The Japanese word 'Chogokin' translates to 'Super Alloy', a material appearing in early 70's manga Mazinger Z. The Bandai owned brand Popy adopted the term for their release of die-cast robot toys in 1972, starting with GA-01 Mazinger Z.
Many Chogokin toys were rereleased in the US by Mattel. After a choking hazard scare in 1979, effort was taken to make the transforming, missile shooting toys safer for children. Plastics became the primary material after the 1980s and the 1990s heralded many deluxe reissues of original Chogokin toys. To this day, the Chogokin series continues to expand in range of robots and types of characters, with some incredibly cute recent additions:
Miracle Henkei: Miku Hatsune x Rody from Amiami.
Chogokin My Melody Red from Amiami.
Scheduled for release May 2016: Hello Kitty Mazinger Z Color from HobbyLink Japan.
