The Roving Ronin Report

While at a German Oktoberfest Celebration (in May) in Odaiba, I came across my old friend Gundam whom I saw here 3 years ago. Gundam is back in Tokyo big as ever. In 2009 to mark the 30th Anniversary of the premiere of the popular anime show Gundam, a 1:1 life-size Gundam model was erected on the island of Odaiba in Tokyo. It stayed there for a couple of months before being moved to Shizouka. Now it's back in Tokyo for however long. Gundam is an anime show where humans pilot these large robot-like suits called Mecha. Gundam has become a cultural icon in Japan.

Gundam Dining - Chic Geek Dining G-Dining Bar Zeon in Aomori, Japan While I was up in Aomori recently, I came across a Gundam-theme restaurant called G-Dining Bar Zeon. Gundam is popular anime series that debut in 1979 and spawned a ton of spin-offs, movies, manga, and one giant life-size model. Zeon was kind of the bad guys in the Gundam series. They fought using giant mobile suits called mecha and the Earth forces developed Gundam mecha suits in response (or something like that). The restaurant had quite a bit of Gundam props everywhere and TVs that played old episodes. Surprisingly it wasn't really for kids as you could drink and smoke in the place. I enjoyed a beer and some pasta while watching giant robots (sorry, mecha!) duke it out on the big screen. I was in Geek heaven.

Giant Gundam Gathers Gawking Geeks in Tokyo 59-Foot Tall Model of Iconic Japanese Anime Character Unveiled   1:1 scale model of Japanese Anime Icon - Gundam A giant cultural icon has come to roost in Tokyo this summer. It's not Godzilla nor UltraMan. It's the mobile suit known as Gundam, the model RX-78 to be precise. To mark the 30th Anniversary of the popular anime series Gundam, a 1:1 scale model of the iconic mobile suit has been constructed and set up on the island of Odaiba in Tokyo Bay. The model has 50 points of lights, mist emitting from several places, and a head which revolves left and right and upward. Periodically sound-effects and the theme song to the old animated series plays from the structure itself. The life-size model is composed of fiberglass-reinforced plastic on a steel frame. The Gundam mobile suit stands at 18 meters/59 feet tall. Gundam is a giant piloted mobile suit; not a robot The animated show debuted in 1979 and has spawned a number of spin-offs, ...