Gundam fans who love the Universal Century timeline (i.e. most of the classic series) have been waiting for Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin, the four-episode OVA that retells the original series, focusing on Char Aznable’s life. The 35th anniversary production has a scene at the pivotal Battle of Loum, where Char earned the nickname “The Red Comet,” and the clip below shows part of that battle. I would have preferred less CGI, but this fight does look good, retaining the older anime art style with modern animation. The first episode is out in March in Japan, but a Blu-ray is due out in April, as well as a streaming option. Read more…
Moko is one of the best LEGO builders out of Japan — if you follow him on Twitter, you can get some glimpses at his massive collection of parts and pieces. He’s an expert at building mecha, in particular. His latest build is a chibi-styled Gundam with tons of little details and an incredible amount of poseability. Moko also built a varied collection of all the weapons you’d want to see the original Gundam wield. Check out more images below, and if you haven’t seen Moko’s work before, check out his Flickr page with an enormous collection of amazing mecha and anime characters. It’s great stuff! Read more…
In Japan Sharp is showing off two robot vacuum cleaners which have been given a Mobile Suit Gundam theme. Apparently these are variations on their existing Cocorobo robot cleansers which include a voice recognition system. Here they are on display: Read more…
If you’re a fan of giant robot anime, this trailer might make you wet your pants. It features footage from 2nd Super Robot Wars Z Saisei, a PSP game that features characters and mechs from practically every giant robot series to grace Japanese airwaves is like an otaku’s dream come true. Unfortunately, despite having developed a countless number of these Super Robot War titles over the years, not a single one has been localized outside of Japan. Why? The trailer speaks for itself, check out the list of copyrights at the end. Now imagine the nightmare of trying to secure those rights for an international release. It’s a shame, but who knows, maybe it’ll be a possibility someday… maybe… probably not.
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 13, 2011 in Animation, Fandom
Oh sure any fanboy can buy a mere Mobile Suit Gundam model kit and put it together — but only a hardcore fanboy like Taras Lesko can hand craft a seven foot tall Gundam out of paper! Shown below is the step-by-step assembly and a video that he made: Read more…
For those who like their old school anime mecha but need their magical girl fix I present the The Puella Magi MS-005 Kyouko Gundam. And for you model making fanboys and fangurls who like a challenge you might want to check out the Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Kyubey Papercraft kit (which is in a Pepakura Designer format). Read more…
I never had a chance to see it person, but Odaiba’s full-scale Gundam statue had served as a magnet for giant robot enthusiasts and tourism from around the globe. I had hoped to catch a glimpse of the statue after it had moved to Shizuoka, but the statue was dismantled at end of March. Given the recent drop in tourism, I’ve wondered if we’d ever have another chance to see the statue again. It doesn’t look likely, but Sunrise Studios recently announced plans to display at least a portion of the statue in Odaiba later this month. Starting Sunday, August 21st, visitors to Odaiba island’s Shiokaze Park can pay 500 yen to gain admission to the event between the hours of 6 AM to 10 PM. No word on which parts of the statue will be on display but guessing by the image on the official site, I assume it’ll be the head. Sure, it’s not the full statue, but it’s still a piece of history and definitely worth checking out.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 18, 2010 in Animation, Tech
It looks as though Japan’s getting another awesome anime-related memory stick. Similar to the Evangelion usb stick I talked about last month, these upcoming Gundam memory sticks will likely hit Japanese shelves some time next month. I’ve got more memory sticks laying around than I can count on two hands, but I think anyone would want to make an for these — I just wish wouldn’t have to import it, and that it’d come in a decent size. GeekStuff4U currently has them available for pre-order, but the only size they seem to have is 4 GB. That’s not very big by today’s standards, but then again, I’m sure most of you probably don’t store many documents — save for full-length feature films — over that limit, right? Read more…
One of my favorite things about the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime series was that it really brought to life the idea of L5 space colonies which were envisioned by Gerard K. O’Neill in the 70s. Shown above is a fan made video of what modern Tokyo would look like inside one of these space colonies: Read more…
Amazing, isn’t it? While I’m sure this little Haro can’t possibly beat the limited edition Fist of the North Star alarm clock I bought when I visited Tokyo last month, it’s really cute and probably annoying enough to wake you from the deepest of sleeps. Modeled after Amuro Ray’s personal Haro bot, the Gundam mascot comes available in two distinct colors — pink and the original green. In addition to reciting a few lines from the show, it’ll flap its ears while it displays the time and date in Earth years. I was hoping it’d give us some kind of Universal Century equivalent but that’d be pretty useless. You can pick one up via Hobby Fan, but if you’re an Amazon prime member, you’ll want to order through them to save on shipping. The $69 price tag might seem a bit expensive, but can you really put a price on cuteness?
