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Toei's Robot Girls Z Episode 1's 1st 4 Minutes Streamed

Toei streamed the first four minutes of the first episode from the Robot Girls Z television anime series on Monday. The anime is the latest incarnation of Toei Robot Girls, the project that turns Dynamic Planning and Toei Animation's robots into beautiful girls.

In the episode, Z-chan, Gre-chan, and Grenda-san are promoting a photonic energy company at the order of Doctor Yumi. They are confronted by Ashura, Doublas M2, and Garada K7, who pose as members of an insurance company. After Ashura is suspected of being half man and half woman (and is confirmed as female by Gre-chan by flipping her skirt), she reveals that she and her two companions are robot girls created by Dr. Hell. The group came to the photonic power plant in order to steal the energy to take over the world. In retaliation of having their balloons popped, the girls transform into their robot forms.

Niconico Live streamed a "super advance streaming version" of the episode earlier this month.

The stars of the new Robot Girls Z series are Z-chan (a girl reimagining of Mazinger Z), Gre-chan (Great Mazinger), and Grenda-san (UFO Robo Grendizer). Together they (try to) defend Photon Power Town from the mechanical beast girls Doublas-chan and Garada-chan. The villains are led by Baron Ashura, the underground emperor bent on world domination — or at least, town domination.

The cast includes Mariko Honda as Z-chan, Inori Minase as Gre-chan, Kazusa Aranami as Grenda-san, Aya Hisakawa as Ashura, Yukiko Morishita as Garada-chan (Garada K7), Nao Tōyama as Doublas-chan (Doublas M2), Sōta Arai as a shopkeeper, Maaya Uchida as Gecchan, and Minami Tsuda as Zieg-san. Future episodes will have the return of Kaori Takaoka as Gai-chan (Gaiking),  Satomi Satou as Gacky (Ga-Keen),  Ayumi Tsuji as Bara-tan (Baratack), and Chiharu Kitaoka as Dandan (Danguard Ace). (Photon Power, Baron Ashura, Doublas M2, and Garada K7 are all references to Gō Nagai's original Mazinger Z manga and anime.)

Hiroshi Ikehata (original Toei Robot Girls, Ring ni Kakero 1: Sekai Taikai-hen) is directing the new anime, and Kazuho Hyodo (Tactical Roar) is in charge of the scripts. Tetsuya Kawakami (Shigofumi - Letters from the Departed, Toei Robot Girls) designed the characters.

The nine 10-minute shorts will have the dual themes of slice-of-life gag humor and violence. The Toei Channel will run the shorts this January.

The earlier Toei Robot Girls project eventually spawned a pilot film in 2011. The project had launched two years earlier to promote the various works in Toei's anime catalog.