To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Gundam anime franchise, a 59 foot Gundam robot is being placed in Shizuoka city (Japan). Officials estimate nearly 1 million people will visit.
The full size will be situated next to Higashi-Shizuoka Station in Shizuoka’s Aoki ward, and should be up by July 2010.
It originally stood in Tokyo bay on the island of Odaiba last Summer, where it attracted over 4 million visitors, nearly three times the expected amount. More details about the exhibit and other related events are to be announced end of March.
Ultimately there are plans for the statue to be permanently sited next to the Bandai Hobby Center in Shizuoka, which is the factory that makes Bandai’s Gundam model kits.
The official website for the TV anime series Dead Aggressor has confirmed that a new anime has the go ahead for the Dead Aggressor: Heaven and Earth follow-up. Hisashi Hirai is returning to work on the project alongside animators Xebec. Tow Ubukata will be scriptwriting.