I can’t even count the ways I love this game. For those of you who may not have played the series, Dynasty WarriorsGundam combines the legendary anime with Koei’s Dynasty Warriors game mechanics. The end result? You control one of the enormous mechs as you fight through hordes of giant robots until you face off against other new-types in a bid to control the battlefield. Sure, the gameplay can seem a bit repetitive at times, but unlike the original Dynasty Warrior games, the Gundam series has always presented me with more of a challenge.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Aug 25, 2010 in Videogames
When I first heard the title Gundam Royale, I immediately thought of Daniel Craig doing an impression of Char Aznable. Needless to say, that’ll never happen. Instead the game is being toted as the first “social” game for the series. So what does that mean exactly? Well, that’s a really good question. First of all, the game will be released for mobile phones. As you can probably imagine, that likely means it’ll be an iPhone App here in the US. Only a few details about the actual gameplay have been revealed, so just how social is it? Read more…
Gundam Café in Akihabara opened back in April and is a living shrine of all things Gundam. Shy of traveling to Japan this amazing photo essay by kozika gives you a feeling of what it’s like to hang out there, order dessert, buy some goodies and yes even visit the loo: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 29, 2010 in Animation
Having been President of the Star Blazers Fan Club I’m still envious to this day the attention that’s lavished on Mobile Suit Gundam. This cover of Monthly Gundam Ace which goes on sale on July 26th is crammed with all sorts of goodies: Firstly you’ve got the celebration of the 15th anniversary of Mobile Fighter G Gundam but then you’ve got those cool Gundam collector’s cards and a story on Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 19, 2010 in Animation, Tech
Why is it that Japan gets all the cool phones? I’m serious. Sure we all have our Blackberries and our iPhones, but none of those come with model Gundams, or high resolution cameras. Well, Softbank’s upcoming Gundam Cellphone 945SH G certainly does. In addition to being a Sharp 945SH with a built in OLED display, and 12.1 mega pixel anti-shake autofocus camera — yes, their phones have better cameras than ours — the limited edition phone will be packaged along with a model RX-78-2 Gundam and charger stand. Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jan 28, 2010 in Animation, Fandom
This is the video for the Ichirou Mizuki song It Is Not This! Korejanai Robo! which tells the heartbreaking tale of a child otaku who years from a Gundam toy but whose clueless parents get him a cheap bootleg instead. Of course our little hero isn’t going to take this slight, so he takes his revenge on the wannabe Gundam. But this mecha knockoff has a few tricks up his sleeve. Read more…
My favorite thing about this Mobile Suit Gundam toy commercial? The fact that it shows all of those Bandai employees dressed in in uniforms from the show: Read more…
Fanboys love their toys! And 2009 has been a great year for collectors of both high and low art, so we’ve put together our favorites from this year with an eye on unique twists on old themes. For example shown above O-No! Sushi by Andrew Bell is an urban toy reaction from a vegetarian to sushi. Read more…
Just when I had thought that I had seen every Mobile Suit Gundam goodie along comes another trinket to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the classic anime series. In this case we’ve got a collection of ballpoint pens that are shaped like the various weapons the mecha suits carry into battle, and at $11 the set is pretty cheap in terms of collectables: Read more…
This video of two Gundam robots slugging it out is from the recent 2009 International Robot Exhibition. I like how the decapitated Gundam continues to dance after defeat…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Oct 6, 2009 in Animation
Mobile Suit Gundam fanboys can now enjoy Char Aznable’s Spicy Curry Noodles from Nissin Foods which features a special reusable glass cup which features the infamous red Zaku suit. The instant soup is also colored red and features spicy and red peppers contrasted with just a hint of cheddar cheese flavor. Nissin is also selling refill sets, although my guess is that most Gundam fans won’t dare open the package. Here are some other shots of the product: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Sep 10, 2009 in Animation, Fandom
Sadly all good things come to an end sooner or later: And thus I’m afraid for yours truly it’s a bit too soon as the giant Gundam on display in Tokyo is being taken apart! Part of me always assumed that the Gundam would be on display forever, but sadly I was wrong. And what makes it worse is that the damn robot just sits there and does nothing to defend itself against a wimpy looking crane…Read more…
You can relive your memories of the early days of anime with this Mobile Suit Gundam USB Memory device. It will hold up to 4 gigs, which might just hold a few digital backups of your old VHS tapes or photos of your giant robot collection: Read more…
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Mobile Suit Gundam there will be a special full scale replica of Char Aznable’s helmet released this month. I think this has to be one of the most distinctive hat designs in the history of anime, on par perhaps with Darth Vader’s infamous helmet: Read more…
