Mazinger Z/Kouji Kabuto

Biography

Koji Kabuto (Kabuto Kôji), also written as Kouji Kabuto, is a fictional character featured in the works of manga artist Go Nagai. He is the main character of the Super Robot series Mazinger Z and pilots the title robot. He reappears in the sequel Great Mazinger and helps battle the Mikene Empire. He also features in Grendizer as Duke Fleed's friend and sidekick/The Lancer.

Kouji was a ordinary high School student who lived with his little brother Shiro and his grandfather Juzo after their parents’ death. All of it changed when he was sixteen and his grandfather was murdered by Dr. Hell. Dr. Kabuto revealed Mazinger Z to him and requested him to save the world from Dr. Hell. Kouji vowed he would avenge his grandfather’s death and fulfill his last wish.

Kouji was an atypical main character back then: although he was a mostly good person, he might be rude, insensitive and even somewhat of a jerkass when he was angry, sexist and the poster boy for Idiot Hero given his tendencies to be loudmouthed, talking without thinking, acting BEFORE and INSTEAD of thinking and being very hotheaded and stubborn. However, he was also compassionate, caring, friendly, self-sacrificing, cared greatly for his friends and fought for them –even though he constantly teased Sayaka and Boss- and he was utterly hot-blooded.

His character evolved and developed somewhat along the series. His blatant sexism and his impulsive tendencies mellowed down a bit (it is telltale in Great Mazinger, he was the one recommended using planning and strategy for fighting the Mykene when Tetsuya wanted nothing else than blowing them up to pieces). He also grew up and matured, and his main motivation to fight Dr. Hell became protecting people instead of petty revenge. Although he refused giving up, he was more willing to follow orders, strategically retreat, and fight when he's recovered than his successor, Tetsuya. However, in the Mazinger Z vs Great General of Darkness movie he refused to give up and back down, even though he knew he could not win.

Alpha Timeline

In this timeline, he first appeared as a fellow student and friend of Kusuha Mizuha in the first game. Before the downfall of Dr. Hell, he runs into the Great General of Darkness and almost loses to him, but Tetsuya and the others rescue him in the nick of time. He also gets Mazinkaiser in this game.

In Alpha Gaiden, he frequently gets into arguments with Tetsuya, culminating in a fight between him and a Brain-washed, rage-filled Tetsuya. After the fight, they reconcile and decide to take down Mycenae and Dinosaur Empires together. He also gets Mazinkaiser back in this game after booting Archduke Gorgon out of it in the Earth Route or beating him to the punch in the Space Route.

In Alpha 2, he fights the Mycenae Empire with Tetsuya, this time at their full strength because the Ancestors did not curb-stomp them in the present. At one point, he was forced to fight against Kenzo in the Mazinkaiser. After the fight, he decides to pilot Mazinkaiser again, but it has no Kaiser Scrander because hitting it is Mazinkaiser's weakness. At the moment, they working out the fine details to cover said weakness.