Hang on a sec.  Had they not already done this  in Odaiba back in September last year?

It sure wasn’t that long ago when it was constructed as part of the Namco Bandai’s 30th commemoration of the Gundam franchise.  And they had to take it off after a couple months of display.

And now they’re doing it again for the second time?  Well.  I’ve no problem with that if you ask me being a mecha fan…

But I just wish they should make things transparent with these.  I mean I don’t see how taking it apart and then putting on it again would make any sense when comes to making a strong attraction for overseas tourists to see what Japan’s pop culture lifestyle is got to offer.  Especially when it’s already that good to appeal with IN THE FIRST PLACE!

I mean it just doesn’tt seem to add up! >.<  And now we have one here constructed in the Shizuoka city, home of 710,000 Japanese citizens, 5th largest city in Japan.

Here’s the conceptual art of the proposed statue design over in Shizuoka city.

Proposed Conceptual Art Design of RX 78 Gundam Statue

As compared to this one at the Namco Bandai’s actual model at their headquarters, with the up-close shot of the light-saber burning through the blue brick.

RX Gundam 78 statue model in Namco Bandai's headquarters on display

I supposed no human casualty is part of the plan too?

Image sourced from Ngee Khiong

Since the project’s completed few weeks back at beginning of this month.  Said to have more lighting and special effects during its opening.  So this is all part of the hopes of translating more visitors coming into the city, both local and abroad (last year 4 million people came to visit before it got dismantled back in October 2009).  And the only the key thing missing from the statue is the completion of the light saber upgrade.

Thanks for Ngee Khiong’s sources, it said to be opened to the public from 24th July 2010 till 10th January 2011, located at East Shizuoka Square.

Source: Ngee Kiong, Escapist.com, Geek.com, Bionicbong.com, Endgadget.com,  All images are copyrighted and belong to the rightful sources.

Japan's samurai mascot for 30 years

How’s this for an amazing fact?  Bandai released their total figures of Gundam plastic toy models in its 30-year franchise business.

Around 400,000,000 Gundams were sold!  That’s like…. A LOT ZEROS to count!!!

Talk about insane numbers that give local Japanese accountants to stay up all nights and days to reach this final figure!^^

Most of the sales come from 1/144 scale model range, and the first one (in 1980) sold was for US $3.20  or 300¥.

Now.  That same model selling in today’s price is US $28.20.

Nine times the original price.

If Bandai were to sell that many toys at today’s price, they would be about $12 billion richer worth of its merchandise!! Guess there was a lot of public reason why Bandai really took the trouble to make their Gundam statue over in Odaiba last year! Just to commemorate this major special occassion.

When I was browsing the links of the news source, I found a couple of great Gundam plastic model (1/44) pictures on display, such as these ones.

It’s the exact model of the giant statue in the Odaiba park before they dismantled it.  . ^^

It was interesting to gather understanding how everything works behind the scenes of making these robots in the mass production lines.  They said how Gundam sales was ballooning so well towards mid 80s and suddenly it nearly died off completely thanks to the increasing but vast competition of electronic goods and video games swamping the youth market of Japan, from early 90s till now.  It was thanks to new and innovative business ideas by Bandai Namco’s business leaders and renew faith by Gundam fans from elder generation that gets their children to get active in accepting Gundam (and other mecha) toys as part of the mainstream entertainment.  Just as much as latest video gaming console from XBox, Nintendo, PS3, Wii etc.  They’re equally as popular as the rest of today’s youth enterntainment, fun and games.

Good on them for persevering to the very end^^.  And wish them for another great success for another 30 years!!

Source: ANN.com, Asahi.com, GameWatch, Images provided are owned and copyrighted by Gamewatch.

If you ever feel like grabbing a quick bite in town, be sure to give this place a stop if you are around in Tokyo.

A fast food chain company called Lotteria are selling a combo meal box using all of your favourite Neon Evangelion characters as the main theme.  As depicted on this billboard ad above

This new lunchbox set Lotteria has in store is called ‘Eva Burger and Chicken Box’, which you will have french fries, a burger, fried chicken and a soft drink of your choice. Price is around 980 ¥.

Hmm… Yum. Yum. ^^

Would love to give this one a nice try.  But bear in mind, this offer is not going to be around for long as the offer ends on 31st May 2010.  So you have 30 or so days to give this a go for your usual lunch breaks.

