Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury helped bring in plenty of new fans to the mech franchise. With the latest anime adaptation introducing the world to Suletta Mercury and her world where Gundam suits have been outlawed, the second season finale might be the last time that we see this universe. Hot on the heels of this recent anime success, the Walking Gundam in Japan has recently hit a major milestone when it comes to the number of patrons that have taken the opportunity to witness the behemoth’s steps.
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The Gundam Factory Yokohama is the official site where the Walking Gundam is housed, as the life-sized iteration of the popular anime mech suit has the ability to take a few steps forward under its own power. While the attraction has stated in the past that it was seeking to close up shop and put the Walking Gundam to bed, the popularity of the moving mech has clearly helped the franchise continue to grow in its popularity. With Gundam animes continuing to offer new television series, movies, and Gundam plastic models, perhaps we’ll see additional life-sized statues erected in the future in Japan.
Walking Gundam Triumphant
Despite struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, Gundam Factory Yokohama has netted over one million visitors since its opening in 2020. While Japan saw a number of Gundam cafes close up shop recently, the attraction has been able to become quite a tourist attraction even for those who might not know much about anime and/or the Gundam series. This year, the statue even hosted a rock-paper-scissors tournament which added a new layer to the extravaganza. While the walking statue has stated that the Gundam will close on March 31st of next year, its popularity might save it once again.
At this year’s Anime Expo, the Gundam franchise announced that a new series and feature-length film are in the works. Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance will be a six-episode anime series focusing on the original universe that started it all, with a twist. The mech franchise also took the opportunity to announce that a new movie, Gundam Seed Freedom, would be hitting Japan’s theaters early next year.
Would you love to see a Walking Gundam hit North America in the future? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of mechs.
Via Crunchyroll
