Diana A
Encyclopedia
is a female mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...

 from the Mazinger Z
Mazinger Z
, known briefly as Tranzor Z in United States, is a Super Robot manga and anime series created by Go Nagai. The first manga version was serialized in Shueisha Weekly Shōnen Jump from October 1972 to August 1973, and it later continued in Kodansha TV Magazine from October 1973 to September 1974. In...

 anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

 and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series, created by Go Nagai
Go Nagai
, better known by the penname , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with Meakashi Polikichi, but is best known for creating Cutie Honey, Devilman, and Mazinger Z in the 1970s. In 2005, he became a...

. It was the successor of Aphrodite A
Aphrodite A
is a female mecha from the Mazinger Z anime and manga series, created by Go Nagai. It was the first giant robot in the genre to resemble the female anatomy.She was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty....

 after its destruction.

She was named after Diana
Diana (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...

 the Roman goddess of hunt.

History

After Aphrodite's demise, it was necessary to build a new robot to help Mazinger Z fight the enemy. Unlike her predecessor, Diana is conceived with this in mind by Dr. Yumi and his fellow scientists, and is better adapted to battle. However, she is still a symbol of peace, and her weapons are not as powerful as Mazinger's. She features the characteristic Oppai Missile System (oppai means breast in Japanese) of the other Mazinger Ladies (except for Minerva, whose breast fire was identical to Mazinger's.)

Whereas Aphrodite A (named after the Greek goddess of love and beauty) had a rather softer presence and a warmer color scheme, Diana had a tougher presence and a colder color scheme. In contrast to Aphrodite, Diana has a human face, a characteristic that would be seen again in Venus A
Venus A
is a female mecha from the Great Mazinger anime and manga series, created by Go Nagai. She plays the traditional role of the lady robot that helps the mazinger robot fight the enemy. She was named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty.- History :...

, Great Mazinger
Great Mazinger
is a manga comic book and anime television series by manga artist Go Nagai, made as a direct continuation of the successful Mazinger Z series...

's female companion.

Diana fights alongside Mazinger and Boss Borot
Boss Borot
' is a fictional mecha from the anime and manga series Mazinger Z, first premiering in episode 48. Within the story, Boss Borot was created by three engineers from the Photon Power Laboratory and piloted by Boss and his cohorts Mucha and Nuke...

 from her first appearance (chapter 76) until the end of the series (Chapter 92). Despite being a tougher machine than the previous female mecha, she often suffers great damage in battle. However, her Scarlet Beams prove to be effective in many situations. These beams seem to be similar to Mazinger's Photonic rays, but they are pink instead of yellow.

In the movie Mazinger Z Vs. The Great General of Darkness
Mazinger Z Vs. The Great General of Darkness
is a Japanese animated film from 1974 that served as an alternative link between the Mazinger Z series and the Great Mazinger series. It basically introduces Great Mazinger to the audience, as well as his enemies from the Mikene Empire, showing the defeat of Mazinger Z.The final episode of the...

, her participation is rather short; her weapons are useless against the powerful Warrior Beasts
Warrior Beasts
The Warrior Beasts , also referred to as Battle Beasts in some translations, were the monsters and evil mecha from the anime and manga series Great Mazinger by Go Nagai...

 and ends up split in two by Dante's discus. Ironically is thanks to her missiles that the same monster is destroyed; in an attempt to help Koji, who was outnumbered by the Mikene monsters, Borot flies to the battlefield with two of Diana's missiles attached to his feet (a gimmick similar to the one performed by Mazinger and Aphrodite in episode 32 of the series) and hits Dante with his guard down, blowing him into pieces.

Pilot

Diana is piloted by Sayaka Yumi
Sayaka Yumi
is one of the heroine of Go Nagai's manga and anime Mazinger Z. She was a bit hot-tempered and tomboyish, and had a habit of clashing with the story's hero, Kouji Kabuto even though she had a romantic interest in him....

, Dr. Yumi's daughter, and many times the robot's attitudes reflect those of the pilot. This time, Sayaka takes control of the mecha through a motorcycle, the Scarlet Mobile. This motorcycle had a massive front plate and several large exhaust pipes.

At her command, Diana shoots an Aurora beam from her head that serves as a bridge between her and the robot. The space reserved for the vehicle is similar in shape to Mazinger's (It is worth noting that series creator Go Nagai had originally intended for Kouji to link up with Mazinger via a motorcycle component, but changed it to a flying vehicle reportedly to avoid comparison to Kamen Rider
Kamen Rider
, is a weekly science fiction story created by Japanese manga artist Shotaro Ishinomori. It debuted as a tokusatsu television series on April 3, 1971 and ran until February 10, 1973, airing on the Mainichi Broadcasting System and NET TV . A manga adaptation was also featured in Shōnen Magazine...

. With the Scarlet Mobile and Diana A, Nagai finally got to use this idea.)

Weapons

Following the tradition of Mazinger mecha ladies, Diana's primary weapons are the breast missiles she fires from her chest. However, she also has beams similar to Mazinger's called Scarlet beams fired from the headlight of Sayaka's motorcycle. In her Great Mazinger appearance, she also has optic rays. Diana does not get to fly with a scrander like Venus.

The Mazinger Angels version depicts a more powerful mecha and more weapons based on her breast fire, such as Screw Crusher Missiles (similar to Grendizer
Grendizer
is a super robot TV anime and manga created by manga artist Go Nagai. It is the third entry in the Mazinger trilogy. It was broadcasted on Japanese television from October 5, 1975, to February 27, 1977, and lasted 74 episodes...

's weapon) and Liquid Shooters.

Versions

Diana's interventions are not as common as Aphrodite's in the Mazinger Universe. She appears in the last chapters of the Great Mazinger series and in the movie Mazinger Z vs. the Great Dark General (Majingâ Zetto tai Ankoku Daishôgun) where she is depicted with a slightly modified color scheme, specially in her arms, legs and face.

In the Americanized dub of Mazinger Z, Tranzor Z, Diana appears but is referred to as an overhauled version of Aphrodite (even retaining the name "Aphrodite A"), not an entirely separate robot. This was because the episode featuring Aphrodite's destruction was not included in the 65-episode Tranzor Z package.

Diana was included in the Mazinger Angels
Mazinger Angels
-Releases outside of Japan:The manga was also released in Hong Kong and Taiwan by d/visual taipei and in Italy by d/visual.-Toys:Besides the manga, a series of toys from the Soul of Chogokin line from Bandai have been released. The main robots from Mazinger Angels are available as part of the GX...

manga as one of the main protagonists, alongside Aphrodite, Venus and Minerva. Since Sayaka, Diana's traditional pilot, has Aphrodite (with which she is more commonly associated) in this story, Hikaru Makiba (a classic character from Grendizer) is appointed as Diana's pilot.

She does not appear in the Mazinkaiser version.

Machine Specifications

  • Height: 16 meters
  • Weight: 18 tons
  • Chest Circumference: 10 meters
  • Running Speed: 200 kilometers/hour
  • Jump Height: 15 meters
  • Maximum Lift: 120 tons
  • Energy Source: Photonic Energy (Japanese: 光子力エネルギー Koushiryoku Energy)
  • Construction: Super Alloy Z (Japanese: 超合金Z cho-gokin Z)
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