I want to say my big thanks to Ngee Khiong, our Gundam blogger extraordinaire for this wonderful post.

Source:  NgeeKhiong

The end of Misato Katsuragi's anchor career?

Almost a year ago, I made a post about Gainax’s ambitious plans to have a news running game featuring Misato Katsuragi as the news anchor, working for a ficitious television network company called Nerv News 24. The whole concept behind of the game is giving the user that level of ‘real-life’ update of actual news being delivered by Misato Katsuragi to the TV audience, as if you’re watching the real TV news network.  The game covers everything from politics, economics, sports, education to, yes, anime industry.  Just like you would when sitting in front of ABC or CNN news for eg.

Misato Katsuragi, here. Signing off

And sadly, after it’s disappointing run for a year since the Misato Katsuragi news project began, has its curtains drawed to a final close to the Japanese gaming public.

Here’s an video clip of the game for those who’s yet to follow up what the whole concept of this game involves.

Source: Kotaku

Tetsujin 28 Go with Shotaro Haneda

Just ran into this website search on Tetsujin 28.

Apparently, there’s been a growing concerns on many Japanese websites that are advertising or selling child pornography DVD material.  Particularly with young high school boys as the ‘popular’ theme.  And they’ve been circulating aound the schools to teachers or sick pedophiles.

What’s really freakish about this discovery made by the policemen is that during their crackdown on this case, they found several websites that has related keyword search phrases that start with Shotaro, as our main protagonist character in Tetsujin 28.  Here’s the excerpt of the online article below.

Police authorities have detected many Internet sites that specialize in pornographic images of boys, according to the National Police Agency. These sites will be closely monitored.

‘Shotakon’ sites

Sites such as Kobayashi’s are dubbed “shotakon” sites. Shotakon–a portmanteau of the words “Shotaro” and “complex”–is a sexual attraction to young boys.

Shotaro refers to Shotaro Kaneda, the main character in the comic “Tetsujin 28-go” (Gigantor in English), who remote-controls a giant robot. The boy, who always wears shorts in the comic, is a prime example of characters that adults attracted to young boys find appealing. A search for shotakon written in katakana characters got 1.18 million hits on the Yahoo search engine, while shotakon in English got 1.49 million hits.

Well, will I be damned!  Didn’t know they’ll treat Shotaro’s shorts in that form.

So beware guys! If you ever run into finding stuff online about Tetsujin 28, like I do, do keep a lookout for these dodgy buggers!! There’s a 1.18 million reasons you’ll get caught, even if it’s not intentional.  Best to avoid or escape yourself from getting into those traps in the first place!

Source: Yomiuri

Here’s another comment from one of the anime industry watchdogs that talks about celebrating 40 years of great robot anime shows, by hosting an all-day Gundam movie marathon in Tokyo, just a few days ago.

Here’s the article.

VIZ CINEMA HOSTS A UNIQUE PRESENTATION ON THE HISTORY OF SCI-FI ROBOT ANIME AND PRESENTS GUNDAM TRIPLE FEATURE IN SPECIAL ALL-DAY MOVIE MARATHON

San Francisco, CA, April 2, 2010 – VIZ Cinema is pleased to offer a fun-packed weekend of anime as it welcomes Patrick Macias, Editor-in-Chief of OTAKU USA, on Friday April 9th for the latest in his ongoing series of TokyoScope Talks on Japanese cinema and pop media. On Saturday, April 10th, VIZ Cinema offers a special Gundam Movie Marathon. Three feature films featuring the iconic robot will be screened in the theatre, which features 35mm and digital projection and a THX®-certified sound system.

TokyoScope Talk Vol. 2: MECHA MANIA: Four Decades of Slam-Bang Sci-Fi Robot Anime comes to VIZ Cinema on Friday, April 9th at 7:00pm. Tickets are $8.00. Also co-hosting the event will be author and critic Tomohiro Machiyama, who together with Macias wrote Cruising Anime City, (published by Stone Bridge Press) a highly detailed travel guide about Tokyo otaku culture and the anime phenomenon.

