Anime mobile suit in Yokohama looks to be fully operational.
The city of Yokohama has a lot of sights to see, and most of them are pretty close to its waterfront. The Cosmo Clock Ferris wheel, district, scenic views of the sunset and Yokohama Bay Bridge from Yamashita Park, and the delicacies of Chinatown are all a short walk from the harbor.
But there’s still room for another literally huge attraction, as the Yamashita Futo wharf, located at the end of Yamashita Park, will be home to the first-ever moving full-size Gundam statue. The 18-meter (59-foot) tall statue is a life-size recreation of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime’s hero mecha, the RX-78.
We’ve gotten a few glimpses of the Gundam in basic motion before, during some of its preliminary testing, but it now looks to be completely operational, and seeing it move is awe-inspiring.
The mecha weighs 25 metric tons (about 55,000 pounds), but still boasts 34 points of articulation, which would be an impressive number on a model kit a fraction of its size.
The full-size Gundam is the star of the newly built Gundam Factory Yokohama complex, which also houses exhibits explaining how the statue was designed and constructed (plus sells exclusive merch, naturally). One of the exhibits, shown in the second half of the video above, recreates the RX-78’s cockpit in virtual form, so that visitors can see the world through ace mecha pilot Amuro’s eyes.
▼ Another view of Gundam as it awakens and its eyes light up!
Gundam Factory Yokohama was originally going to have a soft opening in July, no doubt with an eye on visitors arriving for the Tokyo Olympics (Yokohama is about 30 minutes south of downtown Tokyo by train), followed by a full opening in October. The coronavirus pandemic pushed those plans back, but it’s now on schedule to have its grand opening later this month, on December 19.
Related: Gundam Factory Yokohama
Source: NHK News Web
Top image: Gundam Factory Yokohama
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