Great Mazinger/YMMV

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Tetsuya Tsurugi in the original anime was excesively prideful, prone to fits of jealousy, could not stand someone showed him up and sometimes he seemed more concerned about showing off than protecting the humankind. Other versions of him, though, are less jealous -he retains his pride, though, and he does NOT like him when someone doubts or slights his skills-.
  • Lets say that everytime he is featured, while every other character uses old version with slight modifications, he gets a brand new one while still keeping enough elements to resembles its original version. Good example is Mazinkaiser version which turns him into an older brother figure to Koji in a "protective older brother" kind, which is nowhere near the most other versions. And then theres the Shin Mazinger Shougeki! Z-hen version...
  • Jun Hono in the original anime was a Type A Tsundere, half-black girl. In the original Go Nagai manga she was a Type B Tsundere and she looked full-Asian. It is said Gosaku Ota drew her like a half-black girl, though, and Go Nagai liked the idea and her race was retconned in canon.
  • Kenzo Kabuto can be a benevolent but harsh The Mentor and a lousy parent... or, depending on the adaptation, one of the villains.
• Fridge Brilliance : Tetsuya's status as an Ace Pilot can be used as an explanation for so many weird things that happened inside the series and Super Robot Wars. For example, while Great is superior to Mazinger Z, it has more variety of weapon, including the Thunder Break, making it rather impractical to mass produce, while in comparison, Z's clone has always been splitted into several parts(the Mazinger army, consist of several robots each carrying one of Z's weapon) but Great's clone is an imperfect replica with Thunder Break and Atomic Punch. The reason ? first, Kenzo is a much more superior scientist to Gennosuke, which make the creation of superior weaponry easier. Second, unlike Koji, who relies on chance, and Combat Pragmatism, Tetsuya's fighting style involves the practical usage of his own weapon(for example, the countless variation of Thunder Break). Since Tetsuya's fighting style as an expert is more simple and consistent, it makes it FAR easier to copy and analyze.
• Marty Stu - Replacement Scrappy - Creator's Pet: After decades, Kouji fans STILL bash Tetsuya by accusing him of being this. In any way, it's nothing compared with their even worse treatment of Duke Freed/Daisuke from UFO Robo Grendizer... Fortunately for those diehards, Kouji one-ups Tetsuya in Mazinkaiser, and Tetsuya himself aknowledges that he owes Kouji his life.)
  • One of the instances where Tropes Are Not Bad. Tetsuya IS a Marty Stu in any sense of words. He is literally superior than almost everyone on the series, considered as The Ace by everyone, including Koji who crossed to this line at times. Hell, even the Mykene ADMIRED Tetsuya's skills, frequently mentioned how he is indeed, an amazing warrior and a formidable foe. Its a mystery how Tetsuya himself is also the only person who doubt this, and this, combined with his Inferiority complex cost everyone a hard price. Things would be much better if he knew about this, really.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap : People hated Tetsuya for replacing Koji during the 1970's. By the time of Mazinkaiser, theres enough number of people that is dissapointed by the fact that Tetsuya doesn't have enough screentime and overshadowed by Koji since Tetsuya is a much more interesting character.
• Too Cool to Live : Ankoku Daishogun, and Tetsuya in Gosaku Ota manga. Not So Different eh ?
• Values Dissonance: Lots of people don't understand why Tetsuya feels so jealous of Kouji's position as Kenzou's true firstborn son, to the point of refusing to help him at some point - which causes Kenzo's death in the end. This is actually because Tetsuya is an orphan, and in a society where family and stability are all, orphans are extremely looked down upon even in adulthood. Therefore, when the full-blooded son and heir of the man who raised him came in, Tetsuya was shit scared of being abandoned again, and he knew that if that was the case, the still very traditional Japanese society would likely make him a pariah. It was was, WAY more complicated that mere jealousy between two adoptive brothers.