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Tokyo getting new giant Gundam robot statue this fall

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By Casey Baseel, RocketNews24

Fans of Japanese animation, robots, and awesome sightseeing attraction in general were saddened in December by the sudden news that the life-size statue of anime mecha Gundam would no longer be on display after March 5. Some may have been holding out hope for a last-minute change of heart, the fateful day has now come and gone, and the 18-meter recreation of the RX-78-2 Gundam, the mechanical star of the original 1979 "Mobile Suit Gundam" TV series, is no longer greeting guests to the Diver City entertainment complex in Tokyo’s Odaiba neighborhood.

What made the decision to take down the statue particularly hard for fans to stomach is that, right up until the end, it remained an extremely popular destination for domestic and overseas travelers alike. On any weekend, crowds would gather to snap photos with the iconic mecha, often buying food and drink from nearby vendors before wandering into the Diver City building to further support the local economy. With Gundam loved by visitors and businesses alike, why take it down?

Apparently to make space for a new giant robot, since it’s now been announced that this coming fall a life-size statue of the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam, the titular robot of video/TV series "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn," will take up the RX-78-2’s position in front of Diver City.

Gundam Unicorn isn’t the absolute newest animated arm of the Gundam franchise, but it is the most recently made TV series to take place in the Universal Century timeline, of which the original 1979 series is a part. And while old-school fans will still be sad to see the RX-78-2 go, the official height of the Unicorn Gundam is 19.7 meters, meaning the new statue should be even larger than the original.

It’s unclear whether the Unicorn Gundam statue will be an entirely new piece, or whether it will make use of parts sourced from the RX-78-2. If the Unicorn is all-new, though, it also opens up the possibility of the two statues someday being displayed side-by-side, but if nothing else, the new statue’s announcement means that while Tokyo is currently without Gundam protector, it’ll have one again soon enough.

Source: Gundam Fanclub via Jin

Read more stories from RocketNews24. -- Get in the Gundam robot! Event lets fans sit in giant Zeta Gundam replica cockpit -- Japanese highway rest stop to get world’s largest Evangelion Unit-01 replica -- Gigantic 81-foot Evangelion statue goes up in Shanghai

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4 Comments
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Mobile suits oops

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Lol statues, such a good cover, more like they testing out how nobile suits will work in real life

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UC will always beat AC and Gundam Unicorn has way more Fans than Gundam 00 or Gundam Seed or Turn A.

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Also, I want to see OO Gundam, GN-0000, which is called double-O Gundam in Japanese, the titular robot of video/TV series “Mobile Suit Gundam 00.” I recommend you watching the series as it's extremely exciting and touching. Once you finished watching it, you would eager to see the statue of OO Gundam. And I'd also like to see Gundam EXIA (GN-001), a previous model of OO Gundam, which is absolutely cool if it is exhibited there.

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