“From Astro Boy and Tetsujin 28 to Gundam and Voltron to Transformers and Gurren Lagann, giant robots and other fantastic machines and technology, or mecha, are instantly recognizable mainstays of anime,” says Macias. “There’s also a lot of cultural iconography intertwined with these machines and their operators, often presented as heroic warriors in the samurai warrior tradition. I look forward to tracing the nearly 50 year history and evolution of mecha along with some often humorous stories and latest examples. And don’t miss an awesome raffle giveaway featuring some tear-jerking treasures for super mecha fans!”

VIZ Cinema’s Weeknight Anime People makes a special weekend stop with an day-long triple feature of Gundam! General ticket price: $10:00; Combo tickets are $25:00. No further discounts will apply.
Gundam Movie Marathon, Saturday, April 10th – One Day Only!
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie I, 11:00am
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie II: Soldiers of Sorrow, 1:35pm
Mobile Suit Gundam Movie III: Encounters in Space, 4:05pm
VIZ Cinema’s Weeknight Anime People makes a special weekend stop with an afternoon of Gundam! In the year 0079 of the Universal Century, the Earth Federation and its space colonies are engaged in an apocalyptic war. The rebellious Duchy of Zeon, using humanoid fighting machines called Mobile Suits, has all but vanquished the Federation. Now the Federation’s last hope is the prototype Mobile Suit, Gundam. When a twist of fate makes young civilian Amuro Ray the sole-pilot of Gundam, Amuro’s own battle begins – a struggle not only for the Federation’s survival, but for his own. General ticket price: $10:00; Combo tickets are $25:00. No further discounts will apply.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Source: Activeanime.com

So if you’re just around the neighborhood over there, don’t forget to check it out!! And let me know what the experience is like after 10th April!

Source: Activeanime.com

At least that’s what I believe after just reading this blog post from an anime blogger, Deb Aoki.

There’s going to be greater explosion of several mecha anime from the past to be reinvented.

With a new format, new changes.

New everything. Just like the one I posted on this Gaiking movie trailer not long ago (see video below).

I mentioned that there’s going be a different nature of mecha interests between boys and girls at such lengthy proportions.  Looks like there’s no such barrier for all gender to enjoy this so-called new-found anime genre, which lasted for over 3 generations.

Ahhh… Good things to see old school is being “brought” back.

What do you think?  Do you see this is as good thing?  In fact, more importantly, are you excited about this type of development?

Source: About.com, Youtube.com

One of the very few great mecha classic of the 80s.  Personally, I never watched it.  Or should I say never the chance to watch.  It was never broadcasted in my home country.  I don’t know for what specific reasons it’s left out.  It’s an utter shame as sources indicated to me that the series was so good that it’s ranked the same level of outstanding recognition as Gundam and Macross achieved.  After reading them, I’m guessing they’re right.

It’s that nostalgically good.

Series’ them said to be more futuristic. It’s heavy militaristic material that many fans didn’t find that most appealing.  Rather they would go for something less realistic but more emphasis on fantasy-like elements ie like mixing a bit of super robot characteristics into the real robot series.  And it’s true.  Many prefered that.  At least that’s what I’m aware of, after reading a few forums around.  Anyhow, here’s what I’ve gathered from Wikipedia.org and MyAnimelist.com.

Synopsis

The series followed a main character named Chirico Cuvie (Kiriko Kyuubi), a former special forces Armored Trooper pilot and former member of the Red Shoulder Battalion, an elite mecha force used by the Gilgamesh Confederation in its war against the Balarant Union—both interstellar nations within the distant Astragius Galaxy. Gilgamesh and Balarant had until recently been locked in a century-old galactic war whose cause was long ago forgotten. Now, the war is ending and an uneasy truce has settled.

Chirico Cuvie is suddenly transferred to a unit engaged in a suspicious mission, unaware that he is aiding to steal secrets from what appears to be his own side. Chirico is betrayed and left behind to die, but he survives, is arrested by the Gilgamesh military as a traitor, and tortured for information on their homeworld. He escapes—triggering a pursuit extending across the entire series, with Chirico hunted by the army and criminals alike as he seeks the truth behind the operation. He is driven to discover the truth of one of the objects he was assigned to retrieve in that operation: A mysterious and beautiful woman who would become his sole clue to unraveling the galactic conspiracy.

The main characters of the series take their names from the Greek alphabet. Chirico, (Japanese transliteration, “Kiriko”), is from the Greek letter “chi” (Χ). Fyanna (Fuiana) is from Greek letter “phi” (Φ), and Ypsilon (Ipushilon) from the Greek letter “upsilon” (Υ).

