Chogokin
Chogokin means super alloy. It began as an invented metal in Go Nagai's manga and anime Mazinger Z, and was then taken by the toy company Popy as the name of a new line of die-cast metal robot and character toys. The first, numbered GA-01, was Mazinger Z itself. It had engineering faults that led Popy to offer free replacements, and it still started a craze that changed the Japanese toy industry in the 1970s.
Definition
A chogokin is a robot or character toy made largely of die-cast zinc alloy, with plastic parts for detail and movement. It is heavy in the hand, which is much of its appeal, and it usually comes with weapons and accessories. The vintage line came in two classes: ST, for standard, usually around five inches tall, and DX, for deluxe, larger and with more features, such as separating parts and spring-launched projectiles. The projectiles are often fists, a nod to Mazinger Z's rocket punch.
Bandai, Popy's parent company, has continued the line under its own name to this day, so the word covers both Showa-era originals and modern collector pieces.
Origin
The line grew with the robot anime of the 1970s and early 1980s. Many of the toys reached the United States: Mattel sold a selection as Shogun Warriors in the late 1970s, and Bandai America sold others as Godaikin in the early 1980s. After a child died choking on a missile fired from a Battlestar Galactica toy, also made by Mattel, many later Shogun Warriors had their spring-loaded missiles modified to fire safer projectiles.
The modern era began with Soul of Chogokin, a Bandai line of updated versions of the Popy designs of the 1970s and 1980s aimed at adult collectors; its first release was again Mazinger Z. In 2010 Bandai added Super Robot Chogokin, a more affordable alternative. A Showa original and a Soul of Chogokin of the same robot are two different objects for two different collectors.
Key facts
| Meaning | Super alloy, a fictional metal from Mazinger Z |
|---|---|
| First toy | GA-01 Mazinger Z, by Popy |
| Vintage classes | ST (about five inches) and DX (larger, more features) |
| Export names | Shogun Warriors (Mattel), Godaikin (Bandai America) |
| Modern lines | Soul of Chogokin; Super Robot Chogokin, from 2010 |
How to identify it
- The number. Vintage Popy toys carry series numbers, such as GA for the early range; read the number against the box.
- The weight. In our handling, an original is noticeably heavy for its size, and the die-cast parts are cold to the touch; a later all-plastic reissue is not.
- The box and inserts. Record the box, the original insert, instructions and accessories separately from the figure. Packaging and inserts vary by release, so do not infer completeness from the presence of a box alone.
- Vintage or Soul. Bandai's Soul of Chogokin pieces are marked as such; they are not reproductions of the old toys but new designs.
Where it appears in the collection
Die-cast robots sit on the Japanese toys shelf. We hold a boxed Popy chogokin GA-73 Tiger Mask, a Popy DX chogokin Tetsujin 28 of 1981 and a Popy Voltes V Volt in Box set. The robots and the giant plastic figures that ran beside them are told in our piece on Popy chogokin and Jumbo Machinder, and the wider story of mecha toys in our study of chogokin and the making of Gunpla.
Related entries
- Tin toy: the metal toy of the decades before.
- Sofubi: the soft vinyl figure of the same years.
- Garage kit: the small-run resin figure.
Sources
- Chogokin, encyclopaedia entry, sections on vintage chogokin and modern lines. wikipedia.org
Last reviewed 15 November 2026. The Japonista Curation and Concierge Team, Tokyo, Japan.