'Gundam' To Build Moving, Life-Sized Mecha Statue In Japan

Gundam is living large as one of anime’s most iconic titles, but it seems the franchise wants to [...]

By Megan Peters

Gundam is living large as one of anime's most iconic titles, but it seems the franchise wants to go even further. After all, Japan is planning to make a life-sized moving mecha suit, and it will make fans want to start planning their trip to see it ASAP.

Recently, fans of Gundam learned a brand-new mecha statue is being built in Japan. The news went live after Sunrise held a recent press conference, and the company shared details on the moving masterpiece. (via Kotaku)

According to reports, the statue will be housed at the Gundam Factory in Yokohama. The moving mecha suit will stand at 18 meters and be completed by Summer 2020. This means tourists heading to Japan for the Tokyo Summer Games could take a train to see the statue, and plenty of otakus will.

gundam
(Photo: Sunrise)

This is not the first mecha statue that Gundam has put up. Most recently, Tokyo was visited by the life-sized Gundam called Unicorn RX-0. The massive mecha was completed in 2017, and it wows fans daily with its lit detailing and partially moveable helmet. Yokohama's mecha suit is said to have much more mobility than the Unicorn RX-0, so fans are eager to see how the new statue will work out.

Aside from this new statue, Gundam is also working on a slew of projects. Not only was a live-action Hollywood adaptation of the mecha title announced this year, but Sunrise just confirmed it has more anime titles in the works. In 2019, a total of five different projects will debut, and Gundam will release its next film in Japan at the end of this month. You can find the synopsis for Mobile Suit Gundam NT below:

"U.C. 0097. The year the Laplace's Box was opened. Despite the revelation of the original charter for the Universal Century, which acknowledges the existence of Newtypes and their rights, the world remains largely unchanged.

After the destruction of the Neo Zeon remnant force known as the Sleeves, the event that has come to be known as the "Laplace Incident" seems to have drawn to a close. In the final battle, two Full Psycho Frame mobile suits displayed power beyond human imagination. The menace of the White Unicorn and the Black Lion were sealed away from public consciousness, and were consigned to be forgotten by history.

But now sightings of the RX-0 Unicorn 03, long thought lost two years ago, are being reported. Its name is Phenex, an immortal golden bird."

So, would you travel to Japan just to peep this mecha? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

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