The iconic RX-78 robot, of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime fame, is set to strike a new pose at a new site. A life-size statue of the Gundam will grace Osaka in 2025, marking its first outing in the Japanese city.
More specifically, it’s due to appear for the entire duration of Expo 2025, which takes place from 13 April to 13 October next year. The 16-metre installation will be constructed next to the pavilion at the event, and unlike previous 1:1-scale models, won’t be standing upright. Instead, it adopts a kneeling position, with a hand extended towards the sky — a pose chosen to evoke the feeling of reaching for the future.
The concept art also suggests an illumination effect after sundown, where a beacon of light shines behind RX-78. Coupled with the multi-jointed design, it comes across as a giant version of say, a Gunpla build, and is designed to be static, so don’t expect it to move like the 18-metre Gundam Factory Yokohama build.
In fact, this iteration is a reconfiguring of the latter, which stood proud and tall until last spring after two extensions. The mech received a grand farewell ceremony before being dismantled, but it was probably a waste to fully scrape the design. This is good news for mecha fans either way, especially for those who already have plans to visit Osaka between April and October next year.
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.
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