Key Points :
- Gundam (Japanese: ガンダム), also known as the Gundam series, is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise featuring giant robots (mecha) with the name “Gundam”.
- As part of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam series, the company officially announced a project on March 11, 2009 called Real-G planning to build a 1:1 real size scale Gundam in Japan. It was completed on June 9, 2009 and displayed in a Tokyo park.
- Now to celebrate the 40th anniversary, Japan has opened the 18 metre tall mobile robot to the public this year to celebrate over 40 years of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series.It’s set to open at Yamashita Pier and opened for public view on October 1, 2020, with tickets to see the robot going on sale in July.
Gundam (Japanese: ガンダム), also known as the Gundam series, is a Japanese military science fiction media franchise/media mix created by Yoshiyuki Tomino and Sunrise and, as of March 2020, indirectly fully owned by Bandai Namco Holdings through subsidiaries Sotsu and Sunrise. The franchise features giant robots (mecha) with the name “Gundam” (after the original titular mecha).
As part of the 30th Anniversary of the Gundam series, the company officially announced a project on March 11, 2009 called Real-G planning to build a 1:1 real size scale Gundam in Japan. It was completed on June 9, 2009 and displayed in a Tokyo park. The 18-meter tall statue was later moved and reconstructed in Shizuoka City, where it stayed from July 2010 to March 2011. In August it was dismantled and reconstructed in Odaiba, Tokyo on April 19, 2012.Until March 5, 2017 it stood in Odaiba along with a gift shop called “Gundam Front Tokyo”.
Now to celebrate the 40th anniversary, Japan has opened the 18 metre tall mobile robot to the public this year to celebrate over 40 years of the Mobile Suit Gundam anime series.It’s set to open at Yamashita Pier and opened for public view on October 1, 2020, with tickets to see the robot going on sale in July.The robot will be situated next to a two-story building with shops and event spaces. That building has been inaugurated prior to the robot across the weekends of July and August.What is known is that the robot will be 18-metres tall and supported by a 25-metre Gundam Dock that will act as its maintenance site. It is built in Gundam Factory, Yokohama on a 9,000 square meter.
According to a report by Japan times, the robot has 24 fully functional joints but how exactly it will be able to move hasn’t been disclosed yet .The unit weighs 55,500 Ibs. and moves slowly, but smoothly. It can walk and take a knee, as well as turn its head and move its arms and fingers.
According to the website of the factory’s statement ,”We have made the difficult decision to cancel the Special Experience preview event scheduled to begin this July and postpone our grand opening scheduled for October 2020,” the website for the factory says. “We expect to have our grand opening within the year. Details will be announced as available.” The decision has been made taking in account the health and safety of visitors and employees. Preparations are reportedly underway so that visitors can be safe while experiencing the attraction.
