The Walking Gundam in Japan, a life-sized statue that recreates one of the timeless mechs of the Gundam franchise that can walk under its own power, arrived earlier this month to fans who have long awaited to see how this mech suit would make landfall and it seems as if the anime creation will be ringing in the New Year as well! With 2021 already happening in Japan as we speak thanks to the time difference, it’s clear that the anime mech suit was ready and willing to welcome in the new year with anime fans waiting to put 2020 behind them!
2020 was a difficult year for many different anime franchises as Mobile Suit Gundam was no different. Originally, this year was set to see the Tokyo Summer Olympics take place in conjunction with the launch of the G Satellite, a satellite that housed two Gundam plastic models and would use the franchise to help relay messages from fans around the world into outer space. Of course, thanks to the coronavirus, this event and the Summer Olympics had to be delayed but we’re crossing our fingers that the event will manage to take place in 2021 to the delight of Gundam fans everywhere!
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On top of the delay of the Summer Olympics, Gundam was also hit when it came to delaying the feature-length film, Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway’s Flash, which would return to the universe that kicked off the series long after the initial battles between Char of the Principality of Zeon and Amaru of the Earth Federation. Following a new protagonist that embodies the spirit of both characters, the next movie in the beloved mech series will be arriving in May of next year after the coronavirus threw a monkey wrench into their original plans for theatrical release earlier this year.
The Walking Gundam was, luckily, not delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, and the latest stream for New Year’s Eve helped show the intimidating recreation of the classic mech that has easily become one of the most iconic robots in the history of the medium of anime. With the stream itself hosted by Gundam veteran voice actors from both Mobile Suit Victory Gundam and Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise, there was plenty here for Mobile Suit fans to dig their teeth into!
What do you think the future holds for the Gundam franchise? Do you think North America will one day get its own Walking Gundam? 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 Gundams!