Here’s the opening theme video.

Characters:

“As the central character around which Votoms revolves, Chirico Cuvie is haunter by two pasts – one he cannot remember and another he cannot forget. He has no memory of his life prior to his 10th year, in which he lived on the planet Sunsa with adoptive parents who found him in a refugee center and were studying his unusual healing abilities – until they were killed in the first of many enemy invasions. Chirico witnessed their deaths, and survived burns that would have killed an ordinary human … but over the subsequent years, he proved himself to be far from ordinary. Enlisting in the Melkian army as an Armored Trooper pilot, Chirico distinguished himself in many battles against the Balarant and was transferred at age 16 to the elite Red Shoulder Battalion. There, he was scrutinized by the commanding officer, Colonel Yoran Peruzen. Peruzen had been watching Chirico for many years, and had become convinced that Chirico’s miraculous recuperative powers made him unkillable; a supreme survivor. After nearly ending Peruzen’s life, Chirico was thrown into the final battle of Sunsa. He wasn’t supposed to survive it … but he did. This was the battle that brought the Hundred Years War to an end, and the Red Shoulder Battalion was disbanded soon after. In the last ditch effort to rid himself of Chirico, Peruzen transferred him to General Albert Killy’s rogue unit for the raid on Lido. Killy’s men were instructed to kill Chirico during the operation, but Chirico’s unusual abilities made him more difficult to eliminate than anyone could guess. Caught up in events completely beyond his control, however, Chirico became a renegade – haunted both by Killy’s agents and the Melkian army. Waiting only to uncover the lies and conspiracies that surround him, Chirico makes his way across the galaxy to find him destiny. His incredible stamina and resourcefulness are the result of his unknown heritage. When this truth is uncovered, nothing will ever be the same again.” “Beautiful and mysterious, she is at the center of the conspiracy that nearly cost Chirico his life on Lido. She is many things to many people, and her evolution through various identities changes her from a living weapon to a human being. As “Proto-One,” she is the deadly killing machine she was designed to be as the first Melkian Perfect Soldier. As “The Phantom Lady,” she is a figure of mystery on the streets of Uoodo City. Chirico later gives her the name “Fyana,” and from that point she begins to develop as a person with genuine emotions. Genetically engineered by the Melkian army, her enhanced fighting abilities make her as deadly as she is captivating. What no one could have foreseen, however, was that when she first awoke in Lido and saw Chirico, her destiny would be forever linked with his. From Lido, she is abducted by the Secret Society and later sent against Chirico in battle. When she meets him face to face for the second time, she feels a strong attractions to him which eventually inspires her to defect from the Secret Society and join him on the run.”

“Her dependency on the radiation of jijirium for re-energization leads to dangerous conditions when she cannot find appropriate regenerative facilities, but when in top from she is an excellent, refined soldier, highly skilled in many forms of combat. As indicated by his codename, Ypsilon is the second Perfect Soldier, having been “born” after Proto-One. She was with Ypsilon during his awakening in the underground sections of the former Red Shoulder base on Melkia. She gave him his name, and he formed an immediate attachment to her as would a child to its mother. She first attempted to teach him gentleness, but his pre-programmed killing nature emerged despite this, much to be pleasure of Albert Killy and the other masters of the Secret Society. Under the later tutelage of Borough and Prince Kanjelman in Kummen, Ypsilon matures as a warrior. His genetically-engineered combat skills are honed to perfection, and unlike Proto-One, he remains fiercely loyal to his commanding officers. Emotionally, however, Ypsilon is still very much a child. Arrogant and egocentric, he sees himself as the ultimate in human evolution. From his first encounter with Chirico Cuvie, Ypsilon becomes obsessed with killing him, convinced that Chirico has poisoned the mind of Proto-One … and only his death will end her “confusion” about whom she really loves. This obsession increases from one bloody battle to another throughout Kummen and all the way to their final showdown on Sunsa.”

“Coconna grew up as an orphan in Uoodo City, managing to hold onto her innocence despite the crime and corruption of the streets. She tags along with Gotho and Vanilla, constantly looking for her own profit margin and throwing in her services whenever she can. She develops a searing crush on Chirico early in the series and often has to push her reluctant companions to help him when he is in trouble. Her brashness (and screeching volume) tests everyone’s patience until later episodes when she becomes useful despite her constant complaining and argumentative nature.”

