Saudi Arabia Breaks Record With Life-Size Mecha Statue

Japan has been well-known for honoring the mech franchise, Mobile Suit: Gundam, over the years, with the country erecting life-sized statues from the anime's history. Imagine the surprise when not only did Japan not hold the record for the largest mech statue ever created, but said giant robot didn't hail from the Gundam franchise. Saudi Arabia has erected a new anime statue that stands over one hundred and ten feet tall, breaking the record for tallest mech, with Japan's largest Gundam almost half that size as the RX-93 Nu Gundam stands at a little over sixty-five feet. 

Grendizer predates the Mobile Suit: Gundam series by a few years, first appearing in 1975. First arriving this November, the life-sized statue stands over one hundred feet tall and follows the news that the company, Manga Productions, has licensed the beloved anime character. 

Grendizer Guinness 

Manga Productions CEO Essam Bukhary had this to say about the Guinness World Record winner as well as the continued popularity of anime around the world: 

"Because anime is such an effective means of invigorating events and tourist destinations for both domestic and international tourists, we decided to use the widespread popularity of UFO Robo Grendizer to enhance all forms of entertainment. The world's largest statue was a good place to start. Because this project is such an important milestone for Manga Productions' business, we really wanted to create an unparalleled entertainment experience for all the fans through this partnership. We have partnered with several Japanese companies in the past, and would love to do so again."

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out this larger-than-life statue, Manga Productions shared a quick video of the newly erected statue that towers over the Gundam statues of Japan:

As it stands, North America is quite bereft of any giant mech statues, though with anime continuing to gain in popularity, perhaps the United States will one day receive a Gundam and/or Grendizer statue of its own in the future.

Do you think a life-sized mech statue will one day be able to overtake Grendizer? Which anime mechs would you love to see get statues of their own 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 anime mechs. 

Via ANN

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