Damn you!

[Hobbyist]

That 15" MZ statue is one of the best MZ collectibles I've seen. There are other 70s robo cartoon characters from the same series.

Sorry, if I've caused any potential pain to your wallet.

[Shoo]

Originally Posted by Hobbyist

That 15" MZ statue is one of the best MZ collectibles I've seen.

The articulation on it is pitiful, but the sheer size gives it some presence. And, well, it does look like the one from the show.

There's a funny story behind it. When my brother gave it to me as a gift on Christmas day, I started to laugh, much to his surprise - the gift I was about to give him was exactly the same. Obviously we had seen the same product at about the same time in the same department store chain and we both thought about each other.

Unlike me, he had actually bought another one for himself, but it was an easy return.