The gundam franchise is a 50 billion yen trademark as of January 21st, 2008. Naturally, figurines sell like crazy as well, making up 90% of Japan's plastic character model income. Japan even believes gundams to be wonderful for inspiration research, even going as far as making an institute- the International Gundam Society.
I'm sure most of you didn't realize that the gundam series has been going on for thirty years, but I'm also sure most of you have seen at least one gundam show or read a book with gundams. At any rate, this life sized statue was built to commemorate thirty amazing years of gundam supremacy. Though it is only scheduled to stand for a couple months, it is truly a sight to behold.
There have been accounts of life sized gundams being made before, but standing at an incredible 59 feet, (18 meters) this is the largest gundam that has ever been built in Japan. The gundam has fifty different spots that emit light and is complete with a fully functioning moving head. It really makes for a spectacle at night.
Of course, there are cosplayers who make an ode to gundams as well, and they can be really terrible or they can be really fantastic. Take some time to remember the gundams. For some people in Japan right now, all they have to do to remember is look out their window and they can see a gundam staring back at them.
