All good things must come to an end. Nine years after gracing the premises of DiverCity Tokyo Plaza in Odaiba, the life-size RX-0 Unicorn Gundam is in its final days before being dismantled, and fans don’t have to be present to catch it one last time.
A farewell ceremony for the 19.7-metre installation is taking place on 29 August, with the YouTube Gundam channel set to stream the event live. Kicking off at 7.30pm JST, it includes a special live performance by renowned composer Hiroyuki Sawano – whose credits span Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, Mobile Suit Gundam Narrative, and the Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway film series – and SennaRin, performer of the insert song for the Sorcery of Nymph Circe sequel movie.
After the send-off, the display will run for another two days (until 31 August), cycling through a series of video and light shows every half-hour between 7 and 9.30pm. A special presentation titled Unicorn Gundam Statue – Beyond Possibility – is also scheduled for 8pm, while those in Tokyo can swing by the Strict-G Gundam fashion shop and the Gundam Base inside Diver City to grab commemorative merchandise.
This marks Odaiba’s second goodbye to a Gundam statue, as the RX-0 Unicorn replaced the previous RX-78-2 model, and it’s unclear if another attraction will take its place. In March 2024, the beloved RX-78F00 Gundam concluded its run at the Gundam Factory Yokohama, with some parts reused for a new statue in front of the Gundam Next Future Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
