Mazinger Z Internet Archive Instant

As a result, many original cels were thrown away or sold. More critically, the master film reels for several episodes were lost, damaged, or destroyed during storage transfers. For decades, fans relied on grainy VHS recordings broadcast from Italian or Arabic TV stations because the Japanese masters were incomplete. The early days of the internet fragmented the Mazinger fandom. There were GeoCities pages dedicated to technical specs of the "Photon Energy Engine." There were IRC channels trading rare scans of model kit instructions. But there was no central vault.

Sources: Archive.org collection "Mazinger Z (1972) Preservation Project," interviews with Go Nagai (translated from AnimeLand Magazine #45), and the Lost Media Wiki entry for TranZor Z. Mazinger Z Internet Archive

Mazinger Z is owned by (Go Nagai's company) and Toei Animation . These are aggressive protectors of their intellectual property. In 2018, Toei issued mass DMCA takedowns against several fan sites hosting Mazinger Z episodes. As a result, many original cels were thrown away or sold