Mecha Units

ATM-09-ST Codenamed ScopeDog. One of the mass-produced medium-class armored mech used by Gilgamesh Confederation to beat the Balarant Union.

ATM-09-SA Codename Scopedog II.  An upgraded version of Scopedog 1.

There’s still a lot about Votoms I don’t know really know. So this is by far the most incomplete Armored Trooper Votoms I could compile. So there’s more to contribute here in the future.

And no, he will certainly not be giving many of today’s manga artists any praises if they have any thing related with child pornography.  Especially, it’s expressed too much in a very graphic way.

There’s been a recent uproar on the public system legalising the practice of placing child pornography content onto manga medium content, which is not right at a hindsight

Many respectable manga artists like Go Nagai etc are placing their support in banning the online child porn bill, which really sickens me to death.  Good on him for making him stance clear.  This is coming from a fact that Cutie Honey was one of this best works during the 70’s, which I understand it’s a manga whose focuses around the women characters, who barely shed anything off other than their ripped tees across their chests!!

Here’s another news publication (written in Spanish) on Go Nagai’s (and other authors’) thoughts on the crackdown on the crackdown of child pornography used in comic books.

Here’s the translations of the source.

The Assembly has hit Tokyo’s manga artists in its attempt to reduce the sexual content of comic books. Authors such as Go Nagai (Mazinger Z) and Fujiko Fujio (Doraemon) have signed a statement criticizing a law prohibiting the eroticism of child-like characters, which punishes the artists with fines of up to 300,000 yen (2,400 euros).

This protest has led the authors that the legislation, which should have been voted on Friday, stay for the time being in dry dock. According to Nagai said this week, this law is against freedom of expression for artists, but also undermines the manga industry, considered a strong source of revenue for Japan. For Nagai, regulation is also very vague, especially under the definition of fiction.

The legal language prohibiting any manga or anime character that could be perceived as minor in age, clothing, accessories, grade level, the scenario where you are, the age of other characters or his voice.
Project worrying

After learning this content of the law, Carlos Santamaria, director at the Comic and Manga de Barcelona, gives reason to Japanese artists: “It is a project of considerable concern, as well as being very vague, contains the sensor element and can anyone give power to ban a cartoon. ” For others such as Josep Maria Berenguer, editor of The Dome, the law is a contradiction, as “childlike features are typical of Japanese comics. They are part of their culture.”

It is not the first time that parliaments seek to regulate the eroticism in comics from veto to pornography with minors. In March 2009, a clause in a bill against child pornography UK Government drew the ire of artists.

This clause prohibiting “the possession of any images of sexual activity with children.” For the group Comic Shop Voice, this text could lead to censorship of graphic novels such as Lost Girls, Alan Moore. Finally, this law was passed last November, although to date there is no evidence of any comic book censorship.
Censorship in Philippines

In April 2009, the House of Representatives of the Philippines also banned the sale of those manga that show erotic scenes with characters from children’s appearance.

“This type of controversy is part of the general rightward shift caused by the crisis which we live. We have entered a political correctness that is limiting the cultural world”, adds Berenguer. Santamaria says, for its part, the dire consequences of putting everything in the bag of child pornography: “It should be clear that child pornography is a crime. But another thing is that it shows the romance of some high school kids. If that happens in real life, why they will not be able to read? “.

• Source: Kotaku.com, Publico.es

Was reading this post from AltJapan. They surely got this amazing talent of making (or should I say, crafting)  robot toys.  And it’s not one of those ordinary die-cast materials you would be expecting.

This time.  It is made out of……

GUESS WHAT?

WOOD.

Like plain chopping wood. 0.0

Have a look below

I know it’s crazy. But it’s possible now you’re seeing them with your very own eyes.  Apparently it started with this little small shop called Take G toys in the Tokyo where people can come in and order themselves a new Jumbo-sized wooden robot. However, the toys are not on sale online. But you can still view them at the exhibit that the company’s looking forward to put it on display.

The exhibition starts between 30 March and 14 April.

Before I finish off writing this post, I thought it would be nice to show the 3D video rendering all the three robots featuring in todays’ post. (see video)

Enjoy!

Source: Altjapan, Take-G